Summer Cushman

A spiritual seeker her entire life, Summer believes that authentic yoga practice has the power to change everything. She has personally experienced the transformative and healing power of regular personal practice and has witnessed it in the lives of her students, which she considers a great gift. Yoga is fundamentally about the reduction of suffering whether it exists on the physical, mental, or spiritual levels. Experiences of pain, challenge, and illness are an inevitable part of human life. While we may not be able to avoid this reality, we do have control in how we respond. Summer takes the time to understand her students as the multi-dimensional people that they are and using the primary tools of yoga—breath, simple movement, awareness, relaxation, philosophical study, meditation, sound, prayer, and ritual—as well as teachings from Ayurveda, she works to empower them to respond to their situation in a personalized, engaged, and intentional way. Summer is a perpetual student and has spent her life following her curiosity. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in printmaking and art history from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. She earned her Master of Divinity degree with an emphasis in spirituality from Earlham School of Religion (a Quaker seminary) in Richmond, Indiana. She began practicing yoga in 2001 and received foundational training and certification from CITYOGA School of Yoga and Health in Indianapolis under the direction of Nikki Myers and Marsha Pappas. She received advanced training and certification as a 500hr Viniyoga Teacher under the direction of Gary Kraftsow at the American Viniyoga Institute in California. And she received her Yoga Therapy certification under the direction of Robin Rothenberg at Essential Yoga Therapy in Washington State. Summer has led retreats and workshops throughout the country on such topics as spirituality, creativity, and embodiment. She leads an online community called The Yoga Church, which brings people together from around the world for deep study and practice. You can sign up for the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons and join our weekly gathering at www.summercushman.com. Summer Cushman is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance, which acknowledges the completion of a yoga teacher training with a Registered Yoga School (RYS).