Amanda Hitz | Founder & Instructor
After moving to Denver in 2011, Amanda discovered and instantly fell in love with both cannabis and yoga. With a background teaching dance, yoga instruction wasn’t a huge step into the unknown. She has a World Yoga Alliance certification in Hatha yoga and a 200 hour in Hot and Hot-Power Fusion with CorePower. Not long after her first certification, Bend & Blaze was born. Using music and cannabis as her tool, she is able to create space for yogis to mold their practice. Amanda’s classes marry breath and flow with clear alignment direction and strength building to produce a well-rounded experience. She strives to make her classes dynamic- incorporating deep melts and strong, energetic holds. Amanda believes in the healing powers of cannabis and daily movement and uncovers more each day that inspires her to share the practice.
Follow her on Instagram HERE
Steph Lindsey, The Black Unicorn Collective | Instructor
Steph has always relied on medicine from nature, so naturally turned to cannabis to manage her migraine headaches. When she began using cannabis for her home yoga practice as well, a more devoted yoga practice emerged that led her to complete both a 200hr and 300hr yoga teacher training. Cannabis allows her to shift her awareness to calming and quieting the mind-stuff or citta vrtti...it became a tool she could use to drop deeper into the practice truly experiencing the connection of breath to movement. While Steph’s classes focus on the essentials of a yoga class, breath and alignment, MUSIC is another important thread that connects the components of her classes together. You can find her here and follow her at The Black Unicorn Collective
Gabby Lopez | Instructor
Gabby (she/they) first started using cannabis as a way to combat pressure headaches but soon discovered the many of the other benefits cannabis also has to offer. Gabby started practicing yoga in 2014 and it wasn’t long before she found the beauty in mixing cannabis and yoga. Their love of yoga led them to pursue a 200-hour yoga training through Kindness Yoga in 2017 and Trauma Informed Yoga certification in 2019. For Gabby, the use of cannabis allows her to find a deeper mind/body connection and to feel at ease on their mat, which she hopes students are able to experience too. Her classes contain a blend of accessible vinyasa flows with a focus on functional movements and mobility, mindful breath, and lots of space to explore and recharge.
Follow her HERE on IG
Taylor Miinch | Instructor
Taylor Miinch is a 200 hour Yoga Instructor based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In 2019 she became Reiki Level 1 Certified. The combination of cannabis and yoga has given her the strength and inner peace needed to continue her journey of exploring the earth and it's beauty. A spirited practitioner of movement and devoted plant medicine activist, Taylor brings a genuine and creative flow to the mat. Her deep sense of who she is continually becoming is balanced with her skill and technique. Using the inspiration of Mother Earth and plant medicine, Taylor weaves guided meditation and breath with restorative postures to find peace in our busy world. Her holistic approach of integrating passion for the environment and awareness in self unites the different healing modalities in her Toolbox.
Follow her in IG HERE
Maria Rojas | Instructor
Maria is a 200 hour yoga instructor based in Colorado. Her love of Yoga started when she first began experiencing anxiety and panic attacks. She turned to yoga and meditation to help. It wasn’t until she moved to Colorado that she began exploring the different recreational activities Denver has to offer and fell in love with the combination of yoga and cannabis through bend & blaze. She knew she wanted to help others explore the different avenues and ways yoga help. Cannabis, for her, is a medicine for the physical, emotional, and spiritual body - and when paired with yoga, occasionally, it can be magical. Maria brings a mindful practice to help you focus on the moment through yoga, breath practice, meditation and music. She loves a good slow flow to help relax and bring a sense of calm. Maria believes in the natural and holistic healing powers of cannabis and yoga - separate or combined. Today, Maria still turns to cannabis and yoga when her monkey mind is occupying her mind - for her anxiety and panic attacks - and to enhance her yoga practice.
Follow her on IG HERE
Preston Slaughter | Instructor
Preston has always been an avid user of cannabis, but it wasn’t until her yoga practice and her cannabis use coincided when she moved to Denver in 2017 that it all really clicked. Since then, she has taught yoga in various settings, from Bend & Blaze, to all levels vinyasa to seniors, to yin and restorative, to kids yoga in schools. Her natural understanding of sequencing and the human anatomy guarantee safe, practical and fun flows for all levels. In accordance with the true nature of yoga, Preston’s practices have a strong emphasis on breath and meditation. Her favorite thing to do on any given day is to light up a joint, put on one of her Bend & Blaze playlists, and stretch for hours on end. Cannabis has truly helped her not only deepen, but also soften into her yoga practice.
Follow her on Instagram HERE
Nikki Furrer | Instructor
Nikki attended her first yoga class in 1998 and has been combining yoga and cannabis ever since. She is the author of A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis: Using Marijuana to Feel Better, Look Better, Sleep Better and Get High Like a Lady. She prefers smoking 1:1 THC/CBD cultivars, and she did her 200hr yoga teacher training and nidra training in 2020. Nikki’s classes are a combination of cannabis, restorative poses, breathing, meditation and nidra in order to quiet the mind, deeply relax the body and switch the nervous system from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest.” Her goal for every class is to reduce tension and stress for better health and better sleep.
Follow her on Instagram HERE