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

My yoga practice began on 8/08/08, but in a way the journey started much earlier in the form of different sports such as; basketball, baseball, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, biking, mountaineering and golf which all eventually lead me to yoga. The concentration, focus, and competitiveness with myself through sports would directly translate into my yoga practice later on in my life. When I began practicing asana, pranayama and meditation I markedly noticed increased strength, balance, energy, flexibility, focus, endurance, and an otherworldly level of concentration and vibration, which translated directly to improved performance in these sports as well as in the life. 

I became a Certified Teacher of Bikram Yoga in the Spring of 2013. I wanted to share all of the benefits that I was receiving through practice with my students, and also help support them in their own practice through my personal experience. 

The First time I got on Stage in the Yoga Asana Championships was 2009. The personal challenge appealed to the athlete in me, while I also wanted to give back to Yoga for all that it had given me. I’ve been on stage yearly basically ever since, consistently winning in my state, region, First Place Nationally and placing 5th in the World in 2021. It’s a three minute journey of the self, through the self to the self. I’m still challenged, motivated, and energized by being on stage; it’s comparable to the adrenaline rush I receive while snowboarding minus the critical impact and risk of falling. Although I do still snowboard, I’ve mostly traded out front-side 360’s and backside 180’s for handstand lotus’s and full spine twists with calm connected breath in stillness. 

Having been an extreme gravity athlete turned yoga student, yoga teacher, and athlete of yoga sport, I have discovered that there is more to Yoga Sport than meets the eye. Yes, a regular Yoga Practice will stimulate deep healing of significant injuries; Yes, Yoga Practices have improved not only my performance in sports, but also my clarity, concentration, and connection to my breath. But the two most profound lessons I’ve learned over the course of being on stage more than a dozen times are: First, the aspect of me showing up for myself. The Greater Challenge in all this is to Continue to Practice, continue to strive and believe in myself for myself, and through myself for others. Second and the ultimate realization of my journey is this: I believe that through breath mastery, one can connect to the Divine Aspect within; when I am in that place, I can connect with you as well. I’ve learned this exquisite lesson throughout my life, in the form of my love of sports, my love of nature, and my love of yoga. This is my message to you, as I stand on the stage. In this way I am in service. I’m an infinite ripple of love in the ocean of cosmic consciousness. 

It’s an honor to be the 2021 USA Yoga National Champion. 

Keri Palasz, 2021 50+ Women's Gold Medal

Keri started practicing the 26&2 series in 2014 as a complement to long distance running. She was drawn to this style of yoga practice due to the methodical, sequential delivery of precise instructions in a space held in silence. She enjoyed learning to hold and hone focus while moving with intention through the asanas in the traditional 90-minute 26&2 sequence, taught at 105° F with 40% humidity. This remains her favorite class, and for her it remains a challenge.

In 2018 Keri joined USA Yoga. She competed for the first time in 2019 and was impressed to experience the spirit of healthy competition USA Yoga cultivated. Yoga athletes on the national stage were supporting, inspiring, and believing in each other. Potential was contagious, and the competition was a catalyst that propelled Keri to begin a quest for the answer to a question she held: How precise could her practice become?

Keri continues on this quest. She practices with intention and trains with USA Yoga Coach Kim Tang, a yogi renowned for her focus on postures that are correct, strong, and deep, and who also happens to be a long-distance runner.

Tim Mizerak, 2021 50+ Men's Gold Medal

Tim Mizerak is a master of clean, charismatic, and consistent athletic performance, which he perfected both for himself, as a figure skater for 25 years (10 as a competitor), and for others, as a skating coach for 25 years. Mizerak became a practitioner of hot yoga in 2013. He first competed in the asana championships in 2020 at age 53, and he currently holds the 2021 USA National Gold Medal for Men 50+ and the 2021 IYSF International Silver Medal for Masters (Men). Mizerak has been married for 33 years and has 2 grown children. 

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.
​
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