Peter Nikolaidis teaches slow-paced yoga, including Yin, restorative, and Hatha (slow flow), along with mindfulness meditation, for people who move a lot and rarely slow down.
He doesn’t remember exactly when he took his first yoga class.
It was sometime in the early 2000s.
Maybe the late 90s. Whatever! It was a while ago.
In 2011, an injury kept him from his usual martial arts training, and he turned to yoga to fill the gap. Over time, yoga became a central part of his life, alongside self-defense, running, and mountain biking. Today Peter calls yoga “how he puts himself back together after tearing himself apart in his other favorite activities,” which these days usually means a long run while training for his next race.
Peter has more than a decade of Krav Maga training and holds a second-degree black belt in Aikido, along with experience in other hard and soft martial arts. As an ultramarathon runner, he knows what hard training does to the body and how much a slower practice helps it recover. That background shapes his teaching, which blends softness with strength, awareness, and grounded confidence.
After practicing Yin Yoga with Holland Sweeney since 2015, Peter began his RYT 500 certification in 2018. He completed his 200-hour training with Jenna Palm and his 300-hour Teacher Training Certification in Yin Yoga and Meditation with Josh Summers in 2019. Holland, his longtime teacher, is now his colleague at YogaWithHollandAndPeter.com.
Taking a functional, practical approach to yoga, his classes focus on what works for the individual student. Rather than urging students toward flashy, potentially dangerous poses that yield little benefit, he encourages simple poses and sequences that pose little risk and yield high rewards.
Whether you’re a runner, a martial artist, or simply need an hour to breathe, Peter’s classes meet you where you are. Practice with him live on Zoom right here or at YogaWithHollandAndPeter.com, or book private instruction.
About Yin Yoga
From Wikipedia:
Yin yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga with postures, or asanas, that are held for longer periods of time—for beginners, it may range from 45 seconds to two minutes; more advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for five minutes or more.
Yin yoga poses apply moderate stress to the connective tissues of the body—the tendons, fascia, and ligaments—with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility. A more meditative approach to yoga, yin aims at cultivating awareness of inner silence, and bringing to light a universal, interconnecting quality.
Yin yoga’s teaching in the Western world, beginning in the late 1970s, was founded by martial arts expert and Taoist yoga teacher Paulie Zink. Yin yoga is now being taught across North America and in Europe, due in large part to the teaching activities of Yin yoga teachers and developers Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers.Yin yoga as taught by Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers is not intended as a complete practice in itself, but rather as a complement to more active forms of yoga and exercise. However, Paulie Zink’s approach includes the full range of Taoist yoga, both yin and yang, and is intended to be a complete practice in itself.
Peter’s style of Yin Yoga is suitable for anyone, and especially complementary for those who have another, more active practice which focuses on muscular and cardiovascular conditioning.
About Restorative Yoga
From Wikipedia:
Restorative Yoga sessions allow the body to slow down and relax in a small number of asanas. Each pose is held for longer than in conventional classes, sometimes for twenty minutes, so a session may consist of only four to six asanas. The long holding of poses is often assisted with props such as folded blankets, to ensure the body is fully supported and so to allow the muscles to relax.[
The martial arts coach Eric C. Stevens, stating that he found being still more difficult than a “five mile run”, was surprised to start the Restorative Yoga class with Savasana (corpse pose), and to see so many props in use – blanket, pillow, eye bag, strap, blocks. He found his mind strongly challenged during the class, and he slept very soundly afterwards. He recommended the practice for people who feel close to burnout.[
Peter’s style of Restorative Yoga is focused primarily on relaxation and letting go. The practice is suitable for anyone who could use a chance to relax and rest.
About Hatha Yoga
Excerpts from Wikipedia:
Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga. The Sanskrit word हठ haṭha literally means “force” and thus alludes to a system of physical techniques.
In the 20th century, a development of haṭha yoga, focusing particularly on asanas (the physical postures), became popular throughout the world as a form of physical exercise. This modern form of yoga is now widely known simply as “yoga”.
Peter’s style of Hatha yoga, sometimes called slow flow, generally involves poses held for several breaths in standing, seated, and kneeling positions. While movement can flow from one pose to another, it is not as dynamic as a “vinyasa” or “flow” class. These classes are suitable for beginner and intermediate students who are seeking a little more muscle work than in a Yin Yoga class.