Deva's Bio

Deva's Bio
I am a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT®), and have also certified in and taught a wide range of classes including: Special Needs Yoga, Pilates, Silver Sneakers, Tai Chi Chuan, Zumba Gold and YogaDance. I enjoy integrating multiple modalities into class formats, and have developed and offered workshops including Goddess Yoga and Journey through the Chakras.

I'll be teaching a Tai Chi Small Group Training (SGT) again in 2022. Please visit Tai Chi SGT for more info.

My holistic teaching journey began in 1991 when I took part in the intensive month-long Sivananda Teachers' Trainng Course - TTC, and was certified through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center as Yoga Siromani - Sanskrit for Jewel of the Crown of Yoga. From 1991 to 1997 I taught multi-level Open classes, Senior Chair Yoga and Kids Yoga classes at Sivananda Yoga's Manhattan Center.

In 2001 I became an RYT® - Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. I have taught at a wide range of venues including: gyms, the YWCA & YMHA, corporations, hospitals, colleges and organizations.

Class Formats Continue to Expand

In 1997 I began teaching Yoga at New York Sports Clubs (NYSC). My repertoire of class formats has expanded - from Yoga & Stretch, Pilates and Yogilates (an integration of Yoga and Pilates) - to subbing NIA and Zumba Gold classes - to Core Conditioning - to Silver Sneakers and Small Group Trainings (SGT's) in Tai Chi for Health, based on the Sun style of Tai Chi, in the Tai Chi for Arthritis (TCA) and Fall Prevention format.

I have also taught a Small Group Training in Yoga for Back Care.

YogaDance^TM
In 1996 at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, I completed a month-long training in Danskinetics/Spirit-in-Motion, currently known as YogaDance^TM or Shake Your Soul®. YogaDance^TM is a wonderful approach to moving to a wide range of rhythms and music including world music. It emphasizes the natural joy of movement rather than technique or form, and includes both inner exploration and tribal connection. YogaDance^TM has become part of my teaching toolbox.

Pilates
In 1999 I certified to teach Pilates Mat through Polestar - Balanced Body with Elizabeth Larkham, and have been teaching Pilates ever since. During 2015-2016 I developed a Pilates course curriculum and taught a 10-week course to corporate employees through a community college.

Silver Sneakers
In 2008 I began teaching Silver Sneakers for seniors (formerly through Healthways, now through Tivity Health), and in 2010 received the Healthways Instructor Accreditation Certificate for Older Adult Exercise. I've trained in the following formats: Classic (formerly known as MS-ROM - Muscular Strength and Range-of-Motion), Circuit, Cardio, Yoga, Silver Splash and Boom - Move it, Muscle and Mind. I have taken these two important skill trainings - Essentials and Resistance Tools Choreography. In 2018 I completed Tivity Health's Foundations.

The motto for Silver Sneakers is "Fun, Friends and Fitness!" Class participants enjoy enhanced well-being, vitality AND fellowship and community. Classes provide a comprehensive workout experience which incorporates: Power - Flexibility - Cardio - Agility - Coordination - Balance.

Article about the proven and researched benefits of Silver Sneakers classes:
Study Shows Older Adults in Silver Sneakers Classes have Lower Medical Expenses
Abstract & research study PDF:
Healthcare Cost Savings Over a One-year Period for SilverSneakers Group Exercise Participants

Zumba Gold
I trained in Zumba Basics, Basics 2 and Zumba Gold. I taught Zumba Gold classes at NYSC and at HAFOP (Health Advocates for Older People 60+). Zumba - the Latin/International dance fitness class party - as well as other dance activities - add flavor to the cardio warm-up section of the Silver Sneakers classes that I teach.

I am cureently teaching a Tai Chi Small Group Training (SGT). Please visit Tai Chi SGT for more info.

Special Yoga

I have extensive experience with Special Yoga – Yoga for Special Needs:

For 7 years as Exercise Therapist at the Addiction Institute of New York's in-house addiction recovery program at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, I led integrative program sessions which incorporated Yoga, dance, stress management and meditation. These class sessions were very beneficial to those in recovery. I am currently seeking to create more integrative programs - into which I can now bring in Tai Chi.

I taught a wide range of classes at HAFOP - Health Advocates for Older People, Inc., at a variety of locations including: Madison Avenue Church, Presbyterian Church and Holy Trinity Church.
-- Zumba Gold
-- Arthritis Foundation Exercise
-- Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi
-- Strength and Weight

Gentle and Chair Yoga for active seniors and those in nursing homes, including at a Manhattan nursing home where many of the participants suffered strokes. Chanting and sounding were used as very successful modalities.

Children and Adolescents - Non and developmentally-disabled
-- For 8+ years I led a Yoga and Movement Arts program for developmentally disabled children. For much of that time I co-led with a martial arts sensei.
-- For 2 summers I program-assisted the YogArt program at Kripalu - Yoga & Art for Kids.
-- I taught Yoga and Creative Movement at The August Aichhorn Center for Adolescent Residential Care, Inc.

Classes for those with Arthritis, Alzheimers & Dementia, Cancer, Mental Health Issues, Multiple Sclerosis

Group Leader for Holiday Parties - Federation Employment and Guidance Service (FEGS)

Yoga for Pregnancy

Shabbat Yoga at the Town & Village Synagogue

Workshop Offerings

Goddess Yoga and Journey through the Chakras were conceived of in 1998, created and birthed in 1999 and have been evolving since. Both workshops incorporate yoga, dance and creative activity.

Goddess Yoga integrates explorations in women’s spirituality with yoga and dance, and has been presented at the New York Yoga Expo, the Long Island Yoga Association .. and as far away as Richmond, Virginia and New Orleans.

Journey through the Chakras is a rich exploration of the 7 Chakras, with practical application to life.

The DreamSwing Workshop introduces both the Yoga Swing and the top-rated Japanese-made Dreamwave massage chair.

Yoga for Back Care a Small Group Training (SGT) at NYSC

A Path of Learning and Discovery

I have always been on a path of learning and exploration, and have often combined travel with movement experiences.

In 2001 I assisted at a week-long Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis retreat at the Yoga for Health Foundation in England. My article about my experiences there was published in the NY Yoga Teacher Association's newsletter. I have since expanded on what was written:
Assisting at the Yoga for Health Foundation in England

During Summer 2008 I participated in a 5-day yoga retreat on Clare Island off the West coast of Ireland, with master teacher Paddy McGrath - aka the 'Queen of Backbending'.

Since 2009 I traveled to Jamaica three times to teach Yoga and Pilates classes.

I participated in 'Paint and Dance from the Source' at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, MA in 2010.

In May, 2012 I spent a week at Casa de Carrasco, a Yoga retreat in Serra Cardo National park, south east of Tarragona in Catalan, Spain.

I certified in Tai Chi for Arthritis Part 2 in February 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina.

I have taught thousands of classes, taken part in a wide range of workshops and trainings, and explored a wide range of modalities - all of which have contributed to the understanding of my craft and the development of a great deal of insight in how to help people through the practice of Yoga and other modalities.

thespiralroad@gmail.com

Last modified July 2021