Scott Kinsloe

Scott, a life-long Chicagoan, began his yoga journey skeptically at the local gym in an effort to get a good workout and help balance the stressful and sedentary lifestyle of a traveling healthcare management consultant. After taking only a few classes, he saw that he was not as naturally flexible as other students, and being highly self-conscious, decided to try something more in line with his capabilities. Lovingly, his wife encouraged him to try yoga again with a more open mind. Fortunately agreeing, Scott serendipitously took a class from Bhakti White, a teacher who introduced the eight limbs of classic yoga as an integral part of class. Learning that yoga was more than being a pretzel in a pose, Scott developed a disciplined Yoga practice, eventually becoming a certified yoga instructor under Bhakti at the Shambhava School of Yoga at Chi-town Shakti in 2011. Scott further developed his teaching skills by becoming certified as a children’s and Yin yoga instructor from Mission Propelle Yoga in Chicago and Sampoorna Yoga in Goa, India, respectively.

With a deeper understanding of yoga’s benefits gained through teacher training, Scott began to offer yoga classes to anyone who wanted to learn. He began teaching free yoga classes on the lakefront, and in donated spaces, while remaining the director at a large healthcare management firm. Teaching was so rewarding, Scott decided to leave healthcare in mid 2016 and founded Phoenix Yoga Project, a not-for-profit with the mission of contributing to the health and well-being of children and adults with free yoga classes that connect people and strengthen communities.