Karen Stevenson (above, with Diane) was first introduced to yoga through Giving Yoga over two years ago.  She was looking for a way to stay active while undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. A mutual friend introduced Karen to Diane and Giving Yoga. After the first class, Karen was captivated. Both physically and mentally, practicing yoga helped her progress through her medical treatments more easily. In addition, she was very excited about the "donation-only" aspect of Diane's classes and readily made the long commute to practice yoga. Karen has taken and continues to take yoga teacher trainings through YogaFit. She plans to continue down the path of enhancing her yoga practice and teaching skills, with a long-term goal of introducing and providing yoga practice to other people going through cancer treatments.

Christina Madsen found yoga about 10 years ago and it changed her life.  She discovered great calm and serenity surrounding the practice of yoga but also loved the physical results.  Yoga has helped her in so many aspects of life from stress management to pregnancy.  “The thing I love most about yoga is that it shows up continuously throughout your day whether it be a relaxation technique after a long meeting or relieving stress with breathing after a challenging conversation with a pre-schooler!”  After leaving her software development job eight years ago to become an at-home mom, she had a lot of time to think about what the future had in store for her.  “As I practiced more and more yoga, I realized that teaching yoga was the rewarding job I was always looking for.” 

Christina is leading the Wednesday morning classes in Vienna at the Lakevale Estates clubhouse.  Practicing with Christina, you can expect a little of everything: flowing vinyasas, powerful isometric poses, and restorative relaxation techniques.  Recently certified with Yogafit for Level 1, Christina is continuing with her certification process and looking forward to spreading the joy of yoga.