Experience shaped by practice
About Sam Dworkis
Decades of teaching, inquiry and lived experience inform an approach to yoga that adapts the practice to the individual.
Sam Dworkis
Teacher, student and author
Sam Dworkis is a yoga teacher, author, and educator whose work emphasizes adapting yoga to the individual. He began practicing yoga in 1974, began teaching in 1975, and co-founded the Yoga Institute of Miami in 1977. His training included five trips to India for intensive study with B.K.S. Iyengar, and he received Senior Intermediate certification in 1985.
Sam conducted workshops, seminars, and teacher-training programs throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Now retired from daily teaching, he freely shares three books plus Reflections & Commentary, a separate collection of 50 essays, to teachers, students, and the wider yoga community.
Through the years, Sam also studied with teachers from a wide range of yoga traditions throughout North America, Europe, and India. As his knowledge and experience broadened, his teaching gradually moved beyond strict adherence to the Iyengar method. Further study of human movement helped him develop an approach that adapts yoga to the individual—rather than requiring the individual to conform to any particular method. This work led to his first book, ExTension Yoga.
Practice tested by life
Illness changed the practice - not the principles
Soon after ExTension Yoga was published, a chronic illness made Sam’s former practice impossible. During two years of disability, he adapted the graduated methods presented in ExTension Yoga to accommodate his changed abilities and circumstances. Those adaptations became the foundation of his second book, Recovery Yoga.
Lauri Dworkis
Movement experience with sensitivity and compassion
Lauri came to yoga after a knee injury and brought with her an extensive background in dance and body movement. Her insight, sensitivity, and compassion complement Sam’s analytical approach and have helped him become more sensitive to others and to himself. Beyond the physical practice, Lauri’s deeply empathetic presence has fundamentally shaped Sam’s growth as an educator. By observing her ability to hold space for students with diverse needs and emotional landscapes, Sam learned to soften his technical rigidity, transforming his teaching into a more inclusive, intuitive, and heart-centered experience.
More importantly, this personal and professional partnership catalyzed a profound personal evolution. Lauri’s unwavering kindness and emotional intelligence challenged Sam to look inward, helping him dismantle his own analytical defenses and cultivate a deeper sense of self-compassion. Her influence taught him that true strength lies in vulnerability, allowing him to show up in his daily life with greater patience, active listening, and a more open heart. He has become not just a more perceptive instructor, but a more grounded, empathetic, and compassionate human being. Together, they help make the work practical, attentive, and welcoming.