As a nurse with nine years of experience in the both the adult and pediatric critical care setting, Ashley has always had a love for health, fitness, and an active lifestyle. She was involved in dance, gymnastics, softball, ran cross country, and competed regionally and nationally in cutting horse competitions as a member of the National Cutting Horse Association. After selling her horse when she went to college, she found herself continuously searching for something to channel her fitness drive. A knee injury and surgery resulted in her discovering and becoming a dedicated practitioner of yoga. After moving from Nashville, TN to Birmingham, AL, she soon became frustrated and discouraged with not being able to find a yoga studio that she connected with. It was then that she was... Read the profile >>
Becky grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where she attended school and lived, until she went onto graduate from James Madison University with a degree in psychology, and recently obtained her elementary school teaching license from Mary Baldwin College. She is currently a teaching Language Arts and Social Studies to fourth graders at St. Andrew’s School. It is her dream to share the gift of yoga with as many individuals as possible; old and young alike. She is a 200 hour RYT, and trained very closely under Arlene Bjork through Grace Yoga Training Systems, before she passed away in late 2009. Becky has been able to meet some amazing individuals through her yoga training, which just happened to fall into her lap after college graduation. Becky strongly believes that she did not find... Read the profile >>
Dana discovered yoga in the mid-1990?s as a way to strengthen and de-stress the body in a safe, low-impact way. She even used her yoga practice to to help rehabilitate herself following a debilitating head injury in early 2007. However, the practice of yoga is an evolving one and her own experience led her to a profound sense of inner peace and understanding. For Dana, yoga has become a means to “connect the dots” authentically on a physical, mental, and energetic level– not only internally, but with whatever experience life brings. She lives and breathes with gratitude the connectedness to life and spirit that this practice gives, every day. Her goal is to help students, if they are willing, achieve those same benefits. Dana has been teaching yoga since 2008. Recognizing that... Read the profile >>
Ellie was first drawn to the fire and intensity of Ashtanga yoga while living in Vermont in 2000. She completed her 200-hour training in 2005, followed by a 40-hour Ashtanga Primary Series Teacher Training with David Swenson, and, most recently, the 300-hour YogaWorks Professional Program. Although she has been taught and influenced by many teachers, she continues to be humbled and inspired by what she learns through her practice, her life, and her teaching. Ellie teaches strong and balanced vinyasa classes with a focus on breath awareness, aligning with Self, and cultivating the qualities of contentment, acceptance, and continued disciplined effort without attachment to the outcome. Driven by the profound and rich aspects of yoga philosophy, the energetic, subtle body, and the spiritual... Read the profile >>
Jen Grabham is co-owner and head trainer of West End CrossFit in Richmond, VA. Jen is a former Division I scholarship athlete and has always had a passion for fitness. This passion for fitness eventually led Jen down the personal training path. She quickly became bored with her own workout routine and personal training clients expressed the same dissatisfaction. Jen began to explore alternative fitness options and was told to check out CrossFit. She was hooked after her first workout. Helping others has been a lifelong goal for Jen and she has found that CrossFit is THE way for her to accomplish this goal. The scalability of CrossFit programming easily fits a wide spectrum of individuals from elite athletes to those who were previously sedentary. Jen's goal through... Read the profile >>
Jessica loved running for fun and exercise, but eventually the pains and tightness of it sent her on a yoga journey. When she found Bikram yoga, Jessica discovered something that could keep her interest and improve her health. Each day the yoga became more meditative (a 90 minute meditation!) and she has been continually challenged ever since, learning something new with each class. Jessica has degrees in biology (pre-med), Spanish, and anthropology. She is yoga instructor and also a professional muse helping to coach executives, artists, and entrepreneuers to realize their life goals and aspirations. Read the profile >>
Kara Kasarda is a certified Pilates instructor and has been sharing her love of Pilates and general fitness with clients since 1998. Kara has an extensive background in dance, kinesiology and personal training which has been extremely helpful to her understanding of the principles and fundamentals of Pilates and general fitness. Kara has advanced training in both mat and apparatus through The Method Pilates Certification and has participated in specialty classes including prenatal and postnatal Pilates and Pilates for golf and is constantly seeking new ways to challenge her clients to meet their goals. Always seeking new experiences, Kara actively participates in various forms of Yoga, Crossfit and has become an avid runner completing multiple long distance races over the past few... Read the profile >>
Bright clothing, bright sneakers and a bright attitude towards fitness most perfectly defines Lindsey Burnette. This yoga-obsessed, sparkling water-drinking mother of two is a Level 1 certified CrossFit instructor at CrossFit Midlo who possesses a strong passion for excellence in her unwavering pursuit of physical activity. From tackling motherhood, to tackling barbells, Lindsey can be found most days at the CrossFit gym before the roosters start crowing with a cup of black hazelnut coffee, inspiring athletes and positively impacting the lives of those who meet her. With a warm smile and a burning desire to compete, Lindsey has taken part in numerous CrossFit competitions statewide as she continues to grow her love for the "sport of fitness." Lindsey prides herself on helping each person... Read the profile >>
Michele's interest in yoga began during her pursuit for a deeper understanding of the concept of a balanced life. Through her experience as a Reiki Practioner and working with the Chakras, she realized the importance and benefits of a consistent yoga practice. Michele completed her 200 hour teacher training with Yoga Works in Richmond, VA. In her classes, Michele focuses on connecting the breath with movement and has strong emphasis on proper alignment, enabling us to heal the body, still the mind and inspire the soul. An inversion junkie, she takes her practice seriously, but not herself and finds humor on and off the mat daily and shares that laughter in class. Sharing her belief that everyone, at their core, is perfect and whole, she draws inspiration from her own practice and... Read the profile >>
For as long as he could remember, Paul has been an avid athlete and fitness enthusiast. In 1993, he decided to take that passion and enthusiasm into a professional capacity. From 1993-2001, Paul walked through the doors of nearly 1,000 health clubs throughout the New York metropolitan area as a distributor/representative for over 30 commercial fitness manufacturers. During this time, it became very obvious to Paul that these fitness facilities were designed to attract and cater to a very small percentage of the population. The balance of the population, Paul felt, were not members of these facilities for many reasons: these people were either frustrated from previous attempts to become healthy, they were intimidated by all the fancy looking equipment and machines that these fancy gyms... Read the profile >>
Whether working with adults or young children, Ruthie relishes any opportunity to pass on her enthusiasm and passion for an active and healthy lifestyle. Ruthie is a certified Road Running Club of America Coach and an avid marathoner. She coaches advanced and elite runners with the Richmond Sports Backers Marathon Training Team and also coaches students in grades K-5 at the elementary school where she teaches fourth grade. Before heading to the classroom to stimulate and challenge her young students' minds, Ruthie is up logging her miles most mornings before the sun rises. She has a wide range of fitness-related interests and is passionate about yoga, pilates and barre. When not on the road or trails, you may spot her darting into a local studio to help strengthen her mind and body. She... Read the profile >>
ERYT-500 Vinyasa Flow Instructor Tia Platte has been teaching Vinyasa Flow yoga for fourteen years and a humble student of yoga for over sixteen. She currently resides in Richmond, VA where she has been the Co-Director of Yoga Source since 2007. A native Virginian, Tia was born with a passion for movement and creative expression. At the early age of three, she was introduced into the world of dance and performance with Eva May Morris. Music and Costume Design came later as a student of the Governor's School for the Arts, where she studied many forms of dance, learned classical violin and string bass, and explored costume design and creation. Tia was trained by many phenomenal dance teachers and was introduced to Hatha Yoga by Ana Gerard at age 15. She later moved to Richmond, VA to... Read the profile >>
Yaco is passionate to teach intelligent yoga allowing her students to be mindful of their own physical body and spirit, while she encourages and supports their own journey. Yaco has been enjoying her own yoga path following the steps of Abhyasa(dedicated practice) and Vairagya(detachment). Yaco started practicing Yoga in 2000 in Japan. In 2007 Yaco moved to the USA and met Vinyasa Flow which brought her further in her yoga journey. Yaco completed Yoga Works 200hr. Teacher Training under Anne Van Volkenburg in 2009 and Yoga Works 300hr. Teacher Training in 2010. Yaco received Yoga Works Certification in 2011. As continual study, Yaco studied “Teaching Yoga to Athletes” under well-known teacher Sage Rountree who is the author of “the Athlete’s Guide to Yoga”.Since 2009, Yaco has... Read the profile >>
