"After attending my first class with Colleen, I knew that I would be back. Colleen fosters a safe, peaceful environment for her students."

--Kim Favor, Chicago

 

About Colleen, ERYT-500, and Blue Buddha Yoga

 
Colleen's Resume (PDF)


I found yoga when my knees were broken.

I was a collegiate athlete and was told I could no longer compete with my knees the way they were. At the same time all this was going on, I was taking a Hinduism class in 1993 and decided to do a report on yoga. Being the budding journalist and to make my report more real, I decided to have an "experience" of yoga to write about.

My first epiphany about yoga? "I can move my body without pain! Whoo hoo!" I started exploring Kripalu yoga shortly after.

However, it wasn't until I met Ana Forrest that I began to appreciate a deeper relationship and emotional healing within my yoga practice. I left a career in journalism and, through my initial Forrest Yoga Teacher Training Course in 2000, discovered that teaching yoga was my heart path. Forrest Yoga has been the cornerstone of healing my depression and disordered eating. Through this yoga, various somatic-inspired therapies, and other healing modalities, I have met my Spirit and continue to mine the rich fields of my emotional experience.

Six months after the initial training, I became a certified Forrest Yoga teacher. I launched Blue Buddha Yoga while in Chicago to reflect my interest in bringing yoga to those who live with depression. I created a 7-week Yoga for Depression class series with companion workbook that I have presented in Dallas and the East Bay of San Francisco. Through this work, I hope to inspire students to unlock the mysteries of their depression and view it as one of their life's greatest teachers.

I continue to support Forrest Yoga's Hoop of Healing. I've completed Forrest Yoga's 10-day advanced teacher training and also assist Ana Forrest at her national and international workshops. In 2007, I was honored to co-author the Forrest Yoga Mentorship Program (FYMP) with fellow senior teachers. I co-managed that program and Forrest Yoga Assistant's Program for three years. I continue to offer support to the Hoop of the People as a Forrest Yoga Guardian - providing continuing education programs and personal support to teachers who want to deepen their own healing journeys and teaching excellence.

I also teach prenatal, postnatal and kids yoga. Through independent research and personal experience (I have two children) I helped craft pre- and postnatal teaching guidelines that I presented to Chicago's Moksha™ Yoga center. In 2006, I earned my Mamaste Yoga™ prenatal teaching certification and Let's Play™ Yoga certification, as well as completing supplemental study in postnatal yoga through Samatva Yoga.

Finally, I am developing another career as a licensed therapist - I am midway through my master's program in somatic psychology.

For more details about my yoga training and experience, click here to download my resume.

 
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Contact Colleen
Colleen Millen
Blue Buddha Yoga
925-487-4592
contact@bluebuddhayoga.com