OUR TEACHERS

Carson Efird practices Vinyasa Flow yoga as a living adventure towards physical, mental, emotional and spiritual radiance in each waking moment. Her nine years of yogic experience on the mat and in the world have and continue to reveal her passion for moving creatively. Carson dove into her yoga practice when she was sixteen to compliment her modern dance training. While completing her B.A in dance and theater at Bennington College (VT), she also earned her 200-hour teacher certification and Prenatal teacher certification from Be Yoga (NYC). There she studied ISHTA Yoga - Integrated Sciences of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda - with Yogi Raj Alan Finger.

Carson is now continuing her 500-hour teacher training in Shiva Rea's Samudra: Global School for Living Yoga studying Prana Flow Yoga. As part of her advanced training she is developing a yoga infused modern dance class that extends beyond the boundaries of the mat. Carson is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and has taught yoga for Bennington College, Cary Yoga Center (NC), Healthy Moms (NC), Body Balance Movement Therapy (NC) and Arts Together (NC). She opened Evolve Yoga (formerly YogAsana South) in Raleigh, NC two years ago where she teaches Vinyasa Flow yoga classes along with private sessions and a diverse offering of workshops. Through the asanas, Carson encourages students to live in the flow of their breath, their heartbeats and their spanda shakti - spontaneous creative energy.

Mary Edwards-Zucchino earned her 200 hour yoga teacher certification and restorative yoga certification from Seaside Yoga studio in Wilmington, N.C. Mary is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance. She is also a registered nurse with 25 years of health care experience. Mary finds yoga to be a healing art and integrates her knowledge of anatomy, physiology, health and overall well-being into her yoga instruction, finding a therapeutic balance of the mind, body, and spirit. Her intention as a yoga teacher is to help others find their inner strength and outer grace. As a co-owner, Mary teaches Vinyasa Flow and Gentle Flow classes and corporate sessions at Evolve Yoga.

Michelle Corey has taught all of manner of fitness classes since 1987; her passion now however, is yoga. She absolutely loves the transformational power that a consistent yoga practice offers, and delights in sharing this with her students. A registered RYT since 2001, she has studied under many yoga luminaries, Eric Shiffman, Dharma Mitra, Shiva Rea and John Friend. All, who share a deep abide for as Eric Shiffman says, moving into the stillness, for it is in the stillness that you will find the Light and Peace of Love. Currently, Michelle is on her way to becoming Anusara-Inspired. She loves the attention to alignment and the message of acceptance and love in all things that the Anusara practice offers. You can look forward to a celebration of heart, while practicing asana with Michelle. Visit her blog currentsofgraceyoga.blogspot.com

Celeste Cooper-Peel first discovered yoga and its wonderful benefits while she was expecting in 1999. Since then she has continued to expand her knowledge and practice of yoga through a variety of avenues including self-study and formal practice. Celeste is a 240-hour graduate of the North Carolina School of Yoga. She is also certified in Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga. Celeste has studied with Seane Corn, Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest and Rodney Yee. In addition to being a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, Celeste is a nationally Certified Health Education Specialist with over 16 years experience as a health and wellness professional. Her passion for wellness is evident as she integrates her teachings of mindfulness into her yoga classes. Celeste believes that to fully embrace life, yoga should be practiced with intention both on and off the mat. Celeste teaches Vinyasa Flow classes and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at Evolve Yoga.

Jennifer Bluestone started teaching children's yoga in 2008 after developing her own yoga practice for almost 10 years. She attended teacher training at Karma Kids NYC and completed the YogaKids International foundations training. She is also working on her advanced training practicum through YogaKids deepening her knowledge and practice of how to use yoga to educate the whole child. Jennifer's intention is to share the gift of yoga with as many children as she can with the hopes that they continue practicing for a lifetime. Jen teaches Kids Yoga classes at Evolve Yoga.

Hunter Meyercord fell in love with yoga on her 40th birthday when she took her very first class. Since that day, Hunter has been captivated by this amazing ancient science that holds such stillness and transformative energy. She earned her 200 hour teacher certification from Cityoga in Indianapolis in 2004. She has taught Vinyasa Flow, Gentle, and Children's Yoga. For Hunter, it is the sweet stillness and grace that yoga offers each one of us that makes the practice such a gift. Hunter teaches Vinyasa Flow and Gentle Flow classes at Evolve Yoga.

 

Gauri Johnson explores a unique fusion of body-mind integration during each yoga session. She combines a flowing practice with Hatha Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Restorative Yoga and somatic Body-Mind-Essence. Each session is offered as a blissful experience of integrating our bodies, minds and souls. Yoga then becomes a true act of remembering the beauty that we ALL are.

Gauri began her life study of yoga in 1996. Her journey has included studying yoga in India with yogi Russil Paul. Additional yoga asana study included instruction from Ganga White, Tracey Rich, Shiva Rea, David Beadle & Lisa Clark. Gauri has studied Embodiyoga with Lisa Clark since 2004. She completed the 230 hour teacher training certification in 2005 and has continued as a teaching assistant in the program since that time. Gauri also completed the 500 hour teacher training certification through Embodiyoga in early 2009. With such a deep and diverse background in these many yoga lineages, she offers a beautiful, flowing wellspring for supporting you in living your truth, your Yoga. Come to Gauri’s classes ready to move more fully into your body, mind and essence. Gauri teaches EmbodiYoga classes at Evolve Yoga. Visit her website www.yogawithgauri.net

 

Andy Von began dancing at the age of three in Western ballet and dabbled in jazz and tap throughout her youth until the age of fifteen, when she was taken to her first belly dance hafla and fell in love with what she saw. A month later she began taking classes and has not stopped belly dancing since, even developing her own Inter-Disciplinary Self-Designed major at N.C. State University entitled "Dance and the Sacred" to study the history of sacred religious thought, culture, and language of the belly dance traditions, along with another major in Religious Studies concentrating in Islamic and Hindu traditions of the Mid East and South East Asia. She hopes to continue through graduate school and bring the formal, academic study of this dance tradition into the university system.

Andy Von loves to teach and began at 18 when she started offering free classes at her college campus, later forming N.C. State University's first belly dance student organization Fayroozat. Along with teaching various styles and levels of belly dance, Andy Von also performs throughout the state at both public and private events but prefers to perform for non-profit and cultural educational events that bring awareness to the diversely beautiful and often misunderstood culture of the Mid East, Arab, and Islamic world. Educating others about this culture is very important to Andy and she brings that to her classes along while having fun, learning authentic belly dance technique, and appreciating the body for its feminine form. Andy also loves to travel and has studied Bangla language in Bangladesh, trained as an ascetic nun in a Zen Buddhist monastery in Taiwan, and visited London-she hopes to add more to her travels which enable her to understand and appreciate the cultures and beliefs of the people who created the belly dance traditions. Andy offers Belly Dance classes at Evolve Yoga. Learn More: www.AndyVon.com