We have a wonderful new Curvy Yoga teacher this month! I am excited to share them with you! To see a full list of our Curvy Yoga Certified teachers, please click here.
Karin Lawson
Location: Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. I curiously stepped into a yoga class after being a member at a Gold’s Gym in Decator, IL many years ago. It was included with my membership, so why not check it out!? It was life altering. I was stunned by the diversity of age, gender and ability and knew that I had found something accessible to me. I appreciated the peacefulness and the sense of community that came from that very first class. As a psychologist, I do quite a bit of mind-body education and interventions and yoga became one of those interventions for me. I built a different emotional relationship with my body after I started doing yoga. It has been profound and loving and something that I want to share with others.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community? The south Florida area needs more diversity in their yoga offerings. I’m happy to invite a new way of approaching yoga that’s accessible, down-to-earth and potentially helps those who don’t feel welcome in other environments, open themselves up to a amazing way to connect with their body. I think of the body as a resource and yoga is one avenue to bridge the gap for those who don’t feel that collaborative relationship with their body.
What can folks expect when they take a class from you? Folks can expect from my class: eclectic music, smiles, humanness, and a variety of poses and settings. I enjoy doing yoga in a studio, but I”m also a fan of the great outdoors, whether it’s the beach or a yard. Fresh air does us good!
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? My favorite part of the certifcation process was that moment when I realized “Wait, I CAN teach this!” It slowly jelled together and before I knew it, it became doable. I am always in pursuit of stretching myself (pun intended!) and enjoy doing things that intimidate me. Part of that is just learning something new, but also joining a group of strangers. It’s so worth taking risks though! That group of strangers became one of the most loving encouraging groups of people in my world.
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me on my website, Facebook and on Twitter!
Krissie Bentley
Location: Lexington, KY
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. I found yoga way back in 2000. I was working third shift at a shelter for teenagers and a coworker brought Yoga for Dummies to work. I have fond memories of trying to figure out what the book was trying to tell us to do. From the beginning, I learned to approach yoga with both laughter and focus. I learned to put forth effort but not take myself too seriously from the very beginning. Over the years, yoga has weaved in and out of my life – as a compliment to running, as a way to challenge myself, and a way to find out who I am. In my personal practice, I make an effort to keep myself grounded and use that stability to give myself permission to reach. And those balances are what I try to bring into my classes: determination with play, and stability before risk.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community? The first time I heard Anna give me permission to move my belly “a little to the middle,” my entire perception of my body changed. Acknowledging my belly (and later my boobs and my thighs and my butt) without judging them brought me into a new relationship with my body. I began to accept my body for what it is, and experimented with different shifts and props to learn how to make yoga work for me. It has been the exploration of options that has created the friendship I now have with my body. I see so much disconnection with our physical needs – we ignore hunger, thirst, exhaustion, restlessness. I want to build a community of mat-carrying women who recognize their physical needs and respond accordingly. Without shoulds or expectations or guilt. We don’t have to change our bodies to be enough. Learning that we are already enough is the change. And, for me, that started with acknowledgement and curiosity of how I move on my mat. The more we practice, the more that bleeds into how we treat ourselves in general.
What can folks expect when they take a class from you? My intention is to provide a space that encourages both play and reverence. I believe that yoga can create a very sacred type of change, but we make that change through a commitment to play and experiment within our abilities at each practice. My classes will encourage you to find space and connect with your breath, your movements, your strength, and your softness. I honor space for creative and comfortable transitions. You won’t be left behind. We’ll figure things out as a group and you won’t be singled out. I find equal joy in creating sequences and playlists to go along with them, so music is a given. And then I’ll use my counselor mojo to talk you into a blissful savasana.
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? I completed the in person 200-hr training program in Nashville. The experience of getting to know Anna, Liz, and my amazing Unicorn teacher training group was an incredible joy. I learned the true impact of a community that supports and challenges each other. We brought a willingness to be silly, to explore, and to put forth 100% effort without falling into that trap of performance expectations. I learned to practice – and to teach – toward an experience instead of an outcome. Having a safe place to explore asana and my own opinions created a training process where I learned as much about myself as I did about teaching yoga.
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me on my website, Facebook and on Twitter!
Shari Solomon
Location: Arlington, MA
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. My Mantra: Just breathe
Just about 15 years ago I started going to yoga classes. I loved how my body felt in a pose and how fluid my body had become. But more importantly, I received a lot of benefit from the ancient and modern yogic sages. All their wisdom provides me with tools to get me through the little and the big going-ons in my life. I became a teacher to share with others all the benefits I received. My favorite pose is sleeping pigeon.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community? Because yoga is for everybody I want to create a place where a curvy student feels comfortable and safe to give yoga a try. There is so much struggle to look and act a certain way. But that’s not reality. We are all wonderfully different. This class gives everybody a break from all that, a chance for the student to be free to be herself.
What can folks expect when they take a class from you? Comfort, safety, pleasant poses, and encouragement,
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? The amazement that everything Anna has taught us comes from a place of absolute wisdom.
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me on my website and on Facebook!
Nadja (Bhairavi Devi) Miller
Location: Toms River, NJ
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. I started practicing yoga to relieve chronic back pain in 2007 and through the healing process discovered a love and a deep sense of gratitude for the peace and balance it brought to my life. I was fortunate that some of my early teachers were compassionate and worked towards helping me access the poses in a way that was kind to my body and mind. Following that tradition I want to do the same for my students.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community? I want to share my practice. I believe that Curvy Yogar allows everyone to access this wonderful practice no matter their age or size. I want my students not to feel intimidated by the picture they might have on their minds of a “pretzel-like” yogi. We come in all shapes and sizes
What can folks expect when they take a class from you? A class were you laugh and are OK with who you are. A class that starts with the precept of ahimsa , kindness, especially towards ourselves. A class where everyone uses props. A class that is accessible to everyone.
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? I loved every part of it. What was really useful was the hands on exercises we had to do at home including a script for a curvy class to an advertisement of such a class/workshop
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me on my website!
Alissa R. King
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. I’ve been practicing yoga since 2008. I wanted to find a way to experience balance. Yoga has offered me the opportunity to slow down, connect with my breath, practice mindfulness, and become more in tune with my body. I am personally drawn to slow flow, restorative, and yin styles of yoga. I received my RYT 200 in the summer of 2015 through the Awakened Life School of Yoga, and I am working on the remaining 300 hour certification with Wild Abundant Life School of Yoga. I want to show my students the many different styles of yoga that exist and help them receive the same benefits that I have.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community? To my knowledge, there are no Curvy classes in my community. I think it’s imperative to offer new classes that widen the reach of yoga.
What can folks expect when they take a class from you? I like interactive classes, so even though I have a plan, I’m always willing to invite requests, make changes depending on who is attending, and check in with students throughout the practice. I also enjoy telling stories that help instill life lessons and empower students.
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? Learning new modifications and sequences has been really beneficial and interesting. I love to learn so this certification course has been a great experience.
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me on my website and on Facebook!
Mishelle O’Regan
Location: Aurora, IL
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. When I first came to yoga, I was lost. My first practice I fell in love with yoga and connected with my body deeper than I ever have. I knew from that moment on, I had to dive deeper and figure out a way to share that feeling with the world. I never would have guessed that on day ONE my life would change forever. I believe that Yoga is truly meant for anyone! If you can breathe, you can practice. I have always been taught – and firmly believe that yoga is about function over form. For me, it’s all about modifications and finding out what works best for my body. This is what I hope to teach each and every person who walks into my class.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community?
Time and time again, I’ve heard people saying “I want to try yoga, but is it really for me? Can I r e a l l y do that?”. My answer is ALWAYS Yes, you can! When I first started, it was so hard to find classes and places for support. Finding Anna Guest-Jelley, Curvy Yoga and it’s community was THE best thing that ever happened to me.
I want to be able to offer this community to my students as a place to go off the mat, and in the comfort of their own home. I want them to feel the sense of security I finally did once I found Curvy Yoga.
What can folks expect when they take a class from you?
It’s important to know that you may not fall in love with yoga your very first practice, The practice of tuning into our bodies both physically and mentally is a process. Sometimes it doesn’t happen overnight, and that is 100% okay. It’s hard work!
I believe everyone deserves health and happiness and this is just one way to help you achieve just that, regardless of your size or physical ability.
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? Meeting all of these wonderful new people and hearing their thoughts and experiences. It’s truly been a pleasure!
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me on my website, Facebook and on Twitter!
Cindy Okolo
Location: Okemos, MI
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. I can’t imagine life without yoga. I didn’t start practicing until I was in my 50s, but I find that my practice, on all levels, just keeps getting better. I have practiced whole-heartedly for the past 8 years, and have taught for the last 5. I believe that yoga can be practiced on many levels–physical, emotional, and spiritual. You can come to yoga for the physical benefits. But, if you stick with your practice, you will discover its many deeper layers. I have 500 hours of training from Hilaire Lockwood’s teacher training program at Hilltop Yoga in Lansing Michigan, and have attended a number of other workshops and trainings.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community? I do not have a body that looks like one in Yoga Journal. But, yoga is about peeling away the layers so that we can get to the innermost kernel of our being. The body is only the first layer. The physical aspect of yoga, in some ways, should be the easiest layer to break through. But, often because of the way we see ourselves, or because of the messages the world repeatedly conveys to us about body types, it becomes the most difficult. Curvy yoga offers a safe and knowledgeable space in which all bodies can feel comfortable, and which can start all of us on the innermost journey.
What can folks expect when they take a class from you? When you take a class from me, you can expect a lot of individual attention. I am attuned to alignment in practice, and I will help you stay safe and knowledgeable about your own body. I truly believe every posture is accessible, in some form, to all of us, and I can show you different ways to move through the practice. You can also expect love and caring, and, if you like, a foot rub at the end of class.
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? My favorite part of the certification process has been learning more about body positivity and feeling more comfortable in my own body, as well as appreciating more deeply how yoga can help all of us be more thoughtful and compassionate.
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me via email!
Maggie Juliano
Location: Media, PA
Tell us a little about your relationship with yoga — both your practice and your teaching. I started practicing yoga at age 17, encouraged by my mother who thought it might settle her anxious daughter down a little. My practice waxed and waned for a little while, but after a serious back injury caused by repetitive stress from work, I found myself practicing everyday in 2001. Since then, my weight has ranged between 60 lbs; I’ve practiced with bones pressing into the hard floor, and I’ve practiced with frustration at not knowing how to move my curvier body. Through all of that I learned how to lean into breath. Now when I teach, I modify for every student, remembering my own needs at different shapes. I try in every class to make space for students to find their way to strength and stability. I mix both elements of standing balance and an easy flow-based class.
Why do you want to bring Curvy Yoga to your community? In 2008 I founded a nonprofit focused on uniting those working on eating disorder awareness and treatment and those in the yoga community working on mindfulness and meditation. The motto of that now wound down organization was that “everyone, everywhere deserves to feel at ease with themselves and their bodies.” I have found through my years of teaching that many students feel like yoga is not for them because of their shape or size. I want to make sure every one has an opportunity to experience yoga and determine if it is for them based only on their practice, their breath, their needs, not on whether they are given cues and instruction that works for their bodies.
What can folks expect when they take a class from you? I try to not take myself too seriously. Yoga involves making silly shapes with the body. I like to mix the sacred with the profane. We laugh, and we make space if you need to cry in child’s pose after a long day. I like when my students support each other and I like to create community in the classroom by encouraging thoughts of gratitude towards each other. All of that aside, I make sure those who want to hide in the corner can do so.
What has been your favorite part of the certification process? I LOVE how supportive the other students have been towards each other and towards bringing yoga to everyone. It feels like we are united in the mission to make yoga more accessible to more people. And with more people doing more yoga, the world is literally a nicer place.
How can people get in touch with you? People can find me on my website and on Twitter!
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