Shiela Laird
E-RYT 200, RYT 500, RCYT
shiela@me.com (303) 995 4208
Shiela started teaching yoga in 1997. Shiela's teaching style is a blend of several lineages she learned during three years of cumulative residency in India. When she asked permission to lead the primary series, Ashtanga yoga’s founder, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, gave her his blessings. His encouragement to teach has given Shiela the confidence to share her passion for yoga with others. She has furthered her studies in the United States with teachers such as Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor. Students will learn in her class techniques to enhance mental clarity, emotional balance, and physical health. Cultivating self-awareness, gentle strength, and vitality is the focus of her class.
Teaching Experience
Boulder, CO, 2004-present
Studio Shira
Radiance Yoga
Rally Sport
The Wellness Initiative (Yoga in the public school system)
Yoga Rocks the Park (Camp Yoga Rocks for Kids)
Boulder’s Yoga Club for Kids
San Francisco, CA, 2001-2004
Yoga Tree (Valencia, Hayes, and Stanyan studios)
SF Ashtanga
Therapeia Yoga
University of San Francisco
World Gym
The Epiphany Center (taught yoga to women recovering from drug addiction and homelessness)
Fusion Festival 2002 (near Angel’s Camp, CA)
New York, NY, 1999-2000
Marriott's Fitness Club at the World Trade Center
NY Yoga
The Sivananda Yoga Center
Montclair, New Jersey, 1999-2000
Starseed Yoga
Boulder and Denver, CO, 1997-1998, 2000
Dance West
Montessori School of Washington Park (children's yoga)
The Project Arts Studio
Boulder Creek Festival 2000
Dharamsala, India, 1997
Tushita Buddhist Meditation Center
Kerala, India, 1997
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwatari Ashram
Yoga Business Management Experience
Yoga Program Coordinator, Dance West, Boulder, CO, 1997-1998
Hired yoga instructors and scheduled classes
Administered payroll
Certifications
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwatari Ashram, Kerala, India, 1997
Teacher Training and Sadhana Intensive -Certified by the Yoga Alliance 200 hours standard for Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT)
Om Shree Om: The Mind, Body & Spirit of Teaching Children’s Yoga, Boulder, 2009
Specialty training with Christine McArdle honoring Yoga Alliance 95 hours standard for Registered Children's Yoga Teacher (RCYT)
Prenatal/Postpartum Yoga Intensive with De West, Boulder, 2011
33 Yoga Alliance continuing hours certification
Naropa University, Boulder, CO, 2014
1000-hour, two-year certificate program in Traditional Eastern Arts: Yoga Teacher Training
Most Influential Teachers
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Richard Freeman, Mary Taylor, R. Sharat Jois, Sri Rudradev Swamiji
Selected Yoga Study
The Yoga Study Center, Rishikesh, India, 1996
Two months study of Iyengar yoga with Sri Rudradev Swamiji
Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute, Mysore, India, 1999
Four months of Ashtanga yoga training with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharat Jois
Patanjali Yoga Shala, New York, NY, 1999-2000
Seven months of Ashtanga practice with Eddie Stern
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois World Tour, Boulder, CO, July 2000
Secondary series workshop
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois World Tour, San Francisco, CA, September 2002
Primary series workshop
Anusara Teacher Training, Berkley, CA, July 2003
Study with John Friend
The Yoga Workshop, Boulder, CO, 1998, 2007- 2014
Study with Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor including a month-long teachers intensive,
Academic Education
Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado
M.A. in Religious Studies 2014
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
B.A. in Psychology, 1992
Studied voice, dance, Italian and psychology
Related Experience and Training
Buddhist vipassana meditation and Buddhist philosophical studies in Dharamsala, India
Harmonium playing and chanting
Bharata Natyam (Indian classical dance) training and performance experience in Mysore, India
Twenty years training and international performance experience in ballet and modern dance
Children's ballet teaching experience
Adult lyrical modern and tap dance teaching experience