Beryl Bender

Beryl Bender Birch, born in October 1942, is a yoga educator and creator of Power Yoga, one of several contemporary forms of the practice. She majored in philosophy and comparative religion at Syracuse University, laying a foundation for her teaching that integrates intellectual inquiry with physical practice.

Beginning in 1981, Bender Birch taught Ashtanga Yoga at the New York Road Runners Club, where she eventually became Wellness Director. Together with her husband, runner Thom Birch, she cofounded The Hard & the Soft Ashtanga Yoga Institute in New York. Her 1995 book, Power Yoga, became a bestseller and established her as a leading figure in modernizing yoga practice through accessible, fitness-oriented instruction. She has since authored three additional books: Beyond Power Yoga and Boomer Yoga among them, and in 2000 was named by Yoga Journal as one of their "Innovators Shaping Yoga Today."

Over more than five decades of teaching, Bender Birch has led workshops throughout North and Central America and Europe, becoming one of the most popular yoga teachers in the United States. Beyond her work in yoga, she identifies as a philosopher, animal activist, and environmental advocate.