C-IAYT - TIYT Trauma -Informed Yoga Therapist
Reiki Master and Teacher
Somatic Experience Provider (SEP)
Edda is originally from Peru. She moved to the United States, Chicago, in 2002. She started practicing Yoga out of necessity in order to relieve back pain. Not only Yoga helped her eliminate her back pain, but she quickly realized that there was a lot more going on than just a physical practice. Yoga reminded her of the native Peruvian view of a human being, a multidimensional one, which made the practice of the different aspects of yoga more appealing to her.
She practiced Hatha Yoga for 10 years before doing her teacher training. Introduced to Ashtanga Yoga during her 200 hrs Teacher Training (2012) through the Life Power Yoga, she felt a strong connection to this specific school of Yoga. Since then, she has surrendered to the challenges and lessons of Ashtanga. On this path, she has had the opportunity to learn from David Swenson, David Williams, Tim Miller, Tim Feldman and Kino McGregor on different workshops. In 2014, she did her first Ashtanga teacher Training with Manju Pattabhi Jois , and since then, she has continued practicing and learning all the aspects of the Ashtanga tradition.
The path of awareness and becoming conscious of the self has taken her to deepen her understanding of her own Peruvian traditions and learn more about Buddhism and Buddhist Psychology.
Education & Credentials
Edda is a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She completed her yoga therapy training with the Inner Peace Yoga Therapy School from Colorado. She has over 1500 training hours in Yoga and Yoga Therapy including study and practical applications of Yoga for Mood Disorders, Yoga for Pain Management, Functional Yoga Therapy, Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy, Yoga for Cancer and Yoga for Trauma and PTSD.
As a Yoga Therapists, Edda has served the Mental Health Department of Captain James A. Lovell Federal Care Center since 2012. This department includes the Acute Psych Unit, Long Term Psych Unit, PTSD and Recovery unit, Military Sexual Trauma Unit, and the Bridge Program. She has recently become part of the Whole Health program since 2018.
Due to her work with combat veterans and active duty personnel, Edda has specialized in Trauma resolution though the body, having deepened her studies in the field of Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy through the Sundara Yoga Therapy School. She is currently a Licensed TIYT Clinical Facilitator of the Overcome Program; as well as her continue education on Somatic Experiencing. She is Somatic Experience Practitioner (SEP) and Somatic Touch Practitioner.
Edda has brought yoga and mindfulness to different corporations and organizations such as Aon-Hewitt International, Baxter International Inc, the Lincolnshire Tennis club, and recently has partnered up with the Cancer Wellness Center to offer a program in Spanish for spanish-speaking survivors.
Edda is also an Energy Healer, having started the path of Native Peruvian Healing Arts in Peru as a teenager. Years later, after moving to The United States, She became a Reiki Master and Teacher in the Usui Reiki Ryoho tradition.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpretation, a professional certificate in Mental Health Medical Interpretation as well as a early childhood education certification. She speaks Spanish - her native language, English and French.
Other Credentials:
Life Force Yoga Practitioner - Level I - October 2017
Trauma Informed Yoga: Sexual Violence, Yoga and the Physiology of Resilience - Feb 2016
Yoga Therapy with Manju Jois, Nov. 2015
Teaching Sexual Violence Survivors - Infusing your Yoga Instruction with a Trauma-Informed Lens - Feb 2015
Connected Warrior Training – Teaching Yoga to Veterans - December 2013
Power Vinyasa Yoga, Restorative Yoga, certified 2012; Ashtanga Yoga, certified 2014