Yoga is union with yourself
Others, and the world around you.
A Gentle Way Yoga and Joyful Movement helps you bring peace into your life and body, no matter what is happening in the outside world.
We help you find joy through movement and experience deep peace through slow, restorative asana, deep rest, and conscious breathing.
Are you searching for an accessible, inclusive, fun, supportive community?
We are here to support you!
About Our Founder
Lanita Varshell - E-RYT500, YACEP, C-IAYT - is a Certified Yoga Instructor, Trainer, Therapist, Writer, and Motivational Speaker with leading-edge yoga experience since 1996.
She has pioneered healing, life-changing yoga philosophy, and soft, gentle, joyful movement to people of all sizes, ages, and abilities.
Lanita is known for her expertise in working with people new to yoga, large bodies, trauma survivors, and those with hidden or life-threatening diseases.
Her specialties are helping people create a balanced, peaceful life despite what is happening in their lives and bodies.
Whether you find it hard to sit still or have a bigger, slower, or older body, Lanita can guide you toward health, hope, and joy.
(Photo: Right: Lanita Varshell - Founder of A Gentle Way. Left: Amy S. Johnson - Actress & Certified AGW Yoga Teacher)
A Gentle Way Annual Feathered Pipe Retreat
June 13-20, 2026
Feathered Pipe Ranch is truly a bucket list destination, and Lanita & Diane are two of the most fun, loving, down-to-earth teachers you may ever work with. This is a week of letting go of layers of tension and tapping into the hopeful. joyful, peace-filled you. Reserve your space today. Go to the Feathered Pipe Ranch site for details and registration.
Chair Yoga - Fun FREE Senior Fitness
Anyone Can Greatly Benefit From Chair Yoga!
FREE Chair Yoga Classes in
La Mesa, California
Grossmont Health Library
10 AM & 2 PM
See details for address & reservations
Private Sessions & Mentoring
Customized Private
One-On-One Sessions
Private yoga and life-mentoring sessions are among the most effective ways to start or improve one's life, health, and happiness.
Our expert instructors tailor each private session to meet your goals and needs.
Testimonials
"Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude to A Gentle Way for providing me with a place for such gentle healing. I came from L.A. to visit your Studio, entering with a tremendous amount of pain, both physically and emotionally. After 35 classes with the gentlest and most nurturing teachers, I am leaving on a path of healing, hope, and profound amazement that life indeed unfolds and provides exactly what we need. Thank you all so much! "
-Susan ~ Actress
"You opened a door for me that I didn’t even know was out there. Who would have ever dreamed that I would get on my mat everyday, and become a teacher, let alone even practice yoga? Anyone who gets to study with you and Diane is so very blessed! My life is so rich now - thanks to yoga. "
-Deborah ~ Student & Teacher
"What you do is so yoga, yet so different than the way I have been taught to teach it. You start the class in a very relaxed way, almost playfully, releasing tension out of our body, and then we just seem to go deeper and deeper, with poses held longer and longer. It feels as though it is music, and you are this powerful conductor. We get swept away by the inner music, the slow healing rhythm we are discovering in our very own body. "
-Judy ~ Yoga Teacher
ABOUT US
We are yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and fitness experts who love to work with individual students and small groups to help you create a joyful, effective life practice.
Our small group classes, private sessions, and retreats help you with your thinking, habits, goals, and dreams through breath focus and life-changing yoga philosophy.
We specialize in helping those who are new to yoga, aging, larger or inflexible bodies, trauma survivors, and those with chronic or life-threatening diseases.
Senior Teachers Lanita Varshell and Diane Ambrosini mentor yoga students, helping you customize a practice for your lifestyle and body.
We guide yoga teachers who need to learn how to slow down, balance their lives, or seek assistance in building a new business.
We have over 55 years of combined experience in starting, building, and successfully owning and managing small yoga studios, as well as teaching thousands of classes and private sessions.
We can't wait to get to know you!
Frequently asked questions
I'm new to yoga with no weight or health challenges. Will I fit In?
Yes! We have many students like you who just wanted a safe place to learn yoga. After just a few months of working with Lanita & Diane you will be able to practice in many others studios, knowing how to customize the poses for your body, if needed. Yet, we have others who have stayed with us for 10, 20+ years just because they like our slower, safer approach to hatha yoga.
Do you offer private coaching and yoga sessions?
Yes! Both Lanita and Diane do Zoom and in-person San Diego private sessions as their schedule allows.
Do you offer scholarships?
Yes! We turn away sincere yoga seekers. Since this is our livelihood, we want to ensure we are helping out the right students, not those just looking for bargains. If you need a reduced rate, please do not hesitate to email Lanita directly with your circumstances and what you can pay for a class or workshop.
Do you still have a physical yoga studio?
No, our sweet studio (A Gentle Way Yoga in La Mesa) closed its' doors in 2020 (after 20+ years!) due to Covid-19, but we now teach weekly live on-line ZOOM classes, monthly workshops and teacher trainings in San Diego, and yearly retreats.
CONTACT
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