Zosha Bilyeu

I was a very young single mother, an ex gymnast/dancer, lost in the world. I was consumed by fear and stuck in a job that was smothering my life force. At the time, I thought yoga was a bunch of spiritual type people chanting and meditating. My first yoga class was with Bryan Kest after a friend gave me his series of Power Yoga videos. I quickly learned that I was WAY off about yoga. I instantly fell in love with the challenging, dance-like flow of Power Yoga, and I knew, at that moment that every path I’d ever taken, choice I’d ever made, relationship, good and bad, that I’d ever had led me to yoga.

In a few short weeks, I was in the best shape I’d been in since my gymnastics career. After a few months, I felt alive and unafraid. After connecting with Michael Stein, my most influential teacher and mentor, I graduated from his first 200 hour Ashtanga teacher training in 2003, and began teaching immediately. I was so empowered and confident, that I went right into nursing school and completed my RN degree.

My yoga practice made me aware of how I was treating my body and I naturally began to gravitate toward healthy choices. Anger changed to acceptance and forgiveness. Where there was once fear, now was faith that I had the strength and determination to overcome adversity in any form. How could I not share this gift?

After 2 kids back to back, my body told me that so many of the repetitive movements in traditional Ashtanga/Vinyasa were not ergonomically kind to our bodies over time. I want to have yoga for life… not just for right now, and I want that for my students as well, so through my own research and extensive training with amazing teachers, and tuning into my own body, I can now bring that to you, and to myself through more grounding and stabilizing movement.

When I decided to add the yoga Trapeze to my practice, I did it for fun, not expecting that this piece of equipment would add a whole new dimension to my practice, and fill in the gaps that are missing in mat yoga, and I certainly didn’t expect to heal an 11 year old neck injury through inversion therapy on my Trapeze. As an orthopedic RN, I am aware that back pain is an epidemic, I want to empower people to look inside themselves for a cure rather than opting into the slippery slope of pain management and surgery.

I often wonder if I had been introduced to yoga as a child, where I’d be today. The physical, mental and emotional benefits of yoga in childhood is unmeasurable. Confidence, self love, awareness of their feelings as well as compassion and tolerance are qualities that can be cultivated through yoga. I see children as perfect, pure little sponges of endless potential and positivity. Teaching these little miracles of life what I know best is the ultimate honor.

My passion for empowering others is so big that you will leave my classes, workshops and trainings feeling strong, confident, uplifted and alive. You will be challenged, because transformation is waiting just outside of your comfort zone, but I’ll always give modifications, and remind you to honor what your body is telling you. I have an affinity for long, flowing sequences, edgy core work and sneaky little tricks that will break down preconceived limitations. You may find yourself in a handstand one day and not even know how you got there. (Yoga Ninja magic) My classes are challenging, free spirited and fun. I love music and I feel that no one genre belongs to yoga, so requests are always welcome. I feel that a warm room will connect you much more readily with your practice, so my Vinyasa classes are always warm… and sometimes I crank it up!

EDUCATION
Ashtanga of New Paltz 200 hour teacher training.
Dharma Mittra workshops
Sadie Nardini Journey teacher training
Sadie Nardini Rockstar Teacher Training
Sadie Nardini Yoga Shred HIIT Teacher Training
Lucas Rockwood- Yogabody Yoga Trapeze Certified Teacher
Cosmic Kids Teacher Training
Certified Vegan Nutrition Coach
Critical Care/ Orthopedic PACU RN