Yoga & Āyurveda entered my life with a whisper of an invitation I could not ignore. Thus I embarked on a lifelong journey of Self discovery and deep immersion into the Great Mystery.

 
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Michele Ford Dennis

Michele is an Āyurvedic Practitioner, international Jivamukti Yoga Teacher, and Natural Foods Chef residing in Maui, Hawaii.

Michele values deep self-listening as a way to refine awareness and reshape habitual patterns so that we may experience the full spectrum of a life well nourished.

She is a diverse teacher, skillful in distilling the time-honored teachings of Yoga, Meditation and Āyurveda in a way that is accessible and relevant to modern living. 

 

EARLY YEARS

At a very young age, I found myself on a trajectory of high athleticism that demanded complete commitment. My identity became consumed by being a gymnast. To not be a gymnast was the same as death. In my 22nd year, ‘death’ came as the gymnast identity could no longer exist due to my badly abused, ‘to old’ body. Many socially accepted soothing techniques ~ drugs, alcohol, overworking, over caffinating, risktaking behavior, disordered eating ~ swooped in to cope with the loss of the only self I had known. By Grace, Yogāsana, Prāṇāyāma, Meditation and Āyurveda came into my awareness and inevitably a lifeline thru a painful dismantling of all I thought I was. It was a slow and steady reforming of my highly sensitive, immature, control hungry mind. I lived in such fear, repressed anger, disconnection and anxiety. Through years of intense and rigorous Yogāsana practice, Āyurveda, Vippassana meditation, and psychotherapy, I slowly became acquainted with who I am, beyond this body~mind construct. Yoga and Āyurveda empowered me with the wisdom, to recognize imbalance and the inspiration to step toward balance.

Experience

While studying business management in graduate school, I founded OneTree Yoga, a small community yoga studio in Cleveland, OH. Years later I attended the Natural Epicurean, a plant-based culinary school with a focus in Āyurvedic cooking and became the head chef of an Āyurvedic kitchen at The Sanctuary at Two Rivers in Costa Rica. My path was not clearly laid in front of me, I spent many years studying with great teachers and immersing in exotic lands, listening for the invitation to ‘the next right thing.’ India and Hawaii have captured much of my attention with their strong reverence for the divine feminine. As an embodiment of this wandering and seeking ~ an essential ingredient in the artistic process ~ Nourish Living Art was born.. This path of Āyurveda and Yoga has enhanced experience of life thru pointing toward a deeper knowing of Self, celebrating my unique expression, discovering my dharma (purpose), feeling at ease in life, participating in a life of abundance, health and deep intimate connection, living in gratitude and sacred honoring. I am now nearing the end of the pitta time of life, transitioning from the doing and creating, into qualities of being and sharing. I have honed the skills of teacher and mentor throughout my life, and now with my vessel more clear, I am stepping into a less filtered seat of service.

Teachers

 

Intention

May our time together inspire the shining of your unique expression of the Divine and assist in the creation of a life of ease, beauty, joy and harmony. I invite you to walk with me into the Mystery, into your potential, into health, into deep knowing, into joy, into vibrant living. May you be deeply Nourished!