Bonnie Szumski has been a practitioner of Iyengar yoga for over twenty five years.  A student for a much longer time then she has been a teacher, Bonnie received her level 1 certificate in 2016, level 2 in 2022 and Level 3 certificate in 2025.  She has also been certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) since 2016.

Bonnie was drawn to Iyengar yoga from the first time she experienced it with Carolyn Belko at San Diego’s Plunge recreation center in 2002.  Many people speak of the precision of Iyengar yoga, and Bonnie—a former ballet and jazz dancer—found this aspect immediately appealing. But she also found the deep work of using asana to access the mind to bring steadiness and inwardness to be profoundly life changing.

Bonnie has studied with many teachers in the Iyengar method, but has weekly classes with Carolyn Belko and Gloria Goldberg as well as taking classes directly from RIMYI with Abhijata Iyengar and Raya.

Bonnie has a keen interest in Iyengar yoga therapeutics and has studied with Lois Steinberg, Stephanie Quirk, Manouso Manos. She continues her therapeutic study under Gloria Goldberg and Carolyn Belko.   Bonnie has volunteered in Iyengar therapeutics class with Carolyn Belko since 2014.  She found working with students one on one with therapeutic issues helped hone her teaching and observation skills.

Bonnie credits her yoga practice with allowing her to teach. Although she copes with many injuries gained from her years in competitive and amateur sports, these injuries can be managed through her yoga practice and this practice has helped her help students who also have injuries. In addition to rehabbing injuries, Bonnie’s continued practice helps her think of ways to access poses and actions in the poses to keep her classes interesting and educational—and, she hopes, fun.

Bonnie’s personal hobbies also involve sports that require keen focus and a love of the outdoors. Mountain biking requires balance, quick reaction time, and the ability to shift gears (literally and physically). Surfing both requires a meditative contemplation of wave action and quick response time to catch a wave. Pickleball requires hand/eye coordination and balance. All require an understanding of mind/body mechanics that yoga has enhanced. Yoga also helps with body recovery, the maintenance of flexibility, and knowledge of how to rehab injuries.

She also has a nerdy side. She studies philosophy, jyotish (the art of understanding the Indian horoscope), and sacred chant with Gitte Beschgaard. Continued study of philosophy is essential to understanding yoga in everyday life. She finds sacred chant is another form of meditation that uses pranayama to increase stamina of breath. The practice of yoga in all its aspects has become a lifestyle that she wants to share with her students.