Mary Jo Bolesta-Friedman
Mary Jo walked into her first yoga class 13 years ago and was immediately "hooked". It felt like coming home. She feels immense gratitude and respect for Denise Carrico, the teacher who opened that doorway to self-discovery and freedom. Mary Jo has a strong personal practice that has been inspired and influenced by every yoga instructor she has had the honor of taking a class or workshop with, including Denise Carrico, Kay Hawkins, Swami Divyananda, Swami Karunananda (raja yogi), Christy Brock, Alan Finger, Shiva Rea, Doug Swenson, Tracey White, Beryl Bender Birch, and many of our wonderful local teachers. Mary Jo's classes have a strong emphasis on pranayama (breath). Class starts with gentle openers and moves into a smooth, steady vinyasa that flirts with your edges and opens your heart, building strength, heat, and stamina. Static poses are then introduced, utilizing the breath to more fully open the body. A guided relaxation follows. She views yoga as a tool to bring us more completely into the present moment, sharpening our awareness of the beauty that is everywhere. "With a disciplined practice we can move our yoga 'off of the mat' and take it into our daily lives." Mary Jo is a certified Integral Yoga Teacher, a member of the Integral Yoga Teacher's Association, and is registered with the Yoga Alliance.

Joy Bresette
Joy Anandi Bresette has been teaching yoga since 1998 when she was certified as an Integral Yoga Instructor at the Satchidananda Ashram near Charlottesville, Va. She began taking yoga classes in 1992 on the advice of her physician to strengthen her lower back after a scuba diving injury. Not only does her back no longer "go out", but she also discovered that yoga can be an inward journey to inner peace. Being a "large" middle-aged woman with arthritis, she had some reservations about teaching yoga. But she has discovered that working with her own imperfections and limitations has helped her guide and encourage others on their own individual journeys towards better health and inner contentment. Her classes have a meditative flow that includes asana, pranayama, relaxation, and meditation. The emphasis is on individual inner awareness rather than perfect alignment, and on creating an internal sense of harmony with oneself and the universe. In addition to teaching yoga classes, her backgrounds in psychology and art lend to her expertise and enthusiasm for holding workshops on topics such as meditation, religion, transpersonal psychology, mandala drawing, and art as a tool for self-healing.

Karen Brown
Karen Brown was drawn to Hatha yoga while living in Colorado and searching for relief from back pain. She was amazed at the relief she felt, along with the serenity and strength cultivated from yoga. Karen became a certified Integral Yoga teacher in the fall of 2000 at the Integral Yoga Institute in Virginia and has been teaching on the Outer Banks since then. Karen's classes emphasize that yoga is for everyone, regardless of age, flexibility, or skill. A new mom herself, Karen has a special teaching interest in pre-natal classes. She is proud to be a part of the Outer Banks Yoga family.

Amanda Cassady
Bio coming soon!

Kara Consolvo
It seems that Kara has always been destined to teach.  Her practice as an educator began early as a swim lesson instructor during her high school years in Northern Virginia. After majoring in Education at Virginia Tech, Kara spent several years teaching elementary school in New Mexico, Virginia, and North Carolina.  When Kara discovered yoga during one leisurely summer vacation, she fell deeply in love with this ancient science.  After developing a strong personal practice, she felt an undeniable calling to follow in the footsteps of her inspirational teachers.  She knew the time had come to begin a new chapter in her growth as an educator.  Kara completed the 270-hour Hatha Yoga certification program at the Integral Yoga Institute in the summer of 2004, and she brings an intense passion and devotion for yoga to her teaching.  Kara's classes encourage exploration in the postures through focused attention and awareness of the breath.  Her style balances strength, suppleness, and serenity with an emphasis on finding ease and grace in the practice.  Students are encouraged to discover the natural union that exists between breath and movement and to develop a greater respect for the body.  Kara believes that silences and an awareness of breath are the perfect mind medicine. She hopes that her students will find a peacefulness in class they can bring with them to the outside world.

Julia Daniel
Julia is an eastern North Carolina native with an early background in ballet and martial arts that led her to T'ai Chi. A recent graduate of the Asheville Yoga Center and the Pilates Certification Center, Julia's classes are upbeat and take you through an energetic flow of postures and movements that calm the mind and invigorate the body. These routines are designed to achieve maximum circulation through movement with a serious emphasis on pranayama and special attention to the lower back.  Each of her classes ends with a beautiful meditation which combines inspirational messages through yoga nidra and soothing massage. With an ever-present interest in pain relief and rehabilitation, Julia is currently studying various forms of yoga therapy. You may see her on various Outer Banks bike trails, kayaking in Kitty Hawk Bay or leading T'ai Chi on the green in Duck.

Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison has been a student of hatha yoga since 1995 when she was drawn to yoga because of low back pain due to running and exercise. She was immediately hooked on yoga for the physical benefits, but soon found out about yoga's even greater benefits for the mind, soul and universal connection. In 1998 she was certified to teach yoga in a 200-hour program at the Integral Yoga Institute (Yogaville) in Virginia. Molly continues to learn about yoga through frequent workshops, personal practice, voracious reading and from her experiences with students in the classroom. Her teaching style is eclectic, with a predominant focus on helping students stay connected to the present moment. Her classes weave mindful breathing with mindful movement – vigorous vinyasa, challenging static poses, deep stretching — with deep relaxation, pranayama, meditation, yoga philosophy and tips for taking yoga off the mat and into everyday life. Her classes provide a setting for students to discover the landscape of their bodies as well as the internal worlds, to untie the knots of modern-day stress and to discover the ancient yogic tools for finding lasting health and inner peace. Yoga transformed Molly's life, which is why she enjoys sharing it with other people. She has seen direct evidence of yoga changing lives, both for the practitioner and those around them. She hopes that all students will leave her classes with a sense of well-being, peace and bliss and a desire to stay with the practice. Molly is also certified to teach prenatal yoga. Outside of teaching hatha yoga classes, Molly does her best to bring the spirit and the tools of yoga and mindfulness into every aspect of her life, from her work as a freelance writer to her relationships with her husband and son, family and friends.

Jamie Hart
Bio coming soon!

Laurie Howard
Bio coming soon!

Susan Krause
Bio coming soon!

Monika Stark Lupean

Dancing has always been a passion for Monika Stark Lupean. Monika came to yoga after years of searching for a type of exercise which both her mind and her body enjoyed. Deep down though, she always wanted to be a dancer. Her body did not agree with this aspiration, but luckily she was led to yoga. Yoga is Monika’s form of dance. After several years of physical issues and many more years of back problems, Monika was referred to yoga by a doctor and a chiropractor. Her first experience in studying yoga was with a Kundalini instructor. In 2003, a move to the Outer Banks initiated a deep journey into the study of yoga. Consequently, she was certified to teach at the Kripalu Center in Western Massachusetts, which enjoys a long tradition of teaching yoga and healing. Have you ever gotten lost in a yoga flow? Has your body ever intuitively moved into the next asana before the instructor guided you there? Have you ever marveled at the natural grace of your body as it moves from one asana to the next? There is so much symmetry, beauty and intelligence in yoga. Yoga builds on and enhances the natural movements of the body. In yoga, we give expression to our hopes and dreams and we allow our fears and doubts to rise to the surface. Once the emotions have been felt and acknowledged, they are often released to the universe. Yoga gives us the tools to facilitate this release and teaches us to listen to the wisdom stored within our bodies. Monika’s classes focus on perfecting that synchronicity between body and mind, body and breath, body and emotions. She believes that if you listen, your body will show you the way.

Kimberly Moore
Bio coming soon!

Angie Newsome
Bio coming soon!

Linda Rouse Sharp
She began practicing yoga in 2000 as a way to overcome carpal tunnel syndrome and was amazed with the healing and calmness that can be cultivated from yoga.  Along the way, she gained respect for the intensity and awareness that one brings to practice.  She completed her yoga teacher training in 2003 and has studied with many gifted teachers.   Her classes are spiced with challenge, creativity and inspiration. Besides teaching yoga, she practices as a certified public accountant, real estate broker and writer.  You can find her yoga articles in the North Beach Sun.

Mollie Silver
Bio coming soon!

Marty Slayton
Bio coming soon!

Karen Smith
Bio coming soon!

Michelle Madden Smith
Michelle is the owner of Outer Banks Yoga. What began six years ago as a merely physical yoga practice evolved rather quickly into something much deeper – a soothing of the spirit she hadn't anticipated. Michelle went on to receive her teacher training in Interdisciplinary Yoga from the Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. Her vinyasa style focuses on the breath, specifically, connecting breath and movement while tuning-in to the inherent wisdom of your own body. She is inspired by deeper levels of "opening" that a focus on physical alignment can reveal. Her classes are a mix of ritual and variety encouraging you to come home to the familiar environment of your body, yet expanding your understanding of your own personal edges. The combination leads to a deeper understanding of the subtle layers of self. She maintains an inward-focused meditative quality throughout her classes, and intends that her students find themselves practicing balance and harmony both on and off the mat.  Registered with the Yoga Alliance at the 200-hour level. Michelle is also a Reiki practitioner, surfer, hooper, environmentalist, and freelance writer.

Heather Vandermyde
Bio coming soon!