Summer Cushman, M.Div. is an artist, minister, and yoga therapist. She believes that authentic yoga practice has the power to change everything. She has personally experienced the transformative and healing power of regular personal practice and has witnessed it in the lives of her students, which she considers a great gift.
A perpetual student herself, Summer has spent the last two decades following her curiosity. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in printmaking and art history from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. She earned her Master of Divinity degree with an emphasis in spirituality from Earlham School of Religion (a Quaker seminary) in Richmond, Indiana. She received foundational training in yoga and her 200hr certification from CITYOGA School of Yoga and Health in Indianapolis under the direction of Nikki Myers and Marsha Pappas. She then received advanced training and certification as a 500hr Viniyoga Teacher under the direction of Gary Kraftsow at the American Viniyoga Institute in California. Currently, Summer is working toward her yoga therapy certification under the direction of Robin Rothenberg of Essential Yoga Therapy in Washington State.
Summer is thrilled to be joining the EYT faculty as a Teacher Trainer. It’s work to which she feels deeply called. Her own experiences in teacher training were life changing and she looks forward to helping create such experiences for her trainees. She is excited to come alongside teachers with support, guidance, and mentorship as they deepen their personal practice, expand their knowledge of yoga, and grow their abilities as teachers.
Summer has been teaching yoga full time since 2010. She has led retreats and workshops throughout the country on such topics as spirituality, creativity, and embodiment. Summer opened and ran a successful yoga studio in Indiana for 3 years where she managed 5 other teachers, taught group classes, offered special workshops, saw students privately, and offered spiritual direction. She designed a yoga philosophy course based on the first two chapters of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which she’s taught several times and is turning into an online course. Currently, Summer offers both meditative and therapeutic yoga classes in Whatcom County and sees clients one-on-one for yoga therapy, private yoga teaching, and spiritual direction.
A northwest native, she is happy to have settled back in her home state and looks forward to exploring yoga and spirit with you here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Please visit www.summercushman.com for more information.