Instructors Yoga on Center

Lorie Lower, Owner
Lorie has been practicing yoga since the early 2000s. Drawn to it by the opening of a studio in a small town in South Carolina, she was intrigued in the beginning and hooked by the time she and her family relocated to Richmond, Virginia. Deciding to dig deeper into the practice, she became a certified 200 RYT through Om On Studio in 2013.

In her practice, she reminds others of being present in the moment, offers creative and playful sequences, provides deep and thoughtful cues and encourages all her students to “just try it!” Lorie establishes the foundations then offers a safe journey to the peak poses.

Lorie discovered passion in the union of yoga and teaching. As with yoga, if it feels right and you can breathe easily, it was meant to be. The little and big life lessons learned on her mat have been a guiding force for a happier, fulfilled and busy life.

Thanks to all the teachers who have encouraged Lorie through this passion, her parents who always are available to listen, her daughters who provide a younger view and mostly her husband who never stops believing in her!

Rebekah Danielson
Rebekah started exploring yoga when she was twenty and felt its pull to become an essential element to her life immediately. It was several years later that she was able to find a consistent practice and a yoga community that she could call home in Lambertville, NJ at Dig Yoga. It was at Dig that Rebekah found a true love relationship with yoga and experienced deep healing emotionally, mentally and physically.

In 2019, after returning to her hometown of Richmond, VA, she completed her 200 hour Rocket based Vinyasa training at The Yoga Dojo. She felt a strong calling to be a part of the creation of space for healing through yoga after experiencing firsthand the transformative effects yoga had in her life. Rebekah believes that true inner peace and love for oneself resides within each of us and yoga can be a joyful vehicle to help you find it.

Elana Evans
Elana has always had a deep appreciation for different cultures and religions, a fascination that ultimately led her to yoga. She immediately fell in love with not only the physical practice, but also the spiritual teachings and enlightenment that yoga offers.

Thanks to a supportive college professor, she was able to immerse herself into the philosophy of yoga and incorporate it into her studies. She decided she still needed more and embarked on her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Humble Haven Yoga. Yoga has empowered her, and she hopes to help guide others through their own journey on the mat.

Taylor Hudson
Taylor Hudson began her Yoga journey in her early 20’s. Needing something to quiet her overly active and anxious mind, she quickly fell in love with the practice and its healing qualities. She recently completed her certification at Humble Haven in Shockoe Bottom and is eager to share just how life altering the practice can be.

“Yoga is so much more than most people assume. It’s not about how flexible you are, how long you can hold yourself upside down or how well you can balance. Yoga is a personal journey and only you know how far you’ve come and where it is that you’re headed. But, Yoga isn’t a quick fix. It makes its way in to your heart and soul over time and will forever change you for the better. If you’re consistent and dedicated to your practice, you might just find that yoga gives you a whole new perspective on life. That’s certainly what it has done for me.”

In her practices, Taylor likes to incorporate some of the old techniques as well as putting a bit of originality in to it. Her goal is to leave you eager to hop back on your mat as soon as you step off.

Andy Kaufmann
Andy is a Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel who served for more than 20 years all around the country and the world. Andy was an OH58D Kiowa Warrior Pilot and retired in 2009 after sustaining injuries in Iraq.

Andy is a certified RYT-500 with an emphasis on Trauma focused yoga, Gentle and restorative Yoga, Spinal Cord/TBI/Amputee Centered Yoga as well as trained in iRest and Yoga Nidra. He has taught yoga in the local area for the past three years including many fire stations, McGuire VA Medical Facility in Richmond, Glenmore, Hanover Yoga, Montpelier Center and others.

Andy is the Co-Founder of Checkpoint one, a non-profit using equine assisted therapy models, yoga, mindfulness and meditation focused on trauma for any status military, first responders and their families at no cost. He is a Certified Equine Specialist, Horse Inspired Growth and Healing and Horse Inspired Psychotherapy certified and on the EAGALA Military Task Force.

Laurie Owens
Laurie was introduced to Yoga more than thirteen years ago after taking her first class with a friend. She immediately fell in love with how she felt after Yoga. Initially attracted to the physical aspect, she quickly realized that the physical benefits are only one element of Yoga, rather than its sole purpose. Yoga continues to provide stability, strength, and calming benefits to Laurie's life both on and off the mat. It allows her to be a better person, teacher, wife and mother. There is a continuous transformation that Yoga brings to her, mentality, physically and spiritually.

Looking to deepen and enhance her practice, Laurie completed YogaWorks 200-hour Foundational Teacher Training Program at Yoga Source in March 2014, studying under Anne Van Valkenburg. She later completed her Yugala Yoga Teacher Training at Hot Yoga Barre with Michele Keeney in June 2016. Those experiences have allowed her to realize her Dharma in life. Laurie is grateful to be able to share her love and passion of Yoga with others through her teaching. Her classes are playful and fun; it is important to not take yourself too seriously. She believes that Yoga is for everyone and we should do something everyday that brings you joy.

McKenzie Payne
McKenzie Payne is a Richmond VA native who found yoga in her early 20’s. In 2016 McKenzie deepened her self study and began attending yoga classes regularly, finding a reprieve from everyday stress and anxiety of the fast paced modern world. In 2019 McKenzie completed the 200 hour intensive certified teacher training program from The Yoga Dojo in Richmond VA.

McKenzie incorporates pranayama (breath work), meditation and plenty of vinyasa’s into her classes to provide students the opportunity to stoke the fire within, cleanse the body of toxins while clearing out the agitations of the mind. McKenzie is dedicated to challenging students in a way that promotes self love and growth. No judgement, no comparison, just love. “There’s a lot of magic that happens on the mat that transfers off the mat.”

Wendy Phillips
In the late 1990s, after years of teaching and taking fitness classes, Wendy was introduced to her first yoga class and felt immediately at home. After practicing regularly for a few years, she became certified to teach in 2003. Wendy has taught for many years in the Hanover and Ashland communities.

Wendy’s classes bring a mindful awareness that allows us get to know our truth through our connection of body, mind and breath. The journey within ourselves becomes like a meditative dance on the mat.

Ingrid Stenbjorn
After many years of running, jogging, biking and backpacking, Ingrid felt very stiff and sore. In the late 1990s, she was introduced to the practice of yoga to battle the effects of these activities.

Yoga started as a means for Ingrid to enjoy these activities, but soon yoga became a passion itself; not only the asana practice, but the yoga tradition and spirituality. Seeing the many health and wellness benefits of practicing in herself, she decided to teach others. She began yoga teacher training through the Yoga Fit program in 2013 and became a certified 200 RYT in 2016.

Ingrid believes yoga is for everyone and should be practiced with a light heart, and often some laughter. She teaches to all levels, fosters safe and peaceful practices, and creates a welcoming environment in every class.

Sarah Steppacher
Sarah began practicing yoga as a way to unwind and de-stress during her college years. She immediately loved how relaxed and happy she felt after every class. It was not until after a traumatic car accident a few years later that she became committed to her yoga practice. She saw the powerful effects of yoga to heal oneself both mentally and physically, leading her to seek out ways to deepen her practice. In Spring 2019, she completed her 200 hour teacher training at The Yoga Dojo in Richmond.

Sarah loves bringing the gift of yoga to both kids and adults. In her vinyasa style classes, you will find a mix of different techniques including myofascial release and restorative poses to give you a well rounded practice. She looks forward to seeing you on the mat!

Whitney Wells-Corfield
Whitney is an outdoor-loving, spontaneous free spirit, and a lover of math and science. On a trip to New Zealand a few years ago she signed up for yoga teacher training in an airport on a whim and it was one of her best decisions to date! She completed her yoga teacher training at Shockoe Slip Yoga in December 2018.

In her former life she was a Division 1 Field Hockey player at the University of Richmond. Those years of intense training are probably why she loves a nice and sweaty vinyasa flow. If she looks familiar, it's probably because she's taught a young person you know! She is entering her fourteenth year as an elementary school teacher.

Whitney resides in Montpelier with her husband of thirteen years and her two children, Tucker, 8, and Sydney, 5. Her children are little yogis in the making. Yoga has become an avenue of creativity, self-reflection, and personal growth that she is ever-so-grateful to have embraced on an airport whim.