People

Annie lives and guides others from the perspective that reconnecting with ourselves as Nature; creative, nourishing and connected to all is an enlivening and generative way to create a life we love. 

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Annie leads Wheel of the Year workshops, guiding participants to reconnect with nature's cyclical, seasonal energy and their own sacred Wild selves.

Christy has played guitar for more than 30 years, been a songwriter for 25 years, and she has taught people of all ages to play over the last 15 years. She shares her gifts in Sound Healing classes and Kirtan gatherings, using guitar, drum, signing bowls, rattle, and more to soothe the nervous system. She also offers private Sound Healing and Mindful-Life Coaching.

Karen Sonnenwald is a woman on a mission. It is her firm belief that taking care of oneself is not a luxury but a necessity, especially for women! It is through her own personal journey that she discovered the power of meditation, yoga, and the chakra system early on in life. She has studied many spiritual traditions that allow her to form a daily practice that is unique and welcoming to individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds. She holds a BA in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies from Montclair State University. She studied MBSR at Ramapo University and Yin yoga at Jaipure yoga. She taught meditation and held labyrinth walks at Cedar Crest Active Retirement Community in Pompton Plains, NJ.

When she is not working in the healthcare industry, she enjoys being outdoors, taking photos of nature, practicing qigong (a recent addition to her daily practices), listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and sitting in quiet contemplation with her cat, Shakti. 

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Karen offers a weekly Guided Meditation class and also teaches occasional workshops like Yin + Meditation with Lee Ann Brown-Prostko on 2nd Saturdays. She is available for private Reiki and meditation sessions as well.

In 2018, Lee completed her 200hr yoga teacher training and shortly thereafter began teaching Yin yoga. In addition to Yin yoga, Lee has taught Yinyasa and Yoga for Everybody classes, as well as beginner’s short courses. She is drawn to the grounding effects of her yoga practice and the safe space yoga gives her to shut out the world a few times during the week.

Lee is excited to provide that same space she finds so necessary for peaceful introspection and rejuvenation for her students. Lee is currently working on her 300hr certification through Asheville Yoga Center and expects to complete the program by the end of 2023.

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Join Lee on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. for Yoga for Any Body!

Melissa is co-owner of Green Heart Awakening. She has been studying herbalism since 2010 and practicing yoga since 1995. Melissa began teaching yoga in 2016 and enjoys offering yoga classes that are accessible for all bodies.

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Melissa teaches Yoga for Any Body classes on Mondays and Fridays at 10 a.m. She also teaches occasional outdoor yoga classes at the SC Botanical Garden in Clemson.

Shannon is co-owner of Green Heart Awakening and teaches occasional plant-based cooking classes. Shas been eating and cooking mostly plant-based meals for over 13 years. She started for health reasons and now there are all kinds of reasons why her diet is plant-based. She has over a decade of experience in creating plant-based recipes that are easy, healthy, and enjoyable to eat.

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Shannon is also a Master Gardener and manages the Green Heart Awakening greenhouse.

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You can request a cooking class for your group of 4-8 people by emailing shannon@greenheartawakening.com.

Casey Certain is trained in hypnotherapy, meditation, breathwork, yoga, aromatherapy, auriculotherapy, among other modalities. Her great joy, however, is introducing individuals to the Animal Allies who have been working, and who wish to continue working, with them in order to bring balance to their healing journey. Her own journey is assisted most frequently by Rabbit, Blue Jay, Fox, Crow, and Black Snake.

Casey's journey with yoga began when she was 15. Throughout her years of practice, she has adopted the philosophy that the teachings and practices found in yoga support an awakening into a more compassionate and balanced state of being that supports health and longevity through alignment of mind, body, and spirit.

Since 2016, Casey has led various yoga and meditation classes for youth and adults as a path for pursuing mental, physical, and emotional health and wellness. Her calm energy and ability to create safe space make meditation, pranayama and restorative yoga her specialties. It is her greatest desire that those who join her for any session walk away having fully dropped into the body while building awareness of their breath so that they feel empowered and at peace.

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Working to explore, record, and share what the Animals, Plants, and Land wish to share and teach, she now offers private sessions and retreats as an Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner at her homestead in Walhalla, South Carolina, with her husband David.

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You can learn more about her homestead and healing arts practice at reidhomestead.com and find some of her recorded Animal Meditations on her Patreon Inner Certainty Healing Arts.

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Casey teaches Teen Yoga at Green Heart Awakening and has an Animal Allies workshop coming up on October 1.

Gary Michaelangelo Carbone has been training in Tai Chi, Qigong, and Chinese Martial Arts since 1983 and has been teaching professionally since 1995. He is grateful and honored to share this beautiful system with others.

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Gary teaches Tai Chi & Qigong classes on Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. and also offers short courses on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

Kristy is an herbalist, Reiki master, and lover of the moon, crystals & animism. She teaches classes and workshops in the GHA Wellness Lab and offers private appointments there as well. The GHA Natural Market carries her topical herbal products and nature-inspired artwork.

Lee Ann teaches Yoga for Any Body classes on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. She also offers two monthly classes:

• Restorative Yoga with Sound Healing (with Christy Williamson)

• Yin Yoga + Meditation Workshop (with Karen Sonnenwald)

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Lee Ann is available for private yoga sessions tailored to the individual.

Sarah Stokowski (She/Her) is a 200-hour RYT and holds a PhD in Sport Studies from the University of Tennessee. Sarah completed her yoga teacher training in 2018 at the Yoga Deza Institute in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Sarah is trained in power yoga, yoga sculpt, and yin yoga. When she’s not practicing yoga or bingeing the latest series on Netflix, Sarah is an Associate Professor of Athletic Leadership at Clemson University researching student-athlete development. A native of Aurora, Illinois, Sarah resides in Pendleton with her partner Joey and their two dogs and four cats.

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Sarah teaches Vinyasa, (Y)inspired Flow, and Awakening Power Yoga classes.

We welcome Courtney to the GHA family!

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Courtney will be offering barre-style classes, and we love her body-positive approach to teaching.