About Us: Studio Yoga

Heather Applegate RYT, M.Ed.

Heather is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) through Yoga Alliance.  She trained at The Yoga Institute of Houston and has trained in Mat Pilates with the Physical Mind Institute. Heather began practicing yoga in 1997 as a way to manage the stress of graduate school and quickly recognized the benefits on her overall health and wellness.  She earned a Masters degree in education from The Ohio State University and was a classroom teacher and pre-service teacher educator for nine years before moving to Texas. Currently she is blending her passion for body mind exercise and education together, which allows her to create personalized fitness instruction for her clients.  

Philosophy

Yoga is a union.  The practice of yoga is built on the shared experiences of the instructor and students.  The practice evolves as one becomes more aware of their body and mind. As a teacher, I am a facilitator and co-learner, each day learning something new through our experiences together. Let your Yoga Journey Begin.

Mantra

May you be Peaceful, May you be Joyful and May your Body be Well.  

Life is all about building and maintaining relationships.  Relationships are the most important things we will ever have.

Favorite Quotes

"The strength of a tree lies in it's ability to bend."  -Zen Proverb

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and en“dure what cannot be cured.”  
-B.K.S. Iyengar

“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.”
-The yoga sutras of Patanjali

Elisabeth Andrews RYT 500

People often ask me how I found my way to yoga and my response is always the same: I didn’t, it found me.  It was in my first encounter that the match was struck and my passion was set on fire!  I knew immediately that yoga was more than just a workout, that this was something that I was going to need to be a part of.

I continued to practice throughout college and through all of the changes and uncertainty that came afterward.  I held several jobs, but nothing left me feeling fulfilled and I couldn’t help but feel that I hadn’t found my niche. I began looking into how to turn my passion into a career, then entered an 8 week intensive yoga teacher training program.  Now, when I said “intensive”, I meant it!  For eight weeks, I would eat, sleep and breathe yoga, which did nothing but continue to prove its endless benefits to me.  My body became tighter, my world became balanced, my mind became calm and still, my focus became sharp, I became determined and fulfilled.  Now that I have graduated, I am ready to share the benefits of a consistent yoga practice and lifestyle with those around me so that they can see the benefits within themselves. 

With a Biology degree and extensive knowledge in human anatomy and physiology, I have armed myself with knowledge to prevent my fellow students from injury and to provide insight to which muscles are being used in each posture.  Yoga is not intended to hurt its practitioner or to bend them into a pretzel, but to push each yogi to their physical and mental limits.  I find that students are often surprised by how far they can actually go when they just let go! 

The challenge of the practice is half the fun, let me help you find your balance and satisfaction!

                -Namaste Elisabeth

Lesley Lynn Johnson, RYT

Lesley is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) with 200 hours of yoga training in Integrative Yoga Therapy from Sundara Yoga Therapy in Austin, Texas. She is also being trained in Healing Touch energy work as she continues to work toward her certification through Healing Touch International. 

Lesley first began practicing yoga in 2000 as a way to relax at the end of a long work day. In 2008, as she entered into training in Healing Touch, she began to connect with the deep impact it had on her yoga practice. Lesley’s emerging knowledge of the energy body is a gift she incorporates into her practice and teaching of yoga.  She brings together the work of energy in the physical body, the mental/emotional body and the spiritual body.

Lesley says, “For health and balance in our lives, integration of all of these aspects of oneself is key. A yoga practice creates the space to connect with these varied layers and open oneself up to life-giving wholeness. I hope to create the space in my classes where students can explore and strengthen their body awareness and find more of a balance through the mind/body/spirit connection.”