about

Amanda

Amanda Wentworth, E-RYT 500, has created a life of studying movement arts. Her evolution began with the varied disciplines of gymnastics, modern dance, and capoiera, yet her present focus revolves completely on yoga. Her foundational training was a 1,000-hour Iyengar program with instructors Betty Larson and John Charping at the Southern Institute of Yoga Instructors in Nashville. By 2004 she was living in New York City deepening her studies and training in Katonah Yoga with Elizabeth Andes-Bell. Her integration of Katonah, a method steeped in Taoism and Five Element theory, opened the physical structure of the practice to expose the continual energetic harmony of physical being and surrounding natural world. A two-month journey through India in 2009 allowed her to thrive, enriching her practice and deepening her teaching intentions.

Amanda currently splits her time teaching between Nashville and New York. She is director and co-teacher of the annual 200-hour Hatha Vinyasa teacher training program at Om Factory Yoga Center in Manhattan. Recent retreats and workshops have also spread her teachings around the globe, yet her practice remains a very present exploration of space and time supported by both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Amanda’s love for humanity blends with the energetic flow of all nature to create a yoga experience both personal and present in our ever-evolving world.

Angie

I have been in the Health Club Industry for over 30 years with an emphasis on continuous learning and becoming an advocate for a healthy lifestyle. This journey includes several industry certifications as well as attending seminars on an annual basis. As a fitness and health professional I continued to evolve for the search for a balance between physical fitness, spiritual health and mental clarity. This search led me to yoga which expanded my view of the importance of balance for a passionate way of life. The practice of yoga starts with mental clarity, breathing, physical exertion, flexibility, balance vs. intensity and finishes with a reflection of being your best at that moment.

Yoga practice represents the full circle of life and the ability to find contentment. I am so excited to be part of the steadfast and true yoga team and feel privileged to lead your class. My desire is to take years of experience in all facets of fitness and incorporate that knowledge into a unique and creative yoga experience.

Ashlee

Yoga practice is the parallel road that runs alongside the path of life. It is about finding your satya, your truth. It is about finding the love of oneself, and therefore finding more love and compassion for others. It is about letting go and accepting the natural flow of your authentic path.

I took one class from Gillian St. Clair in 2008 and I knew she was my teacher. The same thing happened with Jane House when she moved to Nashville and began teaching in early 2010. Over time and many yoga sessions, our work has evolved into an apprenticeship.

Through their strong and unique styles of yoga practice, Gillian and Jane have provided me with a solid foundation for teaching yoga My classes include strength-building flow, sitting-in-the-fire poses, and music. I am humbled and thankful to guide you through your practice. Namasté

Brent

I spent most of my life in Awe of music. I wanted to be able to play everything I heard and create whatever I was feeling. My exploration of Yoga began the same way. Seeing yogis move with such grace through seemingly impossibly challenging postures inspired my new obsession. Why not me? What’s stopping me from being able to do that? Through a daily practice in guitar I have learned that taking the right actions and visualizing new abilities and skills I can do pretty much anything I DECIDE I want to do. Anything is possible through intention and taking the right actions. My goal is to teach a class that challenges people to grow and then use their newly acquired skills humbly to better the lives of the people around them. The tone of my classes will be playful with flashes of introspection. I am inspired as a person and a Yoga teacher by Debussy, Desikachar, Ragunath, Radiohead, Bill Murray, Murray Hewitt, Chevy Chase and my parents’ grace.

Brett

I began practicing yoga at 19 in San Francisco. It was what I had been searching so painfully for and the immense gratitude followed. I started yoga philosophy classes at Yoga Mandala in Berkeley and my asana practice took me to Patabhi Jois’ student Larry Schultz. I did my first teacher training under him and did my second six months later at Mt. Madonna Center. I had no idea what it was like to be around an enlightened being and I stayed at the yoga community for six months after the training in the greatest joy and confusion. My yoga turned to service and I went to India to serve and meditate and get closer to the Truth. I’m enormously grateful to teach and I’m particularly excited to teach under Gillian who inspires me thoroughly and whose high expectations I greatly appreciate. I’d like to thank Luna Delgado (my first teacher), the plethora of enlightened beings I have been so blessed to have had contact with and particularly Baba Hari Dass whose heart is my meditation.

Genevieve

I took my first yoga class in 2001 in my early twenties. I soon found the practice to be much more than just a physical exercise or series of postures. My desire to teach stems largely from my own experiences and the freedoms I have found in yoga. Yoga can be amazingly helpful in relieving stress, reducing pain, also recommended for people experiencing life changes, and/or overcoming addictions. Simply put, yoga is a gift that should be shared. I’ll look forward to seeing you and sharing with you on the mat.

I completed a 200 hour RYT course at the White Lotus Foundation in June, 2010. I am also a Licensed Massage Therapist here in Nashville, TN since 2006. My background and passion is in the Ashtanga tradition and also Vinyasa Flow so my classes will reflect that. I would like to give many thanks to my teachers, Diane Avice Du Buisson for planting the seeds, and Gillian St. Clair for watering them… So much love and gratitude to both.

Gillian

I’ve been dancing all my life but from my first yoga class in 1999 to the present day, I step on the mat and I am home. That’s the feeling I try to convey in my yoga classes. Here you are safe to explore and are supported in your journey. Having extensive background in Ashtanga yoga, and a passion for dance and music, my classes fuse creative sequencing with powerful movement. They will require only a few things of you; quality of breath, physical honesty, and mental focus.

My Ashtanga classes aren’t as strict as most but I won’t stray from the principles that were clearly given to me. I firmly believe every yogi needs a strong foundation and Ashtanga is my rock.
I fuse everything into my Vinyasa classes including daily life experiences. I feel like if we are trying to live in the present than our yoga should reflect that. Which is why Vinyasa resonates so strongly with me and changes daily. I am not going to share anything with you I haven’t experienced on my own.

I traveled to Mysore, India to train in Ashtanga yoga under V.K Sheshadre whom I consider to be my first inspiration. His love for life was astonishing, his devotion to family was humbling, his attention to detail was such a blessing and his devotion to the 8 limb path was always evident. I hope to honor that within this studio.

Jennifer

Jennifer Derryberry Mann, RYT-200 is a prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher steeped in the tradition of Forrest Yoga, which grounds itself in strength, breath, integrity, and spirit, plus a whole lot of beauty. Jenni relies on yoga as the foundation of her self-care. The practice is both a spiritual check-in and a physical workout, and it’s been a lifesaver more than once. A teacher since 2003, Jenni was drawn to Forrest yoga for its fierce commitment to riding the breath ever-deeper. Jenni loves sharing the path of yoga with everyone who wants to travel it, and since 2007 she has specialized in prenatal and postnatal yoga for women and their babies. She is the editor of Belly Button Bliss, a book of empowering and inspiring birth stories, and she co-wrote and appears in the Be Blooma Well Prenatal Yoga DVD. Jenni created the blog www.Mamahhh.com, where she encourages women to navigate the labyrinth of motherhood one breath at a time. She has earned certification from the Forrest Yoga foundation and advanced teacher trainings, the Blooma Prenatal Yoga advanced teacher training, and Yoga Bonding, a postnatal mama-baby training. Jenni has also completed DONA birth doula training, and she weaves that knowledge into her prenatal yoga classes and prenatal couples workshops. She is passionate about encouraging women to embrace their experience of pregnancy and birth as a rite of passage, regardless of how they prefer to birth their baby. Jenni recently moved to Nashville with her husband and their two daughters.

Julie

My first yoga class was in 1993 at a yoga ashram in the foothills of Eldorado Canyon, just outside of Boulder, CO. The ashram’s warm glow, filled with wonderful smells and mountain light, hinted of a rich community of yogis living and worshiping within its grounds. I was unprepared, as I so randomly wandered into this world of yoga, for what was to be presented to me! I left the ashram in tears. My ego was bruised. My mind was befuddled. My body seemed foreign to me, and my heart felt lost. It took nearly ten years of “on-and-off” yoga and meditation before I finally found my way into a devoted practice. Now, having taught and practiced in the Nashville community for over nine years, my practice is my nourishment and my source. I could not imagine life without it.

My class style is a reflection of my own practice. I teach an intuitive flow of asanas with an emphasis on breath and alignment. I incorporate several different yoga disciplines, just as I have studied, into my instruction. My hope is for students to leave each class with a feeling of fulfillment for having put forth conscious effort toward becoming happier and healthier beings.

Seth

Seth began a regular yoga practice several years ago as a way to balance out a heavy regimen of cycling and running. Ashtanga quickly became a mainstay in his life, not only because of the physical benefits, but also for how the set practice focused his mind and challenged his ability to maintain a steady breath.

As a Master Instructor for the Spinning program, Seth frequently trains athletes and instructors; however, his real passion lies in helping “ordinary” people realize the extraordinary potential existing within. His philosophy is “come as you are.” Awareness of who you are and acceptance of that person will free you up to grow and dream. Each pose you take in your yoga practice should also be done with that same awareness and acceptance in order to achieve the benefits of having stepped on the mat.

Seth is certified RYT200 in Ashtanga Vinyasa. He also maintains certifications with ACE, AFAA, and Spinning. He works full time in Finance for Nissan and lives in Nashville with his beautiful wife and daughter.

Wendy

In some ways, I have been practicing yoga all my life. A natural acrobat as a child, I spent countless hours in my backyard teaching myself gymnastics and finding satisfaction in the process of learning. Later, as I entered competitive gymnastics, the process lost its luster for me. My joy became a burden, and I walked away from the practice. In college, I bought “Yoga, the Iyengar Way” and began practicing in my apartment. Our twenties can be turbulent and confusing; I found relief in the stillness of yoga. I knew I had a new love, but the discipline was yet to come.

Fast forward a few years later—through marriage, babies, work, and dealing with life’s brokenness. Yoga called to me again, and I dusted off the Iyengar book and began studying other authors such as Eric Schiffman, Judith Lasater, and Donna Farhi. I visited studios to supplement my home practice (and correct bad habits) and found a treasure in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. This time, both the love and the discipline were there and my practice took root and began to grow. And it is still growing.

I am thankful for the many gifted teachers in Nashville—especially Gillian St. Clair, who fired up my love for Ashtanga Yoga and continues to guide my practice today. I am a certified vinyasa flow instructor through the Asheville Yoga Center. My classes have a sweet edge, balancing intensity and release through asana and pranayama. I firmly believe in the power of yoga to heal, connect, and bring joy to our lives.

Winston

After struggling with chronic arm and lower back pain, Winston tried his first yoga class in Pasadena, California and was amazed in the difference 1 hour could make in his life. A daily practice quickly took hold when he realized that his practice was a refuge from the chaos of his life as a touring musician. After moving to Nashville 3 years ago he took his first Ashtanga class and knew he had found a new path. The pursuit of Ashtanga has give him flexibility of body and mind he never thought he could achieve and has made him living proof that the body you’re are born with will change with practice. Winston has dedicated himself to the study of the 8 limbs of Ashtanga and recently received his RYT 200 certification.

Be Steadfast. Be true. Be Yoga. Be excited, because it’s awesome!