[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 149 (Thursday, September 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MS. BOBBE NORRISE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2017

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the vibrant life of Bobbe 
Norrise, the first African-American yoga instructor in the San 
Francisco Bay Area, who shared her passion with our community for over 
four decades and passed away on May 24, 2017.
  Ms. Norrise was born in Berkeley, California, and graduated from 
Berkeley High School before she received her Bachelor and Master's 
Degrees from San Francisco State University.
  In 1970, while challenged by the hardships of being a new mother 
going through a divorce, Ms. Norrise took her first yoga class at 
Oakland's Studio One which she credited with easing her stress and 
changing her life. Six years later, Ms. Norrise earned certification 
from America Yoga College to be an Iyengar Yoga Instructor, thus 
becoming the first African-American yoga teacher in the Bay Area.
  Initially, Ms. Norrise taught her classes in a church on Oakland, 
California's Webster Street, pioneering a welcoming space for African-
Americans in the yoga community. She later became a professor in the 
Department of Kinesiology at San Francisco State University and 
dedicated over 20 years to teaching Hatha Yoga in the Bay Area.
  In the mid-1970s, Ms. Norrise and her husband began hosting retreats 
to assist others on their spiritual journeys. In the 1990s, Ms. Norrise 
began hosting retreats for women with her daughter, Stacey Harmon.
  In 1990, Ms. Norrise published ``Easy Yoga for Busy People'', thus 
becoming the first African-American yoga instructor to write and 
publish a book about yoga.
  Many Bay Area media outlets have featured Ms. Norrise. Stories about 
her influence in the Bay Area have been documented by KRON-Channel 4, 
KQED radio and television, Mercury News, and the Oakland Tribune and 
features about her impact on the yoga community have been published in 
the Yoga Journal and Heart & Soul Magazine.
  In 2011, then-mayor of Oakland, Jean Quan, declared May 15th to be 
``Bobbe Norrise Day'' to acknowledge Ms. Norrise for all of her 
accomplishments in the field of Yoga instruction and advocacy.
  Today, on behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, it is 
my honor to commend the life and achievements of Ms. Bobbe Norrise. I 
offer my sincere gratitude to Ms. Norrise for her dedication to 
spreading self-discovery and tranquility throughout the Bay Area and 
yoga communities. I also offer my condolences to Ms. Norrise's family 
and friends as they cope with this immeasurable loss and join together 
to celebrate her life.