Deb Dobbin is one of Santa Barbara’s most popular yoga instructors, with class attendances reaching up into the 50+ range at times. Therefore, if you find yourself subbing her most well-attended weekly class (Saturday morning at 8:30am at Yoga Soup), you will be presented with some big shoes to fill. This morning, yoga teacher Niav Connor was in exactly this situation, and she smoothly and easily filled those shoes all the way up (and threatened to burst the seams a little). She gracefully led a fantastic, perfectly-designed sequence which was as challenging as the intense classes for which Deb is well-known. The soundtrack which accompanied the class was an inviting mix of Eastern-inspired upbeat grooves and Western down-to-earth, meaningful songs. And Niav’s presence as a strong vinyasa flow teacher was inspiring and uplifting.
Niav teaches several regular weekly classes at both Yoga Soup and Santa Barbara Yoga Center, but all of these lovely classes are titled either “Slow Flow” or “Level 1″. We would love to see a couple of Level 3 classes taught by Niav every week. We think that a class taught in a more intense, challenging style would complement Niav’s other offerings quite nicely while exposing her to a wider portion of Santa Barbara yoga students. What do you say, Yoga Soup or Santa Barbara Yoga Center or Source Yoga Studio? 
