Susan Bentley

Yoga Therapist/Yoga Instructor/Owner Alma Sana Yoga

Susan Bentley became a certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists in 2017. She has been an E-500 registered yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance since 2008. She holds specialized certifications in trauma-informed yoga, yoga for athletes, yoga for active aging, brain health, and women's health, among others.

Susan has had a lifelong love of athletics and physical activity. A competitive springboard diver as a child, dancer and gymnast as an adolescent, then as an adult, athletics turned to running, weightlifting, cycling, and martial arts (3rd Degree Blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do). All of these, while keeping her healthy and fit, also caused numerous injuries. This is what lead her to yoga.

Susan walked into her first yoga class over 25 years ago and loved the breath and flow. After a few months, she knew it was making a difference in balancing physical fitness, healing old injuries, and could see how this would keep her healthier as she aged.

She began teaching yoga in a gym in 2006. Her clientele has been mostly individuals that never would have set foot in a gym or studio without prodding from a medical doctor or concerned family member. Her average class includes an 85-year-old with arthritis, someone who has just had a joint replacement, a mom-to-be, someone suffering from anxiety or depression, and a competitive athlete. Susan learned to scale her classes quickly but still provide a challenge for everyone. She has worked hard to educate herself to serve all students.

Many people walk into her classes and say, “I (was just diagnosed with cancer, had a stroke six months ago, have fibromyalgia, etc.) and my health care professional said I should start doing yoga.” While gym/studio/online yoga is wonderful, it rarely addresses an individual’s specific needs. Susan began to study yoga therapy so she could help these individuals. Over 1,000 hours and several years of study, Alma Sana Yoga was born.

In her own life, yogic techniques and practices have helped Susan move through grief and navigate life when her husband passed away suddenly in 2010.