Where an Ancient Practice Meets Modern Science
We teach yoga that's supported by what we now understand about anatomy, neuroscience, and biomechanics — not because science validates yoga, but because it lets us teach it more precisely.
Beneath the technical depth, though, is the thing that really changes someone's experience in class and in life. Our programs teach presence.
We help you meet your own authentic self. And we teach you to see students where they are — physically, mentally, emotionally — and to teach them through the lens of your own heart.
How this shows up in our trainings
Nervous System Regulation Our curriculum places special emphasis on how yoga affects your nervous system—teaching you to recognize your own nervous system states and how to use specific practices to regulate stress responses, improve recovery, and enhance resilience in daily life. Month 3 in the 250-hour Yoga Teacher Certification Training (YTT) is dedicated to both Neuroscience and Yoga’s Energetic Maps and practices. Modules 2 and 5 in the Advanced Yoga Teacher Trainings take nervous system regulation into creating retreats and exploring modalities related to fascia.
Functional Anatomy Focus Rather than teaching one-size-fits-all posture shapes, we use evidence-based approaches to biomechanics and functional movement to help you understand how to work with your unique body structure. This prevents injury while maximizing the benefits of each practice. Month 2 of the YTT is dedicated to functional anatomy, and one posture clinic each week focuses on cuing for alignment and engagement. Module 1 of the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training takes students on a 7-month journey through the physical and subtle body, a different area each month, including postures and sequencing so that you can teach students how to truly live in their bodies and progress in yoga postures they never thought they could do. Module 3 teaches you to customize your anatomical understanding to serve people in pain and to teach private sessions. This year, several electives including Teaching Beginners, Yoga for Aging, and Hands-on Assists & Alignment will focus on Functional Anatomy.
Research-Informed Teaching We continually update our curriculum based on emerging research in exercise science, pain science, and trauma-informed care—ensuring our teaching remains current with scientific understanding while honoring yoga's traditional roots.
Presence and Authenticity We don’t give you a script. We give you knowledge, feedback, and support, and look for you to develop your own unique voice. Month 4 of the YTT is dedicated to determining what is important to you, what your authentic self is, and translating that into teaching. For the remainder of the training, you will delve into your heart to create a class that represents you and what you want to give. This year, Creating a Journey, Yoga Philosophy, and Meditation electives support presence and authenticity.
Meet Your Teacher
I opened Shine Yoga in 2015, when I was 41 years old, 3 years out from stage 3 breast cancer treatment. Yoga changed my life, allowing me to heal in ways nothing else did.
I always say that Shine is built on proof that yoga works.
Prior to cancer, my path took me through careers as a professor of Comparative Literature and Writing at Rutgers University, the University of Oklahoma, and Texas Tech University, and as a professional writer across public relations and marketing before landing in program development, implementation, and strategy.
I spent eight years creating programs for Community Behavioral Health and Health Centers, serving as a liaison between federal government, university researchers, and healthcare providers.
Which means when I built this training, I built it the way I'd built curriculum for adults my whole career — around how people actually learn, not around how yoga trainings have always been run.
In 2019, when I held my first Yoga Teacher Training program, all these things came together. It is the greatest joy of my life to teach yoga deeply, beyond a one-hour class.
Science Meets Practice
I've studied nervous system regulation, trauma-informed practice, and functional anatomy with teachers who bridge modern science and traditional yoga. That continuing education includes:
Polyvagal Theory and nervous system regulation
Trauma-sensitive approaches to movement and meditation
Biomechanics and functional movement principles
Pain science and its applications to yoga practice
Cognitive neuroscience as it relates to meditation
If you’re thinking polyvagal what? don’t worry.
I’ve been that person confused by Sanskrit and anatomy terms in a yoga class.
I’m never trying to be the smartest person in the room.
I’m a teacher, and for me, that means finding a way to help every single person in my class feel safe and confident enough to be curious, open to learning, open to feeling, and open to trying.
I have all of this knowledge in my back pocket; it does inform my teaching (and my amazement at the capacity of the human body and mind), but I’ll teach it to you in a way that is accessible and fun.
If you become a teacher, I’ll show you how to pass this complex information on to your students so they can feel it in their bodies and regulate their nervous systems. If you do Deep Yoga, I’ll make this knowledge practical.
I don’t want to dismiss the importance of this research. It has deeply informed my approach to the programs I teach, and I do share all the research I’ve gathered. But yoga is about embodiment, so the research informs daily living.
We believe teaching Yoga is
Healing
Personal
Life Changing
Ready to Begin Your Journey?
Let's connect about which program aligns with your goals and learning style. I'm here to answer your questions and help you find the perfect path forward, whether you're looking to deepen your practice, become a teacher, or advance your teaching skills.