Kathleen Wright, ERYT500, ERYT200, YACEP
Kathleen turned to yoga in 2009 when her life seemed to be spinning out of control. Yoga created a space for Kathleen to slow down and really focus on where her life was heading. She found yoga to begin to heal her physically, mentally and spiritually. She started a weekly yoga practice and found it had a profound impact on her life. She began to find healing, happiness, joy, and purpose. This began her journey towards Keep It Simple Yoga.
She wanted to share her love of yoga by completing her RYT200 teacher training in 2011. Being a resident of Arbutus, Kathleen began to teach locally in Arbutus and the Catonsville area. Kathleen first taught yoga in Lansdowne at a local gym and yoga studios in the surrounding areas. She later taught for students and faculty at UMBC and her local church in Arbutus. After getting married and having a baby in 2014, Kathleen became a stay at home mom/part time yoga teacher. She found her practice change after gaining 50lbs during her pregnancy. It was another journey of acceptance, slowly relating to a new body, that led her to find a love for teaching gentle yoga. By 2016 she had taught more than 1,000 hours of classes earning her ERYT200. In 2017 Kathleen completed her RYT500, advanced teacher training, at The Yoga Center of Columbia.
Kathleen loves teaching beginner to advanced yoga students. She wants everyone to be able to experience the joy of yoga, whether it is sitting in a chair or standing on your head. Kathleen wants Keep It Simple Yoga to be a community, a safe space for students to find themselves through body awareness, without judgement, finding peace within stillness and loving kindness towards each other.
Sarah Meadows, RYT200 PreK & Children’s Teacher
I was introduced to yoga 20 years ago by a dance teacher. Although unaware, at the time, yoga was helping to manage a chronic pain condition. The evidence showed up in my art, and although I had no words for my experiences, I soon realized that my art was saying what I was feeling in my body. Once I understood the power of art to speak for what was below our awareness, I decided to pursue a Master’s in Art Therapy. Since then, I have facilitated guided relaxation, mindfulness, and expressive art groups and art lessons in various roles to children, adolescents, and adults with the idea that artmaking is accessible for all. It is a rewarding experience to maintain a creative space for people, no matter the age or ability. This same philosophy is carried over into my yoga practice and teaching. I received my 200 hour yoga certification.several years ago and currently teach PreK yoga in local schools. Some of my happiest moments on the mat occur when I am teaching children. Their imaginations are sparked, senses are activated, and the body is engaged as we play, do yoga games, laugh, tell stories, and act out various characters.
Courtney Lewis, RYT200, RYT500
Courtney's personal yoga practice began as a way to move her body and gain more strength and flexibility. As her practice became more consistent, she noticed how yoga was more than just the physical postures and their benefits. It was deeper than that. Yoga was about going inward, moving the body in order to quiet the mind and to tap into the deeper self. It was about reuniting our awareness with the universal conciousness within and recognizing the same in others- realizing our connection, our oneness. Courtney also found yoga, along with meditation, to be a healing practice. It helps her to ease fears and anxiety and allows her to be still enough to see more clearly and find gratitude, no matter what life brings her way. Her love for this practice led her to want to share it with others. She received her 200 hour teacher training at Baltimore Yoga Village and her 300 hour Advanced Teacher Training at the Yoga Center of Columbia. Courtney's classes focus on mindfully moving through the postures (asana) with the breath in order to settle our awareness inward, finding stillness and recognizing our deep intrinsic connection to all. Courtney is also a massage therapist, her 16 years in that field inspiring an emphasis on safe alignment as well as modifications, making her classes approachable for everyone.
Missy Wheeler, ERYT200
Missy, E-RYT 200, has taught Prekindergarten and Kindergarten in Baltimore County Public Schools for thirty years and was first interested in teaching yoga to her students in her classes and school. Through her love of yoga and the healing and calming effects of it, Missy soon wanted to share its benefits with adults as well. This inspired her to complete the Avalon 200 Hour Teacher Training in 2011. She also trained through Radiant Child to teach yoga to children and just recently completed the Pranakriya PK little Kids training to teach children from ages 2-8. Missy plans on continuing these trainings to complete the RYCT designation. In 2017, she trained with Dr. Fishman and Ellen Saltsonstall and received a certificate to teach Yoga for Osteoporosis. She is currently seeking her 300 Hour certificate through Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts. Missy brings a nurturing style to her classes and builds a safe environment for all students to grow in their practices and receive the many benefits of yoga. She enjoys working with students of all ages!
Quality Instruction
At Keep It Simple Yoga, we believe in discovery, unity and community and it starts with quality instruction! We strive for you to feel inspired during every yoga class. We promote skillful alignment, creative sequencing and mindful breathing through our teachings and aim to help you grow on your yoga journey.
Our instructors are highly trained, professional yoga teachers who are enthusiastic about sharing yoga’s power to connect, transform and elevate your life during each of their classes. We practice what we preach don't be surprised when you see our teachers in class with you!
Brielle Weber, RYT200, RPYT85
Prenatal Class, Yin Yoga, Slow Vinyasa
By learning to find stillness through movement, Brielle's classes provide a safe place to be yourself and find your sayta - or truth. Brielle has been practicing yoga since 2010 and has been certified since 2017 as a 200-RYT in Interdisciplinary Yoga and a 85-RPYT Prenatal Yoga instructor. Currently, she's in nursing school studying to be a
nurse-midwife.
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In 2018, she received an additional 50hrs of instruction in Trauma Informed Yoga from the Body Wise Foundation and a
20-hr certification in Yin Yoga from Jessie Kates. She teaches with an emphasis on learning to listen to what your body needs in each pose and focusing on an easy, steady breath.
Ginny Pearce, E-RYT 200
Ginny is a Registered Yoga Teacher certified by the Yoga Alliance. She has a Master’s degree in Communication Management and uses these skills to help her students better understand yoga and its benefits. Her yoga roots go back to the mid-1970s when she discovered yoga to maintain fitness and flexibility, and acquire a better sense of body awareness. In 1979, low back pain and sciatica moved Ginny to deepen her commitment and practice of yoga for its therapeutic benefits. Through continued practice and study with many yoga teachers, she realized yoga was an important part of her daily life. She received a teaching certificate from the Yoga Center in Columbia in 2001 and began teaching classes there. She began teaching at Avalon Yoga Studio in 2007, and completed her 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training with Certified Instructor Leslie Coombs, to complete the requirements for the Yoga Alliance's certification. Since then she has taught at many locations including a gym, pre-school, wellness center, and senior center. She has also worked one-on-one with students in private sessions. Ginny enjoys sharing her love of yoga with people of all ages and helping her students reap the benefits of yoga that reach beyond the mat to provide them with a sense of balance, confidence and an overall sense of well being. Ginny maintains a daily practice of yoga and regularly attends workshops and seminars at various studios.