Vickie Russell Bell
Vickie Russell Bell is a deeply experienced and nurturing yoga instructor at Namaste Yoga + Wellness whose teaching radiates warmth, compassion, and wisdom. With a practice and teaching career spanning many years, Vickie has developed a profound understanding of how yoga can serve as a vehicle for healing, self-discovery, and lasting well-being. Her classes create a safe and supportive container where students of every level feel welcome, valued, and free to explore the practice at their own pace.
Vickie's areas of expertise include restorative yoga and therapeutic yoga, practices that focus on deep relaxation, gentle opening, and the body's innate capacity to heal. In her restorative classes, students are guided into fully supported postures using bolsters, blankets, blocks, and other props, allowing the body to release tension and the nervous system to shift into a state of rest and repair. Vickie has a remarkable ability to create an atmosphere of profound stillness and safety, making her restorative sessions a sanctuary for students dealing with stress, fatigue, injury, or simply the demands of daily life.
Beyond her specialization in restorative work, Vickie brings a rich understanding of yoga philosophy, anatomy, and mindful movement to all of her classes. She is attentive to the individual needs of her students, often offering personalized adjustments and modifications that honor each person's unique body and circumstances. Her teaching is characterized by a gentle yet assured presence that puts students at ease and invites them to turn inward, cultivating a deeper relationship with their own breath, body, and inner landscape.
Vickie's dedication to yoga as a path of service and healing is central to who she is as a teacher. She is actively involved in the Namaste community and is committed to making the benefits of yoga available to everyone in the East Bay. Students who practice with Vickie frequently speak of the transformative quality of her classes -- the sense of being held, of being seen, and of leaving the studio feeling more grounded, peaceful, and whole than when they arrived.