Your Experience

Kate Counts
200hr RYT

With a college degree in education, Kate spent half a decade of her early adult life teaching Fourth Grade. During this time, Kate’s journey with yoga began as her time on the mat became a go-to for stress release – a way to regroup and truly focus on herself. After 5 years of teaching, she moved on to become a mom to three wonderful children, using yoga during each pregnancy as a way to witness the miracle of life growing within.

Years later, Kate started teaching fitness classes and training at a local gym. Yoga continued to be a major part of her life – now as a way not only to relieve stress, but as a way to sooth sore and tired muscles.

This is when Kate decided to pursue her 200hr RYT through Gaea Yoga Center in Mt. Pleasant in 2013. Through the last couple of years Kate has gained an appreciation for anatomy and the function of yoga, mainly focusing on skeletal variation, which makes us all so unique in our own bodies!

ASHLEY ANNE
500HR RYT

AshleyAnne is a 500hr RYT, she received her 200 hr YTT from the Kripalu Yoga Center in 2012, and continued her studies finishing her 300 hr YTT from the Passion Yoga School in 2017. Her classes follow the Akhanda Yoga lineage, a traditional Indian style asana practice focusing on the energetic body. She holds space for her students to explore their primal human nature. Her classes advocate yogis to dive beyond the physical experience and connect internally with pranayama and meditation. She creates a sacred space for the community of students too feel silly, vulnerable, playful and whole. AshleyAnne specializes in stand up paddle board yoga, and prenatal yoga (85 hr YTT) Both classes offer the opportunity for her to fulfill her dharma (purpose) to empower and connect women to the nature and beauty surrounding them and within them.

SARAH JONES
200 HR RYT

Sarah first stepped onto her mat in 2006 during finals week at the College of Charleston. What started as a heavy, anything-but-flexible method for dealing with stress and anxiety, soon became a graceful, go-with-the-flow way of life – especially after she was introduced to the styles of Baron Baptiste. Ten years later, Sarah received her training at Charleston Power Yoga. Now, with Baptiste Power Vinyasa at her foundation, Sarah enjoys instilling the benefits of yoga and mindfulness to students of all levels and can be found doing just that right here on James Island.

EMILY SHOEMAKER
200hr RYT

Yoga has been the main gateway for growth in Emily’s life. It has made her stronger and more flexible physically, it has taught her how to truly love herself and to love others, how to begin to let go of judgement and fear, how to persevere, and how to be more patient. She learns these lessons daily on her mat over and over.

Her favorite lesson is that even when she falls (which happens often), she can just get back up, find her breath, ground her feet, (or head or hands) onto her mat, and start again. She loves sharing these lessons as well as being a guide and a witness to the growth of others.

Emily received her 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2012. She also received her certification in children’s yoga in 2014.

Katherine Johnson
200hr ryt

Kat began practicing yoga when she was 13 as a way to spend more time with her mother. But she fell in love with power yoga during her college years as a way to deal with stress and challenge herself physically. She completed her yoga teacher training at Charleston Power Yoga in 2015 after spending a few years there as an assistant. She is a firm believer in the personal power of this practice and that each yogi can create an experience that fits their unique body and self. Kat tailors her classes to offer variations and modifications so that her students can confidently choose their own journey on their mats.

JENNY BROWN
200hr RYT

Jenny is the founder and main instructor at Shaka Surf School on Folly Beach.She’s an all-star surfer and a local legend.In addition to being an incredibly reassuring and encouraging force in the water, she’s been teaching yoga and pranayama for 20+ years.She routinely leads surf and yoga retreats in the Caribbean and Central America. You can catch her classes here at Yoloha and on the beach both independent of and in conjunction with surf sessions.She knows that the ocean and the earth as a whole are constantly reminding us how to fall back into rhythm, and she shares those messages beautifully.

Julie Luisi
200hr RYT

Julie was dragged to her first yoga class on the beach with her well-intended mother at the tender age of 13 and let’s just say that she wasn’t sold. Flash forward 10 years or so and Julie found a way back to her mat through hot power yoga. Despite her initial resistance, thinking yoga was just a bunch of stretching, she soon learned that it was so much more. Julie quickly fell in love with the physicality that this practice offers and, through getting on her mat more and more, experienced the transformational power that comes with moving intentionally in your own body. Yoga became the saving grace in Julie’s life. The breath, the movement, the community, it has healed her in so many ways, both physically and mentally. In 2018, she decided the greatest gift would be to share this practice with those around her and Julie became a 200 hour RYT through Charleston Power Yoga.

Christine Lentz
200hr RYT

Yoga is my anchor.

When the world is spinning around me or the waves are rough, I can come back to my mat and reconnect to the moment, to my body, to my breath and eventually find a sense of gratitude and connection. Everything else seems to fade into the background. Yoga, and all it’s wisdom allows me to remember who I am at my core, to come back to the present moment and to let go of all the “shoulds”.

Originally from Ohio, I moved to Charleston 5 years ago and absolutely love it! I have been a yoga student since 2005, and am still learning! Traveling the world with my love, cherishing a good glass of red wine, and taking a walk on the beach, are some of my favorite things.

I received my 200 hour from Gaea Yoga Center & am currently pursuing my 300 hr training from Asheville Yoga Center. My favorite styles to teach and practice include a Slow, Powerful Flow, Yin, Meditation, Pranayama and Yoga Nidra.

Katie Beaver
200hr RYT

Katie first practiced yoga in high school when it was recommended by her tennis coach as a way to stretch and prevent injury. At the College of Charleston, while studying for her degree in Sociology, yoga remained present in her life mostly on a physical basis. But after graduating, as she started exploring life as an “adult”, she felt her yoga practice transform into something more than just a movement routine. Yoga became a way for her to find deep connection and a sense of calm within. While practicing around town at many studios she soon realized she wanted to dive deeper into her yogi path. She trusted her gut and enrolled in the 200-hour certification through the Gaea Yoga School that she completed in 2017.

Everyone has different reasons for coming to the mat and Katie enjoys guiding students of all ages and levels into their own unique experience. Katie hopes her students leave her class feeling accomplished and enlivened, both in the mind and body.

Darcy Mahan
200hr RYT

Darcy’s goal is to share a compassionate, body-positive approach to the practice of yoga. She especially loves teaching Yin, vinyasa flow, and kids yoga, always with an emphasis on mindfulness. Her yoga practice has taught her to be aware of the stories we tell ourselves and accept as truth, as well as the importance of making this self-chatter positive and liberating rather than limiting. She strives to provide classes that will strengthen your confidence as well as your muscles.

Darcy truly believes that every body is a “yoga body,” and her classes include variations for brand-new students and advanced practitioners alike. In a hustle-and-bustle culture, it is Darcy’s intention that her classes will provide you with an oasis of calm and kindness.

Jennifer Mitchell
200hr RYT

I am a believer of holistic, mindful and intentional living. Whether this be a physical practice or supplement for the body, therapy for the mind or clean choices of foods and wines, it all plays a role. My journey began as a personal one, self seeking, traveling and delving into practices that fed my soul. Yoga, water therapies, authentic connections, being with family and friends and simply being human are a few of those means. I have a background in mental health, years of yoga and therapy trainings and of course my hardest and most humbling endeavor yet, being a mom. I am on staff with Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, volunteer for numerous organizations and coordinate community events. I am always in the midst of transition to finding my best self. It is there where I show up most authentically and have presence in all I do, so I strive to have compassion both for myself and others, always. In essence, I am simply BEING.