Stacy Abbattista

I discovered yoga in 2001 while living in Arizona. Yoga inspired me to escape my tension filled life and evolve my personal practice to life off the mat. I completed my yoga teacher training with Cathy Morse at Blue Turtle in July of 2006. And I am a registered yoga teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance. My teaching has been influenced by workshops with Tim Miller and Cyndi Lee.

While living in Arizona, I graduated from Arizona State University in 1998. I went on to work with the Arizona Diamondbacks and then Fox Sports Net Arizona.

I moved to Charleston in 2002, after spending many summers and family holidays here growing up. I still return to Arizona to take the music inspired power yoga classes that brought me to yoga.

I am very energetic and have a love for the sunshine and the outdoors, especially the beach. I encourage my students to use yoga as a vehicle to reduce stress, tension, and increase happiness and self acceptance.

Ashley Arana

Ashley is a yogi many years in the making. As native of Charleston, SC, she ventured off to the cold winters of Massachusetts in 2003 to attend Amherst College, where she majored in English and completed a potpourri of science classes. Her first experience with yoga was in her living room, where she acted as yoga-student-guinea-pig for her older sister, Julia, who was in the process of completing her yoga teacher training. After this introduction to yoga in 2005, she began trekking through snow and sleet (uphill both ways) during her years at Amherst to practice gentle yoga classes to help reduce the stress of a heavy workload. After her first class, she was love struck; she left in a relaxed trance and felt as though the burden of school had been lifted.
On her return to Charleston after graduation in 2007, she started working at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Brain Stimulation Lab. She no longer had the heavy workload of college classes, but she began to realize that no matter what, life is stressful! To help, she started taking classes regularly at Blue Turtle Yoga, where she learned to appreciate the fast-paced, sometimes whirlwind style of Vinyasa yoga.
Through a regular yoga practice, her body and mind have changed in ways she had never imagined. Mentally, she has experienced what Putanjuli calls “the calming of the fluctuations of the mindstuff.” Physically, she has come face-to-face with fears and limitations of flexibility and strength; for example, she will never forget the first time she pushed up into Urdhva Dhanurasana after years of trying. She is still addicted to the feeling that her spine is “alive” after backbends.
Ashley completed her yoga teacher training at Blue Turtle with Kelly-Jean Moore, where she earned her 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certification. After graduating from teacher training, she interned at BTY for six months and is now a regular teacher. As a neuropsychiatric research assistant, Ashley is fascinated by the mental aspects of yoga, especially as a way to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. In addition to teaching at BTY, she volunteers weekly as a yoga teacher in the geriatric depression unit at MUSC.
Ashley has struggled with inflexible, weak muscles, bad posture, and a general absence of coordination her whole life. She fully empathizes with the difficulties that beginner (and even veteran) yoga students encounter during their practice. She offers supportive, yet challenging classes, which focus on fine-tuning alignment, using breath to calm the mind, and stretching and strengthening muscles. She intertwines yoga philosophy and healthy living tips into each asana and incorporates her goofy personality and daily passions of reggae music, science, anatomy, philosophy, literature, and poetry. In addition to a vinysasa style of yoga, she often includes yin yoga and viniyoga in her classes.
Ashley lives downtown in Charleston, SC with her sweet dog, Dahlia, and will be starting medical school at MUSC in the fall of 2010.

Annie Banks

A low country native, Annie Banks received her instructor certification from the Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, NC. She has been practicing yoga for eight years and teaching for four, in a number of unconventional settings.

In her classes she emphasizes the importance of balance between the ‘hard and soft’ aspects of yoga, and particularity the necessity of true relaxation. In addition Annie believes that yoga should be accessible for everyone and can be of benefit to all bodies, no matter the age or condition.

Michelle Barnwell

A local artist and licensed Coast Guard Captain, Michelle brings her connection to the outdoors inside to the yoga studio. By conscioulsy connecting to the breath as a foundation to being completely present, yoga becomes a true reflection of the real living, on the mat and in the world.

Michelle is certified at the 200 hour level in Ashtanga and also at the 40 hour level with David Swenson. She has completed Bikram Yoga intensives, and has been fortunate enough to have studied with Dharma Mittra, Shivra Rea, and Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa. The presence of Gurmukh and the fluid power of Shiva Rea proved to be an astonishing, inspiring experience. To embrace the evolution of a personal practice, to begin to feel the movement surface from the inside out, and to find the balance between movement and stillness can take a lifetime, so let’s enjoy the ride!

Elli Boland

I moved to America five years ago to be with Dan, my now husaband. In my home country, Germany, I worked as a physio therapist, which is a combination of chiropractic, massage, athletic training and physical therapy. It came as a huge shock that my education was not transferred and I felt anger for a long time. I began working as a Personal Trainer and continued to teach classes. I got hooked on Yoga when I went to a Bikram Yoga class in Buffalo, NY. For 90 minutes my mind was so focused and empty, and I wanted more. Once I moved to Charleston, I went back to school for exercise science and finished in May 2007. Yoga was always present, my secret haven and my safe place.

I love working one on one with my clients here and helping them to help themselves. I started my own business with my friend Michele are we are about to launch our first collection of yoga tees, called Yoga Street Wear. I did my teacher training with Cathy Morse because her knowledge of the asana and the way she thinks about sequencing a class is outstanding and I admire her.

I frequently visit Yogaville and am now certified in Yoga and Ayurveda which is the Indian system of medicine that goes hand in hand with the yoga lifestyle. Yoga has helped me to replace my bad habits of smoking, soda, over exercising, coffee, alcohol, drama, self-destruction and self-criticism with self acceptance, love and contentment. I believe that yoga points to the true self, reminding us that we have all we need already inside of us.

Andrew Cebulka

After standing at the edge of the cliff for far too long, Andrew three years ago found himself walking out of his first yoga class here at Blue Turtle covered in sweat wondering “What the heck was THAT!”. Immediatley he found himself practicng more frequently, and just after a year he decided that this is something that oculd become a lifestyle and life practice. Training under the guidance of local yoga director Trace Sahaja Bonner of Holy Cow and her acclaimed staff, retreating to the hills of Yogaville Ashram in Virginia, chanting the names of God in local Charleston yoga studio Satsang, learning under the tutelage of Sharon Gannon of Jivamukti Yoga in NYC, and following the direction of his accepted teachers Dharma Mittra and David Belz, Andrew has found himself deepinging his practice on and off the mat. Through the instruction of his peers and other area teachers, Andrew found the unique path of non-discretion, pulling the ancient teachings from many sources and prespectives, awakining a style naturally diverse and spontanous.

For those that know him, his projest diversify between owning and operating a personal small business, Heirloom Renissance Co., as personal chef, freelance photographer, artisanal art panel creator, and of course yoga instructor. Balancing his time between these passions, Andrew still finds ample time to maintain an extensive organic garden, forage for wild food )yes he is THAT weird!) and catch surf at local and distant beaches, giggling all the way to bed. You can discover this infectious passion within here at both studios, or arrange for personalized instruction, either way you have a new friend no matter what the reason, so say hello and have a giggle or stretch or meal or photo or hehehehehehe..........

Caitlin Craig Hunt

Caitlin Craig Hunt, RYT
Simply, I believe in yoga. Yoga makes us better people on every level, or rather, reveals the best person already living within each of us. I discovered yoga ten years ago while attending the College of Charleston and immediately knew I had found something that resonated with me on a deep level. Walking out of that first class, I felt more like ME than ever before. Since then, I have established a strong personal practice, read all kinds of literature on yogic philosophy, methodology and anatomy, practiced with many teachers, taken classes and workshops in various schools of yoga and ultimately, earned a 200-hour teacher’s certification in 2007 through Blue Turtle Yoga. I can’t get enough of it. With steady practice, I have become more confident in my ability to handle any situation this life has to offer, more connected and responsive to the world around me and more comfortable in my own skin. I’m grateful to have the rest of my life to continue the process and share this journey with others. Teaching yoga is one of my great joys and I am so honored to belong to this warm, inspiring community!

Ashley Kennedy ERYT, BTY Director

I grew up studying art and dance in southwestern Virginia and received a Masters Degree in Art Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College before moving to Charleston in the summer of 1999. I became a certified yoga teacher in 2003 through the 200-hour program at the now defunct but often remembered Gaea Yoga Center, formerly of Mount Pleasant, and received a prenatal yoga certification from Asheville Yoga Center in 2004. I have taught yoga to children, teens and adults in a wide variety of styles, including Gentle/Restorative, Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, and Hot Yoga and truly enjoy teaching the basics. I also assist with Blue Turtle Yoga’s Teacher Training Program.

Regardless of the style of yoga that I’m teaching, I work to cultivate a class environment that permits students to practice their truth, to strike a balance between effort and surrender, to drop fear and feel what’s real. I love that though this practice can be perceived as introspective, the benefits can extend beyond the individual practitioner. I believe that yoga provides an incredible opportunity to see ourselves without the destructive lens of judgment, and that as we cultivate compassion for self we can begin to drop our misgivings about others.

As the Studio Manager at Blue Turtle, I always welcome your questions, concerns and feedback via info@blueturtleyoga.com.

Kari Kim

Kari took her first yoga course at the college of Charleston while a student there in 1993. After graduating from MUSC’s College of Nursing in 1998, and pursuing a career in nursing, she revisited her yoga practice while pregnant with her first child. At the point she knew yoga would be ever present in her life. after having her second child, and still working as a nurse, she decided to pursue a more holistic approach to healing and became a certified yoga teacher.

She received her certification through Holy Cow Yoga Center in 2003 and has been teaching ever since. Kari loves to share with her students ways to find a more peaceful and joyous life through the practice of yoga and meditation. as a mother of three she loves the balance yoga has brought to her and her family. Kari lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband Mike and children Baylor, Mia and Scout.

Mark Knowles

Mark began studying Zen Buddhism and Aikido in 1990 with Master Robert Balker. This meeting would spark an insatiable interest in religion, philosophy and the natural world. He found these joined in Bonsai and became a master. He still experienced a deep longing and through his disconnection found himself spiraling into addiction.
After years as a mate he completed formal training and became the first Bahamian to earn his UK Department of Transport Master Class IV 3000 Ton Ship Captain's licence. Mark had the opportunity to command passenger ferries, cargo ships, and luxury yachts.

On his final voyage to South Carolina aboard a yacht he attended his first Jivamukti yoga class. He heard Jeffrey speak and knew he'd found his calling. With his teachers blessing he completed Jivamukti Yoga 300 Hr. Teacher Training.

Mark teaches yoga as a path to liberation in this lifetime. Classes are infused with scripture, humor, and his diverse life experiences as a Dive Instructor, Ship Captain, and Bungee Operator. Incredible soundtracks which echo the teachings highlight his physically and intellectually stimulating classes.

He bows at the lotus feet of his many teachers: Sharon Gannon, David Life, Jeffrey, Andrea, Michael Franti, Dharma Mittra, and Bob Marley.

Aimee Koon

Aimee is originally from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. After graduating college in West Virginia she moved out west to Tempe Arizona where she fell in love with yoga. She began her yoga journey at The Southwestern School of Holistic Health in 2000. This experience opened up a whole new world for her. Aimee moved to Charleston SC in March of 2003 where she continued to practice yoga.

Yoga inspired Aimee to continue her education in Psychology and she earned her M.A. in Professional Counseling in October 2006 and began her 200 hour yoga certification in September of 2006 at Blue Turtle Yoga. Yoga philosophy and psychology are her passions. The combination of mindfulness, self-awareness, stress reduction, and the openness we find with being aware of our thoughts and feelings have transformed her life. Yoga plays a huge part in her busy life, and keeps her feet grounded and her heart and mind open!

Cathy Lipp

What brought Cathy Lipp to yoga in 1996? Her sailing team coach insisted she do ANYTHING to make her look “less like a bull in a china shop” during regattas. Lo and behold, she loved it! Cathy had a great teacher who assured her it didn’t matter if she ever touched her toes and that message of non-competition during years of competitive sailing kept her sane. Cathy sometimes wishes her physical practice was as awesome as the yoga CD mixes which she loves to make! No… but she does love the use of music interwoven with her class themes.

Those of you who are totally “by the book” yogis will want to know the following: Cathy studied with Vishwanath and David Swenson in Goa, India (yet she is prouder of the fact that she spent the whole time setting up her best friend with a fancy British gent and they have since married!) Cathy is certified at a 500 hour level and has taught at The Bodhi Tree and Charlotte Yoga (both in Charlotte 2001-2004). And has been teaching for Blue Turtle since 2005.

Originally from Richmond Va, Cathy spent 4 wonderful, awesome, totally exquisite years at College of Charleston where she met her rock-star hubby James on the sailing team. Just recently Cathy has explored the new dynamic of “motherhood.” Her son Elliott is her pride and joy and probably the reason she looks blissfully sleep deprived (not to mention in TOTAL awe of any woman with more than one child!!)

Bottom Line: If you’re coming to Cathy’s class, she hopes you laugh a little, relax a lot, and find a new gratitude for this wonderful life.

Lauren Long

Yoga became a natural part of my life after moving to Charleston in 2006. I'd been riding horses everyday in my hometown, Okemos, Michigan, for the past ten years! Something had to fill the void, and after my first class I was hooked. A lot of the teachers a BTY became inspiriations, and little did I know when KellyJean was teaching me my first vinyasa, that she would be telling me years later how to pass along the knowledge to others!

My practice has developed into a mental, physical, and spiritual release. I believe that everybody can truly benefit from the power of yoga, and particularly have a passion for yoga therapy. In group classes my goal is for every student to learn something new about themselves every time they come to the mat. The classes are about self-discovery, a little humor is mixed in (everyone has to laugh in yoga!), with an emphasis on proper alignment and flow.

As my practice evolves, motivations and teachers do as well. I have to give credit to Kelly Moore, Paul Grilley, Joseph LaPage, Shiva Rea, and all the wonderful staff at BTY for their encouragement and support over the years.

See you on the mat!

Jim McKenrick

In February 2005 I moved to Charleston SC from Atlanta GA and I am still trying to adjust to the slower small town pace of Charleston and the Low Country. I am 44 years old, born and raised in Atlanta and a graduate of Clemson University. I have been a certified group fitness instructor for 25 years.

As part of my fitness training, I became very interested in nutrition and therefore, long before I became an ERYT with Yoga Alliance, I became a practicing vegetarian. I took my first Yoga class in Atlanta; back in the early 1990’s when Yoga first began to expand out of the Yoga studios and into the gyms as a form of group fitness. I was already teaching Aerobics, Sculpting, Step, Kick Boxing, and other forms of group fitness and immediately became interested in expanding my certifications to include Yoga. I attended some basic 2 day Yoga training sessions through Fit Yoga, Fitour and the YMCA and then began teaching Hatha Yoga classes in the Ashtanga style at the local gyms in Atlanta. I then became a certified Spinning instructor through Mad Dog and in 2000 I started teaching Spin / Yoga classes at several gyms in the Atlanta area.

As Yoga became more popular and more studios opened in the area, I started practicing many different styles of Yoga including Iangar and Bikrim (Hot Yoga) and wanted to learn more about Yoga and really grow my practice. I then enrolled in a 200 hour Yoga Alliance approved certification curriculum to become a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance. Since completing my initial training to become a RYT, I have taught an average of 5 hours of Yoga every week and after 2 years was able to register as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (ERYT) with Yoga Alliance. In addition to teaching 13 hours of fitness each week including Yoga, Step, Spinning, Sports Conditioning, and Body Sculpting, I work full time at Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union as an Assistant Vice President, managing their Default Administration Department. Cross training is very important and although I teach a lot of classes each week, they are all very different types of classes, which allows me to train my body mentally and physically in many different ways. All the classes I teach work together to keep me balanced and in good physical and mental health. My other hobbies include outdoor cycling, hiking, camping, theater, movies, and getting together with friends. I am energetic and enthusiastic; I always work hard and play harder! I enjoy life to the fullest and always take the necessary steps to take care of myself. I am passionate about fitness and currently maintain multiple fitness certifications allowing me to teach many different forms of fitness.

You can find me on the Eco Group Fitness schedule, the Eco Spin schedule and the Blue Turtle Yoga schedule at various times during the week teaching a variety of different classes at both the Mt. Pleasant and Downtown locations and I look forward to seeing you in class sometime in the near future. Namaste, Jim

Kelly Jean Moore ERYT, Teacher Training Coordinator

Kelly began teaching in 2004 at Blue Turtle Yoga. Her primary style is vinyasa based but incorporates the varied practices of Ashtanga, Power Yoga, and the Yin practices popularized by Sarah Powers and Paul Grilley. Each practice varies greatly depending on the particular theme being explored. Regardless of the style or theme of a class, there are consistent alignment points used, not to create the perfect pose, but to help people realign their structure and rediscover their center. She is known for injecting an irreverant sense of humor into her classes but has no fear of tackling the serious psychological issues of waking up which include aversion, attachment, addiction, and fear. Kelly found Yoga at a pivotal time in her early twenties and experienced a profound healing. This is why she is now a relentless advocate of students rolling up their sleeves and getting into the dark and dirty aspects of the self in order to penetrate the veil of delusion and step into their birth right, their calm and compassionate Buddha nature. Though she would not call herself a Buddhist, Kelly’s long standing mindfulness meditation practice has been an endless source of support for her as a teacher and a seeker. She is the creator and primary instructor of BTY’s Teacher training program and has currently wrapped up a long stint as the studio director to create more time for personal inquiry and the counseling of private clients. She travels nationally teaching workshops on the Chakra system and on liberating the creative process. Her understanding of the chakras is informed by her study of Carl Jung and the ground breaking theories of Anodea Judith. Kelly is also proud to represent Manduka as an ambassador of their reliable yoga props.

Cathy Morse

At the persistence of a good friend, Cathy Morse was persuaded to take her first yoga class in 1999 at her local gym. A former track star, Cathy had always been an avid athlete. Over the years, she has experimented with weight lifting, kick boxing, cycling, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking and even participated in multi-sport racing. She continues to run and completed her first marathon in 2006. Cathy recalls her first introduction to yoga as truly humbling. She was so moved by this experience that she went directly to the bookstore and purchased Yoga Masters - the first book of her now extensive yoga library. Cathy has been committed to the practice ever since. She is convinced that the inevitable aging process, accelerated by strenuous activity necessitates the commitment to yoga. She believes that taxing the body ultimately creates a leak in our life force (prana) and yoga provides the “sealant”. Cathy feels yoga is the way to mix life and love rendering a lovely and vital human being. In February of 2000, Cathy began practicing Ashtanga under the guidance of Tim Miller and now honors him as her senior teacher. Over the years, Cathy has studied with Tim repeatedly in Columbus, Ohio, Tulum, Mexico and at his studio in San Diego. She has completed the first series (yoga chikista/yoga therapy) and is currently working on dwi pada sirsana of the second series (nadi shodana/nerve cleansing). In March of 2008, Cathy will have the privilege of studying with Tim’s teacher, Sri Patthabi Jois in the Florida Keys. Cathy has studied with other renowned teachers such as Seane Corn, who sparked her interest in the energy body (Chakras), David Swenson, who fascinated her with floating, Rodney Yee, who opened her eyes to the details of asana, Anna Forest, who inspired her with amazing feats of strength, and Paul Grilley who enlightened her with his comical, yet challenging grasp on our anatomical challenges. Each teacher offers what she calls a “nugget” - something small that has had a big impact on the student and teacher that she has become. Cathy opened her first studio, Positive Postures in Columbus, Ohio teaching and practicing there for a year and a half. Finding an old vacant warehouse nearby, she later opened the Yoga Factory. This new location was developed as a larger more personal place to practice and continues to thrive today under the guidance of nine beautiful teachers, all with Cathy’s training. Cathy has since relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, where she hopes to develop the popularity of Ashtanga yoga in her new warmer home. Though Cathy has been teaching for 8 years, she subscribes to the notion that one is always a student of life/yoga. Once these forces have become linked they cannot be separated. Cathy has also come to realize that as much as she strives to inspire the student, it is often the student that inspires her. She challenges her students to practice for progress not perfection, and to find new ways to take yoga off the mat and into their hearts and minds.

Tricia Wylie

In 1994 Tricia decided to leave her cold Pennsylvania winters behind, packed up the car (bike in tow) and moved to Charleston. Now in 2007, she calls Mt. Pleasant home with her new husband Brian, fuzzy dog Maggie, and deservidly spoiled kitty Samadhi.

A vegetarian for 23 years, Tricia moved to the Lowcountry in hopes of opening a veggie cafe, but as fate would have it she discovered yoga and found her true calling. (She Still loves to cook!) Tricia is now devoted to helping others discover the abundant benifits of praticing yoga, both on and off the magic carpet (yoga mat). With numerous teacher trainings and workshops behind her Tricia has created her own unique teaching style (which at times can be called intense). Classes usually include core workout, asana, pranayama and chanting.

In addition to teaching a fun, powerful and vigorous vinyasa class, Tricia also teaches a yin yoga class, and offers private instruction. Her favorite teachings are Dharma Mittra, Shiva Rea, Andrey Lappa, Desiree Rhumbaugh, Paul Grilley, and Ana Forrest.