Contact Us
You can contact nina be by emailing centering.lifenow -at- gmail.com
About nina be
Yoga Therapist + Transpersonal Visionary
MA, M.ED, E-RYT-500, NCC (#87024), C-IAYT
nina be is the founder of MindBody Centering Yoga, one of the first trauma-sensitive yoga techniques.
nina be (MA., MED., E-RYT-500, DY-800, NCC #87024, C-IAYT) has facilitated psychosomatic yoga therapy internationally for over 45 years. She is a certified yoga therapist, dance-theatre artist, author, and consultant with an MA in Performing Arts and an M.Ed. in Counseling. She is also the Director of Wellness at Burts Bees. In addition, with over 30,000 hours of study, she has facilitated mindbody meditation groups in the Plum Village lineage, enjoyed founding non-profit LiveGlobally and been Director of MindBody Centering Yoga RYT 200/300/500 trainings specializing in trauma-sensitive yoga techniques since 2009.
nina be & her team have published two books; The Mastery of the Self, a MindBody Centering Yoga Manual, and The 10 Promises; a Path to Inner Peace (a journal of expressive arts). nina and her team are currently finalizing publications on a series of workbook journals for transforming trauma.
In 2022 nina be and her team @centering.life are launching three online courses/training programs for transforming trauma through movement, the visual and verbal arts.
In order to satisfy her passionate curiosity, nina has traveled to 38 states and 19 countries.
Fun Fact :: nina won one of the country’s top 100 restaurants awards from Forbes magazine in 1994 for her restaurants in New Orleans.
the MBCY story
MindBody Centering Yoga was developed in 1979 by nina be as experienced guidance into a process of Self-Mastery. It was created using researched techniques in creative movement, ballet, Hatha/raja yoga, neuroscience, alexander technique, music, chakra study, somatics, trauma resolution, psychology, ritual, and applied mindfulness as taught by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Today MBCY lives at centering.life, because that is what it does.
MindBody Centering Yoga is a unique and trauma-informed approach to living yoga, accumulating over 45 years of personal research, education, inspiration, and international experience.
MBCY is infused with decades of dedication and devoted practice & research from the arts & sciences of psychology, anatomy, neurology, creative movement, ballet, Hatha Raja Yoga, Ashtanga, somatics, meditation, and Buddhist study.
MBCY is a mindbody modality, with programs curated for Burt's Bees, the Boys and Girls Club, the Episcopal Church, Job Start for the NC prison system, and was researched at Duke University.
MBCY awakens wisdom, stability, and peace in any individual who gets to experience their innate resources and resourcing in classes, workshops, trainings, retreats, groups, private mentoring, or corporate programs.
nina be began her love of movement, music, and imagination as a child, wishing to escape hunger and violence. She danced through the studios of Ballet Russe teacher Perry Brunson and Gene Hammett, Maggie Black, Bobby Blankshine, the NC School of the Arts, Joffrey Ballet, and as assistant to Lee Theodore at the American DanceMachine in NYC and Tokyo.
In 2011, nina saved enough resources for her dream & a life-changing experience to study directly with her teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. It is from the profundity of this experience at Plum Village that she can teach from the Truth of her direct experience with clarity, wisdom, humor, and love.
With the support of the MBCY community non-profit, LiveGlobally, MBCY offers Wisdom Circles, trainings, and retreats for under-served populations such as the LGBTQ communities, prisons, and children and their families in slighted urban and rural environments, for transforming trauma around the world.
nina be has published two books; The Mastery of the Self; a MindBody Centering Yoga Manual and The 10 Promises; a Path to Inner Peace (a journal of expressive arts). nina and her team are currently finalizing publications on a series of workbook journals for transforming trauma.
In 2022 nina be and her team are launching three online courses/training programs for transforming trauma through the movement, visual and verbal arts.
She is deeply grateful for her work with 3000 clients and students worldwide.
nina be thanks her daughters, Amelia and Aude, for being her greatest teachers.
The Centering Life Ensemble
Cortney Rhodes
Cortney Rhodes Awakenadream ambassador, wild artist, passionate yogi, curiously creative chef, compassionate warrior, determined climber and laughter enthusiasts! Began her journey of understanding and discovering the magic of life through Mindbody Centering Yoga. As an artist she explores the realms of mystery with courage and creativity. She expresses life’s adventure through abstract illustrations that invite the observe to create their own masterpiece. Her passion for climbing, yoga and honoring the body has supported her dives into the depths of the unfamiliar to awaken the spirit. Her love and joy for sustainable life has led her to intrinsically share the potentially of endless possibilities.
Violet Lee
violet lee discovered LiveGlobally after completing a 200-hour teacher training and 80 hour transforming trauma training with MindBody Centering Yoga. As someone who is intimately experienced with complex trauma as a result of the loss of a younger sibling, the family disease of alcoholism and the generational oppression of her Korean ancestors, she has much reverence for the interconnectedness of life and how influential the role of community is in creating meaningful change. Violet is an abstract painter, using art as a vehicle to share how she navigates and understands her ever unfolding self, creating embodied work that is informed by the process of living.
Molly Richards
molly richards came to LiveGlobally after experiencing the potential of MindBody Centering Yoga for supporting personal transformation and grief. Through this journey back to herself, Molly developed the capacity to become friendly with the body and offer kindness in place of judgement. Molly is a listener and a writer, using words to connect more deeply to lived experience, cultivating curiosity and appreciation for daily sights and occurrences. Through LiveGlobally Molly works to further social equity and transformation by widening access to the simple, yet powerful practices of self-kindness, expression, and inquiry.
Aye Oh
Aye Oh, MD, RYT-200 is an internal medicine physician, yogi, and artist of life. She is a hospitalist in Pittsburgh with a focus on critical illness, underserved populations, and substance use disorders, and co-creator of an award-winning mindfulness program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In her free time, she writes, cares for her many plants, dabbles in various mediums and crafts, and dotes on her one-eyed cat, Shiloh.
Sierra Hodges
Sierra, a scientist in thought and an artist at heart, approaches life with deep curiosity. Through attending Centering Life's Wisdom Circles, mindfulness meditation classes, and the MindBody Centering Yoga 200-hour teacher training, she has begun to reconnect with her divine wisdom to transform psychological suffering and fall in love with life. She aspires to use yoga, dance, connection with the body, and psychology to help others find wholeness and happiness and is honored to be part of the Centering Life ensemble.
Daria Drake
Daria is a multi-passionate creator, mover and healer from Durham, NC. The manifestation of her business, A Life Aligned, was the result of healing a lifetime of living outside of her body, a journey sparked by her studies with nina be and the MindBody Centering Yoga sangha. She spends her days working on her business and serving her clients in healing their nervous system and embodying their true nature.
https://www.instagram.com/alifealigned.co/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/embodimentandhealingforheartcenteredleaders
Trista Goforth
Digital Marketing Manager & Copywriter
Trista is a problem solver who loves to improve processes for communities and businesses. She loves designing and writing content that is simple yet impactful. With over 4 years of experience in content creation, she is excited to work with Centering Life and help create a positive impact in the lives of others.