The Best Teachers
Photo credit to Carl Kerridge

Nicole - owner, lead teacher, 500YT, 200ERYT, YAECP
Nicole thought she was going to try a new workout method since the gym was not her favorite place to be, but to her surprise, yoga was so much more. ...Through her years of dance experience and day-to-day living, she realized she had touched on yoga many years prior without knowing it. When she moved and left everything behind including her yoga community, she yearned to go deeper. There wasn't a local studio at the time, so books, videos and being pregnant became her teachers, and her baby helped change the ways she approached nutrition, the mind and breath. After having her son, she hired a trainer to whip her back into shape. The weight was coming off, but she was physically and mentally drained and soon became diagnosed with Grave's disease. Her rigorous workouts had to be stopped, which led her back to yoga. She found a place to heal -- her mind stopped racing and so did her thyroid. After time on the mat, the tests came back negative for Grave's disease to which Nicole credits yoga and God. Yoga quickly became one of her passions and as her practice deepened, she was inspired to bring yoga to Lexington, SC. She continued her education by becoming a 200-hour Yoga Alliance certified teacher and shortly after, she opened the doors to Pink Lotus Yoga Center. She believes wholeheartedly in the theory of teaching to learn and recently completed her 500-hour yoga teacher training under Dawn Yager of Shanti Yoga. She also keeps things fresh through attending various workshops, and by bringing special guests to her studio such as Dawn Yager, Where Is My Guru's Jessica Durivage, Go W/ The Flow and more. Nicole believes in bringing a wide variety of yogic principles to Pink Lotus and sharing all of the spiritual, physical and mental benefits of yoga with Lexington. She thrives in providing a fun, welcoming atmosphere for new and seasoned yogis and yoginis of all levels and from all walks of life.

Kelly 500 RYT /
Baptiste Yoga
Kelly began teaching yoga in 1998 while studying massage therapy in Anchorage, Alaska. She has several YogaFit Certifications and 200 yoga teacher training with ...Gotta Yoga through Pink Lotus Yoga Center. She is also a certified Group Fitness instructor. Kelly and her daughter, Cassiel, trained with Baron Baptiste to become certified Baptiste Power Vinyasa instructors. Kelly is a fully certified Baptise instructor. Kelly has found mindful movement to be a powerful vehicle for grounding. She brings this to mind in every class she teaches. It is her intention to share that with her classes.

Rebecca 200 RYT/ Kid's Yoga/ Apprentice Program Manager/ Lead Assistant
Rebecca is a transplant from Alabama, currently living in Lexington. Practicing yoga off and on since 2005, she decided to deepen her practice in the summer of 2015. ...She completed yoga teaching training with Pink Lotus Yoga Center in June 2016. Rebecca has a special skill for assistant, and currently trains and manages the apprentice team. When she is not at PLYC, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading books, and volunteering.

Caroline 200 RYT/ Little Lotus Manager/ Restorative Yoga
Caroline Brazell is a SC native and has lived in Lexington for most of her life. She's a former high school and middle school teacher who studied French, secondary education, ...and interior design in college. She now works in the insurance world teaching grown-ups in lieu of kids and serves as a process consultant. Caroline is a full-time wife and mom to two young kids, ages 3 and 8, which keeps her busy! Her journey to yoga began out of necessity after her neurologist recommended she start yoga, specifically to help manage stress, after she was diagnosed with epilepsy, and the physical aspect of yoga was a natural fit since she had a background in cheerleading and dance. She received her RYT-200 through Pink Lotus Yoga School in June 2017, and she's pursuing additional training in Trauma Yoga - to serve those dealing with anxiety, depression, addiction, and post-traumatic stress – and Yin Yoga. Currently, you'll find Caroline teaching Little Kids Yoga, Big Kids Yoga, and subbing in various classes at Pink Lotus.

Sierra 200 E-RYT/ YTT School Manager
Sierra began practicing yoga on and off approximately ten years ago. Recovering from knee surgery in 2011, Sierra stepped back onto her mat, looking for an easy (ha!) ...workout once she received the all-clear from her doctor, and hasn't left it since. Yoga quickly became a refuge and a place to breathe, and it started permeating her life off of the mat, too. It was then that Sierra realized she wanted to share her love of yoga with others. She completed her 200-hour Vinyasa teacher training certification with Gotta Yoga in June 2013. Always a student, Sierra continues to deepen her knowledge of yoga by attending of trainings and workshops relating to the eight limbs, and has learned from a variety of knowledgeable yoga teachers including Kino MacGregor, Carmen Aguilar, Tim Feldmann, and Michael Johnson. Sierra believes that yoga is for every body and will meet you where you are. When not on her mat, Sierra enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs, cooking, and reading.

Kimi 200 RYT
Kimi took her first yoga class in 2005 while in graduate school in California and quickly discovered that from 8-9 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, her mind would enjoy ...the only escape from stress it could find for the next four years. She brought her love of yoga back to South Carolina upon graduation and felt that she truly found her yoga home when she stepped in the doors at Pink Lotus. Kimi had always been a runner, but started participating in triathlons in 2010 and found that yoga was an invaluable element of her cross-training regimen. Alas, her tenure as a triathlete only lasted a few years, but she maintains that yoga is an essential cross-training component for simply life itself, both physically and mentally. Furthermore, her day job as a dentist predisposes her to a myriad of neck, shoulder, and back ailments, but she knows that her regular yoga practice is what keeps her pain-free. Kimi finished her 200-hour yoga teacher training in May 2013. Her initial intention when signing up for the training was simply to learn more about yoga and to enhance her own practice, but soon realized that she loved teaching and sharing her love of yoga with others. She blended her love of yoga and athletics by completing Yoga for Athletes training in February 2014 at Enlighten Yoga in Charlotte, NC. While PLYC is most dear to Kimi's heart, she loves to travel and sleuths out a yoga studio or two in each town she visits to connect with yogis from all around, broaden her yoga horizons, and gain inspiration.

Denis Ann 200 RYT
Denis Ann has found Swarupa, which means, "loving what you do; sitting in your own essence," in her yoga practice and wanted to bring that love and joy to others. ...Denis Ann sees teaching yoga as an act of love, caring and giving back. She considers it a privilege to share her knowledge of yoga and the many healthy benefits that yoga produces in the body and mind. It is her intention that people journey through their own personal yogic path and find the joy of yoga on and off the mat. Denis Ann received her 200-hour yoga teacher training from Sakhi Yoga in Columbia, SC in 2013. She continues to deepen her study with her personal practice, workshops and reading a vast collection of books on yoga. She has been teaching yoga for 7 years and currently teaches at Pink Lotus Yoga Center since its inception in August 2011. Denis Ann honors the glory of all the yogis and yoginis who have share their love of yoga at Pink Lotus Yoga Center.

Lesley 200 RYT/ Swing Yoga
Lesley dove into her yoga journey soon after giving birth to her first child. She came onto the mat trying to find herself in her new roles of wife and mom. ...She quickly found that practicing on the mat not only helped improve her strength and flexibility, it also helped her mental state and sense of self. Over the course of a year, a sporty yoga practice turned into a steady home and studio practice. This lead her to go through yoga teacher training at Pink Lotus. Teaching was always something that came natural to Lesley. As a middle school English teacher, she found it easy to apply the things being taught during training directly to the students she taught. She believes that yoga should be more accessible and fun for kids of all ages. She looks forward to growing more as a yoga teacher as she continues her own yoga journey.

Marguerite 230 RYT
Margie discovered yoga while recovering from double hip replacement surgery. Yoga became an invaluable tool in helping her relieve pain and stress while regaining ...strength,flexibility and balance. Margie completed her 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher training with Pink Lotus School of Yoga. A recent transplant from Savannah Georgia and previous points North, Margie is also an artist concentrating in Sculpture and Pottery and Certified Advanced level Usui Reiki Practitioner.