AMY COMMANDER
Amy's passion for yoga began 6 years ago after attending a yoga class at a local studio and has been growing ever since. Her love for yoga took her across the country in an effort to increase her knowledge and understanding of the various forms of yoga.
Having been blessed with two beautiful children, Amy never ceased her practice of yoga throughout each of her pregnancies. She attributes her health as a mother and birth of her healthy children to her practice of yoga and an overall ‘yoga lifestyle.’
Amy began practicing Ashtanga at a local gym in May 2008 and fell in love with the traditional yoga. She began her 200 hour Ashtanga teacher training with Beryl Bender Birch the following fall. As a student of Beryl's she experienced the practice of transforming yoga into all aspects of daily life, by taking your practice off your mat.
With a desire to bring awareness of the eight fold-path of Ashtanga to others in the community, in the spring of 2009, 8 Limbs was born.
Currently, Amy is continuing her studies by attending teacher training's led by David Swenson starting in the fall of 2009. She believes that in order to be an effective teacher, she must always remain a student herself.
When not in the studio you will find Amy around St Augustine being a blissful mother to her beautiful children, John Douglas (6) and Reece (4).
DAVID ZACHARIAS
David has practiced various forms of meditation for more than 25 years. In 2009 he took his first yoga class at 8 Limbs and discovered that the asanas of Ashtanga yoga were an amazingly powerful, "moving meditation" with a vague resemblance to his high school gymnastic practice. He was so inspired by his wonderful teachers at 8 Limbs and the transformative power that yoga had in his life that within a year and a half of his first yoga class he had completed a 250 hour teacher training course in Ashtanga Yoga/Power Vinyasa Yoga at Yoga Life in Jacksonville.
David has practiced various forms of meditation for more than 25 years. In 2009 he took his first yoga class at 8 Limbs and discovered that the asanas of Ashtanga yoga were an amazingly powerful, "moving meditation" with a vague resemblance to his high school gymnastic practice. He was so inspired by his wonderful teachers at 8 Limbs and the transformative power that yoga had in his life that within a year and a half of his first yoga class he had completed a 250 hour teacher training course in Ashtanga Yoga/Power Vinyasa Yoga at Yoga Life in Jacksonville.
David
is a father of two wonderful children. He has been a teacher of some
sort for more than 20 years. When he is not doing yoga, he is an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at University of
Florida where he teaches and does basic research on the metastasis of
cancer. David has also been a student almost his entire life with
several degrees including a PhD in Molecular Neuroscience. Nevertheless
David says that his training in yoga and certification as a yoga teacher
is his most treasured accomplishment. “We are all students and all
teachers to everyone around us, each day. Yoga is not only something we
do on the mat, 60-90 minutes each day, rather, it is a broad reaching
philosophical approach to the way we live our lives. Yoga teaches us to
act and to live mindfully, in the moment, no matter what we are doing.
Yoga gives us peace and greater clarity in all aspects of life. Most of
all, yoga should be fun because it also allows us to explore the outer
edges of our physical abilities and mental boundaries, in a place where
its ok to 'fall on our face'-- in doing so, we grow."
Seka Roberts
Seka came to yoga in 2004, where she found the support and love that she was seeking. She practiced Hatha yoga weekly and finally took the step to take the teacher training at Two Suns Rising yoga school. Upon completion, Seka taught for 2 years in local gyms and fitness clubs. Then she went to work for lululemon athletica, and it was there that she experienced her first Baptiste Yoga class at MBody Yoga. After 4 months of practicing with MBody Yoga, she enrolled in the Teacher Certification Program, graduating April 2010. The empowerment and possibility are the two qualities that enliven Seka's teaching and what she brings to the world. Seka recently moved to St. Augustine, and was honored with the invitation to teach Baptiste style yoga at 8 Limbs Yoga Studio
Seka Roberts is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Interior Design. She currently is an account executive for a major flooring company, and enjoys spending her precious free time with her friends outside, surfing, rock climbing, biking, or any other adventurous thing that she is inspired to do.
KRISTEN HOSSA PYTEL
Kristen has a degree in Communication and International Affairs is from the University of Nebraska. After working in sales and marketing, she embarked on a journey of self-discovery. Recalling the peace and tranquility of the yoga she learned as a child, Kristen studied at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lennox, MA, and received her yoga teaching certification.
In addition to teaching yoga—including asana and pranayama—Kristen discovered how movement and dance can release the body’s energy. Inspired by this energy, she earned her Global Dance Certification in Sedona, AZ.
In Kristen’s interview for the June 2004 issue of The Lark Letter, she said, “Yoga has been a lifelong journey.”
The benefits of yoga motivated Kristen to help children. She trained at the Next Generation Yoga Studio in New York City. When working with special needs children in the Chicago area, Kristen saw how yoga dramatically increased a child’s self-esteem. She taught children ages three to 10, and trained parents to incorporate yoga into their lives. She also developed a self-esteem program for pre-teens and teens.
Kristen acquired her Prenatal and Post Natal certification at Kripalu so she could guide expecting parents through a happy, healthy pregnancy. She continued parent and child yoga classes after the baby’s birth.
After obtaining her certification for Ayurvedic Thai Yoga Bodywork, Kristen was gratified to see how Thai Yoga Bodywork could hasten healing as she worked with minor league baseball players, football players, and equestrians.
Kristen has owned and managed her own yoga businesses in the Midwest and South, where she taught yoga and spin classes, both privately and in groups, and developed workshops.
ERIN LEWIS
Erin has called St. Augustine her home base since 1999 when she moved here to attend Flagler College. Since that time, her life has taken her to places around the world, but she is always happy thinking of the wonderful community of friends in St. Augustine. She has studied various types of yoga disciplines for the past 10 years, concentrating on the ashtanga practice since 2008. She received her teacher certification in Florence, Italy under an international branch of the California-based "It's Yoga"* ashtanga system.
She's been blessed enough throughout her yoga practice to be surrounded by beautiful teachers who grow with their students, adjust lovingly, and practice what they teach...and strives to be such a facilitator of yoga herself.
*Founded by Larry Schultz, a student of Pattabhi Jois, "It's Yoga" incorporates the ashtanga series from primary through third series in the "Rocket Sequences". Rocket I is a dynamic series of postures (asana) combined with strong breathing (pranayama) that exposes the student to a powerful flow through all levels of ashtanga. Perfect for building extraordinary strength, the Rocket focuses on core work, balances, inversions....and "flying and floating".
