About
About Kaya
Kaya is a “teacher behind the teacher”, guiding many of today’s teachers of yoga, āyurveda, astrology and yoga nidrā.
Longtime practitioners seek her for mature practice, meaningful philosophy and authentic pedagogy that reflects her 20+ years of teaching the mystical and practical full spectrum of yoga. She’s a lineage holder and steward of the yoga tradition with 3,000 hours of formal study with her own gurus in the Veda Tradition. Her dharma is to lovingly share with others the depths she has learned.
Yoga’s intrinsic purpose shines through every aspect of Kaya’s programs. Her unique approach threads storytelling, therapeutic yoga, mysticism, Vedic Astrology, Ayurveda, Vedanta, Tantra, Sanskrit and Mantra. Her ability to make traditional teachings powerfully meaningful for modern life resonates with students all over the world. Her warm, nurturing and layered approach help students to deepen their lives in every way. Programs with Kaya are intricately organized for depth and meaning, yet she remains responsive to individual needs of her students moment to moment.
About Yoga with Kaya
Stewardship, Studentship & Sangha
- Stewardship: Kaya has the blessing & encouragement of her gurus and mentors to teach the subjects she teaches in the way that she teaches. While her language and style is unique to her, her methodology rests on the time tested tradition that she inherited. Kaya is not a merchant selling a product, but rather a steward and teacher who follows the mysterious and blessed guidelines of the vedic tradition to determine what, how & when she teaches. Above all her priority is to carry the gifts she has been given with commitment. .
- Studentship: Individuals who study at Yoga with Kaya are not transactional customers, but seekers who take their time growing into their own path of transformation with patience & reverence. The student who is prepared for the teachings & practices offered at Yoga with Kaya has a profound commitment to healing & transformation and cultivate the exalted attitude of humility, allowance, patience and self-responsibility that the tradition recommends. Kaya’s programs are intentionally created for committed spiritual seekers and each student is supported to go at their own unique pace on their journey.
- Sangha: The community of students graciously contribute to a loving, tender, supportive group dynamic and environment wherein the group well being & the tradition are prioritized. Members of the sangha share a responsibility to protect principles of kindness, forbearance and curiosity. Kaya and her team maintain the role and responsibility of holding the sangha to sustain the priorities of stewardship, a healthy group dynamic and the connection between students that sustain their deepening study and practice.
A Modular Approach
Choose your own pace. Take one module, or attend all that are open to you. There is no urgency in yoga, and many factors – from Karma to present lifestyle and circumstances – determine the pace & depth of each student in this tradition. While some programs are “open handed”, others are private and offered in a “close handed” way, based on the metrics of the vedic tradition and the advisement of Kaya’s gurus and lineage. Whatever your pace, ultimately, all the modules fit together to thread therapeutic yoga, Sanskrit scripture, oral transmission, mantra sādhana, āyurveda, vedic astrology, vāstu, and sacred storytime – into a rich tapestry that delivers yoga’s promise. s
About SRY - Supreme Release Yoga
SRY or Supreme Release Yoga is an accessible yet advanced approach to yoga: accessible because it’s gentle and highly adaptive, and advanced because it takes you directly towards yoga’s supreme purpose. Combining asana, pranayama, mantra, a vedic viewpoint and contemplation, ŚRY nourishes and releases tension in both the physical and subtle spine. You are profoundly nourished and supported in ways that allow blocked, hidden, and painful conditioning that traces back through your past is to give way. SRY practice and teachings are not about effort or striving, but about revelation. What is revealed is the pure nectar that is the Self of the self.
*SRY also is a play on words, pointing to the essence of the practice as nurturing, softening and awakening, as the Sanskrit Śrī is the name for the luminous, abundant feminine divine.
Advisor in Vedic Astrology ~ Jyotisha
Michael Manzella is Kaya’s husband and partner of over 22 years. He’s an expert Jyotishi {Vedic Astrologer} and longtime student of Vedānta and Sanskrit and practitioner of the devotional arts. His skill, warmth, humor, depth and practical approach is a balm to clients internationally. With decades of experience, and thousands of hours direct tutelage and private mentorship with the vedic tradition’s “astrologer to astrologers”, Hart deFouw, Michael is a rare expert with a heart of gold.
If you’re at a juncture point in your life, require insight or strategy, want to make a decision about a key aspect of work, family, finance, study, relationships and so on, a Jyotish reading offers profound guidance. Kaya and Michael often co-support their clients to provide full spectrum support.
Consultant in Relational Psychology
Mallika Bush offers support at Yoga with Kaya by working in collaboration with Kaya to support individuals and the group dynamic with her expertise in relational psychology and mental wellbeing.
Mallika is committed to connection, liberation and truth in all she does. Her work is informed by her esoteric education and her training and background as a licensed therapist. Expanding the frame of Clinical Psychology, she draws on her personal and professional experiences with yoga, arts, ritual and sacred knowledge.
Administrative Assistant
Charis Branson is an experienced entrepreneur and virtual business manager with a track record in problem-solving, client relations, and effective communication. Her ability to support students at Yoga with Kaya is unmatched! Find Charis responding to your emails, guiding your registration for programs, answering your technical and logistical questions and joining you inside the programs to relish in the wisdom of yoga.
Her wealth of knowledge and diverse background in business, communications, spiritual inquiry, the body and personality expressions makes her a unique contributor and support for Kaya and her students. She truly makes Yoga with Kaya a better place.