Shana Smith

She began attending regular classes in several different styles of yoga and, after several years of ardent practice and study, began to sub at her local studio and Yoga Temple. Shana became interested in the sensations and insights she would experience in Savasana, which led her to begin a regular meditation practice. She studied the Eight Limbs of Yoga, became a kirtan wallah, and in 2007 took refuge in the Sanbo Zen Lineage, of which she is now a senior student. She is also a member of the Florida Community of Mindfulness, and has taken the Bodhisattva Vows. Over the years, she has found a tremendous synergy between Yoga and Zen, and integrates the two in her daily, committed practice. She is also a musician, and has released a DVD of musical yoga for kids called “BananaYoga” as well as a dharma-inspired CD called “Oak Tree In the Garden.” Shana teaches integrated hatha, vinyasa, chair, Zen Flow, children’s and teen yoga, with an emphasis on breathing, coming into the present moment, self-compassion, and coming home to our true, boundless nature. She also leads regular “Chanting to the Open Heart” kirtan gatherings in Gainesville, Florida and other locations. She and her husband own the Gainesville Retreat Center, a meditation and yoga center based on a 120-acre wildlife refuge in Gainesville, Florida (www.gainesvilleretreatcenter.com).