It’s September and BALANCE is officially back with our Feature Friday column! This week we are thrilled to feature Dana Falsetti. Dana is an inspiring thought-leader, yoga teacher, writer, and public speaker. 

Confidence, authenticity, critical thinking, body justice, inclusivity and awareness are just a few of the values that Dana is passionate about both embodying and sharing with others.

In the midst of difficulty, Dana put her energy into a weight loss journey in a common effort to amend her struggling mind. She tried – and succeeded – with those efforts, but was still unfulfilled.  Dana then made the discovery that yoga brought her a sense of mental clarity she had been seeking after struggling with binge eating disorder.

However, many yoga studios weren’t particularly welcoming to her, nor did they embrace the notion of including less able-bodied people. They were unsure how to teach them and not  motivated to learn how. Rather than turning away, Dana forged ahead to explore and develop her own practice.

While Dana didn’t initially intend on being a yoga teacher, she was called to the profession after seeing what it lacked: a safe space for a community of marginalized people to explore a practice originally intended for all. Learning how to make the practice work for her own body gave Dana a sense of autonomy and empowerment she wanted to share with others, regardless of their size, gender, body, shape or color. After years of missing out due to low confidence, Dana Falsetti had finally found her true calling: helping to normalize the diversity of the human condition and give others, especially vulnerable groups, the opportunity for self-worth, self-care and, ultimately, self-acceptance.

Campaigning for equality, shame disruption, empowerment, sexual freedom and confidence, Dana has gained an online following of more than half a million people. She has traveled world-wide, hosting dozens of workshops for those seeking similar insights, and several of her viral videos have gleaned more than 20 million views. Dana won the 2017 Shorty Award for Health and Wellness on Social Media, and has been featured in publications such as Seventeen, Women’s Health, People, Cosmopolitan, Huffington Post and Buzzfeed, among others. She has also been included in numerous “most inspiring” lists for her work.

Recently, she announced the release of her new pay-what-you-can accessible video subscription platform — aiming to make yoga accessible to anyone with an internet connection. In addition, Dana is presently in the midst of her first season of her successful podcast, Deep Dive with Dana Falsetti. Touching on topics like sexuality, insecurities, representation and loads more, the podcast already has a five star rating on iTunes and continues to gain popularity.

We at BALANCE are big fans of Dana and her incredible effort to make yoga accessible to many regardless of the barriers they may face. At BALANCE, yoga is incorporated into our eating disorder programs due to how healing and powerful it can be for many in recovery. We thank Dana for her work and reminding all that yoga is for everyBODY! 

(bio info and photos courtesy of Dana’s website)

Learn more about Dana on her website here.

Follow Dana on Instagram and Facebook.

Learn more and sign up for Dana’s accessible online yoga studio here. 

Listen to her podcast here.