I’ve practiced yoga on and off for 20 years and been fortunate to have many wonderful instructors. In my experience, Merav Ben Horin is in a league of her own. A yoga class with Merav is a treat for the mind and the body. As an instructor Merav has integrated yoga practice as a way of being and shares this with her students with humor and charm. She ever so subtly guides her students through the poses whilst unifying attention to breath, form and awareness so that at the end of the class one feels they have experienced a deeply restorative journey of depth and richness without having left the mat!
The combination of Merav's calming voice and her precise yoga instruction lead me into a meditative state while also experiencing the physical benefits of yoga. I leave her classes feeling wholly restored -- like I've had a combination of meditation, physical therapy and massage. She has an ego-less, empathic instruction style that allows her skilled teaching to flow directly from her to her students. Merav is also just a delightful human being, which also shines through in her teaching and makes her classes a joy to attend.
I went to the Catskills on my first yoga retreat with Merav in 2011, and since then have travelled with her to Spain, Guatemala, Italy and Nicaragua. Each trip has been better than the last. Merav has the unique ability to balance the needs of each individual with the needs of the group as a whole, and encourages each person to move at his/her/their own pace. Because of this, she brings together a group of warm, vibrant yoga practitioners, many of whom have become close close friends. I highly recommend you join her on the next retreat. In fact, I'll probably see you there!
I sometimes plan my weeks around Merav’s yoga classes. She has a dancer’s sense of choreography and flow coupled with a psychoanalyst’s sensitivity to the human mind and emotions. She is also deeply attuned to the nuances of the human body and self-assured in a way that allows me surrender and trust her to lead me on a safe and transformative journey. I always leave her classes feeling calmer, happier, and like my joints have been oiled.
I have been so fortunate to have attended four foreign yoga retreats with Merav Ben Horin. Each retreat (Guatemala, Spain, Italy and Nicaragua) was a unique and special experience in a beautiful locale with great people, excellent food, interesting exploration of the country and fabulous yoga classes with Merav. Merav is a master teacher who is able to make each student, no matter their level of skill or experience, feel special. Over the course of the retreat she designs the classes to the specific needs of the individual students within the group, while also challenging everyone to grow in their practice.
When I return home from one of Merav’s retreats, I feel more relaxed, renewed, and focused than at any other time in my experience. Attending Merav’s yoga retreats is a gift I give myself and that I can resoundingly recommend to anyone.
After my very first class with Merav, I was hooked and never looked again for another yoga teacher. Merav seem to have a natural gift of sensibility over many aspects of ‘teaching' yoga. From the beginning with a quote or a poem through the end with a meditation or simple namaste, she seamlessly integrates one pose into the other, and gives exactly right dosage of practice I need.
The simplicity and gentle persuasive explanation of each pose
in detail, makes me so relaxed that I engage into the ‘flow’, all along, effortlessly. It must be some maturity in guiding a variety of people in one room, as I hear many times how good they feel after the class. I always come out of the class feeling cozy, aligned and transitioned. Also her friendly and inviting attitude, makes my practice more of a socialising than a class. I love Merav’s class so much so that, I carry a recording with me when I go out of town and have to practice on my own.
Merav was one of my first yoga teachers and remains my favorite. Through her precise instructions I learned how to practice with kindness to my body while deriving the maximum benefit yoga can offer. The weekend morning classes with Merav have quickly become my religion. Thanks to her positive energy and guidance I come out rejuvenated, simultaneously at peace and energized. Her class is a magnet that turns anyone into a yoga practitioner. She equally engages our minds and hearts by starting each class with a carefully selected theme, a poem, a wisdom. Many times these helped me overcome the challenges I was facing. Thank you Merav.