Yoga Background

The style of Hatha Yoga taught in the Yoga Rx program at Loyola Marymount University, where Andrea received her Yoga therapist certification, is a slight modification of a traditional approach called Viniyoga. Viniyoga was originally developed by T.K.V. Desikachar, the son of famous yogi Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, whom Larry Payne, PhD., the founder of the Yoga Rx program, studied with extensively during his trips to India. It involves what is called “sequential process” or vinyasa krama, and emphasis is placed on regulating the breath with the movements, while meeting individual needs and capacity. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, with the aim of making available the heritage of yoga as taught by Krishnamacharya. Today it operates as the Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation in Madras, India, and is a wonderful resource for those interested in Yoga therapy.

Private and Small Group Classes

Samsara Terapia offers several kinds of classes, for the beginner to intermediate level Yoga practitioner, in addition to providing Yoga therapy for those who are not able to attend classes due to physical limitations. These classes are tailored to the individual or small group and follow the Viniyoga tradition in addressing the needs of the participants on the levels of the body, mind, and breath. By adapting the Yoga postures to fit the needs of each person, Viniyoga ensures that you will be safe and kind to your body while learning specific therapeutic techniques.

Other programs that Andrea teaches:

The Integrative Yoga Therapy Wellness & Stress Management Program

The IYT Program that Andrea was taught by Joseph and Lilian LePage at Enchanted Mountain Yoga in Brazil, has evolved through an exploration of how Yoga can best be incorporated as a wellness and stress-reduction modality into mainstream settings. This program brings together many facets of Yoga and mind/body health that have been especially effective in reducing stress and and facilitating wellness. This approach is the result of many years of experience applying this program in hundreds of settings around the world. These include programs developed for hospitals, mental health practitioners, seniors, corporations, education, the arts, and athletics. The results have been positive and encouraging. The IYT program is an ongoing process of exploration that grows and changes along with the expanding field of body/mind health. If you are interested in bringing this program to your place of work for group classes, please send an email to: samsaraterapia@gmail.com.

Yoga for At-Risk Youth and Adults
Andrea trained with senior yoga teacher Hala Khouri in the Yoga Ed. weekend workshop called “Mind Body Resources for Working with At Risk Youth” in 2007.  This workshop is a movement and yoga based program, which grew out of Hala’s graduate thesis at Pacifica, and has been documented into a training manual for Yoga Ed. It has been taught at Central Juvenile Hall and a continuation school in East L.A., and integrates the tools of Somatic Experiencing in order to address issues and symptoms of trauma often present in incarcerated and marginalized youth. All together, these tools help participants remain calm and centered through even the most upsetting situations, making them less likely to re-offend, act out and get into trouble and helping them become peaceful and empowered members of their community.  Hala created a video to show this work being done with at-risk youth at Olympic High School in Santa Monica, CA, where Andrea also taught yoga on a volunteer basis in 2007.

OLYMPIC HIGH SCHOOL VIDEO

For more information on Hala’s trainings around the country and the Yoga Ed. manual, click HERE.

Andrea also completed a week long training with Hala Khouri and Julian Walker in 2007 called “Urban Yogi: Contemporary Teacher Training in Mind-Body Yoga” at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA.