Instructors at The Light Within Yoga Studio

	Alison Donley Alison Donley discovered her love for yoga when, at the age of 16, she discovered B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga in the library of the small town of Waynesboro, PA. While she continued to practice yoga asana throughout the next 5 years of competitive gymnastics, 4 of the 5 years competing in NCAA Nationals, the real journey began when the competition ended, and the true practice of Yoga began. Alison has been practicing yoga for 30 years and teaching for 20. She started yoga programs for 2 large health clubs in the West Chester area, and opened The Light Within Yoga Studio in November of 2004 after she and her husband Dean, and two children, Rachel and Trevor, moved to Southern Chester County. Alison created 2, 3-credit electives (Yoga I and Yoga II) for West Chester University, where she has been teaching since 1998, and continues to teach full time. She has been through numerous teacher-training and certification programs through the years, including guidance and training from Tim Miller, Richard Freeman, David Swenson, Beryl Bender-Birch, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. She is currently writing a Yoga textbook (for HS or College use) titled, Yoga: A Path to Wellness to be published by Kendall-Hunt in the upcoming year. Alison believes that her strongest quality as a teacher is her passion for sharing yoga and her love for her students. The Light Within Yoga Studio was featured in the October 2005 issue of Yoga Journal magazine, as part of Omtown Heroes, an article about small town yoga studios. Alison is infinitely grateful for the love and support of family, friends, and students and for the ability to share this ancient (and AMAZING), system of self-care.
	Erin McKeon Erin McKeon is an alumni of the University of Vermont. In her undergraduate studies she focused on ecological design and sustainable agriculture. Her compassion and reverence for the environment motivated her to collaborate with another student on teaching an undergraduate-level, semester-long course, focusing on environmental awareness and Yogic philosophy, as a thesis project. Experiences such as studying in India, engaging in community, and working collectively on local conservation and farming projects, provides Erin with a rich background regarding sustainable environmental and social development. She currently works on Research & Development for North Creek Nurseries, a native perennial plant nursery in Landenberg, PA. Erin is a dedicated student of Ashtanga yoga, supporting her asana practice with studying Yogic texts and Sanskrit mantras. She recently had the opportunity to deepen her practice at a teacher training with Tim Miller and she looks forwa rd to future training with him.
	Katie Brodie Katie Brodie has been practicing ashtanga yoga for almost 6 years, and has been teaching at The Light Within for almost 2 years. She began her practice following David Swenson's DVDs before finding The Light Within. She appreciates everything that yoga has brought into her life, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
	Patty Jacobs Patricia was first drawn into yoga, as a way to exercise when the cold winter weather dissuaded her from riding her mountain bike. But, since her very first class at The Light Within when it opened in 2004, she has been drawn even deeper into yoga, as a way of experiencing so much more than the physical postures. Patty appreciates all that yoga has brought into her life both on and off of her favorite blue mat. At the studio, she has been involved with many of the marketing and promotional events. She has helped to develop and assist such programs as the Children's yoga classes, "Yoga Grooves" (a music inspired class) and "Barefoot in the Park" (a community event celebrating the summer solstice). In addition she has assisted Alison Donley, owner of the studio, with teaching classes at West Chester University. Patricia's informal yogic education includes reading, continued practice, and ongoing learning from her gifted teachers. Future goals include: incorporating more yoga into her special education classes (she is a certified Child Development Specialist); collaborating with friend and creativity coach, Paula Graham on a series of wellness workshops; and attending teacher training workshops.
	Sheelagh Christensen The Gentle/Restorative class at The Light Within Yoga Studio will be offered by Physical Therapist Sheelagh Christensen. Sheelagh has been a Licensed Physical Therapist since 1979, and has been practicing Yoga for ten years. With her PT background, Sheelagh is able to adapt a gentle and restorative Yoga practice to those of all ages and conditions.
	Sarah Martin Sarah Moran Martin received her 200-hour teacher training certification from The Spirit of Yoga in 2009. She practiced yoga sporadically since first discovering its wonders at Duke University. But it wasn't until serious knee injuries in the late 1990s that she eschewed the pounding of tennis, snow-skiing and running and returned to yoga for good. At The Spirit of Yoga in West Chester, she revitalized her practice under the wise tutelage of Alison Donley and Pam Walsh, Spirit's owner. Sarah has attended workshops at Kripalu and the Omega Institute, as well as taking numerous yoga classes and workshops locally and wherever she travels with husband Tom, a retired attorney and now a metal sculptor. She and Tom have three sons and live in West Chester. With a teaching style best described as eclectic, she is particularly interested in how pranayama supports and sustains yoga asanas, and how staying with the breath often brings serenity to her own life and can do so for her students. Various sports-related injuries help her to better understand students who approach yoga with trepidation, injury, soreness or stiffness, while she encourages students to work hard and find their "edge." Often, Sarah's classes incorporate bolsters, straps and other props to deepen asanas. Always, there is music! In addition to teaching at The Light Within, Sarah is developing stress-reduction breathing/yoga clinics for corporations and chair-based yoga practices for active seniors. A journalist for the past 40 years, Sarah is a contributing writer for West Chester's Daily Local News and has written for a variety of regional and national publications, including the Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine, The Detroit News, the Kiplinger Washington Letter and numerous trade publications.
	Victoria Mowrer Victoria says that her first asana was "squat" which she learned on the farm where she grew up. That was the main posture used for planting and harvesting. She became interested in the path of yoga in her 30s and had an on again/off again practice. She became much more serious about her practice in her 50's and finally attended a yoga teacher training at the age of 58. During that training she was introduced to the practice of Yoga Nidra. Something about it called to her and she went on to study at Kripalu and then with Richard Miller who founded the Integrative Restoration Institute that specifically researches this ancient practice and offers teacher trainings. She received her Level I advanced iRest yoga teacher training certificate in November of 2009. She intends to stay focused on this teaching path and looks forward to continuing her training this spring with Kripalu's certification program. Victoria wants to help you relax and restore and to give yourself the "Gift of Yoga Nidra".