Meet our December Teacher of the Month - Dana Damara! Dana is an author, mother, and yoga instructor who inspires many through her heartfelt teachings. Read on for yoga insights from this yoga master!
When did you start practicing yoga?
12 years ago when I was pregnant with my first daughter
What has yoga brought to your life?
What hasn't yoga brought to my life is more like it - it has BECOME my life! Clarity, profound awareness, compassion, strength on levels, grace, balance, a sense of purpose and direction. Yoga is a lifestyle .. something that grows and transforms along with you wherever you are in life.
Why did you become a yoga instructor?
I became yoga instructor to help prenatal women continue to remain healthy when their growing bodies began shifting and changing.
What impact can a regular yoga practice have on a person's life?
These questions are so FULL! It can change your life two degrees or two hundred degrees! For me it creates a sense of sacredness that wasn't present until I stepped on my mat and began moving my body in alignment with my breath. The beauty is that you can meet yourself wherever you are at with this practice. It's a lifelong journey! So maybe you want looser hips and hamstrings, a tighter core, a sleeker body. But maybe you want less stress, more clarity and connection. Whatever you "want" in life… yoga can bring you there with one breath.
What advice would you give to someone that is just starting yoga?
Be nice to yourself! This isn't something you just pick up and "run with"! You have to take it slow. and please … go to a certified instructor in your area! Someone with at least 500 hours of training. Then when you take classes online you reduce the chance of hurting yourself.
What is special about the style of yoga you teach?
I think that vinyasa yoga is something everyone can access. Because vinyasa means to "place in a sacred way" you link your breath with movement and you move your body in a way that feels good for you. Not only that but every class is different. It's dynamic, it's themed, it's fun and full of motion.
What is your favorite yoga posture to teach, and why?
I love the simplicity of Downward Facing Dog and the complexity of Astavrkasana. Every time we explore a posture. No matter the level, we find something new to love and hate!
Please share some words of wisdom or advice for your yogadownload.com yoga students.
Make yoga a lifestyle. Weave it into every fabric of your life. Make this a practice you can laugh at, grow into, challenge yourself and rest in. It should be all of that and more. It's about your body, your breath and your mind. It's about bringing it all together in one moment and recognizing that union.
Do you have a favorite quote you'd like to share?
"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." - Rumi
"Your passion and God's will for you are one in the same." - Janet Attwood
"My feminine divinity supports and sustains me." - Dana Damara
"My life is a divine manifestation of living deeper and more open from my heart." - Dana Damara
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin
What do you like to do "off the mat"?
As a mother of two young ladies, I love being with my daughters. They bring me immeasurable joy and expansion into the light and truth of love. And they challenge me at every turn. I love it. We hike, we draw and we explore this life together.
Dana Damara has embraced yoga as a lifestyle both on and off the mat. She radiates that power of soulfulness and spiritual awakening in everything she does. Dana is a spiritual coach, thought leader, author, yoga instructor, community connector, visionary and mother of two young girls. She embodies a balance of strength and grace, encouraging others to find that sweet spot within themselves. She creates a flow that strengthens the body, opens the heart and quiets the mind. Her inspiration to dive deeper into the practice came when she began studying the subtle body. This knowledge not only shifted her yoga teaching but also changed her own life: igniting her purpose to educate others about the power of yoga and how to take their practice to a more potent level.
Download or stream Dana's Class on YogaDownload:
Simple Power Vinyasa Flow
