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, or PachaYoga. Depending on your needs.

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!

Psychotherapist @ ElevateTherapyWellness.com

Grace’s approach to therapy is nurturing and attentive. She is committed to holistic healing and has found the healing journey to include mindfulness, meditation, yoga, talk therapy, and anything in between.

She has a passion for working with people who want to find freedom from food and body image anxieties. She works with people who are wanting to find a balance between their desires to follow strict guidelines with health and their desire to find health intuitively.

Grace obtained her master’s degree from Southern Methodist University. She believes strongly in the blend of evidence and alternative-based approaches to healing.