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Erica Garcia Abergel is an ERYT 500 yoga teacher, Yoga trainer and continuing education provider. She is also a 285 hr Certified Masters of Wisdom and Meditation teacher. She has a personal practice spanning over three decades and teaching over one decade with thousands of teaching hours under her belt. As the owner of Nueva Alma Yoga and Wellness Studio and the founder and Director of teacher training at the A.L.M.A Institute – center of yoga and holistic education in Yonkers, NY, she is a often sought after for her wellness coaching, corporate speaking events, leading mindfulness meditations and even for her Mentoring offerings by newly registered yoga teachers. (**UPDATE - due to Covid, the physical location is currently closed but all offerings are still being provided virtually. See the offerings tab on how you can get involved)
As one of the rising Latina faces of yoga, often dubbed "La Dona", this Nuyorican Sage has brilliantly learned to skillfully make the ancient yogic teachings accessible and applicable to all. This urban yogi, like many found yoga and for many years was self taught because she could not find teachers that resonated with her. She continued to explore combing through old yoga books because all she knew was that when she moved her body in synch with her breath she was h-OM-e. Her studies deepened after surviving 9/11. The trauma left her feeling like a shell; void of her spiritual voice. That’s when she closed her eyes, moved with her breathe and went back in…. knowing that we all suffer from varying types of trauma and that this tool called yoga needed to be accessible to all. It was then that she began her journey and transformation into the dynamic, free spirited, funny, spiritually driven with the slight dash of urban, Latina, “in your face NY sarcasm” teacher she is today. She teaches from the heart and coming from a place that it does not have to be so serious. Erica has always been at the forefront fighting for diversity and equality in the yoga spaces and after over a decade of teaching and certifying and mentoring yoga teachers has been duly given the respect of being dubbed "La Dona." She is often quoted stating that she is a teacher of yoga; not a "yoga teacher" because when you encounter her you will realize there is quite a difference. She said she knew she survived for a reason and taking a class with Erica is often called an experience. She is in the business of activating souls, igniting your zest for life and finding your own dharma as her classes are influenced by her love of Iyengar, Vinyasa, Kundalini, Vinyasa, the power of Music and the Chakras. You will be sure to always leave her classes feeling like your Chakras did the cha-cha, which is why her studio was appropriately named… a Nueva Alma (translated New Soul). Erica became a certified Health Coach in 2012 and Reiki Level I/II certified. She served as the former NYC Regional Coordinator for Y.O.G.A for Youth and has trained and continued her studies under the likes of Krishna Kaur, Seane Corne, Hala Khouri, Suzanne Sterling, Raji Thron, Anodea Judith, Raji Thron and Davidji. Erica is currently working on her first book (2022 release) and is available for bookings for workshops, continuing education, teacher trainings, to lead retreats, Mindfulness Meditations (in both English or Bilingual with Spanish), Corporate Wellness retreats and speaking engagements. You can train, mentor or hire her for holistic wellness coaching one on one or as a group (in person or virtually). Erica has appeared in Mantra Magazine (2014 & 2018), was featured in several issues of NY Yoga +Life Magazine - as “one of the inspirational teachers they love in NY," (Spring 2016) and the cover of the Goddess issue 2019. Erica was also featured as the July model for the 2019 Jade yoga Mats print calendar. You can find her leading workshops and as a feature presenter in yoga festivals in the North East such as Ahimsa Music and Yoga Festival (Nov 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) and Soulfest NYC (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) in Harlem, NY. After hurricane Maria Sept 2017 in Puerto Rico, Erica got together with several other Latinx yoga teachers and created the Ceiba Soul Foundation ( www.ceibasoul.com ) in hopes of raising money to assist the island and then further it's programming to serve other underserved and underprivileged populations. It is now a thriving 501c3 nonprofit doing grassroots efforts and more. Her plans for 2022 and 2023 she has plans for more virtual 200hr teacher trainings, hosting local and destination retreats and more! Poke around the website, join the FREE Nueva Alma Social network to stay in the know! Erica can also be booked via bookings@yamatalent.com |
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