My name is Dana!
I am a lover of life and of people. I hold a BS in elementary education from Ohio State University, a master’s in educational administration from Grand Valley State University, Anusara-inspried yoga certification, and eRYT 500-hour Yoga Alliance certification. I have been teaching yoga for over a decade! My teaching style offers a blend of the many systems of yoga I have studied over the years, with an emphasis on the connection between the spiritual and the physical practice infused with healthy doses of fun. My teaching experience covers an expansive range of students with varied abilities and backgrounds from ages 3-83. Over the years, I have taught in K-12 public/Montessori schools, colleges, gyms, churches, eating disorder clinics, privately to individuals and corporations, as well as in traditional yoga studios. I also teach and lead events to raise awareness and funds for nonprofit groups striving to make a difference in the Grand Rapids community. This diversity is what continues to inspire my teaching because it allows me to offer yoga in many unlikely environments, which can be a game changer in people’s lives.
A Michigan resident until my recent move to Petaluma, CA, I have been working as a teacher and leader with youth and adults for over 20 years. I have used those experiences -- combined with my life’s daily work of being a mom of five children, a wife, a yogi, and a social activist -- to manifest my heart’s dream. In 2014, I founded & am Executive Director of EmbodyGR, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. My leadership upholds my vision that all people desire to feel valuable and part of something larger, that physical and mental wellness practices (yoga & meditation) should be available to all people regardless of their financial ability, and that all people desire to “feel better” and have the need to “do good” in the world.
My passion is to build bridges between people, communities, and cultures of all different backgrounds to make our world a better, healthier, happier, & more peaceful place for all. I believe that we are only as skilled and effective a leader as our network is diverse. This view is an underlying motivating force in how I choose to live my life, raise my family, lead my nonprofit, and be an active citizen in our global family.
I am a lover of life and of people. I hold a BS in elementary education from Ohio State University, a master’s in educational administration from Grand Valley State University, Anusara-inspried yoga certification, and eRYT 500-hour Yoga Alliance certification. I have been teaching yoga for over a decade! My teaching style offers a blend of the many systems of yoga I have studied over the years, with an emphasis on the connection between the spiritual and the physical practice infused with healthy doses of fun. My teaching experience covers an expansive range of students with varied abilities and backgrounds from ages 3-83. Over the years, I have taught in K-12 public/Montessori schools, colleges, gyms, churches, eating disorder clinics, privately to individuals and corporations, as well as in traditional yoga studios. I also teach and lead events to raise awareness and funds for nonprofit groups striving to make a difference in the Grand Rapids community. This diversity is what continues to inspire my teaching because it allows me to offer yoga in many unlikely environments, which can be a game changer in people’s lives.
A Michigan resident until my recent move to Petaluma, CA, I have been working as a teacher and leader with youth and adults for over 20 years. I have used those experiences -- combined with my life’s daily work of being a mom of five children, a wife, a yogi, and a social activist -- to manifest my heart’s dream. In 2014, I founded & am Executive Director of EmbodyGR, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. My leadership upholds my vision that all people desire to feel valuable and part of something larger, that physical and mental wellness practices (yoga & meditation) should be available to all people regardless of their financial ability, and that all people desire to “feel better” and have the need to “do good” in the world.
My passion is to build bridges between people, communities, and cultures of all different backgrounds to make our world a better, healthier, happier, & more peaceful place for all. I believe that we are only as skilled and effective a leader as our network is diverse. This view is an underlying motivating force in how I choose to live my life, raise my family, lead my nonprofit, and be an active citizen in our global family.
Dana's Story
I started practicing yoga in my early 30s when I was a stay-at home mom suffering from severe postpartum depression. I hated my body, my mind was unsettled and foggy, I cried regularly, and as a mother of young children was categorically “brain dead.” Seemingly lost and unhappy, I was honestly no good to anyone. Then I found yoga; or truthfully, yoga found me.
Yoga breathed spirit back into my life. I woke up to the beauty within instead of looking to the mirror or culture for affirmation of my value. Yoga revealed that I am good just as I am; no question. That powerful teaching stuck. That is when I knew I wanted to be a teacher in order to bring this powerful message and practice to as many as I could reach. This inspiration of innate goodness lit the way of my teaching path and informed not only my life but my teaching as well.
But no sooner had I begun to get my life back in order than it began to rapidly change again, resulting in the end of my 10-year marriage and single mom-dom as my future. This was a deeply painful and difficult process that yoga helped me navigate. It was not easy but I had faith I was good enough, capable enough, and strong enough to withstand and eventually thrive during these challenging times. But my new reality hit and it hit hard. Raising two kids on my own with a yoga teacher’s salary was humbling to say the least. I became part of the “working poor,” unable to afford the yoga classes I loved and the clothes I wore to teach. This was a deep sadness for me. I was frustrated that I could no longer afford the practice that had changed my life. I continued to work as a yoga teacher but became frustrated with the world of yoga for being too expensive and too exclusive.
I am a firm believer that anger is bad for the soul and one should not complain without offering solutions to the problem. So I began to look deeply into my beliefs about yoga and wondered how I could be part of the change I knew had to happen within me and within the world of yoga as I knew it. I honestly didn’t want to create something new all by myself but I knew in my bones it was what I was called to do. Over time, I realized I viewed yoga more like church than big business. I began to see yoga could be offered for free (gasp!) and available to anyone, at any time in life, as a place of healing, wholeness and sanctuary. I came to firmly believe that, regardless of income, age, race, gender identification, class or creed, yoga should be open and available to anyone who wanted to practice — no exceptions. And the earliest teaching I received from yoga, that I am good just as I am, fueled my passion for change in the yoga world. Out of all these experiences, EmbodyGR was born.
My heart overflows with joy each day I get to lead this beautiful community of yogis! EmbodyGR welcomes all people: people who are willing to live out our mantra, “feel better, do good;” people who each week do the hard work of showing up for themselves and each other; people who strive to grow and evolve; people who live lives of service in our community; people dedicated not only to their own personal journey of healing, wholeness, and happiness, but who know that their liberation is bound to the wellbeing of their brothers and sisters in Grand Rapids and across the globe.
On a lighter note, I am a lover of all things yoga/movement, community building, leadership, service, and making the world a better place for all. I enjoy all things kale and coffee too :)! I spend my free time doing handstands around our incredible city and enjoying all that glorious Grand Rapids and West Michigan has to offer. You may catch me regularly rollerblading, running, biking, reading, drinking green smoothies, hanging out in coffee shops and chasing the sunrises and sunsets on the shore of sacred Lake Michigan. I adore travel, adventure, surfing, skiing, and people. I LOVE PEOPLE! My absolute favorite loves are my five kids and husband, Jason. They are the lights of my days, peace of my nights, and smile of my soul. Their continual love, support and encouragement make my work in the world possible and I cannot express in words how honored and lucky I am to journey through this life with them as my family.
Yoga breathed spirit back into my life. I woke up to the beauty within instead of looking to the mirror or culture for affirmation of my value. Yoga revealed that I am good just as I am; no question. That powerful teaching stuck. That is when I knew I wanted to be a teacher in order to bring this powerful message and practice to as many as I could reach. This inspiration of innate goodness lit the way of my teaching path and informed not only my life but my teaching as well.
But no sooner had I begun to get my life back in order than it began to rapidly change again, resulting in the end of my 10-year marriage and single mom-dom as my future. This was a deeply painful and difficult process that yoga helped me navigate. It was not easy but I had faith I was good enough, capable enough, and strong enough to withstand and eventually thrive during these challenging times. But my new reality hit and it hit hard. Raising two kids on my own with a yoga teacher’s salary was humbling to say the least. I became part of the “working poor,” unable to afford the yoga classes I loved and the clothes I wore to teach. This was a deep sadness for me. I was frustrated that I could no longer afford the practice that had changed my life. I continued to work as a yoga teacher but became frustrated with the world of yoga for being too expensive and too exclusive.
I am a firm believer that anger is bad for the soul and one should not complain without offering solutions to the problem. So I began to look deeply into my beliefs about yoga and wondered how I could be part of the change I knew had to happen within me and within the world of yoga as I knew it. I honestly didn’t want to create something new all by myself but I knew in my bones it was what I was called to do. Over time, I realized I viewed yoga more like church than big business. I began to see yoga could be offered for free (gasp!) and available to anyone, at any time in life, as a place of healing, wholeness and sanctuary. I came to firmly believe that, regardless of income, age, race, gender identification, class or creed, yoga should be open and available to anyone who wanted to practice — no exceptions. And the earliest teaching I received from yoga, that I am good just as I am, fueled my passion for change in the yoga world. Out of all these experiences, EmbodyGR was born.
My heart overflows with joy each day I get to lead this beautiful community of yogis! EmbodyGR welcomes all people: people who are willing to live out our mantra, “feel better, do good;” people who each week do the hard work of showing up for themselves and each other; people who strive to grow and evolve; people who live lives of service in our community; people dedicated not only to their own personal journey of healing, wholeness, and happiness, but who know that their liberation is bound to the wellbeing of their brothers and sisters in Grand Rapids and across the globe.
On a lighter note, I am a lover of all things yoga/movement, community building, leadership, service, and making the world a better place for all. I enjoy all things kale and coffee too :)! I spend my free time doing handstands around our incredible city and enjoying all that glorious Grand Rapids and West Michigan has to offer. You may catch me regularly rollerblading, running, biking, reading, drinking green smoothies, hanging out in coffee shops and chasing the sunrises and sunsets on the shore of sacred Lake Michigan. I adore travel, adventure, surfing, skiing, and people. I LOVE PEOPLE! My absolute favorite loves are my five kids and husband, Jason. They are the lights of my days, peace of my nights, and smile of my soul. Their continual love, support and encouragement make my work in the world possible and I cannot express in words how honored and lucky I am to journey through this life with them as my family.
Dana's Teachers
I bow deeply to my phenomenal teachers, guides, and muses who bless my life’s journey, notably Seane Corn, Hala Khouri, and Suzanne Sterling, three powerful, brilliant women who take their yoga teaching “off the mat” and commit their lives to working for justice in our world. I’m also honored to be influenced by a number of others: Patrick Beach, who invites and challenges me each day to go upside down and “practice hard, live easy;” Christina Sell, a light of courage and authenticity, who first taught me that the practice of yoga starts from the inside out; Darren Rhodes, whose practice and presence calls me to “please practice” and not apologize for who I am and what I believe; John Friend, who introduced me to the elegant Principles of Alignment, especially my favorite, “Open to Grace,” that saves me again and again; Desiree Rumbaugh, yoga goddess and pillar of strength, who teaches me to be a peaceful yoga warrior; Mitchel Bleier, for his early influence on my fledgling yoga practice; Behnje Masson, who laid a solid foundation for a life-long practice of yoga; and Rick Powell, who early on was there to compassionately pick up my pieces by fixing my shoulder time after time and then offering me his shoulder to cry upon.
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My greatest teachers are a daily presence in my life: my five children, my husband, and my yoga students who inspire me to live my yoga each and every day. They call me out to grow and stretch my boundaries, be courageous, take risks, and generously share my authentic self fully with love, patience, wisdom and joy. To each one of these beings I am truly grateful.
My love, Dana
My love, Dana