Lead Trainer

Peach Dumars, MFA, E-RYT 500, YACEP, has been studying the system of yoga since 1996, and began teaching yoga + other movement practices from her family’s studio in 2001.

Also the author of the internationally acclaimed memoir Diary of an Exercise Addict, Peach has worked for over twenty years helping humans recover from eating disorders, both in the clinical setting, as well as through special retreats, workshops, and other offerings.

A poet and a deep seeker, Peach earned her BA in Writing from Naropa University in Boulder, CO, in 2001 with a minor in Traditional Eastern Arts, and her MFA in Creative Writing from California College of the Arts in 2006, where her thesis, a book of poems entitled The Body Does Not Rise, examined her relationship between the physical body and the written word.

Exposed to yoga from a young age, Peach’s practice developed seriously at the age of seventeen when she was first introduced to Integral Yoga as taught by students of Swami Satchidananda. When she was twenty-one, grief and unexpressed fears married with Peach’s fascination of her body’s boundaries, and she developed anorexia, from which she recovered with an increased curiosity to both understand, and better care for, her body.

Peach is a Yogamazé certified teacher and spent five years co-teaching 200 and 300 hour teacher trainings in Los Angeles and across the US with esteemed teachers Noah Mazé and Rocky Heron.

For several years Peach studied closely with California-based yoga teacher Cori Martinez, under whose mentorship she developed her teacher training school.

Peach’s primary asana teacher is Noah Mazé. She continues her study of history and philosophy with yoga scholar Dr. Christopher Jain Miller.

She has studied with a number of other talented teachers over the years, including Gina Minyard, Cherie Healey, Desiree Rumbaugh and Sianna Sherman. After spending two years studying Applied Psychology for Yogis with Livia Shapiro, Peach is honored to be a TA and guest faculty for Livia’s online school. Peach enjoys practicing and studying Iyengar yoga with various teachers.

Peach’s classes emphasize skillful alignment, with freedom for individual expression. Her teaching style is clear and direct, with equal parts space for serious introversion and playful experimentation. Peach’s classes build strength, increase awareness, hone inner-listening skills, and refine the relationship between the pose and the person.

You will never hear diet-culture language in her classes, or references to weight loss, detoxing, firming and toning, or burning calories.

Peach has been leading 200 and 300 hour teacher training programs since 2012, and continues to pursue this part of her work with zeal.

A former studio owner, Peach now resides in Blacksburg, VA.

She has two kids, a cute husband, lots of books, and a love of good chocolate.

Guest Trainer

Brenda Miller is the founder and owner of Core Physical Therapy. She earned her bachelor of science degree in exercise science from Pennsylvania State University,  then completed her master’s degree in physical therapy from Arcadia University in Glenside Pennsylvania.

Brenda is Board Certified in Orthopedics, Lymphedema Management, and Dry Needling. She has OVER 30 years of experience working in a variety of orthopedic clinics in northern Virginia, Pittsburgh, Delaware, Virginia Beach, and Blacksburg. Brenda opened Core Physical Therapy in the summer of 2017.

Brenda is committed to providing one-on-one time with patients to fully assess and understand their needs. With her extensive education and years of experience, she enjoys treating a wide patient population that includes children, the elderly, athletes, and outdoor enthusiasts. Brenda relies on manual skills, clinical reasoning, and patient feedback to determine the best modes of treatment. She thrives on learning and prides herself on thinking “outside the box” with difficult patient problems and regularly attends conferences, workshops, seminars, and training to keep abreast of new techniques and treatment options.

Brenda is a native of Pittsburgh and one of 8 children. She has a breadth of sport experience from being a multi-sport athlete in high school (volleyball, basketball, track) to playing Division I basketball at Penn State in Happy Valley. To fill the athletic void after her collegiate basketball career, Brenda spent many years playing competitive volleyball both indoor and beach doubles.

Brenda lives in Blacksburg with her husband, two teenage boys and Great Dane “Squirt”. She loves the outdoors, the mountains, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penn State, anything to do with dogs, reading and relaxing with her friends and family. She has found her home in Blacksburg.

Dr. Azure Stewart (she/her/hers) is an educator, coach, and yoga teacher. Her goal is to provide an inclusive space for students to show up, be present, and relax. She works with learners of all levels, including Black and Brown youth at the K-12 level, corporate partners, and higher education.

Azure’s yoga journey was non-linear, but she continued to gravitate back to her mat at different points throughout her life until she became a registered yoga teacher in 2019. Azure has studied with Rocky Heron and Peach Friedman through The Mazé Method at SLO Yoga Center, and completed additional training with LeeAnn Carey. She holds a Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Teaching and Learning from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Masters of Arts in Education from San Francisco State University. Additionally, Azure is a certified healing centered coach.

Azure teaches restorative yoga and mindfulness online and in person, and lectures on diversity, equity, inclusion, and appropriation in yoga spaces. She enjoys practicing and teaching yoga because of the clarity it provides both mentally and physically.

In her spare time, you can catch Azure cooking, spending time with her family, and venturing to local museums.

Guest Trainer

Livia Shapiro is a mama, author, somatic psychotherapist and longtime yoga practitioner and teacher.

She is the author of The Somatic Therapy Workbook: stress-relieving exercises for strengthening the mind-body connection and sparking emotional and physical healing, released in December 2020. Her article Yoga-Based Body Psychotherapy is published in the International Journal of Body Psychotherapy and is a tool for weaving yoga and psychotherapy into a seamless psychotherapeutic model.

In the yoga world she brings essential Somatic Psychology principles and tools to dedicated yoga students and instructors worldwide through Applied Psychology for Yogis and her weekly somatic and relationally-oriented yoga classes.

Having practiced and taught yoga for over two decades, Livia encourages people to grow their ranges of motion and emotion through steady asana practice, somatic education, and body-centered mentorship. Known for her sincerity, directness and humor, her teachings illuminate the spiritual path as deeply human and body-centric.

As a Somatic Psychotherapist Livia helps women reorient and repair their nervous systems to live more vibrantly and powerfully. She assists in processes of trauma healing, navigating the threshold journey of motherhood, and supporting the emergence of authentic desire and healthy impulses. She is a fierce and vocal advocate for maternal wellness and healthcare as well as the health and sanity of all women. Livia is skilled in working with grief/loss, anxiety, PTSD, attachment trauma and intimate betrayal, major life transitions, eating disorders, and spiritual emergence in mind-body practitioners.

Livia holds a masters of Somatic Counseling Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, CO and is a certified SomaSource Life Cycles Practitioner. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Vermont focusing on Psychology and comparative religion.

An avid mover, meditator, artist and cook, Livia resides in Longmont, CO with her family .