Yasmen Mehta

Portrait 2 copyYasmen has been teaching Pilates and Yoga in America for over 20 years. As a professional dancer and a competitive speed skater, Yasmen has developed a profound respect for the human body, and for what it takes to push the boundaries of human endurance. Yasmen has a passion for connecting and training athletes, and inspiring them be their best through body awareness and body knowledge. Yasmen’s coaching utilizes Mobility and Yoga Tune Up® tools to access the full potential of an athlete. Issues surrounding injuries, stiffness, lack of range in the joints are all manageable. With patience and consistency she loves to take people on their voyage of discovering their body’s full potential along with a lot of laughter.

Yasmen has taught many different types of athletes from police officers to chefs and NBA players. Most recently she is working with the strength and conditioning coach for the US National Speed skating team. She has also helped athletes after hip and knee replacements, and other injuries to get up to speed. The ability of the human body to perform and heal itself never ceases to amaze her.

Originally from India, Yasmen first came to the US to learn how to dance. Being an artist and athlete is not new to her. In high school she was either on the stage folk dancing, or outdoors on the track, and playing field hockey. After training for six years, Yasmen started her own modern dance company in San Francisco (California Contemporary Dancers) and toured nationally and internationally for 16 years. After retiring from the stage in 2005, she fell in love with short track speed skating. Training under US Olympic coach Susan Ellis, she competes on a national level and has held the California State Champion title for the last four years.

Since 2009, San Francisco CrossFit has played a huge role in Yasmen’s development as a competitive speed skater. Dr. Kelly Starrett’s introduction to Mobility and subsequently Jill Miller’s Yoga Tune Up® work will always be her first love, appealing to the yogic thinking she grew up with.

“I believe whether dead lifting double your body weight, or skating at high speed on the edge of a sharp blade, flying across the stage in a grand jeté, it’s all the same,” says Yasmen. “It’s a basic primal sensation of feeling utterly human and wonderfully alive. It’s an honor to be teaching at San Francisco CrossFit and being a part of an athletes journey, so that they can experience that too.”

Certifications:

  • Level II CrossFit Coach
  • Mobility/WOD. Movement and Mobility Specialist
  • CrossFit Endurance
  • CrossFit Weight Lifting Trainer course
  • FreeStyle Gymnastics
  • Yoga Tune Up® Licensed practitioner
  • Somanautics. Human dissection
  • Certified Massage Therapist
  • Pilates (20 years + experience)
  • Core Aligne®
  • Yoga (Iyengar)
  • Publishing. “Mom You’re Not Normal” Available on Amazon.com. A witty memoir on life growing up in India and musings and philosophy on the human body.