Paula Cunha

Paula discovered Yoga after moving to the U.S. in 2010 from her native Brazil. She immediately fell in love with the practice and her curiosity led her to take a 200-hour teacher training course. Through the practice she found inner strength, courage and healing ability, which enabled her to grow roots in her new surroundings and support herself in her way out of depression. Paula then joined the Abhaya community, and in 2016 took the Advanced teacher training. Since then, she’s been teaching public classes, workshops and assisting Abhaya's teacher training. Recently, Paula completed a training in Thai Yoga bodywork, amplifying her understanding of the body, mind, and soul connection. She is gradually incorporating this technique as a complementary tool to Yoga, expanding the possibilities of transformational healing. Her mission as a Yoga instructor is to empower her students to become aware of their weaknesses, gray areas, and blockages as well as their strengths, wisdom, and healing ability. Through the practice she guides them to finding their way to a more free and vivid connection with themselves and life. Paula has always been involved in body awareness, even before her discovery of Yoga. She practiced Capoeira, Muay Thai, soccer and ballet growing up in Brazil. She is also a graphic designer and an illustrator, through which she developed a keen and observant eye of the human body and how it interacts with the surrounding environment.