YOGA INSTRUCTORS |
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BOB BAUERBob started practicing yoga as a means to offset the stiffness associated with his long distance running. It didn’t take long before he realized, yoga was more than a physical practice. Upon the recommendation of a friend, he attended a Kundalini class taught by Sierra Hollister. It is here he learned of the teachings of Yogi Bhajan. |
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JACCI LEA, RYT 200Jacci Lea began yoga in New Orleans as a way to help with some back pain. She continues to practice yoga nearly fifteen years later. After many years of Iyengar yoga she now includes the techniques and alignment of that style with flow yoga. Jacci came to Asheville from New Orleans (just one week before Hurricane Katrina) where she taught yoga for several years at Wild Lotus Yoga. She feels that yoga is a practice that can benefit anyone no matter what age or level of physical ability. One does not need to have a flexible body to enjoy the calming benefits of yoga. Her Basic classes guide beginners and experienced yogis and yoginis to learn basic techniques in the postures as well as focus on breathing. Jacci received her yoga teaching training at Living Yoga in Austin, TX. Outside of the yoga studio Jacci has worked as a Medical Technologist for 25 years. In addition to yoga, she enjoys meditation, hiking with her husband and her dog, music, and being with people. |
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JERI SENOR, M.A., LMBT #7509, E-RYT 500Be Cool, Be Groovy, Be You... and for the sake of others, laugh a lot too. |
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JOE TAFTJoe is a certified Anusara Yoga instructor who has cultivated a steadfast dedication to the practice and study of yoga since 1997. Joe interweaves into his classes Anusara’s life-affirming and heart-felt approach through myth, story-telling, tantric philosophy and the wisdom gathered throughout his own life’s journey. After years of avid white-water kayaking, Joe’s quest to relieve his chronic back pain lead him to his life’s passion, the study and teaching of yoga. Anusara’s principles of alignment and therapeutic components match Joe’s keen awareness of body biomechanics and his long history as a dedicated athlete. He has completed hundreds of Anusara training hours with John Friend, Sianna Sherman, among other senior Anusara instructors. His teaching style is approachable, light-hearted, uplifting, humorous and transformational. Joe currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife, Susanne, and their loving daughter, Taytum. Visit Joe's personal website at www.PlayfulEmbrace.com
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ANNA FERGUSON Anna Ferguson came to yoga over 11 years ago. Yoga helped her overcome many obstacles in life, including injuries, chronic illness and depression. She has studied all over the United States, most notably in Boulder, CO, Chicago, IL and Asheville, NC. She has studied Ashtanga, Vinaysa Flow, Forrest and Yin Yoga, and recently was certified in Therapuetic Yoga and offers private lesson appointments for Therapuetic Yoga in her office space at 12 and 1/2 Wall Street downtown. She is photographer, graphic/mural artist and writer. Anna is a graduate of Asheville Yoga Center's Teacher Training program. Her experience in teaching is wide-ranging, from pre-teens and teens to seniors and she has been teaching in health and wellness for over 18 years. She is interested in sparking the fire in your spirit to inspire you to incorporate the benefits of yoga into your life, enabling you to walk a path of health, peace and happiness. She offers her students her sensitive and responsive nature as an instructor, and her desire to teach you how to play yoga! You can find out more about Anna on her web site http://sites.google.com/site/annaferguson/home
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KRIS MEASE, Certified Pilates InstructorKris’ interest in Pilates was sparked in the spring of 2002 after taking several classes in Sacramento, California. Though she had been practicing various forms of dance and yoga since her youth, through Pilates she gained strength, stability, and a better understanding of her body. From Sacramento, Kris moved to the Bay Area in California where she began training intensively with Ellie Herman Studios in San Francisco and discovered a passion for teaching. She completed her teacher certification in April 2006 and became an instructor for Ellie Herman Studios teaching all levels of group classes and working privately with clients including those recovering from injuries or experiencing pain, athletes looking to enhance their performance, and pre and post natal women. She continues to develop her repertoire by attending various workshops and trainings, including rehabilitation trainings. In addition to being a Certified Pilates Instructor, Kris holds a master’s degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis, MO.
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KRISTINE MADERAKristine came to yoga because of its aim of uniting the body and mind. Yoga, combined with a long-time meditation practice and study of energy healing, led her to believe that cultivating the spirit within isn't about denying the body or even mastering it, but understanding and embracing our physical selves in cooperation with our mental, emotional & spiritual selves. She strives to bring that idea into her yoga classes and workshops. She has taught yoga for six years, three of them with the mind-body fitness program at the Ritz-Carlton in Maui, where she also taught meditation. Kristine’s graduate work emphasized cross-cultural training as an avenue to self-awareness, and she focused her thesis on using many of these same strategies, as well as energy work to discovering and dismantling the “false self.” She combines this work with her experience in mind/body/spirit integration in her classes and workshops. Kristine is currently focused on developing workshops that use mind/body/spirit approaches to cultivating forgiveness and living a transformational life, and also offers Chakra Yoga workshops which help participants understand and work specifically with their chakras and energy bodies. Kristine is available to work one-on-one with these issues using Reiki and other energy shifting methods, and is also the co-author of How to Meditate with your Dog: An Introduction to Meditation for Dog Lovers. |
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LIA PARDYLia's love and fascination for yoga has led her to study with teachers throughout the US, India and Thailand for the past 15 years. Her teaching style reflects many years of study in the Ashtanga vinyasa tradition as well as softer Yin styles of yoga. Lia is a nationally licensed massage therapist, bringing a wide knowledge of the human body to her work as a certified yoga teacher, Thai massage teacher, and massage therapist. Visit Lia's personal website at www.LiaPardy.com. |
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HEATHER LACEY Heather RW Lacey, a North Carolina native, has been actively studying yoga for over 10 years. She has practiced various styles in California and North Carolina including Hatha, Yin, Flow, Iyengar, Kundalini, Bikram, Power, Prenatal, and Children's yoga. Her classes incorporate flexibility, balance, muscle strengthening, proper body alignment, and breathing techniques to aid in exploring the body's function and processes, creating a deeper understanding and relationship with one's personal uniqueness. Heather is a graduate of the Asheville Yoga Center Teacher Training Program and is Yoga Alliance Certified. She also holds her Juris Doctorate from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She and her husband, Josh Lacey, a local artisan and luthier, reside on their small farm in Weaverville, North Carolina, with their daughter, 3 dogs, 4 chickens, and a duck. |
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PAUL SUMMEYPaul studied Yang (short form) tai chi for the past 12 years in Northern Virginia. My teachers have been Warren Conner, a senior student of R.W. Smith, and Maggie Newman, a senior student of Cheng Man/Ch’ing. I received permission to teach from Warren Conner in 2004. Visit Paul's personal website at SouthAshevilleTaiChi.com. |
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ROSIE MULFORDRosie has been involved in some aspect of yoga from her teenage years to date. Her love of the practice is exemplified by her energetic teaching style. She cultivates an attitude of reaching for your edge and then encourages you with loving compassion to push a little further. She opened South Asheville Yoga 2 years ago and brought the community in with her graciousness and hard work. She has relinquished her role as owner, but continues to support the studio by teaching and sharing the practice. |
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SPENCER THORTONSpencer started studying yoga as a part of an acting class in 2000. Immediately, he was hooked by the observations of emotion, intuition, and sensitivity. Since then it has become his most sacred tool for transformation, perspective, and consciousness! In 2007, he began deepening his practice and knowledge of yoga at Triangle Yoga in Chapel Hill, NC. In 2008, he attended a yoga teachers training program in Asheville, NC at the Asheville Yoga Center. Presently, he is attending a year long Anusara Immersion program, and teaching yoga at three beautiful yoga studios in Asheville, NC. |
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