Testimonials

Best teacher ever …. and I’ve taken a lot of yoga.  It doesn’t matter if you are in a full class, you’ll think you are in a private with her attention and care.  If you are fortunate enough to take a private with her, it takes the yoga experience to another level.  HIGHLY recommend her … in fact, I frequently give gifts to people of a private session with her whether they are a novice or expert.

A day after my c-section, I was on the hospital bed getting ready to nurse my son. I sat almost half lotus style as the nurse handed me my son, and she gasped, “wait, you just had a c-section? What are you…a yogi?!”. I couldn’t help but smile and think of Aria’s prenatal yoga classes. Aria really helped me prepare my body for my greatest journey. Just when I was feeling some pain in my wrists, she did a class focusing on carpel tunnel, which is a common side effect of pregnancy. Just when my back/neck/shoulders were stiffening in new places, she did a class focusing on creating more space. Aria thoroughly understands what your body is going through and designs each class with purpose. But perhaps, I’m the most grateful for her words of wisdom and affirmation. She begins and ends each class massaging your mind with just the right thoughts. My son is now 3 months old and I still go to Aria’s classes…and now my husband even joins!

I took private lessons with Aria. She is warm and encouraging without pushing me beyond my level of capability. I really enjoyed working with her and would love to do so on a regular basis. It would allow my yoga practice improve by leaps and bounds, while also helping me feel calm. There is something about her magical presence that is very calming. I can’t imagine there would be anyone nicer and more inspiring with whom I could take classes.

I have been doing classes and privates with Aria for over 2 years. She is one of the best teachers I have ever trained with. Firstly, as a former athlete with injuries, she understands the importance of teaching and doing the poses correctly to avoid injury. She always makes the class challenging and I have never been to one class that is the same, so it’s great fun to learn new stretches, techniques or poses every time. I highly recommend her.

I’ve known and practiced yoga with Aria from the start (about 26 years now!) and all I can say is that she is truly gifted to the core. There is a level of trust I have in her instruction that is so integral to any practice, and I always feel confident she has my body’s best interest at heart. Intuitive, creative, caring — she’s one of a kind. I always feel amazing when I come out of one of her classes. She has a light that radiates from within, and you can’t help but totally relax in her presence.

Aria’s classes are awesome, and Aria is one of a kind.  She’s a yoga powerhouse with a gentle, personable demeanor, and she likes to laugh.  She radiates peace.  I like how she mixes it up with varying routines, which you can do at your own level, whether you are a beginner or an advanced yogini.  Aria’s knowledge of anatomy is impressive, and she’s generous with correcting poses to make sure you have it right.  She has a great mix of music, which she changes up as well. Overall her classes are the best, and I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone!

A few years ago, I had chronic pneumonia, which means that I was constantly having pneumonia. Aria, the forever patient teacher, taught me meditation to calm my worried mind. She made body, mind, and spirit stronger. Even my doctor was in awe at my progress. Previously, I had to use an inhaler everyday. Aria taught me how to breathe correctly, freeing me from steroids and inhalers. Her peaceful composure and her non-prejudice attitude motivated and comforted me on the road to recovery and beyond. It got to the point where I was so confident in her healing abilities that I would get gift certificates for all my friends (they all loved her too). Recently, my husband had a major lung surgery and her breathing exercises and gentle movements helped speed up his recovery considerably. We love Aria, not only as a teacher, but as a beautiful human being. Anyone would be blessed to have her as an instructor.

Thank you for your invaluable assistance in my rehabilitation. From your teaching I realized ways to make my physician’s rehabilitation program even more effective. Your own introduction to the principles and practice of yoga were perfectly tailor-made to the disabilities I’m dealing with. 

There are people who stand out in their practice and seem to have a special calling and special ability to do what they do. In your area of expertise, you are one of those people. Thank you for your help and continuing best wishes to you.”

Bruce B.

Thank you for a beautiful workshop. It was a really magical and inspiring way to learn from two mamas who are such knowledgeable sensitive somatic practitioners. Anatomically and spiritually, I feel more prepared to serve pre/post-natal students I might encounter…

…The psychological physiology of mama bodies, trauma-informed cueing, and the hands-on guidance for building strength and inviting nourishment was mind-blowing. The birth-process and following-birth anecdotes from personal and second hand experience were invaluable.

…What I appreciated about how you both led us through the information was that there was no given assumption about the kind of mama your student would be. Instead you encouraged us to read each body and know how you can teach to each stage of pregnancy, with a unique mix of energetic make-up, while still refining pratyahara and cultivating santosha.

Thank you for all the stories and compassion for what you do!

The first time I took Aria’s prenatal class, I was taken by her grace, strength and knowledge.  I had full confidence she would be the perfect woman by my side during my birth… In fact, she was more wonderful than I could have ever imagined.  She not only prepared and guided us up to the birthing, but she was the perfect “instrument” to the “symphony” of our home birth.  Even months later Aria continues to gift us with her support, light and true angelic nature.  It has been an honor knowing her and I couldn’t imagine a more honorable woman to help born my first son.

Aria is awesome both as a doula and prenatal yoga teacher. My husband and I were looking for a doula for our first child birth experience and we interviewed a couple of doulas before we ultimately decided on Aria. She had a calming and positive energy we loved and knew that having her as our doula was the right thing to do.

Aria visited us at our home a few months before my birth and educated us on labor, postpartum, and any other fears or expectations we had. It was great to have these discussions and knowledge prior to the big day.

When that big day finally came, she was there from the beginning to help answer any questions I had. Since it was my first time having a baby, I had no idea what to expect so I texted her and called her while I was in early labor. Aria was extremely helpful and was ready to be there for me as soon as I was going through active labor. Aria quickly came to the house as soon as I was in active labor and helped me find positions that were comfortable for me. She rubbed my back and opened up my hips while I was having stronger contractions and we labored at home as much as possible. I felt so comfortable and supported by Aria knowing she had been through this many times before.

Once I was ready to go to the hospital, Aria continued to provide her coaching and guidance as my contractions were intensifying. She continued to massage my lower back and also helped me stay focused by utilizing my breath. Everything she did helped me come closer and closer to my goal of meeting my new baby. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect birth. I have no doubt in my mind that having Aria helped my labor progress quickly. We were only at the hospital for 6 hours and I was able to give birth naturally with no drugs at all, which I think is amazing for a first birth. Aria was worth every penny and we were so blessed to have her as our doula. She made the experience so amazing and something my husband and I will never forget.

Aria is amazing! I took her prenatal class in Venice throughout my entire pregnancy. I had a great pregnancy–was strong, active, had no aches and pains, no reflux, no nausea– and Aria’s class had everything to do with it. When I’d miss a week I would start feeling fatigue or an ache come on, and by the next week after class it would be gone.

Aria is a rare combination: she creates a positive space, is genuinely supportive and sweet, and also extremely intelligent. She understands anatomy and always makes sure your alignment is correct. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of everything prenatal and spends time before and after class answering students’ questions and calming anxieties. Personally, she helped me through my issues with being late–42.5 weeks–gave me lots of advice and recommendations.

And she might have the coolest taste in music.

It’s a very active class and the effects are so great that I recommend it to anyone who is pregnant.

I can’t say enough good things about Aria who I was taken prenatal yoga classes with last two months of my pregnancy. I think  I would never pull off such an easy labor without learning from her yoga techniques of breathing and strengthening body muscles that were so useful during labor!

 I was able to walk and I felt great few hours later after delivering my daughter last Thursday. I didn’t even feel sore afterwards!  I can’t thank her enough for being my yoga teacher and would recommend doing yoga with Aria while you are pregnant or recently had your your baby. She is awesome!!!

I took Aria’s pre-natal yoga class during my first pregnancy. Aria’s classes are wonderful. She has such a positive, energy and is a brilliant yoga teacher.

Aria also came to our house for a private birthing class with my husband and I.

My first child was breach, born via c-section. Durning my second pregnancy I put a lot of pressure on myself to have a natural, non medicate birth. 

Aria was so support of my wishes, but more importantly was kind and wise and gave me all kinds of valuable information. 

Aria is there to support and guide you and was one of the first people I meet in the birth community who really doesn’t have an agenda. She was just there to help, inform, offer support, love and guidance.  

Our birthing class with Aria was fun, informative and it was a great bonding experience for my husband and I.

I highly recommend Aria’s yoga and birth classes. She is truly one of those special, gorgeous people that I’m so fortunate to know. Thank you for everything.

Aria, who is first of all, an extremely kind hearted, calm and fun person,  helped us prepare to our second daughter’s birth.  Considering we weren’t complete newcomers due to our first daughter’s birth, we thought we wouldn’t need a doula with us during the birth. But we did need a ‘refresher’ of the whole birth process. Also, our first daughter was born at home in the Netherlands and now we planned on having our second child in the hospital, here in Los Angeles.

Aria helped us getting ready, both mentally and emotionally. We learnt many things we didn’t know of before, like which standard procedures happen in a hospital after birth and on how you can give them your preferences beforehand. We felt empowered with this knowledge!

In the session we had, she showed us pictures to explain the birth process, showed us techniques on how to deal with the pain, we talked about our birth plan and Aria answered ALL of our questions! She was so patient with us, since we asked so many questions and she took so much of her time for us.
She is so knowledgeable and such a beautiful spirit, don’t look further, she is your woman!

I took Aria’s prenatal yoga class from 18 weeks – 39 weeks (when I gave birth), and it was invigorating and strengthening on the one hand, and on the other hand calming and refreshing. Aria’s class helped prepare my mind and body for birth as much as my Bradley class and OB/GYN did.

Aria made sure to check in with each of us at the beginning of each class. These check-ins helped us work through the individual aches and pains of pregnancy, and helped to foster close friendships with the other moms-to-be in the class (our babies are around 7-8 months old now, and we still get together once a week!). At the same time, Aria’s class had a focused direction for the group – each class focusing on a different aspect of the body – and gently pushed us to prepare and maintain our bodies at a high level. Her class was a great balance of prenatal work and yoga – even months after my baby was born, I feel like I learned equally as much about my yoga practice at her prenatal class as I did about preparing my body for childbirth and postnatal recovery.
Aria’s class became the rock in the middle of my week, as I made the tumultuous transition into parenthood. I couldn’t recommend it more!

I’ve participated Aria’s pre/postnatal class since I was 6.5 months pregnant. Unlike many other instructors, Aria is able to create a yoga workout that makes me feel like I’m improving my physical fitness as much as my spirit and overall sense of balance without ever jeopardizing the health of my baby – while he was in the womb and now that he’s born. I love that I always sweat and end the class feeling refreshed and energized. Aria creates an experience that is the epitome of the mind-body connection.

I am so glad I found Aria for my pre/post natal yoga practice. She is perfect. She really helped me to prepare both physically (great work out!)and emotionally (great meditation!) for the birth of my baby boy. Aria teaches yoga with integrity, deep spirituality and lots of helpful direction. She is also a wonderful and inspiring person

I went to Aria’s pregnancy yoga classes whilst in LA over the summer, her classes are fantastic! I wish I could still go 🙂 Highly recommend – she is a warm & wonderful teacher! Thank you Aria and if you’re ever in London please get in touch. Nadya x

I am so grateful that Aria brought her pre/post natal class to Studio Surya Yoga. I am pregnant with my second and am also a yoga instructor and Aria’s class is the best I have been to in the LA area. If you are interested in truly getting to know your body and fine tuning your body instrument her class is truly magical. She gets you to do the work that your body needs – her class strengthens and aligns your posture, which helps us all to live life with more clarity and strength and of course prepares you for birth and recovery. Aria is warm and compassionate and truly wonderful

Am loving Aria’s class at Yogaposer every Sat for prenatal/postnatal.  She is fantastic and so knowledgeable and I look forward to going.  She is great at explaining poses, helping you adjust and modify if needed, really calming and supportive instructor. And every class is slightly different so never gets dull. I highly recommend checking out her classes.

My partner and I had Aria come to our home for Birth Prep, and it was the best money we have ever spent! Her energy, teaching technique and advice was invaluable. During our 4 hour session, she prepared us with everything we needed for the birth in an open-minded and holistic manner. She then checked in over the phone once a week with me leading up to the birth, which I wasn’t expecting. I felt completely comfortable talking to her about everything. Cannot recommend her enough!

Aria came to our house for a one-on-one birthing class and it was amazing! She was extremely knowledgeable and very well organized. My wife and I had already taken a birthing class at the hospital before meeting with Aria and she was actually able to give us some techniques that they didn’t cover in our previous birthing class that ended up being really helpful during our actual labor! 

I can’t recommend her enough. Having the knowledge that she provided really helped my wife and I feel completely prepared for every possible scenario and made us both feel comfortable and confident during the delivery. Thank you so much Aria!

If you are considering using a doula for your birth, which I highly recommend, you can only go right with Aria. Aria was our doula for the birth of our second son. I knew I wanted a doula after having an amazing experience with one in Washington State for the birth of our first son.

Having a doula helps so much with the birth experience and in making sure you have the birth you want. I knew what I wanted was someone to be the calm and strong touchstone in the birth room. Someone who looked out for us and also kept us as calm as possible. Someone who is easy to be around. Someone who can gently guide my husband in the best way to support me. Someone who “gets it.” And someone who can provide tools towards easing through the prenatal and birth process.

Aria was definitely that person for us! She met with us several times prior to the birth, putting us at ease and really hearing my concerns. She is such a wonderful listener and communicator. You just feel like you have this amazing presence on your side with Aria. I knew going into the birth that she would bring her calming and empowering energy. And she did. We had a long process leading up to the actual birth and she was emotionally there for us.

When it came time to be at the hospital for the actual active labor, she was there with her calm and warm presence. I could relax and breathe. She had my back. I ended up opting for an epidural because my labor had been starting and stopping for three days and I was just plum depleted. She understood. I knew that she had faith I could deliver without the epidural, but when I was adamant about having it, she supported me and didn’t judge.

She connected me with a postpartum doula to turn my placenta into pills… she even went the extra mile and brought my placenta from the hospital to this postpartum doula. Above and beyond! It was because of her sharing about her experience with the placenta pills that I was convinced to give it a try. And I’m so glad I did because this time around, I was far more balanced emotionally during my postpartum recovery period. I didn’t have the extreme mood swings that I experienced after my first birth. I credit the placenta pills. Thanks for that, Aria!

Aria also helped me in our postpartum meeting by giving me yoga poses to do to help with my pubic symphysis dysfunction (be glad you don’t know what that is.) Those poses really helped and as always, her emotional support and listening went a long way with me. I am the type of person that really needs that experience of being understood and Aria totally provides that.

I wholeheartedly recommend Aria as a birth doula. She is a wonderful resource and more importantly, brings the perfect energy into the birth room.

Aria is the perfect doula. Her gentle suggestions, constant support, and uncanny ability to say exactly what I needed to hear exactly when I needed to hear it allowed me to have my ideal birth experience.

My husband and I are highly analytical people. When we found out we were expecting, we immediately began researching child birth and quickly discovered the benefits of a birth doula (see ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/… for a peer-reviewed medical journal article that proves the benefits of a doula, concluding “Continuous support during labour has clinically meaningful benefits for women and infants and no known harm. All women should have support throughout labour and birth.”) The next question was whom to hire.

Aria was the first doula we interviewed, and we knew right away that she was the one for us. We still went on to interview four other women, but there was no doubt that Aria was our top choice. Her warmth and compassion fill the room, and her smile genuinely put me at ease. What stood out most to us is that she is completely nonjudgmental about your birth preferences and spends almost all of the time at each visit *listening to you*. Her ability to get to know a person over the course of a few conversations is remarkable. Leading up to our birth, I felt far more confident with Aria by our side.

Of course, all of this is academic. The real test was the birth, and Aria aced it.

I opted for a natural birth (no medications at all, not even an IV) in a hospital. Aria acted as a buffer between myself and the hospital staff so that the experience felt more like a home birth than a hospital birth. Aria talked me through my false labor, supporting and encouraging me, so that I kept my patience though my little one was a week late. When the real contractions began at 8pm, she kept in constant contact, eventually coming to our home just after midnight to help us determine if this was the real thing. I gave birth to our little girl at 7:52am, and Aria was by my side with energy and support the entire time! She never once showed fatigue or an eagerness to leave, even after our daughter was born. The real highlight, though, was how she managed to guide me through my ideal birth experience.

Around 6am, my contractions finally become intense enough that I didn’t think I could handle them. I was completely drained of strength. Aria kept me hydrated with water and juice, offering it to me between each contraction lest I become dehydrated and need an IV. Given my exhaustion and the rising intensity of the contractions, my little one’s heart rate dropped dangerously low and the hospital staff panicked. When I said that I didn’t think I could go on, Aria whispered the exact words I needed to hear at the time. She suggested I reposition to kneeling and guided me to breathe with the contraction instead of fighting against it. The pain lessened, my little one’s heart rate stabilized, and my dilation completed. When the urge to push came, the hospital staff were shouting instructions at me but I was able to tune them out completely thanks to Aria. With her direction, my husband filled my line of sight and the only voice I heard was Aria’s gentle suggestions to listen to my body and trust myself. I did, and when the urge to push came, I pushed, and when it went away, I backed off, much to the annoyance of the hospital staff shouting for me to push the whole time. The result was a perfectly healthy baby girl and no complications whatsoever for me, not even a single stitch. Later I learned that I came close to needing an emergency c-section. Thanks to Aria, that wasn’t necessary and I succeeded in having my ideal birth experience.

Aria is one of the most compassionate people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Her ability to listen to and understand her clients is truly exceptional. Aria wasn’t just the perfect doula for us; I honestly believe she is the perfect doula for any mother to be.

“I started taking Aria’s yoga classes when I was in my second trimester.  She has a calming spirit and I knew she would be an amazing person to be there during labor.   I was right!  My birth did not go as planned (whose does!?).  I had imagined a beautiful home birth where our son would be born in water and there would be candles and beautiful music.  Ha – I was wrong on all fronts!  We ended up at the hospital.  Aria stayed with me for the very long labor.  Not only was she there for me, but also for my husband who welcomed a break every now and then.  Aria has a calm, confident, gentle spirit that exudes peacefulness – exactly what I needed in labor!

Aria’s calming way of being was exactly the type of energy I needed when my labor became most difficult. Aria was not only a great support for me but also for my husband, supporting him in supporting me. We happily welcomed our little boy, Jackson, into the world on 11/8/12 and we are so grateful we had Aria’s support throughout the birthing process. We highly recommend Aria’s doula services

We were lucky enough to have Aria as our Doula for the birth of our daughter. We were attempting a VBAC delivery and she was such an integral part in making it a success. She was such a reassuring presence during the delivery and the weeks leading up to it. She made me feel confident and empowered in my decisions to have a drug-free vaginal delivery, even when my doctors doubted my ability. She was fantastic! She also was a great pre-natal yoga instructor (where we met). Her classes were challenging and helped me prepare for birth.

I feel so blessed for having met Aria at prenatal Yoga. She gave me all the tools and self-confidence to prepare myself physically and mentally for the birth I had envisioned. Not only was I physically challenged in class, but I have also never felt more connected to my unborn baby. It was true joy being part of that class and I still miss it. Looking forward to seeing you for Baby Number Two.

Jessica M.

I took prenatal yoga with Aria for both of my pregnancies and now as my private yoga instructor. Can’t get enough of her teaching and her light. She is not only knowledgeable about pregnancy, birth, yoga, meditation…, but she is also a very wise person who gives very thoughtful suggestions and genuinely cares about people around her.

I was very lucky to have her in my life during my pregnancies and at the birth of my son as my doula. It felt like I had a very gentle guide through the process.

Sylvie H.. via YELP