Meet Our Team
Farrell
Originally from New York, Farrell moved to Asheville in 2015 to share his love of yoga and movement. Coming from a fitness background, Farrell is a big believer in proper alignment and slow, controlled movement. While he is known for his handstand practice, he likes to stick to the basics in his vinyasa classes; exploring the subtleties of the foundational poses and incorporating yogic philosophy in a way that’s fun and relatable.
Farrell is also a personal Trainer at Scorch Fitness, and is loved for his jokes and sense of humor. Go check out his Instagram to see his mad handstand skills.
Joe Taft
Joe has been a featured teacher at every Asheville Yoga Festival since its inception in 2014. He has been teaching yoga for two decades. He has spent thousands of hours on his mat as both the student and the yoga teacher, which is demonstrated in his acute attention to detail in creating a powerful theme-based class. Joe's classes strive to connect our human journey to the yogic principles of alignment.
Joe was born a mover and has always found refuge in the pursuit of excellence in a variety of sports and outdoor activities. He has been studying human movement patterns as either an athlete, coach or the teacher in a variety of sports, such as skiing, tennis, kayaking and yoga. In 1990, after a decade-long career in whitewater kayaking, Joe discovered yoga and has never looked back.
Mary Beth
Mary Beth is a 200 RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher). After developing a deep affinity for Asana, she attended teacher training in 2016 at Kindness Yoga in Denver Colorado. The experience sparked her love of thoughtful sequencing, physiological understanding, and yogic wisdom.
Mary Beth studied Health and Wellness Promotion at UNC-Asheville to expand her comprehension of mindfulness and mobility. Studying the scientific benefits of meditation and movement solidified her aspirations to spread her love of yoga practice. She believes yoga should be potent but playful. She strives to deliver fluid, well balanced vignettes that offer physical
expansion and mental restoration. Mary Beth teaches gentle and vinyasa flow, all levels welcome and variations encouraged!
Mike
When Mike was “an innocent, straight virgin of 18,” he attended the New Orleans Pop Festival, two weeks after Woodstock with all the same bands, but great weather. It changed his life forever and for better.
Mike spent 30 years in Public Radio; very left leaning and non-mainstream music loving and had a popular radio show in Tampa. He’s promoted hundreds of concerts from BB King to Krishna Das and in 2014 founded the Asheville YogaFest. He’s been a cycling addict since the age of six and moved to Asheville in 2006 to be in the best mountain biking mecca that he knew. Mike did his 250 Hour Yoga Training in 2012. Pranayama and Mula Bandha are the foundation for his personal practice.
When the pandemic hit Mike shifted in a new gear, desperate to practice live yoga with friends. Life without real yoga sucked, so he rolled the dice and rented a cool little warehouse one block from Habitat....and Breeze Yoga Space was born. With more luck than he feels he deserves, Breeze has assembled an amazing team of teachers, who are even better people. We all live by the premise... Love Yoga, Be Kind and Stay Safe.
Lauren
Lauren is a yoga instructor with a therapeutic background. She has always been a lover of movement as a form of self expression as well as to heal the body and mind. In 2018 she decided to dive deeper into her practice and enroll in teacher training. At the time she was calling many countries home so figured what better place to learn than from the birthplace of yoga, India. She became RYT-200 at Kashish Yoga where she fell deeper in love with the philosophy and benefits of all aspects of yoga beyond the asanas (postures). Shortly after teacher training she felt called to share what she had learned with others and began using yoga as a therapy modality. She works one on one and with private groups for trauma sensitive yoga but carries the trauma informed aspects to her public classes as well. She is a strong advocate for yoga being accessible for everybody in every body. Her classes will remind you to slow down, be kind to yourself, and explore what your body is asking of you.
Tania
Tania is a native of Western North Carolina and has enjoyed and been inspired by these spectacular mountains her entire life.
She was drawn to yoga a few years back while struggling with several injuries. At first it was a class or two per week and then quickly she noticed that the physical asana practice was transformative and offered profound healing for the mind and spirit as well. The playful aspect and overall healing lead to a more active practice that turned into a passion leading up to Tania’s recent 200-hour RYS vinyasa teacher training through Hot Yoga Asheville (HYA).
Tania is fascinated with the deep healing aspects of yoga and looks at her yoga practice as a metaphor for life. She is also an avid mountain biker and is obsessed with finding that same “flow state” out on the mountain trails. Tania focuses on correct alignment and form for building a strong foundation to keep the body safe. She also believes that there is a place for everyone on this yoga journey and all can benefit from this ancient practice. Tania's vinyasa classes are challenging and fun, but accessible to everyone offering lots of modifications as needed.
