Embodyoga® is the synthesis of a lifetime of dedicated study. 

For more than 40 years I have studied extensively and been mentored by some of the world's foremost leaders in the yoga world.

Among the first wave of teacher-trainers in the U.S., I have taught thousands of students and provided training to hundreds of teachers. My background includes decades of serious practice of meditation, philosophical study, traditional Hatha, Ashtanga Vinyasa, and Iyengar yoga. My teaching embodies a strong understanding of all aspects of yoga and has evolved into a decidedly inward journey over the last several decades.

For over twenty years I have been—and continue to be—personally mentored by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, the Developer of Body-Mind Centering®. Bonnie’s patience and brilliance helped guide my ongoing journey into the continuous web of the formless, consciousness, and form. Bonnie’s work has informed and exponentially deepened my experience, understanding, and embodiment of yoga.

I continue to be passionately focused on weaving the emerging wisdom of somatics into yoga’s wider philosophical context, as well as into the subtle nature of breath and movement; how live, engage and act in the world. Embodyoga® is the fruit of this inquiry.

No matter your chosen yoga discipline or movement practice, Embodyoga® will provide a foundation for your lifelong journey.

Patty Townsend | Yoga Time Line

1972
Certified Teacher of Transcendental Meditation

1983 – 1986
Co-director, Center for Yoga, Larchmont District, Los Angeles

1983 – 1990
Extensive Study and Yoga Teacher Training Programs
Ganga White, Ana Forrest, Joel Kramer, Angela Farmer, Dona Holleman,
Richard Freeman, Aadil Palkhivala, and Alan Finger

1988 – 1990
Co-owner and Senior Teacher, Yoga Works – Santa Monica, CA
200-Hr Teacher Training Programs, Yoga Works, Co-teacher with Rod Stryker

1990 – 1997
Director Bend Yoga Center, Bend, Oregon 

1997 – 2000
Additional In-Depth Study: Kofi Busia, Judith Lasater, Ramanand Patel

1997 – 2014
Owner Director, Yoga Center Amherst, Amherst MA
Developer/Teacher of Embodyoga® 100-Hr In Depth Study, 200, 300,
and 500-Hr Teacher Training Programs

2000 – Present
Personal study and mentorship with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen,
developer of Body-Mind Centering®

2004
Certified by Bonnie in Embodied Anatomy and Embodied Developmental Movement in the teaching of yoga

2015 – 2020
Teacher Training Programs and workshops presented nationally and internationally.
Senior teacher, Shraddha Yoga (formerly Yoga Center Amherst)

2020 – Present
Moved teaching online:
Full weekly class schedule / International workshops and conferences /
Embodyoga® Teacher Training Programs / Faculty in Body-Mind Centering@ Yoga Immersions

Present
Living and working on the glorious coast of Southern Maine
Presenting national and international workshops online and in person
Developing Video Library and online Yoga Courses

Onward
Dedicated and in love with the process!
Passionate about teaching all aspects of yoga from the inside out
Eager to further share the skills of embodied–inquiry
To provide on-going advanced training to yoga teachers

Continuing to place yoga practice in the context of building relationship with self as foundational for excellence and clarity in all our relationships and engagement in the world.