Dea Lott, J.D., RYT-200, Y12SR, PYP
Founder, Che Yoga LLC
Founder, Yoga for Resilience against Injustice
Co-Founder, Yogis of Color Exchange

Dea came to yoga almost two decades ago and has maintained a highly adaptive practice and teaching style that are strongly influenced by the Viniyoga, Asthanga, and Iyengar styles since that time. She completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training at Yoga District in Washington, D.C., and she has trauma-informed training certifications from the Prison Yoga Project (PYP) and the Yoga of 12-Step Recovery (Y12SR). Dea is a registered Yoga Alliance yoga teacher (RYT-200), a member of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance, and she holds CPR, BLS, and AED certifications. She is also working to become a yoga therapist through the American Viniyoga Institute.

Before surrendering to her career path in yoga, Dea spent a decade working with impoverished and oppressed communities of color as an attorney (licensed only in Indiana and Washington, D.C.) in state and federal courts, government agencies, and non-profit legal services organizations. She held positions as an adjunct law professor, legal supervisor, legal and advocacy trainer, and organizer in Indianapolis, IN and Washington, DC. Dea is also a trained anti-racism advocate and facilitative mediator who has developed and conducted trainings in diversity, inclusion, cultural competency, and anti-racism principles and served on numerous committees focused on these areas throughout her decade of law practice.

In 2017, Dea founded Che Yoga LLC, a social enterprise, to invite students to explore the depths of yoga to support lifestyle changes, strengthen the body, discipline the mind, and deepen the spiritual connection. She is also the founder of the Yoga for Resilience against Injustice™ ("YRI")™ program and one of the co-founders of the Yogis of Color Exchange (YOC Exchange). In her work for Che Yoga LLC, the YRI program, and the YOC Exchange, she views herself as a vessel serving a much greater purpose beyond herself. Currently, she offers private yoga classes, beginners and all levels group yoga classes, mobile yoga classes, and the YRI workshops in Baltimore, MD.

Dea owes her ability to persevere beyond generational trauma, mental illness, poverty, violence, racism, discrimination, and oppression in her personal and professional life to her faith in God, her daily yoga practice, and a loving support system. Through her yoga practice, Dea found and continues to experience personal growth, comfort during life challenges, relief from mental, emotional, and physical distress, and a deeper relationship with God.

Dea is the proud mother of a college student (go Terps!), a volunteer for the Baltimore Community Mediation Center and the Holistic Life Foundation. She loves family, laughter, arts, cultures, and all manner of old school fun.

She invites you to explore yoga with her through Che Yoga!