Amanda B’hymer
200 RYT – Iyengar, Anusara, Alignment yoga asana, Yoga Bliss, Palm Springs
300 RYT – Iyengar, Anusara, Alignment yoga asana, Yoga Bliss, Palm Springs
865 Optimal State Yoga Therapist, IAYT, currently classified:
Optimal State Level One Yoga Therapist
I began considering concepts of social justice while in high school and felt particularly interested in the rights of women and children affected by social stratification. I applied a deep political passion to experiences as an Evergreen Girls State nominee and variant work with Washington State DSHS. While a young college student, I deepened my commitment toward social democracy as an AmeriCorps Volunteer. Under the mentorship of National Service Fellows and as a function of the National Education Reform movement of the time, my work focused on service based experiential education. I earned early childhood education credentials and explored various education pedagogy via state and national coursework, mastered the inner-workings of bureaucratic based programs, wrote grants and facilitated grass-root action groups right into the University of Washington’s History and Literature departments. Here, I shifted academic focus to American Feminist History and Literature under the guidance of Suzanne Lebsock and independently pursued teaching credentials as a Casa de Bambini Montessori Guide. It was incredibly fortunate and ultimately without coincidence that I shared all of this crucial young adulthood with the politically charged music and art scene of 1990s Seattle.
In 2000 I moved to LA, became an EP at B5 Atomic Santa Monica, an AP admin with Furlined, LLC and free-lanced as a personal business manager for a handful of directors, actors and musicians. Learning entertainment based, capitol driven organizational systems felt a lot like a curveball. I assimilated. The income was necessary to raising a baby in Southern California and inspired a return to public service by way of Antioch University Los Angeles (Urban Communities and Justice program), the Echo Park Center for Creative Expression, the Boojum Institute, and rotation in both public ed classrooms and Montessori learning labs. My passion of service learning, Montessori’s applied principals of peace and unity, the demonstrated success of economy and cultural impact of the mainstream entertainment institution and the PNW art of my youth united a developing understanding of the importance of human creative expression toward ultimate enlightenment.
I’ve made Joshua Tree my home since 2006. I have chosen to live an experiential life, rooted in yoga philosophy, creatively solving everyday issues and compassionately planning toward the future.