What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
All sessions with us are offered in the spirit of dana, a Sanskrit/Pali word meaning giving or gift. The practice of generosity takes us beyond separate selfhood and constitutes a basic ethos at the heart of community. So, a dana economy is a gift economy, or an economy rooted in generosity, which means we ask you to receive the gift of our talents and reciprocate with whatever gift feels right in your heart.
Not sure what to give? May we suggest $75 – $125 for a private session.
We don’t want to enter into relationship with you as the providers of a service for a consumer. We want to enter into a wholehearted human relationship with you, as co-producers and collaborators in the transformation of ourselves and our world. To support this intention, rather than offering our work as a service to be bought, we ask for contributions to make this work possible. While we wish we could give everything for free, please know that this work as Innovative Yogis is our livelihood. The basic principle of the Gift Economy is, “give what you can, take what you need”.
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
We see you as a whole person and work together from that perspective. We'll help you develop physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. Each level of our being is interconnected and influence the others. We aim to teach you how to be healthy on all levels, which means we'll take time to get to know you and teach you practices and exercises to address each level.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
We've spent a lifetime developing the skills we use to cultivate health, employing a holistic approach that recognizes the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels of the body.
Here is Brett's resume so you can get a sense of the education we've been through:
Shambhava Yoga Teacher Training 2013 – 2014
• Holistic 200 hour teacher training in an ashram environment covering asana, pranayama, meditation, mantra, philosophy, satsang and kirtan.
• Extra focus on teaching beginners, and developing classes from scratch to meet the needs of the students.
Allard Method Training Boulder, Colorado 2015 – Present
• Advanced training on Neuro Coordinated Bridging, breathing, anatomy, movement, promoting longevity, enhancing function, and eliminating pain; operating on the philosophy that “What we can sense we can change. What we can change we can heal”. This is a unique system combining yoga, martial arts, chiropractic, breathe work, Feldenkrais, comprehensive anatomy, and Vipassana meditation.
• Completed over 450 hours of personal study and practice with the creator of the training, Norman Allard.
University of Colorado Denver BA 2010 – 2014
• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a focus on neuroscience, body language, and consciousness.
• Achievements: Dean’s list, Psi Chi Honors, and received the most prestigious scholarship in the Psychology department, the Samuel Priest Rose award.
Mind and Life Institute 1998 – Present
• MLI bridges science and contemplative traditions through dialogues between top scientists and the Dalai Lama, resulting in new research, publications, and practical applications.
• Attended a dozen conferences with presentations by the Dalai Lama and Nobel prize winning scientists on topics like: Destructive Emotions; Transformations of Mind, Brain and Emotion; Craving, Desire and Addiction; and The Nature of Matter, The Nature of Life.
• Attended the MLI Summer Research Institute multiple times, where we sat in meditation several hours a day, participated in workshops, and listened to presentations by pioneering scientists and master meditation teachers.
Study of Buddhism & Meditation 1989 – Present
• Thanks to my family’s privilege, I have been visiting monasteries, meeting Rinpoches, attending meditation retreats, sharing living space with monks, developing relationships with yogis, and hearing teachings from masters all of my life.
• These exposures included teachings and retreats with the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Mingyur Rinpoche, Roshi Joan Halifax, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Khandro Rinpoche, Tim Olmstead, Sharon Salzberg, Mattieu Ricard, Thupten Jinpa, Daniel Goleman, Richie Davidson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Alan Wallace, and Nawang Khechog, amongst others.
