Yoga Teachers

Authentic Yoga Practices… taught from the hearts of compassionate teachers

 

We offer a variety of Yoga Classes to suit beginner and advanced Yogis in hot, warm, and room temperatures. Our teachers are Yoga Alliance RYT Certified, compassionate and each share their love for Yoga in their classes!

 

Teacher Yoga Bios

 

Andrea Ballard

Andrea discovered yoga after a serious bout of Post-Partum Depression with my first daughter.  She was hooked after her first class and started a regular practice for 2 years before committing to a teacher training.  She completed her 200hr with Barb Badger and Marsha Pappas; she loved it so much; she finished her 500 hour Yoga Alliance Cert as well. Since then, she has studied and trained with Sri Pattabhi Jois , Suddha Wexler,  Gary Krafsow, Sean Corn,  David and Doug Swenson, Rolf Gates, Dr. Rudolph Ballentine,  Justin O’Brien, Collette Crawford, and Marsha Wenig to name a few. Andrea is accomplished in many styles of yoga including Hatha, Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga; and has been teaching Prenatal Yoga over the past seven years. ” I have seen so many friendships flourish from class and what an honor to see these beautiful babies brought into this world!!”

 

 

Eric Bryant

Eric Bryant brings a very down-to-earth, personal approach to his classes.  Drawing from his own practice and experiences, his classes are a challenging mix of creative flowing sequences built around the framework of an over-riding theme or concept.  Infusing his classes with humor, mindfulness and personal observations of how yoga practice relates to and supports our life off the mat, no two classes are exactly alike. Eric’s keen eye for alignment and his hands-on adjustments help his students find more ease, space and stability in their asana practice.

Eric began his study of yoga in New York City in the spring of 2000 while looking for ways to get back in shape, improve his mental/spiritual outlook and get out of his tiny studio apartment. Feeling transformed from his first class, he knew he wanted to share the benefits of yoga with others. In the spring of 2006 he received his 200-hour certification through the internationally recognized OM Yoga Center, directed by Cyndi Lee, and is registered with the Yoga Alliance. He has also completed a 25-hour teacher training with Doug Swenson focusing on his holistic system, Yoga Sadhana Chi.  Eric’s classes incorporate a lively, playful vinyasa flow to harmonize the breath and body, an attention to alignment to find space in each pose and a practice of being mindful to what is going on in the body and mind in each moment.

In addition to Cyndi Lee and Doug Swenson, Eric has been honored to study with Frank Mauro, David Swenson and Dana Flynn, though his ongoing teachers and sources of inspiration are his students. When not teaching yoga, Eric enjoys teaching and choreographing sword fights and scenes of conflict and struggle for stage and film, biking, and hiking with his wife and dogs.

 

Meg Faber

Meg Faber brings her passion for yoga into teaching an energetic yet beautifully peaceful class.  Meg’s objective is to offer a yoga experience as a complete exercise and workout program for the body as well as the mind.  Meg has been practicing yoga for years and has taken her love for this form of total health and awareness and physical training, and turn it in to a career. She received her yoga teacher certification with the exceptional instruction of Ann Miller and Dona Robinson, and she has completed the YTT 200 hour course.

Meg also has studied dance throughout her life including through her college studies.  She also has a B.A. in English.  After spending many years in corporate human resources assisting corporate executives and employees find balance in the workplace, Meg now directs her energies to the restorative power of yoga by teaching it to and sharing it with others.  Meg’s class merges the yoga styles of Hatha and Vinyasa (Vinyatha).

 

Mike Finn

Mike began practicing yoga in 2007 as a means of augmenting his existing fitness regimen.  He soon discovered that the physical benefits, while considerable, were only part of what yoga had to offer.  In 2010 he completed the Yoga Alliance 200 hour teacher training certification at Invoke.  Mike finds that yoga helps him handle the stress associated with work related travel which has taken him to every state except Alaska.  This same travel has allowed him to pursue his yoga practice in a number of states.  Mike is grateful for the teachers, classmates and students that have and will continue to inspire him.

 

 

 

Cheryl Milton

Cheryl is certified as an Experienced Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance at the 200 hour level, and has also completed her 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training.  Cheryl’s trainings are in the tradition of Hot Yoga and Vinyasa Ashtanga yoga.  Beryl Bender Birch, Bruce Bowditch, Meredith Holcomb, Doug Swenson and Manorama are among the many great Yogi’s that have influenced Cheryl.  However her greatest Love and Gratitude are upon her two teachers: Ann Richardson Stevens of Studio Bamboo Institute of Yoga and Lisa Rapp of My Yoga Spirit.

Cheryl is currently the lead Teacher for the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training program at Zen Hot Yoga Studio Virginia Beach VA.  She draws inspiration to practice and teach by approaching her mat as a child would approach recess: opening herself up to the experience with a playful sense of exploration, acceptance and peace.  Cheryl looks forward to meeting and playing on the mat with each of you.

 

Erin Morgan

Erin Morgan fell in love with yoga during her time as a journalism student in college. She first retreated to her mat as a way to deal with stress and get the creative juices flowing. Since that time she has maintained a strong practice for more than 8 years. After college Erin left for the west coast where she took every class she could find in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. During this time in Los Angeles her practice deepened being surrounded by inspiring teachers and fellow yogis and she began to feel the pull to share yoga with others. Upon moving back to Indianapolis, Erin was elated to hear that YogaWorks was offering a month-long intensive teacher training led by Carmen Fitzgibbon. She completed her training in July of 2008 and is certified at the 200-hour level.

Growing up as a dancer, she embraces the way asana practice allows you to express yourself through movement, connect to your physical body and center your thoughts. Erin teaches a lighthearted and energetic flow class and loves using music to help synchronize movement and breath. She hopes each student steps off their yoga mat feeling lighter, brighter and more aware of their own awesomeness.

Erin suffers from a severe case of wanderlust and leaps at any opportunity to travel, eat delicious food, listen to good music, be outdoors and leave her car parked in the garage in favor of her bike.

 

Mimi Nguyen

Mimi stumbled upon yoga in the midst of cycling through bootcamps, group fitness classes, and martial arts. Although she enjoyed the physical challenges and activities, it wasn’t until she felt the mind, body, and breath connection in yoga that she realized what she had been searching for: an enriched awareness of the self and the potency of that connection to nourish and heal the mind and body. Mimi is a 200 hour Yoga Alliance certified Power Vinyasa Yoga instructor under the tutelage of Tiffany Cruikshank. She specializes in yoga for athletes with a strong focus on therapeutics and alignment. She continues her education in nutrition, therapeutic yoga, and the energetic body to provide a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

 

Kris Nodley

Kris discovered yoga while searching for a way to relieve the stress of a busy corporate position in Human Resources. While working out in the gym, she tried a yoga class and tried some DVDs. She practiced on her own and in the gym for about 5 years. Then in 2009 her mother’s declining health inspired Kris to become a yoga instructor so she could help her mother. She became certified in February of 2010 under the instruction of Donna Robinson and Ann Miller. Coming full circle on her journey, she returned to the busy corporate world as a yoga teacher. She shines her light on the mat here at Flourish, gently encouraging her students to open their hearts and follow their breath.

 

Jessalyn Oxford

Jessalyn fell in love with yoga on the beach in Santa Monica, where she was first introduced to partner and acro yoga.  She made her way from the beach to the studio, and began her yoga journey at Exhale in Venice.  She has since completed teacher training at Cityoga in Indianapolis and is certified at the 200 hour level.  Jessalyn’s biggest inspirations have been Seane Corne, Matthew Sanford, and Shiva Rea.  Her Yin practice is influenced by Paul Grilley, Bernie Clark, and Sara powers.  She is continually learning and bringing fresh perspective to her classes and practice.  Jessalyn’s classes are heartfelt, inspirational, and creative.  She currently teaches Vinyasa Flow and Yin yoga.

 

 

 

Susannah Sahoo

A competitive gymnast in my youth, I grew up with the personal mantra “harder, further, faster, stronger” woven into my very core.  As an adult, I spent years training, cycling, running, lifting and ‘group fitnessing’ to remain in shape and that same mantra consistently drove my approach.  Each of these offered varying aspects and degrees of fitness, but, things always felt out of balance.  More than a decade ago, I stumbled on the missing piece to the puzzle:  yoga.  I have experienced this practice as a way to grow, transform, transcend, and become yourself no matter how you show up in the world in this moment.  In 2009, I completed the 200 hour training program with YogaWorks of California and am an ERYT 200 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance.

After more than a decade, I continue to be awed by the scope of the practice and take great pleasure in sharing it with any who are interested,  to whatever degree they are interested.  Whether teaching Vinyassa, Ashtanga or Yin, my classes are rooted in the strength of alignment, punctuated with humor and consistently illuminate perhaps the most profound gift of yoga:

The first of the Great Yogic Strengths:   “To be able to stand in the face of intensity and not flinch”……to act rather, with conscious intention, authenticity and grace.

 

Amy Thomas

Amy first studied yoga in 1984 as an elective physical education class while earning her undergraduate degree at Indiana University. Later as a graduate student earning her Master’s in Psychology she again studied the body, mind, & spirit healing qualities of yoga at Sonoma State University in California. Just as Amy’s individual educational & personal process with healing began exploring yoga as a physical exercise and evolved into an emotional, psychological and spiritual practice as well, she believes that many people will initially come for the physical benefits of yoga and as they continue, their guided practice will encompass the emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of wholeness and flourishing.

Amy completed her 200 hour National Yoga Alliance yoga teacher training under the guidance and expertise of Nancy Schalk in February of 2003. By continuing to teach as well as study on going yoga classes and workshops she has earned the status of “Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher” (ERYT-200) by the National Yoga Alliance. The opportunity to slow down, tune into one’s self and discover one’s truth is what has continued to draw Amy back to her yoga mat as often as she can. Although spiritual reverence and non-judgmental self-observation set the tone for Amy’s classes, you will leave these physically challenging classes feeling empowered on all levels.

 

Kelli Wilson

Kelli Wilson stumbled upon the yoga path about 4 years ago. The journey has brought her back HOME-to a GRATEFUL, LOVING, SIMPLE being…She received her 200 hour certificate under the loving guidance of Marsh Pappas and Nikki Myers @ Cityoga. Along with being a mom to 4 amazingly, talented, beautiful children she is pediatric nurse with a passion for nutrition/holisitc healing/natural living. She truely loves  helping  people to connect their bodies/minds/spirits through some fun yoga flows…Kelli loves, lives and believes in the power of yoga. She invites you to step onto this glorious path with her and learn from eachother Remember what matters the most…..how well did you LIVE, how well did you LOVE and how well did you learn to LET GO… Namaste

 

 

Jen Xanders

My journey crossed the path of yoga around 1995 as I looked to create a healthier lifestyle.  It has been an ever evolving and changing experience that has deepened and enriched all aspects of my life. I began the practice of yoga to get stronger, and somewhere along the way realized Yoga can heal not only the body but also settle the mind.

As a teacher, I look to encourage students to reconnect with their bodies and intuition; helping them realize how powerful, loving and happy they are beneath all the junk they don’t need. My teaching style is physically challenging and a compilation of every teacher and student I have had the joy of practicing and studying with. Expect to sweat, smile and let go of the outside world. Peace.