My first yoga teacher, Jose Santos, encouraged me to share my dedication and love of yoga. Since 1996 I have been teaching group classes and private lessons in Taos, New Mexico, USA and leading workshops in Central and South America. It is my intention to present the practice in a peaceful and non-judgmental way that helps one tap into their true essence. When we deepen our relationship to ourselves, we deepen our relationship to all living beings and our interconnection to the world we live in. Yoga is transformative, which can be uncomfortable, but ultimately, yoga makes us feel good. When we feel good it is easy to treat others with kindness and to be of service in the world.
My further studies led to Ashtanga yoga, which provided a strong foundation in the devotion and discipline the yogic path requires. My two trips to India in 2000 and 2004, where I studied yoga asana and philosophy with Ashtanga’s founder, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sanskrit with Dr. M.A. Jayashree, instilled in me a deep respect for the culture and tradition from which yoga comes.
Since 1999, Annie Pace, of Crestone, CO, one of Jois’s senior students, who spends a quarter of each year, for the past three decades, in India, has provided much guidance and inspiration, bridging the gap between traditional and westernized yoga.
In 1998 I began my tutelage under Tias Little, of Prajna Yoga in Santa Fe, NM. Tias has a strong background in Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga, in-depth anatomy training, is a master in Eastern philosophy, and has a keen understanding of yoga’s subtle and energetic qualities. Over the years, I have become a Prajna Yoga teacher and continue my studies with Tias and Surya Little.
To manage my own asymmetries and help others, I became certified to teach Yoga for Scoliosis in 2007 with Elise B. Miller, of Palo Alto, CA, a senior student of B. K. S. Iyengar. I have also completed Elise’s advanced training and assisted her in six Yoga for Scoliosis teacher trainings at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco, CA.
With deep gratitude and love for all of my teachers, and the teachers who have come before them, I am honored to facilitate your practice, whatever your stage in life, yoga experience, or physical condition may be. In my classes I offer the student a safe place to heal, grow, explore, and most importantly, find contentment with exactly who we are right here and now. Self-inquiry and compassion are woven into each session.
The state of open illumination (yoga) is preceded by faith, strength, mindfulness, absorption and deep insight.
Yoga Sutras 1.20
What others are saying about Sonya:
She’s a true teacher and healer, firm, polite, serious, and very human, not without a sense of humor. Her knowledge of the body’s anatomy and muscles, organs, and their relationships to breath and the whole organism is based on years of practice and study.
– Bill W.
Practicing with Sonya has changed my life over the past 11 years and provided a core base of stability and focus and grounding as things change and evolve all around me. I heartily recommend yoga with Sonya.
– Kevin R.
Sonya Luz is a knowledgeable, inspired and caring teacher who has helped me greatly with my chronic back and neck issues. I have been practicing with Sonya for two years, in group classes and private lessons. I am 59 years old and suffer from idiopathic scoliosis and a herniated disk in my neck. Sonya has helped me to not only work within my limitations but also, where possible, to grow beyond them without fear. She brings to her teaching a keen understanding of anatomy and physiology as well as deep insights into meditation and spirituality. Practicing with Sonya has helped me to become physically stronger, emotionally calmer and more focused.
– Teresa E.
Sonya has always been supportive of me as a student and budding teacher. Classes and instruction are accessible and she is always patient and encouraging. Her understanding of the human body is deep and she clearly understands what is happening in asana practice. Classes are safe and I trust her completely.
– Liz F.
I have been practicing yoga for over 10 years and have had many teachers. Sonya is one of the best. She is highly experienced and her knowledge of yoga and the body is deep. I came to her class with a wrist injury and she was able to help me modify my practice safely.
– Allison C.
I love Sonya’s classes. An indispensable part of my week. So grounded, wise and deep are her sequences. Four Seasons yoga is unlike anything else I have come across in my 15 years of practicing.
– Alyssa N.
Sonya Luz Hinton Costanza holds an undergraduate degree in Cultural Ecology from UNM, is step-mother to two radiant daughters and lives in Taos, NM with her husband David Costanza. To compliment her yogic studies of healing mind, body and spirit, she is certified to teach meditation through the Sage Institute For Creativity, Consciousness and Environment; has completed a one-year apprenticeship with Herbalist Lucy McCall; a sixteen-week course in Ayurveda with Patrick Shaw; and three courses in cadaver dissection at the Institute for Anatomical Research; cranial-sacral therapy, muscle energy therapy, and Thai massage.