There’s a lot to be said about the healing benefits of a consistent yoga practice. A 2012 National Health Survey found that 86 percent of people who practiced yoga found that it reduced stress levels, while 59 percent said it improved their sleep, and 39 percent claimed it made it easier for them to cope with specific health problems. 

But if less stress, better sleep, and improved wellness aren’t enough reasons for you to break out your yoga mat, then C YOGA owner Colin Wolpert has one more: empowerment.

Wolpert — a former high-tech business entrepreneur turned master yoga teacher with over 10,000 hours under his belt — said that his special technique focuses less on perfecting poses and more on helping students find their inner power. It was something he had to learn himself when he was diagnosed with a spinal nerve tumor that left him with almost no feeling in his legs and only a constant pain in his back. His only option was to undergo a massive spinal surgery, and even with that, total relief was not guaranteed. 

After being active in other sports (including yoga) for many years, Wolpert knew he had to try something. So despite all the pain he was feeling, he committed to getting on his mat and continuing his daily yoga practice. 

Miraculously, the tumor began to shrink, until one day it was gone.

“Day after day I meditated and did the work,” an excerpt from his book, “Your Feet Face Forward” reads. “A few days before I was scheduled for surgery I went for another MRI scan, this time to establish a  baseline from which the neurosurgeon could work. Imagine my surprise in discovering that the tumor was a smidgen smaller since the prior scan a few weeks before.”

The inner strength he found through yoga and meditation — and the incredible impact it had on his own life — led him to plant some roots and start a yoga studio in the La Jolla community. C YOGA opened up in January 2018 at 3232 Governor Drive with the goal to help people empower themselves as well as to cultivate teachers. Wolpert said many students have turned into teachers through their workshops, and at least five returned to teach at C YOGA.

“To find their inner strength, they have to move into spaces on their mat, which equates to spaces in their life, without fear,” he said. And when people do that, he claims the results are transformative.

“I’ve watched people who needed to have a hip replaced not have to need that surgery anymore. And on an emotional and spiritual level, I’ve watched people who were shy and scared turn into yoga teachers who stand at the front of the room and command space.”