Jivani Drago-Bauer, M.S. Ed., is based in Virginia Beach, VA and has been teaching Yoga since 2000. She believes the ancient teachings and practices of Yoga are as fresh and relevant as ever for the modern world. Her teaching integrates the spirituality of Yoga with the more widely known physical and mental benefits of the practice. Her background combines a solid foundation and certification in group fitness with training as a mental health counselor and spiritual director. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500) and Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) with Yoga Alliance, and Integral Yoga therapy intern.
In 2007-2008, Rev. Jivani spent seven months living and working in a Carmelite hermitage where the horarium consisted of five hours of prayer and four hours of manual labor. She has a deep love and appreciation for sinking into God in silence and solitude and bringing the fruits of that time into connection with the world and acts of service. In 2014, she became a vowed member of an ecumenical Benedictine monastic group called the Community of Solitude (CoS) where she is known as Sr. Elizabeth Rose after the 12th century French Benedictine abbess of the same name who spent the last years of her life as a hermit in a hollow oak tree. She currently serves as one of three Guardians of the Community of Solitude.
Rev. Jivani completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2011, and 300-hour advanced training in 2018. She earned a master’s degree in counseling from Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) in 2019 after completing her internship at the Center for Child and Family Services. She is also a certified spiritual director, and certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) after completing the Integral Yoga therapy program in 2024.
The year 2025 marks 40 years of teaching group fitness classes for Rev. Jivani. She is now serving fulltime as a fitness specialist at a retirement community in Norfolk where she teaches fitness classes and yoga, conducts personal training and yoga therapy sessions, offers fitness assessments and orientations for new residents, and assists with wellness presentations.
Rev. Jivani married her husband, Jesse, in 2021. She is blessed with a daughter and three stepchildren and their families. In her spare time, she enjoys reading books on religion and spirituality, and taking long walks with her husband.