Bonnie Knight '15
“In 2011 I learned of the Master Degree in Yoga Studies to be offered at LMU in 2013. As soon as registration opened I applied and anxiously awaited to find out whether I was accepted or not to the inaugural class. After years of teaching yoga, this was the program that I was ultimately searching for. It made sense to me that the course work of the Master program was what I needed to become fully immersed in the knowledge of Yoga. The program also allowed me to deepen my knowledge of Yoga so that I am able to share this knowledge with others through Yoga Teacher Training programs.” – Bonnie Knight, M.A. ’15
Bonnie Knight, M.A. ’15, holds a B.A. in Dance from UC Irvine and an M.A. in Yoga Studies from Loyola Marymount University. Before teaching yoga, she worked in dance: as a choreographer, performer and director, and in the health care field.
She has completed teacher trainings at Bikram College of India, YogaWorks, White Lotus and Prime of Life Yoga certifications. Since 2008, she has co-lead 16 teacher training programs herself. Her interest in guiding and developing individuals through the teacher training process is part of what led her to study at LMU.
“I believe it is very important to ensure that the materials used in these programs place as much importance on the history, philosophy, language, and writings of yoga as they do on the teaching of the yoga asanas. Our responsibility as yoga teachers is to take care of our students, to create a sacred and safe space to practice, to teach with correct knowledge of the physical body, and to also understand that ultimately the practice is a psycho/spiritual practice. These are the fundamentals that need to be understood by those students participating in a Yoga Teacher Training program and who may have the desire to teach yoga to others.”
Her thesis work included the design of an assessment tool to be used for teacher training programs. She is currently a full time teacher at Purple Yoga with locations in Fullerton, Tustin and Long Beach and co-leads Purple Yoga’s 200 Hour Teacher training program. She has also lead several 200 hour teacher training programs for Samadi Yoga in LA. Bonnie is also a teacher in the Yoga Philosophy Certificate program offered through LMU Extension in the Long Beach branch. She teaches courses in the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and the Yoga Sutras.