Geri Portnoy

Geri Portnoy, M.A. E-RYT 500, is a yoga teacher, poet, author, visionary, and lover of the Mystery. She holds a Master’s degree in International Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame and spent over a decade teaching in the public school system. She is the founder of Yoga Del Mar a local yoga center serving thousands of students in San Diego, California.

Geri is also a sought after speaker providing a messages of hope and practical wisdom for modern day living. Her TED talk “We are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For,” explored an ancient Hopi prophecy as a guide for soulful living in the 21st century.

After going through a difficult time marked by existential angst, anxiety, deep longing and persistent sadness, she underwent a spiritual transformation which dropped her down into her body and opened her up to know the unchanging, infinite, timeless, nature of her whole Being. She now leads workshops, retreats, and private sessions locally and internationally, helping people relieve their suffering and open up to the next phase of their human evolutionary journey.

Articles by Geri Portnoy:

Namaste – The Art of Cultivating an “I-Thou” Relationship in Everyday Life
Does this sound familiar? It’s the end of yoga class . . . you’re lying face up on your sticky mat, the bell rings and you slowly make your way up to a seated position. You join your hands together in prayer, you bow your head down toward your heart, and whisper with reverence, the sacred word, Namaste. You feel connected to all of life and at peace. As you walk out to your car, that feeling of oneness and connection lingers and you feel a part of the sacredness of life. You feel like you are living Namaste.
5 Life Changing Things I learned from My Yoga Practice
Twenty one years ago I said “yes” to an invitation to practice yoga on the beach in celebration of Earth Day. I had never taken a yoga class before and did not know what to expect. Out of desperation, I showed up to give yoga a few hours of my Saturday morning to reveal to me its secrets. I was hopeful and hopeless. I was a crazy-busy first year middle school teacher struggling to make a difference in the lives of kids in the inner city of East Los Angeles. I was stressed out, drank too much, and when I got tired, I pushed harder.
Longing for “Something More” and How Yoga Can Help
One of my students came up to me the other day and said she felt a deep longing in her heart – a pain of emptiness — and sensed that there must be “something more” to life than what she was aware of. She shared with me that she loved her husband, her job, and her friends, but still felt an ache in her heart as if “something were missing” and she was confused by that. It didn’t make sense. Have you ever felt this way, longing for something more, and not sure what exactly you were longing for?
Mindfulness for Modern Day Yogis
A recent survey conducted by Microsoft concluded that human beings now have a shorter attention span than goldfish. The average human attention span according to this survey was eight seconds, down from twelve seconds in the year 2000 1. Most human beings in the modern world are living with an overly stimulated nervous system. Does this sound like you? Are you plagued by a mind that’s always thinking? Are you torn between several competing thoughts, projects, or web sites all at the same time? Do you go to yoga class to stop the constant spinning of your thoughts, and calm the habitual stress response to life? Are you hungry to find a way to carry the benefits of your yoga practice – peace, clarity, calm and presence — off your mat and into life?