500 hr Yoga Teacher Training Certification

Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training

500-hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Certification Program

Welcome

Are you craving a serious training in Yoga Therapy? 2013 is the year to become a certified Yoga Therapist for less (less time requirements and less financial requirements if you enroll before December 31, 2013!) You can have a one of a kind education with Asheville Yoga Center's world-renowned high quality staff: certified YA instructors, certified health care professionals (PT, RN, Ayurvedic doctors), field trips to Senior Centers, a cadaver lab, live walk-in clients and more.

So, don’t wait to challenge yourself and explore the possibilities of becoming the best yoga teacher you can be! By studying Therapeutic Yoga you immerse yourself in the wisdom of yoga as an authentic practice, a healing art, and a gift to your community. You will confidently develop various aspects of your teaching practice in a wide range of therapeutic applications to provide compassionate support and healing to your students. If you’ve ever felt challenged to help your students in adapting yoga postures to suit their needs, this course will provide you with a rich background and powerful tools for service.

Dates:

Apply now - limited space, acceptance by application approval only

More Info

• Curriculum

  Yoga Foundations
  • history, philosophy
  • teachings from: Vedic and post Vedic periods, Samkhya, Yoga, Tantra, Ayurveda
  • Defining Yoga Therapy
  • current legislation around Yoga Therapy
  • Viniyoga tradition

  Yoga Philosophy
  • prana
  • apana
  • panca maya/panca kosha model
  • subtle anatomy
  • atma/ Brahma
  • purusha/prakrti
  • pañca maya (kosha)
  • Shiva/shakti
  • guna
  • duhkha
  • dharma/marga/bhakti
  • nature of the mind according to Patanjali
  • subtle anatomy: chakra/nadi and kundalini
  • dosha
  • ashrama (stages of life)
  

  Yoga Practices
  asana,
  pranayama
  relaxation
  meditation techniques
  bhavana
  mantra
  mudra.
  

  Yogic/Ayurvedic perspectives on health and disease
  • agni (digestive fire and its contribution to health)
  • prana vayu (movement of prana)
  • prana (inward and forward breath)
  • apana (out breath/ elimination)
  • vyana (circulation/distribution)
  • udana (speech, upward movement)
  • samana (digestion)
  • prana prakopa (disturbance of the vayu)
  • surya/ chandra (sun/moon)
  • brmhana/ langhana (expansion/contraction)
  • vyuha model:
  • heya (the symptoms)
  • hetu (the causes)
  • hana (the goal)
  • upaya (the tools)
  • Knowledge of categorizing illness including:
  • Trajectory, intensity, onset and duration and their influence on the ease and difficulty of healing and management.
  • Setting priorities e.g. shamana (pacification of symptoms - short term), shodhana- (purification/ strengthening-long term).
  

  Anatomy and Physiology
  Knowledge of the following and their relevance to the work of a Yoga therapist:
  • Anatomy and physiology including all major body systems and their interrelationships
  • Functional anatomy and kinesiology
  • The brain and functional neuro-anatomy

  Additional Biomedical Knowledge
  • Familiarity with common medical terminology.
  • Basic knowledge of commonly occurring patho-physiological conditions including symptoms, associated conditions, management, illness trajectories and contraindications.
  • Basic pharmacology
  • Familiarity with common surgical procedures and principles of pre and post surgical care as related to Yoga therapy.  
  • Using the yoga therapist as an adjunct to the PT and/or medical professional.
  • Knowledge of how to reference current information of the above.

  Yoga Psychology/mental health
  • Familiarity with models of human development including developmental stages, lifecycles and personality.
  • Basic knowledge of psychological concepts and terminology including mood, cognition, behavior, and personality as relevant to the work of a yoga therapist.
  • Basic knowledge of commonly occurring mental health conditions, their symptoms and common approaches/interventions – from psychological distress to psychiatric conditions – and their relationship to Yoga therapy.
  • Basic knowledge of how different familial, social, cultural, and religious backgrounds affect mental health.  

  Teaching and Therapeutic Skills
  • In depth knowledge of and observed capacity for well-developed communication skills: listening, presence, directive and non-directive dialog.
  • In depth knowledge of basic counseling methods and concepts
  • Demonstration of the ability to recognize, adjust and adapt to specific client/student needs in the evolving therapeutic relationship.
  • Demonstration of the ability to recognize and monitor transference, counter-transference and projection.
  • Knowledge of the limits of the scope of practice of Yoga Therapy.
  • Knowledge of how to assess the need for referral to professional counseling.
  • understand how people learn movements, and certainly how to progress a personalized program.)
  • In depth knowledge and the ability to use effective teaching methods, e.g.:
  • Adaptation to unique styles of learning: visual, auditory, kinesthetic
  • Implementation of effective teaching methods with regard to individual client/student needs
  • Supportive and effective feedback
  • effective listening skills
  • Considerations for effective progression
  • Coping with unique difficulties & successes
  • In depth knowledge and the ability to transmit the value of self-awareness and self-responsibility throughout the therapeutic process.
  • In depth knowledge and the ability to develop and adjust appropriate practice strategies with the client/student
  • Knowledge of and ability to design, implement, and evaluate programs for therapeutic groups
  • Management of group dynamics including:
  • communication skills
  • time management
  • establishing priorities
  • boundaries
  • Facilitating the process/practice for individual participants and/or unique populations.
  • Creating safe, empowering group experiences.    
  

  Business/Intake
  • Developing and Maintaining Therapeutic Relationships
  • The ability to orient the student to the yoga therapy process
  • The ability to foster trust by establishing an appropriate therapeutic environment through privacy, confidentiality and safety
  • Demonstration of effective client/student-centered communication based upon a respect for and sensitivity to familial, cultural, social, ethnic, and religious factors.
  • Demonstration of the ability to develop and utilize procedures for gathering and evaluating relevant objective and subjective information through:
  • Taking a medical history.
  • Lifestyle and psycho-social assessment, e.g., sleep, diet, social relationships, etc.
  • Observation (darshana), e.g., alignment, movement patterns, tension, breath, etc.
  • Touch (sparshana) e.g., pulse, palpation, feeling for heat, feeling for tension, etc.
  • Interaction (prashna), e.g., styles of communication (eye contact, boundaries, openness in disclosure of personal information)
  • Demonstrate the ability to elicit the goals and expectations of the client.
  • Demonstrate the ability to assess the client's willingness, readiness and capacity to practice, including level of self-awareness.
  • Demonstrate the ability to integrate information from the intake/evaluation and to develop a working idea or theory of the client's condition, limitations and possibilities.
  • Undertake necessary research on client's condition(s)
  • Determine which aspects of conditions/symptoms might be addressed through Yoga therapy
  • Identify priorities and set both short and long term goals with the client/student.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of pacification (shamana), purification, and strengthening
  (shodhana) strategies
  • Combine intake, evaluation and working theory to develop an appropriate strategy.
  • Negotiate specific aspects of practice with client/student, e.g. content, time and duration of practice.
  • Choose yoga tools and techniques.
  • Sequence, adapt, modify, select and evolve yoga practices.
  • Through instruction, demonstration, education and observation using multi-modal strategies (including auditory, visual, and kinesthetic)
  • By applying select principles from learning theory to the client/student interaction (moving from simple to complex)
  • By providing the client/student a means to remember and support their practice (auditory and visual tools)
  • By providing supportive strategies for the client/student to actively participate in their practice.
  • By witnessing and responding to client/student responses and reactions in the context of the session.
  • Demonstrate the ability to gather feedback, re-assess and refine the practice, short-term and long-term goals and priorities.
  • Demonstrate the ability to address new and changing conditions goals and priorities of the student/client and provide appropriate support.
  • Demonstrate the ability to provide appropriate closure for the therapy sessions.
  • In depth knowledge of Yoga practices and methods for self-inquiry
  • In depth knowledge of generally accepted ethical principles including health care codes and Yoga's ethical principles including yama and niyama
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of generally accepted ethical principles and related concepts from the yoga tradition (i.e. yama and niyama) to professional interactions and relationships
  • Knowledge of the scope of practice for Yoga Therapy
  • Knowledge of the extent of one's own individual training, skills and experience in the field of Yoga Therapy and the importance of practicing within those parameters   
  • Legal, Regulatory and Business Issues Pertaining to Yoga Therapy
  • Knowledge of the relevant local, state, and national laws and regulations impacting the work of a Yoga Therapist
  • Knowledge of basic business practices relevant to the work of a Yoga Therapist including basic record keeping, planning, financial management
  • Basic knowledge of other healthcare fields and their potential role in and relevance to the work of a Yoga therapist
  • Knowledge of how to establish, maintain and utilize a referral network of peers and related health care practitioners and organizations
  • Familiarity with how to develop and maintain on-going collaborative relationships
  • Knowledge of the fundamental value of on-going personal practice, long-term mentorship and skill maintenance/ development through continuing education
  • Knowledge of when and how to seek advice and support for case consultation, educational advancement, and personal practice
  • Selfcare practices
  
  Each Weekend Includes
  * Integrating asana, pranayama, bandhas, chanting, meditation, inquiry, yoga nidra, energy, use of props & restoratives, for a wide range of therapeutic conditions.
  * Asana, meditation, and pranayama practice, as taught by our faculty, as well as student teaching.
  * Comprehensive teaching skills including student assessment, hands on assisting, sequencing, pacing, thematic approaches, creativity.
  * Compassionate support, tools and challenges to empower you as a yoga student to grow in your own practice, improving your ability to bring yoga and healing to others.
  * Intimate setting with limited enrollment to facilitate a safe environment for learning, practice, and mentorship..
  * Experiential exercises for confidence in guiding group classes, workshops, series and individualized yoga therapy sessions.
  * Business, liability, and ethical boundaries made easy and clear, with motivational tools to help set up a professional yoga therapist practice.
  
  Apply Now

• IAYT Certification (International Association of Yoga Therapy)

  The IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) is working towards accreditation for eligible schools. Our last newsletter stated that IAYT was offering certification to individuals, this is not true, we apologize for our error. Their actual recognition and listing of yoga therapists, via grandparenting or graduation from IAYT accredited programs is still in process of being developed. By June, hopefully, the application for schools will be open, and Asheville Yoga Center will keep you posted on our accreditation process. We are doing everything we can to meet their upcoming requirements. If we get approved, then this will be a unique opportunity to study the course work for your 500 Hour Teacher Training Certification and concurrently fulfill the majority of the requirements to be grandfathered in for an IAYT Certification before the deadline of December 31, 2013. After this date, recognition by IAYT via Asheville Yoga Center's 500hr Therapeutic Teacher Training will be much more expensive and time consuming. More details will be arriving throughout 2013.
  
  IAYT Mission IAYT supports research and education in Yoga and serves as a professional organization for Yoga teachers and Yoga therapists worldwide. Its mission is to establish Yoga as a recognized and respected therapy.

  IAYT membership is open to Yoga practitioners, Yoga teachers, Yoga therapists, Yoga researchers and healthcare practitioners who utilize Yoga in their practice. Current membership (c. 2009) is approximately, 2,600. Membership has tripled since the IAYT renewal in 2004.

  IAYT also serves members, the media, and the general public as a comprehensive source of information about contemporary Yoga education, research, and statistics.

  IAYT History
  IAYT was founded in 1989 by Larry Payne, PhD, and Richard Miller, PhD, and had well-known Yoga teacher Lilias Folan as its honorary president for many years. Since its establishment, IAYT has consistently championed the cause of Yoga as a healing art through conferences, an annual journal, a newsletter and, more recently, a growing website and a professional referral service.

  In 1999, IAYT was dissolved as an independent nonprofit corporation and operated as a special division of Yoga Research and Education Center (YREC) under the overall leadership of Georg Feuerstein, PhD, an internationally respected Yoga scholar and author as well as the founder and former president of YREC. Larry Payne continued as director, with administrative and managing editor responsibilities assumed by Trisha Lamb.
  

• Pre-Requisites

  ***To be eligible for the 500-hour certification you will need to have already obtained a Yoga Alliance Certification at the 200-hour level, (from the Asheville Yoga Center or elsewhere).
  
  Pre-requisites
  
  1. Certificate from a 200hr YA program (doesn't have to be from Asheville Yoga)
  2. Own and watch several times: Anatomy for Yoga DVD by Paul Grilley
  (can buy at pranamaya.com)
  3. Know your bones! You should be able to name all the bones from this diagram by heart on the first day of the course.
  4. Read Yoga as Medicine by Yoga Journal and Timothy McCall   (one of our required reading texts). Then, write a one page paper: Pick 2 chapters between 8 - 27 from Yoga as Medicine, and write a chapter summary (1-2 paragraphs) and present 5 yoga poses a person with this condition could work on individually at home to ease any discomfort ,(cannot be same poses as presented in the chapter itself).  Needs to be emailed to stephkeach@gmail before first day of program.
  5.  A current CPR certification by February 17, 2012 (first weekend of class).  Free instruction around the Asheville area through Red Cross.  Two year expiration on certification. Please bring your copy to be shown to instructor on the first day of class, (not earlier thanks).
  

• 500hr YA Certification (Yoga Alliance)

  To receive certification eligibility from Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level, your 100% attendance in all 10 weekends with a final 4-day wrap up is required. There will be extensive homework in between each weekend, involving reading, student teaching, working with private clients, as well as writing papers. Students will also need to complete two additional 500hr modules (see below for options) to be eligible for the 500hr YA Certification through the Asheville Yoga Center.
  
  TWO ADDITIONAL MODULES REQUIRED FOR COMPLETION AT THE 500HR LEVEL, (please choose only two from the list below - must be completed through Asheville Yoga Center, or with Director’s approval, and cannot be counted double credit for other programs) You must complete all scheduled hours within a workshop to receive elective credit. See below for the number of hours required for each elective. All of our 500-hour modules meet these requirements.
  
  * Prenatal/Postnatal (14 hours)
  * Restorative (15 hours)
  * Seniors Yoga (25 hours)
  * Ayurveda and Yoga (18 hours)
  * Therapeutics and Yoga (24 hours)
  * Anatomy and Yoga(15 hours)
  * Yin Yoga (14 hours)
  * Meditation and Yoga (15 hours)
  

• Time and Dates

  Hours:
  Fridays: 5:30 - 9:00pm
  Saturdays: 8:00am - 12:00pm and 2:00 - 6:00pm
  Sundays: 8:30am - 11:30am and 12:30 -3:30pm
  
  November 15, 2013 Dates:
  1. November 15-17, 2013
  2. December 13-15, 2013
  3. January 10 - 12, 2014
  4. January 31 - February 2, 2014
  5. February 28 - March 2
  6. March 28 - 30
  7. May 2 - 4: Gary Kraftsow Weekend, included in tuition (different hours, check here)
  8. May 30 - June 1
  9. June 20 - 22
  10. July 11 - 13
  11. July 31 - August 3: This is Thurs - Sun, and is mandatory. Each day averages 9-5, covering our Final reviews and evaluations segment as well as field trips (possible evening hours as well).
  
  Make up weekend:
  May 16 - 18: This weekend needs to remain available and open in your calendars in case one of the above weekends is cancelled due to weather only.
  

  Previous Jan 18th, 2013 Dates:
  1. January 18 - 20, 2013
  2. February 8 - 10
  3. March 8 - 10 (*Friday starts at 3:00pm this weekend only)
  4. April 5 - 7
  5. April 26 - 28
  6. May 24 - 26
  7. June 21 - 23
  8. July 12 - 14
  9. August 16 - 18
  10. September 6 - 8: Yoga for Trauma Weekend included in your tuition.
  (Fri 5:30-380pm, Sat 9:00-12:00pm and 2:00-5:00pm, Sun 8:30-11:30am and12:30-3:30pm )
  11. October 3 - 6 This is Thurs - Sun, and is mandatory. Each day averages 9-5, covering our Final reviews and evaluations segment as well as field trips (possible evening hours as well).

  (make up weekend)
  August 23- 25: Please keep this weekend available and open in your calendars in case one of the above weekends is cancelled due to weather.

  
  

• Required Readings

  ELEVEN Required Books (not included in tuition price)
  Approximate cost of all books is estimated around $240, or the estimated price individually below.
  All books can be purchased in advance directly from the Asheville Yoga Center, onsite not online.
  We no longer ship individual books unless emergent. (The exception being The Yoga Handbook by Stephanie Keach) If you are interested in the entire book bundle, we can offer it at a discount. please email or call LIZ aycnow@gmail.com or phone 828-254-0380.
  
  1) The Yoga Handbook, An Inspirational Ref. for Teaching and Home Practice by Stephanie Keach, $35
  2) Yoga as Medicine by Yoga Journal and Timothy McCall $21
  3) Yoga for Arthritis by Loren Fishman MD $20
  4) Trail Guide to the Body by Andrew Biel and Robin Dorn
  5) Yoga for Depression by Amy Weintraub $17
  6) Yoga Nidra: A Meditative Practice by Richard Miller (book and cd) $15
  7) The Heart of Yoga by Desikachar $20
  8) Back Care Basics, by Mary Pulling Shatz, $22
  9) Pranayama, Beyond the Fundamentals by Richard Rosen (book and cd) $22
  10) Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson $18
  11) Yoga for Transformation by Gary Kraftsow $22
  *Note: It is assumed you own a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. If not, please purchase and read.
  

• Tuition

  Full Tuition price: $3900
  Save $900 by June 15th, 2013
  Save $600 by August 15th, 2013
  
  You may pay the tuition in full at registration after filling out the application below.
  OR you can pay a deposit of $500 with half your balance due by November 15, and the rest of your full balance paid off by March 28, 2013, our 5th weekend together.

• What people are saying

  “I can never thank you enough not just for teaching me Yoga, but giving me hope through the practice to face this most difficult world.”
  -J. Blume, Kannapolis, NC
  
  I enjoyed the range of subjects covered and the way we tackled them, including other yoga instructors and their different styles. This kind of exposure probably wouldn't have occurred at other institutions”
  - N. Conrad, Cornelius, NC
  
  “Stephanie is a wise and wonderful teacher. She shares her vast knowledge of yoga and meditation in more than words, but in the mindfulness and compassion she imparts in every moment of interaction with her students.
  - E. Lang, Spartanburg, SC
  
  “I was in awe of the education I have received ....much deeper and more
  technical than anything I gained from Medical courses taken in the past.. thank you...Yoga is now my passion, my Life.”
  - S. Dulken, Fairview, NC
  

  many more reviews here

• Our Incredible Staff

  Please note that this is not all the staff. We've not included in this list our guest instructors. We host some of the biggest names in the yoga world. Some of the gifted teachers that show up at our studio and contribute to our 500 hour studies program are. Bryan Kest, David Swenson, Rod Stryker, Shakta Kaur Khalsa, David Keil, Doug Keller, Leslie Kaminoff, Amy Weintraub, David Williams, Gary Kraftsow, Cora Wen, Scott Blossom and many others.
  
  

  The Director

  Stephanie Keach RYA500, has been teaching Yoga since 1988. Originally from Santa Barbara, CA, she has studied with most of the top yoga teachers, including her favorites: Ana Forrest, Erich Schiffman, Rodney Yee, Rod Stryker and Bryan Kest. Her Zen -Buddhist background brings a meditative style to the class.

  Stephanie, owner and operator of the Asheville Yoga Center has produced the Flow Yoga video series and The Yoga Handbook. She currently teaches Flow Yoga classes, retreats, workshops and teacher trainings throughout the country. Stephanie resides in Asheville with her husband and three boys. Steph is so respected as a teacher because she is so down-to-earth, real and comfortable with herself. She is a master teacher, full of knowledge, experience and intuitive insight, well loved by many.

  Stephanie specializes in over-seeing the program so that everyone's needs are more than met and hearts are opened wide. She is the Yoga Mama Bear of AYC..

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  Joe Taft
  Joe Taft is a certified Anusara Yoga instructor who has dedicated himself to the practice of yoga since 1997. His teaching style is approachable, lighthearted, uplifting and transformational. Joe interweaves Anusara’s life-affirming and heartfelt approach into his classes through myth, storytelling, Tantric philosophy and the wisdom gathered through his own life’s journey. He has completed hundreds of training hours with John Friend, Sianna Sherman and other senior Anusara instructors. Joe has a keen awareness of body biomechanics and a long history as a devoted athlete. He is an inspiration to yoga teachers and students alike.
  

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  Shala Worsley
  Shala has a deep yoga practice and teaching style that reflects over 12 years of study. She invites students to cultivate the exploration of the physical and spiritual realms. As a teacher, Shala offers a blend of the benefits of yoga in the alignment traditions of Iyengar, and flowing aspects of Ashtanga and Vinyasa, always including therapeutic yoga, yin yoga, meditation, pranayama and yoga philosophy. She embodies a balanced sense of grace, delicate flow, and attention to detail - a direct result of her passion for practicing yoga in nature and our innate connection to the Earth and the Cosmos. She inspires the student to touch their own yogic soul, bringing asana practice to life from within. Shala currently lives in Asheville, NC, teaching at the Asheville Yoga Center and directing the Asheville School of Massage and Yoga. Shala will be teaching most of the training.

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  Michael Johnson
  Since he can remember, Michael’s parents were his first and perfect Teachers in this life. In a way, everyone he meets continues to teach him perfectly by being examples of both how and how not to live. Among the many teachers who continue teach him, he has learned from Sri Swami Satchidananda, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Sharon Gannon, David Life, Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally, Lama Marut, Kimberley Theresa, and his beloved partner, Stephanie.

  It is his honor, privilege and hope to return the kindness that so many people have bestowed upon him, by teaching the highest practices of Yoga to all levels of practitioners… responsibly, joyfully, and in a way that will help others achieve their goals in this life and beyond.  

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  Sierra Hollister
  Sierra Hollister has been sharing Kundalini Yoga in Asheville since 1995. Prior to that, Sierra was immersed in Kundalini at Ahimsa Ashram in Washington, DC. Certified in Kundalini, Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga and Sat Nam Rasayan, Sierra has studied with many wonderful teachers over the years, including Yogi Bhajan, Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, Sarah Powers, David Swenson, Rajashri Choudhury, Chandra Om and Hari Das Kaur. In addition to teaching at Asheville Yoga Center, Sierra is on the teaching staff at Warren Wilson College and is the author of Foundations of Yoga: The Eight-Limbed Path. She is considered to be a teacher that “leads one to the amrit Anahata” or the nectar of the heart. She is deeply, profoundly grateful, each day, to share these sacred teachings.

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  Marion Stone
  Marion was introduced to the Rolf Method of Structural Integration and became a certified practitioner in 1996. She completed an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from A-B Tech College and a Certification for Yoga Instruction from the Asheville Yoga Center in 1999. Students will learn about the human body through her hands-on experiential teaching style.

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  Janelle Railey
  Janelle Railey MA, LPC, RYT is a licensed psychotherapist, meditation instructor, experienced yoga teacher and childbirth educator. Her work is concerned with developing a present moment awareness to the body-mind connection. She has come to know that such awareness sets the stage for a direct and fresh experience with life – the prerequisites for meaningful change.
  As a psychotherapist Janelle often helps her clients investigate the dialogue between their physical body and psychological landscape. She compassionately and skillfully assists others in bringing their awareness to the habits of the mind that arise as the physical body is moved and explored.
  Janelle’s training and education is a twenty year endeavor including Contemplative Psychotherapy, advanced yoga teacher trainings, Buddhist meditation and philosophy, Authentic Movement, Jungian psychoanalysis, somatic education, doula training and childbirth education. For more about Janelle, please visit www.janellerailey.com.
  

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  Ryan Conrad
  Ryan Conrad began exploring various facets of self awareness practices and meditation at an early age. Sixteen years ago he discovered the yogic path and quickly dove deeply into the study of asana, pranayama and yogic philosophy. Ryan has studied with teachers from several yogic lineages, and has focused the majority of his studies in the Iyengar method. Ryan has had the opportunity to study with many of the senior Iyengar instructors in the United States and abroad and has also studied with Mr. Iyengar himself. Ryan has been teaching yoga for over 8 years and is currently a 200 E-RYT. In 2010 Ryan completed his Doctorate of Physical Therapy at UNC Chapel Hill in order to expand his knowledge of anatomy and physiology. This training has allowed Ryan to be knowledgeable in teaching able bodied individuals as well as those with a diversity of neurological and musculoskeletal conditions by seamlessly blending Eastern and Western healing philosophies.
  

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  Diane Saccone
  MT(ASCP), RYT 500 has been practicing and teaching Yoga as Therapy throughout the Mid Atlantic and Southern Appalachian states for several years. Diane has studied with many yoga masters including Rod Stryker, Seane Corne, Doug Keller, Stephanie Keach, Scott Blossom, and Gary Kraftstow justto name a few. Her concentration is directed on using Yoga as Therapy to improve the quality of life for her students as they recover from injuries inflicted by illness, injuries, or disease. She is the co-director of Asheville Yoga Center's 500 hr. Yoga Therapy Teacher Training, LIVESTRONG at the YMCA Cancer Coach, and is the co - founder of Bosom Buddies, a Breast Cancer Support Group in Weaverville NC. Diane maintains a studio in Weaverville, NC where she therapeutic stretch techniques from farm houses to school houses throughout Buncombe and Madison Counties. Diane is available for individual consultations. For more information, please contact Diane at: reemscreekyoga@aol.com.

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  Gaia Boyd
  Through her studies of various massage modalities and yoga therapy, Gaia has continued to develop her understanding of the physical, spiritual, and energetic components of the bodily experience. She believes a person’s deepest learning comes from her or his own willingness and effort to be present with the immediate moment. Gaia is on her way to being a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist, which is a therapeutic form of self-study using yoga poses, and sees clients in her office in West Asheville. She believes in your body's ability to hold and recall emotions and memories, and that awareness of your body brings inner and outer healing. Gaia's Gentle yoga class is an exploration of subtle energy in your body, therapeutic repetitive movement, and restorative poses.

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  Anna Ferguson
  Anna Ferguson first experienced yoga practice in 2000. In 2007, she completed her 200 hour teacher training with Asheville Yoga Center. She has studied with Doug Keller, Rod Stryker, Kaoverri Weber, Shala Worsley and Stephanie Keach. She has studied extensively the styles of vinyasa flow, power, yin and therapeutic yoga. She completed her 500 HR Therapeutic Teacher Training in 2013 with Kaoverri Weber of Subtle Yoga. She teaches public and private classes in the Western North Carolina and surrounding areas. Her main focus of study and practice is therapeutic yoga, with a focus on psycho-spiritual transformation through meditation and other reflection/mindfulness cognitive practices, teaching basic mantra and pranayama practice, therapeutic asana (nuero-muscular re-patterning through dynamic asana repetition), yin yoga and study of yogic texts. She also facilitates The Artist's Way several times a year with Mado Hesselink through their joint venture, The Artist's Way in Asheville. Learn more about Anna on her web site, VibrantHeartYoga.com.

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  Libby Hinsley
  Libby Hinsley, PT, RYT 500, received her 200 and 500 hour yoga teaching certifications from the Asheville Yoga Center. She began her study of yoga in 1998 and has been teaching since 2005. She has taught in a variety of settings and for a wide variety of student populations. She values teachings from many traditions, including Vinyasa flow, mindfulness meditation, Yin, Iyengar, and Anusara. In 2008 she had the fortunate opportunity to study at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, India in the tradition of Krishnamacharya and Desikachar. Since that time, she has focused her study on therapeutic yoga in the Viniyoga tradition. Libby believes that the magic of yoga lies in its most fundamental teachings, and begins with a deep awareness of breath. In her classes, she hopes to lead students inward to discover the perfection of body and spirit that is already, and always, present. She teaches weekly classes and components of the Asheville Yoga Center’s Teacher Training programs, and teaches yoga at the Asheville School of Massage and Yoga. In 2011, she completed her training as a Physical Therapist at Western Carolina University, and currently works as a PT at Physical Therapy and Back Clinic of Leicester.

  
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