About Spiritus Yoga

A friend dragged me to a yoga class in 1999.  I was a single mother with 2 kids, going through a rough time. 

This studio was built in the teacher's backyard, with glass walls, candlelight and soft music. The teacher gave us down-filled comforters during savasana and she wore bright red lipstick and a beautiful white turban. I was enchanted.

Back then, I didn't really understand what was going on in that tiny glass studio but  I felt love, wisdom and truth and I was hooked. 

The experience of deep personal losses  - my kids to a custody battle, my sister to suicide, and both parents to cancer instilled a deep empathy for people navigating the rough edges of life.  Spiritus was born of the desire to give to others what I was given in 1999- a compassionate environment offering three things:


CLARITY 

Why are you here? What are you doing with the precious minutes of your life? How can you live skillfully, both with the ordinary routines as well as the out-of-the-box surprises? 


CARE (as in "self"-care)

We all want to live well and need support to do so.  Often friends and family are unable or unwilling to give us what we truly need. Yoga offers the tools for you to thrive and survive in all circumstances.


COMMUNITY

Join our classes of like-minded people that are likely searching for t

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About The Teachers

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Arlene Riley

  • Life Education/ Certification > UNC Chapel Hill, NCSU School of Design, RYT200 One Center Yoga, YogaFit Level 1
  • Why did you become a yoga teacher > My yoga teacher needed a sub and asked me to get certified.
  • Hobbies and Interests > Making art, hiking, sound therapy, indoor gardening
  • Life Motto > The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
  • Background/Life Experience >  Design positions with IBM, UNC Public TV, pharmaceuticals, Sales with Bell Atlantic, commercial real estate firms, Adjunct professor in art and design in North and South Carolina, former owner of CarePatrol of WNC
  • Modalities and Specialities > Restorative, Vinyasa, Yin, Chair.

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Polly Wing

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Marian Soss

  • Life Education/Certification> UNC-Asheville, American University, Oxford University, RYT500 Asheville Yoga Center, SilverSneakers
  • Why did you become a yoga teacher> Yoga strengthened and aligned my back due to pain and gave me a newfound peace of mind, so I wanted to teach others how to achieve the desired benefits of yoga.
  • Hobbies and Interests> Yoga, hiking, snow skiing, gardening, reading
  • Life Motto> This, above all, to thy own self be true. (William Shakespeare)
  • Background/Life Experiences> Public Health Advisor with Centers for Disease Control, Research Assistant for Anthropology with University of California at San Francisco, Community Educator with Williamsburg AIDS Network in Virginia
  • Modalities and Specialities> Viniyoga for Back Care, Yin, Chair

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Clare Villenski

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Jenny Moreno

  • Life Education/Certification> UNC-Asheville, BA in Literature; WCU, MAEd (English) and MSA (School Administration); Asheville Yoga Center, RYT200
  • Why Did You Become A Yoga Teacher?> It was my dream, and when I retired in June 2019, I was able to enroll in a teacher program.
  • Hobbies and Interests> yoga, reading,quilting, gardening, chickens, dogs
  • Life Motto> I dwell in possibility. (Emily Dickinson)
  • Background/Life Experiences> Teacher, Principal, Mother, Daughter, Wife, Grandmother, Friend
  • Modalities and Specialities> Vinyasa, Chair 

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Loretta Zedella

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Garrett LaValley

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