top of page
selfie wild sage (1).jpeg

My Story

My name is Deneene Bell (she/her). I am a freelance writer-editor, certified yoga teacher, and Reiki practitioner.

I live and practice in Sonoma County, CA,

on unceded Pomo Land. 

 

I facilitate yoga classes, mediation, healing arts workshops, and women’s circles based on belief in the transformative, healing, and empowering nature of embodied expression in all forms: writing, art, breath, movement, ritual, and meditation. I write, practice, teach, volunteer, and facilitate to awaken, inspire, and co-create personal and communal  (rev)elation + (r)evolution.

 

My background is in education—teaching  literacy skills and composition. Over the last 25 years, I have worked with students of all ages, levels, backgrounds, and abilities.

 

My longtime yoga practice, cultivated in the crucible of grad school and a sweaty Berkeley studio 20 years ago,

yielded into a daily devotion that

naturally evolved into teaching. 

 

I was trained and certified by Sienna Smith in Shri Yoga, a synthesis of Hatha traditions rooted in the eight limbs and based on principles of Anusara (consciousness) 

and Viniyoga (adaptation). 

[Krishnamacharya-Desikachar Lineage] 

 

I have also received teachings from

Sally Kempton, Michelle C. Johnson,

Dianne Bondy, Amber Karnes, 

Anusha Wijeyakumar, Reggie Hubbard,  Shiva Rea,  Seane Corn, Hala Khouri, Suzanne Sterling, Nikki Myers, Sadie Nardini, Stephanie Snyder, Amy Ippoliti, Christina Sell, Chinnamasta Stiles,

Mirka Kraftsow.

Why Wild Sage?

WILD

adjective | untamed; 

living + growing in a natural environment

noun | a natural or uncultivated state

 

SAGE

adjective | wise through

reflection + experience

 noun | a wise person; healing herb

 

In addition to the obvious connotations

of badassery and wisdom, Wild Sage

is a combination of my sons' names: WILDER + SAGE.

I dedicate my practice to them, and thank them for being my best teachers.

mudra selfie.JPG

Philosophy

My studentship and teaching is rooted in 

deep dedication and respect for 

yoga's roots and its 8 limbs.

 

I operate from an ever-growing understanding that yoga is a living, mutable practice, at once physical, soulful, and unique to each individual. 

 

Whatever the reason for coming to the mat, yoga is a great gift of self-wisdom available to every body and every being.

 

Through breath, movement, and dedication, yoga works to calm the mind, engage the body, and cultivate an awareness which helps us to accomplish great feats of humanness: 

 

CONNECTION, PEACE, 

STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, 

HEALING, BALANCE, 

FOCUS, VIBRANCY. 

 

Yoga is not only good exercise and personal medicine, it is an expression of how we each live our lives—providing us with challenges, choices, insights, and rewards both on and off the mat. 

bottom of page