Program Faculty

Yogi, mystic, and practitioner of Ayurveda, Mas has become one of the most influential yoga and Ayurveda teachers in the world and offers unique certification training programs throughout the USA, Asia, and India. Mas enjoys teaching integral yoga classes, offering health and wellness lectures and giving workshops that embrace core Ayurvedic principles. His work is primarily influenced by the lineage-based traditions of India, with prominence to the teachings of Yogananda and Sivananda. In 2014 he appeared in the triumphant film “Awake, The Life Of Yogananda” and as an Ayurvedic practitioner, he maintains an active international counseling practice that includes yoga and Vedic astrology. He is the founder/director of Dancing Shiva Yoga Ayurveda, an international non-profit educational organization and center based in Southern California.    

Under Mas Vidal’s direction DSYA has been recognized internationally for developing a strong balance between the mind-body relationship and the spiritual principles emphasized in both yoga and ayurveda. Mas Vidal strongly encourages education in a practical sense and as a way of life in his dynamic yoga classes (see schedule). The center is aligned with various notable institutions of health and wellness, spirituality and higher learning throughout the United States, Europe and India and maintains interaction in the areas of consulting, research and providing educational materials.

Under Mas Vidal’s direction DSYA has been recognized internationally for developing a strong balance between the mind-body relationship and the spiritual principles emphasized in both yoga and ayurveda. Mas Vidal strongly encourages education in a practical sense and as a way of life in his dynamic yoga classes (see schedule). The center is aligned with various notable institutions of health and wellness, spirituality and higher learning throughout the United States, Europe and India and maintains interaction in the areas of consulting, research and providing educational materials.

A yoga teacher and ayurvedic counselor based in Los Angeles, California. Her teaching focuses on healing by encouraging a deeper connection to nature and life itself. Johanna's formative studies began with a broad discipline rooted in academic scholarship, yoga and bodywork practicum and energy healing. She is trained at the 200-hour level from the Center for Yoga/Yoga Works and at the 500-hour level from Dancing Shiva Yoga and Ayurveda. She also carries certification from the American Institute of Vedic Studies as a Yoga and Ayurveda Therapist. She is trained at Reiki levels 1 and 2 with Patti Penn Reiki Master at Pause in Joy, in Los Angeles. In addition, Johanna is also a certified Pancha Karma therapist having completed training and clinical internship at Dancing Shiva Yoga and Ayurveda. Johanna has a BA in Religious Studies and Asian Studies, and has done post-baccalaureate work in Asian Studies. She is a student of Sanskrit and Classical Indian Philosophy, studying with Joel Bender and with Dr. Tracy Tiemeier at LMU translating the Tiruppavai, devotional Tamil Alwar poetry. 

Johanna is a senior Yoga and Ayurveda teacher at Dancing Shiva and serves as a main faculty member for the advanced programs, workshops and semi-private tutorials for the Yoga and Ayurveda Teacher Certification and Lifestyle Enhancement Program. 

She also teaches beginning and intermediate Yoga as a part-time adjunct faculty of Santa Monica College in the Kinesiology Dept. In addition, Johanna is a visiting teacher and lecturer with the Kerala Ayurveda School in Seattle, Washington bringing the union of the sister sciences of Yoga and Ayurveda to students of Ayurvedic Medicine. Johanna also teaches weekly classes in Mantra and Meditation in the Los Angeles area.

Johanna’s yoga classes are integral in nature. She teaches an alignment based system of Hatha yoga with a strong focus on detoxification of mind and body through Ayurveda, asana and pranayama as tools to clear away blockages impeding spiritual progress. Her knowledge of Ayurvedic concepts of Marma therapy, the 7 dhatus (tissues) and Chikitsa (therapy) broaden her scope of teaching asana. And her love of jnana yoga (study) coupled with bhakti devotional yoga is at the heart of her teaching focus. She feels this approach allows her students to understand and learn about the yoga and Ayurveda tradition that they are practicing while simultaneously experiencing their own self-realization and healing.