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staff spotlight

Staff Spotlight—Pat Francis

Staff Spotlight—Pat Francis

When we moved to Florida in 2007 I had always wanted to try yoga so I took a class at The Yoga Sanctuary. I came for the physical aspect, but after my first class I felt so peaceful and calm I couldn’t get enough. Jennifer encouraged me to try different level classes, and I did. All the teachers at the Sanctuary had so much to offer. Then I realized this is what my heart had been looking for. I talked to Bonnie, the studio’s former owner, and Jennifer to let them know I was interested in doing the teacher training, and they encouraged me to take as many classes and workshops to help me prepare. It was good advice.

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Staff Spotlight—Lisa Ahrens

Staff Spotlight—Lisa Ahrens

A wise friend of mine once said that all rivers lead to the same ocean. Taking into consideration all the investigating I have done on many different philosophies, sacred texts, and literature from various authors throughout the years, I concluded that not only was this true for me, but that all share a common thread in the tapestry of life which culminates in one word, yoga.

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From India With Love: Excerpts from Anna’s Journey

Red Light Sangha We all have been in traffic where one of the drivers just has to go faster then others – zig zaging in and out of lanes—just at the end, comes to stop at the red light and all others catch up with him. Sitting at the red light one time I felt oneness...

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Staff Spotlight—Gwen Burdick The Teacher’s Teacher

Staff Spotlight—Gwen Burdick The Teacher’s Teacher

Gwen Burdick; 9/23/61 – 7/14/19; Always loved, always remembered
This collection of essays, written by Gwen Burdick, a beloved TYS teacher who passed in 2019, is part of our Teacher Spotlight series. Her words continue to inspire, offering timeless insights and lessons that still resonate with all who knew her.

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Staff Spotlight—Melissa Goodwin

Staff Spotlight—Melissa Goodwin

A great many of my most important teachers are people I’ve never met. That seems like an odd statement, I know, so I’ll have to explain. I’ve been an avid reader since – well, since the moment I learned to read. As a child, my first favorite book was The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. I have a very clear and distinct memory of thinking, Someday I want to write books like this, after reading it at around the age of eight.

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Play Tennis. Practice Yoga.

By Margit Bannon   If you play tennis it’s not such a stretch (pardon the pun) to say that you might enjoy the practice of yoga, and if you practice yoga that you might enjoy tennis. Let’s consider the parallels between these two disciplines. As yogis we often...

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Staff Spotlight— Heleen Schouten

Growing up in the Netherlands, I was introduced to yoga as a child by my aunt, Frieda Thepass, who lived with us. In 1957 she founded Stichting Yoga Nederland (now known as Yoga & Vedanta) with a small group of yoga friends. It is still one of the most respected...

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Staff Spotlight: Anna Martin – Remember When…

A few times over the past couple years I have been asked the question, “When did you start practicing yoga?” I realized that, subconsciously, I have been practicing yoga throughout my life and in various ways since I was five years old. At that age, I would put on...

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Staff Spotlight-Melissa Goodwin

Around the year 1965, a woman named Sue Luby moved to my hometown of Andover, Massachusetts and changed my life. Sue offered yoga classes – we’d never heard of yoga, but for some reason my mother decided we should give it a try. This would have been around the early...

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Staff Spotlight—Remember When by Cathy Getz

My first yoga class was in 2002. I remember one pose in that class, Viparita Karani, known in English as Legs Up the Wall. It struck me as being very relaxing and not at all what I expected. In 2003 I retired and found myself with time to devote to a more fit...

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An Ocean Accepts All Rivers by Lisa Ahrens

“Unified Consciousness results when the gunas return back inward because the Ascendant’s purpose is fulfilled, or when the Absolute Self is permanently stabilized in the Divine Power of Pure Consciousness.”   The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra IV.34 Of all the...

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There’s No Time like the Present by Margit Bannon

As we approach the busy season here in Punta Gorda, I can’t help but be obsessed by this idea we call time. We all have a million expressions for it: “Don’t waste your time,” “It’s about time!” “In the interest of saving time,” and so on. I, myself can’t help but feel...

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Keep it Simple by Anna Martin

An important lesson that I have learned since beginning my yoga practice in 2005 is that it’s best to not overdo, overthink, or over plan, but instead to go back to the roots of existence, to the rules of nature, and to feel one with what really matters. It’s what we...

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Learn to Surrender by Melissa Meehan

Before taking yoga teacher training, I had never used the words surrender or non-attachment. These particular words peaked my interest, however, when I came to realize that they could change my life.   I would never have labeled myself as controlling, but I would...

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Karma Yoga: Paying it Forward by Sally Bartolotta

  In this day and age it’s easy to become jaded or disassociated with ourselves, with each other, and with the world around us. At first glance, it can sometimes feel as though each of us is alone and left to fend for ourselves as we fight our way through this...

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A Beautiful Mind – by Melissa Goodwin

“You think too much.” I’ve been told that more than once. And you know what? The people who said it were right. I’ve always been a worrier—I worried about everything! I also have a great imagination, which, as a writer, is an asset. But I used to believe that I had to...

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Yin Yang – by Annie Moore

Many of us are familiar with the phrase “yin and yang.” We recognize at once the black and white symbol, which seemingly represents polar opposites. As I look at my yoga practice, I see the yin and the yang. I love Ashtanga and our Monday Level 2 class for the...

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In all Earnestness: Yoga Sutra 1.14

In all Earnestness: Yoga Sutra 1.14

By Jennifer French In the Yoga Sutras, one of yoga’s most sacred and oft referenced texts, Patanjali tells us that our “practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break, and in all earnestness.*” When I think on firmly grounded,  I...

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Yoga Practice On and Off the Mat—Margit

                I often tell my yoga students that the hardest part of class is getting there—getting on your mat to practice. But no matter how difficult it might have been (aligning those stars to get there), you’re always...

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