Ashley Hartley
Ashley, the founder and owner of Empower Yoga, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Harvard University in 2005. During her time at Harvard, Ashley began her individual practice of yoga in Cambridge, MA where she studied under the guidance of Baron Baptiste and his senior teachers at the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute. Ashley underwent an intensive 200 hour teacher training with Baptiste in 2005 and she immediately began teaching yoga professionally.

Ashley’s training has also earned her a 200hr ERYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) qualification with Yoga Alliance, which is a national organization dedicated to the regulation of yoga instruction and ethics. Ashley has accumulated over 1,000 hours of teaching experience.

 

"I have gained so much more from yoga than a physical transformation.  Not only is this practice healing for the body, but also for the mind and heart.  My daily yoga practice has empowered me to live my life in the ways I have always wanted.  In a world filled with many obstacles and distractions, yoga has given me the tools to approach life with effortlessness, calm, and focus.  It has taught me how to reach deep within myself and connect with my truth.  The most important part of my yoga practice is taking the lessons I learn on my mat out into the world where they become truy life-changing.  I look forward to practicing with you!" - Ashley

Suzanne Armistead
Suzanne is the artistic creator of Stillness Moves, a healing movement art form that integrates Suzanne’s 40 years of experience in: the improv arts of expressive and creative movement; classical, modern, and liturgic dance; narrative movement; Golden Shield chi qong; Ontological Coaching; Centering Prayer and related stillness arts; and the shamanic Five Rhythms School of ecstatic dance.

 

Suzanne studied undergraduate dance at Texas Tech University and undertook graduate dance studies at the Bob Hope School of Performing Arts at Southern Methodist University. She obtained a Masters Equivalency Certificate in holistic healing under a joint program by DePaul University, Harvard and Union Institute. She is also certified as: an Aerobics Dance Instructor, a Five Rythms dance instructor, an InterPlay instructor, an Artists’ Way leader, a Centering Prayer instructor, and a NewField Ontological Coach.

 

“Joy is within us, not outside. When we learn this, a whole new way of living our lives in gratitude emerges. Artful movement can be a portal to this discovery.” - Suzanne

 

Brandy Arena

Brandy Arena, RYT, is a certified and registered yoga teacher.  She brings a decade of experience on the mat with Iyengar, Ashtanga, Anusara, Jivamukti and other styles of Hatha yoga.  Brandy draws inspiration from in-depth and personal study with master teachers, including Manouso Manos, Sharon Moon, Darren Main and John Friend. Brandy welcomes and supports all yoga intents, whether to release daily stress and relax, to deepen physical strength and flexibility or simply to engage life fully through focused breathing and movement.  Brandy is delighted to guide students at all levels through her classes, workshops and private sessions; she teaches internationally and bases her practice in Austin, Texas.

 

Brandy's yoga instruction honors the ancient discipline of yoking the heart’s intent to the body in order to fully live with greater balance, harmony and ease.  Her instruction encourages students to develop gentleness within and inspires them to awaken to their dreams and welcome the inner calling of their hearts.  Brandy integrates passion for dance, movement and music resulting in her superior ability to engage diverse student abilities and potentials.

 

Brandy expresses infinite gratitude for the ongoing bounty of teachers and students that continue to enrich her life.

 

Carley Barnes
Carley began practicing yoga while attending the University of Texas. Going to yoga was a great break from studying! She immediately began to value the physically challenging nature of Vinyasa yoga and the creativity of Vinyasa sequences.

 

“Yoga provides my body with a great workout and healing asanas, while providing my mind with endless opportunities to explore and express creativity. I have an absolute blast every time I enter a yoga studio to practice or teach!”

 

In addition to being a certified yoga instructor, Carley is also a certified Pilates instructor. She greatly enjoys being physically active, is in awe of the workings of the human body, and strongly desires to work in profession that helps people. Teaching yoga embodies all of these things excellently.

 

Christianity is the spiritual path that resonates with Carley. Her goal in life being to glorify God through her relationship with Jesus Christ. She desires to be a servant to those around her and believes that teaching yoga is a wonderful way to love on people.

 

Matthew Daniel (Mateo)
Matthew Daniel (Mateo) began his yogic path with a "Rodney Yee Sun Salutation" VHS cassette that his girlfriend brought home one morning back in the college days. He loved it right off the bat, then grew to hate that tape as it was played morning, after morning, after everlovin' morning.

 

Fortunately, a year later he moved to Los Angeles, the Western Mecca of Yoga, and began practicing in a classroom with Bryan Kest. It was by far the hardest thing he'd ever physically done up to that point, and it thrilled him to no end. He was given clarity, empowerment, a strong proprioceptor buzz, and a lake of sweat on the hardwood floor.

7 years later, Mateo got the calling to become an instructor himself while leading a meditation class here in Austin. He flew back to Venice, completed a 200 hour teacher training with Psalm Isadora, flew to India, spent two months volunteering with children from local slums, and promptly moved back home to the ATX.

 

In addition to teaching asana, Mateo facilitates singles events and intimacy workshops designed to empower individuals to move conciously through the various games of relationship. He's also a phenomenal bodyworker, talented musician, and a damn good time.

 

"Yoga saved my life. I've stood at the edge of insanity with fists clenched full of steel, screaming into the abyss, and yoga brought me back. This practice will make you a better parent, lover, and friend.  It will increase your peace of mind, elevate your earning potential, and make you feel REALLY GOOD. If you're looking for your power, you've just found your path. I'll see you on the mat." - Mateo

Marie Black
Marie has been teaching Anusara yoga for four years. Anusara is a Hatha practice that focuses on proper alignment, building muscular strength, and playfulness. It is a therapeutic practice that can help correct misalignments and injuries. Using humor and compassion, Marie makes yoga accessible and fun--she'll keep you moving and make you laugh at same time.

Hannah Emlen
Hannah is an Anusara-Inspired yoga teacher. Her teaching blends biomechanical precision, soulful expression, breath, and silence of the heart, with the goal of instilling truthful, accurate, and joyful living both on and off the mat. She is a musician, bodyworker, and a writer, currently working toward an M.A./Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a somatic emphasis.
 

Mark Franke
Mark is an Anusara-Inspired teacher. When he is not teaching, he spends his time practicing asana, playing music, reflecting on his experience in the world, and connecting with the people he loves.

 

Gioconda Parker
ERYT-500 has been teaching yoga for over 12 years, and has worked with a variety of populations in sharing this ancient science of healing.  She has directed several yoga programs, and has led teacher trainings and retreats both nationally and internationally. She continues to be humbled by yoga’s capacity to open our eyes to ourselves, each other and our planet and is grateful to be a part of the Austin yoga community.

 

Jeremiah Wallace
Originally from a suburb town of Corpus Christi, TX, Jeremiah found yoga early in 2004 by taking a kinesiology course in college, and just never quit. Even after the course, he continued to practice on his own at home, taking the occasional class at school, and referring to his first yoga text book (Yoga the Iyengar Way) for little tips. Upon moving to Austin in 2006, he began practicing at a local studio and instantly found that there was a whole new exciting depth to yoga that he had never felt before.  He began teacher training in early 2007 and has been teaching ever since.

 

Jeremiah's roots in yoga are definitely in the Iyengar method and he still greatly calls upon the method to inform his practice, study, and teaching of Anusara yoga. He has taught along the lines of Anusara yoga since he began teaching, and is pursuing his Anusara certification. Jeremiah finds this practice to be a constant process of learning and understanding. It is for the sake of living life more knowledgably, harmoniously, and happily with oneself and others. Jeremiah's classes are geared toward personal discovery, through focused physical and mental attention, and always remembering our individual intrinsic beauty.

 
Jeremiah holds an AA in Theatre and is actively pursuing his BS in Radio/Television/Film from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Hannah Williams
Hannah Williams is a yogini, singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor and mommy. Her passion has always been in the performing arts and searching deep within herself to reveal her soul in the process. Yoga has helped her open the channels for divine energy to flow through her and at the same time has made her process as an artist and teacher more fulfilling and exciting.

 

Hannah fell in love with yoga in 1994 at a community college in Santa Cruz, CA. She felt so connected to her body and mind. She loved the “blissed-out” feeling she got after meditation and the “high from prana” from releasing the trapped energy in her body. After moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles, she spent the next decade studying her craft as an actor and musician. This led her to Austin, where the music scene is thriving and the yoga community captivates her. She completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training in the summer of 2007.

 

In 2008 Hannah had a baby, Emalina Moon, and her life was changed forever. In the womb, they did prenatal yoga together and then postnatal yoga. Now “Moonie”does downward dog upon request! Hannah was so moved by this experience that she got certified to teach pre and postnatal yoga. Helping pregnant women and new moms keep up their practice has become a great passion of hers.

 

In Hannah’s class you will find a focus on alignment and modifications as well as connecting to the divine source and drawing upon that energy. She also is very fond of her playlists, so there will always be some kind of eclectic musical backdrop. She does not heat the room, but you can be prepared to get the heat going from the inside.

 

Hannah is always happy to share any insights to fellow artists about how yoga has helped her creative process as well as pregnant and new moms!