Marilyn Alexander
Marilyn is a registered nurse who has been interested for many years in the effects of lifestyle on health. Her philosophy has developed around the study of diet, exercise and stress and their effects on the body. She has practiced and studied yoga for several years, completing 200 hours of teacher training through Yoga Works, and has developed a deep respect for the practice of yoga and its positive effects on health.
Her goal is to guide others, through a practice of gentle yoga and relaxation, toward a greater appreciation of the body and the life we are given.
Sara Beaman
"Sara Beaman has been teaching bellydance to students of all levels since 2003. Her student-centered approach, warm demeanor, and emphasis on safe, elegant technique make her classes some of the most vibrant places to learn bellydance in the Triangle. In addition to teaching, Sara performs both as a soloist and with three local troupes- Blue Moon Dance Company, The Devoted Bellydance Collective, and Sparkle Oasis. She is an active member of the Association of Central Carolina Middle Eastern Dancers and is deeply committed to fostering the growth of her local bellydance community. "
Sarah Bish
Sarah Bish first discovered yoga in a gym around 2004. In 2008, she had the opportunity to study Classical Yoga with Chandra Om at the NC School of Yoga in a teacher training program, which changed her life forever. She continues to be in awe of the profound purifying effects she experiences through the Holy Science of Yoga, both physically and mentally. Sarah continues to study with her teacher and hopes to share what aspects she masters with others who wish to know. When she is not practicing yoga, she is spending time with her two dogs, babysitting, working at a local coffee roasting company, studying the Bhagavad Gita and praying for Divine assistance in all of the above. She says, "I just hope to be an example of even a small part of what this yoga practice can do for any person."
Diane Brann
Diane Brann has been practicing yoga for over 15 years, and has been a certified Yoga Alliance instructor since 2004. Diane received her initial Hatha Yoga instructor training at Seaside Yoga Studio in Wilmington, NC. Other instructor trainings include Pilates Mat Certification from In Balance Pilates, Yoga for Seniors at Duke Integrated Medicine, Body Flow with Les Mills, and Pre-Natal with Joanna Vadja. She has taken additional workshops with David Swenson, Desiree Rumbaugh, Judith Lasater and Gabriel Halpern and many others, such as spiritual dance with Gabrielle Roth and Shiva Rea.
Diane draws from many styles and disciplines of yoga and meditation, and believes that yoga and meditation can improve every aspect of our lives, and add a deeper awareness, wisdom and compassion, for ourselves and for each other. Her classes combine meditation, pranayama, movement, stretching and postures to create a gentle yogic flow. In order to create the most beneficial experience for students, Diane is commited to her own spiritual, professional and personal and educational growth.
Ann Burrus
For me, yoga is a means of self-discovery, about who you are spiritually, physically, and mentally. Whatever struggles or joys you may be experiencing will be reflected in your yoga. Observing your body, your breath, thoughts and emotions in asana can be quite revealing whether on a day-to-day basis or over the years.
Drawn to the healing power of yoga, physically as well as spiritually, I teach an alignment-based form of yoga and believe that everyone, regardless of physical limitation, can benefit from doing yoga. I have taught yoga since receiving my 240- hour certification in 2003. Judith Lasater, Sara Meeks, Lillah Schwartz, and Nischala Joy Devi are my major influences. I am currently enrolled in the 500- hour Iyengar teacher training program at Lighten Up Yoga in Asheville, NC.
Certified to teach: Hatha yoga, restorative yoga, yoga for osteoporosis/osteopenia, prenatal yoga, yoga for heart and cancer patients.
I am available for private sessions.
To contact this instructor, email: apburrus@gmail.com
Lisa Chickos
Lisa Chickos was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She discovered the truly healing power of yoga after suffering a back injury a couple of years ago. It was through yoga that she learned to develop patience and compassion for her body and spirit, and hopes to share that same gift with others. She is interested in helping students deepen their practice while at the same time cultivating an acceptance of where they currently are. Her classes are inspired by the words of T.K.V. Desikachar, “We begin where we are and how we are, and whatever happens, happens.”
Lisa is a graduate of the YogaWorks 200 hour Teacher Training program. Before teaching yoga, Lisa worked in the philanthropic sector and holds a MA in International Relations from Tufts University. When not on the mat she can be found spending time with her English Bulldog, Louie, and cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tain Collins
I love giving people the gift of yoga. Or rather, helping people give it to themselves. Practicing and teaching yoga has allowed me to see myself and the world more clearly, as well as giving me direction in life and relationships. It has also led me to believe that we are not just an ego, but something greater. I love the depth and history of yoga, and I'm currently immersed in the exploration of it by doing a daily practice and daily study. My main teachers are Ti Harmony and Allison Dennis. I've also been influenced by Joel Kramer and Stephen Cope.
I've been a professional guitarist/vocalist for the past ten years. My father was in showbiz so I worked for him as an actor and performer. I became a professional juggler at age 10. I learned to play the guitar at age 6, and now I teach guitar lessons as well as playing shows as a solo artist or with my band around the triangle.
Julia Corley
Julia dances with The Devoted Bellydance collective, a dynamic group of women from around the Triangle. She has dreamt of being a bellydancer since her sister in law brought her finger cymbals from Egypt when she was about 4. Her study of this art form took off about seven years ago, when her primary teacher, Nandana, moved to the area. Her study has focused mostly on American Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion Bellydance. She fell in love with Tribal Style when she first saw Fat Chance Bellydance of San Francisco in 1994. Julia has been a massage and bodywork therapist since 1998, and has studied energetic and mindfulness based methods of mindbody healing for most of that time.
She hopes to infuse her teaching with her knowledge from her work helping people heal and be well.
To contact this instructor, email: juliamilton@mac.com
Sandy Delgado
I was introduced to yoga in 1998, became a massage therapist by 2001 this was the beginning of my search for something. Yoga for me back then was really just a physical practice though, I did notice a deeper since of relaxation but I had not quite dove into the heart of yoga yet. I was really flexible yet lacked strength in more ways then one!
I went to Australia because my heart told me too and lived/studied there for 3 years. I met the most amazing people, some my teachers others still my friends who taught me to become still, listen to the wind, hang dry your laundry, do yoga on the beach effortlessly, follow a natural vegetarian way of living, slow down and to learn to listen to what I really wanted in life. I became a YogaLates teacher, yes 50% yoga n 50 % Pilates, enough to give me a taste of both worlds. Yoga is a conscious way of living my life that brings about peace, and true harmony with whatever is happening in the present moment if you are attentive enough to notice. I suppose I was always in hurry, avoiding what my heart was telling me, and getting caught up in the daily regime. Then after my training in 2005, I taught in Sydney Australia for a year, teaching yoga to corporate banks, and teen programs to private sessions assisting in more personal needs such as : depression, fertility issues, menopause, and sports injuries. I finally came back to the USA in 2006, landing my feet in Los Angeles California. I was director of what is now called Yoga Vista, I ran a Yoga Pilates and Dance studio for a year, learning mostly that California was still not my final destination. I did however leave with an in depth foundation of Pilates, the true meaning of CORE POWER, hence taking a training in Beverly Hills Power Pilates and working with Pilates Allegro reformers. I then took my first trip to India, I had to see where the ancient wisdom comes from, it was humbling and beautiful. I found my strength, walked right in the Iyengar Institute in Mumbai, and said lets do some yoga, once they found out I was a dedicated student they gave me lots of tools/books to take home with me.
I look forward to meeting you all, I love to listen to music therefore I incorporate all kinds of tunes in all the classes I teach, there is so much power and grace in life and what I have seen over the years is a build up of stress/mindlessness/disconnection from the body/aggression in my classrooms. My goal is to integrate all my knowledge, passion, and love for Yoga & Pilates and present it with a zest in order for you to create space in your heart and evolve. Om Shakti'
Catherine Dowd
Catherine completed the YogaWorks Intensive Teacher Training and is certified at the 200 RYT level. She is a student of Anusara ® Yoga, and has completed 108 hours of Yoga Immersion led by Paul and Sommer Sobin and Lila Brown. She has attended workshops with John Friend, founder of Anusara ® Yoga, and Betsey Downing.
Her yoga practice has opened her heart and her body, and led her to study meditation, breathing techniques and Tantric philosophy. She leads classes in a light-hearted, alignment conscious style.
A prize-winning short story writer, her work has appeared in various publications, including Wellspring and the News & Observer’s Sunday Reader section. She uses the exploration and practice of yoga to inspire the creativity of her students in their expression of asana and believes that when you find your breath, you will find your voice.
Janice Marie Durand
Janice Marie Durand has been teaching Energy Movement & Yoga classes, T’ai Chi & Energy Healing Arts Trainings since 1990. She has an active Bodywork practice incorporating Mind/body Energy alignment and Massage therapy outside of Hillsborough. Janice is the founder of the Tree of LIfe Center, which is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider.
Kristen Engles
Kristen’s yoga journey began over eight years ago in search of finding balance and serenity in her own life. Along the way, she has experimented with many different styles of Hatha Yoga and has loved them all! As a graduate of the Yogaworks 200-hour Teacher Training Program she explains her experience in the training as, “the time where I stopped JUST practicing yoga and STARTED LIVING YOGA.” Pulling from her own life’s experiences and personal journey she hopes to inspire others to embark on his/her own path towards joyful living.
As a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher, Kristen intends to share the benefits of yoga with the community and encourage being present on and off the mat. She embraces finding the physical edge of one’s asana practice, by building a strong foundation of the physical body through alignment and anatomy. It is with such care and consideration, Kristen aims to guide students, through their own practice, so they can enjoy the benefits of opening the body. She intends to make yoga more accessible for everyone and provide students with a safe, mindful yoga practice aimed at opening the body, heart and mind.
Maria Finnegan
My yoga journey began over 10 years ago when I took a class at a gym. I liked the postures and the breathing and found it similar to many of the stretching practices I had as an athlete growing up. As I continued to take classes at the gym, I realized that yoga was much more than stretching, and I wanted to learn more.
After developing a personal yoga practice, I had the opportunity to take a yoga certification through Yogafit, and after that training, I was hooked. I knew I wanted to be an instructor. Over the past 4 years I have completed my 200 hours of training through Yogafit and have been blessed to incorporate yoga into many aspects of my life.
As a student I strive to make yoga a way of life, not just through physical postures, but through meditation, breathing, thoughts and actions. As a teacher, I strive to make yoga accessible for all, and it is my pleasure and privilege to share my passion for yoga with others. In my classes we flow and link our postures using the breath to maintain focus, strength and balance. I enjoy incorporating music with this flow and play a variety of songs from more traditional yoga music to current hits you may hear on the radio. It is my goal as an instructor to create a fun, playful atmosphere where students can feel safe, successful and strong, both in mind and body.
To contact this instructor, email: yogamonkie@gmail.com
Amy Gorely
Amy has been teaching yoga since 2001, and is thrilled to be teaching in the town she loves and calls home! She believes that yoga has something to offer everyone, and she aims to create a safe atmosphere where all students feel welcome and are encouraged to work within their own limits.
Amy enjoys practicing mindfulness in everyday moments, and looks forward to sharing a Mindful Yoga class. While pregnant with her daughter, she began teaching Prenatal Yoga. She knows firsthand how beneficial yoga can be in keeping a growing body supple, and how breath and meditation are keys to a healthy pregnancy and positive birth experience. Amy is a graduate of the Teacher Training Intensive at the White Lotus Foundation and has completed trainings and workshops in prenatal yoga, yin yoga, therapeutic yoga, vinyasa yoga and Iyengar yoga.
To contact this instructor, email: agorely@email.unc.edu
Brianna Honea
Brianna Honea has been practicing yoga for over 7 years. She received her teacher training certification with YogaFit and continues to study many forms of Hatha Yoga. She is currently a student of Anusara Yoga. Brianna primarily teaches Power Yoga slow Flow. This active yoga helps students to learn to synchronize the breath to the movement, develop concentration, strength, endurance, flexbility, balance, and clarity.
Brianna presents a style emphasizing movement of energy through the body to bring calm into the mind. Each class ends with guided meditation and aromatherapy.
Her intent as a Yoga Teacher is to not only cultivate strength and flexibility in the body, but to help students become aware of their own potential as they focus on self awareness and gratitude. Brianna strives to make classes accessible, understandable, and challenging to individuals at any level of fitness.
To contact this instructor, email: abh0213@yahoo.com
Paula Huffman
Paula started practicing yoga in the mid 70’s. She now has a committed personal yoga and meditation practice that has evolved since that time. Combining her life’s work experience in the health care field with her yoga teaching, Paula’s focus is on the healing and restorative aspects of yoga through the development of both physical and spiritual awareness.
Her style of teaching encourages a quiet, gentle, reflective approach to asana with the belief that yoga can be adapted to meet students needs regardless of any limitations they may be experiencing. Paula is a perinatal educator and teaches prenatal and postpartum yoga, couples yoga in pregnancy, prepared childbirth classes and is trained as a doula. She also teaches Yoga I-II, Deep Stretch, Gentle, and Restorative Yoga classes and workshops.
To contact this instructor, email: paula@hillsboroughyoga.com
Michelle Johnson
In May of 2009 Michelle completed 200 hours of Power Yoga Teacher training in the Baptiste tradition at Franklin Street Yoga and was instructed by Lori Burgwyn. Michelle had previously been practicing yoga for several years and the yoga teacher training dramatically changed her relationship to her breath, body, and her connection to community.
Michelle is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has noticed yoga infiltrating her therapy practice in many ways. She recently attended a conference and heard a speaker discuss the experience of how people stop breathing when they experience trauma. This resonated deeply with Michelle and she realized that yoga is a gift of life, breath, spirit, love, and soulfulness and that it offers people the opportunity to learn how to breathe again in their own time and their own way.
Many teachers have inspired Michelle including Lori Burgwyn, Allison Dennis, Ti Harmony, Kristin Demarco, Pema Chodron, and Bell Hooks. Other inspirations include the mountains, her partner, pottery, social work, and helping people move and shift through transitions in ways that make them feel empowered.
Laurie LaBean
Laurie LaBean, certified White Belt instructor, is a former teacher and musician who moved to North Carolina 13 years ago. She is now a licensed massaged therapist who has been studying health and healing for the last 8 years. When she began dancing Nia, she realized the incredible power Nia has to heal the body, mind and spirit. In her Nia classes she fosters an environment free of judgment where participants can just have fun!
Kiera Manna (Karuna)
Kiera's yoga practice began in1990 with master yogini Kali Ray in Santa Cruz, CA while performing as a professional ballet dancer. She has devoted her life to the study, practice and teaching of yoga, has lived in ashrams immersed in the study and practice of Bhakti Yoga, and currently teaches ballet and performs Indian Classical Dance.
Kiera is dedicated to bringing peaceful angelic healing energies into her classes so students leave feeling happy, focused, relaxed, and rejuvenated.
To contact this instructor, email:karunadd@yahoo.com
Iris Padgett
I have been practicing yoga for 8 years, and recently completed a yoga teacher training with Ti Harmony in Carrboro. I was drawn to yoga originally for its therapeutic qualities and emotional healing power; it has nursed me from depression and filled my life with light. When someone asks me how yoga can be beneficial, I say, “In every way imaginable!” My background is a mix of several different styles – primarily Vinyasa flow and heart-centered Anusara yoga. I like a lively, uplifting practice with gentle space to explore the inner landscapes of the body and mind.
My intention as a yoga practitioner is to live with more grace and with a calm, compassionate, open heart. I try to use my practice to build faith in myself and my abilities, and to create more harmony in my lifestyle and relationships. My intention as a yoga teacher is to be a support for others on their own paths, and to boost confidence and self-love by creating a safe, playful environment where students can begin to listen to and trust their own inner voices.
When I’m not on the mat, I love a good conversation, a cup of tea on a porch swing, sunshine, hiking, reading, and playing with my dog, Dharma.
Carolyn Pence
Carolyn Pence has been practicing yoga for over eight years. In the past three years she has devoted much of her time to deepening her practice by attending classes and workshops. Although she has worked with various instructors, she is most heavily influenced by Integral Yoga and Anusara yoga.
In 2007 she completed the Integral Yoga 200-hour certification. Although a young teacher, she already has experience teaching a variety of populations. Her classes do not adhere to a particular style, instead focus is placed on balancing the body and mind, viewing them as integrated rather than separated.
To contact this instructor, email: konstantine0319@aol.com
Susan Reeves
Susan Reeves' life passion is to share the radically transformative, life-changing power of yoga as she has experienced in her own evolving practice. Her class styles are an inspiration from experience in Hatha-Raja, Ashtanga, Anusara, Viniyoga, Yin Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Bikram, Restorative Yoga, and Meditation.
www.blossomwithin.com/about-susan
Miles Rowe
Miles Rowe has been practicing qigong for over 15 years. After witnessing the healing effects of Chinese Medicine firsthand, both as a qigong practitioner and as a patient, he decided to undertake a lifelong pursuit of the ancient knowledge of the Chinese healing arts. He is a 2008 graduate of Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is a licensed acupuncturist in North Carolina. He is certified to teach qigong by the Chi Health Institute.
Paula Shile
Paula Shile has been a life-long celebrant of movement. From the age of four, afternoons were spent in modern dance classes. The environment encouraged self-expression & choreography. Performance opportunities were abundant. Eventually, the passion for dance led to the Boston Conservatory of Music as a dance major. A significant influence was the work of Martha Graham, whose technique worked closely with the collection & expansion of energy.
As a student of spiritual practices, Yoga became a joyful way of bringing together the love of movement with spiritual awareness. Paula has taught Yoga and Pilates in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill for the last 3 years. She has studied with a wide variety of local instructors including Paula Huffman, Sabine Mead, Molly Drake and many others. She holds certificates from IFTA in Yoga and Mat Pilates. She has participated in Anusara Immersion with Paul and Sommer Sobin. She has studied to become a Reiki Master.
Graciela Seila
Graciela has been practicing yoga for 5 years, and was immediately hooked after her first time on the mat! She loves teaching new-comers and long-time practitioners alike, in a class environment which is responsive, calm, and open to all. After many years of gymnastics training, she searched for something that would improve alignment, join the mind and the body, and be just as physically demanding. Since gymnastics, she has dabbled in all sorts of bodywork, movement styles, and yoga, including modern dance and capoiera, Thai yoga massage, Pilates, Bikram, Anusara, Ashtanga and TriYoga. Graciela recently
completed her certification in Hatha Yoga with Carrboro’s Ti Harmony, and is excited to move her classes from “the living room” to the studio space, based on community demand! Graciela comes alive in
seeing her students learn more about their bodies, while making them feel better and grow into themselves.
Blake Tedder
I am a 25 year old Eastern NC native. When I was 16, my father and I survived a plane crash in the mountains of Colorado. As Ram Dass told me, this was "fierce grace" because through his experience of overcoming the daunting odds of survival, my new perspective on the preciousness of life effectively landed me on a spiritual path earlier than most. After college at UNC, Yoga became the center of my life as I learned I had the power within to heal myself, physically and emotionally. I completed yoga teacher training in April 2010 with Ti Harmony and eventually plan to learn and share yoga therapy techniques with trauma survivors and specifically with burn survivors. My hatha yoga practice is influenced by Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten, Eric Schiffman, Desikachar/Krishnamacharya, Swami Satchidananda, and Carrboro's Ti Harmony.
I also enjoy cooking, hiking, swimming, communing with nature, exploring the beaches and the maritime habitats of the NC Outer Banks, disc golf, gardening, and co-creating music and art. I also love kirtan music (devotional chanting from India) and other devotional aspects of Yoga. I host the Full Lotus Kirtan Radio Show on Carrboro's community station WCOM 103.5FM. On the web at fulllotuskirtan.com. My favorite animals (besides dogs) are squirrels, crows, and cows.
Jeff Wells
I I live and work in Hillsborough as a Massage and Bodywork Therapist. I have worked in the healing arts for over ten years and have experience as a dancer, martial artist, and yoga instructor. Yoga has brought joy to my life and has helped me heal from many injuries over the years. It is my belief that we all contribute to the health of the planet and each other every time we expand our awareness of our own health. I love teaching because it is one way I can touch a group of people, and invite them to increase their capacity to see themselves in an honorable and loving light. We all continue to learn so much from one another, and then, like a budding flower openning, we find we can learn even more.
II currently enjoy hiking, biking, singing, and nature. I love my wife and three children whom we home school. I study and live a spiritual practice which leads me to Mexico one or two times each year. This practice involves daily prayer and commitment. It is, in the end, to be of service to my community and to the Divine.
For more information, visit: www.wellspirit.com
Shin-Yiing Yeung
Shin-Yiing Yeung’s goal as a teacher is to help others feel empowered and motivated on their journey to wellness. She enjoys teaching the therapeutic effects of yoga. Her approach involves an emphasis on technique and alignment with the curiosity of self-discovery and mindfulness of breath. With her knowledge in physiology and anatomy, she invites her students to become more aware of their unique body structures, movement patterns, and processes to balance mind with body.
Since 1996, she has studied various styles of hatha yoga: Ashtanga, Bikram, Vinyasa, Yin, Anusara, Iyengar, and Viniyoga as well as completed three ten-day Vipassana meditation retreats. From her repertoire, she focuses on making her class dynamic, safe, and beneficial for students at all levels or with past injuries. She is in the process of attaining her 500-hour training with Stephanie Keach at Asheville Yoga Center. She also offers private sessions.
To contact this instructor, email: shiningyiing@yahoo.com
