OUR INSTRUCTORS

JANE BARRETT, E-RYT 500, director/owner of Raleigh Yoga Center, began teaching in 1979. She is a licensed educator with a B.S. in Social Sciences and master studies in Learning Disabilities. A founding member of the Yoga Teachers Association of New York, she is also a current member of the Iyengar Yoga Associations of Greater New York and the Southeast. Having successfully run her own yoga business in NY for 19 years Jane relocated to NC and joined the staff of Raleigh Yoga Center in 1998. In addition to studying with nationally known Iyengar teachers for 30 years, Jane has received teacher training from Joan White, Patricia Walden, Elise Browning Miller, Judith Hanson Lasater, John Schumacher and Bobbi Goldin. She has also taken multiple teacher training courses with Aadil Palkhivala and Doug Keller. For the past 5 years Jane has been honored to assist her dear friend and mentor, certified Iyengar teacher Bobbi Goldin, at an annual week long Iyengar Yoga retreat on Sanibel Island. She continues her studies and brings to her own classes her years of experience, heart and sense of humor.

KIRSTEN BACHMANN, E-RYT 200, NCLMT #1293, completed yoga teacher training with Stephanie Keach at the Asheville School of Yoga in 2001 and began teaching at Raleigh Yoga Center in 2005. She regularly attends workshops with Iyengar certified teacher Bobbi Goldin and with Erich Schiffmann. She has attended teacher training courses with Aadil Palkhivala and Doug Keller. Kirsten’s teaching style is lighthearted and encouraging and reflects her commitment to an alignment based practice. She has been a practicing massage therapist since 1995.

LAURA WOODALL, E-RYT 200, has been teaching yoga for 12 years. Although her teacher training certification is through the NC School of Yoga, she considers herself a teacher in the lineage of alignment based yoga. Laura also completed teacher training with certified Iyengar teacher Bobbi Goldin. She has taught yoga at Rex Wellness Center for 5 years. She is also an adjunct faculty member of Meredith College where she has taught yoga for the past 7 years. Laura believes that yoga should be practiced with an open heart, a sense of wonder and exploration, but most importantly to cultivate compassion.

JEFF MANNING has been a student of yoga since 1992. Strongly influenced by alignment-based methods Jeff has studied with Iyengar certified teacher Bobbi Goldin of the Yoga Institute of Miami and Chris Moore of Raleigh Yoga Center. He has also studied with Stephanie Keach of Asheville Yoga Center and Peter Lavina on the Big Island of Hawaii. Since 2002 he has taught yoga to students, faculty and staff at NCSU and at the Raleigh YMCA. He has also conducted classes for NCSU’s golf and tennis teams and co-taught yoga workshops for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Jeff received teaching certifications in 2003 and 2004 and draws largely from his own experiences and study.

BETH ROBINSON, RYT 200, has studied and practiced yoga for 8 years. She began teaching in early 2010 after receiving her 330 hour Teacher Training Certificate from Triad Yoga Institute. Her training is alignment focused inspired by the teachings of Aadil Palkhivala and B.K.S. Iyengar. Beth believes in not only practicing the physical postures of yoga, but also in living yoga by practicing kindness, doing no harm, being in the present moment and believing in the wisdom of the heart. Her fun and engaging style of teaching will help you to improve your strength, flexibility and overall health.

LESLIE WAUGH, RYT 200, has been a dedicated student for 10 years. After studying at Raleigh Yoga Center for 5 years, she moved to Washington, D.C. where she continued her studies with classes and workshops at John Schumacher’s Unity Woods Center. In 2008, Leslie completed her first teacher training program with Iyengar certified teacher Bobbi Goldin. In 2010, she completed a 200 hr teacher training course and received her certification from Boundless Yoga in Washington, D.C. Once certified, Leslie taught classes at Boundless Yoga. She considers her primary teachers to be Jane Barrett and Bobbi Goldin but has also attended workshops with Iyengar teachers Roger Cole, Manouso Manos, Lois Steinberg and Joan White, as well as with Doug Keller, Aadil Palkhivala and Donna Farhi. Leslie is strongly influenced by the Iyengar tradition but also draws on other traditions in her teaching. Through a focus on alignment and open-hearted, inquisitive practice, she seeks to help students cultivate a deeper awareness of themselves and others and an appreciation for the power of the practice, on and off the mat.

JOANNE TUGWELL, RYT 200, has been an avid student of yoga since 2000. She received her yoga teacher certification from Lighten up Teacher Training Program with Lillah Schwartz in 2008. In addition to teaching at RYC Joanne has been teaching yoga at Wake Forest Yoga for 2 years. Joanne likes to combine the alignment principles of an Iyengar inspired asana practice with the moving pace of a Vinyasa flow style class. She encourages students to move with the breath in a lighthearted and joyful way, which brings lightness to the body and freedom to the mind.

JILL BRALY, RYT 200, has been a devoted and inquisitive student of yoga for ten years. In 2008, she received formal training and certification in traditional hatha yoga from the Yoga Vidya Gurukul ashram and yoga school in Maharashtra, India. In March 2010, she completed certification in the Yoga for the Special Child method and currently teaches yoga to children with special needs at a pediatric therapy center. Jill practices and teaches yoga to all people as a physical, mental and spiritual guidebook for life. She hopes her teaching will help your experiences on the yoga mat unfold into enriched living off of the mat.

LISA MCDOUGALD, RYT 500, has been a student of alignment based yoga for eleven years.  She completed her 500 hour teacher training with Suzanne Newton and Terry Brown at the Triad Yoga Institute in 2010, and her 240 hour teacher training in 2005 at the N.C. School of Yoga in Raleigh, NC.  She continues to expand her yoga practice through regular classes and workshops with teachers influenced by BKS Iyengar, including Bobbi Golden, Aadil Palkhivala, Bo Forbes, Elise Browning Miller, Terry Brown, and Lillah Schwartz.   She enjoys sharing her yoga practice with her students in her small home studio in Raleigh.

MELINDA COLEMAN, RYT 200, began taking yoga classes in her fifties and experienced the health benefits of practicing with teachers who emphasize body alignment and careful composition of the poses. She completed yoga teacher training in her early sixties at the Wilmington Yoga Center. She has also received training at the Triad Yoga Institute where there is an emphasis on alignment methodology as influenced by the teachings of Aadil Palkhivala and B.K.S Iyengar. She studies regularly with teachers in the Iyengar tradition. With a master’s degree in geography and planning, she had a career in urban planning, historic preservation, and grants management. Now she enjoys teaching the basics of yoga to those who would like to begin to practice and experience the benefits at any stage of life.

CHRISTOPHER MOORE, RN-Ret., E-RYT 500, founder of Raleigh Yoga Center in 1985, conducts classes from a background in Western and Eastern approaches to health science. He has been a health care professional since 1964, a yoga student since 1975, and a teacher and therapist since 1984. His teacher training includes study with Ruth Bender in 1978, Iyengar certified teacher Bobbi Goldin at the Yoga Institute of Miami in 1985 and two trainings with Senior Iyengar certified teacher Felicity Green of Seattle, Washington. He has attended classes and intensives with and been strongly influenced in style by B.K.S. Iyengar and many of his senior teachers. In the past 5 years he has studied Anusara principles and received Therapeutics training with Doug Keller. Chris’ calling is informed by over 45 years experience working hands-on with the human body and its function and alignment. This leads to his special interest in Therapeutics, rehabilitation and helping you develop a balance of strength and flexibility, improved health and posture and the development of self-awareness. Private sessions available by appointment.

ROSS DUNCAN, NCLMT # 9637, has been involved in healing and movement arts since 1996.  An interest in martial arts evolved into a profound appreciation of all the human body is capable of. His training in martial arts began at Kamiza, a traditional Japanese martial arts school in Apex, and that school's emphasis on Qi Gong as an adjunct to martial arts practice lead him to eventually studying massage and bodywork and making a career out of the healing arts. Six years ago this passion was directed to studying the internal art of Tai Chi which he practices diligently each day to this day.  He has studied with some of the world's most respected internal martial artists, including Chen Zheng Lei, Wang Hai Jun, and Luo De Xiu, and has taught at retreat centers across the country, and currently holds weekly classes at the YMCA. He is a licensed massage therapist and owner of Lotus Temple Massage in Cameron Village.  

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