“As a highly sensitive person and a seeker of truth and authenticity for over 5 decades, I know when I am in the presence of a teacher—a real teacher who knows how to guide her students in eliciting their best selves. I have had this experience with Naomi. I highly recommend working with this lovely human being.”

— Arlene, Yoga Therapy Client

About Me

Hi, I’m Naomi (she/her)! I am a weight-neutral Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), Health and Wellbeing Coach, and Be Body Positive Facilitator. I’m passionate about supporting people to incorporate health-promoting habits into their lives and helping them to manage conditions from a Health At Every Size-informed approach. I’ve been teaching Yoga since 2009 and am experienced in supporting people with a wide range of abilities, body types/sizes, and life experiences. I am committed to helping people pursue health on their own terms, while building the utmost reverence and respect for the bodies they have today.

I’m also an experienced speaker and educator; a list of the events and panels I’ve spoken at and the workshops I’ve taught can be found further down on this page. In addition to my experience with adults, I’ve also taught children as young as toddlers through high school age, am a former special education teacher, and have taught yoga to both children and adults with various types of neurodivergence and learning disabilities.

My Philosophy

Where do you even begin if you want to reinvent your approach to health and wellness when all you've been taught is that the key to being healthy lies in restricting what you eat, burning calories, and achieving a certain weight?

I employ a weight-inclusive approach as a Yoga Therapist/Coach which means I believe that people of all weights are capable of finding greater wellness without pursuing weight loss. I believe that the pursuit of weight loss can be harmful in ways we’re not always aware of until much further down the line. Instead, I support the Health at Every Size paradigm. I respect people of all sizes as the utmost experts of their own bodies and lives, although I recognize that many of us have learned to mistrust our bodies and lose touch with our internal wisdom.

I help people reconnect.

My approach is one that honors people's unique bodies and histories, and includes goals and progress markers that are based on the development of health-promoting habits in all areas of life. Instead of being hyper-focused on shrinking your body (which, in most cases, feels punitive and ends up being temporary), we look for ways to increase things like joy, peace, energy, ease, and fulfillment.

I believe in our ability to pursue health on our own terms and to cultivate a more loving and trusting relationship with our bodies and selves that will last throughout the lifetime. I understand the obstacles that commonly get in the way and I believe that a sympathetic, knowledgeable, and caring guide can make a huge difference.  

Speaking and Teaching Resume​​

  • Perfectly Imperfect: A Virtual Yoga Community for Better Body Image, Jan-Apr 2023

  • A Weight Lifted: The Virtual Diet-Free Diabetes Yoga Community, Sept-Dec, 2022

  • Yoga and Breath Awareness workshop for The Nora Project staff retreat, 2022

  • Yoga for Diabetes Management virtual weekend retreat, 2022

  • Yoga for Stress Management (Diet Culture Edition) virtual 3-week course, 2021

  • Exploring Sizeism and Healing from Body-based Oppression workshop, The Body Positive, 2021

  • Yoga for Chronic Pain virtual weekend retreat, 2021

  • Yoga Philosophy and Practices for Stress Management (Diet Culture Edition) virtual weekend retreat, 2021

  • Intuitive Eating: A Sensual Experience with Food and Intuitive Movement workshop, The Body Positive, 2021

  • Workshop for Educators: Learning to Identify and Challenge Harmful Body Messages, The Body Positive, 2020

  • Tips for Teaching a Virtual Body Positive Group, The Body Positive, 2020

  • Being Body Positive with Chronic Pain, Body Positive Yoga, 2019​

  • Be Body Positive Facilitator Training Co-facilitator, The Body Positive: May 2017, August 2017, February 2018, November 2018, February 2019

  • Daylong workshop: Abundance: Body Positivity, Yoga, and Art for People in Large Bodies, 2018

  • Body Positive Panel at the Curvaceous Lush Networking Event, 2018

  • Marin Teen Girls Conference Workshop, 2017 and 2018

  • Body Love Live with Rebellious Magazine, Panelist, 2017

  • Oakland Technical High School Health Fair Presenter, 2017

  • Glowing Goddess Getaway Workshop, 2017

  • Santa Cruz Summer of Body Love Event, Presenter and Panelist, 2017

  • Northern California Safe and Healthy Schools Conference Workshop, 2016 and 2017

From left, Sarah Jansen-Mount, Naomi Finkelstein, Ragen Chastain, Isabel Foxen-Duke, and Virgie Tovar at the Summer of Body Love event in Santa Cruz, CA, 2017

 
 

Connie Sobczak (left) and Naomi Finkelstein (right) at the Be Body Positive Leadership Summit, Berkeley, CA, 2017

Introductory Yoga Video Series

The videos below are just four of the 19 videos that are included in my Introductory Yoga Video Series. This series is included as a bonus for those who sign up for any of my extended programs. Watch the first video to learn all about the intention behind this series and what you’ll find in it.

 

More Videos

Please note that I filmed the videos below in 2015 and my teaching has improved considerably since then (particularly when it comes to offering options for people in larger bodies!) However, they still offer a sense for my energy as a teacher.

 

Other Media

Education and Training

  • I am a Yoga Health Educator, certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. My areas of study included Ayurveda, Yoga Psychology and Mental Health, Anatomy and Physiology, Accessible and Restorative Yoga, Yoga for Addiction Recovery, and more. My group practicum work centered on Yoga for Stress Management, Diabetes, and Chronic Pain.

  • I completed my Health and Wellbeing Coach certification through Wellcoaches School of Coaching in 2020.

  • I've worked for The Body Positive since 2014 both as a volunteer and as staff and I'm a licensed Be Body Positive Facilitator. I also co-created the online Be Body Positive Fundamentals Courses and Facilitator Training, have co-facilitated numerous in-person trainings for educators, student leaders, and treatment providers, and I've spoken on many panels as a Body Positive expert.​

  • I received my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certificate through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organization in Quebec, Canada in 2009. I’ve taught in California, Chicago, and The Bahamas, both virtually and in person.

  • I completed the 20-hour Foundational Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Training (TCTSY) in May 2022.

  • ​I hold an Illinois K-12 Special Education Certificate and I was formerly a 5th and 7th grade inclusion special ed teacher in the Chicago Public School system. I also taught Yoga, Wellness, and Life Skills at the middle/high school level for two years at Fusion Academy, supporting students with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD. ​I have extensive experience developing goals and helping students achieve them, creating accommodations and modifications based on individual needs, and adapting plans as needed.​​

  • I'm a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College where I earned a BA in Liberal Arts, with a focus on Literature, Theater, and Spanish. I spent my junior year studying abroad in Madrid, Spain through Middlebury College and I speak Spanish fluently.