Meet Emelia Nidel, the inspiring force behind Samadhi Yoga Sangha, Denver’s enduring studio community nestled in Uptown Denver. As a dedicated yoga therapist in training, Emelia shares her journey of living, learning, and playing with her family while exploring new places and experiences. Join us as we explore Emelia’s work and background in her exclusive MysticMag interview.
Can you please introduce yourself to our readers and share a few details about yourself?
I am Emelia, honored to lead Samadhi Yoga Sangha, one of Denver’s longest-running studio communities in the heart of Uptown Denver. I am currently studying to be a yoga therapist. I live, learn, and play with my family, often seeking new places and experiences for us to explore together.
What is Vinyasa Yoga and how is it different from other forms of Yoga?
Vinyasa Yoga implies moving from one pose to the next, in succession, aligned with breath. Other forms of yoga, for example, Hatha, Restorative, or Gentle, likely focus more on individual poses and longer holds than a flowing sequence.
What can people expect from your classes?
Samadhi offers a wide range of styles and our highly experienced teachers have studied various lineages. So, our schedule has something for everyone: from Therapeutic Yoga, for students recovering from illness or injury to Power Yoga, for friends who are seeking to increase strength and flexibility.
The addition of mindful awareness to any class makes yoga a uniquely centering “workout.” Yoga aims to unite us to our higher selves within, through focusing on the mind-body-spirit connection. This might sound cliche, yet examining such an overarching concept, repetitively and in many ways, through the lens of instructors who have dedicated years to studying physical and energetic synthesis positively impacts our lives.
Students and teachers often share that Samadhi has changed their paths for the better, by providing a sacred space for interpersonal reflection, safety, and belonging.
All are welcome, and even the feeling of walking through our door is refreshing.
You also organize retreats. What are those like?
A retreat is a special type of vacation, where we can simply be. When we remove ourselves from daily routines, people, tasks, and demands, and land in a beautiful setting where our basic needs are nurtured and nourished, we can focus fully on rejuvenation. Yoga, meditation, and unstructured time give us a renewed perspective.
Hopefully, then, we bring home this sense of calm, and ideas for how to move forward in improved ways, in our daily lives. We have a few spots left for an upcoming retreat in Maui in April 2024!
What other services do you offer?
In addition to about 60 weekly classes, we host workshops, sound events, meditations, and yoga teacher training, both basic (200 hours) and advanced (300 hours).
Is there anything else about your work that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
Samadhi Yoga brings people together in support of each individual’s growth, through the application of ancient teachings in modern times.
There is so much to learn about how practice and philosophy can enhance what we are doing here in this human experience, and why. Being together, with the intention to become better people, strengthens the community (Sangha), extends to the greater community, and we like to believe… the world.
To learn more about Emelia and her work, you can visit www.SamadhiYoga.com
