Expert Bio – David Emerson, E-RYT

David Emerson, E-RYT
Director of Yoga Services
Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute
Brookline, Massachusetts

Dave started practicing Tai Chi in 1992 and yoga in 1998. He has been teaching yoga full-time since 2001 at several locations including Boston Sports Clubs, Healthworks, Fitcorp and the Cambridge Family YMCA. Prior to becoming a yoga teacher, Dave had a 10-year career as a Social Worker, which culminated in the position of Director of the St. Ambrose Family Inn (a shelter for homeless families in Dorchester, MA) and with one year of study at the Smith School for Social Work.

Dave is a Yoga Alliance certified Experienced Yoga Teacher and has been trained in various yoga styles, including: Anusara, Ashtanga, Power and various forms of Hatha. Dave believes there are several ingredients that help practicioners get the most out of their yoga practice, including: mindful breathing, strengthening, lengthening, relaxation and meditation. Dave strives to build each yoga class by incorporating each of these key ingredients.

In May of 2006, with a lot of help from his friends, Dave opened the Black Lotus Yoga Studio in Cambridge, MA.

Aside from being a world class yoga studio open to the public, Black Lotus Yoga also has a 501c3 non profit component which was founded in 2004 to teach yoga to people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Yoga Articles and Publications:
•Yoga Therapy in Practice: Trauma-Sensitive Yoga: Principles, Practice, and Research – Emerson, D., Sharma, R., Chaudry, S., Turner, J., International Journal of Yoga Therapy, No. 19 (2009), pp. 123-128
•Yoga and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Interview with Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. – Integral Yoga Magazine (2009), pp.12-13
•The Core – David Emerson
•What to Expect from a Trauma Center Yoga Class- David Emerson
•Thoughts on Breathing -David Emerson

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