Toes Yoga

Lila has 20 years experience teaching yoga philosophy, meditation, and spirituality around the globe. She has been featured in Yoga Journal, Yoga International, ABC News, and presented at the United Nations in 2018. She is known for her joyful and light-hearted presentation style and her passion for inspiring others to live their best life.

Kaleigh believes people practice yoga for many different reasons but she loves yoga for the opportunity to heal through breath, connect with our body, and form a deeper connection to source energy. Kaleigh is always developing herself and loves to learn. She has completed her 200hr yoga teacher training at the Asheville Yoga Center. She also has training in Thai Yoga Massage and an energetic healing practice called touch for health. Kaleigh loves a gentle practice that invites intuitive flow and movement - she loves to encourage her students to move in ways that feel appropriate for their own body. Kaleigh loves to create and she believes that creativity shouldn't be left out of the yoga practice.

 

Kaleigh previously spent the past year teaching english in Thailand and Bali and had the opportunity to learn vipassana meditation at the Doi Suthep Temple in Chiang Mai Thailand. She enjoys incorporating breath work and meditations into the practices she offers. Kaleigh's intention is to hold a safe and calming space for all different types of bodies at any level. 

My love for mystical, magical yoga combining Kundalini, chakra work, and power phrases is what I bring to my yoga practice and classes. I've done a lot of empowerment work with women and love teaching Flow, but I'm excited about bringing my new class “YINspired” to Toes Yoga and hopefully teaching more classes in the future. I'm always looking to teach classes that inspire people to a deeper practice and higher goals for their lives. My love of yoga and passion for uplifting others to “become the best they can be” combines focusing on strengths, talents, and yoga practices to create a platform for lifting off from your mat into the world to 'Be the change you wish to see." Forget the magic carpet, we have our magic yoga mats!!!

I discovered yoga after  I became sick with Fibromyalgia and went from being very active to having  difficulty  functioning . So I began my journey to find help. Yoga kept coming up in conversations. The journey to improvement for me was a long one, but has been so worth it. My first yoga class was not  a pretty one. I was there to find a way to keep moving and fight for my health. As challenging as that first class was I could tell that it could help me, so I kept coming back. That was over 10 years ago! During this time my Rheumatologist saw how much yoga was helping me and suggested that I get trained so that I could help others who were dealing with similar illnesses. That sparked a desire to pray about becoming certified. I was still pretty sick at that time. I prayed about it since my faith is a big part of who I am. I then investigated options to becoming certified. After a year I went for it. I took a big leap of faith as I didn’t know if I could handle the physical demands of the training. I took it step by step and by the grace of God I became a 200 hour RYT in 2011 through Yoga Alliance and Stephanie Keach from Asheville Yoga Center. Since then I’ve continued my training with various workshops and a desire to learn and grow in my education of yoga. I found Barkan style yoga around 2014. I wasn’t sure about the heat during my first class, but my body loved it! I felt better after class...So, I kept going back to those classes. I fell in love with it! I pursued training through Yoga Alliance and Jimmy Barkan in order to teach his style of yoga which led me to pursue and receive 300 additional hours of yoga training. Two of those trainings were in Ft. Lauderdale and the third was in Costa Rica in the spring of 2017. I can say that receiving my 500 hours certification was incredible! I am beyond grateful!
My style of teaching is to work with each student at their level. I understand if they can barely move and I understand if they want to go for the gusto! I believe we should all work at our level, to me that’s a big part of yoga. Sometimes your body surprises you and surpasses ALL your expectations, as mine has! My motto is “TRY!” If you never try then you’ll never know. If a style of yoga isn’t for you then find one that is. If an asana/pose isn’t for you then let it go, there’s plenty of others! I love that I get to teach yoga and am very blessed by the students I have met and continue to meet on this journey.
Yoga has been and continues to be a big part of the reason my health improved. First and foremost I give God the credit for opening up doors that lead me in the right direction. I also found other alternative treatments including clean eating and organic foods. For me it’s the whole package that brought me the greatest relief from my symptoms.
I am also thankful for my loving and supportive husband: He stood by my side and still does throughout 10 years of my being very sick. He did everything he could to help me find a way to get better. He took me to my first yoga class and many others. I’m also blessed to have a beautiful extended family to include two adult step children and their spouses that have blessed us with four outstanding grandchildren!
I truly continue to count my blessings for the privilege of what my body is capable of today and to share with others my story as well as helping them discover all the wonderful benefits of yoga.

Cecilia began her yoga journey in 1976. Teaching yoga since 1992, Cecilia has the experience and knowledge to gently guide your body to a healthier state. You will be able to do the things you love to do with more energy, better posture and less discomfort. With a regular practice you will feel better emotionally and physically. No matter what you age or state of health, yoga encourages you to feel good about yourself. A consistent and conscientious practice is key. Cecilia believes that yoga has something to offer everyone.

200RYT
“AnyBODY can breathe. Therefore, anyBODY can practice yoga” T.K.V Desikachar

After taking my first yogic breath in 2010, I knew I had found something that would change my life. It was soon after that I realized that I had to share this important part of my life with others. I graduated from 200 hours of teacher training in 2015 and have taught over 400 classes since that time. Part of my yoga journey has been my recognition of the all too common theme of “who can and should be” doing yoga. Because my body isn't a typical “yoga body”, and hasn't always been accepted into all yoga arenas, I try to welcome each person and their body into my classes regardless of level or ability. In addition, I offer modifications using tools to allow your body to enter an asana in the way that is best for you. My classes are light-hearted and often erupt into laughter, while being gently challenging and allowing for you to confidently explore and grow your own yoga practice. As a forever learner, I recently completed my Curvy Yoga certification with body positive pioneer, Anna Guest-Jelley. I also hope to continue my 500 hour certification within the next few years. When not in the studio, you can find me supervising my claims team at a local health insurance provider. I also enjoy serving as a Big Sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chattanooga as a mentor to my awesome little sister and spending time with my friends and family.

Yoga involves lots of bending, stretching, twisting and pulling…and then after I get my yoga pants on I still have to teach the class. I started studying yoga in 1978 because it was the weirdest thing I could find to shock my mother with. But then I stayed with it for the next 10 years. I spent 10 years as a fitness instructor, but it was yoga that healed my knees from teaching five step classes a week. I was the aerobics instructor with all those great stretches and that nap thing at the end of class. Finally in 1996 my aerobics coordinator at the the gym asked me to teach yoga. From 1998-2010 I owned a yoga studio in central Florida called Miles Away Farm Yoga. From 2007-2014, I was the resident yogini in the athletic department as a yoga trainer for college athletic teams at Saint Leo University (Florida). Working along side coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapists I learned a great deal of how to adapt yoga to enhance athletic performance, reduce over use injuries and aid healing for post operative, recovering athletes. Regardless of one's age, size or athletic conditioning, I focus on creating and enhancing strength, balance, flexibility, while enjoying the stress reduction, mental clarity and increased oxygen uptake that results from a regular yoga practice. In my class I wish for you to find a fun mix of humor, challenge and a bit of yoga therapy to make you feel blissful.

The first yoga class I attended was in 1998, and I have continued my practice off and on throughout the years. I have not only witnessed the benefits others have received from practicing yoga, but I have personally reaped many benefits as well. The greatest benefit for me is that it has allowed me to be unapologetically me, as yoking the mind and body together allows you to live life from a true level of conscientiousness and awareness. Yoga is one of the tools I used to help me determine my path and my purpose, which is why I decided to study yoga to become an instructor. I received my 200 hour yoga certification through Chattanooga Yoga School and I absolutely love sharing the gift of life with all those I come in contact with.

A hospital chaplain and licensed architect, Katharine got into JourneyDance when she was visiting Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts about ten years ago. Although the yoga was always great at Kripalu, the noon dances were always the highlight of any retreat. After moving to Chattanooga and wishing someone would teach JourneyDance in Tennessee, Katharine decided to become a trained instructor. She loves this free, invigorating and healing form of dance. Katharine lives in North Chattanooga with her husband, daughter, four cats and a dog.

E-RYT 500 with Yoga Alliance, Certified Yoga Therapist. Toes Owner.

Kim has practiced yoga for over 20 years. Worked and studied with many prominent teachers and is educated in Vedanta philosophy and meditation. She is trained in Trauma Informed Yoga and other Therapeutic modalities and brings a welcome attitude to those wishing to incorporate these life changing practices for themselves. We are essentially love, that can not be taken away. 

 

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Rachel began practicing yoga in 1999, incorporating it into her athletic regimen and pursuing it as a fun and challenging exercise. It was not until she incorporated meditation into her daily routine that Rachel was able to appreciate the inner aspects of the yoga practice: calming the mind and body. The transformation that occurred in her personal life was such that she felt compelled to share these practices, training through the Chattanooga Yoga School RYT-200 program. In addition to her continuing exploration of yoga, she studies various forms of meditation, mindfulness, movement arts, and body-mind centering. Rachel strives to integrate a variety of techniques into her teaching in order to cultivate a calm, embodied presence through mindfulness: non-judgmental awareness of the present moment.
To learn more, visit Rachel’s website: www.ilovelivingyoga.com

Since 2001, yoga has been a means for Stephanie to discover and express the rhythms of her True Self. Cultivating love, compassion, and self-acceptance is the essence of her practice. She strives to create a safe and therapeutic space for yoga students of all levels to mindfully reawaken, transform, and unify the mind, body, and spirit. In addition to her yoga work, Stephanie is a birth mentor and doula, offering birth preparation classes and birth support to empower expectant parents in building a foundation for birthing in awareness and reconnecting with birth as a sacred rite of passage.

Stephanie is a 2009 Savannah Yoga Center graduate and a Yoga Alliance E-RYT. She earned an MA in Professional Counseling in 2011 and also holds a Yoga Ed. certification in Mind-Body Resources. Stephanie is currently pursuing certification as a Birthing From Within birth mentor and doula.

To learn more, please visit: www.InnerRoots.org

I found yoga in 1972 and since then have enjoyed the benefits and support that it has been in life. My practice has been through many stages, from emphasis on the precision and therapeutics of Iyengar and the physicality of flow styles, to the deeper,subtle internal energy to be found in long practice of all hatha yoga and meditation. As founder and former co-owner of Chattanooga's first yoga studio, I am now enjoying finding more time to continue the practice of being a student of Life and the joys and challenges that this study brings.

I believe we practice yoga to truly live and to celebrate life. I see no difference in “on” or “off the mat”, it’s all yoga! At the age of thirteen, I attended my first class and instantly realized this was the path for me. It was a beautiful and powerful moment of clarity that has been unfolding ever since! Having received my 200 hr. yoga certification through Chattanooga Yoga School, here we are! I dive into this practice with intentions of growing deeper in mindfulness, intuition, and love. If I had a mission statement, it would include sharing these elements in class with a touch of playfulness and honesty. I have been known for my full body laughter ;) So, let’s play!