She lived with anxiety and depression since childhood. Sometimes it eased back - sometimes months and years were lost. In 2001 Barbara walked into her first Anahata yoga class and met her teacher Ana Costa. Barbara had always had a wonder and respect for yoga and had practiced here and there and on her own. She lived in her mind rather than her body but she had an inborn ground of spiritual life that had already led her to India and into art as her life’s work. Read more...
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.
Alica Hedges, DPT (Be Strong Wellness)
Our neighbor at 9 Florida Avenue, Alicia will set up her practice as a PT with specialization in women’s health in September 2019.
She will teach a five week series, Awakening the Lower Chakras, beginning September 12/13. It will be Thursdays at 5 pm and concurrently a class running at 1.30 Friday afternoons, whichever is more convenient for you. Lower Chakras is the core - something we all need to tone and bring to life. Information on how to register and reserve a spot for yourself is here.
Alicia Hedges, DPT is a women’s health specialist who loves to help women find, feel and firm their core, while understanding their body and gaining more energy to live their life purpose. She is passionate about helping others understand the feminine and how to work with and not against the hormones, cycles and seasons of life from puberty to menopause and beyond. This includes bladder and bowel issues, pregnancy & postpartum concerns/recovery, digestion and detox, musculoskeletal pain, headaches, balance, chronic pain, fatigue, fibromyalgia, general weakness and muscle training needs. Read more...
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.
After forty years of exploring and focusing on the wisdom of the body, through dance, somatics, the study of anatomy, and yoga, I read a quote by Deepak Chopra that helped me understand the significance of my life’s interest: “Being aware of your body unleashes intelligence, creativity and power. Being aware isn’t trivial, and it isn’t optional either.”
Embodyoga® is all about developing internal awareness. Learning about the miraculous anatomy of our bodies and being guided to experience ourselves internally, leads to a healthy, aligned, easeful, spacious and prana-full yoga. The classes are a slow flow, giving time to explore the alignment and energy of each asana, but also focusing on the journey from one asana to the next. They include what we need as we age – strengthening, stretching, balancing, meditating, relaxing, and what is most important, a focus on coordinated breathing which brings it all together.
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.
Ellora Girisa
Ellora completed her 200 hour teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center in August 2018. She is following our Continuous Education Program focused on Anahata Yoga lead with careful supervision of Barbara Schauer.
Ellora enjoys practicing and improving her yoga for alignment, stretch, restorative, prenatal, and postnatal. Her focus is on strengthening the mind and body to correct daily imbalances. Her current interest is posture improvement for diastasis recti condition improvement and of cyclists. It was her own effort to help the poor posture of her athletic cyclist husband. Diastasis recti is one of the many consequences of a poor posture and consists of excessive separation of the rectus abdominus muscles. Cyclists have strong lower bodies, and neglected and misaligned upper bodies - and so do many of us who spend time at computers and steering wheels! She loves to follow the Anahata path to reach an improved posture. Read more...
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.
Eryn Murman, RYT200
Warm 26 for All Yoga incorporates two breathing exercises and 26 postures incorporating balance, strength and flexibility. Each posture stretches and strengthens specific muscles, ligaments, and joints needed for the next posture. This style of yoga stimulates the organs, glands and nerves, moving fresh oxygenated blood throughout the body. Sweating during warm yoga can help you detoxify as you reduce water retention and sweat out toxins. By drinking plenty of water, your gastrointestinal, urinary, and cardiovascular systems work better, naturally detoxifying tissues and cells and clearing waste more readily from the body. All levels are welcome and modifications always available! You may like to bring a towel to place over your mat and bottle of water for your practice.
The new Basics class with Eryn is a gentle and welcoming approach to the yoga postures and flow. Wonderful for beginners or anyone looking for a refresher and deeper understanding of alignment and breath. All are welcome!
- 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!
Jenne Sluder
Jenne is a yoga therapist, professional musician, and a native of Asheville, NC. She is a qualified mental health professional with a Master’s in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University, specializing in a somatic approach to improving mental health. She is a certified yoga therapist and is trained as an advanced (RYT500) instructor of therapeutic yoga and meditation. Therapeutic Yoga applies anatomical precision, intelligent sequencing, and a calming pace to relieve anxiety, stress, and fatigue and to stretch, strengthen and increase mobility in muscles and joints as well as to fine tune the body’s systems, improving circulation of blood and lymph, balancing the nervous system and strengthening mental clarity, healthy breathing, and digestive function. As a therapeutic yoga instructor, Jenne strives to empower students to progress toward improved health and well-being through safe, informed, and precise application of the most relevant yoga practices for each individual’s capacities and conditions. Jenne teaches yoga in both traditional studios as well as in mental health settings for adults and at-risk youth.
She works with individuals and with groups using somatic (body-based), contemplative (meditation-based), and nature-assisted therapies to deepen intimacy and compassion with ourselves, our bodies, with each other, and with the natural world. Jenne often incorporates her soothing singing voice into savasana. You can learn more about Jenne at jennesluder.com.
Jessica Falcon
Trained as a lawyer, Jessica left her legal career after seven years of practice to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage to Europe. The journey took her deeper within than she ever imagined. Her body became her compass. As it spoke to her on the yoga mat, she discovered an innate connection between her body and her beliefs, as well as the power to change them both.
Currently, she is writing a book which interweaves ancient feminine mysteries with her own modern inner quest. She is also grateful to be part of the farm family at Herb Mountain Farm, where her love of the Earth, herbs, movement and magic meet.
We will move from our core — the center of our being — with awareness and intention. Linking movement with breath, strength with flexibility, sound with silence, we ground ourselves fully into the space we occupy, giving ourselves permission to be as we are.
In addition to traditional postures, the class may incorporate visualization, sound, intuitive movement and meditation, all to encourage the opening of your heart. As your heart opens to you, its limitless well overflows to all.
Jessica’s 200-hour teacher training was with the Subtle Yoga Program, a practice which bridges ancient yogic techniques with modern neuroscience, specifically to restore and recalibrate the nervous system, creating a more balanced state within.
Katherine Caldwell
Katherine has been practicing yoga since yoga mats were bath towels and yoga blocks were made of wood. In 2004, she became certified to teach through Asheville Yoga Center’s program, and spent the next 10+ years teaching various styles of yoga. Her favorite yoga practice has always been Yoga Nidra, ever since she was introduced to it during Yoga Teacher training by Mary Kay West.
All yoga brings unity to our disparate parts, but Yoga Nidra brings the mind itself into greater unity. The subconscious mind often has a lot to share with its conscious counterpart, and this much-longed for reunion happens effortlessly in the quieting practice of Yoga Nidra. We receive deep rest for mental exhaustion, and intuitive wisdom that allows anxieties to give way to clarity. When times are uncertain, Yoga Nidra practice can be like a trusted friend to help us take each step forward with calm connectedness.Read more...
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!
Kimber Jones
Kimber was introduced to yoga and ayurveda in 2011 after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Since 2018, she is completely off of all pharmaceuticals and totally symptom free. Her ayurvedic lifestyle is full of rhythm, ease, and continual growth. She hopes to share this knowledge with her students and connect them to the ancient sciences in a modern and meaningful way.
She completed her 200 hr yoga teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center. She relishes the mind body connection and yoking of opposites yoga provides. She is working towards her 500 hr RYT certification through Asheville Yoga Center and an advanced studies program through Vira Bhava Yoga. She is also a certified personal trainer through the NCSF. She practices meditation daily in the vipassana tradition.
Ayurveda Slow Flow Join Kimber for a slow flow class focused on breath centered movement and mind-body integration. This class will incorporate elements of ayurveda, and we will work through and integrate some of these concepts in our bodies. Example topics include: the 5 elements, the 3 doshas: vata, pitta, kapha and how to identify and balance these energies in yourself, balancing for the season, and the ayurvedic concept of having a physical body. All levels of experience with ayurveda welcome.
Linda Go,E-RYT 200 & YACEP
Linda Go is an instructor and presenter in The Yoga of Sound Arts and Practices. Her Nāda Yoga foundation as a professional vocalist, musician/composer, recording artist, Sanskrit and yoga teacher provide a “sound” base for the her Restorative, Meditation classes as well as Kirtan: the ancient practice of call and response chanting as a communal sound meditation practice. “ When people come together and join their voices in harmony, their heart opens and the world changes! That’s the magic and science of Nāda Yoga !” Read more...
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
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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:
“I am beyond words for the time spent in your workshop of Awakening with Sanskrit. It felt like the most important study of my life had just begun. Just learning and practicing the simple sounds of the Sanskrit vowels, just as they were intended to be spoken, sung and heard, I felt the awakening of the long dormant parts of my DNA; whirling fractals of energy and strong vibrational sensations that continue to be alive within me.
Martha Scarborough
Martha finds both joy and peacefulness in her yoga practice, and she attempts to share these through her teaching style. Her classes harness the power of movement, breath, mantra, and meditation, gently sprinkled with laughter and good humor, to help facilitate a state of relaxation and harmony.
She began practicing yoga in 2001, and completed a 200-hour Kundalini teacher training program in 2006 at Yoga Yoga in Austin, Texas. Since then, she has been fortunate enough to study with amazing teachers including Gurucharan, Snatam Kaur, Judith Lasater, and Richard Miller. Martha taught at Yoga Yoga for six years before moving to Northern California, where she taught at the Berkeley Yoga Center and Soulstice Yoga Studio.
Martha is a recent transplant to the Asheville area, and she is grateful for the opportunity to teach and practice in such a warm and welcoming community. Please join her in her weekly Gentle Sunday Flow on Sunday mornings 11-12.
Sonya Monts, Barre and Adult Ballet
Sonya Monts has taught in the private studio setting for over 20 years. She previously owned and directed her own private studio, The Dancer’s Extension, and was the dance teaching artist for Polk County (NC) Schools.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College in South Carolina, and in 2015 earned her Certificate in Dance Education from the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). For the NDEO, Sonya is a chapter sponsor for the National Honor Society of Dance Arts, contributes to online member forums and webinars, serves on the editorial board for the Dance Education in Practice journal. served on the strategic planning committee, and has adjudicated for the Artistic Merit, Leadership and Academic Achievement Award.
Sonya teaches Adult Ballet/Barre, Mondays at 4.30 Read more...
Ballet originated in European royal courts hundreds of years ago, but the technique and art of this genre of dance remains strong today. The positions, steps, and terminology have been passed from generation to generation of dancers as they are known to incorporate the strength and grace of the human body. Ballet begins with a series of warm-up phrases at the barre, then progresses to balancing, turning and jumping away from the barre. Class finishes with the traditional “reverence”, a lengthening cool-down exercise in which the dancers take their final bows.
Steven Mucciarone
Steven is a KRI certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor based in Asheville, NC. He first started attending Kundalini Yoga classes with Ra Ma Kaur in Asheville, and it became clear to him almost instantly that this was the magic he had been waiting for. Within a year of starting his practice, he made a daunting move and signed up for the Harijiwan Program to receive his Kundalini Yoga teaching certification. He completed his KRI certification in NYC at Ra Ma Institute for Applied Yogic Science and Technology, and this life changing experience accelerated the process of carving out the path to teach. He his honored to be teaching in the beautiful city of Asheville and making the teachings accessible to every body. Read more...
Kundalini Yoga is the Yoga of awareness. It is a science of angles that combines movement, breathwork and mantra to create specific results in the mind and body. There is something within the vein of Kundalini Yoga for every body to benefit from. There are specific meditations that have been studied to show and prove positive results in treating addiction, alzheimer’s, and so much more.
Kundalini Yoga strengthens the nervous system and opens you up to your intuition. Kundalini Yoga is known as a householders Yoga, it is considered the fastest working Yoga which is perfect for those living a fast paced, busy life style as it will give you instantaneous results. It is a path that connects you to mind, body, and spirit.
About this important branch of yoga, Steven writes:
In 1969, Yogi Bhajan came to the United States to introduce yogic teachings that had been kept a secret for over 5,000 years. This lineage of teachings is known as Kundalini Yoga.
Yogi Bhajan was a Master Yogi who predicted the technologically advanced and fast-paced future we have come into. He foresaw how we were going to be coming into an age where stress, anxiety and the pressure of an over sized load of information being broadcasted through technology would create a world wide crisis involving mental, emotional, and spiritual health in an age where we are needed to be functioning at our best.
Kundalini Yoga is known as the Yoga of awareness.
Kundalini itself is an energy, and the idea is that this particular yogic science stimulates and raises the Kundalini energy lying dormant at the base of the spine and raises up the spine, opening up all the chakras, and opening up the third eye point and the crown chakra which in turn raises human consciousness up several notches.
Kundalini yoga stimulates and strengthens the glandular system which includes the secretion of fluids in the pituitary pineal gland area. This increases intuition, which is needed during a time where we must be guided by intuition and must have a strong nervous system in place to handle the stress of our current society.
These teachings were presented by Yogi Bhajan to the Western world to help us adapt to our current environment by means of detoxification and the strengthening of the glandular system, the parasympathetic system and the lymphatic system. We were lucky enough that Yogi Bhajan has delivered an estimated 8,000 teachings between 1969 and his death in 2004, and there is truly something within the lineage of this yogic science that can benefit anyone’s life to a path of health, happiness, healing and over-all well sense of being.
