I have been a lifelong student of movement and spirit. I was born and raised in Chapel Hill, NC and studied modern dance, anthropology, and women’s studies at the University of Michigan. After college, I moved to a tiny island in the south pacific to teach high school. I came home from that year of essential growth and struggle feeling unsteady and out of balance. My search for healing brought me to yoga, and it continues to be the practice that most deeply catalyzes my personal evolution and work.
 
I have completed the 200-hour vinyasa teacher training with Lori at Franklin Street Yoga Center, a 300-hour training on the classical texts of yoga at Asheville Yoga Center, yin yoga training with Sarah Powers, and a bhakti yoga immersion with Govindas at Bhakti Yoga Shala. I am grateful beyond measure for the wisdom and guidance of my teachers in helping me to discover my own expression of yoga.
 
I started chanting in Hebrew at a very young age, and when I heard kirtan for the first time, it was like a rediscovery of truth and spirit. I enjoy chanting as an offering to the beauty and depth of the universe and the natural world. I believe sound and vibration are powerful tools, and the practice of kirtan helps us to cultivate community and heart-to-heart connections with those around us.
 
It is my most sincere intention as a teacher to create and maintain a sacred space for each student to discover joy in their body and breath, let go of what no longer serves them, and heal in their own unique way. My classes incorporate vinyasa, breath, sound, and intention as tools to cultivate balance in the body and mind. I love to create malas, offer hands-on assists in class, and sprinkle glitter on literally everything.
 
Outside of the studio, I am a full time Clinical Social Work graduate student at UNC. I am training to be a couples and intimacy therapist, and working to support survivors of trauma in reclaiming their pleasure and fulfilment through body awareness and heart healing.
 
Feel free to email me at dani.leah.strauss@gmail.com with questions or feedback. I am here for you, and I value being an active part of the FSYC community. You can also find me on instagram at @danileah2