From the first Savasana, she knew she had found something she hadn’t know to ask for.  Anahata was a completely different way of approaching life and it supported everything Barbara loved about spirit, heart, beauty, kindness, order, and what she would call ever present holiness - and it started with the body and breath.

Anahata focuses on the heart - expanding, deepening, brightening the heart while honoring the body and clearing the mind.  During one of the early classes, though, Barbara felt a dark wave of depression beginning to build.  The thought of living through it all again was like drowning.  In the gentle forward bend at the beginning of the practice, she could hear Ana’s reassuring voice describing stress melting away, the breath relaxing the back and head, and anxiety being removed.  It seemed impossible, but following Ana’s instructions as carefully as she could manage, Barbara felt the depression slide off like a load of heavy mud.  She almost laughed out loud in class.  When she slowly stood up from the pose and took a breath, all she could think was, ”I want this for everyone.”

It was the turning point in her life and she dove in and studied with Ana Costa to become a yoga teacher.

When she arrived in Weaverville in the summer of 2009 to open a yoga studio for the town, the students who appeared at the door had a special request of yoga.  They wanted a practice that could help them age well and fully enjoy life by being confident in their bodies, emotions, and spirits.  That became a unique focus of her teaching.

Then students confided that the weight their bodies had accumulated was uncomfortable and strange to them and they didn’t know how to regain a more appropriate weight.  Exploring several ways, Barbara began the 10 Week Weight Loss Workshops at the studio.  Using the structure of a yoga practice to steady the emotions and give the needed inner support for change, the program eliminates at the student’s pace - quickly or gradually - highly refined processed foods and gives guidance in choosing, cooking, and enjoying simple real food.  It is a way made to last a lifetime and to treat our bodies and ourselves with self-care and gratitude as the gifts they are.  And it works.

She lives with her husband, Jay, in Weaverville.  Jay is the creator of the powerful website building engine HotWax.  Without his patience and support Weaverville Yoga would never have happened and certainly would not be here five years later.  You know how the Oscar winners always have a big long list of thank yous and make sure the person closest to them is on that list even when the orchestra plays the impatient music?  That is Jay to Barbara.  If you love Weaverville Yoga, a quiet thanks to Jay is in order.

They have three children.  Annika is the founder and factotum of Beeswax, a website building community for women, now serving Etsy.  Kipper is a well-known and loved DJ and late night host throughout Asheville.  Tim is a fine arts student in Montreal.

Barbara has made it her life’s work to bring health, happiness, kindness, and love to others through the teaching of Anahata Yoga.

She still paints - mostly small and mostly gouache.  She still goes to India when her heart calls and she often takes retreats at Meher Spiritual Center.

One more story.  Why Weaverville Yoga?  Barbara was living and teaching yoga in Asheville, quite happy.  A friend kept insisting on going to a place called Weaverville where a bakery served lunch.  To placate her friend, she went.  She looked around the town as she walked to the bakery and she wondered,”Where is their yoga studio?  This is such an interesting small town - artistic, light hearted, charming, and current.  Where is the yoga studio?”

After lunch, they crossed the street to visit a friend on Florida Avenue who had a landscape design business.  Barbara’s eyes were drawn to a door with a black canvas awning. ”That would be the place for a yoga studio for the town,” Barbara thought. It was a kitchen cabinet carpenter’s shop.

Three years later, when the old yoga center on Broadway in Asheville closed, Barbara gathered the teachers who wanted to go on and formed Weaverville Yoga to open in the summer of 2009.  All they needed was a place.  An agent called and said she had found a spot.  Of course it was the small room with the black canvas awning over the door.  Our first yoga studio in Weaverville.

We later moved into the old post office at 7 Florida Avenue.  Our beloved studio still has the feeling of being given by grace with its beautiful space and light and the sincere, gifted teachers who have come together here to share yoga (and now ballet and Pilates).  It is special.   It’s home to us.

Yoga in a small town. Neighbors meeting neighbors in a friendly place. Yoga with kindness. Namaste!  We welcome you.

Alicia is a physical therapist, yoga therapist, Pilates instructor, Arvigo 

® practitioner, and women’s health coach with an emphasis in functional medicine and Ayurveda. She studied biochemistry and psychology at North Carolina State University and then physical therapy at Duke University. 

As a lifelong learner, Alicia has plunged into opportunities to study pelvic health through Herman and Wallace Pelvic Health Institute, chronic pain through International Spine and Pain Institute, and trauma in relationship to the body through both trauma informed yoga and Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing. She has also trained in medical yoga therapy through Professional Yoga Therapy Institute as well as many therapeutic manual techniques. 

She is a mom of five and having lived in Raleigh for the past 30 years, has dreamed of getting back to the mountains ever since she lived and worked here briefly one summer during college. She loves to hike, enjoy nature, read, spend time with friends, and of course do yoga and Pilates. She plans to garden one day soon growing herbs and welcomes tips from anyone with a green thumb! 

Alicia will be available to help you with your health starting early September. In order to balance the yin and yang, she also has a fondness for helping all the masculine members (friends and family) of her clientele as well so that no one is excluded! All are welcome at her business Be Strong Wellness.

I started studying yoga over twenty years ago as a way to stay healthy while bringing up young daughters, performing and being a professor of dance at Hofstra University in New York. I was lucky enough to happen upon an inspired Ishta Yoga teacher, Joanne Kane, who kept me fascinated all these years with the depth of yoga’s wisdom; and who helped me stay physically and psychically healthy enough to lead and enjoy a very busy and stressful life. For fifteen years at Hofstra I taught kinesiology and anatomy for dancers, incorporating some yoga as the experiential part of the course. In 2015 I joined the Embodyoga® certification program to support my personal growth and my teaching of kinesiology. I loved it so much that I continued with it and completed the 500-hour program in 2017. In 2018 I retired as a full-time professor and moved with my husband to Asheville for its stunning nature, artsy city, and yoga everywhere!! I am very excited to teach at Weaverville Yoga. It is a supportive, friendly neighborhood studio similar to the one I called home for twenty years.  I look forward to getting to know you and learning from you, while sharing what I love about yoga.

This class offers simple evidence-based, body-centered movement, mindfulness and breathing practices. Included is a brief period of sitting practice, with instructions. Trauma-informed, easy breathing and slow movements promote self-awareness, self-compassion, and connection to our body, using the mind to heal the brain and movement to heal the body. These practices help cultivate focus while building emotional resilience, balance and relaxation and are particularly appropriate for those experiencing chronic stress, anxiety, and patterns of obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior.

Embracing our full range of thoughts, feelings and physical sensations helps free us from addictive behavior. Rather than escaping what is painful, body-centered movement, mindfulness and breathing practices encourage us to pay close attention to our thoughts and feelings without taking action to judge or change them. When we commit ourselves to paying attention in this way, we are able to make choices rather than react, and free ourselves from harmful patterns of obsession and compulsion. We can tap into inner wisdom and reclaim our personal power, living our truth.

Ellora has a PhD in engineering and a strong curiosity about how things work well - in the body and in the world around us. For her, Yoga is a complementary part of her life

So her practice is a combination of alignment/body posture improvement, stretching, balance and pranayama (breath work) or meditation to strengthen the mind and body together.

She is Romanian and has lived in Romania, Itay, and Illinois before moving to North Carolina and finding her home in Weaverville. She and her husband decided to move to this area to raise their two children in the beautiful mountain environment.

- I’ve been practicing for over a decade (a taste of many styles but primarily Vinyasa and Hot 26).

- I completed my 200hr RYT with Yoga to the People in NYC in 2012.

- I am also certified in Hot 26 through Yoga to the People (2014) and Children’s Yoga with Om Schooled in NYC (2012).

- I have taught All-Level Power Vinyasa and Hot 26 with Yoga to the People for the last 6 years.

Personal Story:

I am a creative spirit and feel my happiest when I’m connected to my body, breath and nature.  I recently moved to Asheville from NYC with a year-long tour in between with my folk/rock band, 5j Barrow.  Yoga has changed my life for the better in so many ways - presence, the freedom in releasing perfection and embracing my body and mind where it’s truly at in each unique moment.  A finding of home beyond the limits of my body, and my breath an incredible tool to heal, conquer, and grow from in any moment I choose to be present. This is what moved me to delve deep into my studies and become a teacher.  It is one of the greatest gifts to share - that whenever I feel alone or overwhelmed, I can constantly find and care for myself through my breath.

Breath, it’s simplicity that brings freedom - that it’s always there for each and every one of us is a main focus in my teaching.  Compassion, kindness and creating a safe-space for everyone is essential to my class. Whether this is your first yoga class or you practice every day, I welcome you!  I focus on alignment and happily offer modifications for all of our different beautiful bodies. I also make note to encourage a playful energy throughout class so that we may tap into our inner child and not take ourselves too seriously.

What brought you to Weaverville Yoga:

My husband and I who co-front our band together were warmly welcomed into Weaverville’s community when we first toured through town.  With the advice of some dear friends, we played our music at Eluvium Brewing and Maggie B’s and have continued to play both places since moving into town.  After meeting so many nice folks in Weaverville, I knew I must check out Weaverville Yoga. I immediately fell in love with it’s warm welcoming nature and sense of community. The diversity of classes offered are so special and I couldn’t be more excited to introduce my love for Hot 26 Yoga with Weaverville Yoga!

Class described: The weekly class is suitable for all levels. We begin with a brief tuning in, followed by about 20 minutes of gentle physical practice that can be done in a chair or on the mat. We will break up some accumulated stiffness and kinks; just enough to be able to rest in comfortable stillness for the second half of the class. The Yoga Nidra is practiced in a delightfully comfortable resting pose where we let go of tensions layer by subtle layer, so the small, quiet voice inside imparts its gifts within each of us. No fancy props needed. Just some blankets, pillows and perhaps an eye covering will serve you. You can even lay on your couch or bed to do the practice if you want!

I was so excited to gain more knowledge and apply it in teaching my classes, while also offering yoga tools to my massage clients. As my curiosity grew I wanted more personal input on how to enhance my skills on how yoga could be applied as alternative medicine. I became a certified Yoga Therapist with Subtle Yoga in 2015.

A few years back I began having some significant hip pain and I began to slow my practice down. I became very interested in Yin Yoga and in 2017 I completed a teacher training with Biff Motifier to gain a deeper knowledge of the fascial system and the philosophy of the practice. I find great value in slowing down and holding poses and appreciate the balance it brings to my Yang.

Peaceful Activism is very important to me, and has been for over 20 years. I feel a responsibility to infuse insights throughout the practice to inspire students to live their yoga and to be stewards to their bodies and the planet.

In 2018 I completed my training in Yoga for Social Justice, with Off the Mat into the World, to collaborate with like-minded yogis and find inspiration in the conscious shift that is happening worldwide with Yoga.

My classes are skillfully sequenced to bring vitality, mental clarity, and insight along with strength and mobility.

Yoga for Back Care will be a weekly class on Tuesdays 6-7 pm. We will begin with the basics in a six week set of classes to introduce the essentials of back health and the benefits of yoga for the back.

Did you know that back pain is the third leading cause of visits to the doctor’s office and 80% of the population will most likely experience back discomfort at some time?  There are several causes for back pain and, fortunately,  several modalities to care for it. Yoga can be a great way to help heal and maintain a healthy back. It has to be approached skillfully to be effective, but the results are lasting.

In this series we will discuss several causes of back pain and explore different therapeutic yoga practices to relieve tension and pain starting at the hips all the way up to the neck with the focus on low back.

May Love and Light guide our way every day.

Linda is also a sound healing practitioner, certified CDI Sacred Passage Doula and LetGOYoga-TAGER-Method Trauma & Grief Release therapist.

Linda studied Sanskrit at the American Sanskrit Institute before receiving her 200hr teacher training at Asheville Community Yoga and continues mastering mantra and the art of chanting with her teacher Russill Paul, author of The Yoga of Sound. In her own personal style or kirtan she calls gateway music, Linda guides you through her unique sound in finding your authentic voice, encourages creative expression when harmonizing and vocalizing while supporting each persons level of ability with humility and grace.

Her musical kirtan offerings are a fun and instructive way to learn about the science and mysticism of Sanskrit, The Mother Of All Languages, while cultivating your voice in yoga of sound community practices. Linda shares her own original compositions written for ancient Sanskrit chants and healing mantras accompanied with live musical performance.

She is registered with the Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT 200 and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider and offers Yoga Immersions, certifications and classes in Sound-based Yoga, Sound Healing Certifications, Sanskrit 101 online classes and Voice coaching.

For information regarding Linda’s YACEP classes, LetGOYoga-TAGER Method Certification, private Grief and Trauma Release sessions and authentic voice lessons, visit: KamalaCove.org or email Linda at : LindaGoMusic@gmail.com

ॐ

Beginning October 1, Linda teaches Yoga for Better Balance as a regular class, Tuesdays 3-4 pm.

She says:

Reduce your risk of fall and injury with poses and movements that make you fall
for yoga all over again.

When you fall, whether it’s falling out of a pose on your mat or in daily life, quick
reaction time is your key to preventing injury. You want your body to have the
capacity for speed, allowing you to respond rapidly enough to catch yourself mid-
fall or grab a child out of harm’s way, for example. While falling can certainly have
more severe consequences later in life, at any age and activity level, the motor
fitness components of balance, agility, speed, coordination, and power are vital
for functional daily living and optimal for athletic performance.

Falls don’t usually happen when you are standing still or in a steady state or pose,
but rather when you are moving, transitioning, or adjusting. The key to building
balance, coordination, and preventing injury from falling as we age is in
mastering transitions and developing power.
This class is for all levels and ages and will incorporate regular yoga asanas with
left-right brain connection exercises that create overall balance for mind – body –
spirit!

And, with the New Year, January 2020, Linda adds:

Sound  Healing  Restorative Yoga  Beginning Jan 7 & Jan 9,  2020  — Tues & Thurs 430-530p

Watch for her regularly held Kirtan (sacred singing) on Sunday afternoons.

What is it like to study Sanskrt with Linda?

One of her grateful students wrote:

About a month after receiving her certificate, she hit the ground running. At a local, family owned women’s workout facility where they only offered circuit workouts, Rayona convinced the owners to allow her to introduce yoga to the facility. And like that she was instructing her first class and exploring the transition from student to teacher and learning she went on. When it came time for Rayona to leave the area, facility did not let the yoga leave with her. The community she had established was so strong that they decided to continue offering yoga which has always been a sweet testament to the power of yoga in her eyes. Upon relocating to Asheville, Rayona began to instruct weekly classes through the YMCA - a gentle class and a vinyasa class and was with them for two years before moving to Wilmington, NC. Being in a network of that sort allowed her to substitute a variety of classes that needed covered ranging from kids yoga to chair yoga giving her the challenge of learning as she went.

Class Description:
“In this class, we will energetically move through various series of asanas. We will focus on moving about these poses fluidly, inviting every posture to be combined with the breath creating a great sense of flow, balance, and strength. The main take away will be to allow our bodies to flow in sync with our breath as we move through the practice. Being that every breath will be linked to a fluid physical motion, the class will be at a somewhat intermediate pace. ”