About Us
What Sets Us Apart from Other Schools
Awakened Spirit is part of Teravana, a 501(c)3 offering educational programs to experience yoga and mindfulness as powerful paths for healing, inner inquiry and transformation.
Our school envisions an inner and outer world in alignment with our highest selves and believe that when we take our yoga practice off the mat, we deepen intimacy with all aspects of life. We believe that when we integrate what we learn on the mat into our daily lives, we have the power to heal and nurture our communities and our earth.
All profits from our educational yoga and mindfulness programs are dedicated to supporting reforestation initiatives in California and community projects in Guatemala, where many of our trainings take place.
When you commit to learning with us, not only are you investing into growing your career as a yoga teacher through our high quality, trauma informed, expert led education, you can trust that your dollars have an impact and that those ripples can be felt in communities that we touch.
You can feel good about your part in actively supporting redwood and sequoia reforestation projects in Northern California and in supporting Mayan led community projects that we collaborate with in Guatemala.
The heart of our community is grounded in a deep care for the earth, a reverence for ancient wisdom traditions and a belief in the human potential for transformation and healing.
Julia Forest
About the vision of Awakened Spirit Yoga
Our Story
Awakened Spirit Yoga was born from our personal visions for healing, creative freedom, and community. The seeds of this vision were planted in 2007, when Julia Forest left Canada to set out on a 6 month journey that sparked the beginning of her 10 year personal pilgrimage to India and Nepal. With a deep calling to explore the roots of yoga, she experienced the rich tapestry of yoga (Sanatana Dharma) and Buddhism in Northern India and Nepal and taught and studied yoga in ashrams and monasteries in the Himalayan foothills. She experienced yoga and mindfulness as powerful paths of healing, inner inquiry and transformation.
Her travels lead her study permaculture in Thailand. She was inspired by the practical nature of permaculture and immediately began introducing it as a complementary tool to live a life in alignment with our deepest values and a care for the earth and our communities. She founded Awakened Spirit in 2015 as a place to nourish sacred purpose steeped in the values of collaboration, co-creation, freedom and personal transformation.
Since then we have grown our family to include a broader network of co-creators and empowered global community leaders. The heart of our community is grounded in a deep care for the earth, a reverence for ancient wisdom traditions and a belief in the human potential for transformation and healing.
Our Vision & Mission
Our mission is to inspire personal transformation for regenerative change through yoga retreats and yoga teacher trainings in sacred locations around the world.
We are united in passion and purpose to share the teachings of yoga from a heart-centered place to bring forth empowered leaders into the world.
We offer Yoga Alliance registered 200 & 300 hour yoga teacher trainings, continuing education and transformational retreats woven with a common thread of mindfulness, embodied learning and care for mother earth.
We love our yoga family and offer ongoing support and mentorship to yogis who are committed to taking their practice to the next level through teaching, service, and community outreach. Welcome! We are grateful that you’re here.
The Awakened Spirit Yoga Approach
With deep roots in Northern India, our trainings and retreats blend traditional Hatha, Vinyasa and the fundamentals of therapeutic yoga to support you in leading a joyful, empowered life. Our alignment-based system incorporates mindfulness and traditional yogic wisdom with a modern understanding of the body.
Our holistic retreats and trainings unearth how these powerful teachings live and breathe within each individual, and how that shapes our world. We explore yoga through the lens of alignment, empowerment, and transformation in our teachings. The heart of our practice is grounded in a deep care for the earth, a reverence for ancient wisdom traditions and a belief in the human potential to heal and transform.
This contemplative approach explores authentic yoga, mindfulness and permaculture as tools to inspire heart centered living and sustainable change. Our curriculum is developed around the three pillars of Mind, Body & Earth.
We believe yoga is for all people and create safe, inclusive, and engaging learning environments for you to discover your own potential. When practiced and understood holistically, yoga becomes even more beneficial and helpful for humanity bringing harmony and balance to our lives, our families, and society.
Align
Look within to create a life in alignment with your highest potential.
The practice of yoga brings us into alignment with our energetic and physical bodies. When we align our bodies in asana, we can find health in our tissues, access great wisdom and uncover inner strength. When we align ourselves with our truths we can live a life informed by our values, led by the heart. Our holistic approach to teaching creates the space for you to discover the alignment that best supports you.
Empower
Embody your true power to rise.
When we are in alignment with our truth, our authentic power is revealed. As we re-member our wholeness and allow all of ourselves to come forth, we embody our innate power to create, to heal and to transform. We believe that through this process you develop the formula for your own empowerment. Our approach supports you in integrating your gifts, finding your voice, and stepping out into the world with clarity as an empowered and heart-centered leader.
Transform
Change your perspective, change your world.
When we are empowered on an individual level, we shift how we see our place in the world. Our trainings and retreats support you to explore your deepest potential and expand from a place of true coherence. Our approach sparks inner transformation, inspiring creativity, harmony and compassionate living for all beings.
What to expect?
The foundation of our approach balances the ancient traditions of yoga with modern context, combining yoga, leadership, healing and permaculture to inspire new possibilities for mind, body and the earth. We think of yoga as a lifestyle – a vast, comprehensive system that branches out into many different lineages such as Vedanta, Buddhism, Tantra, Samkhya, Bhakti, Karma and Jnana.
Our yoga retreats and trainings will provide you with an opportunity to immerse yourself in the yogic lifestyle, supporting alignment, empowerment and transformation through daily asana practice (postures), pranayama (breathing), meditation (concentration), mindfulness (awareness), self-inquiry (inner knowledge), seva (service) and a deepening connection to Mother Nature.
Join our community
Our courses are accessible both through captivating global locations and online platforms.
