Brett Engle
Co-Founder of Innovative Yogis
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
-Krishna Murti
Journey of Transformation
I grew up in Boulder CO, playing every sport that my parents could sign me up for, finding myself on the starting roster and pulled into special training sessions on tracks and in gyms. At the same time, my family exposed me to meditation retreats, yoga, and service. As it was the 90’s, there was still plenty of “weirdo” stigma around those practices, and my young mind cared mostly about being cool, so despite the exposure I refused to add these habits into my life.
In high school I dislocated my shoulder multiple times playing football, and went for several surgeries. My sports career ended as the doctors couldn’t fix me, and my post high school years were spent travelling the world working for non-profit organizations, including the Mind and Life Institute, a group bringing together scientists and contemplatives (like the Dalai Lama) to bridge these two seemingly separate worlds, and the PeaceJam Foundation, which connects youth with Nobel Peace Prize Laureates for mentoring and service projects.
Spending time with accomplished practitioners, world class scientists, and grassroots change-makers inspired me to complete my bachelors degree in Psychology, the scientific field which studies human behavior and leads the research effort on yoga and meditation. Upon returning to school In 2011 I began a regular daily practice of yoga, and I completed my 200 hour teacher training in 2014.
I’ve taken a winding road to arrive here, and am filled with joy to have the opportunity to share everything I have learned about yoga, from the postures to the philosophy to the science behind why it all works, with every soul that is ready to receive it.
TO REALLY GET TO KNOW ME, VIEW THESE BLOG POSTS:
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Training and Certification
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.
University of Colorado Denver 2010 – 2014
- Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a focus on neuroscience, body language, and consciousness.
Mind and Life Institute 1998 – 2013
- 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.
Allard Suspenshen Training 2015 - 2016
- 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.
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.
"What you think, you become.
What you feel, you attract.
What you imagine, you create."
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