Dana Nellen

Dana Nellen began preparing for a dance career at the age of 8. She studied for 16 years and performed professionally for 9 of those years in New York and nationally. During that time she learned how to prepare for top performance both physically and mentally. She learned to balance training for flexibility with training for maximum strength and endurance.
She also began to experiment with ways to rest effectively that allowed both body and mind to stay optimally functional for performance. Dana soon discovered that yoga provided those necessary tools.

In 1976 Dana began studying yoga and meditation under the strict supervision of Swami Muktananda, in the ancient tradition of Siddha Yoga. She lived in the ashram and served as staff for Muktananda and then Gurumayi from 1977-1994, in the United States, India and around the world. During that time, Dana studied yoga texts, asanas, meditation, chanting and pranayama as well as offering selfless service.

In1994, Dana left the ashram and completed 200 hours of teacher training in the Iyengar system, which is known for its attention to alignment and the therapeutic application of poses. She has also explored the use of breathing as a powerful tool through the practice of pranayama through Siddha Yoga meditation techniques, the art of the breathwalk, and viniyoga sequencing.

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