Lighten Up Yoga, Asheville  

Our Instructors

Yoga Class Instructors Guest Instructors

Lillah Schwartz ERYT

Danielle Goldstein

Ymerli "Mili" Perez

Laura Stone

Kimberly Drye

Jennefer Soule P.T.

Camille Kingsolver

Meghan Ganser

Elle Taylor

Reve Shannon

 

Gary Schwartz Ph.D.

Aadil Palkhivala

Roger Cole Ph.D.

Linda Cammarata RN
Laurel Mamet

Lillah Schwartz , ERYT 500 has over 30 years of teaching experience. She has studied with B.K.S. Iyengar and many of his teachers since 1981, and held an Iyengar teaching certificate from 1987-2009. She is a seasoned teacher, nationally-acclaimed instructor, author, and founder of Lighten Up Yoga and Teacher Training Center.

Lillah teaches weekly yoga classes for novice, therapeutic, intermediate and advanced yoga students. She is also the director and primary instructor for the 200 Hour and 500 Hour teacher training courses, and the Healing Our Backs with Yoga specialty training.

For more information on Lillah as well as her reflections on yoga practice, please click here. If you have specific questions for Lillah you may contact her at [email protected]

"My goal with my students is to help them to get their cellular and endocrine bodies percolating in a healthy way, gain confidence in their ability to heal through understanding proper alignment and action, as well as opening to receive the full potential of their body, mind, and spirit."


Lighten Up Yoga Instructors

Danielle Goldstein, RYT teaches creative and insightful yoga classes with attention to precise alignment and bringing the joy of yoga into our daily lives. She has been teaching yoga classes and private yoga therapeutic sessions since 2003 and has been with Lighten Up Yoga since 2008. She is a 200 Hr Yoga Alliance certified teacher.

Danielle has studied with teachers grounded in both the Iyengar and Anusara Teaching Methods. Since 1996, she has studied with teachers including Donna Farhi, Judith Lasater and John Friend, and taught one on one yoga therapeutics at SOMA Physical Therapy in Boulder, CO. She is experienced in working with a variety of ages and abilities and is interested in making yoga accessible to all people.

If you would like to contact Danielle, please call 828-450-1406 or email [email protected]

 

Mili Perez, Yoga Instructor

Mili Perez Exquisitely combining alignment awareness, strength building, and a meditative mindset in each class, Mili brings a peaceful intention to the practice, encouraging increased flexibility and learning without criticism. Her soothing voice, touch, and presence create a comfortable and safe environment for students.  She is skilled at providing individualized instruction, while maintaining a cohesive class because she is truly a nurturing person and gifted teacher.  Mili’s unique style moves her students to be very devoted, as her leadership facilitates physical and mental openness and awareness, balanced with inner focus and calm.

Mili has been practicing for over 11 years and has studied with some of the best teachers of yoga today. Her training began with Lillah Schwartz in the 200 teacher training and for the past five years with Aadil Palkhivala of  Purna Yoga and meditation classes with his wife Mirra. She is in the process of receiving her advanced 500-hour certification thru Lighten Up.

Mili is available for one on one instruction and can be contacted at 828.215.5656 or [email protected].

"The practice of yoga brings balance to our lives in all levels physically-mentally-spiritually, and I just want to share that gift with others."

 

 

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Laura Stone, RYT is a graduate of the Lighten Up Teacher Training Institute and holds a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling.

I have practiced Yoga for over twenty years. I grew up watching my Mom practise to a record player and recognized how fun it was to go upside down! When I was an adult, my Mom hurt herself in a class and has been reluctant to return. This is why I love the Iyengar method of alignment and the use of props to stay safe while receiving the benefits of the poses. Yoga has strengthened and nurtured me through 3 pregnancies and moving around while my partner receives his medical training. In my classes, I strive to educate the body through movement, quiet the mind and awaken a playful spirit.

If you have specific questions for Laura, you may contact her at 828.281.2212 or via email at [email protected].

 

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Kim Drye began her yoga studies in Asheville in 2001 while attending UNCA. She considers herself lucky to have stumbled upon the rich source of the talented teachers in the Asheville yogic community. A graduate of Stephanie Keach’s 200 hour teacher training, currently continuing her studies with Lillah Schwartz, Kimberly is energetic, personable, and enthusiastic to share with you all the benefits yoga has to offer. Her classes are focused on awareness and the preservation of each moment. Breath control, relaxation techniques, and meditation are coupled with asana to bring students into a state of mindfulness in their practices that hopefully spills out into their everyday lives. Kim believes that yoga can help every individual lead a fuller and more satisfying life.

Kim can be reached at [email protected]

 

 


Jennifer Soule, PT began practicing yoga in 2000, beginning with Ashtanga and Jivamukti yoga classes and has also studied with certified Iyengar Yoga teachers. She graduated from Lighten Up Yoga 200-hour teacher training program in 2005, where she was inspired by the focus on anatomical alignment. Her interest in yoga as a therapeutic tool led her to return to graduate school; she completed a Master’s in Physical Therapy at Western Carolina University in 2009. She currently works at Mission Hospital as a physical therapist. She continues her yoga studies with Lillah and is also strongly influenced by teachers with a firm basis in anatomy and physiology such as Iyengar certified Roger Cole and Elise Miller.

“I enjoy introducing and teaching yoga to individuals of all skill levels and backgrounds. Alignment-based yoga can be a safe and effective approach to balancing strength and flexibility of the body, as well as developing the mind-body connection.”

If you have specific questions for Jennifer, you may contact her at 828-230-5517 or via email at [email protected].

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Meghan Ganser has been practicing yoga since 2000, and entered her first teacher training at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia, Pa with Marni Sclaroff (Jivamukti) and Dhyana D�Amato (Kundalini) in 2005. She began teaching immediately at DY. feeling the �rightness� of studying yoga. She has studied Iyengar with Joan White, and began her studies in Anusara in 2007, when she moved to Asheville. Meghan admires the teachings of Anusara, and is thankful for Joe and Dierdre, her teachers, and the community of practitioners. This gratitude continues to open her to the recognition of just how special yoga really is, and how sweet it is to be able to practice together. Meghan marries specific alignment instruction with uplifting themes, and a vinyasa style of teaching. She intends to support, challenge, and educate you to stay safe, so you can practice for a long time!

Students can contact Meghan at [email protected] or 828. 582.1324.

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Camille Kingsolver has been teaching yoga since 2005 and studied primarily with Tias Little in the Astanga approach. Her style emphasizes both the importance of alignment and the benefits of practicing flow sequences. Her degree is from Duke University where she majored in anatomy, understanding and passion for the mechanics of the human body really come through in her teaching. In Camille's seven years of teaching she has worked with beginners, children, college athletes, senior citizens, adolescents and pregnant women, never having a student she didn't love to teach. You may contact Camille at 276. 698.5877 or [email protected].

 

 

Elle Jai Taylor, E-RYT500, has been immersed in a full yogic lifestyle for 25 years. She has an exuberant love of teaching and has taught well over 12,00 class hours at Shoshoni Yoga Retreat, Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram, Denver's Whole Yoga and the last 15 years at her own ashram and yoga studio, Sri Yantra Yoga, in southwestern PA. In addition to her own yogic lineage, Elle has studied with Rodney Yee, Judith Lasater, Kali Ray, Manuso Manos, Doug Keller, Angela Farmer and Victor van Kooten and Eckhart Tolle.

Letting go of all that background and coming into the Present, Elle's students describe her style as quietly joyful, teasingly humorous and deeply caring from the Heart. She focuses on student safety and empowerment; helping each find the tools to more fully open to and understand themselves and their relationship to Life! Questions...Contact [email protected]


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Reve Shannon has been studying and practicing yoga for more than 20 years. Received his teacher certification from the White Lotus Foundation in 1998 and has taught regularly since then. The foundation of Reve's practice and teaching is rooted in allowing our intuitive wisdom to guide the outer experience and the importance of adapting our physical practice to our individual needs and capabilities.

Over the years, he has studied with many notable yoga teachers and in absorbing their insights have realized what a blessing this collaborative art form is. Outside of yoga, Reve has a lifelong background in the performing arts and has taught movement and mime to students of all ages, studied Aikido and Feldenkrais and currently practice Yang style Tai Chi.

Reve can be reached at [email protected]

 

 

 

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Yoga Alliance Continuing Education - Guest Instructors

Gary Schwartz, Yoga Teacher

Gary Schwartz Ph.D., is a retired psychologist with 36 years experience in the areas of self help and Personal Growth. He is living the life that he always wanted, and loves to teach.  Gary offers training in EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), Meditation and Life Skills.

If you have specific questions for Gary, you may contact him at 828.253.9451 or via email [email protected].

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Aadil Palkhivala, JD, CYT, AHSP, Naturopath

Aadil is recognized as one of the world’s top yoga teachers. He is regarded as a “teacher of teachers,” and many of the world’s top yoga instructors have studied with him. He has a unique teaching style, mixing melodious instructions with recitations of poetry, philosophical insights, and in-the-moment humor.

Aadil and his wife, Mirra, are the founders of Purna Yoga™, a holistic synthesis of yogic traditions based on the work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Aadil and Mirra also founded Yoga Centers® in Bellevue, Washington, and The College of Purna Yoga, a 200-hour, 500-hour and Certificate-Level teacher training program licensed by the State of Washington and Yoga Alliance Certified. Aadil teaches seminars, classes, teacher trainings, and workshops at Yoga Centers and throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, India, and other parts of Asia.

Aadil is the author of Fire of Love: For Students of Life and Teachers of Yoga, a book that seeks to restore the essence of yoga. He has also written three manuals used in his beginning, intermediate, and therapeutic teacher trainings. In addition, Aadil has written extensively for Yoga Journal, having been the Asana Columnist in 2003 and author of the Teacher’s Column for the website, as well as the “Asana Expert” for both the magazine and the website. He is frequently a keynote speaker at national events.

An encyclopedic knowledge of health matters informs Aadil’s teaching. He is a naturopath licensed by the District of Columbia, a certified shiatsu and Swedish bodywork therapist, a clinical hypnotherapist, and an Ayurvedic health practitioner recognized by the American Ayurvedic Association. He continues to be a student in the healing arts.

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Roger Cole Ph.D.
Primary Instructor: Anatomy and Physiology of Asana

Roger Cole, Ph.D. is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher trained at the Iyengar Yoga Institutes in San Francisco and Pune, India. He has practiced yoga since 1975 and taught since 1980. He has been featured in five of Yoga Journal’s asana calendars, co-organized two Iyengar yoga conventions, authored articles on yoga biology and therapeutics, and taught yoga as a healing art to physicians, physical therapists, medical students and patients. He currently teaches near San Diego and conducts workshops throughout the U.S. and abroad. His specialties include teacher training and the anatomy and physiology of yoga and relaxation.


Roger is also an accomplished scientist. He began studying sleep physiology at Stanford University in 1975. He earned his bachelors degree in Psychology from Stanford in 1979 and his doctorate in Health Psychology from the University of California, San Francisco in 1986. At UCSF he investigated the human relaxation response and the effects of posture on sleep and brain waves. He co-founded Synchrony Applied Health Sciences of Del Mar California in 1987. Synchrony is an innovative provider of health promotion services and products. At Synchrony, Roger is currently developing products, conducting research on sleep and biological rhythms and consulting to industry.

 

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Linda Cammarata, RN is a Registered Nurse, Registered Yoga Teacher, Certified Energy Therapist, Alternative Healthcare Consultant, and professional singer/songwriter. She is a consultant at the renowned Golden Door Spa in San Marcos, CA. Her teaching spans over 30 years of experience in healthcare, integrating traditional and alternative healthcare practices. Linda received her registered nursing training at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA.  She has received numerous trainings in yoga, most notably yoga therapy certification with Nischala Joy Devi, Yoga for the Heart.  Linda completed a comprehensive 3-year certification program in Energy Therapy with Dr. Michael Mamas in San Diego, CA.  Linda has also received training in Aromatherapy, Healing Touch, Reflexology, Qigong, and is certified in meditation. Linda maintains a lifestyle and wellness coaching practice throughout the United States.  National women’s health conferences, private industry, as well as several medical programs have utilized Linda’s mind-body programs. Linda’s latest DVD Support Strengthen and Your Immune System published by Inner IDEA guides individuals on the path of integral health.

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Laurel Mamet is a gifted healer and teacher of the spiritual arts whose life focus has been to understand the energetics of the body. She has over 30 years of training with master healers. She graduated from the Swedish Institute of Massage in 1978 and has had a private practice in bodywork and healing ever since. She attended the TriState School for Traditional Chinese Medecine (acupuncture) and has a good grounding in Oriental diagnosis. She is a cranial-sacral therapist and graduate of the Upledger Institute and has studied Esoteric Healing with various teachers in the Alice Bailey tradition. In 1994 she graduated from the European School of Energy Mastery under the guidance of Dr. Robert Jaffe and Rev. Dr. Alixsandra Parness both clairvoyant healers. In 1995 she joined the faculty of the Inner Focus School for Advanced Energy Healing and is currently Dean of Education and senior faculty for that international school.

She is a clear and passionate teacher whose tenderness invites healing on all levels. She is dedicated to world service and bringing transfromation into the lives of students so they can be beacons of light in their own communities.

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Lighten Up Yoga and Healing Arts Center ... 60 Biltmore Avenue ... Asheville, NC. 28801
phone: (828) 254-7756 ... toll free: (888) 884-6028 ... fax: (828) 251-0045