The Yoga Spot: Durham, NC: Teacher Bios


Current teacher profiles: Viola Bestmann is an artist, movement educator, and certified yoga instructor who has worked as a caregiver and teacher of all her adult life. Physically, her classes tend toward the soft exploratory side, with lots of supported and deeply nourishing poses. Her teaching and practice are strongly influenced by Lisa Clark, BMC (Body Mind Centering) and the teachings of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. The classes are deep and gentle, a chance to get underneath the surface of the skin and into the muscles, tissues, organs and emotions. Viola teaches in a gentle and playful manner, and approaches asanas mindfully and deeply. Bryan Carey combines his intense interest in structural anatomy, broad knowledge of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and Svatmarama's Pradipika and 20 years experience practicing and teaching yoga. In the classroom, he emphasizes the importance of developing "core" stability while establishing symmetrical alignment. Through a balanced practice of lengthening and strengthening agonist (prime mover) and antagonist, the yogin achieves sattva (equilibrium) physically, psycho-emotionally, soulfully. Lisa Clark is the director and developer of Yoga, Body Mind and Spirit, In-depth Yoga Study and Teacher Training Program. She is a certified teacher of Body-Mind Centering, one of the leading innovators of the integration of Yoga and BMC, and has been actively engaged in the training, teaching and practicing of this form for 20 years. Lisa's teaching explores the essence of yoga through a deep love and understanding of the human form in movement--synthesizing more than 25 years of experience in personal practice and teaching. Lisa has led workshops for Shiva Rea, Rodney Yee, The Yoga Journal, Omega Institute, The Kriplau Center, and many wonderful yoga studios throughout the USA. Andrea Dixon was introduced to yoga as a teenager and has been practicing ever since with a variety of teachers. Most recently she completed a 500 hour teacher training with the late Esther Myers, and a pre-natal teacher training with Stephanie Keach. She has a particular love and interest in teaching yoga to women, especially during the mysterious and magical time of pregnancy, and the adventure of new motherhood. She teaches pre-natal and postpartum yoga at the Yoga Spot and is trained as a doula (labor assistant). Andrea is currently enjoying the joys and challenges of mothering her first child. Suzanna Dupee ?is a NC Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist, and a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher. She is also an artist, a poet, an activist, and a dreamer! Suzanna grew up surrounded by creative movement and developed a love and awe for the wisdom and complexity of the human body at a very early age. She completed her yoga teacher training with Yoga: Body, Mind, and Spirit. She is a student of Anusara Yoga, a system that emphasizes the importance of proper alignment not only in the prevention and healing of injuries in the body, but also in the opening of the heart and flowering of the spirit. She weaves the Anusara principals into her teaching. Suzanna's favorite poem is the "Sunflower Sutra" by Allen Ginsberg, which she wholeheartedly recommends everyone read and carry around in their pocket. Visit her website at www.zannamassage.com Suzanne Faulkner's movement background includes gymnastics, dance, track and field, Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, Aikido, dressage and yoga. She is an AmSAT certified Alexander teacher. She has a masters from NC State in Special Education and teaches full-time at Orange Charter School in Hillsborough. Ashtanga came into Suzanne's life about ten years ago. It has been an incredible decade. Faulkner Fox has been a yoga practitioner since 1989, and an educator of adults, adolescents, and children since 1987. She received her yoga teacher training at Yoga: Body, Mind, and Spirit, and has taught yoga in a wide variety of setting including Club Boulevard Elementary School and Watts Street Baptist Church. Her goal as a yoga teacher is to meet each student with respect and compassion and to nurture their physical and spiritual growth and awakening. In addition to teaching yoga, Faulkner teaches creative writing at Duke and is a full-time writer. She holds an M.A. in American Studies and a M.F.A. in poetry and poetics, and is the author of Dispatches from a Not-So-Perfect Life (Random House, 2003), a feminist memoir about motherhood. Her upcoming book is about yoga and Buddhism in the American South. Leslie Gaddis began taking Hatha and Kali Ray yoga classes at the local YMCA in 2000. In 2003, she tried an Ashtanga Yoga class at Yoga Spot taught by Kathy Hallen and never looked back. Leslie attends Mysore class regularly at Kathy and her husband Fran Slavich's home studio, as well as Yoga Spot. Leslie has also studied with experienced practitioners David Keil, Matthew Sweeney, Annie Pace and David Williams. Leslie seeks to inform and improve her own practice by teaching Ashtanga Yoga to others. Cynthia Hughey is cofounder of the Yoga Spot. She has practiced hatha yoga and Vipassana meditation for most of her adult life; her special interest is in connecting these practices. She is a graduate of the Body, Mind and Spirit In-depth Yoga and Teacher Training Program. She has studied with a variety of yoga teachers and is continuously inspired by the teachers and students at the Yoga Spot. Teachers who have influenced her Vipassana practice include Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield and especially, her mentor, Phillip Moffitt. She is currently participating in the Community Dharma Leaders Program offered by Spirit Rock. Stacy Ingham has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for 8 years, and has been teaching for 4 years. Certified with Yogafit, she has continued her studies in the Ashtanga tradition of yoga with David Swensen, Annie Pace, Chuck Miller and Maty Ezrati, and most recently with David Keil. She also studies on an ongoing basis with Fran Slavic and Kathy Hallen, and here at Yogaspot with Nancy Kimberly. Stacy's approach to Ashtanga Yoga is to educate students on the joy of a consistent Yoga practice, demonstrating how to pay attention to the details of form and philosophy, and making Yoga accessible for all levels. Nancy Kimberly, RYT, is cofounder of the Yoga Spot and teaches Ashtanga Yoga and Yoga for MS. She started doing Iyengar yoga with Joan White in 1984 and has had the good fortune to study with many senior teachers over the years. Nancy completed an Ashtanga teacher training course with Tim Miller and a teacher training in Gentle Yoga for People with Special Bodies with Angela Nicolosi. She has taught in Durham since 1999. Marci Lew discovered the life-changing path of yoga a decade ago after taking her first yoga class, and has never looked back. After many years of practicing and teaching Hatha and Kali Ray Triyoga, she discovered a second passion in the form of Pilates. She has found Yoga and Pilates to be complementary disciplines, each informing and strengthening the other, and providing a more comprehensive and complete personal practice. Marci is finishing her Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology, has traveled to 30 countries, and has a colorful history working with primates for 10 years in Africa and in the US.	Peggy Manring has a Masters in Education from UNC-CH and has been active as a teacher and administrator in the field of education for thirty years. She taught and developed programs at Duke Preschool, Carolina Friends School and NC School of Science and Math. She has practiced yoga for over twenty years. Kathy Hallen is her main teacher in her practice of Astanga Yoga. She has also studied with many senior teachers, including Annie Pace, Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty, John Schumacher, Andres Manring, Patricia Walden, and Rodney Yee. Peggy has been teaching "integrated yoga" that is a blend of the influences from Astanga, Iyengar, Feldenkrais and QiGong for the past 10 years. Yoga is her life's path. Dan Mark discovered yoga in the late 1960s and started practicing by imitating poses in a book by Swami Vishnudevananda. Unlike some of his contemporaries, however, he did not go to India, discover a great teacher and become a yoga master. Fast forward 30 years and Dan rediscovered yoga through the encouragement of his wife. He developed an early passion for Ashtanga and started studying privately with Kathy Hallen and taking regular classes with Kathy and the other great teachers at Yoga Spot. Dan has participated in teacher intensives with David Swenson, Annie Pace, Nancy Gilgoff and David Keil. He has benefited greatly from studying with David Williams. Dan is also greatly assisted in his teaching and practice by his wife, Lee, and daughter, Rebecca, who do not hesitate to let him know when he has given an ineffective adjustment or has forgotten that the teacher's role is to help students see that the practice is the best teacher. Brian O'Grady has practiced various yoga styles for eleven years and has been teaching for the past four years. His focus on correct alignment and knowledge of pose variations and use of props makes his Flow Yoga and Deep Stretch Yoga classes safe for beginners or students with limited ability, while challenging enough for more advanced practitioners. Brian has taught students of all ages and abilities and is sensitive to tailoring classes to meet individual student requirements. Brian received his certification from Stephanie Keach at the Asheville Yoga Center. Before teaching, Brian developed affordable housing and holds an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill. He is married with two young children. Jeffifer Shoemaker brings to her teaching a deep commitment to creating space for others to connect with their inner stillness and clarity, and inner support for whatever arises. Her classes combine the explorations of subtle movement and deep support. She has been practicing meditation and yoga/movement for over 7 years, and restorative yoga for over 4 years. She is a certified yoga instructor in EmbodyYoga and a certified Relax and Renew trainer. She is very grateful to her many teachers including Lisa Clark, David Beadle, Judith Lasater, Kimberly Carson, Janice Geller, Julee Snyder, Patti Townsend, Jeff Brantley, and Ron Vereen. Paula Scataloni's love for dance began in childhood. She has been utilizing expressive arts in the treatment of disordered eating for over eight years in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the co-creator of ‘Ai Pono, Hawaii’s first intensive program for disordered eating. Her explorations in mindfulness through movement have included yoga, Metler-based creative dance, 5-Rythyms, authentic movement, dance therapy, and Shake Your Soul®. Paula became certified to teach Shake Your Soul®, Kripalu DansKinetics in 2006. Her dance classes offer a unique opportunity to connect with feelings of joy and ease in the body through the freedom and playfulness of dance. Her on-going training in body-centered expressive therapy explores the subtle ways in which the body communicates and fosters creativity through mindfulness of breath and movement. She is a member of Kripalu Danskinetics® Teachers Association, the Somara Institute for Movement and Art Therapies, and the International Association for Creative Dance. Paula is a licensed clinical social worker and is currently an eating disorder coordinator at Duke University. For more information, see Paula’s website at http://www.movinginward.com/index.html. Paul Sobin is a certified Anusara teacher who has trained extensively with top Anusara teachers including founder John Friend, and senior teacher and mentor Betsey Downing. He and his wifer, Sommer, are also blessed with the gift to travel the U.S. assisting Mitchell Bleier and Sianna Sherman, two of the most sought-after and well-versed Anusara teachers in the country. Paul's classes are playful, challenging and empowering. He is known for his ability to see the capacity of his students and to help them tap into that source, taking their practice to the next level. Paul also enjoys teaching with his wife Sommer and serenading his two dogs while learning to play the guitar. Laura Thomasson is a professional modern dancer, choreographer, and Yoga teacher. Laura has an extensive background in movement forms including Anusara, Hatha, Iyengar and Restorative Yoga, as well as Alexander technique, Feldenkrais, Klein Release technique, Modern, Ballet and African dance. Laura is also the director of Independent Dancemakers, a critically-acclaimed group of "nervy choreographers, dancers and guests" who "regularly establish new choreographic benchmarks in regional modern dance" (Independent Weekly). Laura has studied with some of the world,s greatest teachers and has had the privilege to perform with, among others, Barry Smith, Claudio Niedvorok, Rafael Lopez-Barrantes, Andrea Woods, Gerri Houlihan, Erik Franklin and Jeff Slayton, as well as on scholarship at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in New York. She has taught dance and yoga at private dance studios, the Yoga Spot, The Yoga Practice Center, Wellness Partners in the Arts, Durham School of the Arts, Duke University, Western Carolina University, and in 2004, at the American Dance Festival. Her choreography, described as "breaking new and frequently disturbing ground", has been seen in New York, DC and across North Carolina. Laura dances for joy and practices yoga for life. Currently, Laura teaches yoga at the Yoga Spot, Stargrass Studio for Movement Arts, and at The Forest at Duke.

Current teacher profiles:

Viola Bestmann is an artist, movement educator, and certified yoga instructor who has worked as a caregiver and teacher of all her adult life. Physically, her classes tend toward the soft exploratory side, with lots of supported and deeply nourishing poses. Her teaching and practice are strongly influenced by Lisa Clark, BMC (Body Mind Centering) and the teachings of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. The classes are deep and gentle, a chance to get underneath the surface of the skin and into the muscles, tissues, organs and emotions. Viola teaches in a gentle and playful manner, and approaches asanas mindfully and deeply.

Bryan Carey combines his intense interest in structural anatomy, broad knowledge of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and Svatmarama's Pradipika and 20 years experience practicing and teaching yoga. In the classroom, he emphasizes the importance of developing "core" stability while establishing symmetrical alignment. Through a balanced practice of lengthening and strengthening agonist (prime mover) and antagonist, the yogin achieves sattva (equilibrium) physically, psycho-emotionally, soulfully.

Lisa Clark is the director and developer of Yoga, Body Mind and Spirit, In-depth Yoga Study and Teacher Training Program. She is a certified teacher of Body-Mind Centering, one of the leading innovators of the integration of Yoga and BMC, and has been actively engaged in the training, teaching and practicing of this form for 20 years. Lisa's teaching explores the essence of yoga through a deep love and understanding of the human form in movement--synthesizing more than 25 years of experience in personal practice and teaching. Lisa has led workshops for Shiva Rea, Rodney Yee, The Yoga Journal, Omega Institute, The Kriplau Center, and many wonderful yoga studios throughout the USA.

Andrea Dixon was introduced to yoga as a teenager and has been practicing ever since with a variety of teachers. Most recently she completed a 500 hour teacher training with the late Esther Myers, and a pre-natal teacher training with Stephanie Keach. She has a particular love and interest in teaching yoga to women, especially during the mysterious and magical time of pregnancy, and the adventure of new motherhood. She teaches pre-natal and postpartum yoga at the Yoga Spot and is trained as a doula (labor assistant). Andrea is currently enjoying the joys and challenges of mothering her first child.

Suzanna Dupee ?is a NC Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist, and a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher. She is also an artist, a poet, an activist, and a dreamer! Suzanna grew up surrounded by creative movement and developed a love and awe for the wisdom and complexity of the human body at a very early age. She completed her yoga teacher training with Yoga: Body, Mind, and Spirit. She is a student of Anusara Yoga, a system that emphasizes the importance of proper alignment not only in the prevention and healing of injuries in the body, but also in the opening of the heart and flowering of the spirit. She weaves the Anusara principals into her teaching. Suzanna's favorite poem is the "Sunflower Sutra" by Allen Ginsberg, which she wholeheartedly recommends everyone read and carry around in their pocket. Visit her website at www.zannamassage.com

Suzanne Faulkner's movement background includes gymnastics, dance, track and field, Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, Aikido, dressage and yoga. She is an AmSAT certified Alexander teacher. She has a masters from NC State in Special Education and teaches full-time at Orange Charter School in Hillsborough. Ashtanga came into Suzanne's life about ten years ago. It has been an incredible decade.

Faulkner Fox has been a yoga practitioner since 1989, and an educator of adults, adolescents, and children since 1987. She received her yoga teacher training at Yoga: Body, Mind, and Spirit, and has taught yoga in a wide variety of setting including Club Boulevard Elementary School and Watts Street Baptist Church. Her goal as a yoga teacher is to meet each student with respect and compassion and to nurture their physical and spiritual growth and awakening. In addition to teaching yoga, Faulkner teaches creative writing at Duke and is a full-time writer. She holds an M.A. in American Studies and a M.F.A. in poetry and poetics, and is the author of Dispatches from a Not-So-Perfect Life (Random House, 2003), a feminist memoir about motherhood. Her upcoming book is about yoga and Buddhism in the American South.

Leslie Gaddis began taking Hatha and Kali Ray yoga classes at the local YMCA in 2000. In 2003, she tried an Ashtanga Yoga class at Yoga Spot taught by Kathy Hallen and never looked back. Leslie attends Mysore class regularly at Kathy and her husband Fran Slavich's home studio, as well as Yoga Spot. Leslie has also studied with experienced practitioners David Keil, Matthew Sweeney, Annie Pace and David Williams. Leslie seeks to inform and improve her own practice by teaching Ashtanga Yoga to others.

Cynthia Hughey is cofounder of the Yoga Spot. She has practiced hatha yoga and Vipassana meditation for most of her adult life; her special interest is in connecting these practices. She is a graduate of the Body, Mind and Spirit In-depth Yoga and Teacher Training Program. She has studied with a variety of yoga teachers and is continuously inspired by the teachers and students at the Yoga Spot. Teachers who have influenced her Vipassana practice include Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield and especially, her mentor, Phillip Moffitt. She is currently participating in the Community Dharma Leaders Program offered by Spirit Rock.

Stacy Ingham has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for 8 years, and has been teaching for 4 years. Certified with Yogafit, she has continued her studies in the Ashtanga tradition of yoga with David Swensen, Annie Pace, Chuck Miller and Maty Ezrati, and most recently with David Keil. She also studies on an ongoing basis with Fran Slavic and Kathy Hallen, and here at Yogaspot with Nancy Kimberly. Stacy's approach to Ashtanga Yoga is to educate students on the joy of a consistent Yoga practice, demonstrating how to pay attention to the details of form and philosophy, and making Yoga accessible for all levels.

Nancy Kimberly, RYT, is cofounder of the Yoga Spot and teaches Ashtanga Yoga and Yoga for MS. She started doing Iyengar yoga with Joan White in 1984 and has had the good fortune to study with many senior teachers over the years. Nancy completed an Ashtanga teacher training course with Tim Miller and a teacher training in Gentle Yoga for People with Special Bodies with Angela Nicolosi. She has taught in Durham since 1999.

Marci Lew discovered the life-changing path of yoga a decade ago after taking her first yoga class, and has never looked back. After many years of practicing and teaching Hatha and Kali Ray Triyoga, she discovered a second passion in the form of Pilates. She has found Yoga and Pilates to be complementary disciplines, each informing and strengthening the other, and providing a more comprehensive and complete personal practice. Marci is finishing her Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology, has traveled to 30 countries, and has a colorful history working with primates for 10 years in Africa and in the US.

Peggy Manring has a Masters in Education from UNC-CH and has been active as a teacher and administrator in the field of education for thirty years. She taught and developed programs at Duke Preschool, Carolina Friends School and NC School of Science and Math. She has practiced yoga for over twenty years. Kathy Hallen is her main teacher in her practice of Astanga Yoga. She has also studied with many senior teachers, including Annie Pace, Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty, John Schumacher, Andres Manring, Patricia Walden, and Rodney Yee. Peggy has been teaching "integrated yoga" that is a blend of the influences from Astanga, Iyengar, Feldenkrais and QiGong for the past 10 years. Yoga is her life's path.

Dan Mark discovered yoga in the late 1960s and started practicing by imitating poses in a book by Swami Vishnudevananda. Unlike some of his contemporaries, however, he did not go to India, discover a great teacher and become a yoga master. Fast forward 30 years and Dan rediscovered yoga through the encouragement of his wife. He developed an early passion for Ashtanga and started studying privately with Kathy Hallen and taking regular classes with Kathy and the other great teachers at Yoga Spot. Dan has participated in teacher intensives with David Swenson, Annie Pace, Nancy Gilgoff and David Keil. He has benefited greatly from studying with David Williams. Dan is also greatly assisted in his teaching and practice by his wife, Lee, and daughter, Rebecca, who do not hesitate to let him know when he has given an ineffective adjustment or has forgotten that the teacher's role is to help students see that the practice is the best teacher.

Brian O'Grady has practiced various yoga styles for eleven years and has been teaching for the past four years. His focus on correct alignment and knowledge of pose variations and use of props makes his Flow Yoga and Deep Stretch Yoga classes safe for beginners or students with limited ability, while challenging enough for more advanced practitioners. Brian has taught students of all ages and abilities and is sensitive to tailoring classes to meet individual student requirements. Brian received his certification from Stephanie Keach at the Asheville Yoga Center. Before teaching, Brian developed affordable housing and holds an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill. He is married with two young children.

Jeffifer Shoemaker brings to her teaching a deep commitment to creating space for others to connect with their inner stillness and clarity, and inner support for whatever arises. Her classes combine the explorations of subtle movement and deep support. She has been practicing meditation and yoga/movement for over 7 years, and restorative yoga for over 4 years. She is a certified yoga instructor in EmbodyYoga and a certified Relax and Renew trainer. She is very grateful to her many teachers including Lisa Clark, David Beadle, Judith Lasater, Kimberly Carson, Janice Geller, Julee Snyder, Patti Townsend, Jeff Brantley, and Ron Vereen.

Paula Scataloni's love for dance began in childhood. She has been utilizing expressive arts in the treatment of disordered eating for over eight years in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the co-creator of ‘Ai Pono, Hawaii’s first intensive program for disordered eating. Her explorations in mindfulness through movement have included yoga, Metler-based creative dance, 5-Rythyms, authentic movement, dance therapy, and Shake Your Soul®. Paula became certified to teach Shake Your Soul®, Kripalu DansKinetics in 2006. Her dance classes offer a unique opportunity to connect with feelings of joy and ease in the body through the freedom and playfulness of dance. Her on-going training in body-centered expressive therapy explores the subtle ways in which the body communicates and fosters creativity through mindfulness of breath and movement. She is a member of Kripalu Danskinetics® Teachers Association, the Somara Institute for Movement and Art Therapies, and the International Association for Creative Dance. Paula is a licensed clinical social worker and is currently an eating disorder coordinator at Duke University. For more information, see Paula’s website at http://www.movinginward.com/index.html.

Paul Sobin is a certified Anusara teacher who has trained extensively with top Anusara teachers including founder John Friend, and senior teacher and mentor Betsey Downing. He and his wifer, Sommer, are also blessed with the gift to travel the U.S. assisting Mitchell Bleier and Sianna Sherman, two of the most sought-after and well-versed Anusara teachers in the country. Paul's classes are playful, challenging and empowering. He is known for his ability to see the capacity of his students and to help them tap into that source, taking their practice to the next level. Paul also enjoys teaching with his wife Sommer and serenading his two dogs while learning to play the guitar.

Laura Thomasson is a professional modern dancer, choreographer, and Yoga teacher. Laura has an extensive background in movement forms including Anusara, Hatha, Iyengar and Restorative Yoga, as well as Alexander technique, Feldenkrais, Klein Release technique, Modern, Ballet and African dance. Laura is also the director of Independent Dancemakers, a critically-acclaimed group of "nervy choreographers, dancers and guests" who "regularly establish new choreographic benchmarks in regional modern dance" (Independent Weekly). Laura has studied with some of the world,s greatest teachers and has had the privilege to perform with, among others, Barry Smith, Claudio Niedvorok, Rafael Lopez-Barrantes, Andrea Woods, Gerri Houlihan, Erik Franklin and Jeff Slayton, as well as on scholarship at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in New York. She has taught dance and yoga at private dance studios, the Yoga Spot, The Yoga Practice Center, Wellness Partners in the Arts, Durham School of the Arts, Duke University, Western Carolina University, and in 2004, at the American Dance Festival. Her choreography, described as "breaking new and frequently disturbing ground", has been seen in New York, DC and across North Carolina. Laura dances for joy and practices yoga for life. Currently, Laura teaches yoga at the Yoga Spot, Stargrass Studio for Movement Arts, and at The Forest at Duke.