Delfina Bonilla-Lopez is an LMT, CNS, RYT-200, YTU, CPT, all around body-nerd and whole-hearted believer in the human body’s magnificent capacity for healing.
She received her BA in Spanish Literature & Musicology from the University of Michigan’s School of Literature, Science and Arts in 2009. Upon graduation, she found herself in pursuit of healing her own body from the havoc that the “college diet” (fast food and a sedentary lifestyle) had reeked on her. That voracious curiosity to heal from within, coupled with an entire lifetime’s worth of love for athleticism and movement (soccer & figure skating) morphed into a career as a Personal Trainer.
While she loved training clients whose primary goals were weight loss or strength & conditioning related, she found that her greatest joy came from working with clients who needed corrective exercise as a form of posture and movement therapy. That interest propelled her down the eight-limbed path that is yoga.
She began her first teacher training course (based in Michigan) in 2010 with Shannon Johnson through YogaFit®, an organization focused on restorative yoga, flow yoga and making yoga accessible to every body. She then deepened her knowledge of corrective exercise, self-massage and breath-work with a second teacher training via Yoga Tune Up® studying directly under the founder, Jill Miller, in Los Angeles, CA. Delfina has taught yoga classes both in Southeastern Michigan and throughout the Tampa Bay. Her current movement philosophy is informed by her experience in strength & conditioning, yoga, corrective exercise, functional movement, natural movement (movement in nature) and self-massage to help people remodel the issues in their tissues and thrive in their bodies.
In 2019, Delfina enrolled in the Center for Neurosomatic Studies (CNS), a posture-informed massage therapy program based in Clearwater, FL. A friend going through the school (prior Delfina’s enrollment) helped her heal from a 10-year long battle with chronic chest pain. The experience gave her a new lease on life and opened her eyes to the healing potential of Paul St. John’s Method of body work. Through her studies at the CNS she has learned to use their 84-point posturology assessment to identify patterns of overuse, underuse, misuse and abuse at the root of pain and discomfort. She uses these assessments, coupled with precise manual therapy and corrective exercises to release, unwind and reprogram new, pain-free patterns. She is fascinated with Shila’s perspective on scoliosis and learning the principles from the Schroth Method for Scoliosis to further expand her sight as it pertains to unraveling structural issues.
Delfina’s mission is to help you see your body for the brilliant, healing-machine that it is so you can reclaim your health and feel good in your own skin.
On her off-time, she enjoys playing with her young son, trips to the beach, tickling the ivories, experimenting with new recipes, coffee-shop hopping and reading about personal development. She’s also a lover of all things dragon, hobbit, and magical realm-related.