Testimonials

Connecting Hearts through Yoga: Testimonials Speak

I recently participated in a Japa Health retreat and I left with a feeling of immense gratitude for the knowledge and useful techniques shared by the Japa team, and simply for the opportunity to be a part of such a powerful experience. Japa’s approach was warm, friendly, organized, practical and supportive. It gained so many valuable tools and techniques – many of which I didn't even know I needed - and am eager to apply what I learned in my day to day.

I’m not exaggerating when I say the environment Sheryl created at Red Diamond and her teaching changed my life. I am a corporate attorney and was one of the first students to join Sheryl’s yoga studio, Red Diamond, back in 2013. I came to her studio as a yoga newbie, highly self-conscious and weary of “traditional” LA hot yoga spaces, but desperately needing a more affordable option than massages to deal with chronic pain in my neck and shoulders. Red Diamond was a miracle. Every instructor at the studio, including Sheryl, distinguished themselves as they were highly educated on anatomy and its interactions with poses, and just as welcoming. Most had lived rich lives prior to becoming instructors that they brought to their practice. Sheryl created an environment with intention: yoga mat neighbors got to know each other and participated in challenges together – the studio became an active part of the Palms community. Within a few months, I no longer dealt with my shoulder pain, and through the years, confronted several extremely stressful periods of my life. Sheryl’s classes themselves are the best I’ve ever attended; they feel more like an event than a class. Her sequencing of poses is orchestrated so smoothly and you get lost in such introspection through her instruction that you don’t realize until after class that, by the way, you just got your butt kicked. And, very importantly for this former DJ, her music selection is top notch.

I work with start-ups every day and am still so impressed with the way Sheryl ran her business. Leaders like Sheryl, with the rare pairing of undeterred hustle and defined mission, are so rare, but unmistakable when you find them. They’re who change the world, even if just one community at a time. I have immense gratitude to have walked into Red Diamond six years ago and am excited to see where she brings her business acumen next. Namaste, Sheryl!

Before finding Red Diamond Yoga, I was searching for a community of like-minded individuals who were motivated to better themselves & inspire the people around them. Sheryl cultivated an atmosphere where balance, compassion and gratitude could thrive, while also growing a successful business in a difficult market, thanks to her, my search for a well-fitting community was over.

The success of Red Diamond Yoga along with some thoughtful words & guidance from Sheryl inspired me to start my own business & community of like-minded people, while also maintaining balance between business and culture. Sheryl’s accomplishments & knowledge are not only inspiring, they are also a great resource for any new business owner or start-up who look to refine their company environment while maintaining steady growth.

For the past year Sheryl has literally and figuratively strengthened me at the core. I am a 63-year-old litigation attorney with shall we say some aging issues. With competence, intelligence, drive and plain commonsense, she has guided me through private lessons over these past months where I physically and mentally feel stronger and sharper. Friends and family have commented that I look better. Wow! It is nice to see my old body improve.

I worked at Sheryl's yoga studio part-time while completing my undergraduate degree in business. During my studies, I had to complete several research projects related to entrepreneurship, marketing, management, and small business structure. Working under a role model like Sheryl during this time gave me the unique opportunity to observe best practices in all of these areas from someone who clearly exhibits a mastery over what makes a business successful. Not only did Sheryl's indelible advice and insight help me get A's on all my school projects, but she was an incredible leader to learn from and a valuable contact for me to have in my arsenal as I venture out on my own as a young entrepreneur.

Sheryl took me under her wing when I was in a troubling situation and I will be forever grateful for her support in helping me get back on my feet. She has that perfect balance of physical strength and sensitivity towards herself that translates into how she teaches. She teaches a class that challenges you but you feel you’re working intelligently and with compassion towards yourself.

Along with the fact that the community is so down to earth, teaching at Red Diamond under Sheryl’s guidance was a 100% positive experience. She is a professional! Which many yoga studio owners, god bless them, lack the professional business skills that Sheryl is able to bring. It’s beautiful how she is able to balance the practicalities, legalities, and strategy of running a business with the heart and soul of yoga.

I have had the pleasure to be both a student of Sheryl's and also one of her employees/yoga instructors at Red Diamond Yoga. As a yoga teacher I like to take classes that will help me grow both on a personal level but also as a teacher. Sheryl's classes always gave me this. I would walk out of class feeling amazing but also saying to myself, " I need to add that new variation into my class." As a student of Sheryl's I appreciated how she would lead a strong physical asana practice while nicely incorporating yoga philosophy. This really drew me to Sheryl's classes because I feel many western yoga teachers just focus on the physical practice.

As an employee of Sheryl's I was still constantly learning from her. She always had feedback for me whether it was her own or from students. It was always a joy coming into the studio because Sheryl created a fun, positive, and safe community at Red Diamond both amongst the staff and students.

I've known Sheryl for 3 years now both a personal and professional level and will confidently go to her in the next few months for business advice as I transition into my own Yoga Therapy and Wellness practice. I've seen Red Diamond grow and Sheryl's interaction with both her employees and students and have no doubt she will guide me in the right direction for a success business.

Sheryl was a key teacher in my journey as a growing yoga student and for that I am forever grateful! Now as a yoga teacher myself, I appreciate how skillfully she holds space and brings out the best in her students. Not only is she a phenomenal yoga teacher, she is a business leader and girl boss whom I look up to. She is always doing her own work to keep learning as yoga teacher and entrepreneur and I highly respect and admire that. Her work ethic, tenacity, motivation and discipline inspires me in my own business and I am so grateful to know her!

Sheryl is a truly exceptional yoga instructor and business leader. I’ve been practicing at Red Diamond Yoga for two years, and I’ve experienced tremendous progress in both my physical and mental yoga practice thanks not only to Sheryl’s powerful, intuitive guidance, but also to the skilled and comprehensive training she’s given to the other instructors at her studio. Regardless of instructor or class type, students can expect consistently high-quality classes at Red Diamond, with focus on a safe, nonjudgmental, self-loving yoga practice that is a journey in itself and not a race to achieve any particular “party trick” pose. The studio atmosphere is friendly, nurturing, encouraging, and welcoming—exactly what a yoga studio should be—a culture deliberately created by Sheryl’s visionary leadership and living example.

I discovered Red Diamond Yoga 3 years ago and have made yoga a priority in my life ever since. Sheryl's guidance on and off the mat has helped me grow emotionally, physically and even professionally. She is a role model for how to apply yoga to a modern life, whether it be balancing personal relationships with a demanding career or remembering to share the lessons of yoga - kindness, patience, gratitude, presence, peace of mind - outside the yoga studio. Sheryl has a unique gift in that she teaches her students how every aspect of yoga - whether it be a difficult pose, mastering breath work, or seeking mental clarity - can be applied to other areas and challenges in life. With Sheryl, an arm balance can be about finding life balance and a handstand can be about finding calm when when the world around you is chaotic. I especially admire her ability to become a successful entrepreneur and leader in the fast-paced and competitive city of Los Angeles while maintaining her dedication to her students and the philosophy and core principals of yoga.

I have known Sheryl Utal for 3 years, as a friend, teacher and a studio owner. Sheryl leads with confidence and has the ability to empower her students as well as co workers with grace. She is strong yet remains humble. Sheryl has a unique ability to lead, run multiple business's as well as teach yoga and grow not only her studio/business, but her students lives on a physical and personal level. Sheryl is a natural leader. I have been her friend, employee, student, and I personally name her as one of the top contributors to the success that I enjoy as a fellow yoga teacher.

I've been practicing with Sheryl at Red Diamond for close to three years and in that time I've grown to love her and the space that she's created. As a teacher, she consistently pushes you beyond the structure of the yoga poses to explore your body and the mindset that you approach your practice with. In my time practicing with her, I've not only gotten stronger but I've felt the benefits of the practice in other parts of my life: I'm more relaxed, happier and sleep better.

While she is always quick to point out that you're doing the work and she's merely guiding the practice, she is so responsive and intriguing as a teacher that she keeps you coming back which is how you learn to grow and strengthen your practice.

Similarly, the space at Red Diamond is warm, welcoming and impeccably clean. I've made long-time friends both in and out of the studio and it's made a neighborhood that could feel a bit isolated feel like a family. Sheryl and Arlene really listen to the students, changing class times to respond to seasons and adding classes that people express a desire to take.

I really can't say enough good things about this space, it's a second home to me!

I walked into Red Diamond Yoga as a novice yoga student with only two years of practice under my belt, and had a great desire to nail a handstand – because being a circus freak feels like a good time to me and frankly, I admire those who seem to have such control. Looking around the room during Sheryl’s workshop, I noticed we each had our own “ah-hah” moment, as she made handstands and inversions really accessible to all levels of her students.

Sheryl’s inversion workshop included core strengthening moves and stability work as a focus within our sequences but started out with the question of “why” – You should know what the motivator is for you and keep it in the forefront of your mind. I appreciated the story of her personal journey into handstand and you could feel her excitement and energy surrounding the practice of inverting. She also gave a realistic expectation of the process – it won’t happen overnight. It takes a daily practice to develop the necessary core and upper body strength and overall flexibility needed to hold a handstand, and she gives cues to build into the final posture.

As compared to other handstand workshops I’ve taken (some with nationally known yoga instructors and “insta-famous” yogis), Sheryl had the most comprehensive and useful handstand tips and plenty of one-on-one and partner training. We practiced multiple ways of approaching and entering the posture, safe ways to exit the posture, building strength, and the various types of handstands – and she was happy to accommodate requests.

Overall, this was such a valuable workshop and Sheryl was professional, engaging, encouraging, and very approachable. She’s not there to showcase her own skills but rather help you discover yours. Looking forward to more workshops in the future.

After taking classes at Red Diamond for about three years, I really felt that I was ready to advance to the next step. I had been inspired by many of the teachers at Red Diamond and wanted to join the ranks while deepening my own practice. I was actively looking for a teacher training that was right for me, when I found out that Sheryl was leading one at Red Diamond. I was ecstatic! I think I signed up within a week. Sheryl's creative sequencing and vast knowledge of anatomy and alignment was something I wanted a piece of!

For me, the training was as challenging as it was rewarding and fun. The amount of knowledge I now carry with me on yoga philosophy, anatomy, alignment, asana, and even Sanskrit makes me so proud of what I have accomplished. And although we were all challenged, we were also strongly supported. The journey through teacher training has its ups and downs--you really learn a lot about yourself through the process, but whenever I started to doubt myself, I had teachers and classmates there to support me and encourage me to continue. I would highly recommend the training to anyone looking to teach, or simply to deepen their practice. My favorite experience throughout the training was the teaching final at the end. The first couple weeks of training, I was so scared to teach, but once I was up there, armed with everything I had learned in the past two months, leading a group of yogis through their practice, I felt so empowered. I was ready! And now I am ready to bring the gift of yoga to others.

What inspired you to do the 200 hour Teacher Training ?
I inspired to take the training because of an article that I read stating how she learned to manage and take better care of herself and her anxiety from taking a YTT, especially the first two limbs of yoga. She recommended, "Even if you have no desire to teach, I recommend you take the journey of a YTT if only to learn about how to take care of yourself on a new level and to do the deep digging of yourself during a training." I love deep digging. I had anxiety and depression and wanted to get another good grip on it. It made sense to do it.

How did you feel during the training?
Safe. Heard. Not judged. Accepted for who I am. Understood. Grateful. So, so, so, grateful. And Excited. It was hard but it was sooooo good.

How do you feel after the training?
Like I have access to a whole new way of life, living, and how to go forward. I don't know all the answers but at least I have some kick a** tools to help me along the way and help me stay on track.

Would you recommend the training?
Highly. It will meet you exactly where you need it to. Whether that's really understanding the asanas or you want the deep spiritual digging. Yoga is not what some media paints it to be of tight pants and being flexible. It's a gift to your life no matter where you are on your journey. You'll learn a lot more than the physical postures, that's for sure.

What was your favorite part about the experience?
The community of acceptance, honesty, and non-judgmental people. My co-students and instructors were amazing. I am also deeply grateful for the learning of the proper alignment and better application of the asanas and pranayama.

Closing:
It changed my life and for that, I'm eternally grateful.

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Connecting Hearts through Yoga: Testimonials Speak

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