I’m working on a blog post around the yoga legacy of Stephanie Keach.
In particular I am looking for the folks out there, that as of a result of studying with Steph have gone on to open a yoga center or began teaching. And in so doing have inspired others to share yoga with the world. I imagine a piece on both the wide net that Steph has cast in teaching teachers, but also the particulars of the end results somewhere down the line. Examples of the ripple effect if you will, the kind of good news you don’t get to see on the news to often. If you know of a studio owner or favorite teacher that studied with Steph let us know. If you have something to share you can email me or leave it in the comments.
Thanks,
Sunny Keach
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Stephanie Keach has had a tremendous impact on my yoga journey, even years before I met her. I played with yoga off and on for a while after high school and throughout college. Though it wasn’t until a high stress job several years later lead me to a work trade position at the Savannah Yoga Center. Savannah Yoga Center was opened by Kelley Boyd, a graduate of Stephanie’s 230hr program. As I continued to explore my practice, the call to deepen and expand came knocking. In 2009, inspired by many great teachers including Kelley, I entered the yoga teacher training program at Asheville Yoga Center. My journey became even more amazing when I began teaching at Savannah Yoga Center in April of 2010! I hope both their teachings drip down through me, to yogis I encounter, so that they will feel empowered to explore their limitless possibilities on and off the mat!
Yes,Sharing the kindness
I learned from steph, and teach a weekly Yoga class. The studio (part-time yoga place) I work at is owned by someone who trained with steph. And the other studio (full-time yoga) I go to is owned by a beautiful lady that completed her 500 hr at AYC. Everyone I know that has met steph, admires her. I’ve bought The Yoga Handbook for several friends that live far away, and haven’t had the opportunity to train with her. Her influence is felt in my yoga and my life, on and off the mat.
Steph has had a profound impact on my life in so many ways. Her energy gave me the courage to go deeper into my practice. Yoga has healed my body and my soul. I will be forever grateful for the experience of knowing her as a friend and a teacher.
my path as a yogi began before i met stephanie but i believe steph was the first person i spent direct time and space with who had done the work to truly spend much time residing in her heart. she saw me from this space and as a result, i woke up. i had been a seeker for a long time, even taught yoga before i met her… but since i met her, i know unshakably that the most important thing i can do for my students (and all living beings!) is to see their divine nature and see them from my heart. she sparked in me an insatiable desire for my meditation and asana practice, a desire that pretty effortlessly drives the discipline it takes to keep the light switch turned on.
tangibly, this has changed absolutely everything for me on so many levels that it is difficult to put into words. all i can say is that i spend many moments inexplicably, unapologetically grinning from ear to ear.
ripple effects? i know they are bigger than i can even imagine. love is contagious. and as i practice spreading this legacy of love to every person i meet, and they spread it on, and on and on… then we can shift the paradigm. all because of one seed planted by one big-hearted mama steph. when we multiply that by all the people she has touched… the ripples turn into giant tsunami waves!!
I tend to tell people that Stephanie turned my yoga world upside down and inside out..that is the best way I can describe it!
I had practiced yoga (mainly ashtanga) for 4 years prior to meeting Stephanie. At this point in my practice I had been searching for a teacher I wanted to do my teacher training with. I had been searching and had nearly given up. There are many wonderful teachers out there and I even went to NYC for a week with Dharma Mittra. I took workshops from several teachers and traveled when ever I could searching for a teacher.
But it wasn’t until I meet Stephanie at her 5 day vinyasa teacher training in May 2009. A fellow friend was going to sign up and I really needed a yoga-vacation. So why not I thought! The first two days of the training I was uneasy and a bit frustrated. Stephanie was the first teacher to challenge me in a way no other teacher had before, not just with asana. It was much more than that. Stephanie’s approach made me question myself and my “knowledge.” But on day 3 I turned to my friend and said I am coming back and this is where I am doing my training. On the last day of vinyasa training I told Stephanie through teared filled eyes I would be back, I wasn’t sure how or when. But I knew I would be.
I returned home feeling insanely different about my asana practice and my path. Plus, my job was up in the air and everything looked uncertain. I have no idea how I managed to afford it; but it worked out! I found myself in a room filled with soon-to-be amazing yoga teachers in October of 2009 and was very grateful. My office did end up closing literally a week before I started training. So financial strains made a huge impact. However, I am lucky I had such a strong support system through such a difficult time in my life. Several times I almost dropped out due to the financial strains but Stephanie continued to encourage me and I continued to just trust. Things did work out and I still look back unsure how things fell into place.
Throughout the 9 month training it was an up and down roller coaster. But in the end I feel as if I emerged a little stronger and more aware of my true self. Stephanie is no doubt my teacher; when I am in her presence I want to be a better person, teacher, friend, wife and student. She has a way with her teaching that is playful yet loving. She is the real deal. She is honest and caring and you can sense that in her very presence. I’ve continued on after training with a daily practice of asana, meditation and pranayama as we were taught. I live in a pretty rural area so I practice mostly on my own, however I start teaching at Active Sol yoga here in Atlanta (where I currently work) this September! I am honored to share this amazing practice with others.
My future is never for certain but my dreams and goals include opening my own yoga center south of Atlanta where I reside and where we need more yoga centers. I also hope to complete the 500hr training through AYC.
But in the end it is truly Stephanie and her teachings that inspires me every day to get on my mat; to work towards my truth and to trust. That is the greatest gift I could receive from any teacher.
Flo Sheffield´s last [type] ..Digging in the dung
Stephanie’s training was the perfect teacher training for me! I found AYC’s program while doing a web search for yoga schools back in 2001. I had known that I’d wanted to be a yoga teacher for the past decade, and I decided it was time. I wanted to live in Portland, OR or WNC. I contacted several schools and was either ignored or belittled by their staff. AYC treated me with respect and the process of signing up for school was super easy–plus it was affordable and fit into a modern lifestyle–I was stoked and came to school in 2001-2002.
Teacher training was excellent–I received the perfect yoga teacher education! The 9 month training was well rounded and thorough. Stephanie was always a positive role model in teaching how to be a yoga teacher, a person in society, and a business owner. Her humility and strength are amazing and encouraging.
My goal was to become a yoga teacher for those in the whitewater sport. After graduating, I began teaching “Yoga for Paddlers” classes at yoga studios and whitewater events. I then made a yoga video, “Yoga for Paddlers.” Before making that video, paddlers would tell me that they’d never do yoga and would make fun of it. Well, they bought the video and did yoga in the secrecy of their own living room only to come back to me amazed at how their bodies had healed and transformed. Now yoga is prolific in the whitewater industry with many paddlers going to classes, many paddlers becoming teachers, and yoga articles being written in paddling magazines.
This inspired me to make DVDs for other industries. We had the same effect in cycling. When I made the first “Yoga for Cyclists” DVD, people told me it would never work–cyclists would never buy a yoga DVD. But we’ve sold several thousand DVDs, made a second “Yoga for Cyclists” DVD, and cyclists all over the country are practicing yoga! You’d be hard pressed to find a town without a “yoga for cyclists” class.
Of course, I am stoked about the sales–I have been able to make a living doing what I love. But what really makes it all worth it is that so many people come up to me and contact me to tell me how yoga has made them feel better and has changed their lives. I often hear that it all started with my DVDs, and then they started going to classes. And some of them were so inspired that they too became a teacher and are teaching their own classes now!
So, what a great ripple effect. Stephanie taught me well. Then I brought yoga into other sectors of society that were not practicing. Now they are practicing and teaching and continuing the evolution…
Peace,
Andria
My yoga journey started with a rather strict Ashtanga RYT 200 experience. But as a school teacher, and general teacher by nature, I felt like there had to be more. In my exploration I happened into Stephanie’s Prenatal class and was hooked. I started Yoga 4 Rome a non profit donation based program serving all people that walk in Rome, GA. Without the continuing education from Steph’s 500 hour program I don’t know if I would have had the knowledge to successfully do this. And Jessica Payton, who is also on staff with Yoga 4 Rome, is also in Steph’s program. http://www.yogarome.com (not to mention I kind of like her name…my second daughter is named Stephanie;-))