Carla Stangenberg

In 1993 I moved to NYC. In the same week I began studying theater at NYU and practicing yoga at Jivamukti Yoga Center. While at Tisch School of the Arts I learned developmental movement for performance with Wendell Beavers. I consider Wendell my foremost movement teacher. His work brought out what felt like an innate gracefulness and confidence in being in my own body and exploring it.

In the year 2000 I was certified to teach at Cyndi Lee’s OM Yoga Center where I learned the art of alignment based vinyasa and Buddhist philosophy. Since then, I have furthered my training with Rodney Yee in many Advanced Training courses, studied diligently with Amy Matthews in her Advanced Studies program at the Breathing Project, sought Yin Yoga teacher training with Sarah Powers, and have practiced with many wonderful Iyengar teachers. I am also a Traditional Reiki Master. (I will not mention my work with clown teacher Christopher Bayes, but the connection between clowning and yoga …). Currently you can find me practicing at home, Jaya or the Iyengar Institute.

To date, I have sat 14 silent mediation retreats in the Buddhist tradition and have gained invaluably from those experiences. I am excited to be co-teaching a silent Meditation and Yoga Retreat weekend at Garrision Institute with the esteemed Peter Doobinin of Downtown Meditation Community September 2017.

Since 2005 I have been the director of Jaya Yoga Center and have taught here since 2000. In 2010 Ramit Kreitner and I opened Jaya Yoga East, where we share directorial duties. We opened Jaya East with the intention of serving a new community. We had our first teacher training graduation at the new studio in April 2012, a joyous event. Our horizons are opening as we prepare for Jaya’s first 300-hour Advanced Teacher Training Fall 2017!

As a teacher part of my aim is to facilitate an environment that is conducive to deep self-investigation. I also like to chant, study philosophy, take photos, sweep, visit with my family, do a little performance here and there and stare off into space.

Jaya is for you, for your practice, for your neighborhood, for your search to find.

Carla has recently been interviewed for the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society you can find the interview here. One correction: the Jivamukti she refers to was the one on 2nd Avenue, not the Lafayette Street location.