"If you can breathe, you can practice yoga."
- Beth Shaw
Beth Shaw, president and founder of YogaFit®, Inc., is recognized throughout the United States and internationally as one of the leading experts in the fitness industry. She is also well-known as an animal advocate and serves on the Board of Directors for many animal rescue groups. Shaw is also on the Humane Society's National Leadership Council.
Born and raised in New York City, Shaw never planned on becoming a yoga instructor, however in her last year of study at Long Island University, she had a psychic flash during a yoga pose. The message received was that she was destined to be in the health and fitness industry, and that she would be very successful. She describes the moment as if it were yesterday. "I was doing a standing forward fold in the stretch room of the health club, and this message came to me in a bright white light... like the sky parted and I received this incredible insight. It was a life-changing moment," Shaw recalls.
After graduating with a B.S. in Marketing from Long Island University, Shaw headed west and began seriously studying yoga and earning certifications in fitness, Hatha yoga and yoga therapy. In 1993, she began teaching yoga and quickly discovered that traditional methods didn't meet the needs of the fitness club clientele. YogaFit® was born. Again, on a bike ride in early 1994, Shaw got another message as the name "YogaFit" spontaneously came to her in a vision.
Shaw's unique blend of yoga, strength training and stretching took the fitness industry by storm in 1997. Today, there are more than 75,000 YogaFit instructors in the United States and thousands more in Europe, Turkey, Australia, China, and South America. Shaw has been published in numerous fitness, business and consumer publications including Time, LA Times, USA Today, Entrepreneur, SELF, FIT, Yoga Journal, and many others. Her book, Beth Shaw's YogaFit, is a best seller among Human Kinetics titles. Shaw has been featured on MSNBC, CNN, ABC News, The Style Network, and Showtime. She is a certified Cycling Instructor, an IPSB Massage Technician, and has taken additional coursework through UCLA.
About Beth Shaw and her animal welfare work:
Beth Shaw plays an integral role in saving many animals' lives through her dedication and commitment to animal welfare. In addition from YogaFit being a top sponsor to numerous causes and events, Shaw also works hands-on with animal welfare initiatives. Some of her recent accomplishments include:
- Helping Los Angeles pass a mandatory spay and neuter ordinance that set an example for the entire nation
- Spearheading a spay/neuter ad hoc group within the City of Los Angeles
- Providing PR support for LA Animal Services
- Participating in statewide puppy mill legislation efforts and getting pet stores to change their model and adopt out animals
- Raising awareness for the importance of animal adoption
