Some teachers enter your life not with a loud introduction, but with a tone you feel before you understand. A subtle vibration. A sense of familiarity. A quiet invitation to listen more deeply.
Steve “Stony” Hallenbeck is one of those teachers.
Before yoga found him—or perhaps before he realized yoga had always been there—Stony’s life moved through sound. Music first, then science. As a musician, he learned how sound stirs the soul, builds community, and holds emotion without needing explanation. As an audiologist, he learned how sound heals, how listening changes lives, and how the body responds when it finally feels heard. Yoga, as it turns out, was never separate from these worlds—it simply became the place where they all met.
Stony’s path to yoga wasn’t dramatic or sudden. It arrived the way many meaningful things do: through curiosity, community, and a practical need to feel better in his body. Like so many of us, he came to the mat seeking relief from low back pain, viewing yoga as a long-term conversation with his body rather than a quick fix. Over time, something deeper began to unfold. He noticed how breath, sound, and movement prepared the body not just to stretch—but to listen.
He still remembers his very first yoga class, taken more than twenty-five years ago at the College of DuPage. The teacher introduced Savasana with a slightly macabre sense of humor: “Get comfortable—this is a position your body will be in for a long time.” It made him laugh. It made him pause. And somehow, something clicked. Not all at once, but enough to keep returning. Enough to keep listening. Enough to never be bored.
Teaching, for Stony, has always been less about instruction and more about shared experience. Whether in music, healthcare, or now yoga, he lives by the belief that the best way to truly know something is to teach it—and to remain a student while doing so. His classes are participatory, invitational, and grounded in humility. There is no pursuit of perfection here. No pressure to “get it right.” Instead, there is space to breathe, to notice, and to explore yoga on your own terms.
Sound and vibration naturally weave their way through Stony’s classes, not as performance or background entertainment, but as a gentle focal point—a way to settle the nervous system and invite presence. A harmonium tone may appear, unfamiliar yet strangely comforting. A moment of silence may linger just long enough to be felt. Breath becomes rhythm. Vibration becomes a mirror for life’s cycles. The intention is always the same: to help students arrive more fully in themselves.
Accessibility matters deeply to Stony—not only in how poses are offered, but in how the room feels. He is attentive to the experience of being heard, seen, and supported. Classes are thoughtfully paced, postures build gradually, and students are always encouraged to pause rather than push. This is yoga as an invitation, not a demand.
On Sunday mornings, Stony joins Marla Mothershead to co-teach Foundations Flow, a class rooted in exactly what its name suggests: coming back to basics with fresh eyes and an open heart. Whether you’re brand new to yoga, returning after time away, or simply curious about reconnecting with the foundations of your practice, this class offers a steady place to begin again. Stony brings moderated pacing, mindful check-ins, and occasional sound as a centering guide—along with reflections and resources to support practice beyond the mat.
Curious to experience this approach for yourself?
Learn more about Foundations Flow →
A steady, welcoming class for new, returning, and curious students.
If you’ve been away from yoga for a while and feel hesitant to return, Stony would gently remind you that we are all students, always. That learning happens together. And that sometimes the quiet call inward—the one you almost ignore—is the one worth listening to.
When students leave his class, Stony hopes they feel something yoga describes as sthira sukha—a sense of grounded stability paired with ease. Calm, yet energized. Rooted, yet open. Ready to step back into the world with a clearer lens and a softer heart.
And if you’re wondering whether yoga is “for you,” his answer is simple: there is only one way to find out. Come as you are. Let the sound guide you inward. Let the community hold you. Let the practice meet you right where you are.
We’re so grateful to welcome Steve “Stony” Hallenbeck to Yoga Among Friends—and we can’t wait for you to experience the resonance he brings to the mat.
Ready to listen a little more deeply—to your breath, your body, and what’s quietly calling you inward?
Join Steve “Stony” Hallenbeck for Foundations Flow on Sundays at Yoga Among Friends.
Register for Foundations Flow →
No pressure. No perfection. Just a supportive place to begin—or begin again. All levels welcome. Come as you are.
