http://www.betterbodiesyoga.com
Owner of Better Bodies Yoga
Karen Moss is the founder, owner and director of Better Bodies Yoga, which opened its doors in December 2004. Karen is grounded in a strong athletic foundation and maintains certification from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) which she earned initially in 1995 and received a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certification from YogaWest in traditional Hatha Yoga. She earned a second 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certification from YogaWorks after making Better Bodies Yoga an export teacher training site in partnership with YogaWorks. Karen has earned several Therapeutic Yoga Certifications; one from Judith Lassater and a Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors Certification from Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. In 2011, she studied with renowned Asthanga yogin David Swenson, learning to teach the Primary Ashtanga Series. Karen earned her 300-hour Yoga Alliance Certification from The Himalayan Institute of Swami Rama and is a registered ERYT 500-hour Yoga Alliance Teacher. In addition, she has trained and become certified in other areas of fitness, strength, health and wellness, sports conditioning and age specific instruction. Karen is certified and teaches on The Great Yoga Wall® which is located in Better Bodies Yoga building 2.
Energetic and athletic, Karen’s students leave her classes energized, motivated, and relaxed. Although her Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga classes are challenging and rigorous, she also enjoys instructing and feels privileged to teach fundamentals and daily functional training to newcomers, therapeutic yoga, and yoga to cancer patients in a softer format to ensure a solid and safe foundation.
All of her classes are focused on correct diaphragmatic breathing, form, alignment, functional fitness and moving safely. Karen has found a particular niche in providing private yoga lessons to especially athletes or any persons recovering from injuries or looking to prevent future ones. Karen's compassion, patience and tenacity give much needed comfort, hope, self-empowering knowledge and inner strength to persons enduring brutal cancer treatments or recovering from life threatening injuries such as brain damage, and chronic conditions like fibromyalgia, COPD and Parkinson’s Disease.
All of Karen’s students, three children and husband find her compassionate, sympathetic, understanding, and interested in their individual needs. Because yoga has helped Karen through the most challenging times of her life ~ personal loss, grief, injuries, and the aging process ~ she is truly committed to providing every individual who walks through her doors, with the foundation and guidance to allow yoga to help balance, bring harmony, and inner peace, to their lives as well.
Over the past 8 years, Karen has made her life’s work giving people an opportunity to come to a safe, serene and very healing place to breathe in life, move, and find comfort, gain energy and hope from each other in a sacred space where they do not feel self-conscious but do feel connected and alive. Karen added to the studio a "Healing Garden" with ten flowing and soothing fountains where outdoor yoga and meditation classes are held during the warmer months. When the garden is not in use, Karen opens and encourages all active patrons of the studio to bring a book and to take advantage of this magnificent outdoor space. She feels that ultimately this is her Seva (contribution) and the way in which she will leave the world a better place than before she entered it.
