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Bio


ABOUT AMY

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Bio


ABOUT AMY

 

Amy is a yoga teacher, author, and earth advocate. Her caring approach brings ancient wisdom to modern yogis, both on and off the mat. She is known for her genuine style of teaching, intelligent sequencing, compelling and clear instruction, and engaging sense of humor.

When she was 16, her mother asked if she’d like to try yoga for the first time. Amy said yes, and she was hooked! She continued to study yoga with various teachers based in the Sivananda tradition throughout high school and college.

Amy graduated with a B.A. in Studio Art from Oberlin College and spent the first part of her 20’s teaching fitness and self-defense & empowerment trainings for women, men and teens. She did this all while working in an eco-boutique in Soho, NYC, and beginning to study yoga with Cyndi Lee.

She graduated from Cyndi’s first yoga teacher training in 1997 and began teaching vinyasa yoga at Soho spas, Crunch Fitness, Equinox Fitness, and at the newly opened OM Yoga Center in New York City. During this time, Amy was part of a number of start up yoga studios including OM Yoga Center, Laughing Lotus, VIRAYOGA, and Yoga People in Brooklyn, NY. She taught yoga to corporate executives at Bear Stearns, Pfizer, and Atlantic Records, as well as authors, prominent CEOs, and New York & Hollywood celebrities and musicians. She maintained a clientele of private yoga students while leading several teacher trainings in Manhattan, Long Island, and Brooklyn.

While teaching a floor below the Jivamukti Yoga Center, in the basement of Crunch Fitness, she heard Krishna Das’s voice carrying into the street through the window each night after her class. It was not long before she was a kirtan regular and began touring and recording on occasion with KD. You can find her vocals on his albums, Breath of the Heart, All One, and Rock in a Hard Space.

In 2004 Amy relocated to Boulder, Co from New York.  In Boulder she was better situated to answer invitations for international travel to teach workshops and trainings world wide as well as offer teacher trainings in the Denver and Boulder area. In Boulder she helped produce and sing vocals for the mantra CD, “Invocation” (2006) with Krishna Das, Manorama, Cat McCarthy, Janaki Kagel, Bill Douglas, James Hoskins, and others. She also recorded vocals for two of Shantala’s chant albums, The Love Window, and Shri in that time. She most recently recorded vocals on Kevin Paris's album, Turn Me Up.

A pioneer for advanced yoga education, serving both students as well as fellow yoga teachers, in 2012 she co-founded Vesselify School of Yoga (formerly 90 Monkeys), an online and in-person professional development school that has enhanced the skills of yoga teachers and studios in 65+ countries around the globe. In 2016 she co-authored the book, The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga, which has become a staple in yoga teacher trainings across the globe.

Amy shares her passion for yoga, health, earth conservation, soil and gut health through her writings for Yoga Journal, Organic Life, Prevention, Mantra, Origin, Mind Body Green, prAna Stories, and Elephant Journal. She has appeared on the covers of Yoga Journal and Fit Yoga Magazine and has been featured in Self Magazine, New York Magazine, Allure (Korea), and Newsweek and her underwater images have been featured on the front page of Yahoo.com.

Amy is a faculty member at the 1440 Multi University, Omega Institute, Esalen and Kripalu. A regular presenter at the Yoga Journal Conferences, Asia Yoga Conference, Telluride Yoga Festival, Wanderlust Festivals, and The Hanuman Festival. Amy represents The Rodale Institute as an ambassador.

You can take her classes online at Yoga International and Teach.yoga.

 
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Mission + Press


 

My mission is to inspire people to experience their interconnection with all of life while reaching their potential in many dimensions: personal, professional, emotional, and spiritual. Through sharing my writing, art, and movement practices, I am here to help others become more conscious, awake, and alive, so that they live on the earth more fully and sustainably—all while having an adventurously good time.

Mission + Press


 

My mission is to inspire people to experience their interconnection with all of life while reaching their potential in many dimensions: personal, professional, emotional, and spiritual. Through sharing my writing, art, and movement practices, I am here to help others become more conscious, awake, and alive, so that they live on the earth more fully and sustainably—all while having an adventurously good time.

Amy has graced the covers of Yoga Journal and Fit Yoga Magazine and has been featured in Self, New York Magazine, Yoga Journal, Mantra Magazine, Origin Magazine, Yoga Digest, Yogini Magazine (Japan), Allure (Korea), Elephant Journal, intent.com, MindBodyGreen and many more.

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Causes


ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Causes


ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Since the age of 14 Amy has been a champion of all forms of eco-consciousness, animal conservation and more recent forays into marine conservation.

When she graduated from high school, Amy traveled to Washington DC to an environmental conference where she met the late River Phoenix and his family. Amy and the group stayed on to lobby for the environment & animal welfare. While traveling with the Phoenix family & friends on breaks throughout college, Amy’s commitment to the earth, health and animals was heightened.

Since she was a young girl, Amy has lived an environmentally conscious lifestyle and supports businesses that operate by this ideal.  She is an enthusiastic advocate for sustainable farming and effectively reducing our carbon footprint by making informed decisions about what we eat and what we buy.

Here are the organizations and initiatives she is proud to actively support through monthly and annual donations:

The Rodale Institute, WildAid, ASPCA, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), The Boulder Apple Project, and Sea Legacy. Amy is a Kiss the Ground soil advocate, an ambassador for The Rodale Institute, and serves on the advisory board of the Give Back Yoga Foundation.

In 2013, Amy embarked on a journey with her partner, Taro Smith, to inspire and raise awareness for marine conservation by training underwater so she could be photographed practicing yoga with large marine animals such as whale sharks, manta rays, humpback whales, and dolphins. These awe-inspiring viral images are helping to spark action to protect marine wildlife.
 

The 30 Day Yoga (And Eco) Challenge

Each month, Amy sets a month-long, eco-friendly habit to complement her 30-Day Yoga Challenge. The idea is for you to develop a green habit and ultimately adopt it beyond the 30-day challenge. Past challenges have encouraged members to bring their reusable tote bags to the markets, unplug appliances after using them, avoid purchasing and using single-use plastic, shopping farmers’ markets, and buying locally. To learn more or to pitch an idea of your own, check out this month’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge.

About the photographerTaro Smith is a photographer, artist, scientist, athlete, yogi, and conservationist. Taro was given his first underwater camera, a Nikonos V, at the age of 14. The camera represented a tool that could capture and compose his interests and is still in his possession. His initial photographic interest was to travel the world and capture human subjects alongside marine life. He later translated his underwater skills to filming expressions of human movement. He rotates his photographic interests from art to conservation to photojournalism and is known for his attention to detail.