#141 Nicki Doane - Maui Yoga and What Is Happening Now?

Nicki Doane (www.nickidoane.com | @mayayogastudio )

Nicki lives in Maui and she recorded this episode from her studio
sharing her story of yoga as well as the devastation caused by
the fires in the last few days.  Links to donate and help
the people of Maui are below.


Maui Strong Fund


Maui Rapid Response - the hub for verified donation
links


What’s happening on Maui | Mind Blown from Yoga | Yoga via The
Grateful Dead | Yoga feeling familiar | Tim Miller | Mysore in
1991 | Thoughts on Pattabhi Jois | Yoga was fun, but it gets
deeper | Not being ready for The Yoga Sutras | Teaching style |
Ashtanga on Maui | Fires on Maui


Nicki Doane is an internationally recognized yoga teacher, known
for her ability to make the practice of yoga accessible to every
body. She began her study of yoga at the age of 18 while
attending the University of Massachusetts. From her first class,
she knew she had found something special and deeply familiar.
While she began to practice yoga on a purely physical plane and
because it felt good, it became apparent some years later that
there was more to Yoga than she originally thought. In 1991,
Nicki traveled to Mysore, India to study with Sri K Pattabhi
Jois, the master of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. She fell in love with
the practice and continued her studies with Pattabhi Jois until
his death in 2009.


What she experienced on that first trip was a radical realization
that yoga is much more than a physical practice. The yoga
affected her deeply on an emotional and spiritual level. After
that she was hooked! As she delved deeper into the Ashtanga
practice she became curious about her teacher’s teacher and his
lineage. She learned that Tirumalai Krishnamacharya had been
Pattabhi Jois’ teacher and also the teacher of BKS Iyengar.


This led her to study Iyengar Yoga with Mr. Iyengar, his children
and with many of his senior teachers as well including Gabriella
Giubilaro and Patricia Walden, at his institute in Pune, India.
Nicki has always believed that her practice continued to grow and
evolve due to her study and practice of both of these systems of
Yoga. Nicki continues to study to study yoga with senior teachers
and believes that a great teacher must always remain a dedicated
student.


Nicki’s teaching has grown out of her practice and her deep faith
in yoga and she chooses to honor her students as individuals
first and foremost. Nicki’s style combines asana, pranayama,
philosophy, and poetry and her classes are strong and accessible
to everyone. Nicki uses humor in her teaching to set her students
at ease and she is considered to be very relatable and down to
earth. She is known as a Teacher’s teacher and loves igniting the
spark of yoga in her students.


Nicki lives on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii, where she
owns and directs the Maya Yoga Studio on the North Shore of Maui.
She has been featured in numerous articles and has graced the
cover of Yoga Journal magazine. She is featured in 2 Ashtanga
Yoga videos available through Gaiam and in 9 videos entitled Maya
Yoga Vinyasa on her youtube channel. She is currently finishing a
book on Yoga for beginners.


Nicki teaches workshops and teacher training courses at her
studio on Maui and travels all over the world conducting
workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats.