Founder @ Luna Nidra

Specialty: Yoga Nidra

I started practicing yoga in 2007, at the Yoga Room in Cleveland, Ohio, learning the Iyengar system from Erica Steinweg. After moving to Austin in 2008, I studied with Peggy Kelly, and then Liz Belile. Life got in the way for a few years, and my practice became erratic, but I never lost interest. After getting injured training martial arts, I returned to serious yoga practice. I am now completing my Level 1 ParaYoga training with Yogarupa Rod Stryker. I also continue to study in Austin, primarily with Laura Teal.

In addition to yoga, I love to write, and am the author of two poetry chapbooks: Come Into the World Like That (Five Oaks Press, 2016) and We’re Smaller Than We Think We Are (Finishing Line Press, 2013). I have a B.A. in English from Kenyon College, an M.A. in English from Case Western Reserve University, and an M.F.A in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso.

PachaYoga & Healing
Leaps with Language

• Speech-Language Pathologist,
• Shamanic Practitioner,
• Yoga Teacher,
• Reiki Master

Amanda weaves together nearly twenty years of experience as a pediatric speech-language pathologist with the yogic and shamanic traditions. She is passionate about empowering and educating others so they can navigate the world confidently. Her holistic approach addresses building connection and communication on the physical, mental, and spiritual or energetic levels.

In her practice, PachaYoga & Healing, Amanda facilitates deep, soul level healing by releasing emotional or physical trauma, grief, fear, negative patterns/habits, and blocks. She offers individually designed practices and sessions for continued support to anchor in the energetic shifts, inviting one to be an active participant throughout the healing journey and to co-create with source in everyday life.

As the owner of Leaps with Language, she provides alternative education, therapy, and consultations for children with speech-language disorders and learning differences, specializing in treating children diagnosed with brain injury and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She incorporates knowledge and practices from a variety of disciplines, as well as the healing arts.

Amanda is excited to impart the powerful medicine and tools which have been extremely effective in transforming her own life. She shares her medicine through individual sessions, consultations, customized ceremonies, workshops, speaking, and writing. Her six-year-old son and the families she sees daily are her continual teachers. She holds the vision for a holistic medical model that is inclusive of connection and spiritual healing for well-being.

Amanda earned a Master’s degree in Communication Disorders from Southwest Texas State University following a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language from the University of Texas at Austin.

She is a registered yoga teacher at the 200 hour level and has also completed the Radiant Child Children’s Yoga training (95 hours) including Yoga for Autism, ADHD, & Differently-Abled Children.

She is Mesa Carrier in the Q’ero tradition, a Master Reiki Practitioner, and studied Energy Medicine Certification at Austin Shamanic Center.

Get in touch on Leaps with Language (site no longer available), or PachaYoga. Depending on your needs.

relinquish yoga and wellness

Christina Cohee
BA, C-IAYT, E-RYT 200, YACEP

I was introduced to yoga in the early 90s through a magazine. My life was chaotic and unpredictable, and I was drawn to the serenity I found in practicing the postures and breathing techniques. In college I enjoyed the physical release of an asana practice, but it wasn’t until I was debilitated by chronic and mystery illness that I discovered the breadth of yoga as a healing modality.

After suffering for close to 20 years, a friend invited me to a restorative yoga class. After the first class, I thought it was a waste of time and money. I kept going (to be with my friend), and amazingly, after a few weeks I began feeling better. I was curious to know why “doing nothing” was affording me some relief. Thus began my journey through teacher training.

I completed a Foundations of Yoga Therapy 200-hour training, and knew I wanted to become a yoga therapist. I graduated from the Practice School of Yoga Therapy and now have a thriving practice as a C-IAYT. I have had the privilege of both learning from and serving as an assistant for Judith Hanson Lasater in restorative yoga training. I have completed studies in Yoga of 12 Step Recovery (Y12SR), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and a Neuro-Rehabilitation Program for Chronic Illness, among many others.

I now live a life free from chronic conditions. My work with clients comes from a place of lived experience with chronic illness and recovery. I enjoy guiding clients with dysregulated nervous systems, trauma, and chronic conditions (and others, too) to befriend their bodies, connect with joy and ease, and ultimately connect with and live from their wholeness.

Darshan Shah, MD, MBA, ABFM, ABIHM

Darshan Shah, MD, is a father, Ashtanga Yoga practitioner, entrepreneur, and Board Certified Family Physician who practices Integrative and Holistic Medicine in Austin, Texas.  Aside from being a diplomate of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine he is also certified in Mind-Body Medicine through the Center for Mind-Body Medicine.  While in residency training in Dallas, he began practicing Ashtanga Yoga at the T Boone Pickens YMCA, under the tutelage of his wife.  Very quickly, he noticed how this helped him reduce his background anxiety level and improve his response to emotional and physical stress.  This catalyzed exploration into nonpharmacological treatment for conditions like anxiety, depression and stress.  Darshan has since found a very effective, evidence-based model through the Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) and shares the techniques he has learned in one-on-one, and group settings. In his personal life, the Mind-Body Skills he has developed have significantly improved his ability to be present and enjoy life, with the side effect of keeping him more healthy and happy. He believes that stress is the most important risk factor for chronic disease that we can do something about in our lives, and developing skills to reduce stress is the most important medicine we can give ourselves today.

In his private practice, Whole Health Austin, Darshan teaches patients Mind-Body Medicine techniques that increase their self-awareness and improve their response to stress.  Much of the joy he derives from his practice comes from empowering people to realize, for themselves, the beautiful innate capacity of the human body to heal and be whole.

Creativity is another important aspect of his practice style.  At times, he facilitates healing using nonpharmacologic approaches such as Low Level Light Therapy using the BioFlex Laser System.  Other times, he employs supplements, herbs, and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.  Though dietary and lifestyle changes are a mainstay of Dr. Shah’s practice, he does not shy away from technologically advanced treatments.  For example, he provides physiologic insulin infusion treatments for those with Type I and Type II Diabetes that help rapidly restore sensitivity to insulin.  Ultimately, the path chosen is patient directed and physician guided, integrating emotional, spiritual, and physical healing modalities.

Often overlooked, cultivating community is fundamental in eliminating isolation–isolation being a large contributor to stress and maladaptive behaviors.  Along these lines, Darshan collaborates with his wife, Priya Jhawar, who runs Ashtanga Yoga Austin, to create a community focused around self-awareness, wellbeing and resilience.  He also co-chairs Integrative Providers of Austin, a group that brings together physicians who are practicing Integrative and Holistic Medicine in the local area.

Lastly, with respect to his entrepreneurial adventures, Darshan is privileged to be involved in some very enjoyable ventures that align with his ideas on wellness, including the climbing gym Austin Bouldering Project (austinboulderingproject.com) and the Functional Energy Bar company, Crafted Energy (www.craftedenergy.com).

Dr. Hope McLoughlin is a vitalistic Chiropractor and Yoga Instructor of the Hatha and Kundalini styles.

Dr. Hope knows that the body is designed to heal and thrive, and that Chiropractic care works through the Nervous System to ensure the proper conditions for this healing to take place!

Dr. Hope graduated from Life Chiropractic College West with highest academic honors and spent hundreds of hours outside the curriculum learning various adjusting strategies that enhance the biomechanical framework she learned in school. These studies took her into the philosophy of Chiropractic and the subtler dimensions of tension-storage in the body for more easeful adjustments into receptive tissues. By combining a grounded understanding of anatomy and physiology with a keen awareness of how the intelligence of the body communicates using subtler cues, her adjustments “hold” with lasting results.

The power of the adjustment is to release bound potential in the body related to stored life experiences, so the medicine from these experiences can crystalize into the best you possible!

She looks forward to witnessing your most beautiful unfoldment under Chiropractic care!