MEET OUR YOGA INSTRUCTORS

I credit my yoga path to the persistence of a friend that i now, and will always, hold dear to my heart. thank you, nelinda. In 2002, Nelinda introduced me to my first yoga class. I considered myself fairly athletic, but was amazed by the challenges I faced in that hour. I struggled to get through the standing series and by the time we hit the floor I felt as if I had been wrung out completely physically, mentally, and emotionally. I was eager to come back the next day, and the next, and the next. By day 4 into my practice I realized that the focus of my workout had morphed from being about how many calories I burned, what muscles I was working, into something much deeper.

The world around me became easier; my child was better behaved, people I met seemed nicer, and small things that used to bother me, didn’t. By getting rid of stress (that I didn’t realize I even had) my life started to change. I quickly dove into a 6 day a week practice, sometimes attending 2 classes a day. In 2003, I became certified to teach by completing a 500 hour teacher training course. Teaching then became my full time job and my life’s passion. After a 6 month life-changing stay in Thailand, I returned to the States in 2007 looking for a new studio to call home. I found Uptown Yoga. There was something special about the space: just walking in the doors made me feel at peace. At the time, the studio was a bit unkempt, the classes were small, and the overall energy was running low, but it had an undeniable pulse waiting to be revived. In the spring of 2008, the studio would get just that: I became owner and poured my heart into bringing it back to life. I brought in teachers that share the same energy and passion for teaching as I do . Together we laid the ground work for what the studio has become today, a beautiful community where everyone can feel comfortable exploring (or beginning) their yoga practice. Yoga has helped me through some tough times and brought me to where I am today; a place of complete love and gratitude. I am thankful to have been brought to Uptown, and to be surrounded by amazing teachers and students.

I first started my yoga journey in University. Yoga was a way for me to decompress from the stressors of nursing school. After a change from my nursing major and my graduation I moved home to be with my family, while my father recovered from back surgery. I began to take yoga around the dallas area and fell in love with the vinyasa practice. I received my 200 hr teaching certification in December 2011.
I try to blend different movements that may not be typical in a traditional yoga class with the breath. I love playing with arm balances, inversion and try to blend in stabilizing movement with flow.
My ultimate goal when your come to my class is to sweat out the stress and leave with a weight lifted off your shoulder.

I started my Yoga practice over 12 years ago. After practicing and studying more and more I found that I was only scratching the surface of what Yoga was and could be for myself. This led me to want to teach and share this amazing experience and journey with others. My vision is to make the practice available for everyone to participate in. When we experience the stretching, bending, twisting and turning in Yoga we achieve a level of understanding of ourselves that contributes to our sense of control and flexibility. My goal for my students is to go beyond the physical aspect and heighten awareness of the body-mind connection. I believe our potential is limitless and within this realm there is a great joy.

I found yoga by last resort over 13 years ago. I was having a lot of knee pain and I was told I needed to have knee surgery on both of my knees at a very young age. Surely, there was another option… and that’s when yoga came into my life. I started to better understand my body and its needs and limitations. I learned how to strengthen muscles around my knees that I never knew existed! That’s when my love of yoga began…and I still have never had that knee surgery!

I often have people tell me, "you're never stressed" or "you never let things bother you," and the truth is, I do. I'm human just like the next person with real feelings and raw emotions--this doesn't come naturally! What's different though, is I have learned through this practice that I have positive outlets to release this energy. I've learned that I simply can't control everything in my life and that's okay. I've learned that not everything is going to go as planned and I will be faced with challenges and difficult situations in my life. The difference is that I now know how to be non-reactive and compassionate and confident rather than short-tempered, stressed and angry. It's a beautiful realization and that's what I try to convey in my classes.

In my class, you may find enlightenment and you may find what blockage exists in your heart chakra, but what's most important to me is that you find a peaceful, loving environment to be real, to be true to yourself and to learn to become a more open, compassionate and balanced individual. Those are the things you'll need in the real world as you go about your daily lives. In my class, you'll be challenged, you'll sweat, and you may even fall once or twice, but through it all- you will have fun and you will leave smiling, ready to take on what life throws your way!

Hey yogis! I have been teaching yoga since 2013. I am a 500 hour certified teacher and also E-RYT 200 (have taught over 1000 classes). I am currently studying with the Kripalu School of Yoga and Health in pursuit of a Yoga Therapist certification, studying under Joseph and Lilian Le Page. I draw inspiration from my classes from studying with Maria Mendola, Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, Jennifer Reis and Yoganand. My classes will focus on alignment, mindfulness, breathing, and other elements from my yoga therapist background. I also love putting together fun sequences and finding new ways to link poses together. My hope is that you will leave feeling refreshed and renewed. I look forward to seeing you on the mat!

I am so grateful I ventured onto a yoga mat in 1999. I have found the mind-body connection to be such a powerful and transformative experience, that I have been a seeker on the yogic path ever since. Once I learned to breathe deeply and quiet my mind, my life purpose came into focus, and I began to live life more fully and more in balance.

I began teaching as soon as I stepped out of teacher training in 2005. That seeker spirit has led me into a deeper study of both Ayurveda and Thai Massage. I finished my 500RYT with Ayurvedic Practitioner, Arpita Shaw. I am an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor and a Licensed Massage Therapist continually cultivating my tools to support my students along their journeys. I continue to study yogic philosophy, subtle energy, and the effects of trauma on the body with my other teachers Rod Stryker, Tias Little and Seane Corn.

When you come to my class, (got to get up early!) I’ll ask you to be open and honest with yourself about where you are. I’ll invite you to release your resistance and be courageous. My own injuries have taught me to be an accommodating, compassionate practitioner and teacher, focusing on presence of mind and longevity of body – tools we need for a lifetime!

My spouse and two pups bring me an abundance of ojas for life’s fuel. What feeds my soul when not on my mat is travel, design, fair trade, and practicing seva, yogic service.

I started doing yoga when I was in college in 2010. I loved the physical practice but would sneak out of savasana (so obnoxiously) because I couldn’t be alone with my thoughts. I took an adjunct class to create a foundation for my practice, and I almost failed. I stepped away from yoga for a few years as I fell into the strong grasp of addiction, but eventually the spirit of the universe brought me back to this amazing practice. I started getting serious about yoga in 2015 when I moved to Dallas to get sober. Over the past couple of years, my personal practice—both meditation and asana—has grown immensely, and I have had the pleasure to get 200 hour Teacher Training certified and am finishing up my 300 hour Teacher Training certification in December 2018. I love yoga because it helped me heal my body, mind and soul. I equate a lot of the personal transformation that I have experienced to this practice. I became more disciplined, open, and kind to others and to myself. Teaching yoga was never something that I dreamed of doing even when I took teacher training, but it has become my most fiery passion and brings me great joy to share this gift with others. I love challenging flows with tricky transitions that get your heart rate up and allow you to be fully present on your mat. Yoga has shown me what it means to truly move with grace and non attachment both on and off the mat.

Lisa has been a practitioner of yoga for over 35 years and has been teaching for almost 20 years. Lisa’s classes are centered around the fundamental idea in yoga that there is a place in each of us that endures and is un-changing. Our lives are full of ups and downs, of pleasure and pain, of joy and despair. Yoga science is the methodology that empowers us to access that unchanging place of wholeness in the midst of all the change in our lives.

In Lisa’s class you will use the postures to challenge the physical body in a way that also trains the nervous system to respond to stress and the challenges of our lives. Lisa uses her training as an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist to share practices that balance and enliven the physical and energetic bodies. Students will find the format very similar to other Flow practices, with more of an emphasis on the strength and stability found through holding poses for longer periods of time.

Lisa teaches with love and respect for the practice and for the lineage of her teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker who teaches from an unbroken lineage of Sri Vidya from the Himalayan masters of India. She holds certifications as a Para Yoga Nidra teacher, a Yoga4Cancer teacher, a Holistic Health Coach and Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist.

I fell into yoga almost backwards and blessed in how it happened! I was teaching a variety of group fitness formats at my university campus rec center in college, when my director had put me up to the task of teaching yoga. Terrified and knowing nothing at all about the practice, I sought as many educational opportunities as I could and began practicing at a local studio so that I could be the best for my students. What ended up happening was not only did I find what I was seeking, but I also made some incredible self-discovery. For the first time, I found freedom from the burden of trying to meet external expectations (growing up as a ballet dancer, this was huge). The idea that we participate in yoga practice, not yoga perfect, has been a cornerstone in my own self-growth and is a turnkey in my own teachings.

Upon graduation, I moved to the Dallas area where I pursued both my 200 and 300 hour certifications as well where I taught yoga and other fitness formats. I spent three years as a first grade teacher, learning the art of teaching, while at the same time finding a growing passion for teaching yoga and group exercise. There is something life-giving about seeing others discover their truth and feel at home in their bodies, I couldn’t get enough of it!

I am now running my own business, Lisa Reynolds Fitness, with a mission to empower others to find freedom through movement. I am passionate about sharing the teachings of yoga with others and am so blessed for the community at Uptown Yoga. You will find my classes are light-hearted and playful with the intention to get us out of our heads and into our hearts. Come flow with me at the studio any time J.

I started my yoga practice in 2009, hoping to achieve the physical benefits of a lean, toned and flexible body. I quickly realized that an “ideal” body image didn’t solve for life’s miscellaneous curveballs and the emotional roller coasters they take us on. In turn I dove deeper into the eight limb path.
I became fascinated with the yamas and niyamas in how they encourage us to show up as our best selves. I experienced the impact of pranayama (breath), and how it plays a huge role in any physical or mental exercise. Lastly, I’m motivated by the ongoing practice of being able to let go of mental or material distractions and to concentrate the mind, in hopes of reaching a level of peace.
Through asana (physical poses), I believe we’re able to combine these other limbs with the connection of body, breath, and mind while on the mat, especially when flowing through a challenging pose or sequence. Practicing this control on the mat has built my awareness off the mat, providing strategies for how to encounter life’s curveballs.
My goal as an instructor is to create a safe space for students to find this connection during their practice and be able to apply the eight limb principles toward everyday life, ultimately finding a level of peace for themselves.

I began my yoga journey in 2014 after having to quit competing in Crossfit due to some sustained injuries. I was looking for a way to still active and enjoy fitness and along the way, yoga became so much more for me. Showing up to my mat became a daily lesson about self care and taking the time to learn how to fill my own cup, love myself, and show myself compassion and patience so I could, in turn, share all those things with others. I am extremely passionate about mentoring, coaching, and developing others and am so grateful for the ability to do so through such a beautiful practice.

I received my 200 hour certification in 2015 and have been teaching since completion. When I am not teaching, I work as a General Manager for Tory Burch’s activewear line Tory Sport. I am also active in volunteering with the Junior League of Dallas and have the pleasure of teaching restorative yoga to the members of the North Texas Cancer Support Community twice a month.

My yoga journey began while I was searching for healing and therapeutic forms of movement after an injury that ended my career as a ballet dancer. After attending a few Ashtanga and Vinyasa classes, I found that the practice left my body feeling cleansed, energetic, and mobile. As I began to incorporate a daily yoga practice into my life, I discovered that there was much more to yoga than just physical movement and exercise. Yoga taught me to accept and love my body and my self exactly they are. The healing and peace I found through yoga inspired me to explore a deeper spiritual practice, and sparked within me the desire to share that experience with others.

In 2012 I became a 200-hour RYT, and continued my education in 2013 through Uptown Yoga’s Teacher Training. I love to incorporate my background in dance into my yoga classes through carefully choreographed, alignment-centered sequences. I’m also fascinated by anatomy and how the body works, and I emphasize detailed alignment and muscle activation techniques in my practice and teaching. I believe that the true power of yoga happens when we take the inner transformation we discover on the mat, and share it with the world by living ethically and treating others with kindness.

My yoga journey began at 15 years old. Golf was my main focus, my athletic talent and my ticket to a college scholarship. My first yoga class was Hatha style, and I loved it. My grandmother had an interest in yoga and together we went to Hatha and Kundalini yoga classes. Yoga was something that we both shared a passion for and bounded us. Finally, a hot vinyasa studio opened in San Antonio and I fell in love with the vinyasa practice.

It kept me strong and flexible for golf, not to mention the mental benefits of the practice. I believe the yoga practice and my golf talent earned me a golf scholarship to Baylor University. As a student athlete, you have school and golf. Our mandatory workouts did not involve yoga, but I kept begging my trainer to let us try it. Every summer I would return to San Antonio, practice golf and yoga.

I moved to Dallas in 2010, for an internship. Our office was in Uptown. I was in search of a studio home and thankfully I walked in to Uptown Yoga. I went twice a day, noon and 5:30pm class. I was hooked. Three years later, a teacher asked me to consider Uptown Yoga Teacher Training. My first thought was, wow I can be a yoga teacher and second, how can I afford this? I picked up a few extra gigs and I saved up the money, took a few vacations, and finally signed up for teacher training in 2015. Teacher Training was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of my life. So much changed in my yoga practice and life. I found inner confidence and more connected to my community. Through teacher training my knowledge for the practice grew exponentially and I am honored to teach and share the practice of yoga.

I’m Sean and I have been practicing for about 3 years and teaching for 2...I love sharing my knowledge to help grow and Introduce positive change in peoples lives. “This power of yoga aligns our hearts and our minds to be strong in our beliefs and transform ourselves to the best version of us.” Come flow wth us and myself for meaningful transitions and powerful breakthroughs... -Namaste