A lover of movement and ever-curious seeker, Aya’s founder, Dani Eastman, is a homeschooling mama, wife, devoted wanderer of dirt trails, and admirer of trees.
When not dancing (or thinking about dancing, or talking about dancing, or spreading the word about upcoming Aya dances), you'll find her walking in the woods, hiking/camping with her family, taking a bajillion photos out in nature, playing Legos with her son, or relaxing on the couch with a cup of coffee, a book, and her cat, Maya, on her lap.
Born in Iowa, Dani holds undergraduate and master's degrees in the fields of Exercise Science and Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa. Always passionate about movement and wellness, she began leading fitness, dance, and yoga classes in 1998, and has over 25 years of experience.
With their two dogs, Kaya and Libby, Dani and her husband, Jon, moved to Washington state in 2005 so they could both further study their passions. After almost a decade of studying and teaching nearer the west coast, they moved back home to Iowa to raise their soon-to-be-born son closer to family.
After 14 years of studying and teaching a large variety of class styles and practices, in 2012, Dani branched away from all other formal modalities in order to see where one's body/dance might organically lead if given the freedom to do so. The result: the founding of Aya, a holistic, mindfulness-based dance practice dedicating to connecting you with your body, joy, freedom, authentic self, and intuitive wisdom, all in the supportive embrace of friendly community.
Aya is now available locally in the Cedar Valley, as well as globally via Zoom and video.
Dani is passionate about the healing power of movement and is committed to sharing an empowering practice for self-discovery, joyful aliveness, and experiencing oneness in community. If you are feeling at all drawn toward it, Dani would love to have you be a part of it all. Swing on in and join anytime.
Hello! Hi! I'm Dani!
I'm so glad you have found us! Aya is my bliss, and I would absolutely love for you to be a part of it. We are a friendly, down-to-earth crew, and you are very much invited. So please, dive on in and join us soon! I'll be really excited to meet you!
Sincerely,
Dani
