Frances Uhrich
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
Born in Fife, Scotland, Frances has traveled across and lived overseas for many years through her career with the British Government. Some 20 odd years ago in Scotland, Frances attempted her first yoga class in order to find an alternative exercise option for running outside in the rain. Upon recognizing the challenge of a yoga practice and the various limitations she experienced (Touch my toes -is that a joke? Hold a Downward Facing Dog? I don't think so!) a newly humbled and inspired Frances began to seek as much knowledge for her own personal yoga practice as possible. Upon moving to Washington D.C. where she met and married her husband, a move to Newport News, VA granted the opportunity to take the next step and enroll in the RYT-200 Teacher Training at Zenya Yoga Academy. Her motto? Forever a student of yoga, on and off of the mat, you can take your practice with you wherever you go - at home, in a studio, or just sitting outside in quiet meditation!
Valerie Hollar
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
Valerie Hollar, a registered RYT200 certified teacher with the Yoga Alliance, found her love of yoga after looking for a way to relieve stress when life dealt her some crazy curve balls back in 2013. Air Force wife, and working mother of 4, she needed to find something to create time for herself. She visited a local studio for an intro to hot yoga class, and the rest is history. Initially starting a hot yoga practice, she found her love for all types of classes and all things yoga. Yoga helped her learn to manage and overcome PTSD and anxiety without the need for medications, as well as helped her find a better way to deal with her crazy day to day routine. Completing her 200 hour certification was a no brainer after that.
Valerie wants to share the joy of yoga with each person she meets through invigorating vinyasa style classes, linked with fun upbeat playlists that will challenge both the mind and the body. When not teaching yoga you can find her around town taking classes whenever and wherever she can, working as a paralegal during the day, and playing super mom. She looks forward to helping you find your love of yoga whether it’s the first time rolling out a mat, or you are a seasoned yogi. Her specific areas of interest include vinyasa, yoga for kids, restorative and yin, yoga as a treatment for anxiety and PTSD, and yoga for stroke recovery.
Valerie’s philosophy is “Get on your mat every day, even if for only 5 minutes, and let the magic find you.” She looks forward to meeting you and practicing with you soon!
Nancy Geary
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Nancy Alicia Geary settled into Hampton Roads in 1994 with her husband and two sons. She discovered yoga in 2008 after two years of physical therapy due to a back injury from a car accident. She quickly realized the plentiful benefits of yoga for the body, mind and spirit. Yoga was the answer to her life-long interest of being health conscious and physically active but not competitive. Her interest evolved from practicing locally to exploring yoga techniques in studios worldwide while traveling with her husband, always packing her mat wherever the destination. Nancy's passion and belief in yoga shines 100% and her energy comes from teaching others and promoting yoga. Nancy is a Zenya Yoga School Alumna and a York County School employee. She meditates daily, studies Sanskrit, and enjoys singing to Kirtan and traveling.
Gabriella Lettini
RYT-200 Yoga Instructor,
iRest – Level I Yoga Nidra Teacher in Training
Gabriella was born and raised in Italy. She arrived in Virginia two years ago. She settled down in Williamsburg with her husband who works at the College William & Mary. She began her Yoga experience in Italy and then continued in Us. After one year of intense practice, she decided to attend her Yoga Teacher Training in 2016. She began to teach weekly free class to the community at her Church and she discovered how much she enjoys teaching people and sharing the amazing benefits of Yoga. She became a RYT-200 Yoga Instructor and an iRest – Level I Yoga Nidra Teacher in Training in 2017. At the beginning of her Course, she simply wanted to deepen her knowledge of Yoga, but the more she studied, the more she understood the importance of Yoga in her life. In his Sutras, Patanjali gives this definition of Yoga: “Yogas chitta vritti nirodha” Sutra I-2 “The restraint of the swirling of the mind is Yoga” Yoga is much more than a physical activity. Yoga is a way of living and thinking. A path, a life time journey, a self inquiry process that will help to know yourself better, maybe finding your answers to life, maybe learning compassion towards yourself and the others around you … always keeping in mind that “As the mind, so the person; bondage or liberation are in your own mind. If you feel bound, you are bound. If you feel liberated, you are liberated. Things outside neither bind or liberate you; only your attitude towards them does that” (Sri Swami Satchidananda).
Martine Hutton
RYT- 200 Level Yoga Instructor
Martine has a passion: restoring physical and mental balance to all her students through therapeutic yoga exercises led by a warm and caring instructor. Since her earliest years growing up in France, Martine has always enjoyed sports (aerobics, tennis, Jazzercise, and fifteen years of yoga), but when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer, she found her calling. As her daughter slowly recovered, Martine was drawn to therapeutic yoga, taking her 200 hour yoga certification at the Glenmore Yoga and Wellness Center in Richmond, focusing on a gentle yoga designed for students recovering from illness, surgery or other health considerations. Martine adapts her classes to ensure that all of her students can safely practice poses that develop strength, increase range of motion, and enhance self-esteem and wellbeing. Martine strives to ensure that all her students leave her class stronger, both physically and emotionally.
Audrey Smiddy
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
Trading in her travel aspirations in for an RYT-200 (Registered Yoga Teacher through Zenya Yoga Academy) in the Spring of 2013, Audrey has committed her life to serving others through yoga. Additionally, she has since enjoyed five years of health far exceeding the grim predictions of her doctors, and is entirely confident she has yoga combined with a healthy lifestyle to thank for her success in combating Crohn's disease.
Becky Waters
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
YWI – Yoga Warrior International Certified Instructor
Becky is a retired educator who taught elementary education and special education preK-high school, worked as a building level administrator, and ultimately became a teacher educator. As a consultant trainer for ETS, she trained teachers and administrators in 43 of the 50 states. Being married to a career Navy man allowed her the experience of living and traveling many places across the U.S. and Europe and provided her with a tremendous awareness and appreciation for diversity and multiculturalism. She has been a Yorktown resident for the past 30 years.
Becky discovered the benefits of Yoga several years ago as she was searching for relief from chronic back pain. She quickly found that yoga is much more than contorting the body into poses – it is a way of life blending mind, body, and spirit. She completed her 200-hour training at ZYA in Newport News and has recently completed the YogaWarriorsInternational™ training, hoping to take her Yoga practice to a higher level working with wounded warriors and caretakers. Becky adapts her classes to meet the needs of her students, focusing on helping students find their center and improve their strength, flexibility, and balance.
MARY SNYDER
B.S. Exercise Science, Ace, AFPA, YogaFit, TRX, R.I.P.P.E.D., and MadDogg, BootyBarre Certified
Mary has always led an active lifestyle, though moving back to the States after four years Overseas to begin Middle School in Yorktown, VA, was a bit of a culture shock. Throughout the following years, Mary could not quite seem to find her niche and bounced from recreational sport to sport, until finally during her Freshman Year of high school she took up Tae Kwon Do and long distance running. After obtaining her Black Belt and logging hundreds of miles, Mary decided that the physiology and even psychology behind exercise and well-being was just too alluring to ignore, and before long, she was enrolled at VCU in Richmond, VA, in order to earn her B.S. in Exercise Science and Minor in Psychology. In 2006 while still at VCU, Mary was certified as a Personal Trainer and Yoga instructor and has been training clients and teaching classes ever since.
Prior to and upon graduation in 2009, Mary has served in various commercial, corporate, private and even medical wellness facilities, training individuals from all walks of life; at-risk youth, individuals recovering from injuries and even teaching yoga classes geared towards endurance athletes. Her passion, however, is working with clients to maintain physical and emotional balance and well-being.
With her background in yoga and her own personal experience with running, backpacking, and climbing, Mary’s expertise revolves around functional training – for everyone. Mary works with clients to pinpoint muscular imbalances and helps them to develop more body awareness – because to Mary, developing body awareness and strength geared towards functional movement is essential to avoiding injury and staying fit. Mary was also recently certified as a Lifestyle Educator through FirstLine Therapy, and works with clients wishing to make lifestyle changes through engaging in healthier eating and increased physical activity.
Certifications
TRX (Total Body Resistance Exercise) Group and Private Instructor Certification, September 2012
R.I.P.P.E.D (Resistance, Intervals, Power, Plyometric, Endurance, and Diet), May 2012
FirstLine Therapy Lifestyle Educator, March 2012
ACE Personal Trainer Certification, December 2009
AFPA Personal Trainer Certification, March 2006
Adult and Child AED/CPR and First Aid, December 2011
MadDogg Indoor Cycling Certification, November 2010
YogaFit Level 1 Certification, June 2007
© Garden of Zen Yoga Studio, LLC 2013
Christine Griggs
E-RYT-500 Yoga Instructor
Christine was born and raised in France. She traveled and lived all over the world with her husband and 3 children before settling down in Newport News in 1998. She’s an avid long-distance runner, aspiring writer and a trained multilingual translator. She’s a freelance interpreter for the Virginia Court system.
When Christine stepped into her first yoga class in 2006, she knew she’d found what had been missing from her life. She became a certified Yoga-Fit instructor in 2008 so that she could teach an ongoing weekly free class to the community at her church.
She became a RYT-200 through the IHH Integral Yoga program in 2010 and a RYT-500 with the Rolf Gates 500-hour Vinyasa Training in 2011.
She is now training instructors as a member of Zenya Yoga Academy’s Teacher Training’s faculty. She teaches at Zenya, One Life Fitness and WMUMC.
Yoga is her gift to her community. She wants to make this transforming practice available to everyone. She loves the balance of Vinyasa and Yin Yoga, her 2 favorite yoga styles, and believes in creating a safe relaxing environment, as well as a mindful rejuvenating practice that allow us to live our best lives on and off the mat.
She believes in a healthy, balanced, compassionate lifestyle: live consciously, feed your spirit, take the time to be still and enjoy the moment, be generous in your words and actions, don’t take yourself too seriously, always have a dream and, when you reach your dream, get another one. This is the key to true happiness.
Joe Charsagua
Joe Charsagua
E-RYT 200 Yoga Instructor, YACEP
“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim.” This quote from B.K.S. Iyengar exemplifies how yoga can impact your life. Joe Charsagua is a retired military veteran who was exposed to yoga toward the end of his military career and was immediately attracted to its physical aspects as a way to complement his physical training regimen and provide alternative forms of physical fitness. Through his yoga practice, Joe enjoys a holistic approach to living and enjoys its many aspects to include meditation and yoga philosophy. In 2011, Joe became a registered yoga instructor through Zenya Yoga Academy and shortly after became a certified meditation teacher with the American Meditation Society. Joe is enthusiastic to share the gifts and benefits of yoga and meditation with others and help them progress along in their respective journey to improve themselves and better their lives.
OM Shanti - Namaste
Meet our team of Yoga Instructors
Del Snyder
E-RYT 200, PRYT(Prenatal), YACEP Yoga Instructor, Studio Owner
Del has been teaching Yoga for 12 years and has been a student of yoga for over 16 years. She received her 200 hour RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher certification with Yoga Alliance) from the Institute of Health and Healing in Newport News. In August of 2010 she received her E-RYT (Experienced) Certification through Yoga Alliance. She is also certified through Yogafit and Om Mamma Prenatal School in Richmond to teach Prenatal/Postpartum classes.
During the past 16 years she has attended many workshops and experienced many styles of Yoga. Del is also a Certified Bootybarre Instructor and teaches the Bootybarre I Class at the studio.
Del is a wife and mother of three; she is also a proud grandmother of two beautiful grand daughters.
She is passionate about yoga and hopes to share the gift of yoga and it's many benefits in her community. She continually seeks to grow as a teacher and student of yoga. She is committed to teaching with safety and body awareness. There are wonderful benefits to a Yoga practice, clarity, spacious opening, grace, free-flowing energy, well-being, strength, and flexibility among many -- she is delighted to share this powerful and healthy practice with you.
Myunghwa Choi
Prenatal/PostpartumYoga Instructor
Pilates/Dance Instructor
Myunghwa was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. There, she met her husband, who was stationed there as a language analyst working for the United States Air Force. After getting married, she followed her husband to Virginia, where she encountered many new life changes and challenges. Leaving her home country, including all of her friends and family, was not easy, but she eventually overcame the homesickness by teaching and attending Yoga classes. The peace she found with yoga was very valuable and refreshing, and instilled in her the balance and resilience she needed to adapt to a radically new change of life. Myunghwa has a teaching background in Pilates, ballet, and rehabilitative and myofascial pain syndrome training. As she began her first job as a Pilates instructor, she has confidence in her teaching efficacy and aims for clients' improvements above all else. She is very excited to join the Garden of Zen team and cannot wait to share the peace and love she experiences in Yoga with everyone.
Basic Comprehensive(Reformer, Chair, Cadillac, and Mat) Pilates Certified
Mind and Body Ballet Pilates Instructor Certified
Fitnessyoga Certified Yoga Instructor for Pregnancy(Prenatal & Postnatal)
Rehab Trainning Specialist in Korea
Royal Academy of Dance(RAD) Intermediate Certified
Kim Thompson
RYT-200 Yoga Instructor
Kim was born and raised in Yorktown, VA and now resides in Poquoson, VA with her husband. She grew up dancing (ballet, tap, jazz, and many more styles) and has always had a passion for movement. So when Kim attended her first yoga class in college, it was a natural fit. She continued to develop her personal yoga practice throughout college and graduated from Liberty University with a degree in accounting in 2013. Seeking to deepen her practice and find balance in both her career and lifestyle, Kim began her yoga teacher training in 2016 and became a RYT-200 Yoga Instructor in 2017. After years of nurturing a passion for yoga, meditation and mindfulness, Kim is eager to share this passion with the community in her hometown. Kim enjoys teaching Vinyasa style yoga classes that focus on both building strength and clearing stress. She believes that a yoga class should generate positive energy and cultivate a strong connection between the mind, body, and spirit.
Megan Pupilis
RYT- 200 Yoga Instructor
Megan discovered yoga in 2004 after discovering she was pregnant with her first son. Yoga helped her calm the stress and nerves of being a 1st time mom while also helping to speed recovery time and aid the body’s ability to “Bounce Back”. A few years and 3 kids later, she decided she wanted to teach and share the amazing benefits of yoga with others. Megan began her yoga schooling at Dragon Fly studio in Fort Walton Beach Florida, where she studied with many gifted tutors such as Laura Tyree, Bryan Kest, Doug Keller, Stephanie Keach and Felicia McQuad. She recently just received her Personal Trainer Certification and a specialty certification in Fitness Nutrition through the American Council on Exercise. Megan leads a variety of classes with a passion for instructing powerful, dynamic, flow classes that combines her long held love of movement and strength with the practice of yoga. Megan believes yoga is about challenging yourself and stepping outside of your comfort zone while also having fun, practicing humility and patience, and honoring your body for what it CAN do. Students in Megan’s classes learn to face their divine “kick booty” power within while exercising their mind, body, and spirit.