Merritt Island Yoga is the result of an inspiration born from the desire to share a love of something more than just yoga. It is a place to relax, re-energize and rejuvenate your body, mind and soul, hopefully allowing us to help guide you forward toward the person you want to be.

Yoga, and other healing arts and fitness designed for mind and spirit, as well as the body, can start the process of deep transformation beyond flexibility and physical strength. A person's connection to themselves, their confidence, balanced emotions, good health and desire for well being comes to the forefront with a consistent and mindful practice, and then radiates out to the universe by the continued learning, or deepening, of ones focus, empathy and compassion towards everyone and everything else.

At Merritt Island Yoga, we strive to be able to offer an eclectic blend of yoga styles with professionally trained teachers, workshops on an amazing variety of subjects beyond yoga, and hope with humble desire to be a community based retreat to revive your spirit, strengthen your body, build confidence in yourself and bring happiness and tranquility to your mind.

Merritt Island Yoga is brand new and opened on October 1st, 2012.

Using faith and the belief that a studio with our overall vision has a viable niche to help propel us into this endeavor, we hope to create not just a thriving business to help maintain healthy bodies and minds, but also to spread the consciousness of sustainability, eco-friendly practices, peace and respect among all beings in a non-competitive, non-judgmental, spirit nurturing environment.

At Merritt Island Yoga, we are proud advocates of 'building prosperity and charity locally', and will be hosting a variety of donation based events where the funds raised will be donated to local charities. We also will have connections with local artists of all kinds, and will be showcasing various artist's works within the studio space.

Thanks and we hope to see you here!

Kim Bolinger
Owner/Instructor

Please contact me with any questions.

kim@merrittislandyoga.com

TEACHER BIOS Kim Bolinger After several car accidents in the early 90's Kim turned to yoga as a way to alleviate the recurring pain she constantly experienced in her neck and lower back. In the 15 years since, it has been a fulfilling path of knowledge, strength, and inner calm that she has found within the practice as a student of yoga. It truly is a mind body spirit union, as it has not only keeps muscles strong, spines in alignment, it also helps one achieve a sense of quiet confidence, compassion, inner peace and balance that no other activity she knows of could have accomplished. Kim's main classes focus on core strength, incorporating a balanced blend of breathwork, proper alignment focus and relaxation techniques, and a dash of silly usually thrown in to keep it fun and funky. "I enjoy sharing my experience and knowledge with others, and hope to be able to help people simply realize the amazing potential of their mental, spiritual and physical capabilities. I learn something new with every practice myself, and you never know what you can do, until you give it a try."

John Estes John Estes has been a practitioner of the healing arts for over 30 years. He has been teaching qigong, tai chi, and yoga for over 20 years. Most recently, he has studied qigong in Florida under Jeff Primack and the Supreme Science Qigong Foundation. John first began studying yogametrics in 1972. He had hatha yoga training from individual teachers in the 1970’s. From 1979-1980 he studied Ashtanga Yoga with Guru Baba Hari Dass and the Hanuman Fellowship in California while studying to be a massage practitioner at the Heartwood Wholistic Health Institute. From 1982-1983 he took classes in qigong, tai chi, hatha yoga, and Taoist yoga in Santa Cruz, California at Twin Lakes College of Natural Health as part of his massage therapist/natural health counselor certification. John has taught these self-healing disciplines individually to his massage clients for many years. He has also taught yoga, tai chi, and qigong at Crystal Visions Wholistic Health Center (Cocoa, FL), Natural Health Services (Vero Beach, FL), and the former Atlantic Nautilus Health Club (Merritt Island, FL). He is currently also teaching qigong at the Cocoa Beach Library (Cocoa Beach, FL) and practices massage therapy at Massage by Morakot.

Diane Coben Diane Coben is a yoga practioner for the past 14 years, and enjoys sharingyoga to help others improve their quality of life. Diane earned her 200 hour certification in Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, and Meditation through Red Sun Yoga in Winter Springs, Florida. She is currently earning a 500 hour certification with a concentration in Yoga Therapy at St. Petersburg Yoga. She has studied locally with Jan Seals and Alycen LaBarca, and has been teaching for four years. Diane has direct experience working with back, neck, and shoulder injuries. She is registered with the Yoga Alliance as a RYT 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification through Red Sun Yoga Certification in Winter Springs. Diane is currently attending 500-hour Teacher Training at St. Petersburg Yoga, with a concentration in Yoga Therapy.

Ruby Saunders Ruby Saunders is a certified Yoga Teacher through the Chopra Center of Well-Being, and is registered with the Yoga Alliance. Ruby is also an Ayurveda and Yoga Health Educator through the American Institute of Vedic Studies. And she is now studying with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in a Health Coach training program. Ruby has been teaching since 2006. She works with people of all age and levels of fitness. Her classes are flowing, invigorating and joyful. Ruby’s focus is on breath awareness and alignment principles in order to help student’s develop their own inner guidance, intuition, and confidence. As students develop this confidence they move more easily toward the natural inner peace and happiness Yoga has to teach us. Nurture Your Well-Being!

Melissa Jackson Dancing for close to 10 years and having obtained her certification to teach belly dance from BellyUSA of Orlando, Melissa has found in belly dance not only a daily passion but also a way to keep the body fit and limber. Gentle enough for all body types, belly dance will develop strength for the core muscles physically, and confidence for the mind mentally! You will feel more alive and sassy, the low self esteem that many women have developed over the years towards their bodies will soon disappear as Melissa has a great way of encouraging you to get up and dance while feeling comfortable in the studio. Melissa has continued studying different styles of belly dancing including Egyptian, Turkish, gypsy as well as Tribal Fusion and also Yoga. All of these elements are vital for a belly dance workout to keep the class interesting and fun. All of the movements are gentle and simple yet will develop strength, flexibility and confidence. With a continued attendance ladies shall watch their posture change as well as their self image.

Dating back thousands of years, yoga is one of the first recorded systems of physical and mental exercise. The word yoga translates as , “to yoke, or join together”. The concept of yoga aims to do just that, to join your mind with your body using meditation, breathing techniques and different poses to enhance concentration and awareness. Physically, yoga can help build strength, enhance balance, and create better flexibility for the body. Mentally, yoga can relax the mind, increase focus and self esteem, and help reduce overall stress levels.

A consistent practice will increase your awareness to not only your own body, but externally, allowing the compassion that you show yourself by being good to your body and mind to spread outward, which in turn benefits the environment, other people and the planet as a whole. Yoga makes you feel good and that reflects in everything you do, creating more calm, peace and happiness in your life.

There are many different styles of yoga, some very challenging, others very gentle. Be sure that the class you choose to begin with is one that fits your needs both physically and mentally. Spending time on your health is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a long life that is healthy and happy.