Sierra Hollister explores the beauty of seasonal transitions through Ayurveda’s five elements—space, air, fire, water, and earth—offering guidance for balance, harmony, and spiritual connection. By aligning with nature’s cycles, we release, renew, and rediscover joy, learning to live with awareness, gratitude, and rhythm through each changing season of life.

Yoga Nidra, or “yogic sleep,” is a meditative practice of deep relaxation where the body rests and awareness remains awake. Rooted in the Mandukya Upanishad and Tantric tradition, it guides practitioners toward turiya—pure consciousness. Modern teachers like Swami Rama and Swami Satyananda Saraswati systematized it for all levels. Yoga Nidra reduces stress, improves sleep, and can lead to profound self-realization and inner peace.

Discover the inspiring journey of yoga teacher Paige Gilchrist, from her humble beginnings in a drafty college ballroom to leading retreats, teaching in diverse settings, and weaving sound, Zen wisdom, and community into her classes.

This month at Asheville Yoga Center, our Teacher of the Month is Ashlee Dunn.
Ashlee has been a yoga teacher for 25 years. She has taught classes, developed yoga programs, and guided workshops and retreats throughout the United States. Ashlee has also studied yoga extensively in India and has certifications in multiple forms of yoga.

Sharing yoga allows me to share a part of who I am. A part that brings me to life, each time I step on the mat and then off.

Teaching and sharing yoga is an integral part of my personal yoga practice. Not everyone needs to teach and share yoga in order to practice yoga. After years of teaching yoga, it’s become a discipline, and in some ways has informed how I understand myself and the world around me.

What I love most about teaching yoga is that it opens up a world of self-discovery and wonder. This journey isn’t just about exploring the Self and recognizing one’s worth and uniqueness; it also unveils hidden potentials that can heal, inspire, and contribute to a better world. As a Tantra yoga teacher, I believe that offering the right techniques and practices can empower anyone, enhancing their lives and benefiting our community. When a student connects with the timeless beauty and bliss of Nature and their own true nature, or when their Inner Sage awakens, I feel that I am truly serving a greater purpose. This brings me immense joy.

My initial experience with Yoga was a class with Jonny Kest back in 1999 in Royal Oak, MI. It was a Vipassanā meditation combined with what is now called Yin Yoga. We held each posture for about 3-5 minutes while focusing on the breath until we chose to rest. It helped me focus my attention and develop impulse control in a way that inspired me immensely. I went on to sit three 10-day Vipassanā retreats, traveled to India and completed many Yoga teacher trainings to teach it full time for the last 20 years. 

I find the sacred union that we experience through yoga to be the most sensational feeling. To be able to hold space and honor these ancient practices in a safe and loving community is incredibly rewarding. I love supporting people as they grow and evolve, and sharing this sacred practice and goal of self realization.

When I was 21 I lived in Lake Tahoe, CA, and I took a vinyasa yoga class at the community college there.  Amrita, from England, was my first teacher and after close to 20 classes doing the same poses and sequences over and over, I was hooked. I remember having deeply profound experiences in savasana at that time, and I never looked back.