Deanna has called Birmingham home for the majority of her life. She is a motivated mother of three boys (23, 21, 18) and exudes a passion for life that has driven her to great success in a variety of personal and professional endeavors. Deanna now strives to apply that energetic focus toward creating a studio environment that empowers women to reach their fullest potential. Once she stepped into her first Pure Barre class and experienced the intense burn and shaky sensation that inevitably follows the 55-minute series, she realized her concept of exercise transformed. She has always been very active in the athletic community as an avid tennis competitor on a local and state level. She has also participated in running groups and various exercise classes, but her first Pure Barre encounter... Read the profile >>
Jennifer Andress is a lifelong running addict. She began running at the age of 11, and ran high school track and cross country while growing up in Texas. After college, she moved to Atlanta and ran her first half-marathon. She re-located to Birmingham, where she was born, but running took a backseat for a while. It was her husband Keith that re-introduced her to the love of the sport. In 2004, Jennifer and Keith faced the toughest year of their life. Their son John, at 11 months old, was diagnosed as severely hearing-impaired. Jennifer was pregnant with their second son at the time, and the baby was also at-risk for hearing impairment due to a recessive gene. Jennifer was then diagnosed with breast cancer a month later, and underwent a mastectomy while 6 months pregnant. Her son Will... Read the profile >>
Kate Jenkins is a Bikram Yoga Certified instructor. She completed Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in California in 2009. After completing the 9 week, 500 hour training, she traveled throughout the country to teach and complete her internship. She just opened a Certified Bikram Yoga studio in Vestavia Hills in April 2011. A native of Nashville, TN, she attended college at Loyola University in New Orleans and received a Bachelor of Music degree. Since moving to Birmingham in 2004, she has worked at numerous gyms and studios throughout the Birmingham area as a Certified Spinning Instructor and Yoga Teacher. An avid runner and cyclist, she has participated in numerous crits, century rides and marathons. She started CrossFit during the past year to do something scary outside of her comfort... Read the profile >>
Kim Cross is the founding spokes-woman of Magic City Cycle Chix (MC3), an Alabama-based women's cycling group committed to building courage, confidence, and community, two wheels at a time. Now in its second year, MC3 has attracted more than 500 members through its Facebook group, women's cycling clinics, and "Wine, Wenches, and Wrenches" seminars. Kim sees a bike as a vehicle for leadership, and a tool to help women discover they are capable of so much more than they realize. A “cafeteria decathlete,” Kim has competed in more than 10 sports and vied for a national title in three—water skiing (first), sprint triathlon (fourth), and 24-hour adventure racing (not last). She is a 2-time Alabama State Cyclocross Champion and has topped the podium in events from endurance mountain... Read the profile >>
Melissa was born & raised in the Chicago area, and has since lived in a handful of cities around the country. She recently made Birmingham her home and she is honored to share her yoga journey with the community here. Melissa’s love for yoga began 12 years ago, when she started practicing yoga as a counterbalance to her workouts. She quickly noticed immense improvement in her strength, flexibility, and posture, while also finding a sense of peace and purpose that deepened each time she returned to her mat. In addition, she fell in love with the cardiovascular aspect of power yoga, and trained with power yoga master Baron Baptiste. Melissa incorporates her passion for music into each class with a mix that invokes a fun atmosphere. Read the profile >>
The Yoga Circle, Birmingham Yoga, Mt. Brook YMCA
Pilar has been athletic since graduating from college and really just a big fan of movement since the time she could crawl. After the birth of her first child she became swept away with the freedom of running and was able to enjoy the sights and vistas of some pretty far flung locales atop those running shoes -- including some extra-long runs that came about from being completely lost. Over the years she added some other cross training through swimming (especially while pregnant), biking and group exercise but in her fourth decade she discovered yoga. She can’t honestly say that it was love at first sight since all those years of athletics led to crazy tight hamstrings and shoulders, but ultimately it was a match made in heaven. So much so that she wanted to share this gift of love... Read the profile >>
Shane Rodriguez is a CrossFit Level 1 certified trainer and has owned and operated Ignite Fitness Fueled by CrossFit for over 2 years. He has owned, operated and managed Lifestyle Fitness for 7 years. He also traveled nationwide representing Lady of America/Ladies Workout Express starting up over 10 health clubs. He has personal trained over 250 clients including Fabian Sanchez of “Dancing with the Stars”. A native of Baton Rouge were he went college at LSU and studied Business. Shane lived in Louisiana for 25 years before he moved with his job at AT&T in 1996. He was a Major Account Manager working there for 9 years and was a sales rep for over 14 years. Shane meet his wife Jill in 1998 and was married in 1999. They have been married for 13 years and have two daughters, Olivia... Read the profile >>
After the first time practicing yoga in 2002, Shannon fell in love with her mat and felt like she had come home to her true self. She became a Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher in 2007 after completing her training at the Tallapoosa Center for Inner Arts in Carrollton, GA. There she studied an eclectic style of Yoga and Tai Chi with Karen Sifton and Roger Hornsby. She has experience teaching prenatal and mom & baby yoga. She is also a freelance graphic designer, artist and aspiring musician. Shannon currently teaches Sacred Flow (a soulful heated vinyasa) and Sacred Dance (a unique yoga dance flow) at The Yoga Circle. Her classes are open to all levels, but come prepared to sweat! She believes the more you let go and allow for your own authentic movement to evolve, the more you... Read the profile >>
Shawn Galin is a true native of Alabama. He grew up in Gadsden where he was involved in various sports and activities, but lost touch with those things after moving to Birmingham to attend college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Shawn pursued his passion for the sciences receiving his B.S. degree, M.S. degree, and ultimately his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics. He is also a true UAB alumnus as he has never left UAB and is now an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division. Shawn was first introduced to yoga in 2006 after a back injury left him searching for an alternative treatment/therapy for chronic back pain. As his yoga practice grew, he was greatly inspired by yoga’s potential for healing at a physical, emotional, and spiritual level.... Read the profile >>
