DC yoga Podcast

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 41- Nancy Talley "You need to go to Yoga!" - Working and teaching in Occoquan VA- "mouth of the river." - History of Soaring Spirit Yoga - Falling into owning a yoga studio - The nuts and bolts of running a yoga studio - Working in the fashion industry...and then leaving the fashion industry - Finding Kundalini yoga in California - Yoga classes out West- pranayama, meditation, mantra. Not just Asana - Moving from 90 min classes to 75 min classes to 60 min classes over time - Yoga clearing the mind to help deal with a job you don't like but also helping to realize the job isnt worth the dealing. - How gifts can fulfill and also drain - Running a yoga studio during the explosion of yoga in the late 2000s - Offering yoga to a community that practices for stress reduction not physical fitness - Learning how to teach to the room - The Quarantine - Transitioning to Zoom classes...and seeing enrollment go up - Virtual Yoga Teacher Training - Developing studio culture without dictating content - Self Practice and Self regulation - The importance of Japppa - The importance of adductor muscles - Riding motorcycles Bio: Nancy began her yogic journey in 1997 while working in the Los Angeles fashion industry. To relieve stress and insomnia she explored Kundalini and Restorative classes but soon found Vinyasa to be her calling. She attended the White Lotus Foundation to study under Ganga White and Tracey Rich for her 200 hour RYT in Santa Barbara, CA. Nancy received her 500 hour RYT through Beloved Yoga in Reston, VA in 2012. Nancy has also studied Yin Yoga and has completed the Self-Awakening Yoga Therapeutics Teacher Training under Don and Amba Stapleton. Nancy reminds her students to work with compassion towards themselves and to stop and enjoy the journey rather than focus on the final pose they are trying to achieve. She purchased Soaring Spirit Yoga Studio in 2010 and hopes to continue to serve the growing yoga community in Prince William County and surrounding areas. On the web: soaringspirityoga.com www.facebook.com/soaringspirityogastudio @soaring_spirit_yoga

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 40- "Even if the body doesn't move like we want, there's an elegance there and maybe something better." - The cycle of being a AAA type person - Karate and Yoga to help deal with the sleeplessness accompanying the Type A - The obvious logic of movement to Karate but not always of asana practice at first glance - Discovering yoga at the Fairfax rec center and then in Reston at Health Advantage - Learning the logic of asana with Betsy Downing - And how that is different from learning from a book - Burning out at work - Accidents and realizations (and broken noses) - Purchasing Health Advantage - Figuring out how to teach yoga full time - Running a yoga studio in the early 2000s - The popularization of yoga and the yoga boom of the late 2000s - When yoga students became customers - The rise of Yoga Teacher Trainings - The rise of Yoga Alliance - Developing standards for yoga teachers - The Great Recession and the contraction of the yoga business - The Beginning of the End with Coronavirus - The beginnings of Anusara yoga - Becoming an Anusara teacher and then being asked to not be one - Loops and spirals - The end of Anusara yoga - Becoming the Health Advantage Yoga Center - The importance of a daily, personal yoga practice Bio: Susan is the director of The Health Advantage Yoga Center. She has been a yoga practitioner since 1989 and began teaching in 1997. Susan has studied with many world-class teachers, focusing on alignment-based styles. She received a BS degree in computer science and linguistics from the College of William and Mary and she particularly enjoys applying the logic she learned while programming to the progressive teaching of yoga poses. Susan's approach is warm and clear with an appreciation of individual differences. On the web: http://www.healthadvantageyoga.com/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 39b- "Spiritual growth is expansion of consciousness not a contraction out of fear." -Writing books about yoga - Recent research into history of yoga philosophy - Karma and reincarnation - Cross pollinatization of ideas between cultures of the Indian sub continent - Tracing the path and change of yoga as concentration and yoga as union - Hatha as a simplified democratized response to the Tantric tradition - Separating Hatha yoga from religious iconography - Religions laying claim to yoga - The Varna or Caste system in India - Brahmin in action during the day and Tantric in thought by night - The influence of Patanjali and the yoga sutras (The sage has not always been popular, especially in India) - Patanjali's resurgence the result of Krishnamacharya and his students, Pattabhi Jois and Iyengar - Vedanta's influence on the 19th century Transcendentalists and their influence on the Indian independence movement - The evolution of the concept of Dharma - Internal and external yoga- responsibility to ourselves and responsibility to our community - John Friend and Anusara - Developing "systems" of yoga - Teaching therapeutic yoga around the world - The Vagus nerve and the Central Nervous System Bio: Doug Keller’s background reflects a lifelong commitment to studying, imbibing and sharing the vast field of knowledge and practice known as yoga. After receiving honors and graduate degrees in philosophy from the top Jesuit universities in the United States, Georgetown and Fordham Universities, and teaching philosophy at a college level for several years, he then pursued his ‘post-graduate’ education in the practical experience of yoga at the Siddha Meditation Ashram, Gurudev Siddha Peeth in India, for seven years. He spent a total of 14 years doing service, practicing, training in and teaching yoga in Siddha Meditation Ashrams worldwide. He received intensive training in the Iyengar system in New York City, mainly with senior certified Iyengar teacher Kevin Gardiner. He also practiced Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in India, and became one of the first certified Anusara Yoga teachers, producing three highly respected books on asana, pranayama and yoga philosophy. His further expansion in learning is reflected in his latest and most in-depth work, ‘Yoga as Therapy,’ which is truly one of the most comprehensive, innovative and useful treatments of the structural aspect of yoga therapy available. And for three years he was a regular columnist for Yoga+ Magazine (formerly Yoga International, published by the Himalayan Institute), writing the ‘Asana Solutions’ column that addresses specific therapeutic problems. He is at the highest level of certification with Yoga Alliance, ERYT500, and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. For more about Doug: http://www.doyoga.com/about-us.htm

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 39- Participating in the World instead of Renouncing it - Studying Philosophy at Georgetown and Fordham - Meditation as the introduction to yoga - Learning from Swami Muktananda - The connection between flexible hamstrings and spirituality - Unlocking prana through asana - Living in an Ashram in India for 7 years...starting in the kitchen - Ego stretching and getting out of the intellectual mind - Relationship between temperament and environment - The balance between Grace and Effort - The surprise of and attachment to profound experiences - Being deconstructed physiologially - Leaving academia for a life of Experience - Self awareness to realize what you need to let go of - Tracing thoughts back to the wellspring - Finding the knots within - Working to make the ego transparent instead of discarding it entirely - Tantric yoga and gurus vs. Hatha yoga without - Recognizing truth you already know instead of adopting another's truth - Meister Eckhart - And finally...teaching asana. Bio: Doug Keller’s background reflects a lifelong commitment to studying, imbibing and sharing the vast field of knowledge and practice known as yoga. After receiving honors and graduate degrees in philosophy from the top Jesuit universities in the United States, Georgetown and Fordham Universities, and teaching philosophy at a college level for several years, he then pursued his ‘post-graduate’ education in the practical experience of yoga at the Siddha Meditation Ashram, Gurudev Siddha Peeth in India, for seven years. He spent a total of 14 years doing service, practicing, training in and teaching yoga in Siddha Meditation Ashrams worldwide. He received intensive training in the Iyengar system in New York City, mainly with senior certified Iyengar teacher Kevin Gardiner. He also practiced Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in India, and became one of the first certified Anusara Yoga teachers, producing three highly respected books on asana, pranayama and yoga philosophy. His further expansion in learning is reflected in his latest and most in-depth work, ‘Yoga as Therapy,’ which is truly one of the most comprehensive, innovative and useful treatments of the structural aspect of yoga therapy available. And for three years he was a regular columnist for Yoga+ Magazine (formerly Yoga International, published by the Himalayan Institute), writing the ‘Asana Solutions’ column that addresses specific therapeutic problems. He is at the highest level of certification with Yoga Alliance, ERYT500, and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. For more about Doug: http://www.doyoga.com/about-us.htm

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 38 - Catching up - Welcome back - Effects of Quarantine - Yoga Alliance Webinar on Yoga and Anxiety - Surviving the Quarantine - Stress showing up on the mat - The reorganizing of every aspect of life - Recognizing emotions and thoughts associated with each day being the same and yet different - Re-establishing a Pranayama practice - Discipline in a time of chaos - Creating boundaries for your mind - Teaching yoga virtually - Demonstrating and teaching virtually over Facebook versus teaching over Zoom - Authenticity in a virtual class - The value of a virtual class and the necessity of a studio class - How did studios and gyms approach the Quarantine? - What's next? Yoga and Stress workshop: https://www.yogaalliance.org/Get_Involved/COVID-19_Resources/Archived_COVID-19_Workshops_and_Events/CE_Workshop_Scientific_Research_on_Yoga_and_Stress_Part_1

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 37b- John Schumacher "Deep relaxation without force." - "I do yoga and people have come to call it Iyengar Yoga." - Bringing Iyengar yoga to the DMV area - Opening Unity Woods in 1979 on 40 acres in MD - Letting the Universe decide - The parallels between music and yoga - Opening Unity Woods Bethesda in 1985- the first yoga studio in the area - Apprenticeship instead of Yoga Teacher Training - The traits of a good yoga teacher: strong and disciplined personal practice - Becoming a nationally recognized yoga teacher - Leading annual retreats to Jamaica...for the last 37 years - The daily morning practice - Urban legends - What is fitness? The purpose of an Asana practice - The explosion of yoga industry in the US - Pranayama - Pratyahara - Meditation - Sitting instead of meditating - Quiet in a full sense - Changing people's consciousness instead of changing the world - The 8 limbs of Patanjali's yoga

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 37a- John Schumacher "The body as a vehicle to awaken our true nature." - Looking for health in the early 1970s - Swami Vishnudevananda - An hour a day asana for health straight from the book - Working as a musician - Yoga Institute of Washington - Teaching for $8 a class - Yoga classes at the DC Rec department in the 1970s - Learning yoga from your elders - Hustling as a yoga teacher - Finding Light on Yoga - Beat, Kick, and Slap Iyengar - Learning with Victor Van Kooten - Traveling to Pune to study yoga with BKS Iyengar - Sheep Skin, Tiger Skin, Deer Skin yoga mats and purple speedos - Three weeks with Iyengar (with mixed feelings) - and then back for more :-) - The Iyengar "system" of postures - Pranayama - What was a BKS Iyengar class like? - Weaving philosophy into asana class - Rooting asana classes in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras - How Iyengar developed the poses in his system - Yoga as an adaptable practice Bio: John Schumacher has practiced yoga for 50 years. He is the founder and Director of Unity Woods Yoga Center, serving the DMV area since 1979. For 33 years, he studied in India with B.K.S. Iyengar, who personally certified him as an Advanced Iyengar Yoga Teacher. Only 14 teachers in the US hold certificates at this level. John’s clear, precise style and his engaging sense of humor have made him one of America’s leading yoga teachers. In 2015, Yoga Journal awarded him its prestigious Good Karma Award for spending “40-plus years sharing [his] practice to help authenticate yoga in America today”. John has written for a variety of publications, has appeared in numerous local and national media, and speaks about the practice and benefits of yoga across the country. He conducts workshops for students and teachers throughout the world. Website: schumacheryoga.com unitywoods.com

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 36- Siohban Troy-Carranza - Tranquil Space - Yoga in the church (with mosquitos!) - Kim Wilson - Teacher Training - The Art of Sequencing - Yoga for Tots and Tykes - The Art of Touch - Seeing bodies - Always remembering your first down dog - Owning a studio versus not owning a studio - Managing Teachers - Vinyasa Yoga - Practicing yoga/doing anything other than working and raising your kids/motherhood - YogaWorks Bio: Since May 2002, I have been teaching vinyasa yoga in Washington, DC. After falling in love with the practice and wanting to learn more, I completed my 200-hr teacher training with Kimberly Wilson at Tranquil Space. I get to teach students of many levels and backgrounds to move their body and explore how the practice of yoga can positively influence their lives both on and off the mat. I teach group classes, privates, workshops and I am a teacher trainer at Tranquil Space which became part of the YogaWorks Family in August of 2017. I am a Continuing Education Provider with Yoga Alliance. In 2014, I completed my 500-hr training and have over 9,000 hours of teaching. I teach five classes per week at YogaWorks in Dupont Circle. Website: https://www.2yogajoy.com/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 35- Willow Street Yoga Director Joe Miller "yoga is how to die well"." - Anusara - Iyengar - Kung Fu - Kripalu - Amrit Desai - Depression and Demons - Rags to Riches - Potatoes and Pot - Self-esteem - Masculinity - Anger - New Mexico - John Friend - The teaching voice - Yoga sutras - The Trantric Tradition - Regardless of if you come to a yoga class for peace or for a tight ass, you get more than you bargained for. - Bhagavad Gita Bio: Joe Miller, E-RYT500, draws upon his 20 years of yogic exploration and study of anatomy to recognize and celebrate our endless potential to align with the intelligence of the body. With humor and lots of individualized attention, Joe uses his deep understanding of Hatha Yoga, Tantric Philosophy, and Ayurveda to give students practical tools to experience fully this gift of life. Joe co-leads Willow Street's Teacher Training program, and continues to deepen his own practice by studying with his principal teachers and his amazing family. Website: https://www.willowstreetyoga.com/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 34- Annie and Amir "Paying fierce attention to whatever arises in the moment." - Yoga Studios as community centers - Asana to help alleviate back pain and correct body imbalances - Alignment based yoga classes - Economics of Yoga Studios - Psychoemotional benefits of yoga - Learning to weave philosophy into asana practice - Yoga in the DMV in the mid to late 1990s (the outfits definitely were not as nice) - Offering a real life alternative to instagram - Specificity when cuing poses - The value in naming or not naming poses - The Heart of the Bhagavad Gita - Dharma talks - Teaching with authenticity - Creating the schedule for a yoga studio - How being a yoga studio owner has changed over the years - Competition with small box gyms Bios: Amir stands at the helm as the most senior and followed teacher at, as well as the owner of, the nationally renowned Sun & Moon Yoga Studios in Northern Virginia. In his packed weekly public classes and private one-on-one yoga therapy sessions, he works attentively with students who want an enhanced quality of life through a plainspoken and sensible approach to health and well-being. His innovative techniques blending traditional Indian and Thai yoga influences with restorative postures, therapeutic applications, and somatic movement help students move gently forward on a path of healing, and encourages taking the mindfulness of yoga practice into everyday life. He holds Yoga Alliance’s highest certification level and is also a practitioner of Thai Yoga Therapy. During her former career as a high school English teacher, Annie began practicing yoga in the 1990s in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in a casual apartment setting with a small group of neighbors and one devoted teacher. After her twin daughters were born in 1999, Annie moved to Arlington, VA, and completed teacher training in 2002 at Sun & Moon Yoga, with the intention of bringing yoga philosophy back into the high school classroom. Along the way, Annie has taught yoga, meditation, and yoga philosophy to thousands of yoga students in public classes at Sun & Moon, in corporate settings, in private one-on-one sessions, as part of basic and advanced teacher trainings, and on retreats. Annie’s regular weekly classes at Sun & Moon are organized by a quarterly theme, and each week presents a short philosophical talk on the theme, followed by a well-rounded physical practice of postures and breathing tied to the theme. Relaxations are long and luxurious. Discussion and questions are welcome. Laughter happens. Web: www.sunandmoonstudio.com

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 33- Catherine Marquette "Elevating voices instead of owning the conversation." - Coming to yoga from athletic injuries - Thinking about opening yoga studio - Leading 200 hour Yoga Teacher Trainings (YTT) - Working in professional sports - The beginning of Yoga Alliance (YA) - Broad overview of YA - Commodification of yoga - Yoga Alliance as the credentialing body for yoga teachers - How does a Yoga Alliance Registered 200 hour YTT work and where does YA fit in? - 200 hour YTT program as the foundation for teaching - How do we incentivize yoga teachers to keep learning after the 200 hour certification? - YA as advocate for all yoga teachers - How do YTT programs work in other countries? - How to start a Yoga Alliance YTT school - What are the standards for a YA YTT school and how are thy changing? - Who approves the programs at YA? - What makes a good yoga teacher and how do we evaluate that? - Making requirements for yoga schools and teachers without defining yoga - YTT programs vs. other group fitness trainings - New Code of Professional Conduct Bio: Catherine S. Marquette Vice President of Marketing & Communications | E-RYT 500 Catherine Marquette is responsible for all of the marketing and communications efforts on behalf of Yoga Alliance and the Yoga Alliance Foundation. In addition, she leads Yoga Alliance’s efforts in public relations, member education, and member benefits as well as government relations and advocacy. She has 20 years of marketing experience with organizations including Pepsi, New Balance, D.C. United, the New York Mets, and New York Road Runners. Her expertise spans community, grassroots, brand, partnership, and experiential marketing. Catherine holds Bachelor of Arts Degrees in both Economics and Communications from the University of North Carolina, where she ran varsity track and cross country, and an MBA from Georgetown University. An Iyengar student for more than 15 years, Catherine has been a member of Yoga Alliance for 10 years as a Registered Yoga Teacher (currently E-RYT 500), became a Level 1 Certified YogaWorks instructor in 2016, and took part in her first YogaWorks teacher training program as an Assistant Teacher Trainer in 2018. She teaches classes and workshops in and around Washington, D.C. For more about Catherine: http://www.yogacatherine.com/ For more about Yoga Alliance: https://www.yogaalliance.org/

DC Yoga Podcast episode 32- Halli Jastaran Faulkner "The Power of Subtlety" - Yoga in High School - Becoming a yoga practitioner instead of just practicing yoga - 40 day sadhana - Creating Healthy habits - Processing Trauma - Yoga and spirituality together - Training with Krishna Kaur - The physical demands of Kundalini yoga - Trauma and coping mechanisms - Providing a space for trauma survivors - Teaching with awareness - Setting physical and energetic boundries - Grounding postures - The Power of Subtlety - Hypervigilence and breathwork - The Long Time Sunshine song Note: this episode includes discussion of trauma and sexual abuse and may contain trigger moments for some listeners. Bio: Halli Jastaran Faulkner teaches healing yoga workshops for women who have experienced sexual assault and abuse. As a survivor herself, Halli has spent the last seven years studying how to use the tools of movement, breath, and mantra to help herself heal. Her Woman Warrior workshops use these same tools to create a safe space where students tap into their own innate healing power. Halli first learned about yoga in her high school gym class in upstate New York and has been practicing and learning ever since. In 2014, Halli moved to Los Angeles and was first trained in Kundalini yoga by Krishna Kaur and then trained in trauma-informed yoga by Kyra Haglund. She then started creating Woman Warrior workshops for survivors while going deep into her own process of healing from sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress. Halli has also spent some time in the formal academic world – earning her Master’s degree in education from Loyola Marymount University and her law degree from the George Washington University Law School, then working in education policy for over a decade. Halli is honored to have taught Woman Warrior workshops for sexual assault survivors in cities including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Rochester, New York. And she's grateful to spend her down time at home with her beautiful wife, Rachel. For more info: WomanWarriorYoga.org facebook.com/womanwarrioryoga/ instagram.com/halli_jastaran_faulkner/ December 22nd, 2019 Woman Warrior: Solstice Workshop for Survivors, Preparing for a Prosperous New Year https://www.yogadistrict.com/the-studios/14th-street-yoga-dc/

DC Yoga Podcast episode 32- Hari-kirtana das Part 2 "Yoga and Transcendence." - Yoga Teacher Training Programs - 300 hour YTT as continuing education - Learning to develop your unique gift as a yoga teacher - Practical tips and tricks of yoga teaching trade craft - Active listening as Yoga - The purpose of Drishti - Expanding consciousness through body awareness - Cultural Appropriation - The mistake of reinventing yoga to fit our desires - Yoga and Hinduism - Yoga as Religion or Science? Both? - Teaching yoga in public schools and the Church/state debate - Origins of yoga in Transcendence not Culture - Sanatana Dharma - The meaning of Dharma - The Gita - Eternal identity and temporary birth - Attachment to identity leads to the insistence of ownership - The many schools of yoga

DC Yoga Podcast episode 31- Hari-kirtana das. "A reciprocal relationship of love with God." -What's in a name? - Living in Yoga communities - Finding yoga as a teenager - Yoga and the counter culture of the 1960's - Seeing Reality as a person - Learning Yoga as spiritual philosophy instead of asana -Living in the Hare Krishna Temple in NYC - Jivanmukti yoga - Teaching asana as a platform for devotional practice - A day in the life of living in an Ashram - Kirtan and Japa practice - Yoga as Religion or Spirituality - A reciprocal relationship of love with God - Yoga as spiritual technology and science - Religion as healing your soul by reconnecting with our Being - Travels in India - Getting started as an asana teacher in DC - Weaving philosophy into the asana practice - Types of meditation and how to practice Bio: Hari-kirtana das is an E-RYT 500 yoga teacher and the author of In Search of the Highest Truth: Adventures in Yoga Philosophy. He's been practicing bhakti-yoga and other yogic disciplines for the better part of 40 years, has lived in devotional yoga ashrams and intentional spiritual communities, worked for Fortune 500 companies and Silicon Valley start-ups, and brings a wide range of spiritual knowledge and life experience to his classes, workshops, and presentations. Hari-kirtana is on the faculty of numerous Yoga Teacher Training programs and leads his own Advanced Yoga Teacher Training program in Washington, DC. You can learn more about Hari-kirtana on his website, hari-kirtana.com. For more info: https://hari-kirtana.com/ https://www.facebook.com/harikirtana (friend) and https://www.facebook.com/HariKirtanaYoga/ (follow) https://www.instagram.com/hari.kirtana/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 30-Whitney Paterson - Making a living teaching one on one yoga instead of classes - Working on one one with students - Leading a Mysore yoga program - Letting go of your inner yoga teacher when taking yoga classes - The definition of yoga - Yoga as awakening - "doing less" in your practice - Sivananda Yoga - Living and working at Kripalu - Being good at something before you start doing it- the Type A curse - Asana for fun? You bet - The first day of a Mysore practice - Personalizing your practice one on one with a teacher - Living in India - Studying in Mysore - Softening your personal practice - Tradition and Innovation in Yoga Whitney has been a student and teacher of yoga for the last 10 years and studied many different styles, however, the traditions that have called to her most have been Ashtanga and Iyengar. She is drawn to the extensive lineages that both of these traditions maintain, and also their emphasis on the teacher-student relationship. It has been her experience that having a one-on-one relationship to a teacher is essential for progress in yoga. This is what led Whitney to focus her energy and efforts to working with one-on-one with students. She finds that students are able to work on a deeper level and make greater strides in the context of private sessions. Whitney is honored to assist and bear witness to each student's hard work and transformation though yoga. Whitney has taken 3 extended trips to India in the past few years to further her studies; two trips to study at KPJAYI with Sharath Jois (Mysore, India), and one to study her other passion, Ayurveda, with Dr. Vasant Lad (Pune, India). She plans to return to India yearly to continue my studies in both subjects. http://www.whitneypaterson.com https://yogaheightsdc.com/yoga-heights-mysore/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 29- Kim Weeks - Yogaville and Satchidananda - Finding yoga in the Yellow Pages - Working on Wall Street - Ingegral yoga - Miracles at Tryst - 9/11 - Opening Boundless Yoga Studio - The business of owning a yoga studio then and now - The Groupon craze - Devaluing yoga - The Iyengar tradition - Small businesses in DC - The Yoga Journal experience - Attachment to your yoga teacher - Falling in and out of love with teaching - Grief - Corporate Wellness For more about Kim: Kim Weeks, voted three times DC’s Best Yoga Teacher by the readers of The Washington City Paper, took her first yoga class -- in Swami Satchidananda's Integral Yoga -- as a college student in Berlin in 1993. She graduated with High Honors from the University of Virginia and started her career on Wall Street, at JP Morgan, and it was through the stress and travel in this job that yoga took hold for Kim. She lived in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Japan and taught herself asanas and pranayamas from books and any class or martial arts practice she happened to find. When she settled in New York for her last stretch of time before moving to Washington, Kim took yoga all the time at Integral Yoga's 13th Street walk-up studio. She did her first headstand and shoulderstand there, and her practice was sustained by Surya Namaskar, but savasana was the life-changing pose that had her hooked for life. Kim has taught yoga since for 2002, which she decided to do after watching the Trade and Financial towers crumbled during 9/11. She founded Boundless Yoga in 2002, closed its bricks and mortar in 2013, and today uses it as a school to apprentice and train teachers. Today she runs Kim Weeks Well, a wellness educational and consulting company. She's a registered advanced teacher and yoga school with Yoga Alliance, and she's now a Certified Iyengar Teacher. Kim has been featured in many media including The New York Times,The Washington Post, and NBC4 as a yoga expert; and she'll be featured in the November/December 2019 issue of Yoga Journal with a master-class sequence and video of poses to combat tech strain. Her main teacher since 2007 has been John Schumacher, founder of Unity Woods Yoga Center, and she is also his apprentice, assisting him each week in class. kimweekswell.com instagram, facebook and twitter: kimweekswell

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 28- Maelis Mittig "surround yourself in Yellow." - Touring with Sting (maybe we just stop there?) - Yoga instead of gym class in High School - Studying yoga in College - Developing a personal Religion - Going to church without being Religious - Epiphanies and breakdowns (the difference is in how you react) - Talking to your body (and listening to it) - Leaving the Corporate world - Succulents - Becoming an organized dreamer - All you ever wanted to know about Chakras - Gross vs. Subtle Body - Tweeting for McDonalds - Starting a Yoga company from the ground up - Teaching quality classes over quantity Bio: Maelis is the owner of Bounce Yoga, a new style of yoga under construction, as well as the host of The Bounce Back Podcast, a podcast about yoga as it relates to being a tool for resiliency. She began her personal practice over 10 years ago, studied yoga technique and history in college and over the last few years, has decided to take her curiosity and passion to the next level by becoming a certified yoga instructor. She completed her first RYT® 200 training at Evolution Power Yoga in 2016 and followed it with becoming a Level 1 and 2 Reiki Practitioner under the teaching of Reiki Master Guillaume Gauthereau in NYC. She recently completed a RYT® 200 Alignment Yoga training through The Yoga Sanctuary School in Lancaster, PA, and since has taught hundreds of classes from NYC, PA & DMV to her most recent stint in Jamaica. Maëlis is passionate and on a life-long quest to learn about how relational energy, philosophy, psychology, meditation, mindfulness and spirituality can be used for healing. The ultimate goal — create space for self-empowerment and in turn, make the world a more joyful place. Her personal yoga practice is quite diverse and includes trampoline yoga, hip-hop yoga, Bhakti yoga, traditional vinyasa and more. Maëlis’ classes are designed to activate the body, mind and spirit and to create joy, peace and universal love. She often bases her classes on chakra yoga techniques, relating her lessons to colors and energetic movement. She enjoys teaching a weekly class at Gold's Gym Rockville at Randolph Road (which she also manages) and at local schools for elementary school aged kids. You can also find Maelis' classes online on a platform called Burnalong. IG: @bounceyogaco @maelismittig Website: www.bounceyogaco.com

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 27- Dr. Monea Abdul-Majeed "Yoga as a tool of resilience." - Growing up in DC during the Crack Era - Being confronted with racism for the first time at college - Dealing with the anxiety and depression away from home in a hostile environment - How yoga found her and she found yoga on campus - Sleepless nights and being able to sleep in Savasana - Inspired yoga studio - Yoga as a place to get away from everything - Feeling safe in the yoga studio - The work of talking about race and yoga - Sitting with and working through discomfort - Incorporating the 8 limbs into an asana class - Empowering women - Changing the world by changing yourself. - Yoga for Justice - Training with Faith Hunter, Seane Corn and Hari Das - Implicit racial bias - Embodying generational racial trauma - White dominance in the yoga space - Spiritual Bypassing - The big mess of True Love - How to get more people of color into the yoga studio Monea will be leading a workshop at Lighthouse yoga on Racism in the Community on Saturday Sept 21st and Sunday Sept 22nd (https://lighthouseyogacenter.com/). Bio: Dr. Monea Abdul-Majeed is a Racial Justice Speaker, Trainor, and Certified Yoga Teacher. She serves as Racial Justice Coordinator at YWCA York, where she is responsible for leading the organization and York community to racial equality through training, community events, and involvement with York school districts. Dr. Monea is also a registered yoga teacher in the vinyasa style of yoga. She has been a dedicated student of yoga for 16 years and uses her knowledge of mindfulness to inform her racial justice work. She lives in York with her husband, Musa Abdul-Majeed, and their three children, Lailah, Zainah, and Amir. For more about Monea: http://moneatamara.com/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 26- Julie Eisenberg. "Creating Teachers, not Disciples" - The creation of Lighthouse Yoga - Being an awful yoga student - An exercise junkie finds yoga (but not in the way you might think) - The first taste os Spirituality - Iyengar and geeking out on alignment - Kundalini Yoga - Sadhana - Yoga Teacher Training Transformations - A short history of Kundalini yoga in the US and Yogi Bhajan - Kundalini mantra and Sikhism - The purpose of Mantra in Kundalini yoga - Structure of a Kundalini yoga class - Pranayama - The Kriyas of Kundalini Bio: Jiwan Shakti Kaur (Julie Eisenberg) ERYT-500 started practicing yoga in the 1990s as a way to decompress from a stressful job. Over the years, as her practice deepened and evolved, she began to understand yoga as a tool of personal transformation and empowerment. She is a Kundalini Level 2 Teacher and Professional Teacher Trainer with the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI), with advanced certifications in therapeutics and other modalities. Jiwan Shakti opened Lighthouse Yoga Center in 2013 in her home community of Petworth, DC as a way to share the teachings of yoga with the residents of her diverse neighborhood. Outside the studio she has taught yoga to DC’s homeless population and low-income Spanish-speaking immigrants in Washington, DC and is involved in many community and civic organizations. Her classes, retreats and trainings are energetic, spiritual and often powerfully transformational. For more about Julie and Lighthouse yoga: www.lighthouseyogacenter.com www.facebook.com/lighthouseyogadc/ KRI Level 1 Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training at Lighthouse Yoga Center starts in March, 2020. Details: https://lighthouseyogacenter.com/teacher-training/kundalini

DC Yoga Podcast episode 25- Gopi Kinnikutt "mantra clenses the mirror of the Heart" - Moving to the USA - Yoga, spiritual practice and depression - Living in an Ashram - Intense physical practice as gateway to feeling the body and living meditation - The body as a vehicle to express truth but also to cover up truth - Bhakti Vinyasa - The purpose of Asana practice - Giving back - Jainism - Mantra Meditation - Dualism and the exchange of love - Exploring who we are separate from the story we tell ourselves - The wonderful, mystical city of Vrindavan, the birthplace of Krishna - And tree hugging For more about Bhakti Yoga Studio: www.bhaktiyogadc.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bhakti-Yoga-DC/1165151800165276 Retreats: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=233017&stype=-8&sVT=53&sView=day&sLoc=0 Yoga Teacher Training: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=233017&stype=-8&sVT=46&sView=day&sLoc=0 About Gopi: Gopi Kinnicutt is a dynamic Bhakti-infused yoga teacher who has developed her own unique teaching style. She organically creates and designs dynamic fluid yoga sequences, infused with deep spirituality. In her classes she incorporates mantras, breath work and Kriyas to release untouched energy and Prana. She bridges the philosophy of Yoga and the authentic traditions coming from India, making them accessible to the modern 21st century Yogi. Gopi leads National and International yoga retreats. She has been the head of RYT 200 hour and 300 hour teacher trainings . Gopi has trained extensively with Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest and Gary Kraftsow, and is certified and trained in trauma-sensitive yoga. Gopi also lived in a Bhakti Yoga ashram for 10 years, where she studied and taught Indian philosophy and mantra meditation. Gopi is certified in Thai Yoga Body Work and Ayurvedic Body Work, offering a vigorous herbal oil body massage (Vishesh) and a deep relaxation head treatment called Shirodhara.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 24- Eric Schwarz joins the podcast. We discuss: - Living and teaching yoga in Australia and how that compares to Washington DC - Ways we ignore our Self - Serendipity - True humility - Why do people come to my yoga class anyway? - Fitting the yoga into an asana class - The yoga space as community and break from community - Yoga of relationships - Life coaching - The line between who we are and who students need us to be - Community among Yoga Teachers - Life as teacher - The benefits of Ayahuasca Eric is an American Yoga Teacher and a life coach living in Western Australia. His teaching style is engaging, empowering and creative, embracing the full potential of body, mind and spirit. His personal journey and transcendent life teachings light up his classes, shining hope, unwavering faith and transformation. Eric’s teachings inspire students from all walks of life to offer their best to themselves and the world. He incorporates embodied wisdom from his work as a life coach and his teachings serve as a backdrop for the real transformation that happens when a student learns to quiet the mind and open the heart. In 2016, he was voted best yoga instructor in Washington, DC. For more about Eric: http://www.ericschwarzyoga.com https://heartofthemotherretreats.com

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 23- Christine Kontra drops by the podcast to chat about Yoga On the Hill, transitioning to a full time fitness professional, being a "good yogi", the Path to Self Realization, shedding your own bullshit, Sanskrit, teaching beginners, body awareness, yoga retreats, and much more More about Christine: Christine Kontra is a yoga teacher, personal trainer, health coach, and martial artist in Washington, DC. Since completing her yoga teacher training in 2012, she has taught classes, led workshops and trainings, and incorporated yoga into programs for her personal training clients. Christine is also a Master Trainer and Personal Training Manager at VIDA Fitness U Street, where she is passionate about helping each client reach their potential, while prioritizing mental fitness as an essential part of building physical fitness and overall wellbeing. Martial arts has become an important influence in her life, building on many of the same principles of self-awareness and resilience that she began developing in her yoga practice. She has competed in Muay Thai and Kickboxing on the local, national, and international level, winning her first amateur world championship in 2018. She has lived in DC for the past 10 years after graduating from Ohio State University with a B.A. in History of Art and Political Science. When not doing the work that she loves, she enjoys long distance running, live music, and traveling.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 22- The show is back after a month long hiatus with Audrey Roxas. We chat about her time at the Krishnamacharya Institute in Chennai, yoga prescriptions, Bikram Yoga as boot camp, the decision to teach, Thai Massage, introverts, growing up, what to do when someone leaves your class, the Ganges, and dancing like Elaine Benes. For more about Audrey: Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/AudreyRoxasYoga/ Youtube-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCHp8p1XM6xBcr1tjZvV6mg?fbclid=IwAR1tAxlAP-DTDsZ1LGCMUXcANBm_6G532_ceHEh8NIKTLZEZEF8PABP8ftY

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 21- Kevin Waldorf Cruz is my guest this week. Kevin has a unique story as a long time DC resident and yoga teacher and we covered a lot- yoga on college campuses, 9/11, trauma, Tranquil Space, running, Dis Integrated vs. Integrated body/mind, starting out as a yoga teacher, the importance of going off script, complaint to convert, Power Yoga, Teacher Training Programs and working towards a more inclusive yoga

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 20- Liz Bernstein joins us this time for an asana, anatomy and meditation packed episode: going past the 200 hour training, injuries, cueing, Yoga Alliance, full time fitness, type A personalities, Pilates, meditation and perception, and Disability Adjusted Life Years for 30 Chronic Conditions (its a thing). For more with Liz: website: Soulfulelephant.com FB- elizabeth.bernstein.7 IG: @soulfulelephant

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 19-Ariele Foster joins me for an epic episode about yoga lineage and dogma, the real Power yoga, Bramacharya, the Environment, Demographic shifts in yoga classes, the miracle of Physical Therapists, the futility of trying to fix people with yoga, yoga as hard work or mystical experience (or both), and learning yoga from your grandmother. For more about Ariele: Web: sacredsourceyoga.com and yogaanatomyacademy.com Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/SacredSourceYoga Facebook: facebook.com/arielef Twitter: @ArieleYoga Insta: @ariele.foster @YogaAnatomyAcademy

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 18- Debra Mishalove joins me in the studio to talk about her introduction to yoga in San Fransisco, bringing a little part of that community to DC, the dot.com boom, feeling truly alive when teaching, the drive to open a studio, creating an intentional community, Yoga Alliance, the dread "Yoga Tax", Teacher Trainings, celebriyogis, and how Yoga At Debra's House became Flow Yoga Center. For more about Deb and Flow: https://www.flowyogacenter.com/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 17- Clare Kelley joins the show for a wide ranging discussion from yoga to Pilates and Group Fitness, Step Aerobic Championships, what advanced yoga means, purity, body image, hyper mobility, hands on assisting, Forest Bathing, lineage and dogma, Denise Austin and much, much more. For more with Clare: www.facebook.com/borrachica www.facebook.com/dcforestbathing/ IG: @theclarelife

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 16- Mimi Rieger joins the podcast this week. She was one of my first yoga teachers and huge influence on my own teaching and is a mentor to many teachers and students in the DC area. We talked personal transformations, work ethic, love for teaching yoga, what lights us up, yoga teacher training, martial arts, injury and recovery, and her first job as a lobbyist. You can find out more about Mimi at her website: http://www.mimiriegeryoga.com/offerings/retreats/ and can even watch her in action: https://yogainternational.com/profile/381422

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 15- My first yoga teacher, Angela Meyer is my guest this week for a big episode with lots to discuss: empathing, death, cliff jumping (not actual), finding your gift, teaching as yoga practice, presence, recovery from injury, martial arts, discipline, real intimacy, and punching people in the face. For more with Angela: IG: @warriorwomanrepublic Website: www.warriorwomanrepublic.com Elephant Journal: https://www.elephantjournal.com/author/angela-meyer/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 14- Hawah Kasat drops by and joins the DC Yoga Podcast and chats about his travels in India (and elsewhere), yoga traditions, personal retreats, teaching yoga in the studio and the world, leadership, and community healing work. He has authored several books and produced 3 documentary films. Check out all the awesome work he does as the co-founder and executive director of the non-profit organization One Common Unity and also on his personal website: OneCommonUnity.org/ www.Hawah.Us

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 13- Paige Lichens and I chat enjoying Now, what's in a yoga class and how that has changed, the role of a yoga teacher (and student), Meditation, Yoga Nidra, and Jane Fonda (Bo knows, but Jane did it all first) For more about Paige and upcoming workshops: IG: @Paigeyoga Website: www.paigesyoga.com

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 12- Alicia Moyer drops by to chat about the evolution of teaching, connecting more fully, cross training, anatomy and Evil Corporate librarians.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 11- Sid and Liz McNairy join the podcast and chat about their journey from football and gymnastics to challenge and change to teaching yoga together and building a healing a practice for everyone.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 10b- The music doesnt stop with Heather Honstein as she sings, plays the harmonium, works some crystal bowls and we bang on a giant gong.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 10- Heather Honstein drops by to drop a double album of Bhakti yoga. We chat about saving the world, going past the physical, past and future lives, India, Mantra, Dharma Mittra, Jivamukti, and of course, the music.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 9- Kelly Dinardo talks about her journey from travel and food writer to yoga studio owner to writing her latest book, "Living the Sutras" a wonderful modern translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the secret to lifting elephants. For more about Kelly and Past Tense: www.kellydinardo.com www.pasttensestudio.com IG: @kellydinardo @pasttensestudio www.livingitpodcast.com

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 8- Patty Ivey discusses her discovery of Power Yoga (the heat!), training and learning with Baron Baptiste, the power of breathing and presence, and running a Power Yoga studio in DC

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 7- Amibya Binta discusses her discovery of Bikram yoga, the training, the sequence, the dialogue, incorporating Yoga into Asana, the Gita, mantras, and being a full time yoga teacher.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 6- Jennie Light shows on building a yoga community in Brookland, rock climbing, how a personal practice changes over time, and taking risks building a class schedule. For more about Jennie and Bluebird Sky Yoga: Bluebird Sky: http://www.bluebirdskyyoga.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdskyyoga/ https://www.facebook.com/BluebirdSkyYoga/ Jennie: http://jennielightyoga.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jennielightyoga/

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 4- Sam Attard joins us to chat playlists, Yoga in the Big Apple, the yoga business outside the studio, yoga fashion, and Ayurveda. For more about Sam: Website: Behappyhealthyhuman.com. Instagram: @behappyhealthyhuman Facebook: facebook.com/behappyhealthyhuman

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 4- Michael Joel Hall talks Mysore (the Place and the Practice), his journey, cross training, philosophy and the trajectory of yoga in DC since the 2000s.

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 3- Abby Dobbs drops in to chat about the beginnings of her practice, spirituality, Forrest Yoga, the practice of teaching, the purpose of studios, adulting, and Eka Pada Galavasana. For more on Abby: IG: @gratefulweirdo Website: www.abbydobbs.com FB: www.facebook.com/abbydobbsyoga

DC Yoga Podcast Episode 2- Jessica Pierno on teacher training, opening studios, the business of yoga and much more. For more about Jess and Yoga Heights: Yoga Heights 3506 Georgia Ave. NW 255 Carroll St. NW follow: @YogaHeightsDC like: facebook.com/YogaHeights web: www.yogaheightsdc.com

Episode 1 of the DC Yoga Podcast. Discussion with Julia Romano on finding yoga, the joys of teaching and the practice that sustains us. For more about Julia: http://www.empoweryogatherapy.com/