Roberta Dell’Anno E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga for Scoliosis Trainer
Owner EssentialYoga Studio.
Roberta has been practicing yoga since 1988 and teaching yoga since 2004. She has studied extensively under master yoga teachers Patricia Walden, Manouso Manos, Zoë Stewart, Sri Arun H.S., Elise Browning Miller, and others. She completed a two year Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training program with Sr. Iyengar Teacher, Peentz Dubble in June 2017. She continues to attend classes with Elise Browning Miller, Manouso Manos, Patricia Walden, and Sri Arun H.S. She studies weekly with Sr. Iyengar Teacher, Manju Vachher.
Roberta has studied yoga at the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Memorial Institute in Pune, India during June 2011, February 2014 and attended Abhijata’s 2-week intensive in Pune, India, December 2016. She completed training and certification with Elise Browning Miller as a ‘Yoga for Scoliosis’ instructor in 2014, completed a 500 hour Hatha Yoga Certification program with AURA Wellness Center and is registered with Yoga Alliance as a E-RYT 500. She has been a Certified Meditation Teacher since June 2007 and an Usui Reiki Practitioner since 1989.
Roberta conducts local and out of town workshops specializing in prop use. She uses props to help students and teachers transform their backbends, twists, standing and seated postures, as well as inversions like sarvangasana (shoulderstand).
She also works with individuals who have physical challenges, specifically individuals with Multiple Sclerosis, CMT, Parkinson’s Disease, scoliosis, and amputees in private, semi-private and group sessions.
Roberta’s Personal Practice Philosophy:
Health issues have changed and deepened my practice. You will see many photos of me using a variety of props. On days I don’t feel well, instead of saying, “I can’t practice today”, yoga has taught me to say, “How can I practice today?”
Essentialyogastudio's Blog 
Enjoy your India trip.
thx Rit 🙂
Hi Roberta! What a wonderful blog! Do you have an email address I can reach you through?
Hi Roberta I don’t know if you can help me. My mom has Parkinson’s ,she has had it for years now and the disease is progressing. My mom is slouching over a lot especially when the medicine wears off.She has become very frail that she feels pains often.What I’d like to know can yoga help her in her state.
Thank you for listening.
Dear Salvatore,
A committed yoga practice slows down the progression of Parkinson’s Disease. It also helps with the depression that often accompanies this disease.
I have a dear friend, Renee Le Verrier, who is a Yoga teacher living with Parkinson’s. She has a very informative website. She is the author of an ‘easy to follow’ book demonstrating yoga poses, she writes a blog about her life and challenges with Parkinson’s. http://www.limyoga.com/index.html. Renee responds to emails and I’m sure would answer additional questions you may have.
Another resource I have found helpful for my students is, “Parkinson’s Disease and The Art of Movement” by John Argue. http://www.parkinsonsexercise.com/argue_method.html It has very practical exercises to help with everyday challenges. It has a chapter on ‘voice and speech’ to help control the loss of articulation and volume of speech. This is often overlooked in books but can be devastating for people with living with Parkinson’s. They start to withdraw from conversations because they can’t be understood. These exercises are fun (even a little silly) but incredibly effective with a committed practice.
I hope this information is helpful.
Love and Light to you and your mom.
Om shanti,
Roberta
Hi Roberta, do you have DVDs for home use. I live in Washington, DC but could benefit from your expertise. If more information is needed I can email you. Thanks, Cynthia
Hello Cynthia, I don’t but I do have a YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/essentialyoga. FYI, you live very close to Unity Woods Iyengar Yoga center. John Schumacher, is one of only a few Advanced Senior Iyengar teachers in the world and he is right around the corner from you! http://www.unitywoods.com/
Hi Roberta. Are you a certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher? If so which level of certification do you hold?
Hi Tim, No. I have been studying Iyengar yoga since 1991. There are reasons why I have never gone for certification. My teachers have been, for the most part, Sr. Iyengar teachers.