Jessica Ewart
I first began studying yoga in 1999 in my own home. I had moved to a new town and recently enrolled in the local university after a long break from school. My life seemed to be defined by my stress level and I wanted to do something to change the tone. I sought out the local book store and found a copy of Yoga For Stress Relief by Swami Shivapremananda. The breathing techniques alone shifted my entire perspective. The physical postures came with time but the philosophy and meditation exercises gave me immediate benefits. I continued my yoga journey informally and at home for many years.
I attended my first studio class in 2005 at Clearspring Yoga in Chattanooga. It was a Mommy and Baby class taught by one of my dear and kind friends, Lori Bilbrey. I continued studying at Clearspring with Janka Livoncova for the next few years.
In addition to my regular practices with local teachers, I have also studied with Bryan Kest, Ashley Turner and Dolly Stavros. My 200 hour yoga teacher training was conducted with Dolly Stavros of Asmi Yoga through 3 different teaching modules and I am certified by the Yoga Alliance.
My personal practice is very physical and I certainly love to sweat but my teaching is defined by my love of philosophy. The classes I offer are centered around a philosophical or spiritual theme that is tied to the active physical postures and movements. As an avid reader and consumer of art, theater and music, I find that teaching yoga is the perfect outlet to explore my connection to other humans through creative and individual expression. You will leave my classes feeling the physical effects in your body but hopefully you will have gained some personal insight into the larger and more universal issues that tie all of us to one another.
In my private life I am a mother to my greatest teacher, my 4 year old daughter. We have two dogs. They love fetching, swimming, hiking and long petting sessions with a little massage thrown in for good measure. I reside in a wooded cabin with these lovely beings and my husband. Caring for plants is a preferable way to pass the hours at our home whether it be working on the landscape or tending our bonsai gardens. These days, my life is defined my peace and unapologetic happiness. My goal is to help in bringing the power and freedom of self-awareness and unconditional love to all who seek it.
Maggie White
Maggie is grateful to her first asana teachers, Sue Reynolds and Eric Wolf, and for her first experiences on the mat right here in Chattanooga in 2002. Maggie completed her first teacher training with Rossella Rossi at Namaste Healing Center in Asheville NC in 2004. The continuing unfolding brought Anusara yoga (http://www.anusara.com/) into her life and the guidance of Laura Christensen, Desiree Rumbaugh, Darren Rhodes and Christina Sell. Maggie’s opportunites to study with Anusara’s founder John Friend deeply inspire her practice and illuminate the Universal Principles of Alignment greatly. She has completed a 200 hr YA teacher certification, a 108 hr Anusara Immersion, 50 hours of Anusara Teacher Training, Anusara Therapeutics Trainings and logged hundreds of hours with some of the greatest Anusara teachers on the planet! Maggie believes in and supports one yoga kula, or community, and is grateful for all of the teachers across the ages that have blazed a trail for seekers to pursue. Classes pay special attention to alignment principles that optimize our ability to feel comfortable in our bodies and celebrate the beauty of our diversity. She welcomes others to come together to play and Flow with Grace~
Maggie also loves the many forms dark chocolate takes for our pleasure and usually has a bar in her bag for before, during or after class!
Lori Lane Duncan
I began my Yogic journey in 2005 after my husband and I made a life changing move from Alpharetta, GA to Lookout Mountain. We built our dream home on the Brow and made the commute back and forth to Alpharetta for over a year. During that time I began taking Yoga classes on Saturday’s with Margaret Breen on the "Mountain" and after my first class I “got it”. I then bought a “Boot Camp” DVD and started a home practice as well because one day a week in class was not enough for me.
In 2006 I decided to leave the company I had been with for eight years and look for a job in Chattanooga, and found one. At the same time my husband was given the opportunity to work from home three days a week. Karma, Devine intervention, Luck call it what you will but my hunger for Yoga could now be fed.
I began taking to class two days a week with Madia Swicord and still kept my home practice and also began a Meditation practice. My practice progressed from Vinyasa to practicing Ashtanga almost exclusively for the next two years at with Jessica Jollie. I continue with my home practice but take classes from many teachers at several studio's around town. I feel so fortunate to have had such wonderful teachers including Margaret Green, Madia Swicord, Jessica Jollie and Sara Mingus and of course Jessica Ewart along with every teacher I have practiced with, they all are inspiring. I am fortunate to have been able to take many master classes with Master Teachers such as, Gina Minyard/Anusara, Troy Abraham, Dolly Stavros, Simon Park and Bryan Kest.
I continue my home practice with Slow, Gentle, Yin and Restorative Yoga but I find now that Power Yoga is what feeds the yoga "fire" within me.
I currently teach Community Beginning Slow Flow four classes two nights a week. Our classes are alignment based but lots of fun. We begin and end each class with Meditation or Pranayama or both. You will sweat and laugh a lot in the classes I teach but you will leave not only feeling energized but calm, centered and balanced. The proceeds from these four classes go to Chattanooga Room in the Inn.
June 27, 2010 I completed my 230 hour Yoga Teacher Training through
Stephanie Keach, Ashville Yoga Center and I am a Yoga Alliance Certified
Yoga Instructor, RYT.
I plan to continue my Yoga education by completing the Yin Yoga Teacher
Training & Intensive with Shala Worsley in November and Therapeutics
Yoga Teacher Training and Intensive with Doug Keller in December.
Lauryn Elise Peterson
Lauryn Peterson was a non-mover whose depression and body image problems led her to a life of movement obsession! Having studied theatre, theatre dance, and martial arts as a teen, Lauryn was still painfully disconnected from her body until her world turned upside down with disordered eating. She found tribal fusion bellydance in July 2003, which helped tremendously. Lauryn has been a dedicated bellydance student ever since and began teaching in various community and subbing capacities in 2006. She became a full instructor at Zanzibar Studio in 2008 and has happily shared her loved of the dance in teaching at Dalton State College, Mercer University, Baylor School, Girls Incorporated, Signal Centers, Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults, Yoga East, Madia's Studio, Northshore Yoga, Montessori School, and Grace Arts Camp. Lauryn has studied bellydance from the top instructors in the nation and has performed with Bard Bellydance Collective, Tribe Zanzibar, Dandasha Dance Company, and Mirabai Bellydance. Lauryn is a founding member of Mirabai Bellydance, which hosts an annual benefit concert for non-profits serving local women called "The Fringe Benefit." Lauryn has also studied ballet, jazz, hiphop, modern, and aerial dance forms.
Lauryn's love of dance led her to yoga in 2003, as well, and she completed her 230 hour yoga teacher training certification in June 2009 through Asheville Yoga Center. Lauryn has since offered yoga classes at Signal Centers, Moon Haven Studio, Northshore Yoga, Madia's Studio, Clearspring Yoga, Zanzibar Studio, and Yoga East. Lauryn is passionate about offering yoga to all bodies and has enjoyed offering Chair Yoga to those with limited mobility at Signal Centers, the Hamilton County Health Department, and Yoga East. Lauryn's style of teaching is relaxed, fun, and encouraging. Lauryn encourages students to listen to their own bodies and experiences for wisdom in yoga and offers many modifications in her classes. Lauryn also runs her own business, the Asala Center, which offers Constructive Living instruction. Information about Asala is available at www.asalacenter.com.
