YOGAlicious

Adrienne Z Ables, E-RYT 200
Co-owner of YOGAlicious Yoga Studio, Adrienne has been practicing yoga for over a decade and teaching for over eight years. Her inspiration to teach came when her first beloved yoga teacher asked her to substitute one night. She hasn’t looked back since. Adrienne has studied with Stephanie Keach, Erich Schiffmann, Stacey Millner-Collins, Kelley Gardner, Sarah Faircloth and Martin Kirk. She completed her first teacher training at the Asheville Yoga Center and is certified to teach Vinyasa Flow, Restorative & Pre & Post Natal yoga. Adrienne’s emphasis is the process of taking lessons learned on the mat into your everyday life – where real yoga takes place.

Monica Eva Foster, E-RYT 500
Co-owner of YOGAlicious Yoga Studio, Monica Foster’s first introduction to yoga occurred in 1993 when she took class during a lunch hour. She immediately fell in love with yoga’s ability to open and strengthen muscles while at the same time calming and centering the mind.
She completed her first teacher training and became a registered yoga teacher in June of 2004 and holds special certifications in Children’s and Pre/Post Natal Yoga instruction. She is deeply grateful to have studied with teachers Stephanie Keach, Stacey Millner-Collins, Sarah Faircloth, Kelley Gardner, Desiree Rumbaugh, Christina Sell, Doug Swenson, Edward Clark, Joe Taft, Ross Rayburn, Marsha Wenig, and numerous others. Foster has also studied Yoga Therapeutics intensively with Martin Kirk and philosophy with Douglas Brooks and Bill Mahony. Foster’s classes fuse humor, playfulness, and intelligence while integrating special emphasis on proper physical alignment. She aims to empower each student by helping them play their edge with safety and greater spatial awareness. Having lived around the world in places such as Los Angeles, Chicago, NYC, and Seoul, Korea, Foster’s previous professional experiences include work in the advertising and film industries. She is married with a daughter and enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, and the art of conversation. Her core belief is that it’s important to give back to both the local and global communities whenever and however possible. “We are all in this game of life together,” says Foster. “Why not do what we can to elevate one another as often as possible?” Her yoga practice helps her apply that philosophy daily, both on and off the mat.

Catherine Drennan Querin, RYT
Co-owner of YOGAlicious Yoga Studio, Catherine is a Spartanburg native. Her first yoga teacher training was in 1996. She completed Stephanie Keach’s teacher training in 1999, the Advanced Teacher Training and also Vinyasa Teacher Training. After her studies with Stephanie at the Asheville Yoga Center she continued studying with Rod Stryker, Doug Swenson and Ana Forrest. In 2007 she took a workshop from teacher Todd Norian and knew she had found her true passion in this unique style of yoga. Catherine says, “I am thankful for all of my teachers throughout the years, on the mat and off the mat. My greatest teacher is my daughter Grace! Yoga to me is playful and fun and my intention for each class is for my students to walk out with a smile on their face.” Catherine also has a jewelry business with her mom called dots Jewelry.

Georgia Angelakis, RYT 200
A Spartanburg native, Georgia was introduced to yoga eight years ago in high school, and after college she devoted herself to developing a regular practice. She completed her 200-hour certification at the Asheville Yoga center in October of 2011 and says that she loves being a part of the YOGAlicious family.

Nikki Caulk
Nikki Caulk has been practicing yoga for ten years and received her 200-hour Yoga teacher certification from the Asheville Yoga Center in 2005. Her teaching draws on her training in Vinyasa Flow, Kundalini and Ashtanga yoga and her experience in the creative arts and community work.

Marie Chan
Marie was introduced to yoga nine years ago and started practicing on her own to add flexibility, balance, strength and endurance, both physically and spiritually. That emphasis became the focus of her classes. Fortunes led her to study under Jan LaFrancois in the traditional Iyengar style before coming to YOGAlicious. Inspired by all her teachers and with a desire to incorporate Yoga as a way of life she went on to complete the teacher certification program at the Asheville Yoga Center. She is also certified in Vinyasa Flow, Pre-natal/Post-natal, Yin and Restorative Yoga. Marie resides in Rutherford County where she teaches at local studios and at Isothermal Community College continuing education.

Laura Clinton
Laura was introduced to Yoga through Pilates eight years ago. She was inspired by many of the teachers of YOGAlicious to attend the Asheville Yoga Center for her teacher training with Stephanie Keach. Laura has also been a public educator for ten years, and is enthused about being a part of this studio!

Audrey Hope
Audrey is a Spartanburg native. She began practicing yoga 12 years ago to increase flexibility and balance for her passion for rock climbing. She became certified to teach Children’s yoga in 2009 through the Angel Bear Yoga program in Highlands, NC. Audrey’s creative approach to teaching ensures children an engaging experience while learning the principles of yoga. Audrey is full of energy and light and enjoys playing and teaching yoga to children.

Christian Hope
Christian began practicing yoga nine years ago to increase flexibility and decrease stress. He has since incorporated the Yoga philosophy and discipline into his life and now enjoys the benefits of this remarkable practice. Christian completed his teacher certification in Vinyasa Flow at the Asheville Yoga Center in 2007.

Elaine Lang
Elaine finds yoga essential for living life with joy and ease. She enjoys sharing yoga with others and is very happy to teach at YOGAlicious. A graduate of the Asheville Yoga Center Teacher Training program, Elaine is also a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioner and Group Facilitator.

Jan LeFrancois
Jan LeFrancois is a Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. In addition to teaching yoga for more than 13 years, she teaches psychology at Converse College where she combines her love of yoga and psychology in courses such as “Yoga and Stress Management” and “The Inner Workings of Yoga.” Jan recently returned from a trip to India with Converse students and faculty. They were happy to visit the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Institute while in Pune and see Mr. Iyengar practicing yoga there. Jan has authored My Little Yoga Book and videotaped My Yoga Practice (www.jansyoga.com). Jan lives with her husband, Paul, and their dogs, cats, parrots, cockatiel, and assorted fish. She supports the Spartanburg Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Leslie Lehman
Leslie started practicing yoga 11 years ago when she dropped in at a free Kundalini Yoga class at Arizona State University. She loved the physical and spiritual benefits of yoga. Since then she has practiced many different styles of yoga including bikram, power, iyengar, and kundalini. Leslie’s style of teaching is contemporary, energetic, and fun. Leslie’s yoga teaching focus is power, vinyasa, and family/children’s yoga. Leslie completed her teacher certification in Vinyasa Flow with Stephanie Keach of the Asheville Yoga Center in 2008 and is certified to teach Children’s Yoga.

Kelly Lowry
Kelly began practicing in 1996 to recuperate from a kayaking accident. He found that the strength and flexibility achieved through yoga fit well into all of his outdoor pursuits, including kayaking, rock and ice climbing, cycling, skiing, and others. His practice began as a mixture of vinyasa flow, Ashtanga, and Iyengar styles. Having studied religion and philosophy for years, his practice eventually morphed into a style focused on the philosophical connections of yoga to everyday life. Kelly is an RYT-200 Certified Yoga Instructor, has completed a 200-hour Teacher Training, and has compiled over 600 hours of training, studying, and practicing with many teachers, including first and foremost his students, family, and friends, as well as Dr. Douglas Brooks, Sarah Faircloth, Kelly Gardner, Martin Kirk, Dr. Bill Mahoney, Noah Maze, Stacey Millner-Collins, Desiree Rumbaugh, Christina Sell, Deirdre Smith-Gilmore, Joe Taft, Christopher Tompkins, and others. His interest in philosophy, religion, and asana deepens with every day, every minute, every breath.

Carrie Wise
Carrie has been a student of yoga since she attended her first class in 1992. What drew her to yoga, and what continues to fuel her practice, is yoga’s ability to quiet the mind and develop trust in the body’s wisdom. Carrie spent a decade as a homebirth midwife where she honed her skills in supporting women and families; holding the space so they could go beyond what they believed they could do. She has also studied a variety of healing and personal growth methods. In 2009 she began to help others by doing intuitive energy healing work. She is currently studying yoga at City Yoga in Columbia, and is enjoying it immensely. She maintains a spiritual practice of meditation, asana, journaling and dreamwork, while living in a busy, happy home in the woods with her husband and 3 children.

Toy Wong
Toy started practicing yoga as a low impact adjunct to her aerobic exercise routine, but found that yoga had more than just physical benefits. She hopes to share her enthusiasm for yoga with others. Toy completed her teacher certification in Vinyasa Flow at the Asheville Yoga Center in 2007. After years of interacting with children through volunteer work and in her profession, she became certified to teach Children’s Yoga in 2009 at the Highland Lake Yoga Studio.