Meet Amanda Parr
My Journey
Yogi. Artist. Soul Adventurer
Hello from Nevis — a lush, volcanic haven in the Eastern Caribbean where I guide people beneath the surface to a deeper sense of awareness, presence, and connection.
My work weaves together Yoga, Meditation, Scuba Diving, Healing Arts, Adventure, and Creative Expression into one flowing rhythm of life. When the island's quieter season arrives, I follow the winds north, bringing a little island soul to festivals, retreats, and community events while reconnecting with my family roots in the Midwest USA.
Curious to know more? Continue scrolling to explore my Yoga journey, Scuba journey, teaching style, and qualifications.
My Yoga Journey
Following an early life riddled by panic attacks and psychosomatic illnesses, my favorite Beatles song led me to experience Yoga for the first time at the age of 19 in New York City. Yoga didn't make all of my problems disappear, but provided the tools I needed to manage my internal chaos and led me down a path of inspiring spiritual transformation. I knew almost immediately that I had found my life's path.
In 2005 I attended a residential Yoga Teacher Training at Satchidananda Ashram in VA, USA, and became certified to teach Integral® Yoga, a spiritually-based school of Yoga founded by Swami Satchidananda, rooted in the Sivananda lineage. That was just the beginning of the journey.
Unmotivated by conventional education and career paths, I spent the majority of my 20's and 30's wanderlusting my way around the globe, working seasonal hospitality and scuba diving jobs, all while continuing to study and share Yoga, especially inspired by the perspectives adopted during my time spent in India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. At the time, I didn't fully understand where this period of adventurous soul-seeking was leading me, but I would later discover that these years of exploration were laying the foundation for an auspicious new chapter in my journey — one in which sharing the wisdom and practices that had shaped my own growth would become an integral part of my life's work.
In 2014 I found myself in the Caribbean island federation of St. Kitts & Nevis for a Scuba Diving job. After meeting my husband, a Kittian islander, I surrendered to a more rooted kind of adventure. Being somewhat settled has catalyzed a meaningful shift from a lifestyle of compulsive movement to a fascinating journey into the challenging complexities of stillness. Rather than get caught up in the ever-changing labels and trends of the commercial Yoga world, I have learned that there is a powerful depth in simplicity, which leads to my belief that, especially for the advancing Yogi, less is more.
Since 2019, I have gravitated toward Yin Yoga, an introspective approach that targets the energetic system through a fusion of classical Yoga and Taoist concepts. Blending this with my traditional Hatha Yoga background and training in Thai Yoga Massage, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Myofascial Release has given rise to a therapeutic practice rooted in self-inquiry and self-healing. With a foundation of mindfulness and conscious breathwork, I share a simple yet potent perspective of Yoga that invites practitioners to slow down, explore powerful healing arts techniques, and apply Yoga’s fundamental teachings to their unique life circumstances.
My Scuba Journey
I had a fascination with the ocean from an early age, but growing up in landlocked Indiana, my interest had little outlet until adulthood, when I began to travel the world. My Scuba journey began with a magical encounter with a friendly dolphin named Dusty while living on the west coast of Ireland in 2007. She joined my instructor and me daily as I learned the ropes and earned my entry-level PADI Open Water certification. The experience gave me a high like nothing I had ever experienced before. My life was changed forever.
Over the next several years I gradually expanded my certifications and experience in places like the United Kingdom, Spain, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, and Malaysia before making the decision to go pro at Barefoot Scuba in the Andaman Islands, India. After a 3 month internship I was invited back the following season to work as a dive guide and train to be a PADI instructor. This experience led me to further opportunities teaching scuba in the USA, Caribbean islands, and Central America.
Yoga-Scuba Fusion
Despite being an alluring and exciting adventure, Scuba Diving can feel awkward, uncomfortable, and scary in the beginning, especially to someone with a history of anxiety. I remember feeling this discomfort as a new diver, and have even had my anxious moments as an experienced diver. When that discomfort arose, sometimes bringing me close to panic, I found myself instinctively returning to the relaxation, breathing, and meditation techniques I had learned through Yoga. These practices not only helped me regain my composure and feel more at ease, but ultimately enhanced my skills as a diver.
Naturally, when I became a dive professional I found myself sharing these same techniques with my divers. Gradually, this integration of Yoga and Scuba Diving became more systematic and in 2015 I authored the Yoga Diver course, which was endorsed by PADI as a Distinctive Specialty certification. In addition to teaching the PADI Yoga Diver Course for certified divers and a Yoga-Scuba experience for beginners, I specialize in working with divers who are challenged by anxiety, phobias, or past traumas and promoting Scuba Diving as a therapeutic, transformative experience for the body, mind, and soul.
Mind-Body Education
- Associate of Arts Degree with concentrations in Psychology and Philosophy — Ivy Tech Community College, IN
- Yoga Teacher Training (200 hr) — Integral Yoga, Satchidananda Ashram VA
- Yin Yoga Teacher Training (30 hr) — Corina Benner, Integral Yoga Institute NYC
- Functional Yin Yoga and MyoYin Teacher Training (60 hr) — Yintelligence Yoga, Nicky Hadjithoma
- AcuYin - Yin Yoga & Acupressure Teacher Training (60 hr) — Jo Phee, Yinspiration Yoga
- Yin Yoga & Traditional Chinese Medicine Teacher Training (60 hr) — Jo Phee, Yinspiration Yoga
- Thai Yoga Massage Levels 1–6, Sukha Wong (Lotus Palm), Sivananda Ashram, Bahamas
- John Barnes Myofascial Release Level I
- Subtle Yoga — Science of Slow + Yoga and the Neuroscience Connection with Kristine Weber
- The Science of Well-Being — Yale University
- Introduction to Yoga & Physiology — New York University
- Anatomy Bites — Specialized Yoga Anatomy training with physical therapist/yoga therapist Libby Hinsley
- Feldenkrais Method with Dayana Pereira
Scuba Education & Credentials
- PADI Open Water Diver — Co. Clare Ireland, 2007
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver - Cozumel Mexico, 2009
- PADI Rescue Diver - Port Douglas Australia, 2011
- PADI Divemaster - Havelock Island India, 2013
- PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) - Havelock Island India, 2014
- EFR (Emergency First Response) Instructor - 2014
- PADI Yoga Diver Distinctive Specialty Instructor (Original Course Author) - 2015
- Master Scuba Diver Trainer - 2016 Specialties: Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, Night Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox Instructor
Ready to Connect with Amanda?
Whether you are visiting Nevis or joining online, I would love to support your yoga, diving, and healing journey.