About Us

---

Throughout my childhood and adolescence I took dance classes which eventually led to an interest in yoga during my undergraduate years in college.  I was drawn to the strength and flexibility a yoga practice can create in our bodies.  But it wasn’t until March of 2016 that I decided to fully commit to my practice.  I was going through a difficult period in my life and need to go inward in order to make peace with my outer world.  While I was already aware of the physical benefits of yoga, I needed the mental and spiritual balance that I knew an asana practice could cultivate.  

As a counselor, I’ve always been interested in the mind/body connection, and through my personal practice I knew yoga had a powerful way of healing both.  I decided to deepen my practice further and attend the Rasika Yoga School, completing my certification in March 2018.  This experience connected me with inspirational mentors and like-minded yogis, where I developed a solid foundation to begin my teaching journey.  

Taking the seat of the teacher, my goal is to create themes and sequences that foster a sense of self-love and acceptance, comfort and growth, and allow for students to reap the same healing benefits I receive as a continual student of yoga. 

Jean has been a student of yoga since 2007, and a teacher since October 2012. She received her 230-hour certificate through Asheville Yoga Center, and holds additional yoga certification through Lexington Medical Center. 

She focuses on the vinyasa style of yoga teaching that connects breath with movement in a meditative, lyrical flow during class. Using creative guidance, students are encouraged to be internally and externally mindful yogis. 

Jean loves to laugh a little while she teaches, plays varying styles of music, and provides a moment for students to be educated, comfortable and accepted.

After Howell's first yoga class she came home and her mom asked her how it went. She told her mom that she was pretty sure that she would be doing this every day for the rest of her life. Over the last few years yoga has evolved into an everyday practice for Howell to live fully. She is from Columbia but a traveling gypsy at heart. 

She practiced for a few years before she felt India calling her. Howell traveled there in 2016 for her 200 hour training at Sattva Yoga under Anand Mehrotra in Rishikesh, India. Sattva in Sanskrit means whole. This practices combines asana, pranayama, tantric kriyas, mudra, mantra, and meditation to create a transformational experience. It is a holistic path where every layer of yoga is addressed. 

She just recently went back to Sattva for her 300 hour training. Her intention is to take you on a journey into the self using these ancient practices to help you experience your authentic power and create space in the mind, body, and spirit.

Becky, originally from Pittsburgh, PA, started practicing yoga after suffering the loss of a dear friend. Yoga helped her with the grief and offered her a way to start healing. Her yoga teacher offered a welcoming and inclusive class where she quickly realized she wanted to train to be a yoga teacher herself. 

She completed her RYT 200 Teacher Training in 2015 at Yoga on the Square in Pittsburgh, PA.  Her training was in the style of EmbodiYoga, a powerful slow flow focused on alignment that strengthens the mind and body.  The training was rooted in the study of anatomy and somatics, and this served as a complement to her work in the field of orthopedic occupational therapy, supporting the merging of physical medicine and mental health and wellness. Becky enjoys being a life long learner in these fields.

Becky works as an occupational therapist in physical rehab at a local hospital. She provides therapy for patients populations with diagnoses such as stroke, Parkinson’s, and hand and upper extremity injuries/ post surgeries. She enjoys teaching yoga to all levels and believes strongly in tailoring classes to every body. Since her initial training, Becky has completed continuing education in yoga for neck and shoulder pain, an immersive chakra activation training, and aerial yoga teacher training. She teaches Hatha, Vinyasa, Power, Beginner, Yin, Restorative, Chakra and Aerial yoga classes.

 Aria is a South Carolina transplant who came from the palm-lined streets of Santa Barbara, CA to the palmetto-lined streets of Columbia, SC.  

She is an ex-lacrosse player, beach volleyball enthusiast, swimmer, dancer-turned-yogini. As a former athlete, Aria was first attracted to the practice of yoga because of the physical benefits, but yoga simultaneously helps her combat stress and mental fatigue.  In 2013, she completed her first 200-hour Yoga Alliance certification at Core Power Yoga in Santa Barbara, CA. 

Addicted to learning more about this ancient practice, she earned an 80-hour Yoga Alliance certification in restorative Yin Yoga as well as certification in Yoga Sculpt (yoga with weights!) in 2014. 

Yoga has taught me how transformative the practice of simply being with the breath can be.

I began practicing yoga seeking relief from anxiety. Becoming a regular yoga student has taught me to pay attention to the mind/body connection which has nearly eliminated my lifelong anxiety-induced digestive issues. And now, I am able to savor the richness of life more fully. Yoga helped me discover that the ability to improve my life was completely within me and I’m so grateful to be able to help students use yoga to discover within themselves what they need to become more whole.

Outside of the yoga studio, I’m a piano teacher and have been teaching both privately and in the classroom for a decade. I feel a deep calling to teach, to connect with another’s heart, and it is such a gift to continue my teaching journey sharing yoga.

In 2019, I completed my RYT-200 hour training with Rasika Yoga School, co-founded by my primary teacher, Stacey Millner-Collins. Also, I have a BA in music education and a master’s degree in saxophone performance. Besides playing music and being on my mat, I feel most alive in nature; hiking, kayaking, backpacking and putting my feet into the ocean. I also enjoy reading, cooking, traveling, concerts and savoring this beautiful, fleeting life with my husband, family, and friends.