Biography

Mama, founder and co-owner of VIRAYOGA, and co-author of Art of Attention, Elena has taught yoga for 16+ years. After graduating from Cornell University in 1992 with a design degree, she worked as a textile and apparel designer for 6 years, and has studied with master yoga teachers for over 10 years. Through her teaching, influenced by several traditions including alignment-based Hatha and Kundalini yoga, Elena offers yoga as a way to approach our world with realistic reverence and gratitude. Her classes are a masterful, candid blend of artful alignment and attention cues for your body, mind and heart. From the Museum of Modern Art to the Great Lawn at Central Park, from the playa at Burning Man to the Eiffel Tower, Elena is honoured to offer larger-scale experiences of yoga, but her true service is in shifting awareness within the smallest interactions; one family, one household at a time. She’s been featured in the New York Times, Yoga Journal, Element Yoga for Beginners DVDs, ABC News and NBC News.