Who Is Ava

I have been teaching Yoga for over 35 years and have achieved the highest certification from Yoga Alliance  E-RYT 500-T . Over these many years of teaching Yoga I have accumulated  well over 8 thousand hours of teaching experience. I am qualified to teach several styles of yoga but I specialize in HATHA & VINYASA YOGA  which are 2 very different styles of yoga. Hatha yoga lets us explore the poses meditatively while Vinyasa yoga allows us to to move, to dance, to develop grace. My outlook on life has always been deeply influenced by my love of  nature  and my love of various sports. I love to swim, cycle, surf & kayak, I just love to be outdoors. I lived in Hawaii for many years & learned to surf & then became a surfing instructor within a year at the age of 40. Shortly after I learned to surf I opened a surfing school which I ran for 9 years, during that time I continued teaching my outdoor yoga classes next to the ocean at the Papakea Resort. I believe my yoga practice helped me stay in prime condition for the tremendous athletic riggers of surfing. But my surfing instruction experience has also added immeasurably to my yoga teaching style, in as much as, it taught me to deliver my instructions in a clear voice, with precise, succinct words, as to not confuse or distract the student from his own physical concentration.  I have been teaching Yoga on Siesta key Public beach for 14 years and have come to appreciate the people here as well as those who come here from all over the world. Siesta Key beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world & I feel blessed that I have such an extraordinary place to teach & do what I love most, Yoga.

My philosophy.

I became a vegetarian when I was 14 years old and I have maintained a very healthy lifestyle my whole life. I am nonjudgemental and embraces all people of all nations. Beyond our differences: beyond religion, politics and culture, Earth remains, the (literal) ground of our being. Disconnected and distracted, we search for meaning. Overworked and overwhelmed, we struggle. Leave the struggle and the search behind. Whether or not you practice an established faith tradition, you are always welcome to my yoga classes which are held outdoors on mother earth. By virtue of being a human being, you are connected to this Holy Ground. It is your birthright. Welcome. Theology is beside the point. In the quest to reclaim Earth as holy ground, the last thing we should do is become bogged down in arguments about the nature of the Divine, or slip into “my god is bigger/better than your god” squabbles, or worse yet devolve into endless debates about whether or not there even is a God.

Natural spirituality offers us a vision of something greater than ourselves that transcends our individual concepts of Deity. Remember that natural spirituality, meaning connection to the Earth as sacred and the broader Universe as a whole, is the birthright of every human being. It is part of who we are. One can practice a natural spirituality as well as keep the traditions of one’s faith or heritage.

We can journey together, and as we do, we find that direct experience of the natural world is at once inspiring and nourishing to our spirits. As we journey, we can begin to spiritually disconnect from the destructive aspects of our culture. Earth is under assault ecologically but despite it all, despite the species extinctions, the poisoned land, the diminished diversity and the warming oceans it is still our sacred space, our holy ground. We need to claim it and celebrate it as such. We have no other. Join my  yoga classes and celebrate with me the divine earth at Siesta Key beach.

Our Earth

Our Earth

29 responses »

  2. Simply want to say your article is as astounding. The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i could assume you’re an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please carry on the rewarding work.

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    • course, in shifting to this mind space where I love my body. (Yes –a0yogaa0will give you a body you will love!)a0I reliase that it’s not actually having a great body that we want. We just think it

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  10. My husband and I attend your classes every year. You are the best leader I have practiced with. Your explainations are clear and precise. Warming my body in the sunshine, warm sand under my feet…….the best place to practice, bring awareness and reacquaint oneself to self.

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  11. Hi there. We will be visiting in June can you please let me know where this class is held. Thank you and I look forward to joining your class

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  12. Hello! Will there be yoga on this upcoming Saturday morning? Just wanted to confirm there will be a class held since red tide has been present! Thank you !

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  13. Hi Ava,
    Love to connect as I’m facilitating a women’s retreat end of April and love to attend Wednesday 9am and inquire regarding private class Tuesday 4/30?

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  14. Hello! Looking to bring a group of women (6-8 ppl) to Friday April 12 class at Siesta Key beach. There looks like a typo on the schedule paged is the only class offered Friday from 9-10am? Thank you we look forward to this class!

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  15. Hi Ava ,
    This is Dawn. I met you at EOS gym today.
    It was really nice to chat with you.
    Maybe I’ll see you teaching some day on Siesta beach.

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  16. do you still do yoga on the beach? BTW I LOVE your original post about theology and our Mother Nature. 100% how I feel. Talk to our one true Mother, Earth. Respect, praise, and heal Her for humankind. Love it. We are coming to beautiful FL with our younger child for some much needed rest and hopefully hot sunny weather, staying on Crescent Beach in March. Would love some yoga!

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