Biography
Shannon von Burns began her yoga journey after she sustained a serious back injury as a result of a near fatal car accident in 1995. She was a life long distance runner and very serious athlete until she injured her L4, L5 and S1. The injuries she sustained in her spine eliminated her ability to run consequently, she fell into a deep depression. Her running “practice” was her way of dealing with life and after it was gone she felt lost. After several years of traditional physical therapy and other forms of healing work, she finally made her way to her first yoga class by the suggestion of her dear friend Kevin Prentice. Shannon feels, to this day, she owes Kevin so much because he gave the greatest gift her heart has ever known... YOGA!
A few years later, she began her first teacher’s training in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1999. By 2001 she was the manager and senior teacher of the Yoga Conservatory of Scottsdale. After meeting the renowned teacher’s Saul David Raye and Shiva Rea, at a yoga conference in Phoenix, she felt like she truly found her path. While living in Scottsdale, she traveled monthly to Los Angeles and studied with Saul, Shiva and finally Sherry Brourman. It was after meeting Sherry Brourman that she found her second love...SHERRY B!
She would embark on a journey, working with Sherry, to reinvent her entire approach to yoga as her ongoing battle with serious pain was far from over. Sherry a yoga therapist, physical therapist and mentor, took her under her wing and taught her yoga therapy, walking therapy and heart therapy. Finally, she used yoga / therapy to overcome the severe pain and trauma she sustained from the accident. She started to use the practice in a very specific way, developing her now thriving yoga therapy practice, towards healing the body. After meeting Sherry, she felt a calling to move to Los Angeles to deepen her knowledge of yoga as therapy, Thai-massage, and Ayurveda. She moved to LA in the spring of 2003 and joined the yoga community at Exhale for Sacred Movement that she considered ultimately considered her home. She fell in love with the yoga community there and became a strong force for yoga and healing through Yoga, Bodywork and Ayurveda. She began teaching at Exhale in the summer of 2003 and it was a time of awakening. As her spirit and skill level soared she became one of the assistants to the Exhale for Sacred Movement Yoga Studio in addition to teaching. She taught for four years and assisted one of the principal teachers for over four years until she finally moved to Washington, DC.
In 2007, Shannon followed the advice of another friend, to move to Washington in order to help the heart of the US heal. Most of us “Americans” feel like there is a disconnection between the heart of the world and our hearts. It was Shannon’s intention to move to DC and become a driving healing force for the decision maker’s of this country. A lofty but spiritually driven intention directed her to move The Capitol.
Since her arrival, she has become an important advocate in the yoga community. Her teaching style and commitment to yoga as a form of healing has centered her at the heart of the Washington, DC yoga community. She currently teaches public classes in Potomac, MD.
Since her arrival, Shannon has maintained a private yoga therapy practice for the past 3+ years. Earlier this year, Shannon began her first yoga teacher's training. This is an ongoing process until March of 2011. If you would like to know more about her teachers training please click here.
Shannon offers support to your healing journey with several modalities. If you would like to know more about her work click here... Otherwise, she looks forward to seeing you in class mat and smile ready.
Aum Shantih Shantih Shantih~
