Voices | Yoga Standards Project

Diane Alarcon

kirsten — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 16:28:04 +0000

The post Diane Alarcon appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Jafar Alexander

kirsten — Fri, 18 May 2018 17:35:55 +0000

Jafar J. Alexander, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, believes that “practice is what happens on the mat, and yoga is what happens in life.” His belief is “Yoga is yoga. No need to complicate it, it’s quite simple. Breathe, move, and find your way to silence. Everything you need to know is right here…Atha!” His dvoted study of yoga has made him a multi-dimensional teacher who is able to playfully weave stories with expert sequencing and thoughtful philosophical inquiry all in one asana, making his classes what he likes to call “Yogasanas- keeping the yoga in the asana.”

Jafar uses his diverse and comprehensive understanding of the yogic tradition to guide practitioners in individual sessions, group classes, weekend workshops, master classes, and teacher training programs. Jafar’s energy and presence brings yoga theory to life as he encourages yogis to find space, allowing for movement, which leads to freedom from attachment. He shares his yoga practice and passion through a connected journey of self-awareness, conscious breath, and physical strength.

Jafar has a unique range of influence from fellow yogis such as A.G. Mohan, Kelly McGonigal, Cora Wen, Richard Rosen, Doug Keller, and Maryam Ovissi. Jafar is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance and a certified yoga therapist through IAYT. He is the Director of the BelovedYoga School’s 200 and 500 hour programs and specialty certifications. Jafar helped expand the BelovedYoga School to Europe and continues to offer workshops and trainings domestically and internationally. See his schedule at www.belovedyoga.com.

The post Jafar Alexander appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Trina Altman

kirsten — Fri, 18 May 2018 06:12:38 +0000

Trina Altman, BS, PMA-CPT, received her training through STOTT PILATES® and is an E-RYT 500. She’s the creator of Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed®, which take an interdisciplinary approach to foster an embodied understanding of yoga and Pilates and their relationship to modern movement science.

Trina has presented at Kripalu, the Yoga Alliance Leadership Conference and Yogaworks, among others. She also created and taught a Pilates continuing-education course for physical therapists and was part of the faculty for the Brain Longevity conference at UCLA.

Trina was a finalist in the Next Pilates Anytime Instructor competition in 2017. Her work has been published in both Yoga Journal and Yoga International. Her book, Yoga Deconstructed®: Transitioning From Rehabilitation Back Into The Yoga Studio is slated to be published by Handspring Publishing in December 2019.

She works out of Los Angeles at Equinox and The Moving Joint. For more information on Trina and her online classes and courses, visit trinaaltman.com. Follow her on Instagram at: @trinaaltman and on Facebook at Trina Altman Yoga and Pilates.

The post Trina Altman appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Marla Apt

kirsten — Sun, 22 Apr 2018 14:09:02 +0000

Marla Apt is a Senior level Iyengar Yoga teacher and was highlighted by Yoga Journal magazine as one of twenty-one young yoga teachers helping to shape the future of yoga. She has been involved with medical research studies at UCLA on yoga for depression, anxiety and IBS and created the first yoga therapy content to be incorporated into the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine’s curriculum. She is a writer and contributor to Yoga Journal magazine and other periodicals.

Marla visited India for the first time while doing research for a degree in Buddhist philosophy and has since returned numerous times for yoga studies, including a year of study in Pune at the Iyengar Yoga Institute. She served the Iyengar Yoga community as President of the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States and is a current member of the national certification committee. She is pursuing her interest in making the benefits of yoga available to communities in need as a founding board member of the nonprofit organization Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics. She teaches in Los Angeles and conducts teacher trainings, workshops, and retreats and presents at conferences in the United States and abroad.

The post Marla Apt appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Jacoby Ballard

kirsten — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 16:04:30 +0000

Jacoby Ballard is a white trans queer person working to support and nourish local and national social change work through yogic and Buddhist practices, herbalism, and political education, as well as educating and organizing embodied and contemplative communities in social justice practices and participation in movement building. He is a co-founder of worker owned cooperative Third Root Community Health Center in Brooklyn, and co-founder of Bending Towards Justice, an organization that leads anti-oppression workshops and consultations for yoga communities, and leading teacher at Adhikara Yoga School in Western Massachusetts. Jacoby speaks on college and high school campuses, leading collective care, transformative leadership, and resilience workshops for campus activists, leaders, and queer communities and consults with organizations looking to either build more justice or more spiritual practice into their organization. For the past 5 years, Jacoby has been on the Advisory Board of the Yoga Service Council and on Faculty with Off the Mat, Into the World. Jacoby is a writer whose work can be found in Yoga, the Body, and Embodied Social Change, Real World Mindfulness for Beginners, and Yoga Rising. His first book is forthcoming.

The post Jacoby Ballard appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Susanna Barkataki

kirsten — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 01:29:16 +0000

Susanna Barkataki, M.Ed. Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, member of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Core Community of Interbeing, is known for her passion for decolonizing yoga – practicing yoga not just as poses but as a way of life. She welcomes everyone to yoga through story, questions, and inspires people to their own authentic powerful experiences.

Susanna is mixed, born in England with a family lineage is from Assam, India, where an ancient line of teaching the traditions of Yoga and Ayurveda is practiced still today. Susanna integrates this lineage with the practical application of a Master’s degree in Education as well as a B.A. in Philosophy for U.C. Berkeley to create a culturally aware and socially relevant practice.

She is the founder of Ignite | Yoga and Wellness Institute in Orlando, Fl. Ignite teaches yoga beyond asana. Ignite provides comprehensive Yoga Alliance Certified 200 and 300–hour yoga teacher trainings, a Health Coach Certification, and online Love and Relationships course. Susanna is viral yoga and wellness blogger for Huffington Post, Yoga International and Elephant Journal, an advisory board member of Yoga Service Council, a member of the Yoga and Body Image Coalition Team, and is part of the Core Leadership of Thich Nhat Hanh’s community of mindfulness. She optimistically believes that yoga can create more personal and social connection, unity and fulfillment.

Related Media

Core Curriculum, Scope of Practice, and Inclusion with Susanna Barkataki

The post Susanna Barkataki appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Steven Bishop

kirsten — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 07:30:42 +0000

Steven Bishop, RYT-500, received both his 200 hour and 500 hour yoga training in India from Sampoorna Yoga School. He has also studied under a variety of teachers in the United States in the Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Yin yoga styles as well as Piyo, and Broga. He is a Registered Respiratory Therapist, has a Master’s degree in physiology, and a Ph.D. in higher education and psychology. Steven has taught respiratory therapy, psychology, anatomy, and yoga at the college level. Steven served as Dean of Allied Health and retired as Provost and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Ozarks Technical Community College. He currently teaches yoga and boot camp classes for CoxHealth Meyers Fitness Center in Springfield, Missouri where he has taught yoga for the past 10 years.

The post Steven Bishop appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Dianne Bondy

kirsten — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 06:10:43 +0000

Dianne Bondy is a celebrated yoga teacher, social justice activist and leading voice of the Yoga For All movement. Her inclusive view of yoga asana and philosophy inspires and empowers thousands of followers around the world – regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability.

She applies over 1000 hours of training to help her students find freedom, self-expression and radical self-love in their yoga practice. She shares her message and provides millions of followers with affordable access to online yoga classes, workshops and tutorials at her virtual studio, Yogasteya.com. Dianne contributes to Yoga International, Do You Yoga, and Elephant Journal. She is featured and profiled in international media outlets, including: The Guardian, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, and People. She is a spokesperson for diversity in yoga and yoga for larger bodies, as seen in her work with Pennington’s, Gaiam, and the Yoga & Body Image Coalition. Her work is published in the books Yoga and Body Image and Yes Yoga Has Curves. Visit diannebondyyoga.com for more information.

The post Dianne Bondy appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

B Grace Bullock

kirsten — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 16:12:14 +0000

B Grace Bullock, PhD, E-RYT 500 is a psychologist, research scientist, educator, science writer, yoga and mindfulness expert, and author of Mindful Relationships: Seven Skills for Success – Integrating the Science of Mind, Body and Brain (Handspring Publishing, 2016). She is the CEO and Founding Director of the International Science & Education Alliance, an organization devoted to exceptional program planning, design, development, training, research, and capacity building to support equity, diversity and scientific integrity, and promote effective leadership, decision-making and social change. Dr. Bullock partners with public and private organizations to design, develop, deliver, and evaluate evidence-based, yoga and mindfulness programs in schools, community settings, and business. She is an associate research scientist at Oregon Research Institute, Adjunct Professor at the Van Loan School at Endicott College in Cambridge MA, and on the faculty of Oregon Mind Body Institute (OMBI), and at the Integrated Health Yoga Therapy (IHYT) Training program. Dr. Bullock is a long-time yoga and meditation practitioner and instructor, and graduate of the IAYT-accredited American Viniyoga Institute Yoga Therapy Program. She offers private instruction, classes, workshops, and webinars that combine the wisdom of neuroscience, psychobiology, clinical psychology and yoga philosophy and practice. Her goal is to empower individuals, groups, leaders and organizations to reduce chronic stress and increase attention, awareness, compassion, and effective communication to strengthen relationships and embody healthy ways of being.

Dr. Bullock is Contributing Editor for Research at YogaU Online, a frequent contributor to Mindful and Yoga International, and the former Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. For more information see www.bgracebullock.com and www.isaea.com

The post B Grace Bullock appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.

Donalee Campbell

kirsten — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 16:05:57 +0000

Donalee Campbell, E-RYT 200, is a Certified Senior Teacher (800hrs+) with the Yoga Association of Alberta (YAA) and is well known throughout Alberta in her role as Coordinator for the YAA Teacher Training and Equivalency Certification Programs. An umbrella organization, the YAA Teacher Training Program is recognized as having some of the highest training standards in North America, with a core curriculum common to most recognized yoga disciplines. As part of her role with the YAA, Donalee regularly assesses the training of yoga teachers, both from the local area and from around the globe, for YAA Equivalency Certification.

Donalee is a passionate yoga teacher and trainer, and a strong advocate for high-quality yoga teacher training. She believes that teaching yoga requires much more than minimal effort, agreeing with B.K.S. Iyengar’s view that a teacher’s role is to remove darkness and bring enlightenment, inspiring “confidence, devotion, discipline, deep understanding and illumination through love.” Resonating deeply with the philosophies of yoga, she also leads the yoga philosophy component of teacher training at Yoga for Today in Sherwood Park, and aspires to embody truth, consciousness and bliss in yoga and in life.

Originally trained with the YAA’s 300-Hour apprenticeship-style program, Donalee completed most of her training with Iyengar and Anusara teachers, and has taken several other yoga certifications as well as university studies in dance, psychology, philosophy, and religious studies. She leads heart-oriented, accessible classes and workshops for adults, kids, seniors and families in her community.

www.trueblissyoga.com

The post Donalee Campbell appeared first on Yoga Standards Project.