Ashley Ransom
Ashley graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Psychology and Health and Wellness. She has always led a lifestyle involving various forms of fitness and is passionate about natural healing/wellness. Coinciding with personal life hardships and tragedies, Ashley submerged herself into the practice of yoga around 2016. Having done yoga many times over the years, it was only now that she began to learn the deeper practice, touching every state of her being. Physical attributes aside, what yoga has brought into her mental world, has been and continues to be a transformative and therapeutic journey.
After several years of working in a fast paced, demanding corporate environment, Ashley started a cleaning/elder care side business, almost by happenstance. Connecting with and helping the elderly through her work, surprisingly proved to be a mutually rewarding venture. As her business blossomed, Ashley eventually left her corporate job in order to focus on motherhood and growing her business. Ashley has found similarities among children and the elderly with whom she works, and finds reward in her ability to connect with both. Some time spent as a substitute teacher taught Ashley that she really had a passion for working with children, but had a preference for that outside of the traditional setting. She and her daughter enjoy mommy and me yoga and it seemed a natural fit when she discovered “Kids Yoga”. Her desire to work with kids and to have the opportunity to reach them during their most formative time led her to instructor training. Ashley values what the practice of yoga has brought into her own life and recognizes that those benefits transcend all ages. Engaging children in a space where connection with peers and oneself can happen is integral and, sadly, something that our society is getting further away from. Ashley’s hopes in becoming a kids yoga instructor is to focus on these character building fundamentals, subsequently cultivating confidence, focus, respect and creating mindfulness of not only themselves but also in the world around them.
Michele Guess, ERYT500, YACEP, PharmD
Michele brings a unique perspective to the yoga community through her life experiences as a mother, yoga teacher and PharmD. She is an ERYT500 hour registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, receiving her training for Vinyasa & Hatha Yoga from Yogacara. She has also completed more than 100 hours of Aerial Yoga training from Circusoul Flying Yoga, and 40 hours of Yoga Teacher Training with Bryan Kest. She has also completed a 670 hour Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga University in Altamonte Springs, FL in 2019 as she believes learning is a lifelong process.
Although she has practiced yoga for many years, she discovered Aerial yoga in 2013 and instantly loved it as it provided relief of her neck and upper back pain from a skiing injury from many years before. As yoga (and especially aerial yoga) has drastically improved her quality of life, she felt it was too beneficial both physically and mentally not to share it with others. She started the company FlyingBeachYoga in order to share the practice of aerial yoga and currently teaches aerial and trains out of multiple studios. You can fine her under the same name on Facebook and YouTube and @FlyingBeachYoga on Instagram.
Michele co-founded the company http://www.KulaYogaKids.com to empower the youth of our community through yoga and mindfulness practices; giving them the tools they need to navigate through this ever changing, fast paced world. She completed her Children’s’ Yoga Teacher Training with Cosmic Kids Yoga after seeing how her own son loved and benefited from the practice of yoga. Kula Yoga Kids offers kids yoga classes for kids from preschool to high school, teaching kids yoga, mindfulness, meditation and pranayama in a fun, engaging atmosphere. Kula Yoga Kids also offers kids teacher trainings both online and live. The Kula Yoga Kids Facebook and Instagram pages provide updates on all these services.
Michele also holds the following certifications: ERYT500, Aerial, Kids, Aerial Vinyasa, Restorative, Bryan Kest Power yoga, Prenatal, IAYT Meditation