Instructor Feature: Sharon Housley

KAIZEN is extremely grateful for all of our amazing instructors at The Studio. We really have a top-notch team! We love Sharon for her knowledge of anatomy, creative sequencing, and fun ideas! Sharon teaches Yoga Balanced, Barre Yoga, and Athletes’ Yoga. Learn more about Sharon, her yoga background, her teaching style, and more! You’re going to love her as much as we do!

Beyond The Studio

Sharon is a South Shore native, growing up in Hanover and currently residing in Norwell, close to her family including a granddaughter. Sharon has been running her communication software company, NotePage, with her husband since 1996 and while NotePage is her day job, Sharon enjoys every moment outside of work to the fullest!

When fitness entered her life, she jumped right in! Running, swimming, and biking in sprint triathlons fueled her. Being outside in nature is one of the biggest parts of life for her.

But Sharon also works to give back to the community with her furry friend Jax. This duo trains in dog therapy to help those in nursing homes, and they volunteer at Old Colony Hospice Care. Sharon and Jax provide comfort and support to the residents there and she even has her regulars who have been seeing the two for about 5 years now! She even carried these relationships throughout the COVID pandemic by writing letters with weekly updates about Jax and the support they were sending to those they couldn’t see at the time.

Yoga Experience, Training, and Practice

Sharon’s yoga journey began at The Yoga Room in Norwell, and for the first time was able to truly settle her mind from all the stress, chaos, and tasks she needed to accomplish. The way yoga made her feel was unlike any other activity and it led her down a path to teaching.

Before embarking on her formal teacher training, Sharon participated in many yoga intensives and retreats including workshops at the Sanctuary Studio in Plymouth, Massachusetts studying under Michelle Fleming. She also had the opportunity to experience retreats with Love Yoga Fest on the Cape in 2018 and 2019, as well as the Yoga Room Retreat in Orleans, Massachusetts in 2019.

During her teacher training, Sharon completed 200 Hours of Orthopedic Yoga. Emphasizing in Yoga Anatomy, Sharon has developed a skill set that allows students of all abilities to take her classes given her extensive knowledge in modifications for poses. Eager to keep learning and growing, Sharon is currently enrolled in a Harvard Medical School course to strengthen her understanding of the body, its movements, and how she can apply this to her teaching.

Connection with her students is a core element to her teaching. With her vast knowledge, Sharon is able to create unique classes each time she teaches, and individualized support for all students. She listens to what the bodies of her students need and works to modify poses of all kinds so that beginners and even the greatest of athletes can get a proper yoga session in with essential yoga poses and stretches that benefit everyone. Sharon’s personal journey with teaching yoga has allowed her to feel grateful for the opportunity and awareness that she is making a small difference in someone’s day. This difference could be helping people find peace and comfort, begin soul searching, and having a space to settle their mind.

Sharon’s passion for the outdoors is also implemented in her yoga practice. She encourages taking yoga off the mat and outside. Exercising, and of course practicing yoga, outdoors can provide significant benefits including exposure to sunlight which can enhance production of Vitamin D, commonly associated with improving mood, reducing inflammation, promoting bone health, and boosting your immune system function. It’s the Happy Vitamin, and Sharon is all about doing yoga to make herself happy!

Yoga at KAIZEN with Sharon

Sharon leads three classes at KAIZEN, Athletes’ Yoga, Yoga Barre, and Yoga Balanced. Classes with Sharon are unique each time as she works to meet the specific needs of students and athletes every day in her classes. 

She ensures that athletes experience deep stretches focused on areas needing attention whether it is from an injury, overuse, or soreness. She understands the needs of athletes from different sports and can really focus on the variations of movements that each athlete needs to complete in their sport. Athletes’ Yoga is for all grapplers and athletes looking to improve flexibility, balance, strength, body awareness, and breath control and prepare the mind for ultimate focus. Classes are structured to be gentle in the beginning seeking to stretch and lengthen muscles while improving overall flexibility. They will build to more intense movements curated to bring heat into your body while focusing your attention on the work of the pose. This weekly class is designed to accompany your weekly Jiu Jitsu training. Improving your flexibility, balance, and breathing will lessen your risk of injury and improve your Jiu Jitsu!

Sharon never repeats the same flow, you will always experience something different each time you see her. Our Yoga Balanced class is a flowing series of postures that move at a steady pace. Classes begin with warm-up movements and breath awareness to prepare you for the heart of each class. Warm-ups are followed by a sequence of postures that stretch, strengthen, and balance your body. 

Join us at KAIZEN to experience one of Sharon’s classes. You’re going to love it! Sharon leads Athletes’ Yoga on Sundays from 9:15am - 10:15am on Mondays from 5:30pm-6:15pm, as well as Yoga Barre on Sundays from 8:00am -9:00am, and Yoga Balanced on Thursdays from 7:30am-8:30am. If your waching, you can even catch one of Sharon’s amazing workshops or fun pop-up classes!