About Shayna

I wasn’t always encouraged to connect with love to my body, or to recognize it as a source of wisdom and power. Were you? Probably not. Our stories may be different but it’s likely we share that in common.

Raised in a strict modern-orthodox enclave, I was urged to focus on intellectual pursuits; at best to ignore, and at worst to distrust my body after a certain age. Lucky for me, I had discovered the power of mindful movement as a child through gymnastics—and I rediscovered it in India where I began practicing yoga.

At 23, a recent college grad, I set off for a year of service work in Mumbai. I thought, well, when in India… and took the opportunity to “check out” yoga. I landed at an Iyengar studio and began my now 20-year yoga practice. The meticulous alignment, ingenious use of props, and rope-wall inversions appealed to me. It was a boon to receive such a solid foundation in the birthplace of yoga.

I continued my practice when I moved to New York, but it wasn’t until some 8 years later that I found my one true love: Forrest Yoga. I will never forget how Forrest Yoga Guardian Erica Mather adjusted me in Bridge Pose. Bridge became an entirely different pose for me that day: long and low instead of pinioned and arched. Between each adjustment Erica asked, “How’s that?,” until I no longer felt pain in my lumbar region. My years as a gymnast had left me with chronic low-back pain and that day marked my first step toward relief and healing. I was sold.

I completed my Foundation Teacher Training with Ana Forrest in 2014 (RYT-200), the Advanced Forrest Yoga Teacher Training in 2017, and most recently, a Trauma-Informed Teacher Training with Exhale to Inhale. I also achieved a PhD in English Literature, got married, became a mom, and lived in London, where, on one very memorable night, sitting with my husband on our tiny wedged-in patio, I told him I was called to become a yoga teacher and healer.

Now, years of teaching under my belt, I still consider this healing work to be not only a profession, but a sacred calling. My classes are designed to keep you breathing and feeling deeply, while exploring your physical and emotional thresholds. My yoga “superpower” is adapting classes to students of all levels and offering individualized modifications and skillful hands-on assistance. I firmly believe yoga is for everyBODY.

To learn more about Forrest Yoga, click here.

To book a private class with me, click here.

To view my public class schedule, click here.