
Our Teachers
What generates happiness for you? Watching my students discover their own physical and mental breakthroughs. Reading to my daughter. Couch time with my wife while we eat chicken wings.
What brought you to yoga? I suffered a significant back injury while marathon training and lived through a year of chronic pain. I found yoga, started moving my body in a mindful way and learned that the physical practice led to a consistently calm mind.
Why do you do yoga? I do yoga to keep my mind and body strong and so that I can be a better husband, father, teacher, and friend.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Case of You - Joni Mitchell
C.R.E.A.M. - Wu-Tang Clan
Boogie Shoes - KC & The Sunshine Band
Wind Blown - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Beast of Burden - The Rolling Stones
What generates happiness for you? Being silly and laughing with people I love, connecting and relating to others, making everyone feel heard and appreciated, psychology & philosophy, family dinners, and being in nature.
What brought you to yoga? My friend, Samantha. She was my roommate and she would go to yoga and I sat at home alone when she was there. Then one day, I realized how important it was to my routine and mental stability.
Why do you do yoga? There's so much to practice. There's never a point where you can say, "oh, i've accomplished this and now I've made it." Every practice is different and teaches you something that you need to know right now. I get to practice listening to my body and learning how to use that as a tool of what's happening around me in everyday life.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Bloom by The Paper Kites
Masterpiece by Jessie J
Anything from any musical or Disney movie
What generates happiness for you? Being outdoors in West Virginia's beautiful hills, lakes, and rivers. A good book with a warm cup of tea (with lemon and honey). Connecting with my loved ones, being of service to others. Flowers, cooking a meal, learning something new.
What brought you to yoga? My friend Skylar took me to a hot yoga class when I was 16. I loved the physical exertion of it, the challenge of maintaining breath awareness through all the postures and sweat. I was enchanted by the power of breathing together synchronously as a community
Why do you do yoga? Yoga brings me back to myself. It helps me check in on what I am experiencing physically, emotionally, and spiritually and to stay aligned with my values. Though the breath, physical practice, and community aspects of Yoga are themselves nourishing, the whole is more than the sum of its parts and nothing short of magical.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Dancing Queen by ABBA!
Mr. Blue Sky
Anything from the Sound of Music soundtrack :)
What generates happiness for you? Being outdoors! Kayaking and being around (or in) bodies of water. Generally connecting with Mother Nature. Learning new things. My dog, Opie.
What brought you to yoga? I went to massage therapy school and yoga was a requirement before most classes. I hated it at first. I didn’t want to do it. By the end of the program I was in love. It changed my physical body, but more importantly, it enhanced the way I approached all aspects of life.
Why do you do yoga? To stay healthy and to clear my mind. Honestly, I do yoga so I don’t go crazy.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Feel Me Flow – Naughty By Nature
Good Day – Nappy Roots
Sharing the Night Together – Dr. Hook
Walking in Memphis – Marc Cohn
Everywhere – Bran Van 3000
Any and all songs by Bonnie Raitt
What generates happiness for you? Good weather, smart friends, adventure, belly laughing
What brought you to yoga? I wanted deeper meaning in my life. People said, “try yoga”?
Why do you do yoga? Yoga keeps me operating from my heart
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Grateful Dead: Touch of Grey
The Lagoons: California
Sam Bush: Same Ol’ River
What generates happiness for you? Happiness always comes to me while being outside amongst nature in all seasons, but especially on those quiet cold glittery snowy days
What brought you to yoga? I initially came to yoga as a way to exercise/move, but as I’ve practiced, I realize I came to yoga to connect to myself in a deeper way
Why do you do yoga? I practice to create balance in my mind and body & remember my truth that I am a divine human
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
I Wanna Dance with Somebody by the one & only Whitney Houston
Hey Brother by Avicii
Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
What generates happiness for you? Hanging out and playing with my daughters; long walks with my husband; the way my dog greets me at the door; singing out loud (for better or worse); hiking in the woods and getting nourished by the trees; spontaneous moments of silliness; tinkering with crafts; my morning coffee; potlucks with friends; unexpected hugs; dark chocolate
What brought you to yoga? I began my yoga journey in 1994 during a high school gym class. The shapes and movements spoke to me at a more sincere layer compared to my experience as an athlete in field hockey, track, and cheerleading. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I mostly dabbled with yoga via VHS tapes, and then in graduate school I explored several classes and styles of yoga, including Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Kundalini. Little did I know the profound effect these early experiences would play in the evolution of becoming a yoga teacher!
Why do you do yoga? I do yoga to lean into and experience the felt-sense of being yoga, which embodies the divine interplay of being soft & strong; kind & confident; creative & direct; giving & receiving; fierce & fun; sorrowful & joyful; soft & loud; dynamic & still.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Music feeds my soul, so many songs could be on this list!
Into the Mystic – Van Morrison
Sweet Life – Essie Jain
Stillness Remains – Luna Ray
Late in the Evening – Paul Simon
Taste - Phish
Good Day Sunshine – The Beatles
What generates happiness for you? A long hike, a slow morning, a good meal, a room full of family and friends.
What brought you to yoga? I was stressed, working in the corporate world of NYC. I took a class with a co-worker and couldn’t get enough of how I felt leaving that room. I haven’t stopped since.
Why do you do yoga? The community, the physical release, the challenge physically, mentally & emotionally.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Valerie - Yann Muller
Hey Maria - Elderbrook
Low Tide - DRAMA
Harvest Moon - Poolside
What generates happiness for you? Doing things spontaneously; connecting with people who have a sense of adventure; my morning coffee; opening a new book; traveling somewhere new; moving my body
What brought you to yoga? My prior dance teacher & mentor, Ashley, introduced me to yoga as a young teenager. Since then, I have fallen in love not only with the physical practice, but also the serenity and clarity that it has brought to my life.
Why do you do yoga? Yoga keeps me in check. Quite frankly, it keeps me sane. It has helped me become someone that I am proud of and someone that aligns with the values I hold as meaningful. I do yoga not only to be a better me, but to be a better daughter, sister, friend, partner, and acquaintance.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
The Way You Make Me Feel - MJ
All Summer Long - Kid Rock
Man! I Feel Like A Woman! - Shania Twain
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
What generates happiness for you? The fresh smell of the outdoors, the laughter of my loved ones, adding finishing touches to my artwork, waking up to sunlight on my skin, letting go in savasana, drying off in the heat after a lake or ocean swim, the first bite of my mother's home cooked Filipino dish, the feeling of excitement when I learn something new.
What brought you to yoga? I find myself in my head a lot. Sometimes because I have to, as a creative. I come back to yoga to connect with my body, my community, and the world around me. Yoga reminds me that we're all one.
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Eyes of the World - Grateful Dead
Look at What the Light Did Now - Flo Morrisey
Humans - Big Thief
Golden Days - Whitney
What generates happiness for you? Nature, sunshine, good conversation, birds chirping in the morning, the sky, Disney movies, exploring a new place. I also think there’s a lot of joy to be found in the small things, and even the ordinary things are actually quite extraordinary.
What brought you to yoga? I stumbled onto yoga casually - taking a free class my first day of college at Welcome Weekend. What kept me with yoga, though, is the transformational effects it had on my life.
Why do you do yoga? My yoga journey has taught me so many things - love, acceptance, confidence, compassion - and has fostered so much growth. I do yoga because it’s healing, connecting, and life-changing. Oh yeah.. and it’s fun!
Favorite songs to help you remember happiness?
Paper Rings by Taylor Swift