San Francisco Yoga Treasure: Chad Stose
Scott Mills, Ph.D.
In a city full of yoga divas, it can be hard to find a humble, spirit-filled guide to lead you deeper into the body and the mind. Recently, I have been fortunate to find such a teacher in Chad Stose.
In a comfortable yoga studio in the Mission, Chad gathers together folks eager to experience his special style of anusara-inspired yoga. As I join the class, chatting up my neighbors as I tend to do, one of the regulars to the class tells me he comes as much for the sermons as the practice. It doesn’t take long to understand that Chad is truly one of San Francisco’s yoga treasures.
The first thing I notice about Chad is that he makes it a point to know every person in the room’s name. It’s a rare treat to feel so welcomed to a class. In this class, Chad offers a meditation of embracing the whole of who we are, just where we are – body, mind and spirit. He asks folks if they liked the bully at school? Of course, no one did. Then he asks if we are surprised when we bully our bodies and they respond with resistance? Eyes widen and we laugh a bit at ourselves knowing that many of us like to push our bodies to go deeper even when they are not ready.
The class starts in a pace that is so much slower than the usual flow classes I’m hooked on that I was convinced that this would be a breeze. Ten minutes into the class I know that’s not true. The guidance and insight that he offered in this very intentional class focused on deep awareness of the body and allowed my hill climbing San Francisco hamstrings to release more than I imagined possible.
Wanting more, I was inspired to follow him out of the city (a major feat for me) into the mountains of Guernville for a weekend retreat. In the retreat, Chad’s sense of spirit carried me through hour after hour of practice, as he encouraged us to let our practice be playful, imperfect and utterly human. My body continued to open with the help of Chad’s gentle sense of humor and his amazing attention to detail. His focus on small adjustments that create enormous change brought new life into old postures and allowed me to experience them fresh.
Chad is an amazing teacher and guide to deepening your relationship to your body and opening to spirit. His own spiritual path allows him to speak with integrity out of his experience and bring greater depths to the work. When you’re ready to make time for a great mind body experience please check out one of his classes. I’m sure you’ll find me there. You can find his complete schedule on www.chadstose.com
