Shosan Victoria Austin began practicing both Zen and yoga in 1971. In the Soto Zen tradition, she is entrusted as a Dharma heir in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, an international priest of the Soto School, and a Dharma teacher at San Francisco Zen Center.
She trained in the U.S., in India, and in Japan. In the Iyengar yoga tradition, she is certified as a Senior Intermediate.
In addition to supporting the practice of both yoga and Zen students in diverse settings including workplaces, institutions, and homes, Victoria teaches public yoga classes, trains teachers and offers workshops at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco, and serves as an assessor of the next generation of Iyengar yoga teachers. She offers Zen classes in San Francisco and Dallas.
Victoria continues her studies with senior Zen and yoga teachers, including Sojun Mel Weitsman and the Iyengar family. Victoria’s practice goal is to wake up each moment in a way that benefits beings.
Her teaching goals include transmitting Zen Buddhism as a yogic path and Yoga as a path of awareness. Keeping faith with each tradition, she offers classes and workshops accessible to a wide variety of abilities and circumstances.