Devanadi Yoga ~ Teacher Bios

	Wellness Therapies			For Appointments: Call 612-926-8250 or wellness@devanadiyoga.com
				Tanya Boigenzahn Sowards, E-RYT 500, RTT/Instructor, CHTP & Reiki Master Wellness Therapies: Thai Yoga Bodywork, Energy Work, Ayurvedic & Traditional Yoga Privates, Meditation Privates Tanya is the director/owner of Devanadi Yoga Studio. She is the creator and director of our 200/500 Teacher Training & Intensives and also operates her Thai Yoga Bodywork training and certification program at the studio. Blessed to have been in the company and service of many amazing and globally conscious teachers, she is a senior student of Yogarupa Rod Stryker and one of the first ParaYoga® Certified™ teacher/practitioners in the tradition, as well as an initiate of the Himalayan Tradition of Swami Rama and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. Tanya has studied and been certified in many other yoga styles including Larry Schultz's It's Yoga Ashtanga, Janice Clarfield and Jennifer Gray's Prenatal Yoga, Judith Lasater's Restorative Yoga, and trainings with Dharma Mittra, Tias Little, Paul Grilley, Seane Corn and more. As a Thai Yoga Bodywork therapist/instructor, Certified Healing Touch Practitioner, Reiki Master, Seichem and Qi Gong practitioner, she uses this training and experience to help deepen students' knowledge of the traditional practices of healing and wellness. Tanya's focus with students is to help them find their Sva Dharma (individual destiny) through use of Ayurvedic principles, Vinyasa Krama (proper sequencing), tapas (discipline), smarana (rememberance of the self) as well as mantra and meditation practices. She's commited to help people laugh and feel more at ease through yoga! She has been practicing yoga since 1993 and teaching since 1996. In the past, Tanya opened her first yoga studio, Popo Agie Yoga, in Lander, WY. She has also served as a Director for the Yoga Center of Minneapolis and was a senior teacher and teacher training facilitator there for many years. Tanya also is a part-time freelance writer focusing on health in wellness, and has been published in Metro Magazine, FIT, and several other periodicals. She's also used her creative juices in many other fields including working in cities such as Portland, OR, San Francisco, and London as a senior web/graphic designer for dot-coms and design firms such as WebMD.com, Kmart.com, and Razorfish, serving as a substitute teacher on the Wind River Indian Reservation, and even worked for a year at a rock climbing gym. Tanya holds Instructor status with the Thai Healing Alliance International (THAI) and has served on their Executive Council. She's a senior student of Master Teacher Pichest Boonethame of Chiang Mai, Thailand, and has studied with other respected teachers in the field, at home and abroad, including Jonas Westring, Maw Homprang Chaleekanha, and Bob Haddad. Tanya visits Thailand annually where she continues her study of Thai Massage, as well as Buddhist meditation, Thai Shamanic Healing techniques, traditional Thai herbal and medical practices, and other cultural delights. and meditation practices. Living just a block from Devanadi Yoga Studio, Tanya shares her life with her partner, Jason - who is in the process of starting his locally-owned and sustainable brewery (HarrietBrewing.com) - and 4 year old son, River.
				Katie Daniels, RTT, RYT Wellness Therapies: Thai Yoga Bodywork, Energy Work Katie is a long-time Thai Yoga Bodywork therapist, and is one of the first to graduate from Tanya Boigenzahn Sowards' 300 hour Thai Yoga Bodywork Certification Program. She has practiced Ashtanga yoga for many years and has a daily practice. To help broader her knowledge of yoga, Ayurveda and energy medicine, she continues to study Thai Yoga Bodywork with Tanya, as its incorporation of passive yoga poses and energy balancing, made it a perfect fit for her. Katie warmth and personality helps all clients feel relaxed and allow for a healing environment. She uses her training in yoga to help clients work past flexibility and range-of-motion issues. Katie is also the mother to three great musician children. You can often see them playing at French Meadow!
				Danielle De Pillis, RYT 500, PYT 1000 Wellness Therapies: Integrative Yoga Therapy Danielle originally came to yoga seeking a way to reduce chronic sciatic pain. When she realized all that yoga had to offer, she realized there was no turning back and began to explore a new life path. Danielle has had the opportunity to study with many amazing teachers along her yogic path. Just a few of them are Tanya Boigenzahn Sowards, Rod Stryker, Dharma Mittra, Judith Lasater and Joseph Le Page. Danielle received her 200-hour certification from the Yoga Center of Minneapolis. She received an additional 200-hour certification through Devanadi Yoga with Tanya Sowards in the ParaYoga inspired tradition. She studied Integrative Yoga Therapy at The Kripalu Institute with Joseph Le Page, Lillian Le Page, Maria Kalima and Cathy Prescott to earn certification as a Professional Yoga Therapist. She has received her 500-hour certification in Integrative Yoga Therapy. She has also completed her 1000-hour level certification in Integrative Yoga Therapy earning the Professional Yoga Therapist 1000 designation. Danielle has continued her training in yoga therapy earning certification in Functional Yoga Therapy with Maria Kalima. Additionally Danielle is certified to work with veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) through the Yoga Warriors program. Danielle has a private Integrative Yoga Therapy practice working one on one with people with a wide variety of conditions. She sees clients out of her home in downtown Minneapolis as well as Devanadi Yoga and Spirit of the Lake Yoga. Her teaching is greatly influenced by her Integrative Yoga Therapy training. Her style includes the teachings of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda as well as the knowledge she has gained in her personal practice and healing journey. She likes to encourage her students to go inward in their practice whether they are in a standing pose or savasana. She gets excited by the new awarenesses her students and private clients have week after week and is honored to help guide them on the path to healing.
				Dale Jones, RTT Wellness Therapies: Thai Yoga Bodywork, Thai Herbal Compress Therapy , Energy Work After spending 20 years in the field of Medical Imaging and 15 years in the Telecommunications Industry, primarily as a sales professional, Dale has found his true passion in the Healing Arts with an ancient healing art form called Thai Yoga Bodywork. Dale has been practicing Thai Yoga Bodywork for over three years and completed a 300 Hour Practitioner Training and Certification Program in December of 2010 with instructor Tanya Sowards, Owner of Thai Yoga Bodywork, LLC in Minneapolis, MN. Dale is a registered practitioner with the Thai Healing Alliance and his mission is to enhance the lifestyle of individuals with a holistic approach to wellness and longevity.
				Pete Loeffler, RYT 200, RTT Wellness Therapies with Pete: Thai Yoga Bodywork & Combo Thai Yoga/Energy Work sessions Pete is a graduate of the 200 hour Devanadi Yoga Teacher Training Program and the Thai Yoga Bodywork Certification Program, both offered at this studio. He's earned his RTT (Registered Thai Therapist) credential through the Thai Healing Alliance International (THAI), and recently spend several weeks in Thailand with Tanya's retreat, as well as travel time on his own studying the culture, Thai massage, and healing work. Pete came to yoga as a way to balance life as a mechanical engineer working for the government. After his contract was completed, he devoted his life to helping "heal the planet" through yoga, bodywork and sustainable engineering practices. On the side, Pete is also a key player at Tanya's husband's local micro-brewery, Harriet Brewing and local green technologies firm, Sustology.
				Amy Rieder, MS, Certified Wellness Coach Wellness Therapies: Wellness Coaching, Yoga Privates Amy has had a life-long interest in health and wellness. She began participating in sports at a young age and came to realize the many benefits of a physically active lifestyle. She received a Master�s degree in Physical Education from the University of Oregon and spent 15 years working in hospital- based Cardiac Rehabilitation programs, including 12 years at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. During this time, Amy also became interested in complementary medicine and began exploring a variety of healing arts in her own life. She realized that she wanted to shift to a holistic perspective and became certified as a Wellness Coach. Amy now has a private practice where she works with clients to create personalized , holistic wellness and lifestyle plans. Her coaching philosophy is centered on viewing wellness as a journey , and on the premise that all aspects of lifestyle are connected and influence each other. Amy�s approach draws upon clients� innate strengths ,creativity, and resiliency and her belief that when individuals follow their own unique path to wellness, they will thrive and grow and experience a happier, healthier, more balanced life. Amy is a graduate of Devanadi's 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training & Intensive. She appreciates the tremendous value and depth that yoga brings to her own life, and incorporates elements of yoga philosophy into her work with Wellness Coaching clients. Her experience also includes training in Reiki and Thai Yoga Bodywork with Tanya, and Spring Forest Qi Gong. Amy is grateful for the opportunity to work with both individual and group clients at Devanadi Yoga Studio, and looks forward to supporting and guiding you on your wellness journey! For Appointments: Call 612-926-8250 or wellness@devanadiyoga.com