Chi-Town Shakti

Lead Instructor: Bhakti White E-RYT 500
All Subjects

Bhakti began her journey with Yoga in her preteen years after discovering that her hyper-flexible body was easily injured in other physical modalities and in contrast discovered that Yoga would nourish and balance her body providing her a vehicle for interpersonal growth that she could both trust and rely on. The daughter of a dedicated Meditator raised in Northern California's Oakland/ Berkley area she was exposed early to healthy and spiritually connected living.

Bhakti certified through the Shambhava School of Yoga at the Colorado Shoshoni Retreat Center where she met a group of Yoga practitioners with more heart and dedication to living their practice than she had encountered in her previous 16 years of study. She lived in the Ashram there (along with her beautiful Yogi Mom) while she completed her training and continues to use that source as a touchstone for her continued growth and development.

Bhakti began training other teachers in Chicago in early 2007 at the behest of her own Hatha Yoga teacher Swami Omkari Devananda. That first training was an amazing experience with some beautiful teachers. This led to the opening of Chi-Town Shakti in 2008 as a means to continue to bring the honesty and depth of Shambhava Yoga to Chicago's many Yoga students and teachers. She strives to honor the tradition of Yoga and to help individuals become themselves in the role of teacher rather than conforming to an ideal or stereotype. She is grateful for the opportunity to help guide others into the life she is so dearly a part of.


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Akaram White E-RYT 200
Subjects: Philosophy, Meditation, Pranayama, History & Tradition

Akaram has been an active meditator since 2007 and has been teaching philosophy and meditation for the last three years. As a student of Shambhavananda, Akaram draws on many different sources of meditation and spiritual influence including Kashmir-Shiavism, Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Zen practices. Offering a depth of experience and being able to embrace the diverse energies of a class are key talents for a yoga teacher; in meditation we attempt to build those skills through Mantra, Pranayama, and chanting. In the philosophy portion of teacher training, we discuss sacred texts, the function of the mind and the nature of consciousness. All of these approaches are aimed at creating real openness and balance for trainees to draw from.

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Gita Delashmitt E-RYT 200, Certified Prenatal Yoga Teacher, Certified Pilates Mat Instructor
Subjects: Anatomy, Special Subjects, Teaching Methods, Prenatal Yoga, Yoga for the Elderly or Frail, Philosophy, Meditation, Pranayama, History & Tradition

Gita certified through the Shambhava School of Yoga after years of fascination as well as respect for the practice of yoga. She has assisted in teacher trainings since Chi-Town Shakti opened it's doors in 2008. Having lead and assisted numerous subjects she has had the opportunity to see and explore the many aspects to teaching. She feels blessed to have witnessed the journey of so many yogis and yoginis. Her hope is to help trainees connect to there wish to grow, support them deepening their understanding, and help them find their unique voice in the teaching world.

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Annapurna Goldman CYT 200, Certified Prenatal Yoga Teacher
Subjects: Asana, Ethics, Sanskrit, Professional Development, Teaching Methods, Physical Adjustments, Props and Modifications

Anna started assisting the yoga teacher training at Chi-Town Shakti as a way to grow her own practice of yoga and teaching. She has seriously grown through the example of her students and looks forward to the increasing challenge of working with and training new yoga teachers. Of late she's been most interested in the variety of teaching styles available, and enjoys watching teacher trainees discover their own habits and strengths as they grow to become yoga teachers

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