Dharma Yoga DC Teachers

Dharma Yoga Center DC Teachers

Click on a name below to view more information.

Hannah


		Hannah was first exposed to yoga in 2001 at a University of Georgia power yoga class, where she 'went somewhere she had never been before.' Curiosity took Hannah on a decade-long journey, where she explored various forms of yoga and meditation. In the first 7 years or so, Hannah found herself only partially dedicated to a consistent asana and spiritual practice, and returned to yoga when needing guidance and balance. In 2007, in the height of studying for doctoral comprehensive exams, she walked into the CNY Yoga Center, and attended a Dharma Mittra Yoga class with Lorie Bebber. In that class – a combination of rigorous asana practice with pranayama, meditation and practical discussions of living an honest, spiritually-inspired life – Hannah learned what yoga was about – opening up to – and seeing Yourself. In the last two years, she has discovered the joy of a consistent practice of the 8-limbed yoga path. In June 2009, Hannah completed Dharma Mittra's Life of a Yogi Teacher Training in New York City. She hopes to serve as an instrument of Sri Dharma Mittra's simple, transformative teachings.

Justin


		Justin Blazejewski (Mayur) began practicing yoga a few years ago to help with a back injury he received while serving in the Marine Corps. He quickly realized the physical benefits of yoga when his back pain disappeared completely. Soon after Justin dove into a daily yoga practice for a few months before going on a yoga/kirtan retreat to Bali with Alanna Kaivalya and Dave Stringer that was the turning point in his spiritual practice. Soon after Justin found his guru Sri Dharma Mittra and immediately enrolled in the "DMY Life of a Yogi" teacher training in NYC to deepen his practice with no expectations of teaching. After graduating from the 200 hour Teacher Training program Justin immediately realized he was giving a gift of representing Sri Dharma. Justin is a RTY-200 Dharma Mittra Yoga teacher and is currently in the internship phase of the 500 hr Dharma Mittra Life of a Yogi teacher training and looking forward to his graduation in Fall 2011. He feels blessed to be part of the Dharma Mittra family and is grateful to teach in the spirit of his guru. Justin's classes consist of the Dharma's Shiva Namaskar Vinyasa sequences with pranayama, mediation, and Yoga Nidra. He strives to mimic his Guru Sri Dharma and be a vessel of light for him through his teaching.

Mike


		Mike began practicing yoga in 2002, and knew that he would be practicing for the rest of his life. Mike is blessed to have met many great teachers both at Flow and in his travels in Asia and Africa. Mike spends every class trying to imitate his two greatest teachers—Kartik and Dharma. Kartik Master from Nairobi, Kenya often looked at students and told him to do things that they were sure they couldn't do (but did) but Kartik always made his demanding classes fun creating a strong community.

Brittanie

Brittanie has studied many styles of yoga in her 12+ years as a yogi: Ashtanga, Jivamukti, Kundalini, Anusara, Vinyasa, Restorative, etc. Oddly enough, when she met her teacher, Sri Dharma Mittra, in 2010, she couldn’t figure out what she had been doing until that point! Being in the loving presence of Dharma (as often as possible, she goes to New York at least 2 times a month for classes) has helped her evolve into a calm, steady and even more joyful teacher. He has also made her keenly aware that Self-Realization is possible in this lifetime! Amongst the many lessons Dharma has bestowed upon her, the following are most important: “The greatest cause of suffering is ignorance of your Real Self,” “Make every pose an offering to the Lord and surrender the fruits of your actions,” “Always copy the teacher,” and “Your organs are like your employees. If you don’t treat them well, they will go on strike.”

Brittanie is living a life of service and is endlessly thankful for the opportunity to live out her dharma (life's purpose) in this way. She teaches Yoga and Pilates at Pure Prana (Old Town, Alexandria) and Flow (Logan Circle, DC). Additionally, she teaches Stress Management at GWU. Along with an M.S. in Exercise Science, certification in Power Pilates Mat and ACE Group Fitness Instruction, she did her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Radiantly Alive Yoga in Ubud, Bali and completed Dharma Mittra’s 500-hour Life Of a Yogi Teacher Training program in 2011.

Brittanie's classes are light-hearted and filled with joy. Her funny personality and positive energy shine through when she teaches – and you’ll most likely catch her contagious laugh at least once. Her yoga classes incorporate all 8-limbs of Hatha-Raja yoga: yama & niyama (the ethical guidelines), asana (the physical exercises), pranayama (breathing exercise), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and, (hopefully!) samadhi (a level of consciousness induced by deep meditation).

Andres


		Meditation has been part of my life ever since I took my first meditation course soon after graduating from college. I am very grateful for my daily meditation practice and the deep sense of renewal it provides. By practicing mindfulness meditation, I started to notice what a miracle it is to be alive. Being more aware allows me to live my life more fully. My main meditation teachers are Tara Brach and Hugh Byrne from the Mindfulness/Vipassana tradition. Many times we find ourselves in a trance and let life slip through our fingers. By inviting mindfulness into our lives we can gradually awaken and open our minds to our true potential. Sharing this practice with others, making it simple and accessible, are what keep me motivated to teach it. I am aslo an experienced (500-hour) yoga teacher from the Dharma Yoga tradition of Sri Dharma Mittra. I am very grateful I have the opportunity to study with such a kind, humble and experienced teacher. My daily practice involves asana (postures), pranayama (breathwork) and meditation. I combine these approaches to wellness in my work as a Holistic Health Coach. This allows me to help people lead happy and healthy lives. When not working with mxy health coaching clients, you will catch me going for a run by the DC monuments and trails, or cross-training with my boot camp group at the Georgetown Waterfront Park and Roosevelt Island. Feel free to join us sometime!

Julia


		A certified hatha and vinyasa flow instructor (Yoga Alliance), and trained in Dharma Yoga (200 hr June 2011 training), Julia's teaching focuses on coordinating breath with body movement in order to promote flexibility, strength, and peace of mind. Julia integrates the best of the many varieties of asana she herself has explored, including Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, Iyengar, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Hatha, and Dharma. Julia's belief in yoga as therapy stems from her own experience of its rehabilitative properties; traditional physical therapies having proved unproductive following reconstructive ankle surgery, she turned to yoga and gained not only the ability to again walk and run, but also a profound acceptance for the inevitably times in life when one falters. Julia's personal mantra is "as it is, be here now," a phrase you'll oft hear her repeating in classes. Therefore, Julia's instruction offers variations for every practitioner, from the injured, to the beginner, to the "advanced," though Julia herself deeply believes that there is no such thing as a "better" yogi, only a more conscious practitioner--and anyone, regardless of physical prowess, can practice with awareness. Such regular practice helps cultivate strength, flexibility, peace of mind through acceptance, and comfort in difficult positions--qualities that one can then take off the mat, and into daily life.

Jasmine


		Jasmine Chehrazi is the Founder of the Yoga District collective of yoga studios, and Founder of Yoga Activist, a nonprofit outreach organization dedicated to improving accessibility and trauma sensitivity in yoga and mindfulness instruction. Jasmine LOVES the Yoga District community, and she would probably be insane without it. She has trained with teachers from a wide variety of yoga traditions (Dharma, Power, Vinyasa, Kundalini, and Sivananda) and taught students of diverse backgrounds (from homeless shelter residents to White House staff). In her role as a yoga educator, Jasmine serves on the Faculty at George Washington University, advising yoga teachers in training. She also directs the yoga teacher training programs at Yoga District. Jasmine believes yoga instructors have a responsibility to adapt their classes with sensitivity to individual student needs, while also dealing with the realities of group instruction and honoring the integrity of their yoga tradition. As an advisor in continuing education yoga programs, to yoga teacher trainees, and to experienced yoga teachers, it’s Jasmine’s goal to skillfully share yoga’s teachings and assist others in doing the same. Jasmine’s best teachers are her students… she is soooo grateful for their patience, sweat, hard work, and understanding as she learns along with them on this crazy path of mindfulness and liberating confusion. She keeps the studios cheap because she knows what it’s like to really, really need a yoga class but not have $20 to spend on it, not wanting to cut a coupon for it, not wanting to ask for special treatment. Jasmine believes it’s a basic right to have access to mindfulness resources! Before starting up the studios, Jasmine worked at an office for ten years (starting in high school, working through her college years and beyond), which drove her nuts after a while. When she took the leap and quit her day job, she started volunteering at a nearby yoga studio in exchange for free classes. Jasmine soon realized that she was crazy enough to run her own yoga studio. Since she wanted classes to stay cheap, she took up other jobs including working in restaurants and bars, whatever it took to help make ends meet through the studios’ growing pains. Thanks to the generosity of teachers, the volunteer staff, students, and beneficent landlords, the studios have flourished for over five years, a testament to the power of community-based, non-hierarchical, non-corporate, love-based initiatives. Along the way, Jasmine met Steve, Michelle, Hannah and Aqeel… super-talented, hard-working yoga teachers who have also dedicated their lives to sharing yoga… so Jasmine invited them to join Yoga District’s Board of Directors and run a studio in their neighborhood. Jasmine loves DC and the neighborhoods the studios serve, having spent years living and/or working in each of the studios’ neighborhoods. Jasmine now lives in the Atlas District and can probably be found at Argonaut on Taco Tuesdays… or on her mat.

Aqeel

Aqeel began practicing yoga as a way to supplement physical therapy from old injuries, and to ease tension from an overactive mind and appetite. His personal yoga and meditation practice has transformed his body, attitude, and mind. Before setting foot into a yoga studio he practiced Sivananda and Kundalini yoga at home for approximately 7 years. In search of spiritual community, he wandered into Yoga District. He is a graduate from Yoga District's 200 hour training, and recently began studying with Sri Dharma Mittra in NY, where he is doing his 500 hr training in Dharma Yoga. He loves to teach a moderately paced and challenging style of flow, but also likes to keep the practice playful. He encourages you to have your own experience, but loves to help others to cultivate greater mind-body awareness. He believes that by cultivating a positive mental attitude, a balanced way of life, and a receptiveness to others, we can embrace the changes that life brings.

Melody

Passionate about sharing the power of yoga and its transformational benefits, Melody Abella founded a mobile yoga business (abellaYoga) in 2006. abellaYoga travels to corporate and private clients in Washington, D.C., Alexandria and Arlington, VA to teach vinyasa yoga in homes, offices, hotels and conference centers. Prior to abellaYoga, Melody was a marketing professional for over 10 years in the telecom/technology world of Washington, DC. Now as a professional yoga instructor, Melody challenges all-levels of yoga students to discover a healthier way of moving, thinking and being. Melody is an E-RYT with the Yoga Alliance. Her foundational yoga training is in the Baron Baptiste style of power vinyasa yoga. After studying with Baron and his master teachers for 5 years, Melody decided she wanted to pursue a more spiritual yoga path which led her to Sri Dharma Mittra. She is currently studying with him and plans to finish the 500-hour teacher training with Sri Dharma in 2012. For more info about Melody and her mobile yoga business, visit abellaYoga.com

Cyndi

Cyndi has extensive experience consulting for Fortune 500 companies and has successfully run her own business consulting firm. She understands the relentless demands of the corporate world and the challenges they pose to achieving a healthy life balance. Cyndi initially discovered yoga as a means to alleviate her asthma symptoms, but was thrilled to find it transformed her life – both personally and professionally. Cyndi feels blessed that her yoga practice has taught her to breathe on her own. Happily, she no longer relies on daily medication. Yoga has enhanced her sense of spiritual well-being, provided clarity in her decision-making and reduced residual tension and stress. As a result, she manages daily demands and deadlines while maintaining an optimistic serenity, both on and off her mat. Having experienced the transformative results of a regular yoga practice, Cyndi is honored to share what she has learned with others. Cyndi’s love for yoga and natural affinity for mentoring others is expressed in her warm and enthusiastic approach to teaching. Cyndi is passionate about life; she brings this passion to her mat and to enriching the lives of her students. Cyndi’s dedication to yoga and thirst for learning led her to complete the 200 and 500- hour Life of a Yogi teacher training with Sri Dharma Mittra. Cyndi holds a Bachelor’s from GMU and a Master’s from UVA.