Hello and thank you for visiting! My name is Checka Antifonario; I am a yoga teacher and the founder of Yogaway Retreats. Please read on if you'd like to know a little bit about my path and teaching.

Breathe, be present, and connect with deep strength and balance within – these are the intentions that I have held for my yoga students over the past twelve years of leading classes, workshops and retreats. Sharing yoga is my life’s work, and I am so grateful to be on this path.

My personal yoga journey began in 2006 when I moved from Cambridge, MA to the Big Island of Hawaii to live and work at Kalani Yoga and Wellness Retreat. The island’s stunning beauty and embodiment of Aloha inspired me to deepen my practice and appreciation for the strengthening and healing nature of yoga.

In February 2008, I completed my first teacher training with Frog Lotus Yoga and have been teaching full-time ever since. Always a student first, I have completed hundreds of hours of additional training over the years – Lead Trainer certification with Radiant Child Yoga, Thai Massage and Acro Yoga immersions, Yoga and Functional Anatomy courses, and Art of Assisting training to name a few.

I am deeply committed to maintaining a welcoming, inclusive and grounded space for practice and community. I strive for everyone to feel comfortable in my classes, most importantly in the way I am holding space for you so you can truly feel at ease, and I welcome feedback about how I can do that best for you! I also believe it is of great importance to honor the cultural roots of this ancient practice. Oftentimes much of the Yoga, which is by definition a mind-body-spirit experience, has been taken out of the practice as it is predominantly represented today in the West. For example, we often see a heavy focus on the Asana, or physical postures of yoga, and less on Yoga philosophy or meditation. I would like to be part of healing this fracture as we embrace the practice in a more holistic manner .

All of my classes include elements of breath work, mindfulness and meditation. I love to teach Vinyasa Flow, Gentle Yoga, and Restorative Yoga. When I am teaching in person, I offer compassionate and skilled assists along with Reiki energy work for those students who have opted in to receive touch.

I am passionate about being in nature and spending time with my pups, and I am equal parts a home body and travel nut. When I am not teaching near home, I journey throughout the United States and abroad leading retreats through my company Yogaway Retreats. I aim to make the most of my time here on Earth with you, and celebrate each unique person I have the honor to meet along the way.

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