Bari Levin is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her resilience and passion for helping others.

She began her journey on Capitol Hill, navigating the corridors of power as part of the Foreign Relations Committee, yet something deeper was always calling. That call led her from the polished marble of Washington, D.C., to the lush jungles of Costa Rica, where a single meditation session changed everything. What started as a pursuit of Spanish linguistics soon unraveled into a life devoted to healing, yoga, and guiding others back to their inner truth.

She walked through fire, both her own and her family’s. Born prematurely and later facing her son’s life altering accidents, she came to understand the body not just as a vessel, but as a gateway to transformation. In her pain, she found profound tools: breathwork, sound healing, and sacred movement. These became the roots of DEVAYA YOGA™, her original method that fuses color, energy, and ancient yogic wisdom to unlock the body’s natural intelligence and power.

She doesn’t just teach yoga, she leads her clients to reconnect with their inner healer. With each session, she helps others access the strength within their cells, the song within their silence, and the stillness beneath their chaos. Her life is a living testament that even the most unexpected detours can become a sacred path… and that healing isn’t just possible, it’s a birthright. Here is what she said…

Meet Life Coach Bari Levin:

Name: Bari Levin

Pillar: The Spirit, The Body

Who is this coach for: Anyone who wants to reconnect with their inner healer and understand more about their self.

How they can help: Through Devaya Yoga that incorporates movement, sound healing, pranayama, and guided visualization.

First of all, how are you and your family doing after these Pandemic times?

The pandemic was inconvenient, but we had already gone through a tragedy.

My son, at age 22, had his leg amputated above the knee due to a bacterial infection in a private hospital here in Costa Rica on January 15, 2015.

Thanks to my personal yoga practice and the healing powers of DEVAYA YOGATM: the Yoga of Color & Sound, I was, and still am, a great support system for my son.

I am his main caretaker.

As a family unit, I had to figure out how to make ends meet, and since my son had so many problems fitting his prosthetic, and we were traveling a lot from our home in rural Costa Rica to the city, San Jose, I began to work in San Jose offering 200 hour yoga teacher trainings (Yoga Alliance accredited) on weekends.

In 2016, I was well established in San Jose and traveling back and forth from our home to the city on weekends.

So, when the pandemic hit us, we were well prepared for the out of the ordinary.

How did the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?

Since I moved from my home to the city, I lost all my clients here and am just beginning to accrue new clients.

Virtually, my intention is to work more online.

What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?

The biggest lesson I learned during the pandemic is that healing truly begins within.

We must stay grounded and resilient in the face of uncertainty.

Flexibility, both physical and mental, is essential.

The Origin:

Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?

I was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in a politically oriented environment.

My dad was a lawyer and a lobbyist on Capitol Hill.

I even worked for the Foreign Relations Committee.

I always wanted to help people but had no idea what I wanted to do.

Education was a big part of our family’s upbringing.

I first studied English at university and then, after spending my junior year abroad in Barcelona, Spain, in 1983, I fell in love with the language and the cultural energies.

Upon returning, I decided to major in Spanish.

I then furthered my education with a MA in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Since I grew up in a very multicultural setting, many of my friends were Hispanic.

When I returned from Barcelona, I called my friend from Spain to tell him I had visited his native country, and he declared, “Forget Spain, you have to check out Costa Rica.”

So, in June 1988, I went to Costa Rica.

I found a program to support my master’s in Hispanic Linguistics, since I needed to improve my Spanish, and I studied with 13 other people through a Peace Corps based program.

On weekends, we would travel the country, and one weekend we went to Montezuma, Costa Rica.

Our tour guide at the time was a Zen meditator, and he invited us to meditate while hiking us to Playa Grande.

I was petrified.

“What is that?” I asked.

He said, “Just follow your breath.”

I did, and after two breaths, I saw myself with my fingers in the air and all these homes everywhere.

I told the tour guide my experience, and he suggested I teach yoga.

“Yoga? What is that?” I asked.

He had seen me stretching in the mornings, I had originally chosen my university to play soccer.

Upon returning to Massachusetts, yoga was everywhere.

I took my very first yoga class in September 1988, a Kundalini class.

I didn’t like the technique much, but I loved the gong meditation!

I was at home in my center.

I saw everything clearly but did not have the fortitude to move ahead so quickly in my life.

As I was writing my master’s dissertation, I interviewed for an Instructor of Language position at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.

I was given the position, and Skidmore loved me.

Upon completing my MA, they made me Director of the Language Laboratory, test bank organizer, independent studies supervisor for teaching Spanish as a second language, and evaluator of textbooks.

They even wanted to pay for my doctorate.

It was in Saratoga Springs that I met my yoga teacher, Judy Joy Wyle, and began my odyssey into yoga.

I became certified in Kripalu Yoga in June 1991 and have had a daily practice since 1988.

After my son’s accident, due to our prolonged hospital stay, my practice shifted from more physical to more pranayama and short grounding sessions, just to keep my sanity and maintain a positive outlook.

What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?

After 2015, when my son had his leg amputated, in January 2022, he had another accident.

He broke 20 bones, shattered his hip where he wears his prosthetic, fractured his pelvis, lumbar vertebra, one arm and a hand, and mangled the foot he still has.

This accident we are still overcoming, my son more than anyone else.

I was also born six weeks early, not fully formed (no nails and too much hair everywhere), and I was a blue baby.

They thought I might be born with Down Syndrome.

I was born with a fatty tumor in my left calf and had four operations on it at ages 3, 6, 12, and 15.

I came into this life with a bang.

The Coaching Style:

How do you innovate with coaching your clients?

Every client is unique.

The technique may be the same, but everyone has his or her specific needs, and I tailor the programs to meet those needs.

What’s unique about your coaching approach?

Yoga was a gift from the Universe.

It helped me reconnect to myself, and I developed my own method… DEVAYA YOGA™: the Yoga of Color and Sound.

The colors would embrace all my worries, and the vocalization empowered me.

Now I realize how healing vocalization is: it activates the vagus nerve and raises dopamine and serotonin levels.

What benefits do your clients get after working with you?

They feel empowered, supported, and reconnected to their own inner healer.

They develop a deeper understanding of themselves and often leave with tools that they can apply for life.

Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?

Yes.

I incorporate yoga, sound healing, pranayama, and guided visualization, all customized based on the client’s energy and current situation.

The Impact:

If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?

Do not wait for your life to be perfect to love yourself.

Start where you are.

You are whole even when you feel broken.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?

Healing is not linear.

It takes presence, patience, and the courage to keep showing up, even when it’s hard.

Your final thoughts?

Our life story can either be a burden or a bridge.

Through healing, it becomes a bridge… not only for ourselves, but for others too.

Where Can You Find Bari Levin?

If you liked this interview and if you would love to embrace the Yoga of Color and Sound so you can reconnect with your inner healer, go to devayayoga.com and see how Coach Bari can help you do that.

If you’d like to peak a glimpse of her coaching, we strongly suggest to follow her YouTube channel, Facebook page, or Instagram account.

And if you’d like to connect with her more personally, you can do that through LinkedIn or by sending her a direct message on her WhatsApp or Email devayayoga@gmail.com. It was an honor having this interview with her.