Ombodies Yoga & Functional Wellness

Heather is a double 500-hour certified E-RYT 500, a Yoga Medicine Registered  Therapeutics Specialist, and a YACEP (Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider) with Yoga Alliance, and the owner of OmBodies Yoga. Her Vinyasa yoga classes feature challenging, creative sequences with an emphasis on precision cueing and healthy alignment. She uses these elements in combination with a deep understanding of anatomy and physiology to draw in other aspects of the yoga practice, such as, pranayama and meditation.

Heather has been practicing yoga since the Fall of 2000 and teaching since 2005. She completed the 200-hour Teacher Training Program with Sivananda Yoga in 2005, the PreNatal Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga Works in NYC in 2006, the 500-hour Advanced Teacher Training at Moksha in 2014, and has most recently, completed her second 500-hour Advanced Teacher Training Certification with Tiffany Cruikshank & Yoga Medicine.

She opened OmBodies Yoga Studio in 2009 and has developed two successful teacher training programs, the OmBodies Foundational 200-hour & the OmBodies Advanced Teacher Training, both registered with Yoga Alliance. 

Heather has always had a deep appreciation and respect for the focus and discipline that the yoga practice helps to develop but also truly enjoys the creative, explorative, and sometimes playful expression of ourselves that can come from our practice. “This beautiful, multi-faceted practice offers us the opportunity to discover and explore so many aspects of who we really are!”

Ylenia started practicing yoga in 2012 and fell in love with the openness and clarity that come from a regular practice, in a safe non-judgmental environment. The combination of breath and movement, and feeling reconnected with her inner self and body, drew Ylenia deeper into the practice. She sees yoga as a tool for physical and inner transformation.

Ylenia loves supporting people on their journey of experiencing more health and vitality and is on a mission to share her passion for holistic health and well-being with those who are looking to make lasting and meaningful lifestyle change.

In her yoga classes, she encourages self-awareness and inner stillness even through a challenging flow. She tries to bring to her students an awareness of the deeper reasons for practicing yoga, and to become more connected, awake, and aware in everything we do – on and off the mat. She wants her students to leave class feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally nourished.

Throughout her life, Ylenia has lived in multiple cities around the world. She has a BA in Journalism from City University London and a Nutrition Certificate from Tufts University. She is a certified wellness coach and the owner of Loveroot Wellness. Ylenia received her 200-hour yoga teacher certification through OmBodies Yoga and is an RYT-200 with Yoga Alliance.

Sarah has been practicing yoga since she was 16-years old; her first practice involved a yoga DVD and some makeshift props in the basement of her childhood home. In 2016, she moved to Colorado from Chicago and fulfilled one of her life goals...she got her first ever yoga studio membership! A year later, she completed the studio's yoga teacher training, and today she is a RYT-200. She taught in Colorado for four years before moving to Mount Pleasant this summer when her husband began medical school at Central Michigan University. 

Iian has been studying movement and the body for most of his life. At the age of 5, he joined a swim team and over the next 20 years, became one one of the world's best swimmers. He has dedicated much of his and early adulthood practicing and studying technique, hydrodynamics, and anatomy and physiology, to achieve peak performance. 

He began his “official” yoga journey in 2002 with his first-ever yoga class with Rodney Yee in the San Francisco Bay area, where he was living at the time. Since then he's been able to practice under the guidance of amazing teachers such as Mark Stephens, Rusty Wells, and Kofi Busia. 

His personal practice has developed steadily (and not so steadily at times) over the years. In January of 2018 Iian decided to take the next big step in his journey by becoming a a certified yoga teacher under the tutelage of his current teacher, Hilaire Lockwood. He received his 200-hour certification in June of 2018; 500-hour certification in August of 2019; and is currently working to complete his 750-hour certification. 

Iian's teaching style is both playful and challenging. He strives to bring a sense of lightness, inquisitiveness, and creativity to the yoga flows that he teaches. You can expect to perspire, laugh, be challenged, be safe, and fall deeply into your practice and yourself.

Kate’s passion for teaching yoga stems from the experiences she’s had within her personal practice. Walking into the studio for the first time, she had no idea what to expect. Even after the first class she noticed a tiny shift in her perspective, that small change eventually lead her to making yoga an integral part of her life. Through the years she has seen that there is always another layer, another challenge, and little discoveries that are waiting there for you on your mat.

Beyond the physical and healthful benefits, there is a peace that comes with practicing yoga and that is what is exciting for Kate and keeps her coming back for more. This journey has been a joyful one and she is happy to be a part of the OmBodies studio and family. Kate has lived in Mt. Pleasant for most of her life and feels very connected to the people and places here.

This connection fuels Kate’s excitement to share the yoga practice with the community through OmBodies Yoga Studio. Kate received her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification through OmBodies Yoga Studio in 2012.

Carie successfully spent several decades ignoring her mother’s advice to give yoga a chance. Instead, she spent her working hours in gardens, applying her horticultural degree, and her free time powerwalking and teaching or taking Jazzercise classes. Finally, in 2008, an achy back led her to a yoga studio in Midland, where she began a full-primary Ashtanga practice, vowing to commit for three months. Eleven years later, Carie decided to take the next step in her yoga journey by completing the 200-hour OmBodies Teacher Training.

When practicing at home, Carie surrounds herself with an eclectic and ever-changing collection of books, art, music, calendars, stones, lamps, and incense. She strives to infuse her teaching with the spirit of those spiritual and mental delights, leading students on a physical journey from which they can return renewed, relaxed, and inspired.