Blissful Bodies Wellness ( previously Blissful Bodies Yoga + Birth) offers a broad range of healing and therapeutic mind-body practices to help you to communicate with the Blissful part of your body, which we ALL have!! We just sometimes forget its there because of work, stress, relationships, life changes and sickness. But we are here for you to support whatever phase of life you are in… private and group yoga classes for: pregnant women, new moms, couples and of course for all populations and varying abilities online and in the Raleigh-Durham area.
Elika Aird is the Owner of Blissful Bodies Wellness, E- 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher, Birth/Postpartum Doula and Wellness Coach has been surrounded by fitness, dance and wellness from a very young age. Before teaching yoga, she taught various fitness classes and salsa dancing throughout Northern California and Atlanta. She later expanded her fitness training to specialize in various styles of yoga and teaching at corporate locations like Coca-Cola, Turner Broadcasting Systems, and most recently she has returned to the San Francisco Bay Area teaching at Google and Stanford University. Elika stumbled upon the path of yoga in 2000 when she injured her back and was so desperately looking for relief from pain and the feeling of being disconnected from her body. She later found not only her body growing stronger, but her mental and spiritual connection deepening as a result of this practice. After many years of frustration trying to find balance through various practices, she can now be grateful for this period of rehabilitation because it allowed her to learn to be more patient, present and find peace despite the circumstances. She also believes she was supposed to encourage people to heal their chronic back pain and experience pure freedom and vitality again.
Elika spent over 15 years working in Corporate America so she truly understands the demands that can placed on you and how hard it can be to slow down and value what the Buddhists refer to as the "preciousness of life." Elika's philosophy ~ “We find our center through the flow of yoga and then we can learn to effectively and mindfully maneuver ourselves through our busy days and hectic schedules – finding moments of bliss at the most unexpected times, during stress, during pain and in the midst of transition. As one starts to practice yoga with the intention to experience transformation, we learn to live from the space of the heart and things seem to naturally become richer and fuller. In this unfolding, we start to connect with the Lotus in the Heart, leading one to the Infinite Self , letting go of the Individual Self/smaller mind . Embrace the journey!"
Elika incorporates her studies of various styles of yoga with the fluidity of the vinyasa system, to create an environment that allows each student freedom in each pose, while still emphasizing intelligence and the therapeutic benefits of alignment. Her classes blend the strength of a flowing dance along with insightful postures to restore and revitalize the entire body from the outer to the innermost levels. In 2005, Elika completed both her 200-hr certification at Peachtree Yoga Center and her Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training with Stephanie Keach at Asheville Yoga Center.
To deepen her knowledge of prenatal yoga, Elika completed the Whole Birth® Yoga Teacher Training, which incorporates the practice of mindfulness and yoga to help bring greater well-being during the childbearing year. To share her love of the birthing process and her desire to support women, Elika became trained as a Birth Doula with Doulas of North America (DONA) in 2008 and then completed an ICTC Full Circle Doula Training in 2017. After supporting women and families in birth as a Birth Doula for 10 years, she now exclusively offers Postpartum Doula services as well as Birth Preparation classes. To expand her knowledge of Energy Healing and Complementary Therapies, Elika was trained in Reiki and Pranic Healing, and is a lifelong student of Ayurveda, which is the sister-science to Yoga.
After many years of studying with her primary teacher, Shiva Rea, Elika completed the 500-hr Prana Flow Teacher Training and became a Soulful Wellness Guide as of May, 2021! Prana Flow is the foundation of Elika’s teaching, and can be experienced in various aspects in all of classes ~ Vinyasa Flow, Pre/Post-Natal, Mom & Baby, Restorative/Yin and Yoga Trance Dance.
Before leaving Atlanta, Elika was able to create one of her dreams, which was a yoga DVD with all people of color. So in 2009 she and her director da'shon.is brought together a group of yogi practitioners and teachers to film BlissTemple Yoga Flow. To get a taste of what is soon to come: view our now expired IndieGogo Fundraising Trailer and some interviews from the amazing souls that volunteered their time for this project.
Elika feels blessed by all the wisdom her teachers have shared with her, and loves to pass these gifts on to her students so they too can experience the beauty of this practice and the joy of living in the flow of each day. Connect with Elika to discuss Soulful Wellness Guidance for Individualized sessions or Group Yoga /Meditation classes.
Om Shanti! Namaste.
Peace...The Divine in me Honors the Divine in You
