Dana Damara

Dana Damara describes herself as "The Practical Mystic," someone who brings inner wisdom into real life through astrology, movement, breathwork and sound. For more than 25 years she has explored what it means to live an embodied life, combining ancient wisdom with practical tools for the body, breath and nervous system. Her work helps people cultivate presence, resilience, clarity and connection, so they can meet life, leadership and change from a more grounded place.

She is a retreat leader, keynote speaker, author, mentor and the founder of the Embodied Practice Academy, which offers yoga teacher trainings, breathwork and sound healing training, and mentorship. Her website lists her as an ERYT-500, a certified leadership coach and a breathwork facilitator. She has led retreats in places including Costa Rica, Bali, Tulum, Hawaii, Peru, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand. Those retreats combine yoga, breathwork, sound healing and time in nature, with attention to conservation and community.

Dana also works one-on-one through embodiment coaching, yoga, breathwork and sound sessions, and astrology readings. She brings nervous system regulation, breathwork and sound immersion into leadership and corporate settings as well. Her Insight Timer page calls her a Master Teacher, astrologist, coach and Shaman healer, and she is a mother.

By her own account, Dana grew up in the Midwest and moved to San Diego in her early 20s. She spent years living on yachts, and later lived in Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. She now calls Cardiff, California home. Yoga became real for her through motherhood. She came to the practice while pregnant, when running and kickboxing no longer felt sustainable. On the mat, she says, her passion is "proper alignment, powerful breath and effortless flow."