Dana Trevas

I discovered my love for yoga in 2001. I became certified to teach yoga in 2002 and completed my 200-hour certification training through YogaFit in 2006. I taught classes regularly at the World Gym in Fort Washington from 2002 to 2006, YMCA Potomac Overlook from 2006 until the facility closed in 2015, and YMCA Alexandria from 2016 to 2020. In February 2020, I realized my long-time goal of teaching in my community with the grand opening of the new Southern Area Aquatics and Recreation Center in Brandywine, MD. The pandemic kept me at home, but I returned to in-person teaching at the Recreation Center in September 2021. Over the years, I have kept my practice up to date by attending various yoga workshops with eminent masters in the field, including Paul Grilley, Priti Robyn Ross, Leslie Kaminoff, and Rocky Heron. Most recently, I returned to the roots of my education by completing YogaFit’s Level 5 workshop.

My mission as a yoga instructor is to create a space where novices can practice alongside experienced participants. During class, I walk participants through the poses and offer modifications so that everyone can achieve a sense of accomplishment and experience all that yoga has to offer. My favorite yoga style to teach is flowing or hatha (posture-based) yoga, and I regularly incorporate aspects of power or ashtangayoga, restorative and gentle yoga, and even novel approaches, such as wall yoga. My classes sometimes center around a theme (for example, poses to open the heart energy or chakra, building fire in the core muscles, or finding balance in the body and mind). I prefer to describe poses in English rather than the traditional Sanskrit, so that participants remain engaged. As anyone who has ever taken a class with me will attest, I try to bring joy, humor, and acceptance to every class.

Teaching has been part of my life since 1992, when I created my own aerobics fitness class and taught on a volunteer basis at the Capitol East Recreation Center in Washington, DC. For many years, I was certified in and taught various dance aerobics, kickboxing aerobics, and water aerobics classes at gyms and community centers around Washington, DC, and Fort Washington, MD. I was an adjunct faculty member of American University in Washington, DC, where I taught courses for credit in water aerobics and advanced aerobics.

I have maintained CPR certification since I began teaching, and participant safety is my highest priority in every class I teach. Outside of the gym/studio, I am a full-time freelance writer/editor specializing in health care. I also enjoy tennis, biking with the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club, and volunteering at the Charles County Humane Society.