Meet Michelle
Remember the entrance door to the
sanctuary is inside you – Rumi
I am a certified yoga teacher, meditation and mindfulness teacher, and mindful outdoor guide. I live and work in the forests of southern Ohio, in a home I built with my husband, on land that we steward together. When I'm not teaching or guiding, you can find me in my happiest places—my garden, the woods, on my mountain bike or snowboard, or the dance floor at a live music show.
For more than half of my life, I’ve turned to the refuge of yoga, meditation, and the natural world as my sanctuary. In these practices and places, I have found much more than a refuge. I’ve found the source of wisdom, abundance, joy, and presence –in the practices, the places, and within myself.
MY PATH
Since the early 1990s, I have traveled a path that included undergraduate and graduate school, being a partner in marriage, building a homestead in the woods of Ohio, starting and running several businesses, giving birth to two boys, mothering them, and watching them grow into young men. As we all do, I have navigated the ups and downs of this life through loss, celebration, and everything in between.
The sanctuary of yoga has been my constant companion on this path.
Deciding to become a teacher in 2008 came at a time when I felt drawn to deepen the practice that I had started in 1993, with my Iyengar, Integral, and Vinyasa teachers. I felt compelled to share the positive impacts of this practice with others.
Education & Experience
Yoga
I bring over 30 years of yoga experience spanning various styles to all of my yoga classes. As an experienced teacher since 2008, my offerings draw from all Eight Limbs of yoga and are underpinned by the thousands of years-old philosophies outlined in the ancient texts.
My classes integrate a variety of styles including Iyengar alignment, Vinyasa flow, the Kripalu combination of prana and meditation within the physical practice, kundalini style energy awakening and the Radiant Body Yoga fusion of vinyasa and kundalini.
Certifications:
200-hour teacher certification, 2008, from Inhale Yoga Studio in Athens, Ohio, under the guidance of teacher Michelle Stobart.
300-hour advanced teacher certification, 2017, from Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts (Kripalu.org)
200-hour Radiant Body Yoga certification, 2025, under the guidance of Kia Miller (kiamiller.com)
300-hour Radiant Body Yoga certification, 2025, with Kia Miller
Additional continuing education credits include:
Yoga for Athletes with Sage Rountree
Yoga in Action (social justice) with Off the Mat Into the World founders Seane Corn, Suzanne Sterling and Hala Khouri
Trauma Informed Yoga (Hala Khouri)
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Kia Miller)
Cultivating Self Mastery, Key teachings of the Bhagavad Gita (Kia Miller)
I teach a variety of drop in and yoga series classes, as well as special monthly yoga and sound healing events (with Kojun at Sacred Waves Sound Work). I am also available to teach one on one, for small private groups or on retreats.
Mindfulness & Meditation
In 2025, I graduated from the Meditation and Mindfulness Certification Program offered by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. This 2-year program, encompassing over 175 hours of study, deepened my experience of my own meditation and mindfulness practices and honed my ability to teach others. Most of my yoga training also included meditation work, and mindfulness has been woven into all of my offerings. Completing the extensive study through the MMTCP program has elevated my abilities as a meditation teacher, and to effectively guide students into presence and their own sense of loving awareness.
I organize public mindfulness and meditation classes, and am also available for guiding one on one mindfulness classes or classes for private groups or organizations. Contact me to explore these opportunities.
Mindful Outdoor Experiences
In 2019, I became a Certified Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide and I now guide individuals and groups in mindful outdoor experiences, enabling them to reconnect with the natural world. These experiences are walks, or “saunters” into a natural setting to share mindfulness practices, to immerse in the area and foster reconnection with self and nature. This work is an organic progression of my work as a yoga and meditation teacher and as a lover of nature. Having experienced the potent healing potential of being immersed in the natural world, I am now excited to be sharing this method of mindfulness with students.
I organize public group walks, and am also available for guiding one on one walks, or group experiences for private groups or organizations. Contact me to explore these opportunities.
