Let me tell you a story
About Dawn
About Dawn M. Rivers
Dawn’s yoga journey first began in 1999 when she bought a Rodney Yee VHS yoga videotape. She made a habit of practicing yoga every day to bring fitness and stress relief to the ups and downs of daily life. After gaining some momentum and comfort in her practice, Dawn met her match at a local gym a few years later. Her poses were on public display-meaning for the first time, with hands-on adjustments, cues, and practicing openly in front of others. After conquering this obstacle, she was led to seek out a permanent yoga studio and a place she could use as a hideout to put her restless mind on the back burner for an hour or two.
Dawn saw a postcard in a local restaurant with an introductory offer for a week of Hot Power Yoga. Being a librarian then, she decided to wait until Spring Break to start taking classes. Coincidentally, right when she first began practicing in 2009, Hot Power Vinyasa Yoga quickly emerged as a popular style in the yoga community. This became her practice of choice method that soon transformed her entire life. Dawn realized that as she was growing in her mental strength, the demand for power yoga helped her grow in her physical strength. Coupled with some new healthy eating habits, she began noticing her clothing fitting a little looser and her mind at ease more often.
Dawn’s love of the practice made her take the step to become a “Karma Yogi,”-which meant she could take classes for free as long as she cleaned the bathrooms and the studio after each class. A regular to the studio at this time, she realized that the community of yogis was what she needed. Above all else, she felt safe and loved. Every day she practiced, she found that she was challenged and grew.
This is where the seed was planted...she knew one day she would become a yoga teacher!
With the council, support, and guidance of many, Dawn followed in the footsteps of this journey and made her way to becoming a yoga teacher. Although...it did not happen quickly. It came at the expense of toxic relationships, growing in confidence, and envisioning herself teaching yoga-even when it was hard to do.
During her 200-hour teacher training, trainees were asked to write down the goals they wanted to achieve in 5 years. Intrinsically, Dawn knew she wanted to create a brand around the name and symbolism of “Daybreak.” She wanted her participants to have a true yoga “experience.” One that incorporated her spiritual walk as a Christian and also made practicing yoga whimsical and fun to help sheepish yogis (like herself at the beginning of her journey) feel comfortable. Not thinking twice about it, Dawn wrote down that she wanted to open her own yoga studio in 5 years. As time passed, she forgot about the note and focused on teaching yoga at her local YMCA.
In 2013, she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher certification at Cleveland Yoga on a May Sunday morning along with 30 other trainees. After receiving their certificates, they cried, laughed, sang, and danced for joy. This journey changed Dawn’s life and added another path leading to her dharma. She had trained in the style of Baron Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga and later pursued a 300-hour training with Faith Hunter at Embrace Yoga DC, as well as Yoga Nidra training with Tracee Stanley in Atlanta. A dream come true, she completed both of these accomplishments in the Fall of 2019.
Come July 2013, Daybreak Yoga LLC became officially incorporated, and Dawn even had her first private clients waiting.
As a full-time school librarian by day, she taught yoga around the city, at schools, to high school sports teams, groups, families, and at larger events in the afternoons and evenings. Following down this path, these connections led her to rent a room in the back of a martial arts studio — a compromise that lasted almost two years. This was her way of testing the waters to see if she had what it took to open up her own studio. She put her Bachelor’s degree in English and her Master's in Library and Information Sciences degrees to work, researched, and prepared for her next steps in founding her own yoga studio.
In August 2018, Dawn signed a lease for Daybreak Yoga studio in Bedford, Ohio. Remembering her note, she couldn’t believe this happened exactly five years after she wrote her goal to open her own yoga studio! In October 2018, her studio hosted its first classes and a sold-out special event. A true blessing, ever since the day she first opened her doors, the Daybreak community has supported her dreams. As of 2023, Dawn has pivoted to offering only virtual classes and being a special guest teacher at studios around the region.
Many described Dawn’s style of teaching yoga as mindful, energetic, and fun!
She first used vinyasa in class to warm the body and mind for more challenging poses. This helped her students find their “edge.” The goal was for students to become self-aware and build their confidence by staring fear in the face. This was done through mudras, mantras, meditation, and movement. Finally, she transitioned them to a place of stillness through yin postures to release their “fascia” or connective tissues. Dawn’s unique take on yin yoga can be found in her The Wind Down class. These techniques help calm the nervous system and open up specific joints that store the most stress in the body. Overall, Dawn used her early influences of power yoga and adapted them to the needs of her students because she knows that every “body” can do yoga. And this, she called The Dawn Experience...because it was just that. An experience!
Dawn closed Daybreak Yoga studio at the end of 2022 after an outstanding run of working with and leading a team of ten teachers, a studio manager, and assistants. She taught over 10,000 students in her time as a yoga instructor. Dawn has produced and led several local, regional, and international yoga retreats. She has been a sought-after speaker and teacher since 2013. Because of her work as a leader in the community and mentor to dozens, she decided to focus on empowerment life coaching for women. Coaching has brought her tremendous joy and satisfaction.
Introducing DMR Coaching & Consulting, where Dawn M. Rivers empowers women to triumph over burnout, sadness, and overwhelm by seamlessly integrating movement, mindfulness, and mindset. As the founder of The Awakened Woman Academy, Dawn guides women on a transformative six-month journey from Stagnant Stella to Searching Serena to Thriving Theresa, featuring weekly online coaching, specialized courses, and a supportive client portal.
The Academy offers a nine-month program with stages like Awaken Your Potential, Thriving Continuum, and Mastery Momentum, each designed to unlock true potential, deepen self-awareness, and achieve mastery in life. Additionally, the Startup Success Strategies program provides comprehensive business development coaching.
Dawn's mission extends to hosting yearly conferences and intensive retreats in Puerto Rico, helping women create personalized frameworks for their lives or businesses. With a focus on holistic success and thriving, Dawn encourages women to embrace their main character energy, live with freedom and purpose, and awaken the light within.
Awakening the Light within
Contact Dawn.
dawn@dawnmrivers.com
(216) 532-3099