Amanda Giacomini is a gifted artist, storyteller and yoga teacher, best known for her 10,000 Buddhas street art project. Amanda has been teaching yoga for over 20 years at her home studio Point Reyes Yoga and at workshops and festivals around the globe. In 2020 she began singing with her husband, MC YOGI, and they formed a new band The Cosmic Mellow. Visit 10000buddhas.com

 Leia is an artist, dancer and yoga teacher. She has her 200 hr in Hatha Yoga from the Breathing Space and a 300hr certification in Therapeutic yoga from the Wilmington Yoga Center; as well as a degree in Dance and Choreography from Hollins University. Her movement practice is inspired by observing our deep connection to all things on a fundamental level. Her unique soulful teaching approach combines an emphasis on breath, heart alignment and intention. Leia hopes to inspire more joy, freedom and peace through the healing practices of yoga, dance, song and meditation.  

Website

Becky came to energy healing first through Reiki 1 training in 2011. She continued on her Reiki path and is now a Holy Fire® III Karuna Reiki® Master.
In 2017 Becky received her 200 hours to teach yoga. She received her 300 hour training in Yin Yoga in 2020 from the Summers School of Yin Yoga.
In 2018 Becky began taking classes for Thai Bodywork and uses this energy healing modality in her studio.
In 2019, Becky received her level 1 in sound healing. She uses sound healing in all of her Reiki Sessions as well as in savasana in her yoga classes. She is currently working on getting her certification in level 2 sound healing.
In 2021, Becky received her 200 instructor certification in qigong.

She resides in Davenport, Iowa with her family and owns Illuminate Healing Studio. She offers qigong, Reiki, Reiki training, sound healing, Thai Bodywork, and yoga at her studio.

Registered Yoga Teacher 500 

I’m originally from California but I’ve called Virginia home since 2008. I obtained my bachelor degree in biology from Eastern Illinois University and my master degree in counselor education from Clemson University. I initially began practicing yoga as an undergraduate college student but didn’t get serious about it until 2014 when I committed to making holistic wellness a focus in my life. I currently work as the Studio Manager for In Balance Yoga and I teach public yoga classes several times a week at the studio.

Gina Minyard weaves yoga’s wisdom and with life’s ever-unfolding process, bringing it alive and experientially embodied through breath, muscle, and bone, creating a rich and magically alchemical experience through her teaching. Dynamic alignment principles, intelligent sequencing, and thematic metaphor infuse her engaging instruction, with a presence that is weighty, compassionate, and inviting. A “pillar of Grace” in the Atlanta yoga community, she is sought out for her charisma and passion, breadth of knowledge, and mastery of alignment-based methodology. For Gina, yoga is a radical practice to bring our truest Self – its steadiness, freedom, truth, and love – into full manifestation. Practicing and teaching yoga since 1999, she is committed to disciplined work infused with laughter and light-heartedness. Gina is an E-RYT 500 and YACEP with Yoga Alliance, an Authorized Teacher of Neelakantha Meditation as taught in Blue Throat Yoga, and leads workshops and trainings in Atlanta and beyond. Visit www.ginaminyard.com for more info. 

Johnny Stowe got into yoga about 8 years ago as a path toward inner peace. Under Bren Schell, his first yoga mentor, he began recognizing and embracing profound parallels between yoga and his life as an ecosopher, author, lecturer and lover of wildlands. Johnny holds a Director postion on the Board of IAWF, is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, SC Registered Forester and Wildland Firelighter specializing in human ecology and restoration of endangered species in longleaf pine savannas and other imperiled ecosystems using human’s oldest tool — prescribed fire. Amsa has been his “home” studio for many years. Many of the pan-disciplinary ideas he shares in his yoga and meditation classes — here in the Southland, in the Canadian Rockies and on the West Coast — sprang into his mind while lying on his mat at Amsa, under the soothing influence of Kimberley Puryear. His sahyinidra yoga involves guided imagery centered on deep-time eco-cycling through sacred landscapes.

Jagadisha  had the good fortune of spending time with the great meditation master, Swami Muktananda who started him on the path of yoga and meditation. From meeting him he was led to the great master  of North Indian Classical Music  Swami  Nadabrahmananda  ,whom he studied  extensively  with in the U.S and India.

Jagadisha has been carrying on his master’s tradition of Nada Yoga , the yoga of sound  for more than 35 years: practicing, giving concerts, and teaching.  Swamiji  taught from a lineage in the oral tradition that goes back  thousands of years.  The songs Swamiji passed  down have many influences. Many  are from traditional Sanskrit texts, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, and old Hindi (influenced by Islamic music).

Nada Yoga uses Raga (melody form) and Tal (rhythmic cycle) to help the mind be steady and the senses quiet.  It is listening to the inner sounds that brings us back to the source.

Jennifer Turman Bayliss, E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, YACEP, has practiced yoga for over 25 years. She has presented at The Floyd Yoga Jam, the Radiant Child Teacher Training and for many health fairs. Jennifer has created space for wellness circles, Reiki shares, vision board parties and energy camps for children, and adults, of all levels, and abilities. 

Turman Bayliss is the director of the Sunshine Studio and the Winchester Montessori School’s Young Yogi program. She is part of the faculty at Vostrikovs Academy of Ballet and adjunct faculty for Shenandoah University. Her style of gentle yoga encourages students to remember the special light within.

Marni Sclaroff is an author, life coach, inspired storyteller, and yoga and meditation teacher, with over twenty five years of experience in the healing arts. She leads workshops, retreats, online courses, mentoring programs, and teacher trainings in support of radiant health and vibrantly creative living.  She is a devotee of earth based spirituality, and a forever student of the mystery.

Alexandria Clark, or Alex which most people have come know her as, is an E-RYT 200 certified yoga instructor with southern Georgian roots.  Though from Georgia, she was raised in Virginia Beach and spent most of her childhood at the beach and in competitive sports.  After high school, she soon came to the realization that her body could no longer take the strain and constant impact that competitive sports required. In college, she began to explore different avenues of exercise and was dragged to her first yoga class in 2005. The practice was very different from any other activity she had done in the past. From a vigorous sport background, yoga wasn’t love at first sight. She found it a bit boring and had a hard time slowing down and connecting to it. However, she continued to go to classes and soon found herself to be less stressed, more energetic, and generally happier.  It wasn’t until a severe car accident in 2006 that brought her closer to her practice and pushed her towards teaching.

In 2007, Alex received her 200-hour Yoga Certification at Chesapeake Hot Yoga with Arianna Gallagher.  Since then, Alex has committed to a regular practice of multi-styled yoga and draws inspiration from a variety of lineages, including her gymnastics background. She completed her 500-hour Training in both Tantra Yoga and Yoga Therapy with high marks. Alex is the proud owner of TEALL Transformation Yoga where she continues to teach and encourages people to explore the yoga practice.

Alex’s classes reflect her own practice and personality.  Her focuses in class are proper alignment, breath, and the adjustment of the thought form. Alex motivates her students, on a physical level, to find the balance between effort and ease where challenge meets victory.  She also encourages her students to find calmness and balance in the mind and to truly understand the switch from thinking to feeling. She wants all her students to leave feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and motivated to continue practicing.  Expect a twist of sarcastic humor and respectful seriousness in every class.

What to expect in TEALL Yoga Classes:

The Teall Method is whole-self wellness through innovative movement, breathwork, and meditations uniquely designed to strengthen your body, release stuck emotion, and give you more energy. A practice that incorporates traditions yoga asana, but sequenced in a way to fully connect the practitioner to all the elements around, and within. Movements that unlock your freedom of self-expression.  Expect long holds – both passive and aggressive, traditional and non-traditional flows, sculpting movements, breathing practices, mindfulness meditations, all mixed with some “Oms”!

Website

Bodhi’s workshop:

Nature is abundant with food, medicine & more yet we have forgotten our
ancient ways of working with plants. In this walk we will cover topics such as:

-Wild plant identification & botany
-Propagation techniques
-Getting to know plants & fungi
-How to harvest sustainably and prepare wild edible foods
-Forest ecology & more

Yoga Instructor & Mindfulness Coach. Owns eat.Yoga.drink, offering yoga and midfulness experiences in nontraditional spaces. She loves teaching yoga as a complement to a typical, frenetic yang lifestyle,  and as a way to settle into the natural loving presence of your whole body.

Grace Wood, MS– walked with Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum village on several occasions over a twenty year period.Using walking meditation has been valuable both during periods of immense personal questions, life changes as well as moments of wanting to slow down and savor life. As a teacher she believes in John Dewey’s philosophy—learn by doing. She has facilitated organization development workshops for forty years and has recently led the Labyrinth team at Unity of Roanoke Valley

Jack is the proprietor of Tea & Jam in Blacksburg, Va, a tea-inspired healthy adventure of a restaurant where food is medicine and good vibes fill the air.    The tea house serves a plant-based food menu, smoothies, fresh cold-pressed juices, and of course high quality tea.   

He is an avid ambassador of cacao and facilitates Cacao Ceremonies at Tea & Jam and it’s neighbor In Balance Yoga Studio.  He is also a practitioner of Shamanic Energy Medicine and incorporates reflexology, breathwork, sound and movement into his sessions.  He will be presenting a program on the speaker stage on the benefits of cacao and how it is used in Ceremony.

Stop by and see Jack “Chill Land,” embark on a sacred cacao ceremonial journey, and bask in the sweet bliss of plant-based vegan treats. Jack is also available for Shamanic healing sessions.

Enjoy BEing …

Jessica is an Appalachian native who found yoga to help with her mental health as part of the healing journey. Jessica is 200 hr OM Yoga Teacher who is also certified in Restorative, Yin, and Cancer Trauma Yoga. She enjoys house plants, breakfast food, dogs, concerts, and living authentically. Jessica is dedicated to helping her community thrive and works in social work. You can often find her in colorful clothes and funky patterns passing out high fives and good vibes. Mental health and spiritual wellness practices are core components of her teaching style.

Katherine Chantal is walking into her elder years with wonder and curiosity.  Some of her time has been spent as an herbalist, spiritual guide, priestess and life ceremonialist; offering ways and means to experience life’s sacred passages.

As a passionate writer, a philosopher after a fashion, she spends her time playing with all the above, as well as, exploring and navigating the days yet remaining.

Liz Bowden is a breathwork guide, earth medicine facilitator, microdosing mentor, and member of the Decriminalize Nature team. 

She has lived on off-grid permaculture farms, hitchhiked throughout Patagonia, taught yoga on palm-filled islands, sat with master plant guides, and led retreats in the jungle. Life’s rich experiences and time spent in nature are her greatest teachers. 

Liz’s journey with breathwork has played an empowering role in healing deep-seated trauma, regulating negative self talk, integrating deep spiritual experiences, and reconnecting to body wisdom. 

“We hold the wisdom within to heal ourselves. By quieting the mind and allowing space for Spirit, breathwork is key to unlocking this sacred knowledge.”

In addition to breathwork, her soul-centered business, ReWild Spirit, offers intuitive coaching and microdosing mentorship to help others shed old patterns and addictions, embody their wild, and live in full authenticity. 

Ryley C. Harris is a biogeographer, botanist, and avid outdoorsman. Ryley regularly leads plant and tree identification workshops across the New River Valley, most notably at FloydFest and Radford’s Wildwood Park Summer Nature Series. This is Ryley’s fifth year teaching at Floyd Yoga Jam. Ryley received his undergraduate degree from Radford University in Environmental Biology and is currently a masters student at Virginia Tech, where he is studying landscape change in sensitive ecosystems.

Teaching was Tara’s dharma long before she realized it. She grew up with a bow and arrow in her hands, learning to pull back with just enough aim and control to send her arrow into the abyss, knowing and trusting it would hit its intended mark. And so she enters each class, each workshop, each lesson.. Having prepared her body and mind to become that bow – that vessel – that let’s her lesson…letting that arrow fly… Weaving its way into the provided space and landing wherever it is intended.

When you practice with Tara, you get more than a teacher on the mat; you gain guidance for your daily life. Inside the studio, no two classes or workshops are ever the same. Students are not told what to do, they are empowered to listen to their own bodies. Tara recently moved to Asheville from Richmond, VA, and is ERYT200, ERYT500, RCYT, YACEP, self-published author, and a Certified Coach and Mentor.

J Miles is yoga teacher who has been dancing to the rhythm of life since childhood. Yogi, martial artist, body worker, retired breakdancer, community activist, and the son of a Baptist minister, J Miles been learning and studying eastern arts and philosophy for nearly two decades. But movement, creativity and exploration of the self through movement has always been a constant source of curiosity and confidence. Over the years J has crafted a style tempered by real life and humor, and relies on the importance of breath as a guide and a source of strength. His classes aim to create for each person a fluid, sustainable and enjoyable practice, that hopefully will prove to be beneficial over a lifetime. And even as this ancient practice continues to evolve, the mantra continues to be “practice is effort toward steadiness of mind”.

Website

I started teaching movement, yoga, and things for one simple reason…to make this moving practice accessible to everyone. To set you up for success. To help you feel. To help you move in your body, to explore…those of you who have taken my classes or trainings or traveled to far away places with me, I thank you.

Today you can find me teaching a few public classes, private sessions, Teaching YTT, and Retreats all over the world. As Mary Oliver said, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Director of Yoga Energy Therapy, Peace Hill Chateau, & One World Village

As a Certified Yoga Therapist, Carolyn is very eclectic in her yoga offerings from Yin to Laughter to Baby Goat Yoga, and everything in between! What is her favorite? Mostly Gentle and Restorative Yoga! She will meet her clients where they are and help them to remove the dust and Shine On into their best most healthy and joyful selves!

Bio

jacquie (nariswansong.com) wandered this planet for 40 years before a
serious accident brought her into a yoga studio seeking recovery from
those physical injuries, and so much more. New adventures followed, from
leaving a corporate career behind to opening her own farm to table
restaurant, to a creative life of simplicity and sobriety at her rural
homestead in the breathtaking Appalachian mountains. She is an
insatiable student of the teachings of mama nature, Buddhas from all
traditions, and her own wild experience in this body. Her aim is nothing
short of relieving the suffering of all beings, starting with herself,
and radiating that joy outwards in all directions as she travels,
practices, sings, and writes. She weaves her own experience with 12 step
recovery programs, wisdom traditions, and shared song into her offering
of gratitude for the incredible beauty of this life when you learn to
love yourself well, at any age.

Our teachers at Yoga Jam:

Joe Klein, LPC, CSAC is the creator and lead clinician of a mindfulness-based Partial Hospitalization Program for addiction treatment in Radford, Virginia called Recovery Dojo. He began practicing meditation in 2001 and is a co-founder and a lead teacher of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme).

Lori Marsh, PhD is a math professor and former engineer who became interested in yoga and eastern philosophy after hiking the Appalachian Trail. She has completed a Yoga Alliance Certified yoga teacher training and taught yoga and mindfulness for several years. Her daughter was an ordained Buddhist nun in Myanmar, where they have spent months together in retreat.

Jamie Reygle is the executive director of InStill Mindfulness. He began studying meditation techniques in the late ’90s, and has been practicing mindfulness since 2003. Since then, his interest in mindfulness has led him to teach mindfulness in many settings, including public schools, businesses, independent workshops, and music festivals; and staff around a dozen iBme retreats. 

Julie’s style to teaching yoga emphasizes the value of each individual’s unique sensitivities & perspective. Incorporating breath, restorative asanas and subtle body adjustments in her classes she invites and inspires you to play, move and express a practice as unique as you are, uplifting your mind, body and spirit. She has her 200 hr in Hatha Yoga from the Breathing Space and a extensive certifications from Asheville Yoga Center.

She currently teaches at The June Bug Center in Floyd and works with Individuals privately exploring their personal needs in their own body, and has a diverse background teaching a broad spectrum of styles including, hatha, vinyasa flow, yin, restorative & meditation classes.

When not found on the mat you can find Julie exploring, collecting plants, hiking, chasing her kids or creating jewelry, which are all a constant source of inspiration and flow in her life. 

 

Kevin May has been traveling and leading Transformational Workshops + Performing Poetry since 2011. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, the city of bridges. He has been building metaphorical bridges through the Peace Festival he led there for 10 years in a row. He’s also been a community weaver during his many travels and connections with Soul Family around the world. He is the author of “Unlocking Our Superpowers” a Handbook for Personal and Collective Transformation, which has inspired thousands of unique people since it was published in 2016. Last but not least, Kevin loves to give free heart hugs and also activate people with the Octopus Massagers. 

Narayani (Noelle Whittington): ERYT500, YACEP, is a Spiritual Life Coach, Yoga teacher trainer, Bhakti Yogi, and musician offering service-based Kunga Yoga Lifestyle Teacher Trainings, and mentoring for Yoga studios since 2006. Narayani is the creator of Soul Alchemy Course: an online Group coaching course and community helping people find their Soul’s true expression. Narayani’s offerings are a deeply meaningful and creative combination of breath, dynamic movement,Yogic philosophy, Mantra, Meditation, and Devotion. A former ambassador for Lululemon and Manduka, Narayani’s mission is to help others find freedom in their bodies and voices through creative expression in order to serve in their own way.