About Nicole Cronin…
Nicole Cronin is the co-owner of a light-filled boutique yoga studio in San Francisco~ The Pad Studios SF, a 500 Hr Yoga Certified yoga teacher, yoga educator, mentor to teachers, devoted student of yoga and Mother based in San Francisco, CA committed to compassionately helping students connect with and uphold the highest version of themselves.
Her teachers include Larry Schultz, Janet Stone, Jason Crandell, Wendy Palmer, Kate Holcombe and many other masterful teachers across a handful of body, mind & spirit practices & lineages.
Known for her soulful-intuitive flows, depth of knowledge, and devotion to community, Nicole leads with heart, and helps students connect with and embody their highest wisdom on and off the mat.
The daughter of a practitioner of Chinese medicine father and earth loving mother, Nicole grew up in the wild beauty of Santa Cruz, CA. Here, all things body, mind, heart, spirit and purpose were commonplace at the dinner table, and nature served as the ultimate healer, and source of inspiration.
Nicole helps students connect to, and work with their life experiences, a path she’s walked herself. In 2012 she was initiated into a deep healing journey, after being in a serious car accident where she lost her beloved finance and soulmate, and broke her back. The same year Nicole received her 1st 200 hour yoga teacher training certificate, and completed a 7-month embodied leadership training that deepened her commitment to teaching. Nicole’s mission is to be a reminder of just how precious the gift of this life is.
In addition to being the Mom and mentor to a beautiful young woman, Nicole is a teacher of teachers, and guide to many. She creates nourishing spaces that help students find presence in their body, and connect to their highest wisdom, creativity, and authenticity. She serves as a powerful example of how one can integrate their own ‘knowing’ to serve their highest path.
Nicole is often described as wise, compassionate, intuitive, insightful, nurturing, embodied, present, accepting, and a connector.
You can experience Nicole’s teachings at her studio, The Pad, in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow District, or on retreats she hosts around the globe. She is also available and passionate about connecting with new audiences for facilitated yoga & somatic experiences.
From Nicole…
I grew up in an active household in Santa Cruz, playing year-round sports and looking to physical activity to calm my busy mind. As a young adult, I frequented the gym, ran for miles and took every fitness class you can imagine (you can even find me in some old Tae Bo kick-boxing videos).
It was in 2007, when I first fell in love with the practice of yoga. I began with a very regular practice of yoga at a studio called It’s Yoga in San Francisco, founded by a long time student of the founder of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Pattabhi Jois.
At the time, I was operating a busy, night-life oriented restaurant/bar in San Francisco. Yoga was the one part of my life that brought peace and clarity to my high-energy lifestyle. After a couple years of a devoted Ashtanga Vinyasa practice, I fell in love with the freedom of dynamic movement experienced in a well-sequenced Vinyasa Flow. I grew hungry to learn as much as I could about the practice of yoga- attending workshops, retreats, reading blogs and books.
Yoga soon became far more than a physical activity– it was a new, fully integrated way of living and being. For me, yogic philosophy had a way of dynamically approaching all of my greatest questions, challenges & burdens.
In 2012, I was in a serious car accident where I lost my beloved fiance & soulmate and broke my back. I found myself in a wheelchair- with limited options to distract myself. I chose to deeply focus on my healing & many topics related to eastern philosophy, death, dying & rebirth.
During this healing process, I realized that we are so much more than our bodies or our minds. I began to see that we are souls, here in these bodies, on a journey to find our TRUTH (dharma), our purpose; our compassionate kind heart, to LOVE and to surrender. More than anything else, this is what yoga has taught me: to ACCEPT and find peace in what is and to see this lifetime as an opportunity to witness beauty, learn and grow.
While I believe we're all here to become the most masterful and skillful versions of ourselves, I also practice less attachment to the "fruits of our labor"- threading in loving kindness and fierce compassion, along the way.
After the accident, something clicked inside of me- I realized I had been refining a set of tools that would greatly support me at this time in my life. I became so grateful to have a breathwork practice, and a physical practice that deepened my capacity to embody presence (and re-build some core strength to support my back injury and a future C-Section). It was exactly nine months after the accident and the deep loss I experienced that I headed to “The Present Moment Retreat” in Troncones Beach, Mexico and received my 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certificate.
There are many things that contribute to my style of teaching- first, a deep respect for the historical roots of yoga, and an intention to honor proper physical alignment in the postures. In addition, a background of athletics and dance, an appreciation for sound and music, and a precise awareness of the subtle body and how it reacts to both external and internal stressors, gathered from my study and practice of both the Alexander Technique and Somatics & Leadership Embodiment (during a life-changing Leadership program I completed in 2013 called The Art of Leadership Mastery at The Institute of Embodied Wisdom in Ojai, Ca).
This new knowledge fundamentally shifted my teaching, and yoga practice. It gave me the courage and practices to call on my wisdom in real time, in the present moment, in a way I hadn’t experienced previously. It’s all about centering, because when we’re centered and present, we can call on our bodies, highest level of wisdom, creativity, presence and authenticity.
My experience is that practicing yoga is an opportunity to use the physical body and the breath to reintegrate and to remember our true nature. The more I practice, the more inspired I am to share the gift of yoga, in all its many expressions.
The most fruitful gifts, and learnings of yoga are off the mat. I find the biggest places my yoga shows up are in my role as a Mom (in many forms), and in my partnership. When we can bring what we learn from our yoga practice to our life, we open worlds of possibility.
My offering brings the tough, and deep love of a mom, learnings from my own journey, and a deep devotion to higher study.
I look forward to sharing the practice with you soon!
Warmly ,
Nicole Cronin