Mia Velez and Avi Gordon discuss Yoga and kung fu, connecting to something bigger, finding divinity within, the tao of activism, our relationship with words, inclusivity in Yoga and more.
Mia entered Integral Yoga in 2016 through the kitchen, by cooking community lunches and silent retreat meals. Even though she’d been teaching yoga since 2008, she certified as an Integral Yoga teacher in 2018 to learn more of the IYI approach and be part of the lineage. She is an IYI trainer and co-trained the BIPOC 200 YTTs in San Francisco. She’s led a stress management course for new parents, teaches at a men’s jail in California, and is a student of kung fu. Mia is a disciple of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lineage and is highly influenced by her martial arts training. She sees an undeniable parallel in Yoga and Kung Fu, and feels they are complements to each other. Yoga and Kung Fu are integrated into her daily life as a mother, preschool teacher, and advocate for gender, race and class equality through multiple non-profits groups.