Solstice Yoga

Amanda Martin is a veteran Pilates instructor and dancer. She holds a BFA in Dance from Florida State University. She is certified in Pilates through the Kane School of Core Integration (NYC) which offers a unique approach to realignment through proper biomechanics and manual touch. Her teaching offers clients an opportunity to explore their movement habits and restore balance. She is also certified in GYROKINESIS® instruction. Through these two methods, her teaching philosophy pulls from her diverse dance and fitness backgrounds to provide an educational and creative movement experience. While she specializes in Pre- and Post-natal fitness, nothing compares to the education she has received these last 2.5 years as a new mama.

Emily Weiss recently returned to her hometown of Atlanta after several years spent teaching Pilates in Houston. She started taking Pilates while dancing in college and immediately noticed its strengthening benefits in both her dancing and throughout her everyday life. Emily trained with Pilates elder Lolita San Miguel and completed her certification through Lolita's Legacy 500-hour program. She's comprehensively certified to teach mat and on all equipment/apparatus. During her time in Houston Emily combined her dance knowledge, education background, and Pilates experience to create a Pilates For Children curriculum and program at a local private school. Whether it's preventing future injuries, or gaining confidence to functionally move, Emily's goal is to have her clients leaving more aware of their strengths and weaknesses, while feeling more centered and in control of their bodies.

I came to yoga after 17 years of dance. I quickly felt at home with yoga and the concentration on movement and alignment; it felt like a natural transition. I was drawn in by the relationship between mind and body that yoga allows. I thrive on the ability to explore inwardly, recognizing that physical body awareness leads to greater spiritual awareness. I completed Peachtree Yoga Center’s 200 hour RYT training in 2009 and have been having fun teaching ever since.

My teaching style focuses on strength and safety with a focus on alignment and isometrics. I want my students to be fully present in their bodies in the moving meditation yoga provides. Sometimes this is achieved by moving with the breath, and sometimes it is achieved by breathing through a posture while holding.
I teach because yoga has brought me closer to myself. Yoga is the journey of the self to the self through the self, and I want to light the path of self-discovery for others. My goal in yoga is an increase in loving-kindness toward myself and others, not necessarily nailing a pose, and I want to impart that same self-care to my students. Yoga should inspire us to always ask the tough questions: Are we really listening? How can we embody love on the mat today? Which parts of the body need attention? This is the attitude that I want to impart when I teach. I want to show people how to be there for themselves, whatever form that may take. For some people, it might look like hitting that pose after months of practice, but for others it might mean coming out of a pose. Showing ourselves that acceptance and self-care is yoga.
Training: Integrative Flow Yoga
Certification: 200RYT

Wanderluster and native Southerner, Elizabeth has lived, studied and taught yoga around the world. MA, E-RYT500, she teaches in The Kaivalya Yoga Method, a style in both the Ashtanga and Jivamukti lineages that emphasizes intelligent sequencing, precise hands-on adjustments, yoga philosophy, humor and heart. She is also a certified prenatal yoga instructor. Elizabeth leads international yoga retreats for The Travel Yogi and currently teaches at Form Yoga, Solstice Yoga & Barre and the Mandarin Oriental hotel and spa.

She has written about wellness, yoga and lifestyle for Happiness & Wellbeing, MindBodyGreen, Mantra Yoga + Health, Tathaastu, Om Yoga & Lifestyle, The Huffington Post and more. Elizabeth currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia – and continues to search for the Sanskrit equivalent of “y’all”.

I grew up in Las Vegas, but now call Atlanta home. I’ve had a love affair with barre and yoga for many years.
My practice makes me a better teacher, and being a teacher fills my heart.

I am very passionate about teaching. When I’m not practicing or teaching I am spending time outside with my rescue babies, Benson, Juju, and Nova.

Annie Harbison wants to live in a world where bellies are satisfied, laughter is background noise, and EVERY body is lovingly expressed.

Being a lover for all things movement, yoga is currently Annie’s drug of choice. Her first hit off this seductive substance came via a beloved pirouetting, stage theater instructor and visionary she calls, Marilyn. From that point forward, movement was meditational…final answer.

As an instructor, Annie yearns for her students to feel energized, sexy, and free. Simply, she encourages them to SHINE. Annie infuses her sessions of exploration and play with dynamic movements that rectify the body, spaces of stillness that cleanse the mind, and funky beats that stir the soul.

When she is not on the mat, you can find her creating a delectable RAW, G-free almost-vegan concoctions in her galley kitchen, sharing her health gospel at the Whole Foods on Ponce, or in a park some where making up stories in the clouds. You will also find her leading yummy and healthy fun-shops at Solstice.

Presently, Annie is the woman behind Yoga with Annie at the Whole Foods on Ponce de Leon. She is also available for private hire and holistic health coaching. She would love to get to know you and chat with you about your physical, mental, spiritual wellbeing.

A mom of two energetic boys, I’ve discovered immense joy and healing in yoga for more than a decade.

 

I have a B.A. in Psychology and completed my 200-Hour and Prenatal Yoga Teacher Certifications in 2011 within the Pranakriya School of Yoga. In 2013, I completed the Pranakriya Advanced Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga Certification along with Yoga-Born Birth Education Certification in Santa Fe, NM. I also have additional certification in restorative yoga.

Born in Italy and raised in Costa Rica, Sara travels widely and offers personalized services that help access optimal vitality by editing out nutritional myths and uncovering healing intelligence within our bodies. Sara has taught yoga in retreats worldwide for over 15 years. She has a 200-hour Hatha yoga and a 500-hour Therapeutic Yoga certification. In 2004, she traveled to the Yoga Vidya Dham School & Ashram in India to become a certified Yoga Therapist. At the Seattle Holistic Center, she earned her Pre-Post Natal Yoga certification. In 2013, she graduated as a Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York. She is aan Infant Massage Teacher, a HypnoBirthing®, HypnoMothering™, HypnoFertility™ practitioner, and offers classes for expectant and new moms as a way to gently transition into motherhood.

Christine has been teaching Pilates since 2007. She holds comprehensive certifications in Polestar Pilates, Classical Pilates, pre/postnatal, and is also a Running Form Specialist. She teaches Russian Kettlebells and enjoys incorporating her many trainings to best help her clients get stronger. Christine has spent the past six years of her Pilates journey working alongside leading physical therapists and is familiar with injuries and post-rehab limitations. She bring enthusiasm and discipline to her work and loves watching clients gain strength. She's passionate about helping clients find their own strength and believes that everyone deserves to live their lives feeling their best. In her spare time, Christine loves to run, take yoga, and spend time with her family.

Ona Hawk is a certified Yoga instructor and holistic health educator in Atlanta. She is founder of Firehawk Yoga and specializes in teaching realistic and accessible practices for achieving self-healing. Ona has trained in various systems of yoga, ayurveda and martial arts, gaining experience in applying the breath and methods of movement for sustainable wellness along her own healing journey. She enjoys guiding others to help them find their unique paths, purpose and confidence through integrating breath, meditation and movement for vitality and longevity. With respect to ancient science, history, nature and inner wisdom, Ona leads a person back to their own power.

Sarah is a vinyasa, perinatal and trauma-informed yoga instructor, with a passion for building loving trust and confidence in the human body. Yoga & mediation have had her heart since her mother brought her to her first yoga class as a young girl, and she believes deeply in the transformative, healing, peace-building power of yoga and mindfulness. Other things that have her heart include her sweet pitbull rescue, backyard chickens, ducks & bees, cooking with food grown from the garden, making things out of clay and supporting women in pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood as a childbirth educator and doula.

Hank Margeson received Pranakriya Yoga teaching certification in 2011. Since then he has a wide variety of teaching experiences from Atlanta yoga studios and fitness centers to homeless military veterans, youth on probation, and high school yoga clubs. He has advanced trainings in Pranayama, Meditation Techniques, Advanced Asanas, and Spiritual Doorways. Hank believes a yoga practice is accessible to all. Everyone has the ability to incorporate the benefits of yoga into their lives through breathing, meditation techniques, and movement. Through a regular yoga practice one finds clarity, calmness, strength, and self awareness.

A lifelong athlete and runner, Shannon discovered yoga accidentally as a graduate student when a regularly-scheduled class at her gym was canceled. She never looked back, and has been an avid practitioner ever since. Her own practice is rooted in the study of various techniques and traditions of yoga, including Ashtanga, vinyasa flow, power, and Baptiste. She is also a certified mindfulness meditation instructor, and hosts workshops and guided meditation sessions online, throughout Atlanta, and nationwide.

Shannon spent over a decade in graduate business admissions, and currently serves as an MBA admissions coach for a diversity non-profit based in Washington, DC, where she lived for many years. She is also the founder of MindfulMBA, a website and blog designed to make mindfulness accessible and applicable to the everyday lives of busy people who “don’t have any time for it.”

Shannon is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, having completed her 200-hour training at BeYoga in Marietta, GA, and her mindfulness teaching certification through the Center for Koru Mindfulness in Durham, NC. She’s traveled to nearly 50 countries, and is a connoisseur of good books, decent wine, and bad TV.

Since 1995 I have found solace, strength and profound expansion through yoga. In 2002, after a bicycle accident, I quit my stressful job in downtown Manhattan, and still recovering from injuries, joined the 500 hour teacher training program at Be Yoga with Alan Finger where I also became Director of Yoga Teacher Training programs. Alan teaches a style of yoga called ISHTA yoga (the Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda), which is a wonderfully rich multi-faceted vinyasa practice. Simultaneously, I found myself studying as an herbal apprentice, and exploring the rituals of chanting. I was drawn to wise earth-honouring women who taught me about aligning with the natural cycles of the seasons & the moon. This fusion of healing through yoga while consciously connecting with universal rhythms is at the heart of my teaching. After moving to Paris, France in 2004, I did further intensive study in India and Europe focusing on therapeutics and women's issues with TKV and Kausthub Desikachar. I built a yoga business in Paris (shonaliyoga!), personally teaching 15 - 20 classes each week, which allowed me enough experience to register as E-RYT-500. I relocated to Atlanta in 2010 and since August of 2011 I've taught primarily at Sacred Thread Yoga, Vista Yoga, and Decatur Yoga & Pilates. In May 2013, I became a certified Yoga Therapist by completing a 500 hour program through the Pranakriya Yoga School in Atlanta, registered with the IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists). I sing as part of a duo called Mantra Ma! (with Jocelyn Rose), where we explore and celebrate the power of sacred song and chant. I teach for Centering Youth, a non-profit bringing yoga to under-served populations throughout Atlanta. I offer private yoga sessions to any and all who are curious about yoga and it's healing potential.

Everyone can do yoga! As a certified yoga therapist and teacher of over 10 years, my classes are particularly safe and grounded in breath and alignment allowing steady & safe exploration of postures. We will flow through and hold within unique sequences that encourage you to drop deeply inside. We strengthen, challenge & expand. We soften, play, and nurture. We'll honor the seasonal changes and what's happening culturally, as well as the moon cycles. You'll encounter chanting, pranayama (breath work), mudras (positions of the hands), visualization, chakras awareness, a wide range of music (Bjork, Al Green, Juana Molina, Krishna Das) paired with mindful silence, sacred poetry, and I'll sing you into a blissfully opening final rest to create an impactful experience each time we practice. With reverence for the unique process of each individual, I encourage students to make the practice their own: To listen, to receive, to nourish from within. In perpetual gratitude to the many phenomenal teachers who have inspired me: my students, my children, my husband, Alan Finger, TKV Desikachar, Carrie Wykoff, Robin Rose Bennett, Erich Schiffman, Mark Whitwell, Sarah Powers, John Friend, Michelle Jacobi, Hillary Cohen, Tias Little, Yoganand Michael Carroll, among others! ... Namaste

Lisa did her first sun salutation nearly 20 years ago and has been diving deeper ever since. She’ll be the first to tell you that the core game changers in her life have been education, yoga and meditation. Well, and a healthy use of her
passport. She is E-RYT 500 certified and completed her basic and advanced training at Peachtree Yoga Center in 2008 through the leadership of Graham Fowler and Elizabeth Nix. She has studied deep meditation with Bhagwan Awatramani. Explored the power of chanting the Yoga Sutras with Dr. Michel Angot. Absorbed alignment, anatomy, and patience with Erich Schiffman and Sean Tebor. And in the coming year, plans to study feminine, inner body flow with Angela Farmer in Munich, Germany.
With roots in Hatha yoga, she teaches fun, grounded vinyasa-based classes. Over the past 12 years she has led regular classes at Peachtree Yoga, Sacred Thread Yoga, and, for the last eleven years, the Saturday morning flow class at Yoga
Samadhi. Lisa has also led international and domestic yoga retreats. She is also certified pranic healer and completed level one Thai massage therapy at Kripalu Yoga Center in Stockbridge, MA.

For students who are comfortable with touch, you can expect hands-on support in her classes as she gently encourages alignment and depth in each pose. She’s been around the Atlanta yoga scene for a while and also owns a nationally-recognized higher education marketing agency
in the city. All in all, she’s pretty down to earth kinda gal so don’t be surprised if she plays Van Morrison and brings you chocolate.

Vanya Francis is a certified yoga instructor specializing in Prenatal Yoga, Holistic Birth Doula and Holistic Health Coach. Deeply inspired by her students, her goal is to empower them to achieve greater self-awareness, harmony and wholeness of being. Vanya received her 200-hour yoga teacher certification under the instruction of Swami Jaya Devi Bhagavati at Kashi Atlanta. She also holds a second 200-hour certification in Kemetic Yoga as well as multiple Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga certifications. On a mission to help women live healthy, inspired, joy-filled lives, Vanya has taught prenatal classes and workshops throughout Atlanta for 10+ years and currently serves as the Yoga and Meditation Professor at Spelman College.

Off the mat, Vanya is a mother to two beautiful, light-filled children, Taraja and Tunde. Her work as a mother informs her light-hearted, compassionate teaching style and encourages her students to exercise the same deal of care, kindness and love for self as they do for others. Vanya’s gift as a teacher lies in her ability to create a safe, nurturing space for students to heal, grow and ultimately thrive in their daily lives. She believes yoga is meant to positively transform our lives and relationships.