Master Teachers

James Foulkes has been studying personal development for more than eight years. His diverse set of practices includes Yoga, Meditation, Chi Kung, Kung Fu and shamanic movement practices. He is also training in Cranial Sacral Therapy and Chinese Medicine. James enjoys finding parallels between these practices and feels the basis of them is unity, integration and wholeness.

James grew up in England and has recently moved to Washington, after eight years working within a corporate environment. He was initially drawn to yoga after a basketball career left him with a series of injuries. His approach to yoga is based on the work of Vanda Scaravelli, an Italian/ American who studied with J Krishnamurti, BKS Iyengar and TKV Desikachar for 2 decades.

James has recently completed a Teacher Training Course based on this approach, at Natural Bodies Yoga, Movement and Therapy Centre in Brighton, England. The approach is based on awakening the spine through an intelligent practice, which focuses on the breath and gravity. He is extremely interested in the spiritual and energetic aspects of the work and the ability of these practices to shift perception and connect the practitioner with the essence. His classes are suitable for all levels. Email James at jamesfoulkes[at]hotmail.com

Leah began practicing yoga in 1992 and it has been the guiding force of her life ever since.  She remains forever and always in awe of the gentle yet powerful ways that yoga has transformed her life for the better and shares this enthusiasm with her students.  She hopes that every student experiences yoga as an invitation to step into the greatness of who they are and to embrace the mystery of whom they might yet become.

She is particularly grateful to have discovered the Anusara system of yoga as a path that enriches all aspects of a practitioner’s life from the mundane to the extraordinary and everything in between!  Anusara yoga is inspired by Tantric philosophy which affirms the intrinsic goodness of all beings and celebrates the pulsing, creative, intelligent, dynamic principle which is at the essence of all life.  Leah’s classes are heavily influenced by this system.

In class, Leah weaves Tantric philosophy through alignment-based instruction with an adherence to the principles of flow (intelligently and fluidly connected movement).  She is grateful to Shiva Rea for awakening her to the beauty of flow.

Her passions include her family, her dogs, and making sculptures.  She is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher and a graduate of the Willow Street teacher training program with plans to pursue Anusara certification.  She would like to thank all of her amazing yoga and yoga philosophy teachers including Shiva Rea, Douglas Brooks, and Paul Muller Ortega.  She gives special thanks to John Friend (the founder of Anusara Yoga) and to her very first yoga teacher, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.

Winnie’s quest for knowledge and learning led her to Iyengar Yoga in early 2000.   She began her study with John Schumacher at Unity Woods, and later received his recommendation to study at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India.   Winnie has studied at the Institute  numerous times, studying  directly from the Iyengar family: Mr. BKS Iyengar, Prashant and Geeta.  She feels that she has found her path to study, and dedicated herself to their teachings.  On her recent visit, Winnie received her Iyengar Teachers certification directly from BKS Iyengar.

Winnie is known for her style of teaching: vocal, intense and hands-on adjustments.  There is no chanting, incense or spiritual talk, and don’t expect to relax until the end.  Winnie wants students to learn how to feel their body and mind by doing yoga a very different way.

Besides quest of learning, she loves to travel round the globe and she loves animals.