Kim, E-RYT 500 (Director)
The past five years of instructing yoga have been the richest of Kim's life. Her greatest joy is found in sharing her love of yoga with everyone open to its benefits. She encourages her students to approach yoga as a way of life, to practice with a beginner's mind, with compassion and sincerity. Her classes are grounded in tradition with great attention to principles of alignment and breathwork, while her approach is imbued with warmth and humor. Her classes are designed to develop bodily awareness and poise which lead to a better quality of life overall. Her focus is on cultivating self-awareness, freedom of movement and developing a calm inner strength though yoga.
Since 2001, Kim has studied various yoga traditions as a means to better manage the stresses of corporate life and to “travel” the wide, vast world of yoga. Her practice and teaching have been influenced by many styles of yoga, including Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Iyengar and Yin Yoga.
She credits Richard Freeman as being her main yogic inspiration.
She has extensive training with the yogis who continue to inspire her, including Richard Freeman, David Swenson, Tias Little, Dharma Mittra, David Williams, T.K.S. Desikachar, John Friend, Roger Cole, Edward Clark, Bo Forbes and Jason Crandell.
She finds inspiration locally at the Dallas Yoga Center with her primary teacher, Carla Rudiger. Kim continues to educate herself in the vast studies of yoga by attending intensives and workshops encompassing many different traditions and viewpoints. She has attended the Yoga Journal Estes Park, Colorado, Conference in '07, '08, '09 & 2010 to enhance & deepen both her personal practice and her teaching. She had the privilege in July '09 of participating in two intensives with Richard Freeman: at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at his home studio The Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, in 2011.
In May 2009, Kim founded Outdoor Yogis, teaching free classes to anyone who wishes to participate, simply because it's fun to practice outdoors somewhere beautiful ~ and because Yoga transcends walls. She believes we can all find inspiration for our yoga practice while connecting with the natural world. In February 2010, Studio 108 Opened its doors to the every-growing Coppell Yoga Community.
Kim expresses deep gratitude to her teachers, her fellow yogis, and her students for being a continuing, expanding source of yogic knowledge and joy.
Shanon, E-RYT
Shanon Buffington, E-RYT, began practicing yoga in college as a supplement to teaching aerobics, weight-lifting, and running. But what started as exercise became much more. After years of suffering from pain caused by degenerative discs in her neck, Shanon began to find that the more she practiced yoga, the less pain she suffered. And as her practice deepened, she realized that yoga not only helped her body, but also helped her mind. She began teaching yoga in 2002 as a favor to a friend, but it wasn’t long until she discovered that her true passion was to share yoga with others.
Shanon graduated from the University of Missouri-Rolla with a Bachelor and Master of Science in Engineering Management. She spent 6 years working in the software consulting industry. In 2002 she left her career in consulting and started her adventure with yoga. Shanon co-founded the Surya Center for Yoga in December 2003 with the hopes of providing yoga to anyone open to receiving it.
Shanon’s teachings are influenced by the Tantric tradition of Sri Vidya and the lineage of Sri Swami Rama of the Himalayas. She aims to bring an authentic experience of the yoga tradition to each class as well as to everyday life. She is one of the few teachers transmitting an authentic, living tradition that has been practiced and taught from teacher to student for thousands of years.
Shanon’s training includes certifications from the Yoga Institute and Para Yoga. Her training is in classical Tantra, Hatha, and Raja Yoga. She is a member of the Yoga Alliance, with over 400 hours of yoga training. She has studied with her teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker, considered to be one of the pre-eminent yoga and meditation teachers in the United States, since 2005.
Shanon lives in Coppell with her husband of 11 years, Gary, their son Jack, and two cats.
Brook, RYT-200
(bio coming soon)
Heather, RYT-200
(bio coming soon)
Angela, RYT-200
(bio coming soon)
Susanne, RYT-200
Through an atmosphere of compassion, acceptance, and approachability, Susanne Hutchinson guides her students to discover something new about themselves on the mat, perhaps finding a little relaxation or a deeper stretch along the way. Susanne firmly believes in the accessibility of yoga, that anyone can experience its joy as well as its physical benefits.
Susanne first stepped onto a yoga mat in 2004 searching for a way to alleviate stress and anxiety. In addition to experiencing a new sense of calm, she quickly noticed yoga’s strength building capabilities and has been a devoted practitioner ever since, exploring many different styles and teachers. Susanne completed her 200 hour training with Yoga Alliance in 2011.
Susanne attended her first Zumba Fitness class in 2010, and was immediately hooked. She fell in love with the Latin rhythms and the great cardio work out that doesn’t feel like a work out. Encouraged to share her love for Zumba with others, Susanne became a certified instructor in January of 2011.
Off the mat, Susanne enjoys traveling, dancing, and laughing with family and friends.
Mary, RYT-200
Mary Dunklin uses her playful, nurturing attitude to help students overcome fears, find balance and discover grace on and off their mat. Mary is a Yoga Alliance 200-hour registered teacher and has led yoga and meditation classes with students of all ages and abilities. In her personal practice, she is a dedicated student and is always ready to take a new class and try a new yoga style.
Before certification, Mary spent 10 years as a journalist. She most recently was editor of The Dallas Morning News’ Healthy Living section, where she directed coverage of fitness, nutrition and health. She is a mother to a toddler yogini who provides much creative inspiration for her classes and reminds her daily to find joy in everything.
Aamie, RYT-200
(bio & picture coming soon)
Elizabeth, RYT-200
(bio coming soon)
Trisha, RYT-200
(bio & picture coming soon)
Our yoga studio is conveniently located to the Coppell, Dallas, Lewisville, Irving, Flower Mound, Carrollton, and Grapvine areas.