APRIL OQUENDA
(SHE / HER)

Vinyasa, Yin, Prenatal

April has been practicing and studying yoga since 2009. She teaches vinyasa, yin, and prenatal yoga and is registered as an E-RYT 200 and RYT 500 through Yoga Alliance. April completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training with Mosaic and her 300-hour with the Soul of Yoga. She also studies metaphysics at the Spiritual Arts Institute. Though her primary study in yoga began with the physical aspects of asana, the spiritual side of the practice is what really drew her in and inspired her passion for working to bring balance to the yin and yang energies. April holds a PhD in English, and often her classes infuse aspects of the yogic tradition with poetry and philosophy. As an instructor, she focuses on inspiration and emphasizes yoga as a practice—something we constantly work to cultivate and grow. She co-owns PRANA Yoga + Wellbeing and is the lead instructor of the Advanced Studies Program. She also has led yoga retreats in Arizona, Portugal, Italy, Greece and across California. Professionally, April teaches in the departments of English and Business at CSU Stanislaus and serves as Clerk of the Board of Education for Hayward Unified School District.

JOIN APRIL ON RETREAT …

April has led retreats in Italy, Portugal, Arizona, Northern California and is planning for Greece in 2025.

View upcoming retreats

  • I do! I love to play music that brings the practitioner into a deeper state of attention (so beautiful, usually lyric-less, music that traces the rhythm of an intentional breath).

  • My classes are heated to 74 degrees to help build just enough heat to inspire tapas (willpower).

  • Yoga brought me to a greater awareness of my body and the connection between the mind and body. I tend to be more comfortable in intellectual pursuits, and so learning to pay attention to my body was (and still is!) a much harder practice. Meditation anchors me into a more intentional way of being, a more intentional way of living my life.

  • That I get to be in the space where yoga works its magic. It's pure joy to behold others learning to craft their life with intention and purpose.