Amanda has been practicing yoga for over thirteen years. She was originally introduced to it as a tool to relax and focus. She soon realized the truly transformative power of the practice and its logical connection to her work in the sustainability movement. After a year of concentrated study combined with Qi Gong and meditation she completed a Hatha Vinyasa teacher training through the Yoga Tree studios in San Francisco. Through Amanda's professional and academic training in the principles of systems thinking, she was able to understand that our suffering is never due to one isolated incident or cataclysmic event, but rather a series of patterns, disconnects, and habitual behaviors which are at the core of an unhealthy system. She has worked to integrate the notion of "systems healing" into her practice and teaching.
Amanda's teaching style is based on the principles of "flow"; connecting breath to movement. Her classes will build strength and flexibility, and invite students to access the spaciousness we all have available to us. All of her classes share the common themes of exploring the edge and getting in touch with the core; the abundant self, the self that can identify a deep connection to all beings. She integrates music into every class and her diverse musical tastes means you are just as likely to hear Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen in her flow classes as you are Krishna Das!
Amanda is grateful for the opportunity to study with some of the US's pre-eminent senior teachers: Jane Austin, Baron Baptiste, Dharma Mittra, John Friend, and Jay Kumar. She also has an abundance of gratitude for Larry Wong, her Qi Gong instructor and wise counselor.
Amanda is the founder of Daterra Associates, a consulting firm that offers advisory services to stakeholders in the food systems and sustainable agriculture field. She is trained in facilitation and conflict resolution and finds infinite value in building non-traditional multi-stakeholder collaborations.