Australian-born Valerie Jeremijenko (ERYT 500) is a seasoned educator, entrepreneur, and yoga teacher with over 35 years of diverse experience across multiple disciplines. She was a pioneer in the Middle East, founding Yama Yoga Studios in Qatar—one of the first yoga studios in the region—which thrived for over 15 years with multiple branches. Her background includes a strong foundation in creative writing, holding both an MFA and a PhD, along with numerous publications and teaching roles. She has also worked extensively in dance education, production management, and non-profit leadership, consistently fostering the holistic development of students. On a professional level her most significant roles have been in student affairs within universities in the Middle East and internationally, where she dedicated herself to nurturing students as “whole people.” Valerie integrates these skills into her administration and visionary leadership of Ananda Yoga and Detox Center.

Despite her impressive ventures in education and the arts, her first love has always been yoga—a practice she has been dedicated to since 1991. She has studied extensively with luminaries such as Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, R. Sharath Jois, Lino Miele, John Scott, Graeme Northfield, Tim Miller, and many others. In addition to more than 15 trips to India to deepen her understanding within traditional lineages, she has hosted and studied with internationally acclaimed teachers in contemporary styles, including Dylan Werner, Simon Borg Olivier, Alison West, Nicky Knoff, Lisboa & Simon Calder, Kristina Karitinou, Noah Mckeena, Dice & Briohny, Brian Campbell (Forest), Max Storm, Petri & Wambui, Jules Febre, Renee McNamaro Cerro, Michael Gannon, Yogeswari, Bridget Woods Krammer, Kathryn Budig, Adam Keen, Ian Lewis (Iyengar), Paddy McGrath (Scarvelli), Julie Martin (Flow), Yogeswari (Jivamukti), and many others. She is currently deeply immersed in Dharma yoga.

Her studies in yoga anatomy are extensive, including work on the facial and nervous systems. Her current focus is on pain science, studied under teachers such as Tom Myers, Simon Borg Olivier, Joseph Muscolino, and Leslie Kaminoff. She continues her deep exploration of yoga philosophy through programs with the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies, Carlos Pomeda, Embodied Philosophy, and Yogic Studies. Her meditation practice is rooted in Vipassna. 

As a yoga teacher, Valerie is charismatic, challenging, and nurturing all at once. She infuses her classes with compassion, humour, and intelligence, encouraging students to view each practice as a voyage into self-healing and discovery. Her offerings include Ashtanga, Dynamic Vinyasa, Dharma-inspired Hatha, and technical workshops. She also leads specialised programs in myofascial release, natural breathing, yoga nidra, emotional balance, and meditation.

Valerie has been a dedicated teacher trainer for many years, offering teacher training programs in Doha since 2006 and at her summer retreat in Bulgaria since 2012. The programs she provides at Ananda Yoga and Detox are time-tested and well-established. To date she has trained over 1,000 teachers worldwide through her comprehensive curricula. Many of these students are now studio owners and teacher trainers themselves.

As a writer, her collection of literary essays, How We Live Our Yoga (Beacon, 2001), received critical acclaim in publications such as The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Publishers Weekly. This pioneering work explores how yoga transformed the lives of notable writers, thinkers, and teachers. An electronic version was released in August 2020.

Having raised four daughters and worked full-time for many years, Valerie is now fully committed to her practice, her students—past, present, and future—and to the renewal of Ananda Yoga and Detox Center.