the unwind FAMILY
Ashley Ghattas
Owner & Founder
I am a biomedical engineer who taught in healthcare field for over 20 years. In my off time, I consistently kept up with fun friends skiing, biking, trail running, you name it. I only had one speed. Go fast, go hard, keep up, no whining. It worked well, until it didn’t. I tore ligaments in my thumb and was out of commission for many months. Devastated and not sure how I was going to stay healthy I finally went looking for answers from my friend, Dr. Sally Harris. She listened intently and lovingly handed me a handwritten script. It was for yoga twice a week. My reaction was complete disbelief. My nature was to be way too busy. “Not my speed,” I protested as I handed it back. She smiled, took a deep breath and said she understood. She scribbled again, handed me another prescription and said “yoga 5 times a week” and added that hot was acceptable.
I was floored, she knew me well and knew my perfectionist “I got this” spirit. Her last advice was that I had better find a studio. That was 2014. My RYT 200 was at Sweat studio, and I completed classroom and teaching hours for RYT 300 thru Blue Sky studio in Taos. Yoga changed my perceptions and my life. I quit my engineering job, and focused my energy and passion for yoga teaching. I derive joy from learning and inspiring. I want to empower others and my son and daughter with a positive attitude. I strive to teach from a place of authenticity and personal stories that resonate because after all, we are all connected. I pride myself on seeking training and education opportunities to stay up-to-date. I’m a true yoga nerd - a work in progress. I genuinely want to teach in a studio that is focused on the yoga students. I am a preparer, and I strive to make the complex poses, bends and stretches simpler to understand, perform and follow and gladly answer questions and engage in discussions. All yoga students are welcomed to my studio as they are my friends and extended family!!
Jonathan Hollinger
Co-Founder & technology administrator
THE TRANSFORMATION
I began my journey into the practice of yoga around 2015 as a supplement to weigh lifting, rock climbing, hiking and snowboarding. I quickly discovered the magical benefits of yoga, and I fell in love with practice and the transformations I began to experience.
In 2019 I found a link between my technical ability in engineering and entrepreneurialism, and people's desire to continue their yogic practices during the pandemic. I realized that the ancient art of yoga and our digital world had the opportunity to successfully commingle. I discovered immense joy in helping people connect to their practice, through the use of technology, during in a time of despair.
While I am not a instructor at this point, I am deeply rooted in all facets of Unwind Yoga, and its quest to spread
happiness, health, and prosperity through light-hearted and whole-hearted community wellness. Namaste
June Culler
Desk Goddess
Bio—
Lisa Wade
Instructor
Yoga first appeared along my life’s path around 2005 when I was running an average of 40-50 miles weekly. I was navigating burnout, contending with overuse injuries, and
looking for a type of cross-training that would complement my training goals. The owner of the gym I attended pulled me aside one day and said, “I think you’d enjoy my yoga
class. Just try it. You’ll be surprised by the challenge and the benefits of the practice. Please come.”So, I did. I showed up and participated in my first Ashtanga yoga class the following Saturday. I was immediately humbled by the level of concentration required as I struggled to maintain a connection to my breath while moving in and out of asanas. The internal conversation happening on both the physical and mental planes was also surprising. Little did I know I’d only just begun a journey of exploring the physics of both
the gross and subtle energy of yoga’s sacred geometry by remaining aware of how I directed the flow of my breath.
I’ve learned as a practitioner over the years, and now as an instructor, that each pose and every breath is its own complete journey, complete experience. My hope is to
inspire my students to fine-tune their ability to listen to their bodies, yet always remain playful and curious.
It’s never the external appearance of the physical pose that matters, but rather striking the internal balance between the physical, mental, and spiritual plane. Yoga is both fun and therapeutic. It strengthens all the systems of the body. Most importantly, yoga is sustainable and accessible to everyone. ~Lisa Wade
Instructor
Twenty years of demanding jobs took a significant toll on my body physically and emotionally. I was depressed and resorted to alcohol. I was only 38 but felt like I had aged. My wife had been practicing yoga weekly for a year. She felt fantastic mentally and physically. She persistently encouraged me to go to yoga with her. Eventually, one day I joined her for a yoga class. It was an amazing experience. Ha! Soon I would be going to yoga more regularly. In no time, my health improved every which way. I was emotionally far better and physically stronger. Yoga gave me a quiet mind. Soon, I would give up alcohol. There was no need for it at all. I continued to elevate my yoga skills and enjoyed the peace and happiness it brought within myself. With yoga, I began a journey of transformation for myself and it made me smile when I noticed it helped others who were where I was not so long ago. My goal became clear. I wanted to offer yoga to others for a healthier life and try to influence those who might have wanted to rid a habit privately or in cooperation with fellow yogis. I focus my yoga sessions primarily on lower back pain. I love to see others heal physically, emotionally and continually strive for a healthier lifestyle! Please let me know if there is any particular yoga aspect of interest to you so that I can address it for you during the yoga sessions. Namaste.
Tony Chavkin
Mathew Hinojos
Instructor
Bio—
Emily Haynie
Instructor
Emily has been teaching pilates as well as practicing yoga for over 20 years. She is a native New Mexican, an RN and a mom to two young children. Pilates is a great compliment to yoga. I love how strong it has kept me for all the other important aspects in my life.
Kim Chavkin
Instructor
I used to lament that I didn’t start to practice yoga until I was past the age of 40. Just imagine how much more I could have evolved my practice had I started at a younger age! But, I have come to realize that yoga entered my life at the precise and perfect time when I was ready to fully receive it. Prior to practicing yoga, I had engaged in many forms of physical fitness over the course of my lifetime. I had my preferences and physical activities I liked best like hiking, weightlifting, dancing, and group fitness classes. But after experiencing my first yoga practice and savasana, one auspicious Sunday afternoon, I was hooked. I immediately knew there was something different about this “exercise”, something that was special and worth exploring further. I continued to return to my mat, again and again, and I began to see progress in my flexibility and strength. Yoga also offered a place where I could quiet my mind. It was the physicality of the engagement in the moving meditation of yoga that captured my attention enough to calm my thoughts and bring me rare and beautiful moments of peace. I began making connections with parts of my body I didn’t know existed. I was amazed to realize that I didn’t actually know how to take a full, deep breath prior to practicing pranayama. Amazing yogi teachers showed me how to truly stand in my power in mountain pose and I finally understood why I suffered a lifetime with poor posture. No one ever taught me how to stand up, nor did I have the chance to intentionally know and strengthen the muscles responsible for good posture. There was so much more to it than I had ever imagined. In 2020 in particular, my little yogi practitioner community along with yoga practice became more important than ever to keep me going. Yoga became more than just a way to keep physically fit.
It was now an integral part of my life. I was also most fortunate in 2020 to take RYT 200 teacher training to deepen my practice and learn more about the yogic path. And now I am happy to experience yoga as both a student and teacher, sharing all of the possibilities the practice has to offer with others. My classes include weaving pranayama practices with asana flow into a dynamic, well- balanced, and fully embodied experience. I like to get into the mechanics of the poses and breathwork offering many ways to modify up or down. I focus on alignment, building strength and flexibility while also taking conscious, kind, and gentle efforts to push the practice to the next level. All shapes, sizes, and ability levels are welcome as we explore our bodies and minds together in a safe and inclusive environment. I am pleased to share my passion with others in hopes that they might as well find the joy as I have in yoga and that I may also learn from them.
Macri Calabrese
Instructor
Marci Calabrese 500 hr RYT
Marci has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 10 years.she is certified in Anusara yoga, Ashtanga yoga, The Barkan Method of Hot Yoga and Rocket Yoga. She continues to study with her teacher, David Kyle (Progressive Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga - Puerto Rico). Marci is passionate about facilitating classes where students move with the breath and she challenges each yogi to progress along their individual path. She believes that the joy is in the journey and her classes meet you where you are that day. She believes that obstacles have hidden lessons, and "progess, not perfection" is a great mantra. Marci enjoys assisting students and breaking-down difficult yoga postures making fun and interesting poses accessible for all!
Rachael Salas
Instructor
A traditional rebel...
Reinhard Lorenz
Instructor
Bio—
Kara Rock Blattman
Instructor
Yoga teacher and Wellness educator.
I have been practicing yoga for over 30 years and teaching for 20 years. I first came to yoga because I was looking for a movement art that was more than just a physical practice. I needed a better connection to my body and knowing myself. Yoga changed my life and led me on a path of total body, mind, and spiritual wellness. I have studied many yoga styles and I like to bring in the teachings that have affected me the most. My favorite yoga practice and style of teaching is a Vinyasa Flow. It is a moving meditation of body and breath. I like to teach an energetic and healing flow that allows students to feel strong, open and quiet in their physical and mental body. My background is natural healing and mind-body awareness, with a degree of science in Occupational Therapy, Certifications in the Science of Ayurveda and Yoga Teacher Trainings in Hatha Yoga, Ayur-Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Yoga for a Happy Back and The Rocket. I am a founder of Doterra International in Israel. I have an amazing and supportive husband, Ishmael, and I am a mother of 4 beautiful children, Sofia, Chana, Levi, and Sapir.
Sasha Carter
Instructor
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