Emily Avery, 2017 - 2019, 2021 18-49 Women's Gold Medal 

Emily took her first yoga class seven years ago, when she was just 16. Though her practice was initially motivated by a way to balance her classical ballet training, it quickly became much more than cross training. She fell in love with the physical and mental challenge and the ways it allowed her to grow -- athletically, artistically, academically, and otherwise.  

She began competing in 2012 in the youth girls division, where she placed first nationally in 2013. Now in the adult women's division, she continues to compete in the hopes of sparking excitement in youth students like her former self and inspiring them to take on the practice of yoga and gain its benefits. She is grateful that the yoga championships have provided a forum for this, and she is continually inspired by the incredible community of practitioners, teachers, coaches and friends who make these championships possible.

Spencer Larson, 2021 18-49 Men's Gold Medal

Keri Palasz, 2021 50+ Women's Gold Medal

Tim Mizerak, 2021 50+ Men's Gold Medal

Purannan Balakrishnan, 2019, 2021 12-17 Boy's Gold Medal Winner

Dustin Valenta, 2019 18-49 Men's Gold Medal

Dustin Valenta completed Bikram's Teacher Training in Thailand in the Spring of 2015, where he was named Valedictorian. He has over 500 additional hours certification in Hatha/Vinyasa training. He has been traveling and teaching all over the world for the past four years. But the only honest answer to the question of how long he has been teaching/practicing yoga is "not long enough". It's one of the many things that keeps him in love with and passionate about what he does--the revelations are constant and unending. He credits his yoga practice with saving his life after a nearly fatal bike accident in 2013, and teaches from a place of love, compassion, and emphasis on alignment, breath, and curiosity.

In February of 2013, he was riding his bike in Chicago when a woman opened her car door into the bike lane. He was thrown from his bike into traffic and run over by a truck. He broke 23 (of 24) ribs, both sides of his pelvis, both collarbones, his left hip, left shoulder, fractured a vertebra, punctured a lung, and cracked his skull.

Doctors didn't think I would survive, let alone walk again.

He knows for a fact that if he had not been practicing asana regularly before the accident (he was, in fact, on his way home from class when it happened), he would not be alive today. Doctors have credited his survival, in large part, to the flexibility and resilience in his spine. And he knows also, that had he not returned to regular practice as soon as possible afterwards, he would not have recovered anywhere close to the place he is.
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In the years since the accident, his yoga practice has transformed from purely physical pursuit to a lifestyle that guides him on a path toward continuous self-improvement inside and out. But he will always believe fully in the transformative power of movement. Building a connection to the physical body is an essential first step to creating change in the deeper, more subtle parts of the self. With intention, determination, and practice the impossible is revealed as a myth.

Mai Toomey, 2019 USA Yoga, 50+ Women's Gold Medal Winner

Wayne Campbell, 2019 & 2017 50+ Men's Gold Medal Winner

Alexandra Soukhoveev, 2021 15-17 Girl's Gold Medal

Amisha Poojari, 2021 12-14 Girl's Gold Medal

Suraj Ramesh, 2021 12-14Boy's Gold Medal

Liam Luce, 2019, 2021 9-11 Boy's Gold Medal

Shea Kenny, 2019 12-17 Girl's Gold Medal Winner