Heidi Sormaz, Ph.D. Psychotherapy & Yoga

Meet Heidi Sormaz, Ph.D., E-RYT 500

 

Heidi brings together the wisdom of evidence-based psychological practice and the depth of yoga lineage to help people create real, lasting change. As the founder and director of Fresh Yoga—New Haven’s only donation-based studio—she’s spent nearly three decades studying and over two decades teaching yoga. Her work is rooted in Forrest Yoga, where she is a Guardian and senior teacher, but her approach is uniquely her own: compassionate, practical, and deeply transformative.

 

Nationally recognized, Heidi has taught at Kripalu, Esalen Institute, in International Retreats, and designed and taught 200 and 300HR yoga teacher trainings. She’s been featured in Yoga Journal, selected by The Great Courses to create the groundbreaking program Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body, and her course Overcome Your Overthinking is helping thousands quiet their minds. Her Audible program How to Live a Yogic Lifestyle brings her teachings into everyday life.

 

What sets Heidi apart is the way she weaves her two passions together: the study of the mind and the practice of the body. With a Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale, a Post-Doctoral Respecialization in Clinical Psychology, and 20+ years as an educator and corporate trainer, she’s an expert in how stress, anxiety, and overthinking affect our lives. She’s now bringing full-circle her mission to help people break free from patterns that hold them back.

 

Heidi’s teachings are grounded in her own experience—navigating neurodiversity, recovery from an eating disorder, trauma, and finding balance through mind-body practices. She works with people to transform both habits of thought and habits of the body, guiding them toward clarity, strength, and ease.

 

Whether you step into her yoga class, join a training, or work with her in psychotherapy, you’ll find an approach that is skillful, evidence-based, and infused with care. Heidi doesn’t just teach techniques—she helps people reimagine what’s possible in their minds, bodies, and lives.