Testimonials: Chair Yoga Dance & Certification

One of my favorite things Sherry is your great enthusiasm! It is very contagious! And anytime I am watching you with a group of people doing the class together, my heart melts…it’s so heartwarming watching those seniors following along and moving to the beat. I absolutely love it.

I think it is really brilliant how you lay this out. It makes sense to me, even if sometimes I need to re-watch to make sure I understand, that is just how I need to learn. But this is broken down into all the necessary aspects, lyrics, song structure, movement/choreography, and each builds upon the other allowing for the repetition that is necessary for really learning the dance.

Just wanted to let you know I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this pilot Chair Yoga Dance project.

I incorporate Yoga Dance into every senior’s chair yoga classes. Once a month I offer an all yoga dance hour. I have witnessed significant increases in student numbers. I am sure this is because it introduces a physical activity to seniors that is fun, socially engaging and imaginative. Seniors love to dance and the feedback is always positive.

I can’t thank you enough for the joy and creative ideas you bring me. All the very best to you, I wish health to you and your family, and appreciation to all of the wonderful and innovative yoga teachers who contribute to Yoga Vista.

I followed along with the lyrics, noting the beats per segment. Creating movements for each section seemed logical and fun and I could visualize some alternate patterns that I might want to use with my students. I was doing the dance along with the videos and was surprised by how energetic it felt even though the movements are so simple and slow. I like the format.

I am proud that Yoga Vista Academy keeps me motivated to move, learn and dance for myself and my classes. Your shared knowledge is amazing. Thank you, Sherry, for your inspirational, innovative, healthy Yoga Chair Dance Program and the Yoga Vista Academy community. Your fun way to fitness has brightened my spirits and those in my classes.

The online material not only helped me learn it faster, but I felt more confident.

As a dance instructor of over 20 years this was fun for me and new.

My favorite part of the program is how you instruct us to dissect the song into bit size pieces. The structure underpinning the course is very good…The process you take us through will help me remember your dances and invent my own choreography.

I selected a pop/hip hop song to create a dance routine. If I hadn’t taken this course, I would never have tried a song like “Dark Horse.” No knowledge provided in this course is wasted. Actually very useful!

The course is so well thought through. I really love the methodology you used, the structure of this course, clear, step-by-step instructions. And it’s so inspiring! I believe and hope that many teachers will take this course and will spread joy and healing on all levels to many-many people!

I have so much enjoyed the course. You are an amazing teacher and why ? not just your knowledge, but more so your open and cheerfull fun personality. I never get bored watching you.
I just wanted to let you know. Thanks for the fun time.

I really love the Chair Dance, it is my favorite part of the class now!  I have a background in gymnastics and dance (Ballet, jazz, modern and tap).  I used to choreograph floor routines and local musical theater, so the Chair Dance comes very naturally to me.  I love watching my classes smile and get into the movements.  One of my students, who has MS, said to me,” You don’t know what a gift it is to people that can’t move well to be able to dance!”  Made me cry…

I’ve been fortunate to participate in her on-line pilot Yoga Dance project with teachers across the world, to collaborate on this innovative movement program. This is a well-conceived, unique and comprehensive course, with quality resources, well produced videos, that are supplemented with useful handouts. The course includes information from anatomy of aging, to song structure, from the how’s’ and whys’ of choreography to teaching safely to seniors. Sherry provides plenty of examples, complete with scenic backdrops, to communicate the information needed for yoga teachers to incorporate Chair Yoga Dance into our tool kit.

Thanks for all your beautiful chair dances & other wonderful yoga stretches which I also bring to my gentle yoga classes. You are an inspiration!

I really learned a lot about teaching yogas to seniors, the anatomy, how to make the classes more beneficial and effective for them, setting up and preparing my classes for recording, using the proper apps, equipment and devices to record my videos, & using YouTube to share my videos with others.

I love the fact you are teaching us your methodology to teach our own dances. (this is what I signed up for)

As a visual learner the presentation format of video clips of Sherry talking suited me. On the other hand the layout of the scripted format (cheat sheets) were very well set out and great support. I also appreciated Sherry’s almost immediate and personalised responses to my questions.

Yesterday, six women aged 50 – 75 (some of whom had never done yoga) joined me at a local yoga studio as models for my photo shoot. A highlight of the session was learning Chair Yoga Dance. I taught them your version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and one of my dances, (put together at the requested of an 80+ retired Army Colonel) – Rock Around the Clock.

The group had so much fun yesterday afternoon. None of them had ever tried Chair Yoga, let alone Chair Yoga Dance! I was more relaxed and joyful than I’ve ever been for any photo session. So, thank you for restoring my love of yoga and helping me find a joyful “retirement” career which is more rewarding than I could ever imagine.

I loved the Chair Yoga Dance Training program. It was so much fun and so easy to work through. The dances are a just the right amount of challenging. And, I love the variety in music. Since starting the program, I have used three dances during my gentle chair yoga classes (Que Sera Sera, Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, and The River) and my students LOVE them. Even those that don’t “feel like dancers” find them fun and easy to follow along with. Thank you so much for this training. I highly recommend it. 🙂

Hi Sherry, Thank you for the wonderful program. It is so well organized, clearly a labor of love.

I really love the course so far! I love your personality, it shines through in all the videos and you never get boring 😂.

I was encouraged by my family to embark on this wonderful adventure. I realized I would need to dedicate a lot of time and energy into this Yoga Vista Academy Program. However, Sherry Zak made it so easy and fun. She was there every step of the way (almost holding my hand). As I began the Program, I became more and more engrossed. It was so easy for me — the good music and fun dancing movements kept me engaged and motivated. In no time, I was able to choreograph my own dance. I am proud to say I was able to accomplish my goal sooner than I had anticipated. Thank you so very much Sherry for helping me achieve my dream.

I felt that I understood the theory of how you got to the finished product and felt confident I could then teach the dance. There was enough information backed up by very effective video support. It was enough to get me on the way to completing the steps myself

Seriously though, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words! I’m very happy to have found you on YouTube and absolutely love that we’re working together! Looking forward to many more dances together.

I love how you have those diagrams to make the song structures easy to understand, and how you have the whole thing broken down with the different formats of songs. The way each module was separated and built upon also made sense to me as far as the order of learning each lesson.

To me there is nothing like this that I have come across. Teachers need this kind of calm and clear format and the video visuals and reassurance! It’s at the same time detailed and comprehensive but fun!

I just had to share with you, I did What a Wonderful World all week. The first time I did it was with my Assisted Living group, and I started crying during the song! It was so moving, and they really loved it! Thank you so much for what you have created.

I plan on celebrating my completion and certification (your honest and comprehensive feedback is amazing). Really I had an absolute ball last year with this course. Learning the dances, practicing them with my students has completely changed how I approach my chair yoga classes. I always include two yoga dances, and the end of the month culminates in an entire hour of yoga dances. The majority of my students, don’t miss a week and I am finding a significant retention of my students. I know it is due in part, to including yoga dance. But watching your delivery, and learning all the factoids and other bits you add to a class, including naming the postures, has helped to develop my teaching skills. I am a very good teacher because of what I’ve learned from you.

I really needed this class. I am tone deaf. I struggle to find 8 counts ( and I teach low impact aerobics 8 times each week). I took all of your strategies to help me! Your visuals of lyrics were a new helpful approach for me.

I felt very comfortable in the academy from the first day. I could ask anything that was close to my heart and the structure of the training was great. I would do it again anytime. Who knows, maybe I’ll be doing another training in a couple of days. Thank you for everything!

Your wonderful training has helped my career progress tremendously, because with the training and experience I have the confidence to charge what I’m worth. I have become a Chair Yoga “expert” in the area, and turn down or refer so many offers to other teachers. My hourly rate has gone from about $40 to a range of $60 – 90!

An area that I have been investigating is how positivity and happiness affect health, and the relationship between health and the positivity of Chair Yoga Dance. I am confident that every teacher who uses Chair Yoga Dance witnesses students having fun, laughing and increased smiles. It has been my experience that student’s level of happiness increases during Chair Yoga Dance and my students report they feel the psychological and physical benefits.

Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, a leading researcher at the University of North Carolina in the expanding field of Positive Psychology wrote, “When people get excited about their physical health potential it is possible to thrive in life, even in the face of illness.” I believe it is empowering for yoga teachers to understand the medical evidence underpinning the potential benefits of Chair Yoga Dance. This is especially true in the field of positive psychology and aging. I incorporate more of elements of positivity, eye contact and reassuring smiles during Chair Yoga Dance sessions, my students love the classes and keep returning for more.

I am so delighted to have passed my Chair Yoga Dance programme. It was a most wonderful experience and I am so pleased I decided to do my training with you.
I learnt so much from your very comprehensive programme and feel more confident in being able to put together routines and exercises in a safe and professional way.
The whole course was fun and very enjoyable from beginning to end and although we have never met I feel as though I know you personally.
Thank you Sherry, for sharing your skills and your extensive knowledge with your students. It is so appreciated and invaluable.

I think you did a masterful job of outlining, covering, explaining and repeating the cogent points. The best thing about the Program is the attention to detail of the cadence of the songs, the TIPS to watch for when the action is changing or pausing, the way to map out the songs. My village is so excited about adding dancing to our chair class that I feel empowered to mess up and still have fun.

Greetings from Germany. I am so happy with the Training Chair Yoga Dance. You are a great Teacher and it is so much Fun.

I truly enjoyed and appreciated the flow of this program. The material was presented in a sequential and practical manner. The videos were just long enough to cover a new topic or song. After completing a module, I immediately wanted to learn the next dance. I’d describe this program as the “icing” to all your other programs.

I am a recently retired elementary school teacher who specialized in working with students with additional needs in an inclusive setting. Since starting to teach yoga in 2019 I have strived to follow the same philosophy as I did with my young students by making my classes accessible to all. Over the past year, I have completed the requirements to become certified in gentle yoga, chair yoga and chair yoga dance through Yoga Vista Academy. I found all of these programs to be comprehensive and well organized. I learned a great deal about anatomy as well as a wide variety of ways to create safe and engaging gentle and chair yoga classes. Safety considerations for seniors as well as for people with various conditions were throughly presented. The programs all provided a combination of reading, listening to presentations as well as being able to practice the concepts presented in numerous videos. I feel that working through the certification module is so beneficial for consolidating the concepts taught in the course in a practical way. I would definitely recommend the programs offered through Yoga Vista Academy for those yoga teachers who want to provide accessible and inclusive yoga classes.

I knew the moment I saw the 1 hour Chair yoga dance recital that I wanted to learn how to teach this magic. The training was in depth and easy to follow. Sherry’s videos were like learning from a friend. I have done several different online trainings from other sources. Yoga Vista and Sherry make their trainings feel very personal. I loved the quick responses from Sherry herself to emails that I sent. Also, it’s great to get the encouraging emails every time one finishes a module. Positive reinforcement is welcome always. This training definitely equipped me to not just teach CYD, but to also create my own dances which is fun and fulfilling! Thank you!

Once again I found Sherry’s Dance Program an excellent professional training program. The videos were presented with a high level of technical expertise while the actual content was creative and imaginative, detailed and very easy to understand. The variety of dances means everyone can find dances and music they really like and respond to. People in my classes absolutely love these dances.

In my personal case I feel that this is wonderful for older adults. Every day I discover more the desire to live to enjoy that they have, I am surprised, I am fascinated, it is like that playful part that lacked yoga, they love to meditate, but I feel this part as a meditation in movement, although none of the musical themes are slow, they expect this part as children waiting for their candy, this is what fascinates me.

I’m really enjoying the teacher training and have already incorporated many of the dances in my chair yoga classes. My students really love them… My mom’s favorite is “Locomotion.” I love doing the dances! Thanks for creating the teacher certification program!! I can’t wait to create some dances… just waiting for songs to find me!

To be a witness of the whole adventure of dance creation was a sheer fun! Step by step instructions, made learning this dance such a enjoyable experience!

A teacher called me looking for a sub for her classes. She has been teaching chair dance classes that she copied from YouTube. She knew I taught chair, didn’t know that I teach dance too. We live in a small town and she thought she was the only one. I told her that I did your training, she was surprised that I bothered with the training since she “just copied them and already knows 12 dances”. I’m glad I did the training, it has helped me create my own fun dances.

Very much enjoying the course and have been teaching ‘Catch a Falling Star’ and ‘Forever Young’ to the children in the village school where I live. They love it and great opportunity for me to practice also.

Sherry’s course enabled me to break down what I’m doing in a chair dance and teach the components with less improvising and even more fun. Identifying the movements as steady, progressive, free flowing, etc. has also helped me to choreograph more thoughtfully. The dances are easy to learn and provide a foundation for creating my own in a way that is most enjoyable and beneficial to my students. Sherry has painstakingly and lovingly included and attended to every detail. What a joy!

Sherry is the queen of chair yoga dance and has included songs for every season! During the winter the jingle bells song was such at hit at several of the places I teach. All of the dances can be done seated or easily modified to standing and make you smile. Thank you so much Sherry!