Eighteenth Element Yoga

Yoga has taught me many things.   One lesson in particular is to “Never say never.”  While I was in the Army, I performed a lot of challenging tasks to include jumping out of aircraft, while in flight.   Fun, adventurous and definitely an adrenalin rush.   That type of fun plus other physical activities led to a couple of vertebrates out of line.   During each of my physical therapy sessions, a Physical Therapist would ask if I had considered yoga to relive the problems with my neck. I would roll my eyes and think “NO WAY.”  “I ain’t doing no yoga.”  “You thinking I’m going to move to Boulder.”

As a member of my local YMCA, I noticed yoga was on the schedule, so decide to check on a class.  Since it was free, I felt I didn’t have anything to lose.    After my third class I sensed there was something to “this yoga stuff.”  I acknowledged the euphoria I felt during class, the challenges the poses offered and the calmness.   Soon I was attending every yoga class I could, whether locally or while traveling.   So I went from a sceptic about the benefits of yoga to a “yoga junkie” and now a teacher.  

I truly believe yoga is a gateway to personal change and an improvement to health, attitude and your way of life. My personal mission is to share my love of yoga with others as I advance my practice.  There is a type of yoga for everyone so no matter whom you are, your age, body type or you athletic background.  I invite others to join me on in my journey.  

Ellis loved Yoga from the first class he attended in 2002 and began teaching in 2003.  He teaches Yoga, Yogalates, Tai Chi Yoga Fusion, Restorative Yoga, and Tai Chi. His classes stress each participant adapting their moves to their situation.  We put the pose into the body to allow the pose to work our mind body connections.

After retiring from the USAF, Ellis worked for L3 Communications, HP and CSC.  His roles were Program Manager, Capture Manager, Proposal manager, Chief Technical Officer, and architect.  Ellis’ USAF career was 28 years with experience including tactical operations in SE Asia, space operations in Cheyenne Mountain, ITWAA sensor management and upgrades programs, the Global Command Control System. Ellis is married to the former Evelyn McComb of Great Falls, MT.  They have two now adult children, Matthew and Ila. 

Aveen Banich is a board certified ophthalmologist, writer, certified yoga teacher and Reiki master. She is also mother to four young children and a dynamic facilitator who offers workshops on yoga, meditation and self-empowerment. Her interest lies in blending contemporary spirituality and integrative healing practices into modern life.

Jules Mitchell MS, CMT, ERYT500 is a Las Vegas based yoga teacher, educator, and massage therapist. Her unique approach blends the tradition of yoga with her extensive study in biomechanics to help teachers develop their craft and empower them with education. Jules’s methods intend to achieve ease in movement through deliberate effort, thus her teachings integrate numerous modalities, balancing the somatic aspects of yoga with the most current exercise science. Bringing the most useful and applicable pieces of that science into the yoga community is her passion. She regularly contributes to teacher training programs and leads workshops and courses worldwide. Her book, Yoga Biomechanics: Stretching Redefined, is now available through Handspring Publishing. As adjunct faculty at ASU, she serves as a yoga consultant on various research studies measuring the effects of yoga therapy on special populations. Her most influential teachers include Leeann Carey (Yapana Yoga), Gil Hedley (Integral Anatomy), John Casey (yoga philosophy and Sanskrit), and the many dedicated scientists who collect, analyze and publish data so we may continue to ask more questions, even when it invokes a discerning analysis of tradition.

Andra discovered yoga while in the Air Force many years ago. She didn’t understand the purpose of the class or how to do the postures, but she found amazing peace in savasana.  It was the first time in her life that she was able to calm her incredibly busy mind. Many years later, Andra came back to yoga as a physical practice to improve an injury, and rediscovered the peace that can calm the mind and spirit.  

Andra has a passion to share this peace with veterans and others dealing with stress and trauma.  She has been trained in Mindful Resilience Yoga as a part of the Yoga Veterans Project. Also trained in Brain Integration Therapy, Andra loves to integrate energy work into her practices to boost the benefits of each class.

When Andra is not on a yoga mat, she is in a kilt.  As a bagpiper, she leads the Pikes Peak Highlanders Pipes and Drums.  You can find her all over Colorado playing pipes and doing yoga!

Lenora Degen is a certified yoga teacher, who has been studying and practicing yoga for 30 years.  Since leaving her job as co-owner of a sign shop to follow her heart and pursue yoga teacher training, Lenora has been using her extensive experience and knowledge of the practice to teach students of all ages.  Having found yoga to be indispensable in her own journey of recovery from disordered eating, Lenora is passionate about helping others to ease the pain that so many of us carry within, in the form of unhealthy relationships with food and our bodies.

Lorri Williams is a Level II Certified Addiction Counselor, Yoga Therapist, and Registered Yoga Teacher, who has been working with underserved populations in recovery and mental health for 9 years.  Informed by both her professional experience, and her personal experience as an eating disorder and cancer survivor, Lorri confidently holds space for others to experience healing, through a therapeutic blend of yoga, mindfulness, and meditation.