Our Vision

• Offering safe, supportive, nurturing experiences to the Austin community where people of all backgrounds can nourish and cultivate their body, mind and spirit.

• Supporting Austin as a thriving cultural center for dance, arts, music and integrative lifestyle practices.

• Educating and empowering people to live happier, healthier lives.

• Supporting local and national healers/practitioners through offering continuing education training and workshops.

• Establishing Mind-Body-Spirit Expressive Arts and Movement curricula to be implemented into educational, public health and social institutions locally and nationwide.
  

Studios

Body Vida's programs take place in the finest Austin area studios.  As locations vary from program to program, please visit the program and workshop descriptions for specific information.

Elissa Shapiro, LCSW
Program Director / Instructor / Facilitator

I discovered Nia many years ago after little to no movement or dance background and completely fell in love - with moving, with playing, with having a body. I noticed tremendous changes in my physical, mental, and emotional health and committed myself to sharing this work with others.  My educational background includes a Masters in Social Work, in which I spent many years working in mental health agencies, hospitals, and schools with children, adolescents, and families. From this I bring with me my
dedication and passion for guiding others towards self-discovery, creativity, and healing through the expressive arts.  My own personal journey has included growth and transformation through movement practices such as Nia and Soul Motion, which continue to play huge roles in my life.  My vision is to create a safe and supportive place for people of all walks of life to find physical, emotional and spiritual healing, connection, and growth.  I am grateful for the opportunities I have been provided to co-create and offer Body Vida to our Austin community. I welcome and invite you to share in my joy – come move, come play, come fall in love!

Elissa received her Bachelors in Psychology from Emory University and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin. She has extensive training in art, movement and other expressive arts therapies. Elissa is a Certified Nia Instructor, as well as one of only nine Soul Motion teachers worldwide.  Her warmth, creativity, and passion offer students a nurturing and inviting space to explore creativity, individuality and healing. 

Ursula Parks
Nia Instructor

Some of my earliest memories are of dancing.  As a child I knew the pleasure of dance, and it remained the focus of my life growing up.   One day I realized that dancing stopped being fun and had turned into work.  I left dance behind for many years, turning to college and then to building a career in public service.  Disovering the practice of Nia allowed me to reconnect with the joyful dance I had as a child and bring that infinite, intima te delight back into my life.  My practice permeates me, guiding me to live in my body and touching how I balance the demands of meaningful work, relationships and spirituality.  I seek to share the movement-based path to physical, intellectual and emotional health, healing and transformation that Nia has offered to me.

Ursula Parks brings to her classes over seventeen years of dance and expressive movement experience, including extensive training and performance experience in modern dance and ballet.  Her Nia practice began in 1997 and she completed her Nia certification in 2002.  Through the physical and spirited practice of Nia, Ursula creates a safe space for students to reconnect with the joyful human impulse to dance.  Her classes are physical, lively and funky, spiked with both humor and silence.