23 top yoga teachers in Charlotte

23 top yoga teachers in Charlotte
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Charlotte is home to a booming yoga scene with studios ranging in size from small 12-person boutique spaces to behemoth 100+ mat capacity in others. Just look around at the hundreds of mats laid out at the free and cheap community classes around town. We’re overflowing and we can’t seem to hit a saturation point. Every time a new studio opens or an existing studio expands or a non-yoga fitness concept adds yoga to its schedule, more people come forward to soak it up. And that requires more teachers.

Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) trainings are a steady and reliable revenue stream for studios (a 200-hour certification usually costs $2,000-$3,000 per student), and here in Charlotte such programs have been cranking out countless bright-eyed new instructors each year. As Charlotte’s community of yoga teachers and students continues to grow, opportunities abound for those who desire to turn their passion into a profession.

yoga-charlotte-nc

These are 23 yoga teachers in Charlotte who are at the top of their game, representing 19 studios, multiple yoga styles and lineages, and countless interpretations of what yoga really is. The cool thing is, they’re all right.

It was painful for me to narrow this list down to what we have here and impossible to select teachers on uniform criteria because they’re all so different and have contributed to the community in their own ways.

One opened Charlotte’s first yoga studio. One is Charlotte’s only certified jivamukti instructor. One launched a nonprofit that teaches yoga to incarcerated men as a form of healing and rehabilitation. Two teach at the YMCA. Some have been teaching for decades. Others are new to the scene. Some are old school traditionalists. Others break the ancient rules. Several have opened their own studios. All have made Charlotte a premier yoga city.

23 top yoga teachers in Charlotte

Tanner BazemoreY2 Yoga – owner and lead instructor

Tanner Bazemore

Jennifer Busco – Charlotte Yoga – instructor

Jennifer Busco

Kyle ContiCharlotte Yoga – owner and instructor

Kyle Conti

Jennifer Decurtins – Y2 Yoga (marketing director & instructor), Core Desire Yoga (co-owner)

Jennifer Decurtins

Tai Dorn – Yoga One, Okra Yoga, Tryon St Yoga – instructor

Tai Dorn

Sally Gambrell – Yoga One – founder and instructor

Sally Gambrell

Rian Harris – Charlotte Yoga, Y2 Yoga – instructor

Rian Harris

Mara Healy (Marayogini) – The Peaceful Dragon – senior instructor

Mara Healy

Ken HeptigYMCA Charlotte – instructor and creator of GoalYoga

Ken Heptig

Dawn HinshawLaughing Buddha – owner and instructor

Dawn Hinshaw

Maria LagesOm Yoga – owner and instructor

Maria Lages

Lauren McAbeeMove Studio Charlotte – instructor

Lauren McAbee

Laura McCarthySwaraj Yoga – founder and instructor

Laura McCarthy

Grace MoralesYoga with Grace Morales – owner and instructor

Grace Morales

Amy Hanner MorrisCharlotte YMCA – instructor

Amy Hanner Morris

Amani MurrayEnlighten Yoga – instructor

Amani Murray

Kacy PleasantsCharlotte YogaY2 Yoga, Laughing Buddha, Charlotte YMCA – instructor

Kacy Pleasants

Quinn ReynoldsArrichion – owner and instructor

Quinn Reynolds

Phyllis RollinsThe Yoga Center at 8th Street Studio – founder and instructor

Phyllis Rollins

Jillian Scuderi-LongsworthNoDa Yoga – owner and instructor

Jillian Scuderi-Longsworth

Shanna SmallY2 Yoga – instructor

Shanna Small

Johnna SmithY2 Yoga, Om YogaJohnna Yoga (owner) – instructor

Johnna Smith

Hollace StephensonYoga Shala Charlotte (owner), Charlotte Family Yoga Center, Be Yoga – instructor

Hollace Stephenson

Karen WilliamsYoga for Life – instructor

Karen Williams

This list was compiled from personal industry experience, input from yoga students/teachers/studio owners and research.

Photo Credits

Chicks with Cameras: Scuderi-Longsworth
Courtney Linnehan: Morris
Devin Kelley: DornMurray
Lura Photography: McAbee
Wanda Koch Photography: Bazemore, Busco, Decurtins, Harris, Healy, Hinshaw, Morales, Pleasants, Small, Smith, Stephenson
JPK Productions: header photo

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