You know how sometimes you meet someone for the first time who immediately feels like a good friend? That was my feeling when I first met Sommer Thome, an energetic and talented Canadian now living in Los Angeles. We met at a gathering of yoga teachers and students; I was inspired to attend her class and eventually became one of her devotees.
In addition to teaching yoga, Sommer teaches dance and writes a popular blog, yogawithsommer.com, where she shares ideas for living a greener lifestyle as well as some of her favorite vegan recipes.
Born in the late 1970s in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Sommer began ballet lessons at the age of six, but eventually lost interest. When Sommer was eleven, Paula Abdul’s riveting tap dance in the “Opposites Attract” music video reignited her interest in dancing. Her parents enrolled her in tap lessons, and quickly added jazz, ballet, and hip hop. “I was hooked!” Sommer admits.
After graduating from Simon Fraser University, Sommer worked with several contemporary choreographers and dance companies in Vancouver, including the hybrid butoh-modern dance company, Kokoro Dance. As the years passed, she spent less time performing and more time teaching.
Her dedication to her students comes naturally. Sommer reflected, “The thing I enjoy most about teaching dance is the opportunity to be a creative and supportive part of each child’s development. When I see a shy little person finally able to express themselves freely though dance, I’m over the moon! On the other end of that spectrum, when I have a bit of a wild child come to me, I’m delighted to see them learn to calm and control themselves. I love to see my students connect to their own dance vocabulary, and the obvious sense of accomplishment it that instills in them.”
Sommer continued, “The kids I teach may not choose to become professional dancers, but if I can inspire in them an appreciation of art and their bodies, then I am proud of the job I have done.” Garri Dance Studio owner, Megan Baade enthused, “Sommer fuses her knowledge of dance, yoga, and healthy living into all of her classes. Her playful teaching style makes the learning process fun and exciting, which develops happy, dedicated young dancers.”
Sommer discovered yoga while still deeply committed to dance. “My first exposure to yoga was Ali McGraw’s Yoga Mind & Body, led by Erich Schiffmann. I remember following that tape in our living room and yearning to connect with something deeper.” Sommer truly fell in love with the practice when she found her teacher, Eoin Finn. “He lit that fire in me and inspired me to commit to my practice and start on my path of growth and exploration. Eoin used to run amazing classes out of a place in Vancouver called Kits House – like a community hall. The classes were dubbed ‘all levels, all good’. His classes were such a full experience, he would have us laughing one moment, then experiencing tender sweetness the next, uncovering something profound, and then laughing again!”
She continued, “When my husband Rich and I first moved to LA in 2009, I started practicing at Yoga Blend and it started to feel like a second home. I took the 200-hour teacher training with owner, Christy Marsden, in January of 2010. She became a dear friend, teacher and mentor; by January, 2011, I was teaching my first class at Yoga Blend. I’m now approaching my third anniversary as a yoga teacher there.”
Marsden was quick to share her mutual respect and love for Sommer, “Yoga Blend is dedicated to creating community and Sommer is a huge part of that vision. She is funny, charming, sincere, a delight to be around, and an excellent teacher.”
Sommer explained what she loves about teaching yoga, “It’s an honor to create an environment of support at the yoga studio; a place where we can set aside our gadgets and worries and plug into something deeper that truly feeds us. I love that each person who comes to my class has made a conscious decision to be there.” She added, “It’s such fun to be the orchestrator of adult playtime. There’s often lots of laughter. I love creating my own class playlists, and I’ve heard that I often surprise my students with my song choices,” laughed Sommer.
During my first class with her, I couldn’t help but smile at the descriptive mental pictures she creates to coax the class into various poses. “Imagine you have a big red clown nose, and you’re drawing little circles in the air with it.” Or my favorite, “Move through your sun salutation as though you were inside a lava lamp.” She explains, “I love to use imagery and analogy and found this amazing book, Dynamic Alignment through Imagery, by Eric Franklin. He is a dancer/choreographer who studied visual imagery to improve human alignment and movement. I started thinking about the subtle energy within postures and how to engage the mind in the body’s movement. That and incorporating the breath are the essence of yoga.”
Sommer met her handsome actor/writer husband, Rich, while still in college in Vancouver. They married in January 2009, and Rich started traveling to Los Angeles in pursuit of work. During one of his prolonged absences, Sommer began to explore vegetarianism and veganism. She explained, “My sole companion when my husband was away was our Australian Shepherd, Hudson. A question began to arise in me: Why do I love one animal but eat another? Vegetarianism was familiar territory – my mom has been a vegetarian since before I was born, and I spent my teenage years as one. Now, as an adult and a spiritual seeker, I have come back to this issue with a different perspective. I have decided to try to live my life as an ethical vegan.”
Rich is now also a vegan and both of them share a commitment to help out in the Los Angeles community: Rich has participated in Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals for the past two years, while Sommer has led the “Free to Breathe” campaign in 2011 and the 2012 Yogathon for the National Lung Cancer Partnership. This past year, Sommer led a group of volunteers from Yoga Blend during the Great L.A. River Cleanup, which turned out to be lots of wet, muddy fun!
Sommer still visits Vancouver often, and enjoys connecting with her friends, family and former dance students. When she returns home to sunny Los Angeles, she appreciates returning to her own yoga practice, her teaching and precious time at home.
Find Sommer’s recipe for “The Bomb” Kale Ceasar Salad here.
Jayne McKay is a writer, photographer and an award-winning documentary filmmaker. When she isn’t working on her new film about travel, Jayne loves to hike, read, explore and enjoy her daily yoga practice.
