PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Lori Gaspar, BFA, MA, 500 E-RYT, is the Director of Prairie Yoga Teacher Training and has been training yoga teachers since 2003. In 2006, she started Prairie Yoga with a 500 hour advanced level teacher training program when she saw the need for yoga teachers to learn more about adapting the yoga practice to make it accessible to a broader range of students. In our sixth year, Prairie Yoga has grown to include trainings in Illiinois, Indiana and Michigan.

Lori is certified by Moksha Yoga Center and Tias Little’s Prajna Yoga. She has studied
with many international yoga teachers and has completed numerous teacher trainings in ashtanga vinyasa, alignment-based yoga, restorative and therapeutics. She apprenticed for many years under Gabriel Halpern, a life-long student of BKS Iyengar. 
Lori continues to focus her study of mindfulness and alignment-based yoga with Tias Little and several advanced-level certified Iyengar instructors. She studies Asian Classic Literature and Eastern Philosophy at the University of Chicago, including travel to India to study historic and current practices of yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Her dynamic, evolutionary teaching emphasizes alignment of the body, mind and spirit; mindfulness; and cultivating inner wisdom. Unfazed by the latest yoga craze, she guides students to look within to realize their dharma.

Trainees appreciate Lori’s clear teaching, calm nature, caring spirit and professionalism. Lori has been a frequent contributor to YogaChicago magazine and has published nationally. To read some of her articles, click on the links under ARTICLES.

Lori has a B.F.A., magna cum laude, in visual communications and a M.A. in design management. In 1986, she was awarded a NIU fellowship. She is very active in local issues and is currently serving as President, Board of Education, Community Consolidated School District 89. Lori shares her life with her husband, Don; their two children, Kim and Ben; and their dog, Emmy.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My two primary teachers are Tias Little, who is based in Santa Fe, NM and Gabriel Halpern of Chicago. I am very fortunate to have these two great teachers in my life. They have propelled me into the deep ocean of yoga, fueled my inner Light and continue to inspire me with their own personal evolution. Funny, but they both make me laugh– Tias with his clever wit and Gabriel with his outrageous, hit-the-nail-on-the-head pontifications. Their teachings are a reminder that the inner Self is indeed surrounded by the sheath of joy.

In addition to the many other local teachers and international master teachers that have inspired, challenged, encouraged and humored me, I have great reverence for the wisdom of the ancient texts and the significant contribution of contemporary yoga practitioners.

May your own Light shine bright!

Peace,
Lori