Teachers

Carson Efird, E-RYT 200, practices Vinyasa Flow yoga as a living adventure towards physical, mental, emotional and spiritual radiance in each waking moment. Her nine years of yogic experience on the mat and in the world have and continue to reveal her passion for moving creatively. Carson dove into her yoga practice when she was sixteen to compliment her modern dance training. While completing her B.A in dance and theater at Bennington College (VT), she also earned her 200-hour teacher certification and Prenatal teacher certification from Be Yoga (NYC). There she studied ISHTA Yoga - Integrated Sciences of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda - with Yogi Raj Alan Finger. Carson is now continuing her 500-hour teacher training in Shiva Rea’s Samudra: Global School for Living Yoga studying Prana Vinyasa Flow. As part of her advanced training she is developing a yoga infused modern dance class that extends beyond the boundaries of the mat. Carson is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and has taught yoga for Bennington College, Cary Yoga Center (NC), Healthy Moms (NC), Body Balance Movement Therapy (NC) and Arts Together (NC). She opened Evolve Yoga (formerly YogAsana South) in Raleigh, NC two years ago where she teaches Vinyasa Flow yoga classes along with private sessions and a diverse offering of workshops. Through the asanas, Carson encourages students to live in the flow of their breath, their heartbeats and their spanda shakti – spontaneous creative energy.

Mary Edwards-Zucchino earned her 200 hour yoga teacher certification and restorative yoga certification from Seaside Yoga studio in Wilmington, N.C. Mary is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance. She is also a registered nurse with 25 years of health care experience. Mary finds yoga to be a healing art and integrates her knowledge of anatomy, physiology, health and overall well-being into her yoga instruction, finding a therapeutic balance of the mind, body, and spirit. Her intention as a yoga teacher is to help others find their inner strength and outer grace. As a co-owner, Mary teaches Vinyasa Flow and Gentle Flow classes and corporate sessions at Evolve Yoga.

Michelle Corey has taught all manner of fitness classes since 1987; her passion now however, is yoga. She absolutely loves the transformational power that a consistent yoga practice can offer, and delights in sharing this with her students. She is a graduate of the NC School of Yoga and continues her practice with Chandra Om today. She has also studied under Shiva Rea, Eric Shiffman, Tim Miller, John Friend, Baron Baptiste, David and Sharon Life and Dharma Mitra. You can look forward to a heartfelt, invigorating and sweetly meditative journey. Michelle teaches Vinyasa Flow classes and private/semi-private sessions at Evolve Yoga.

Celeste Cooper-Peel first discovered yoga and its wonderful benefits while she was expecting in 1999. Since then she has continued to expand her knowledge and practice of yoga through a variety of avenues including self-study and formal practice. Celeste is a 240-hour graduate of the North Carolina School of Yoga. She is also certified in Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga. Celeste has studied with Seane Corn, Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest and Rodney Yee. In addition to being a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, Celeste is a nationally Certified Health Education Specialist with over 16 years experience as a health and wellness professional. Her passion for wellness is evident as she integrates her teachings of mindfulness into her yoga classes. Celeste believes that to fully embrace life, yoga should be practiced with intention both on and off the mat. Celeste teaches Vinyasa Flow classes and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at Evolve Yoga.

Jennifer Bluestone started teaching children’s yoga this year after developing her own yoga practice for almost 10 years. She attended teacher training at Karma Kids NYC and completed the YogaKids International foundations training. She is also working on her advanced training practicum through YogaKids deepening her knowledge and practice of how to use yoga to educate the whole child. Jennifer’s intention is to share the gift of yoga with as many children as she can with the hopes that they continue practicing for a lifetime. Jen teaches Kids Yoga classes at Evolve Yoga.

Amber Welch first experienced yoga in 2003 when searching for a form of exercise that incorporated more than just the physical. A long time runner and sports enthusiast she noticed after her first yoga class that her body wasn’t as balanced emotionally or physically as it could be-and she was reminded throughout the practice to “check her ego”. Intrigued by the practice of yoga, as she became more familiar with the asanas and pranayama she realized that yoga helped her accept and manage uncomfortable emotions in a loving manner that encouraged personal self-study (svadhyaya) and growth-not the disassociation familiar to her through running. Challenged by the movements, quietness, and intensity of yoga, she gradually incorporated asana into her everyday life, and began to study Patanjali’s 8 limbs of yoga. The transformations that have occurred in Amber’s life through yoga led her to find a teacher training program in order to deepen her own practice and self-awareness. In December 2007 Amber completed a 240-hour certification program in Raleigh at the NC School of Yoga with Chandra Om. This experience deeply rooted her in all 8 limbs of yoga, touched her heart, and challenged her to remain open to the science of yoga. She was also reminded to have patience as she truly embraced eternal studentship and commitment to yoga as a way of life. Amber believes that yoga offers a holistic way for anyone who is searching for a challenging physical practice to work through both the body and mind, and create an internal peace that can be taken off the mat and into the world. She teaches Vinyasa Flow classes at Evolve Yoga.

Cristina Lincoln, originally from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, came to North Carolina in 2001 after graduating from the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Cristina stepped into her heart at the Namaste Yoga Center of Cary in 2003. She has been practicing Yoga for 5 years and eternally grateful to teachers like Miche Federico, Carrington Jackson, Stephanie Keach, Lila Brown, and Paul & Sommer Sobin, in addition to world renowned instructors Sean Corn, and Anusara founder, John Friend who stimulated her life transformation. It was through her practice that Cristina realized her passion in life was not to work for Corporate America, but to follow her heart’s calling of spreading the light of Yoga to others. Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance and certified with 230 hours through the Asheville Yoga Center Teacher Training Program with Stephanie Keach, as well as 200 additional hours through the Triangle Anusara Teacher Training Institute with Lila Brown and Paul & Sommer Sobin, she is currently working towards Anusara inspired certification. Cristina is devoted to broadening her understanding and practice of Yoga so she can fulfill her passion to serve as an inspiration to others in their journey towards awakening the concealed potential that lights their hearts. When she’s not standing on her hands or working, you can find Cristina enjoying life outdoors or reading a good book in the company of her beloved husband David. Cristina teaches Vinyasa Flow classes at Evolve Yoga.

Hunter Meyercord fell in love with yoga on her 40th birthday when she took her very first class. Since that day, Hunter has been captivated by this amazing ancient science that holds such stillness and transformative energy. She earned her 200 hour teacher certification from Cityoga in Indianapolis in 2004. She has taught Vinyasa Flow, Gentle, and Children’s Yoga. For Hunter, it is the sweet stillness and grace that yoga offers each one of us that makes the practice such a gift. Hunter teaches Vinyasa Flow and Gentle Flow classes at Evolve Yoga.

Tricia Brantley’s bio will soon be available!

Andy Von began dancing at the age of three in Western ballet and dabbled in jazz and tap throughout her youth until the age of fifteen, when she was taken to her first belly dance hafla and fell in love with what she saw. A month later she began taking classes and has not stopped belly dancing since, even developing her own Inter-Disciplinary Self-Designed major at N.C. State University entitled ‘Dance and the Sacred’ to study the history of sacred religious thought, culture, and language of the belly dance traditions, along with another major in Religious Studies concentrating in Islamic and Hindu traditions of the Mid East and South East Asia. She hopes to continue through graduate school and bring the formal, academic study of this dance tradition into the university system. Andy Von loves to teach and began at 18 when she started offering free classes at her college campus, later forming N.C. State University’s first belly dance student organization Fayroozat. Along with teaching various styles and levels of belly dance, Andy Von also performs throughout the state at both public and private events but prefers to perform for non-profit and cultural educational events that bring awareness to the diversely beautiful and often misunderstood culture of the Mid East, Arab, and Islamic world. Educating others about this culture is very important to Andy and she brings that to her classes along while having fun, learning authentic belly dance technique, and appreciating the body for its feminine form. Andy also loves to travel and has studied Bangla language in Bangladesh, trained as an ascetic nun in a Zen Buddhist monastery in Taiwan, and visited London-she hopes to add more to her travels which enable her to understand and appreciate the cultures and beliefs of the people who created the belly dance traditions. Andy offer Belly Dance classes at Evolve Yoga. www . AndyVon . com