Beth Shaw

Beth Shaw, E-RYT, BS, CMT, is the president and founder of YogaFit Training Systems Inc. The leader in mind-body education, YogaFit has trained more than 200,000 fitness instructors on six continents. Beth Shaw was born and raised in New York City, Shaw never planned on becoming a yoga instructor, however in her last year of study at Long Island University, she had a psychic flash during a yoga pose. The message received was that she was destined to be in the health and fitness industry, and that she would be very successful. She describes the moment as if it were yesterday. "I was doing a standing forward fold in the stretch room of the health club, and this message came to me in a bright white light... like the sky parted and I received this incredible insight. It was a life-changing moment," Shaw recalls. After graduating with a B.S. in Marketing from Long Island University, Shaw headed west and began seriously studying yoga and earning certifications in fitness, Hatha yoga and yoga therapy. In 1993, she began teaching yoga and quickly discovered that traditional methods didn't meet the needs of the fitness club clientele. YogaFit® was born. Again, on a bike ride in early 1994, Shaw got another message as the name "YogaFit" spontaneously came to her in a vision. Now Shaw is an internationally known fitness expert and the author of Beth Shaw's YogaFit (Human Kinetics, 2009, $17.95) and the publisher of Angles magazine, which is distributed to yoga fitness enthusiasts and instructors. Shaw and her company have been showcased in numerous fitness magazines as well as Oprah's O magazine, Time, More, Entrepreneur, Yoga Journal, Glamour, Self and USA Today. She has also been featured on CNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, E Style, Channel, Showtime, and Donny Deutsch's Big Idea. Ms. Shaw is the innovative educator, entrepreneur, and visionary responsible for YogaFit as well as YogaButt, YogaStrength, YogaCore, YogaLean, and countless other yoga fitness combinations. She has more than 30 DVD's and CD's on the market and is widely recognized as the premier yoga fitness trainer in the industry. She is also known for her community service initiatives. As an animal rights activist, Shaw serves on the National Council for the Humane Society and is involved in Animal Alliance, Downtown Dog Rescue and supports Spay/Neuter initiatives. Her nonprofit organization, Visionary Women in Fitness, awards scholarships and grants women in need. She is responsible for over one million hours of Community Service given by over 50,000 Instructors worldwide. She lives in Beverly Hills, California.