ABOUT SHAILA

Founder, YogaHotDish (North Oaks, Minnesota)
YEARS OF TEACHING
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Trained in the Good Ol' Days
Shaila attended yoga teacher training in residence at Kripalu Yoga Center for Health, Stockbridge, MA in 2001. This was back when the Yoga Alliance required immersion in a residential program for yoga teacher training certification. No cell phones allowed, and no coffee! Collegial in atmosphere, a large staff of full-time teachers was ready to guide you, tell you the truth and kick you in the backside.
DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES
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A Globally Informed Yoga Style

Shaila first studied yoga and zen meditation while living in Singapore and Japan. Kripalu, Sivananda, and Iyengar influences somehow get thrown together in a Santa Barbara secret sauce. Sprinkle in modern best practices to ensure safety along with the latest research and you get a slow-cooked…HotDish. YogaHotDish is currently served in North Oaks, Arden Hills and Falcon Heights, Minnesota to anyone curious enough to show up!

STUDENTS MAXIMUM
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Small Classes for Better Practice

With class sizes topping out around 12,  you’ll be surrounded by the same committed people every week, so you’ll grow together, in true community. Newsflash: classes with a revolving door of drop-ins and teachers don’t progress. They give the illusion of mastery through repetitive sequences, but you really don’t understand the concepts and how to apply them more broadly.

WOO-WOO YOGA
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Down to Earth Yoga

Shaila isn’t a Buddhist or a Hindu, just a St. Olaf Grad with Lutheran roots who started studying yoga and meditation while living in Asia.  She then trained with leading teachers in California and Massachusetts — and knows how to throw a Hot Dish together! You won’t find any chanting or new-age assumptions about energy, chakras or astrology. What you will find is peace, quiet and clarity. 

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The Yoga HotDish recipe is an eclectic blend of classical yoga and modern best practices.

No cutting corners: no quickie classes, dumbing it down or new-aging it up. You will "confront the quiet" and "move into stillness" for a work-in that will have you more relaxed from day-one so a calmer, more mindful you can shine through.

Kusumoto1-e1431104761117.jpg

The Yoga HotDish recipe is an eclectic blend of classical yoga and modern best practices.

No cutting corners: no quickie classes, dumbing it down, new-aging it up, or converting you to Hinduism.

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This Month

Calendar of Events

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- Event Series

🐻‍❄️WHITE BEAR CENTER for the ARTS, Ford Family Gallery | FEb 18-Mar 25 (no class 3/18) | “Stretch Your Imagination” ~Drop-in $20

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🐻‍❄️WHITE BEAR CENTER for the ARTS, Ford Family Gallery | FEb 18-Mar 25 (no class 3/18) | “Stretch Your Imagination” ~Drop-in $20

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🐻‍❄️WHITE BEAR CENTER for the ARTS, Ford Family Gallery | FEb 18-Mar 25 (no class 3/18) | “Stretch Your Imagination” ~Drop-in $20

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🐻‍❄️WHITE BEAR CENTER for the ARTS, Ford Family Gallery | FEb 18-Mar 25 (no class 3/18) | “Stretch Your Imagination” ~Drop-in $20

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YogaHotDish FAQs

Will it be too easy, will I get a good workout?

Yes! I was a college tennis player in a previous life and feel as though I’m in the best, albeit different, shape of my life. My body is more balanced and I feel in shape throughout, down to the smaller muscles, as opposed to overdeveloping the larger muscles for vanity or sport. You might be surprised what a difference stronger hands and feet make!

Will the practice be too difficult, am I too out-of-shape?

No! I came to yoga as a sufferer of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There was a time when I didn’t have the energy to go to the grocery store. You do need to be able to get up and down off the floor without assistance. You can always take a private class or two for a good start.

Where do you practice?

Not a brick-and-mortar at the mercy of a purely profit-driven landlord. Quality collabs with outstanding organizations only! While many local yoga providers invest more in decor so you don’t feel like in you’re in a health club or a strip mall, YogaHotDish classes are held in virtuous venues with views and outdoor spaces!

The Detailed hotdish recipe

A sprinkle of this, a heaping of that...

One Part Kripalu

I chose Kripalu for my yoga teacher training as it was the best blend of East and West: a school of lineage with roots back to India, under the capable leadership of Stephen Cope, a former therapist and author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self. It was also close to our home on Cape Cod. Kripalu had dispensed with unhealthy guru worship (along with the guru) and phased out devotional Hinduism to become secular. Known as the “Yoga of Transformation,” it’s a place to Get Real with 6″ of closet space, bunk beds, and all things yoga from 6 am to 10 pm.

Another Part Sivananda

My first yoga teacher in Singapore was a Zen Buddhist who did her yoga teacher training in India. She was down-to-business and always wore the same uniform: white polo shirt and blue track pants. She told me it would take 10 years for my collegiate tennis-tortured hamstrings to stretch out in 1999, and she was right! “If you can’t have a flexible body, then have a flexible mind"--and that was even before all the yoga brain research! She also taught me the importance of headstand and how to approach it safely, in spite of a whiplash injury.

A Dash of Santa Barbara Creativity

Santa Barbara has long been an incubator of amazing, eclectic Indie yoga. There I was able to study with local legends like Eddie Ellner in his one-of-a-kind sacred space known as Yoga Soup. I stumbled into trainings with yoga thought leaders and renowned teachers, including: Bob Cooley, Cora Wen, Heather Tiddens, Cheri Clampett, Tara Gold, and Paul Grilley,

A Heap of Modern Anatomy

Modern anatomy yoga teacher training with with Paul Grilley, Leslie Kaminoff, as well as Kripalu’s doctors-on-staff have led me to realize there’s no one path to the perfect pose. While knowing “universal alignment principles,” is a start, it can only take you so far; and, if applied dogmatically, can lead to injury. In fact, there are a lot of yoga poses out there that certain body types should avoid altogether. Let's not sacrifice joint health for ego and aesthetics. Gymnastics is hardly a "lifetime" sport, so make sure you're doing actual yoga, not gymnastics!

A Rich Zen “Sauce”

In 1989, I found myself at the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto mesmerized by snowflakes. When I returned to Japan in the mid 90’s to manage a software company, I befriended an elderly woman who spoke no English. Once we exhausted the limits of my Japanese for the day, we often sat in silence, eyes closed, be it in a garden or on the train. Simple acts of eating food, drinking tea and strolling the nearby “samurai garden” were done with total focus and awareness, in silence. I realize now that all of these were meditation experiences, yielding a level of peace I only re-discovered when I found yoga in Singapore.

This recipe is gluten-free, but will stick to your ribs. Gimmick-free without the new-age music and mirrors that detract from true meditation. No microwaved, “hot yoga” served here — the heat is supposed to come from within and build gradually, as not to harm your joints and muscles. No pressure to sport Lululemon or tie-dye for that matter (unless you want to); and please, no Speedos!

Interested? Check Out our schedule!

Are you ready?

Why limit yourslelf to one style of yoga when you can have a curated collection of best practices across a variety of schools and instructors over 20 years and 3 continents?

Choose your adventure...

I want to explore group practice via zoom!
I want to attend group practice in person!
I want to expand my practice through private sessions!

Floors and decor shouldn’t matter in a meditation practice. Community, quality of instruction, and outside-the-mat thinking make it easy to “go studio-less!” You’ll find comprehensive yoga in serene spaces and venues with views. Sign up ANYWHERE, take classes EVERYWHERE.

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