Victoria GarciaDrago-Klichko
Victoria Garcia Drago discovered Yoga in 2000 in her quest to find a deeper connection between her body and mind. Certified (500+ hrs) through the Yoga Studio of Barbara Benagh, who has been her main teacher for nearly 20 years.
Victoria has been sharing her knowledge and passion for Yoga with students of many levels, including professional athletes, for almost 20 years. Victoria uses her creativity, intelligence and curiosity to explore innovative and original sequences to open up physical as well as mental and emotional blockages. Victoria takes students through a journey of exploration of the body, mind, emotions and spirit, inviting students to explore the integration of the four layers of our existence through conscious movement and breath awareness. Her thorough and step-by-step explanations allow the most timid and inflexible students to mindfully get into poses they didn’t even know they could do.
Victoria’s secondary teacher is Shiva Rea, who has inspired Victoria to ignite her own sacred strength (inner and outer) and encourage her students to do the same. In 2011, Victoria completed Shiva Rea’s Chakra Alignment Certification. Victoria was part of the research team at Boston Medical Center(BMC) “Back to Health”, led by Robert Saper, MD. This research lasted 4 years and it was to give Yoga more scientific credibility, documenting how Yoga can help reduce chronic back pain. Victoria taught Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain to study participants from 2010-2014.
In 2018, Victoria was invited to present “Integrative Approaches to Pain Management” in the pre-Conference for Nutrition and Health in Boston. Victoria taught a weekly Yoga class at BMC, department of Integrative Medicine, for chronic pain patients. Currently, she’s developing a Wellness curriculum to be incorporated in the Medical School at Boston University (BU) where she’s in the process of getting an academic appointment, through Robert Saper, MD, who Victoria collaborated with for over a decade. Victoria has produced a bilingual (English-Spanish) Yoga DVD, available on our DVD page. Victoria is also certified through Boston University in Medical and Legal Interpreting and Translation. In addition, Victoria has a B.S. in Holistic Nutrition, and has finished her M.A. in Mind-Body Integrated Studies at the University of Natural Medicine. To keep a deep connection to her roots in Argentina, Victoria dances Argentine Tango, her love for this music/dance has inspired her to create a very unique rhythmic flow where Tango (chill) music is incorporated in some of her Yoga classes. Victoria also teaches Slow Flow Yoga as a continuity of the lineage her most influential teacher Barbara Benagh created (no music in these classes).
Currently, Victoria continues her studies with Dr. Tom Alden who is her mentor in the practice and studies of Yoga. Tom mentors Victoria to grow as a person and a teacher of Yoga as a practice of spiritual wellness. Victoria integrates Yoga to access to all layers of our existence (body, mind, emotions and spirit) and to skillfully apply purposes in life, to optimize wellness. Additionally, Victoria has also completed a Reiki Level 1 & 2 Certification. In addition, Victoria has taught Yoga classes and written articles for Down Under School of Yoga in Boston (featured as one of the best schools of Yoga in the country), where she still travels to study with Barbara Benagh. Exhale Spa is another one of Victoria’s preferred Yoga studios in Boston, where she taught for over a decade.
While in Saint Petersburg, Florida, Victoria wants to continue helping in the Medical field as well as to bring her approach to local Yoga Studios. She’d like to share her experience of Yoga as a practice of spiritual wellness with the community. To further understand the connection of mind and body (in relation to the outside world) Victoria practices Kokikai Aikido, a Japanese martial art. In 2014, Victoria was named as one the 50 Hottest Trainers in America by Shape Magazine.
