Featured Celebrity OmStars:

"Simon Park"
"As an undergraduate at UCLA, I was drawn to the study of cultural anthropology, but it wasn't until meeting Shiva Rea that I reconnected with my early sense of what I now know, I was born to do. With no prior experience or understanding of Yoga, Shiva Rea guided me… Gentle, nurturing, and an enlightening teacher, Shiva has been the biggest influence and source of inspiration in my life, outside of my own family. She is a guide who helped me to find the bridge between the seeming dichotomy of being a fierce, primal warrior and a soft, open-hearted yogi. She leads by example; by how she moves through the world so fearlessly combined with her reverence for the sacred space of yoga. I was also inspired by Maty Ezraty's great vision, Joan White's intellect, Duncan Wong's fire and Dharma Mittra's unwavering devotion. I consider myself an “energy-centered practitioner,” and focus on helping students find the flow of energy in their bodies through movement and self-observation. Alignment is important and the breath is important, but mainly I’m finding ways to teach students to understand energy in order to heal their own bodies and find their own freedom. Yoga is a method to free yourself in the world—to be happier and more genuine and more connected to people. I share that spirit in the classroom."

Simon Park recently named Yoga Journal's top 20 up & coming yogis, was first introduced to the grace and beauty of Ashtanga yoga through Shiva Rea at UCLA in 1995. He continued his study of Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa and Traditional Thai Massage at Yoga Works where he was certified to teach in 1998. Since then, Simon has taught yoga and Thai massage classes, workshops and teacher's trainings around the globe.

Kathryn Budig:
"A college friend of mine took me to an Ashtanga class in downtown Charlottesville during college and it soon became the highlight of my week. I started practicing more and more and decided it would be fun to learn how to teach and ended up in Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty's last teacher training before they sold Yogaworks. Maty became a wise big sister who saw a teacher in me that I never would have recognized. Through her amazing mentoring I found my voice as a teacher. My goal as a yogi and instructor grew into teaching creative sequences that make arm balances and inversions accessible to everyone in my room. Laughter is such a huge part of my life and these postures taught me how to move even deeper into that joy as I became stronger and learned to let go of fear. Getting to share that with my students is such an amazing gift. I hope to teach every student who passes through my room the ease and importance of laughter and how it can make you not only stronger but more able to reach your goals.

Kathryn Budig has been featured in publications such as Yoga Journal, Yogi Times, LA Metro, E! Entertainment, 'Y Yoga' a documentary film, and is the heath expert for Quarterlife.com. You can experience Kathryn's class at Yogaworks Santa Monica or online at Yogichocolate.com and soon from Monthlyyogadvd.com. www.kathrynbudig.com

Kristin McGee: "As a young girl, I used to worry about what everyone else thought of me. I wanted to please my parents, my teachers, my friends and live up to movie star standards. I judged myself constantly and I started to get anxious and tight. I would fret over every calorie I ate and what I wore to school each day. I got so stressed out and felt completely out of control and helpless. At one point, the only thing I felt I could manage was my food and I became way too thin and unhealthy. I was exhausted and literally almost at my last breath. When I started acting school at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, I discovered yoga. Upon graduating, I certified to teach yoga to support my acting career. Along the way I developed my alter ego, Bendigirl, who breathed life in to me. She taught me no one else can breathe for me except myself. When I take a deep full breath in, I realize how powerful I am. I’ve learned to take care of myself better which allows me to help others as well. Bendigirl taught me to relax and to be more flexible. She showed me how to stretch and strengthen my body and mind. She helped me find my own unique potential and physique and reminded me constantly to stay true to myself. “To thine own self, be true. Don’t compare yourself with others and especially unrealistic images in the media. Pave your own way”, she said. I want to share yoga and Bendigirl with as many people as I can."

Kristin McGee has been studying yoga since the early 90's. She is the creator and host of 4 MTV titles: MTV Yoga, MTV Power Yoga, MTV Pilates and MTV Pilates Mix. She also created two of her own titles: Power Yoga and Bendigirl Yoga. Kristin is a contributing editor for Fit Yoga magazine and has been featured on CNN, Fox Good Day New York, ABC’s Good Morning America and many others... www.kristinmcgee.com

Kevin Durkin:

"There is no doubt that the biggest single change yoga has made in my life is recovering from clinical depression. I was always a seeker, even back to my earliest memories. But the reason I was such a seeker was because I was trying to figure out why I was so depressed all of the time. I wrote this story in detail in Amy Weintraub"s book "Yoga for Depression". I have a deviated septum in my right nostril and I get almost all of my breath through my left nostril. After studying how pranayama effects the energy body and the relationship of the nostrils to the Ida and Pingala meridians I started practicing Surya Bhedana. After about a month of practicing everyday, a cloud of depression that had hovered over me for 20 years lifted and has never returned. I still have a deviated septum, but by practicing Surya Bhedana, the depression stays away, for which I give thanks every day."

Kevin Durkin has practiced yoga since 1976 and has taught since 1991. He is certified as an intermediate (junior) yoga teacher by the United States Iyengar Association. He has been to India five times to study with B.K.S., Geeta, and Prashant Iyengar. He has assisted in the medical classes at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, and studied at the International Iyengar Institutes in New York, Manchester, Zurich, London, Madrid and Paris. In celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the Iyengar Institute, he was one of the 65 Americans invited to the Yoga Teachers Guidance Course taught by B.K.S. Iyengar in January, 2000. Kevin has taught workshops in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Baja, Mexico, Dublin, Ireland and teaches specialty workshops regularly.Kevin is a graduate of the Massage Therapy Institute of Colorado. He has completed the unprecedented third year advanced studies program and has worked as a teaching assistant at MTIC and has studied Contemplative Psychology and Religious Studies at Naropa University.

Travis Eliot:
"After adventure traveling to amazing places all over the world Travis took the greatest plunge of them all when he attended his first yoga class with Govindas. What he didn't find traveling the globe, he found in that class, a deep connection to spirit. It was only a few months later that Travis went on his first yoga retreat to Kauai. It was there that Travis had a near death experience while almost getting swallowed up by Mother Ocean off the remote Nepali coast. A lot of things changed from that moment as Travis began to view the sacredness of life from a whole new perspective. Every day became a celebration of life through the practice of yoga and kirtan (devotional chanting). He continued to deepen his yoga practice drawing inspiration from teachers Govindas, Jai Uttal, Bryan Kest, Saul David Raye, and Shiva Rea. It was at the end of a beautiful yoga retreat on the the island of Koh Lanta in Southern Thailand that Travis was unexpectedly invited to teach yoga to people from all over world. The teaching seemed to simply flow from his own practice and life journey, drawing from his vast array of experiences to help students heal and connect with the sacred. While teaching on Koh Lanta he witnessed one of the largest natural catastrophes in modern history, the tsunami on December 26th, 2004. Once again this massive event connected him to the gift of life. After returning back to the USA he experienced deep transformation through the power of Ayurvedic Medicine and went on study intensely with John Holmstrom. The trinity was now set...Yoga, Kirtan, & Ayurveda!"

Travis Eliot leads kirtan (devotional chanting), and practices ayurvedic medicine as well as teaches yoga. His workshops called "The Triangle of Transformation" use all of these modalities to stay physically strong, mentally sharp, emotionally balanced, and spiritually charged!! In early 2008 Travis released his first DVD "Yoga with Travis Eliot: A Vinyasa Experience." Other projects soon to be released include a 2nd yoga DVD filmed on location in Goa, India and Travis' first Kirtan/Chant CD. Travis leads retreats worldwide and currently guides classes at Power Yoga, Equinox Fitness, and TruYoga all in the Los Angeles Area. For more info please visit TravisEliot.com

David Kyle

David can be described in many ways. Some qualities he strives for and others tend to just find their way into his personality, but the qualities that are the most important are the ones he has in common with those around him. David found yoga like most of us; he gave his trust to someone who told him it would be good for him to try it out. These first few experiences with yoga gave David an extremely profound sense of trust. Trust in himself. Yoga has become a deep journey that pulls at the roots of self-realization. What, When, How, Why, Where…. Everything begins with a question.For more info please visit David's studio site at ItsYogaPuertoRico.com

Bio: David Kyle In my youth I was always an athletic person. For years I pushed myself deeply into all types of sports and eventually I found my heart and home in Soccer, because this sport allowed me to be a little more rebellious. Always looking to find an outlet to focus my energies and a way to develop more physical expression; I resparked an old passion with break dancing after I saw a video on TV. I would play around with break dancing by learning tricks like head spinning, handstands, back handsprings and other street acrobat skills. I grew up in a small town in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana. Everything was learned on my own through self guidance. There were no teachers besides the inspiration of my own inner voice. Through break dancing I became extremely focused and strong. Without even knowing it I began my love affair with the body and how it moves. In 2001 I found a flyer for an Ashtanga Yoga class in Miami that said “Take your Daily Dose” the flyer was cool and I thought my girlfriend would love to do yoga, but never thought it would be for me. After weeks of my girlfriend, who is now my wife, begging me to try yoga; I finally gave decided to go. I would always say, ” Yoga is not for me. I can spin on my head and walk on my hands. What can yoga teach me?” The first yoga class I ever took was a Rocket II Ashtanga Yoga class. My nervous system was awakened, my senses were thrown into over drive and my frail little ego was shattered into a million pieces as I nearly drowned in the pool of sweat on my mat. As I laid face first and flat on my belly gasping for air, I realized where my body was at that present moment and where I wanted to be for the rest of my life. It only took about 2 months before I finished the It’s Yoga Teacher certification and moved to San Francisco a home for many great Yogis. I study intensively now in realization that everything we do is involved with yoga. Break dancing for me was just the first step. Yoga is my umbrella. I studied with Larry Schultz, who taught me to listen to myself and reconnect with my inner guru. Your inner guru is the voice in us all that drives us and encourages us to do the right thing. Only you alone can find your true purpose. Larry helped destroy the guru conspiracy and gave yoga back to the people. I now enjoy my new found love of the breath and have combined it with my old passion of the body and its movements. Live day by day.

David Farmar

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