Yogadex

Carla Jennings is the former Director of the Red Lotus Institute in Athens, GA.  She has taught yoga for several years in many different settings in the Athens area including: The Art of Yoga, Ladies 1st, Athens YMCA, Total Training, and the UGA-Ramsey Center. She continues to teach many yoga classes at Red Lotus each week in addition to her classes at the Athens YMCA & Gainesville State College-Oconee. Carla began her study of yoga after being diagnosed with a chronic pain syndrome known as fibromyalgia. She had once been very active in dance and aerobics, but the pain she experienced with fibromyalgia made her unable to participate in the active lifestyle that she had once had. After trying many different healing modalities and physical activities with no success, she made a New Year's resolution to try yoga. Everything else had failed, but Carla discovered that the benefits of yoga opened not only her body, but her mind. Since that time, Carla has dedicated herself to Yoga and has committed herself to bringing yoga into the lives of others. Carla began her yoga practice in Athens with a gentle form of Hatha yoga called Integral yoga (www.yogaville.org). As her practice progressed, she began to learn more about the many different styles of yoga including yin yoga, Power Yoga and Ashtanga yoga. In order to be able to share the healing benefits of yoga with others and learn more about the various styles of yoga, she enrolled in an eclectic teacher training program. She completed her 8 month intensive yoga teacher training & received a 230 hour Yoga Alliance certification from the Asheville Yoga Center (www.youryoga.com). Through this certification, she has learned how to incorporate many different styles of yoga in her classes including Restorative, Partner and Yin. In August 2003, she returned to Asheville to become a certified prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher. In September 2003, she began a prenatal yoga program for Red Lotus which continues today. She acquired pilates certification and has incorporated the importance of core strength into her yoga classes. She has also become a reiki practitioner and has incorporated this energy into her adjustments. Carla continues to study extensively with well-known yoga teachers. Her teaching style has been influenced by her teachers in Athens (especially Lauren Marie Thomas and John Hawkins) as well as other internationally known teachers. Internationally known teachers that have taught her and inspired her teaching include: Sean Corne, Ana Forrest (www.forrestyoga.com), Tias Little, Stephanie Keach (www.youryoga.com), and Sarah Powers (www.sarahpowers.com). Her specialties include: partner yoga, prenatal yoga, yoga for chronic pain and specialized yoga privates. Her focus is on adapting to the needs of each individual through intuitive teaching and hands-on adjustments. Carla focuses on the places in the body where we hold on to physical and/or emotional pain. She encourages her students to recognize those areas that prevent our well-being and free those blockages through the use of breath. She makes yoga accessible to students of all levels & backgrounds by helping each student develop to their fullest potential and by varying poses according to the needs of the individual. She truly enjoys showing students how to let go while introducing them to the element of play in their practice. For information on upcoming classes, workshops, courses and private sessions, please contact Carla via cell phone 706-540-7166 or email carla@redlotusinstitute.com and carlaj357@yahoo.com.