Bio
Maya Parish is a yoga teacher, event producer and community organizer residing in Hawi, Hawai'i Island. She was born and raised in New York City, lived in Los Angeles for 14 years, and has been joyfully calling Hawai'i Island home since 2013. She considers teaching yoga a vocation and has completed two 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certified teacher training programs, the first in Hatha Yoga and the second in Integrative Yoga Therapy along with multiple continuing education intensives and workshops. She holds an E-RYT designation, having taught over 1,000 hours of yoga instruction to adults, as well as a CYT designation, having completed Yoga Ed.'s Children's Yoga Teacher training program. She is currently working toward her 500-hour certification with Janet Stone.
Maya works privately with both residents of and visitors to Hawai'i Island, designing personalized yoga programs for each individual's needs, goals and experience level. She also teaches weekly group classes up and down the Kohala coast at Mauna Kea Resort, Waimea Yoga and her private studio space in Hawi, North Kohala. Additionally, Maya teaches yoga to Kohala Elementary's K-5 students through the local non-profit "Keiki Yoga Kohala".
In 2017 Maya produced four large scale political and community events, including the Women’s March Rally in Kailua-Kona, “Defend The Sacred” in Hawi, an event demonstrating solidarity with all water and sacred site protectors from Standing Rock to Mauna Kea and beyond, The People’s Climate March in Kailua-Kona, and the 8th annual ‘Āina Fest in North Kohala. In 2018 she co-produced the Democratic Party of Hawai'i’s (DPH) County Convention, assisted with the DPH’s State Convention, and produced 'Āina Fest again. In 2019 Maya continued her service to the DPH by sitting as the elected Hawai’i County Representative on their State Central Committee and produced ‘Aina Fest for the 3rd consecutive year, drawing approximately 1,800 attendees and raising the most money for the host organization Hawai’i Institute of Pacific Agriculture that the event had ever raised. Her activism and engagement in the civic realm is a direct extension of her yogic path and the tradition of satyagraha, or nonviolent resistance (literal translation from the Sanskrit: “holding firmly to truth”).
Drawing from great thinkers, inspiration from her teachers and from her own intuition and studies, she weaves together a holistic experience for her clients that is crafted to have a lasting resonance in the whole self and/or collective. Before moving to Hawaii, Maya worked in Los Angeles as an actress, playwright, producer, youth advocate, yoga teacher, and communication facilitator.
In Others' Words
"Thank you so much for the amazing session today! I have not felt as centered in a very long time - it is exactly what I needed. Your instructional technique was superb - both the descriptions of the movements and conveying the feeling of the internal sensations. Your discussion of consciousness was wise and beautiful. I was truly thankful to participate with you today." -Scott, Waimea, HI
I've been practicing yoga for over 40 years. It's very rare to stumble on such heart and excellence in a yoga teacher, especially while traveling. I took one class with Maya Parish at the Mauni Lani Health Club. Experiencing her gift for teaching I followed her to her studio and to the heavenly grassy lawn at the Mauni Kea Resort for her group classes. My sons, in their twenties, who are martial arts snobs, both said hers was the best yoga class they'd ever been in. Maya was so accommodating to come to work privately with me to establish a traveling practice. A wonderful, simple yet highly refined yoga experience. Maya is the Best. - Lucinda, Camden, ME
"I'm a breast cancer survivor. Was diagnosed 1.5 years ago. Finished last surgery 2 months ago. I put yoga on hold during all treatment due to my condition. During my first vacation to the Big Island with my family I made a decision to try to get back into yoga. I had not been motivated to do so until this trip. Taking Maya's class felt like coming home to the yoga I used to love so much. Her class is the perfect mix of strength building so you sweat, deep stretching, and inner peace building. Out of the 5 days here I have gone to 4 of her classes. They have all been uniquely different and absolutely wonderful. I feel so blessed to have stumbled upon Maya. She's definitely living what she is meant to be doing in life. I will never forget her and her gift of getting me back into Yoga. Thanks Maya!" - Louise, Pasadena, CA
"Best yoga offered on the Big Island of Hawaii! I highly recommend Maya's class to all yogis out there. I appreciate her beautiful teaching style and accommodating weekly class schedule. Her private classes are the best. NAMASTE" - Shelly, Waimea, HI
"I have been practicing yoga on and off for over 17 years and have learned from many different types of teachers. Maya has been by far one of my favorite yoga instructors. Her classes are challenging without being overly pushy and intimidating. She has a subtle way of working the spirituality of yoga into her classes and she keeps her sequences fresh and unique, without feeling like each class is the same as the last. I wish I could still practice with Maya but unfortunately there are many miles of fish between us now." - Amiee, Los Angeles, CA
"Maya has inspired me to practice new and more challenging yoga postures. She is always "good" no matter where you are in your practice. She encourages you to be your own guide and listen to your own body. Maya is hands-on and I love it! She will help me and hold me in a pose and then I can feel what it feels like when done in proper alignment. She is also good at adjusting poses to fit your needs. Maya brings an awareness of the spiritual and healing properties of yoga, which I feel make my yoga practice really balanced." - Debbie, North Kohala, HI