YOGA
AT FEEL FREE YOGA + WELLNESS STUDIO
Yoga offers us an opportunity to truly Feel Free. Free from our busy minds, our hectic schedules, self judgement, stress, anxiety, and any other obstacles that hold us back from being truly authentic to ourselves and others.
Feel Free Yoga + Wellness Studio offers a variety of yoga classes. We believe there is a style of yoga out there for everyone. If you are a beginner, be sure to check out the New to Yoga info below. We have classes for all levels and experience. You may visit our schedule and see what is currently being offered. Sign up for your favorite or maybe step out of your comfort zone and try a new style of yoga. We want to offer classes that our community is interested in. Please let us know what yoga classes you would like to see us offer if we do not already. We are a new business here in Athens, GA and we want to grow with you through yoga and wellness.
You may register and sign up for classes via our Feel Free Yoga app or from your computer:
feel your body
free your mind
OUR CLASSES
View the Feel Free Yoga + Wellness Schedule for current class and course offerings and descriptions:
Hatha based yoga uses poses and breathing techniques to align and calm the body, mind, and spirit. Classes are generally slower paced and focused on holding the pose instead of flowing. Our Gentle Yoga classes are Hatha based.
Vinyasa is a style of yoga characterized by stringing postures together so that you move from one to another, seamlessly accompanied by regulated breathing. We offer a Vinyasa Flow class, a Slow Flow Vinyasa class and Mystic Flow for those who enjoy vinyasa style yoga.
Yin yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga where poses are held for generally 3 minutes or longer targeting the deep connective tissue in our bodiy. Our current Yin Class is offered on Thursday evenings.
We offer a True Beginner’s Yoga Class along with a Beginner’s Series that will help you feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about all things yoga. When you are ready, you have the choice to move from a Beginner’s Class and try other styles of yoga. Remember it is your body, your practice and your choice. Our current Beginners class is on Wednesday mornings.
Our studio uses gentle infrared heating which penetrates the body improving circulation and relaxing muscles. We will offer a variety of yoga classes in our heated space. Currently we offer Heated Flow, Hot Power Yoga and a Heated Hatha + Healing class.
Feel Free chair yoga is a modified version of Hatha Yoga. Improves flexibility, relieving stiffness, increasing energy and creating a happy mental state. Great class for seniors and anyone at any age not wanting to practice on a mat. It is also a wonderful way to begin your yoga journey. We currently have two classes a week on Mondayss at 11am and Wednesdays at 10:30am.
Restorative yoga is a restful practice that holds yoga poses for a longer duration using props like yoga blocks, blankets, and bolsters. It is a practice of deep relaxation that emphasizes the meditative aspect of yoga—the union of body and mind. Our current restorative class is offered on Sunday evenings.
We are so excited to launch our Youth Yoga + Wellness Program. We will be offering a class for middle schoolers on Thursdays at 4:15pm. Email info@feelfreeyogawellness.com with any questions.
We offer a Classical Mat Pilates class on Monday evenings @6pm, Thursdays @10am and Fridays @11:00.
NEW TO YOGA?
We are all about welcoming newbies! Once you walk through those doors, you’ve done the hardest part: showing up. We will do our very best to make you feel welcome, safe and excited about your new journey. At Feel Free Yoga + Wellness Studio, our goal is to guide you, the beginner, through the learning process and help you discover how yoga may best serve you.
If these phrases sound familiar— “I’m not flexible,” “yoga is not for me,”or “yoga is too slow”— please allow Feel Free Yoga to prove otherwise!
Yoga is for those who are not flexible and those who are. Yoga can be intimidating but doesn’t have to be. Yoga can be slow, fast, hard, easy, strengthening, or relaxing. Yoga truly has something unique to offer everyone and every body.
I love teaching a Beginner’s Yoga Class because I remember so vividly how I felt when I first started, and how it took me way too long to really understand what yoga was all about. Let us help with any jitters you might have by putting you together with other beginners.
We offer a True Beginner’s Yoga Class along with a Beginner’s Series that will help you feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about all things yoga. And when you’re ready, you’ll have the choice to move from a Beginner’s Class to trying other styles of yoga. Remember it’s your body, your practice and your choice.
— Janice Wilson, Founder of Feel Free Yoga + Wellness Studio
BENEFITS OF YOGA
The practice of yoga provides many physical and mental benefits. Yoga is a great workout and gets you in touch with your body. Incorporating yoga into your life can help enhance your health, increase your strength and flexibility and reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Yoga opens up the possibility of connecting to what we already have and to who we already are.
Benefits of Practicing Yoga
• Relieves anxiety and promotes a sense of peace
• Relaxes the mind and releases tension in the body caused by stress
• Strengthens the body and Increases Flexibility
• Balances our internal system helping with cravings and addictions
• Improves mental health
• Lowers blood pressure and promotes heart health
• Helps with depression
• Aids in reducing chronic pain
• Promotes overall improved health
OUR INSTRUCTORS
JANICE WILSON
Janice discovered the practice of Yoga in 1996 while pregnant with her first child. It wasn't until a little later that she began to truly understand the many benefits of yoga. Over time, Janice realized that yoga was her go to through many challenges in her life. The self-awareness and growth it offered her was so empowering that she decided to obtain her 200hr YTT through Yoga Farm Ithaca in New York in 2020. She is also a Certified Sound Healer Practitioner through Meditate:School of Mindfullnes, and is currently in training for her 500hr YTT. Janice brings a sense of peacefulness and calm to her classes and helps her students realize that yoga truly can be for Every Body.
BRENDA NEISLER
Brenda began practicing yoga at The Yoga Source in Atlanta and discovered not only the physical benefits of toning and strengthening, but also personal growth from self examination and spiritual renewal. After retiring from education in 2014, Brenda earned her 200 hr. certification as a yoga instructor. She views teaching yoga as a gift explaining, “Giving of myself creates space to receive. Love flows in like a water wheel on an endless stream. It gives me great joy!” Brenda brings Southern charm and positive energy to her yoga classes. Using encouragement, breath awareness and gentle alignment suggestions, her goal as an instructor is to foster a sustainable practice that balances movement and mindfulness so that each moment is greeted with kindness and curiosity. Brenda earned her 300 hr. certification at Five Points Yoga in 2021.
MONICA HEIDESCH
Monica Heidesch, RYT 500, takes great joy in sharing the brilliant balance of health, energy, and life yoga can bring throughout the various chapters of our lives. She began practicing yoga as a child when her mom would take her along to a classical Hatha yoga class every week. In 2008, Monica attained her 200hr YTT with Rolf Gates in the Vinyasa tradition, and in 2009 she completed her 300hr YTT in Yoga Therapy with Ananda Seva Mission in Santa Rosa, California. Monica has a passion for introducing yoga to people who are new to it and also enjoys working with those who already have consistent yoga practices to aid in deepening their practice, whether through asana (physical poses), pranayama (breathing exercises), or meditation. She welcomes all, and would love to see you on the mat!
MCKENZIE RAYMOND
McKenzie has over 1,000 yoga teaching hours and more than 10 years of practice as a student. Her 200hr Vinyasa YTT with Kula Collective in 2018 felt like the catalyst for living her yoga off the mat. In June 2019 she learned from world-renowned teachers like Amy Ippoliti, Gina Caputo and Yogrishi Vishvketu, Govind Das & Radha at Hanuman Festival in Boulder, CO. She went on to participate as a student in Durga Excursions (Kali Durga) Advanced Principles of the 5 Elements Online 50 Hour Yin Yoga Immersion and in January 2021 attended their 50 Hour 5 Elements Yin Yoga Teacher Training as a student and liaison in Mexico. She’s taught at various studios and locations across Colorado including her favorite offering, “hike & yoga” at over 10,000ft. McKenzie’s teaching style works to unite body and mind through movement and breath. She continues to be a student in her modalities and invests in her own knowledge & growth. In addition to teaching in group settings, McKenzie offers private Reiki and Life Coaching sessions. She moved from Colorado to Athens in October 2022 and is thrilled to be finding her community here at Feel Free!
Growing up with a mom who was a reiki master meant McKenzie had evidence of the power of reiki energy from a young age. As a teen she was attuned to Reiki I & II, for over 15 years practicing mostly on herself, pets and with other practitioners in organized "Reiki Shares". In May 2021 she received her Holy Fire Reiki Master Certification and started offering private Reiki sessions to clients. In April 2022 she hosted her first Reiki I and Reiki II Certification Classes. She’ll be hosting her next Reiki I & Reiki II Certification Class virtually on February 11th & 12th, 2023. Be on the lookout for your opportunity to learn reiki in our studio!
CAROLINE MADDOX
Caroline Maddox began practicing yoga in 2000 and became certified in Sivananda yoga (RYT-200) nine years later. After pursuing a high-stress career in museums for more than a decade and balancing life through her practice, she recently decided to return to her roots and dedicate her time to making art and sharing yoga with others both on and off the mat. Caroline believes that yoga is a way of life and has transformed her body, mind, and spirit through her practice. Over the years she has found balance, stillness, and self-love through yoga, and she is committed to helping others find their path to healing as well. Caroline has experience teaching Sivananda yoga, vinyasa, restorative, Hatha, and chair yoga. Her approach to teaching is holistic and accessible to all-encompassing the mind, the body, and the spirit in every session.
KIM ETHRIDGE
Kim is a former dancer who began studying the Pilates method back in Brooklyn, NY after graduating college. She fell in love with the way it made her feel, and the emphasis on connecting mind, body and spirit. In 2014, after relocating to Atlanta, Kim began studying at Body Central Pilates Studio, and also became an ACE Certified Personal Trainer. She completed a Pilates Mat certification in 2022 through Classical Pilates Education, and is currently an apprentice at Body Central pursuing her full certification. Kim is also a Certified Health Coach through Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (2021), and loves working with people to help them make meaningful changes in their lives.
SYDNEY MCCALL
Sydney began her yoga journey after sustaining injuries that changed her experience moving through life. Through yoga, Sydney was able to discover a holistic embrace for mind and body on her path to recovery. Sydney completed her 200-hr training in 2017, received her master’s degree in nursing in 2019, has education in trauma-informed yoga, and completed a 100-hr advanced yoga studies program in the summer of 2021. She is in the midst of continuing her education with a 300hr Embody Yoga's Roots teacher training. In competitive culture, there can be a tendency to think about the product of your practice rather than the process. Sydney hopes to encourage you to explore and investigate on your own journey in your unique body, practicing in gratitude to the teachers who came before us and gifted us this ancient wisdom that gives us access to tools of awareness.
ERIKA GALLOWAY
Erika was introduced to yoga in college through many of her friends. The habit did not stick due to a desire to focus on her career in Graphic Design. After several decades of a high stress design career, Erika was drawn back to yoga as a way to de-stress. She began practicing yoga online and by watching DVDs of prominent well known yoga instructors.
In 2020, Erika enrolled in a local yoga studio. She was immediately drawn to the community environment and practicing yoga with fellow practitioners. After several months, she decided to immerse herself in a deeper understanding of the teachings of yoga. Erika enrolled in a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at M3Yoga. She quickly started teaching yoga after graduation. Her professional teaching journey continues as she has trained with Lucas Rockwood (Science of StretchingTM) and is currently working with Michelle Young on her 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training certification.
Erika’s approach to yoga remains focused on the balance between strength and flexibility. Her classes focus on Vinyasa Flow. Her students can expect to move, sweat, stretch and breathe.
CHERI GARRISON
Cheri Garrison
KATIE KUYKENDALL
Katie
JAMIE YALE
Jamie
SHELLEY DOWNS
Shelley