Leah Gillman
Leah Gillman discovered a love for movement and the potential of the human body while executing highly inspired free-form investigations as a child.
Her formal training began at age eleven, when she launched her studies in modern dance and choreography. She graduated from high school from N.C. School of the Arts and received her BFA in Modern Dance with a Concentration in Choreography from SUNY Purchase.
After college, Leah lived in New York City where she directed her dance company, The Gillman Troop, while working days as a bike messenger.
Leah first began taking yoga classes in 1994. In 1996 she turned her energies entirely to competitive cycling and her yoga practice.
Yoga
She began teaching Flow Yoga classes when she moved to the Bay Area in 1999, was certified at It’s Yoga in 2000, then completed a teacher training with David Swenson focusing on hands-on adjustments. Leah has taught yoga classes at various yoga studios, fitness centers, at an elementary school, out of her home-studio, and in work place settings. She has been certifying yoga instructors through the Flow Yoga Teacher Training, Level I program since 2008 and added the Level II program in 2011. She opened the original, one-room Barefoot Movement studio in January, 2010 and remodeled in 2013 to add a second studio and some elbow room. Leah began training yoga with Mark Horner in 2010.
Massage
In 2000 Leah met Edward Spencer, who became, and still remains, her primary mentor for bodywork and beyond. In 2001 Leah completed her first program at the Acupressure Institute and has been seeing massage clients privately ever since. Go to Schedule a Session with Leah if you are interested in booking a session with her. In 2005, she was certified to teach Ashiatsu by Edward Spencer and teaches that form at the Acupressure Institute. Throughout her years of practice, Leah developed her own style of massage, a variation of Ashiatsu called, Barefoot Bodywork and teaches that form at the Acupressure Institute and Barefoot Movement on a regular basis as well.
Martial Arts
In 2008 Leah began training White Crane Silat, a Chinese-Indonesian martial art form. It satisfied some of the aspects of dance that she missed- movement that travels through space, dynamic movement, movement with character and partner work. She now incorporates some White Crane Silat exercises in her yoga classes to help prepare students for asana, as well as daily life.
At Home
Leah lives with her delightful daughters, Naomi and Olivia, in Berkeley, CA.