Re-Join YOGABODY Daily
Get a Free Video Consultation with Dana
You were one of our original members of YOGABODY Daily, and we’d love to have you back! Along with our daily Strength and Stretch classes, we’ve now added Strength Plus with weights for an added challenge. On Fridays, we run live classes and Q&A sessions weekly, and we’re thrilled to offer our newest member perk, a weekend retreat in Barcelona (no cost).
If you’d like to rejoin as an annual member, I’d love to offer you a free, 15-minute video consultation where we can address your specific flexibility, strength, or metabolic health challenges.
Want to Rejoin Today?
Jiivana (L.I.F.E.) Yoga® embraces yoga as a lifestyle, and tool for transformation. Students and trainees are taught our four L.I.F.E. principles and ways to maintain healthy balance and flow with life’s fluctuations.
Our approach to asana practice is rooted in the Vinyasa yoga tradition and inspired by Iyengar, Ashtanga and Traditional Hatha yoga.
Jiivana is the Sanskrit word for life and the philosophy is comprised of four principles: Live Free, Seek Inspiration, Cultivate Fearlessness and Be Empowered.
We come together, in-studio and virtually, as a collective. Together, we work on seeing the beauty in the world by acknowledging and seeing the beauty in our own lives.
Where SEY Comes Together
What does it look like if you were to walk or log in for a class with one of our teachers?
Spiritual Essence Yoga (SEY) is home for our community. It is common to see groups of yogis hanging around the studio, enjoying tea and contributing to the peaceful aura.
We are located at 5080 Brown Station Road, Suite 255. Here you enjoy classes, workshops, trainings, special events and wellness services. It is also the home of SEY Soul Shop, where you can find crystals, incense, aromatherapy and other products for mind, body, spirit balance.
Our Promise to You
Yoga and meditation require personal, internal and intentional growth, which means your results are completely in your hands. However, we can promise you one thing.
We will be there every step of the way to lend you the mind, body and spirit communal support you need. Your health is our first priority, and we will do what we can to make sure you’re in a much better place than you were when you first started.
We’d love to leave you with the Spiritual Essence Yoga Closing Dedication. The SEY dedication was created by its founder, Dana, early on in her yoga journey. She needed a powerful affirmation to help her overcome resistance and stay with the practice. Now, the closing dedication is done at the end of each class and continues to serve as a reminder to carry the lessons we learn on the mat into our daily lives.
“As I journey out today,
I will be sure to enjoy every step of the way.
I will walk softly and sweetly with myself, and
Find every reason in the world to love myself, because...
I AM LOVED”
Start Your Journey with Spiritual Essence Yoga Today!
Dana A. Smith, E-RYT 500, CLC
Dana A. Smith, ERYT-500, is the founder and owner of Spiritual Essence Yoga and the creative visionary behind the international YES! Yoga Has Curves movement. She is a wife, mother, certified yoga instructor, author, yoga teacher trainer, master life coach and holistic health practitioner. Since 2003, she has been a pioneer for inclusive yoga in the West with a simple, yet profound, message: “Yoga is for EVERYbody!”.
As the creator of Jiivana (L.I.F.E.) Yoga®, a National Yoga Alliance approved and registered yoga style, Dana guides students and teachers-in-training in a dynamic experience of yoga as a powerful tool for total life transformation. Even though she has trained over 500 yoga teachers since 2008, she considers herself a lifelong student and continues to seek inspiration through workshops and advanced studies.
Her style of teaching draws on Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Vinyasa roots with the aim to usher practitioners to live inspired, fearless and empowered every day—on and off the mat. Her work has been featured on NBC4, FOX5, The Washington Post, The Examiner, Essence Magazine, WHUR, NPR, and Black Enterprise.
Dana teaches and facilitates yoga retreats throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. She is an active member of the Black Yoga Teacher’s Alliance (BYTA).
“To me, Dana is like a big sister, someone you turn to for advice and guidance.”
“She is someone you can laugh with and cry with, someone that you know truly cares and will tell you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. From trainings and different yoga classes with Dana, I’ve learned she’s that teacher that makes a lasting impression on you. She constantly shares knowledge, so you want to be like a sponge and soak it all up. She constantly challenges you to step into your light and into your power. She reminds you to allow yourself to flow; as humans we often seek the logical, but experience is one of life’s best teachers and what is meant to be will be.” ~ D. Midgette
As Seen, Heard and Celebrated:
As Seen, Heard and Celebrated:
To you, the beautiful soul reading this right now,
Raised amidst the wonderfully intense energy of New York, I know firsthand the effect of living in a high-stress environment. Even when I transitioned to life in Maryland, I clung to a mantra from my early life - "as a black woman, I must work ten times harder to match the majority's mediocrity."
After my big chop (if you know, you know), I had a profound realization. I saw how I had let stress rule my life, focusing too much on how the world perceived me rather than celebrating my true self.
Maybe you've found your way here because you've had a similar experience, or maybe you're on the verge of one. Reflecting on moments you've felt unwell, overspent, overindulged, or hidden your true self just to keep up, to feel a glimmer of joy, to feel truly alive.
My journey to sharing the tools that brought me healing began with reaching out to other black women and women of color. I understood the deep-seated stress stemming from feelings of unworthiness, prejudice, and imbalance, and felt called to serve. As I gained the confidence and courage to extend my reach beyond my immediate community, I found myself drawing in a diverse group of beautiful souls seeking peace, balance, and inner harmony.
My mission is to guide you towards a deep sense of peace and self-realization without needing to compromise your well-being. Yes, our world has challenges - racism, misogyny, spiritual and religious intolerance, political polarization, and personal struggles. But the essential question is: Can you find happiness amidst it all?
Yes, you absolutely can.
True power is not about being more or being less. It's about finding peace. Tools like yoga and meditation, drawn from time-honored practices, can help us discover this inner tranquility. They are not confined by religion, background, or political beliefs, but are accessible to anyone seeking to bring peace and meaning into their lives.
Your power is in how you view yourself, others, and the world. It's in your ability to create space between thought and action. Yoga has been such a positive impact on my life that I was inspired to create Jiivana (L.I.F.E.) Yoga®. This approach, inspired by various historic lineages, encourages you to live inspired, fearless, and empowered. It teaches us to sit with our breath, our inspiration, our minds — connecting to the peace, calm, and fulfillment we seek.
So, I warmly invite you to join us on the mat, be it in-person or virtually. Join our community where we honor every part of your journey towards peace. No matter where you are in your life right now, remember that yoga and healing are for EVERY body at SEY.
Let's embark on this path together.
With love and gratitude,
