Denver Yoga Summit

ADMISSION NOTE: This exclusive session requires a Teacher Track Ticket or Add-On for entry.

Somewhere along the way, the modern yoga world reduced breath to a repetitive background cue: inhale, exhale, repeat. But breath is not just a secondary technique. It is the single most intelligent anchor inside your asana practice—shaping nervous system tone, pranic direction, muscular effort, and mental steadiness long before we ever touch formal pranayama.

Join globally renowned yoga educator and host of the Let's Talk Yoga podcast, Arundhati B, for a deeply layered and practical masterclass that reshapes how we understand breath literacy.

What You Will Explore:

• The Six Dimensions: Decode the six distinct qualities of breath and how each alters a student’s immediate internal experience.
• The Three Layers: Navigate the physical, energetic, and perceptual nature of conscious breathing.
• Effort & Expansion: Learn how breath logically organizes structural stability and deep expansion inside postures.
• Beyond Ujjayi: Discover why reducing breath exclusively to ujjayi limits both the teacher's vocabulary and the student's growth.
• Seamless Literacy: Learn how to deepen breath integration without turning a standard vinyasa class into a rigid pranayama workshop.
• The Takeaway: This is not about adding more complex technique; it is about radically refining your perception. Teachers will leave with sharper, more intelligent cueing tools. Practitioners will experience how breath alone can completely transform the depth of their practice.
• Note: This is a limited-capacity workshop. Please ensure you have upgraded your Visitors Center to a Teacher Track Ticket to secure your spot and receive your continuing education credits.

What is the true aim of yoga beyond the physical pose? In this foundational workshop, we explore the core purpose of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as illustrated by the first five verses (1.1–1.5). By examining the nature of the mind and why we suffer, we uncover how these ancient texts provide a direct roadmap for liberation and higher understanding—moving from avidya (ignorance) to clarity.

Through a blend of philosophical inquiry and embodiment practices, we will bridge the gap between sutra study and your daily life on and off the mat. Participants will experience a guided kriya to "still mental fluctuations," followed by meditation designed to integrate these concepts into their existing practice. Whether you are a student or a teacher, this session will clarify the role of the mind in yoga, providing deeper context and a renewed sense of purpose for your personal journey.

Workshop Highlights:

• The Greater Aim: Understand yoga as a holistic system for navigating the mind.
• Embodied Philosophy: Move from intellectual theory into a direct experience of "stilling the mind."
• Practical Reflection: Learn to apply sutra 1.1–1.5 to modern asana and daily self-reflection.

Yoga belongs in every single part of life, especially the chapters we’ve been told to hide, fix, or simply "push through." Step into the private, shaded sanctuary of the Creek Garden. Surrounded by the gentle rush of Deer Creek and native Colorado flowers, master teacher Sara Cook hosts an intimate, honest workshop for anyone navigating the unique experience of maturing in a body that social media has plenty of opinions about.

This session creates a brave, supportive container to untangle from society's mixed messages, consciously shift your inner dialogue, and deepen your intuitive connection to yourself. Blending compassionate mindset work, reflective journaling, and gentle, responsive movement, this workshop is thoughtfully accessible to a wide range of body types and fitness levels. This is yoga off the mat in the most honest sense—an invitation to bloom unapologetically, exactly like the native flora around you.

What if your yoga mat was a clinical tool for cellular healing? Join functional medicine practitioner and immunological specialist Dr. Mitchell Rasmussen for a groundbreaking keynote that explores how yoga influences the nervous system, immune response, and cellular signaling. As the co-founder of The Facility Denver, Mitchell specializes in guiding care for individuals with complex, chronic conditions who have often "tried everything" without lasting results.

Moving far beyond traditional chiropractic care, Mitchell bridges cutting-edge biochemistry with timeless embodied practice. In this illuminating talk, he invites us to stop viewing yoga as a reactionary fitness routine for when we get sick, and instead recognize it as a foundational primary care practice for long-term health. Grounded in his three core pillars: Empowerment, Education, and Empathy, this session strips away the medical jargon to help you understand your own unique physiology. Walk away with a personalized, science-backed perspective on your practice and the actionable tools needed to work with your body instead of against it.

What do the petals on a cakra diagram actually mean? While modern wellness often frames cakras as spinning wheels of color that get "blocked," classical yoga offers a far deeper truth: cakras are pure Spirit, always in perfect balance, and always available to ground us in who we already are.

Step into the absolute stillness of the Secret Garden for a session guided by master educator Hansa Knox. What This Journey Covers:

• The Anatomy of the Petals: Learn how the letters of the Saṃskṛt alphabet (mātṛkā) dictate the vibrational blueprint and inner essence of each cakra.
• The Three Dimensions: Explore how each letter has a direct spiritual (tattva), mental-emotional (vṛtti), and physical expression (marma points).
• Prāṇic Āsana Integration: Experience how vocalizing and moving through the Saṃskṛt names of traditional postures alters the flow of life force in real time.

This is primarily an educational, lecture-based workshop with targeted experiential components. Perfect for yoga teachers, lineage seekers, and anyone looking to move beyond Westernized cakra theory.

ADMISSION NOTE: This exclusive session requires a Teacher Track Ticket for entry.

If you’ve ever felt stuck teaching the exact same flows on repeat, this masterclass is your antidote. Join global sequencing mentor and founder of the Steal My Flow movement, Juliana LaRochelle, for an interactive, 90-minute workshop designed to shatter your creative blocks and streamline your lesson planning.

This session is explicitly not about performing advanced asanas or forcing tricky, unsafe transitions. Instead, you will master 4 simple, highly adaptable methods to make your standard public classes feel fresh, artistic, and deeply inspiring while remaining completely accessible to everyday bodies.

• The Interactive Formula: Juliana will lead a high-impact mini-lesson on creative mapping, followed by collaborative group breakouts where you will work with your peers to build your own fluid sequences.
• The Professional Takeaway: Walk away with a concrete, repeatable formula you can return to week after week, ensuring you never have to wait for inspiration to hit before a class.
• Who it is for: Certified yoga teachers, teacher trainees, and dedicated practitioners looking to understand the deeper architecture of Vinyasa.
• Note: This is a limited-capacity workshop. Please ensure you have upgraded your Visitors Center to a Teacher Track Ticket to secure your spot and receive your continuing education credits.

Modern yoga and wellness environments often extract from Indigenous cultures without fully understanding the histories, systemic harms, and deep ethical responsibilities that come with those practices. This vital workshop invites educators into a grounded, human conversation about cultural reverence—exploring how to move, speak, and teach in ways that honor Indigenous peoples while actively reducing harm.

Led by Sequoia Garza-Keith, a mixed Indigenous practitioner and educator, this session unpacks how Indigenous traditions have been historically criminalized and appropriated, and how those realities echo in today's studios. Rather than centering shame, this workshop emphasizes curiosity, humility, and practical toolkits for navigating nuance with genuine care.

Core Curriculum Competencies:

• Land Acknowledgments: Learn precisely when, why, and how to deliver a meaningful land acknowledgment that moves beyond corporate performance.
• Inclusive Space-Holding: Understand how to respectfully engage with Indigenous traditions under the assumption that Indigenous people are actively present in your class.
• Accountability Over Paralysis: Master specific tools to navigate linguistic or cultural mistakes with transparent accountability rather than defensiveness or shutting down.
• Lineage Ethics: Connect Western yoga ethics back to a living lineage of responsibility, relationship, and respect, rather than extraction.

Let's be honest: your first 105-degree yoga class feels less like a spiritual awakening and more like an existential crisis in a crowded sauna. Enter 26&2 in a Bag—the ultimate, zero-pretension survival guide designed to get you through the sweat, the mirrors, and the madness of your first hot yoga experience.

With refreshing wit and practical grit, this guide strips away the intimidating jargon to deliver the raw, unedited truth about what actually happens in the hot room. You will learn the unwritten rules of studio etiquette, how to breathe when the air feels like soup, and exactly what to pack in your yoga bag to prevent a mid-class meltdown. Whether you are a terrified beginner dragging yourself to Day One or a seasoned hot-room junkie looking for a laugh, this guide is your hilarious, supportive best friend on the mat.

Yoga is far more than physical shapes on a mat—it is a conscious way of relating to ourselves, our communities, and the lives we are actively creating. Step away from the physical asana and into the absolute, silent sanctuary of the Secret Garden for a profound workshop dedicated to living your practice aloud. In this non-moving session, you will explore the classical concept of a sutra—traditionally a concise, guiding thread of wisdom—and learn how to distill one for your own life.

Guided by immersive contemplation, intentional journaling prompts, and meaningful group dialogue, you will examine the exact patterns, values, and truths you want to live from. Together, we will bridge the gap between ancient yogic philosophy and everyday modern reality, crafting a personalized "thread" of language to serve as an unshakeable anchor both on the mat and out in the world.

Who it is for: Designed for anyone seeking deeper clarity, alignment, and intentionality—whether you are a longtime teacher or simply curious about yoga beyond physical movement.

What to bring: No physical practice is required. Please bring a journal, a pen, and an open heart.

ADMISSION NOTE: This exclusive session requires a Teacher Track Pass or Add-On Ticket for entry.

What if a few subtle, deliberate shifts in your language and spatial awareness could radically alter how safe a student feels on their mat? This specialized workshop invites you to explore how teaching from a trauma-informed lens isn't a complex overhaul of your entire style—it is an intentional refinement of how you show up for your students and support their nervous systems.

Led by an expert in somatic regulation, you will learn how to transition from traditional commanding cues to choice-based, invitational language that respects individual boundaries. Bring your curiosity, and expect to leave with profound insights worth sitting with and immediate adjustments you can make in your very next class.

? Note: This is a limited-capacity workshop. Please ensure you have upgraded your Visitors Center to a Teacher Track Ticket to secure your spot and receive your continuing education credits.

Being rich isn’t about how much you have; it’s about how fully you live. Join elite corporate leader turned spiritual guide, author, and FEROZ founder AJ Bishop-Andrews for a powerful, paradigm-shifting keynote presentation that completely flips the script on female wealth.

For more than two decades, AJ climbed the highest rungs of senior banking leadership at JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Key Private Bank. From the outside, her life looked flawlessly successful, stable, and secure. On the inside, she carried a quiet, persistent truth that many high-achieving women secretly hold: this version of success no longer fits.

Drawing directly from the core themes of her bestselling book, Rich Like Her, AJ maps out the essential seasons that shape a woman’s sense of worth: the exhausting season of performance, the disruptive season of reckoning, and the triumphant season of reclaiming your inner authority. Merging her executive finance acumen with her 25+ years as an E-RYT 500 yoga teacher, AJ delivers a masterclass in embodied leadership and life transitions. This talk will give you the practical frameworks and radical self-trust needed to stop performing a life that looks good on paper, and start living one that feels profoundly true to your soul.

Restore your body's energetic blueprint in the tranquil, fragrant sanctuary of the Lavender Pergola. Guided by master educator Hansa Knox, this experiential session moves beyond the surface of anatomy to explore the five winds of prāṇa that dictate human movement and cellular healing.

What You Will Explore:

• The Five Directions: Understand the unique dynamics of the five prāṇavāyus and how they interact to maintain whole-body balance.
• Releasing Cellular Memory: Discover how trauma and physical injuries restrict prāṇic flow, and how target postures can safely clear these blockages.
• Energetic Cueing: Master specific āsana alignment and breath patterns designed to enhance and empower your internal current.

This workshop is an intentional blend of lecturing, precise physical movement, and deep energetic awareness. Perfectly suited for yoga teachers looking to elevate their cueing, and practitioners ready to deepen their internal sensitivity.

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most studied texts in the yoga tradition. It is also one of the most misunderstood. On the surface, it reads as a dramatic conversation on an ancient battlefield. In reality, it is a precise, psychological map for navigating choice, action, and meaning when the stakes of your daily life feel impossibly high.

Step into the silent, private sanctuary of the Secret Garden for a rare, life-changing workshop with world-renowned master teacher, healer, and author Nischala Joy Devi. A former monastic disciple to Sri Swami Satchidanandaji for 25 years and co-host of the acclaimed podcast A Woman's Gita, Nischala strips away the dry, rigid academic armor of scripture to make it deeply accessible, heart-centered, and relatable.

Rather than a dry lecture, this session brings the Gita into direct contact with the heavy questions you are actively carrying: What do I do when every option feels wrong? How do I act with clarity when I cannot see the whole picture? How do I stay grounded when the world around me is in chaos? Come experience a masterful, feminine-based interpretation of lineage wisdom that will touch your heart and redefine how you walk through the world.

In the blink of an eye, Abigail went from teaching yoga to relearning how to walk. After a cerebellar stroke in 2012, she discovered that the relationship you have with your body shapes the entire quality of your life. That season redefined her understanding of resilience. It’s not about pushing harder or chasing perfection. It’s choosing to adapt to challenges without giving up on yourself. Yoga became her way to practice resilience by transforming physical loss into whole-body living. In this keynote, Abigail shares a framework for rebuilding body trust after physical trauma, plus practical ways teachers and students can make yoga more accessible across abilities.

Key Takeaways

Redefine resilience as a practice of effort + recovery

Build body trust through simple, repeatable tools you can use immediately

Shift the way you see accessibility so inclusion becomes part of your yoga practice

Hanuman’s Journey & Our Inner Ramayana: In this entertaining talk, Dr. Manoj Chalam illuminates Hanuman’s journey in the Ramayana and will relate it to the archetypical Hanuman energy within you. Like Hanuman we can access super human powers of wisdom, strength and service alongside deep humility and “move big Boulders”. Learn how awakening this energy leads to explosive transformation, both within and in the outside world, be it spiritual, personal or professional.

In parallel, Manoj will guide us with stories and symbolisms of the Ramayana through the lens of Advaita Vedanta philosophy; where Lord Ram is an avatar of Consciousness (Higher Self of formless), Sita is us (lower self in form) and Hanuman is the uniter of us to Consciousness.

Most people know what they should be doing, but find it nearly impossible to bridge the gap between information and actual daily practice. Enter the concept of Sādhana—the Sanskrit word for an intentional, daily spiritual practice. It is the grounding anchor you return to every single morning because it is what keeps you connected to your true self amidst the chaos of life.

Join world-class educator, Reiki Master, and ParaYoga specialist Jeremy Wolf for an illuminating, 90-minute workshop designed to end the cycle of starting over. Synthesizing traditional Eastern wisdom with modern somatic science, Jeremy strips away the guilt and idealism of modern wellness culture. You will learn the definitive psychological and energetic principles required to build a daily ritual sized specifically to your messy, everyday life—not a flawless, idealized version of it.

Who it is for: This masterclass is explicitly created for the practitioner who keeps starting over every single Monday. It is also an essential sanctuary for the yoga teacher who is constantly giving everyone else a practice while quietly wondering what happened to their own.

When the world feels fractured, what does yoga ask of us?

How do we embody sthira (steadiness) and sukha (ease) while witnessing collective grief, polarization, or harm? How do we stay rooted in compassion without becoming overwhelmed or disconnected? And how do we care for ourselves while holding space for others?

This experiential workshop explores how the teachings of yoga become a living practice — not only on the mat, but in the moments our communities need them most.

Through reflection, discussion, and stories from lived experience, Lindsay Grabb and Ericka Jones will share what it meant to lead UP Yoga in Minneapolis through the racial reckoning of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, COVID-19 pandemic, Congressional Assassination, Annunciation School mass shooting, and Operation Metro Surge (ICE raids). Together, they'll explore how yoga philosophy, clear values, and the practice of karma yoga became anchors for navigating uncertainty, making difficult decisions, and cultivating a community rooted in belonging and care.

Participants will be invited to explore:

How yoga philosophy can support courageous, compassionate action in times of uncertainty

Practices for remaining grounded while holding space for collective emotion and lived experience

The role of values as a compass for teaching, leading, and building authentic community

Ways to embody yoga beyond personal practice through service, discernment, and connection

How to create a practice and space of belonging inclusive of all — through safety, language, and self-care

Whether you're a teacher, studio owner, or devoted practitioner, you'll leave with renewed clarity that yoga is not simply something we do on the mat. It is a way of meeting the world with courage, wisdom, and an open heart — even when the path ahead is unknown.

Lindsay Grabb and Ericka Jones draw on their experience leading Up Yoga in Minneapolis through 2020's racial reckoning, the pandemic, and Operation Safety Net to explore how yoga philosophy and karma yoga anchor us in uncertainty. Leave with renewed clarity: yoga is a way of meeting the world with courage, wisdom, and clarity.

ADMISSION NOTE: This exclusive session requires a Teacher Track Pass or Add-On Ticket for entry.

Kids are not small adults. They need entirely different language, completely different pacing, and a distinct reason to be on the mat. This specialized Teacher Track workshop is built for anyone who has wanted to bring the transformative power of yoga to children but didn't know how to bridge the generational gap.

Guided by children’s yoga specialist and Denver Yoga Summit logistics coordinator Jamie Martinico (RYT 500), this interactive 90-minute session delivers a working, practical foundation. Jamie leverages her extensive background in anatomy and kids' teacher trainings at Sunny Isle Yoga to strip away dry theory and give you a real, functional starting point. You will learn how to structure a children's class, how to speak to a child in a way that truly lands, and why kids' yoga is an entirely separate practice with its own profound purpose.

Who it is for: This session is a perfect career expansion for instructors who currently teach adults. It is equally valuable for parents, educators, or caregivers who want to share what yoga has given them, and anyone ready to remember what it feels like to just have fun on the mat.

Note: This is a limited-capacity workshop. Please ensure you have upgraded your Visitors Center to a Teacher Track Ticket to secure your spot and receive your continuing education credits.

Join your favorite teacher-authors at the Denver Yoga Summit for an exclusive book signing session. Meet the minds behind the teachings, get your books signed, and chat in person.