MEET MARISA TORIGGINO

For Cove Resident Marisa Toriggino, online yoga isn’t much of a stretch

Marisa Toriggino has been teaching yoga at The Cove at Tiburon since Spring 2019 and has been an instructor since 1995. She is the co-founder of the popular yoga school, Yoga Garden of San Francisco.

Flexibility seems to be a key in yoga and in the yoga business, as Marisa started to think about how she could teach remotely prior to COVID-19.

“I had already started to set up a space in my home, making videos and short instructional clips for my Instagram and Facebook accounts. It was an easy step from there to move to Zoom livestream offering”

Thankfully, yoga doesn’t require a room full of resistance machines and weights. “You can do the practice without anything, really,” Marisa says, though some yoga props are helpful to maintain the correct shape for some poses. “This allows for maximum benefits to the body and the mind.” For her students, this can be as simple as beach towels to sit on, as they are similar to yoga blankets. They can also be folded up to serve as a Zafu pillow. 

For some, the idea of online yoga took a bit of getting used to, but Marisa says her students really enjoy their online time, seeing the pets and kids of classmates wander through a Zoom session helps people feel connected to one another. Along with yoga instruction, Marisa occasionally offers a healthy recipe or lifestyle tip.

 “I think it will begin to feel more normal and people will begin to understand more deeply how to practice self-care,” she says. “It will also allow them to stay connected when they begin traveling again, as they can keep up with their yoga wherever they are.”

Cove residents are grateful for their continued learning of yoga and another way to stay connected.

Visit the Community Care activities page for more information on online and outdoor distanced classes with Marisa.