Leigh Anne Neal Om Shanti! I am Leigh Anne Neal. My teaching is a harmonic blend of inspired alignment and creative vinyasa, and my classes are warm-hearted and full of spirit. I enjoy opening minds and bringing students toward oneness within themselves. As a yogi, my goal is to teach from a place of unbounded knowledge. This means incorporating many forms and styles in class to give the student what they really need, which may not fit into one “type” of yoga.
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Melissa Katz  |
Melissa Katz is grateful for the ancient practice of yoga and the opportunity to share her practice with others. She received her 200-hour basic teacher training with Graham Fowler and Ursula Nix at Peachtree Yoga Center and her 500-hour advanced teacher training with Yoganand Michael Carroll and Jim O’Leary through Jai Shanti Yoga. She also holds certification as a pre- and post-natal instructor.
Melissa leads a vinyasa flow practice that breaks down the patterns of moving, holding, and thinking that have developed, sometimes just over the course of a day and sometimes over a lifetime, and prevent us from being fully who we are in each moment. These deeply-held patterns limit the mind and can also limit range of motion in the body. Through a vinyasa practice that opens and strengthens both the body and mind, we move through and let go of these self-imposed limitations to come closer to our divine nature and experience ourselves as we truly are. Melissa teaches yoga full-time at multiple yoga studios in Atlanta, including Nirvana Yoga, Jai Shanti Yoga, and Body-in-Balance, as well as several local fitness facilities. She is also the co-director of the Atlanta Yoga Conference, an annual event that will be held for its fifth year on October 1-3, 2010. The great sea has set me in motion. Set me adrift, And I move as a weed in the river. The arch of sky And mightiness of storms Encompass me, And I am left Trembling with joy. - Eskimo Song |
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Lucy Curtis 
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Lucy Curtis was thrilled to complete her 200 hour teacher training in 2008 with Leigh Anne Neal at Nirvana Yoga in Atlanta, GA. She believes that yoga has the power to transform the practitioner into a more whole, healthy, harmonious version of him or herself. Lucy's classes are encouraging and fun; a place where it's always appropriate to giggle (or cry) on the mat. When not practicing yoga, Lucy enjoys reading, engaging in record player dance parties, tutoring children, and watching crazy cats on Youtube. |
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Heather Branham |
Heather Branham believes that the essence of yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. In deep silence, we can experience the light within and become aware of our connection to all things. Through her classes, Heather hopes to guide her students to a deeper awareness of body, breath and spirit. She received her 200 and 500 hour certifications from Peachtree Yoga Center, under the loving guidance of Graham Fowler and Ursula Nix, and has trained in Advanced Pranic Healing and Pranic Psychotherapy with Deborah Quibell. Heather strives to meet the world with an open heart by living the words of Rumi: "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." |
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Margaret Wallace |
Margaret was honored to be one of the first graduating class of the Nirvana Yoga 200 Hour RYT training program. She also holds certification as a pre- and post-natal yoga instructor. In her life, Margaret has personally experienced a health transformation through her yoga practice, and is eager to show her students what yoga can do to raise their overall level of health. She strives to create classes that strengthen and open the physical, mental and energetic bodies. She also comes from a background of classically trained ballet and modern dance, and loves to incorporate creative movement into her asana practice. It is her intention to provide a personal level of attention in order to allow a physical, mental, and spiritual development that will assist her students in achieving |
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Jocelyn Rose |
Jocelyn Rose’s love for yoga began, and she is eternally grateful! Her classes are a playful and challenging exploration of the spirit, linking movement and breath in one Divine dance. Jocelyn seeks and shares inspiration from yoga’s many shining shapes through mantra, mudra, laughter, and meditation. Her teaching style is a true blend of graceful and creative movement intermingled with her passion for alignment and attention to detail, which she believes ultimately leads to freedom in both the body and the mind.
Jocelyn has studied yoga and meditation in India, Chicago, New York and Atlanta. She blissfully completed her 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification at Laughing Lotus in NYC. Jocelyn holds a Masters degree in Vocal Performance and Opera. She is also a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist with an emphasis on deep tissue release as well as a Level 1 Reiki practitioner. Her classes unite the healing art of touch with the truth of our own body’s subtle movements. |
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Evan Bodine |
In 2007, Evan found yoga and instantly fell in love. She realized that hatha yoga allowed for the creativity, spirituality, and individuality that were missing in her life. She graduated from the Nirvana School of Classical Yoga in 2009 with her 200-hour certification with Leigh Anne Neal. Evan teaches classes that create a challenging and warm vibration for the body, mind, and spirit to grow. Her classes are focused on increasing awareness of something new each time you step onto the mat. Yoga has the power to transform and heal in mysterious ways and she hopes to convey this to her students. She is delighted to share yoga with others and to watch practices deepen with open minds and hearts. |
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Amy Rakestraw |
Amy fell in love with yoga several years ago and has since enjoyed deepening her practice and sharing her knowledge. Through Nirvana School of Classical Yoga she became a RYT200 Hatha instructor in December 2009, but doesn’t stray too far from her original passion of Iyengar yoga. She has a gymnastics and dance background, and enjoys all aspects of fitness (especially running outside on a sunny day!) With a playful manner and a warm spirit, her classes will challenge you, but remember: When the going gets tough, breathe, and smile; laughter makes anything easier! She is also certified in Pre/Post-natal yoga, is focusing on yoga therapy, and is currently pursuing her 500HR training. |
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Natalie Biniasz |
Natalie has been practicing yoga for the last 6 years and completed her 200-hour certification at Peachtree Yoga in 2009. Through her own personal meditation and yoga practice, she has been delighted to discover depths of calm awareness and compassion in everyday life. She enjoys living each moment fully in the present and connecting with others in an open-hearted way. Her classes are infused with subtle humor and warm encouragement. She creates a nurturing environment using softly flowing movements, held postures and deep breath work where students can grow in their practice in an authentic way. |
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Thiery Goodman |
Like a single voice in melody, it seems to me the most simple of what we do can elicit great beauty. This quality of organic simplicity makes the practice of yoga & Reiki rewarding and adventurous. My experience of 30 years in the pursuit of wholeness, body, mind & spirit, only serves to strengthen the value I have for these traditions. No matter what, yoga & Reiki are always available. In my first yoga classes at the Foundation of Truth in the 70's, I was struck by the profound sense of well being brought on by yoga practice. It was also at the Foundation where I had my introduction to energy healing. In the 80's, my yoga classes included a Pierce prenatal class where I learned techniques which greatly enhanced the experience of natural childbirth. I entered the New Seminary, an inclusive interfaith seminary in New York City, whose vision spawned the Association of Interfaith Ministers, its mission and motto being "Honoring All Paths." In the spring of '87, I was ordained by spiritual representatives of major religions. My purpose as a minister has been to support and celebrate spiritual connection and growth where it has meaning for the individual. I received my Reiki I in 2001. In 2002, I took Reiki II and began practice as a Reiki practitioner, currently ongoing. In 2005, I recieved Reiki III and have been teaching since. I earned my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Certificate in February 2009 through the Pranakriya program with Yoganand Michael Carroll. I feel richly blessed to benefit from the wisdom of many and look forward to teaching and learning, learning and teaching, each new step revealed on the yogic and Reiki path. |
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Laura B. |
Laura B. is a graduate of 2009 NYTT and has been practicing yoga since 2001. Originally a ballet and modern dancer, Laura appreciates the flow and creativity that can be incorporated into yoga. Her classes are a blend of vinyasa flow, restorative, and blissful relaxation. She is honored to share her passion for yoga and self care with everyone she encounters. Laura is the Director of Prevention and Outreach for Partnership Against Domestic Violence and Co-founder of United 4 Safety. She strives to find connectivity between serving survivors and the practice of yoga. In her spare time Laura enjoys laughing, reading poetry, hanging out with her animals, and drinking decaf soy lattes. Namaste! |
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