Radiant Body Yoga

Venice, US

Follow Kia on Facebook or visit her website at KiaMiller.com.

Kia Miller is a beloved and devoted Yoga teacher whose dedication has led her to become one of the top teachers at Yoga Works in Los Angeles. In addition to the 10 classes she teaches weekly, Kia also teaches a host of private clients including celebrities and public figures. She runs four sold-out retreats and many workshops each year covering such topics as meditation, rejuvenation techniques, vitality, and balance. Kia teaches as Yoga Works in Los Angeles and leads several of their 200 and 300 hr teacher trainings a year. Additionally, Kia has developed her own unique style she calls Radiant Body Yoga. Kia’s first two DVDs in the Radiant Body series “Sun Energy and Core Energy” are available on Amazon.

Kia grew up in The Falkland Islands on an 110,000 acre sheep farm. She spent most of her childhood riding horses, working the farm and communing with Nature! In 1994 shortly after the Falklands war between Argentina and Britain, she moved to England where she discovered Yoga at the age of 15 and began a career in modeling. Over the next twelve years, Kia traveled the world doing print work and over 40 television commercials. It was Kia’s connection with yoga that kept her sane in her jet set days of modeling.

As a documentary filmmaker, Kia has made 3 films, her first, “Sacred Fire”, premiered at the United Nations Disarmament conference in 1997. As a TV Producer she field produced shows such as “The Mole,” “Next Action Star” and “Top Chef. “

On the Yogic path, Kia has studied multiple traditions with numerous masters over the past two decades. While in England, she studied the Dynamic Yoga Teaching method with internationally renowned teacher, Godfrey Devereux. She then went on to study Kriya Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation in India with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Kia moved to Los Angeles in 1997 and studied Ashtanga yoga with Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty. In 2002, Kia had the honor of studying Ashtanga with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Kia is a certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher having completed the Kundalini Yoga Level 1 Teacher Training as well as 3 modules (out of 5) of Level 2. In 2004, Kia completed the 12-week teacher training intensive with Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty at Yoga Works and followed this up with a long-term apprenticeship with Annie Carpenter. Kia is a member of The Yoga Alliance (E500 RYT) and the International Kundalini Yoga Teacher’s Association (IKYTA). Kia loves teaching, and sharing her passion for life. She sees yoga as a means to create balance and as a guide for each person to live the fullest life possible.

Kia lives in Venice, CA with her husband, one cousin, three cats, 11 fruit trees and an organic garden.

Questions and Answers with Kia Miller

1.     What does yoga mean to you?
Yoga is the process of awakening to our true nature. The path of yoga offers a way to strengthen and open our bodies, calm our mind and nourish our soul. The teachings offer a deep and profound knowledge of how to life life in a balanced way, to honor and respect our bodies, ourselves and all those around us.

2.   What impact has yoga had on your life?
Yoga has deepened my life experience beyond anything I had thought possible. It offers me a glimpse of divinity. I feel stretched and opened, I feel profoundly awakened to the sacredness of life. I have found that this path requires discipline, a willingness to show up and move through some of the things that we may rather avoid, it requires a commitment to be honest with ourselves so we can move beyond self limits and access deeper levels of connection to self, to others and to the Divine. Ultimately it is a path towards liberation – living beyond the confines of our mind and experiencing the bliss of knowing that we are all ONE. In the words of my teacher Yogi Bhajan “ if you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.”

3.    In what ways does yoga help you off the mat?
Through the practice of yoga I have become a more conscious person. Conscious of my breath, my eating habits, my sleeping patterns, the way I interact with others, the way I deal with my emotions and my thoughts. I make more conscious choices. The mantra I say every morning when I wake up is “ how may I serve” - this to me is the nugget of yoga. Living from the heart and serving your fellow humans, caretaking the earth and all her creatures. Every day is an opportunity to practice this.   If you feel more moved to take your yoga off the mat in a real and active way contact ‘Off The Mat Into The World’. Their blend of conscious activism is a way to channel our desire to make change in the world.

4.    What do you recommend for people who are brand new to yoga?
Find a teacher who inspires you, someone who makes you want to come back and do more. If you don’t find them right away keep looking!
Yoga is a path that has something for everyone whether you are looking for a workout, a way to calm your mind, or a spiritual connection. Trust your body and stay safe. The goal of yoga is not to learn the next tricky pose, the more advanced yogis know this, their focus is on the subtle life force energy within – in other words this path is a way to connect to the subtle parts of yourself and create health and vitality.

5.    What yoga tips can you share with people?
You can tell a lot about how you are living by how you are breathing. Is your breath shallow? Deep? How much of your lungs can you access through your breath?   BREATH is central to yoga.   It is the way we transform energy, build vitality and expand our life force energy. If all we did was sit down and breath consciously – that IS yoga.

6.    What drew you to teach the particular style(s) of yoga that you teach now?
I am an athletic person by nature. I love the physical practice of yoga: the idea of touching each muscle, opening up all the energy channels in the body is exciting to me. I need this in my life. It keeps me grounded and present in my body. It keeps me vital and healthy. This to me is vinyasa flow. I was drawn to Kundalini yoga as I experienced how profoundly it shifts us on an energetic level: old emotions, outmoded ways of thinking – all this is cleared out. The meditations of Kundalini yoga are wonderful for us modern practitioners who need something that works relatively quickly to make us more focused and present. My particular style ‘Radiant Body Yoga’ is a mix of vinyasa flow and Kundalini yoga. Perfect for us modern yogis who want an all in one experience!