Lizabeth Kashinsky
Having spent most of her life on the windward side of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, Lizabeth is passionate about protecting Hawaiʻi's rare and endangered plants and animals. She began her conservation career in 1995 when was hired as a zoological intern at The Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi while obtaining her B.A. in Zoology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 1997 she began working for the NOAA PIFSC/JIMAR Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program and spent several months living and working in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, now Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and a World Heritage Site. Inspired by her full immersion into nature and solitude while living and working there, she obtained a M.A. in Ecopsychology at Naropa University in 2012. She is also a facilitator of Joanna Macyʻs The Work That Reconnects (WTR) and is receiving further facilitation training in this internationally known work. She trained with Jonathan Gustin of the Purpose Guide Institute and is a level I Purpose Guide. She is also working towards an Ecotherapy Certification with the Earthbody Institute.
In her free time she enjoys the ocean, hiking, horseback riding, dancing, reading, singing, and restoring native forests in the Hawaiian Islands. She also serves on the board of Kure Atoll Conservancy, a 501c3 non-profit foundation dedicated to supporting habitat restoration and wildlife management programs at Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Archipelago, one of her favorite places on Earth. Lizabeth currently resides in Honolulu, but she yearns to return to her hometown of Kaʻaʻawa some day.
Lizabethʻs Yoga background:
Lizabeth began practicing yoga in 2000 when she was drawn to it as a means to still her active mind and help recover from an injury. One of her first teachers was Rick Bernstein who has guided her practice for many years and who passes on the healing traditions of yoga, including the teachings of the first lady of yoga, Indra Devi. In 2009, Lizabeth completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training at Open Space Yoga in Honolulu and has been teaching ever since. She loves sharing ways for individuals to connect with the natural world and often incorporates nature based practices in her yoga classes. Her classes also focus on cultivating mindfulness and deep relaxation. Lizabeth envisions a community of yoga practitioners that follow the teachings of yoga to better care for the Earth. She has been a member of the Yoga Alliance and the International Association of Yoga Therapists since 2010 and was certified as an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist through the Himalayan Institute in 2012. She studied LifeForce Yoga with Amy Weintraub and has trained to teach yoga and meditation to the military community through the nonprofit Warriors At Ease. Lizabeth also combines her love of yoga and horses by leading yoga on horseback. These healing sessions are designed to deepen oneʻs connection with these magnificent animals. Lizabethʻs most revered teachers include Jon Kabat Zinn, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Pema Chodron, Ram Dass, the Dalai Lama, Tara Brack, Jack Kornfield, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and Joanna Macy, among others. She is currently studying with Mirka Kraftsow and Rasa Yoga with Sianna Sherman. She is working towards her certification in Equine Om Horse & Yoga Integration, the only certification program that integrates the horse and human experience.
