What's New

About

Teachers

Articles

Links

Moon Days

Devorah Sacks - Personal Biography

I have been a dedicated practitioner of traditional Ashtanga Yoga since 1993. My commitment to the practice led me to India in 1996 to study with Pattabhi Jois, and I have traveled back to Mysore regularly ever since. I received my Level 2 Authorization through KPJAYI.

The greatest influence on my Ashtanga path and beyond is my teacher and mentor, Dena Kinsberg. I was blessed to meet Dena very early on in my practice and have studied extensively with her since 1998. In 2001, I traveled to Byron Bay, Australia to study in her shala. Our relationship continues today, and Dena continues to be a huge inspiration in both my practice and my life.

I have a deep love for Sanskrit and am blessed to learn from my teacher, Dr. M.A. Jayashree, each year in Mysore and via Skype during the months we are apart. When here in San Francisco, I study with my teacher Kiranavali at the Brahmananda Ashram.

The Tantric teachings of Yoga Nidra helped bring balance to my Ashtanga practice and offered a deepening into the more subtle aspects of yoga. I am a certified Yoga Nidra teacher and teach both group and individual Yoga Nidra classes.

It was my early work in the Mysore room that led me to seek out a stronger way of facilitating a student's growth. The Mysore practice is so much more than the physical asana, and in order to be an effective and responsible teacher, I pursued studies in somatics and Somatic Psychology. I am a licensed Somatic Psychotherapist and have extensive training in trauma centered psychotherapy. I am certified in Generative Somatics through Stacie Haines and have completed studies with Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk on using somatic practices, particularly yoga, to help heal complex trauma and PTSD. I am also certified in Trauma Sensitive Yoga.

I have been teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area for the last 20 years. I have led three Mysore programs, and in 2007, I opened Mission Ashtanga which has just celebrated its 13th year. I recently moved to Grass Valley, California and opened Atha Yoga, a sacred yoga school dedicated to all things yoga. Atha Yoga was lovingly remodeled from an old barn on my property.

I was featured in Sonima's 2016 list of "100 Most Influential Yoga Teachers in America."