​Meet our team of Yoga Instructors

E-RYT 200, PRYT(Prenatal), YACEP Yoga Instructor, Studio Owner

Del has been teaching Yoga for 14 years and has been a student of yoga for over 18 years. She received her 200 hour RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher certification with Yoga Alliance) from the Institute of Health and Healing in Newport News in 2006. In August of 2010 she received her E-RYT (Experienced) Certification through Yoga Alliance. She is also an RPYT (Registered Prenatal Teacher) through Om Mamma Prenatal School in Richmond as well as through a Yogafit training in Maryland. Del is also a Certified Booty Barre Instructor.
During the past 18 years, she has attended many workshops and experienced many styles of Yoga. Beginning in 2011, she was one of the lead teachers in a local 200 hour yoga teacher training. As Del specializes in Prenatal/Postpartum Yoga, she has also taught in a 300-hour level training in the local area. Del is currently teaching in the Garden of Zen Yoga Teacher Training Program!
In June of 2013, Del opened her own Yoga Studio here in Yorktown, VA – The Garden of Zen Yoga Studio. A lifelong believer and practitioner of natural medicine, the welcoming and healing environment fostered by the GOZ community is a natural fit for Del’s desires to merge yoga and herbal healing.
As such, in March of 2018, Del completed a six-month Apprenticeship in the Art, Science and Ceremony of Herbal Medicine at Sacred Plant Traditions in Charlottesville, Va., A Center of Herbal Studies. Del has also completed a two-year program, Whole Living 1 and 2 (2018-2019) at Forrest Green Farm, Louisa, Va. This program focused on organic gardening, wildcrafting ethically and safely, harvesting and preserving herbs, integrating herbs for food and medicine, nutrition, and eating with the seasons to support us in our everyday life.
Del is passionate about yoga and living a life connected to the earth. She hopes to share the gift of yoga and its many benefits in her community. Continually seeking to grow as a teacher, a student of yoga, and as a Community Herbalist - she is committed to teaching with both safety and body awareness. There are wonderful benefits to a Yoga practice ~ clarity, spacious-opening and flexibility, grace, free-flowing energy, well-being, and strength among many – and so Del is delighted to share this powerful and healthy practice with you as you begin your journey as a Yoga Instructor.
Del is a wife and mother of three; she is also a proud grandmother of two beautiful granddaughters.
Since opening the studio in 2013, it has been Del’s dream to open a heart-centered and earth-honoring yoga teacher training.
This dream is now coming true!
My mantra –
“I dream my painting and then I paint my dream” _ Vincent Van GoghThe school website is below!!!

Christine Griggs was born and raised in France. She traveled the world with her husband John and their three children before settling down in Virginia in 1998. She is a multilingual translator and has used her skills throughout her travels to volunteer with refugees, work as a foreign languages teacher, a Virginia Court interpreter and a freelance translator.
When she discovered yoga in 2006, she found the universal language that would help her on her mission: to empower others to find the magic within them and share it with the world. Her trainings include Yoga Fit, the Swami Satchidananda Integral 200-hour training, and Rolf Gates' 500-hour Advanced Vinyasa training. She learned Vipassana meditation at the Theraveda Buddhist temple of Wat Pasantidhamma.
She is an ERYT-500, YACEP Yoga teacher and is constantly sharpening her skills with trainings and independent studies. 
She is passionate about the Truth of Yoga and has developed those 3 Core beliefs:
Yoga is much more than a physical exercise, it is a practice of wholeness. In her classes, you will be guided into awareness and transformation of all the parts of your being.
We don't just practice yoga on the mat, we take it into our lives. It is very important to her to teach her students practical skills that they can USE in their everyday lives
ANYONE can do Yoga. She is very passionate about making yoga available to everyone and designed her Chair Yoga classes for that purpose.
All her classes reflect and integrate those 3 core beliefs: they are inspirational and provide a safe caring environment, as well as a mindful rejuvenating practice interwoven with yogic principles that empower her students to live the lives they are meant to live.
She teaches yoga classes and workshops in her community in Virginia, as well as during her travels. She is a founding faculty member of Zenya Yoga Academy, where she has been training hundreds of teachers since 2011. Her specialties are Vinyasa, Yin and Chair Yoga. She also specializes in Yoga Fundamentals, Yoga Nidra, Chakras philosophy, Methodology of Yoga, Class Sequencing, Mindfulness and Meditation, Lifestyle and Ethical principles of Yoga and Buddhism and how to incorporate them into our lives.
She is the author of Yoga with a French Twist; a Journey through the Chakras. Within hours of being live, it was a 

#1 New Amazon Release!
She is still traveling the world, enjoys running, hiking, reading, writing, talking and learning about spirituality, spending time with friends and family, watching British shows, sitting in her meditation garden listening to the sounds of nature. She also deeply believes in Spiritual Activism, taking care of our environment, protecting animals and fighting for justice for our children and those who don't have a voice. Follow your heart!
You can find more on her website!

Mary has always led an active lifestyle, though moving back to the States after four years Overseas to begin Middle School in Yorktown, VA, was a bit of a culture shock. Throughout the following years, Mary could not quite seem to find her niche and bounced from recreational sport to sport, until finally during her Freshman Year of high school she took up Tae Kwon Do and long distance running. After obtaining her Black Belt and logging hundreds of miles, Mary decided that the physiology and even psychology behind exercise and well-being was just too alluring to ignore, and before long, she was enrolled at VCU in Richmond, VA, in order to earn her B.S. in Exercise Science and Minor in Psychology. In 2006 while still at VCU, Mary was certified as a Personal Trainer and Yoga instructor and has been training clients and teaching classes ever since.
Prior to and upon graduation in 2009, Mary has served in various commercial, corporate, private and even medical wellness facilities, training individuals from all walks of life; at-risk youth, individuals recovering from injuries and even teaching yoga classes geared towards endurance athletes. Her passion, however, is working with clients to maintain physical and emotional balance and well-being.
​With her background in yoga and her own personal experience with running, backpacking, and climbing, Mary’s expertise revolves around functional training – for everyone. Mary works with clients to pinpoint muscular imbalances and helps them to develop more body awareness – because to Mary, developing body awareness and strength geared towards functional movement is essential to avoiding injury and staying fit. Mary was also recently certified as a Lifestyle Educator through FirstLine Therapy, and works with clients wishing to make lifestyle changes through engaging in healthier eating and increased physical activity.
Certifications

RYT - 200
B.S. Exercise Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, August 2009
TRX (Total Body Resistance Exercise) Group and Private Instructor Certification, September 2012
R.I.P.P.E.D (Resistance, Intervals, Power, Plyometric, Endurance, and Diet), May 2012
FirstLine Therapy Lifestyle Educator, March 2012
ACE Personal Trainer Certification, December 2009
AFPA Personal Trainer Certification, March 2006
Adult and Child AED/CPR and First Aid,  December 2011 
MadDogg Indoor Cycling Certification, November 2010
YogaFit Level 1 Certification, June 2007
BootyBarre Certification,  February 2015

Becky is a retired educator who taught elementary education and special education preK-high school, worked as a building level administrator, and ultimately became a teacher educator.  As a consultant trainer for ETS, she trained teachers and administrators in 43 of the 50 states.  Being married to a career Navy man allowed her the experience of living and traveling many places across the U.S. and Europe and provided her with a tremendous awareness and appreciation for diversity and multiculturalism.  She has been a Yorktown resident for the past 30 years.  

Becky discovered the benefits of Yoga several years ago as she was searching for relief from chronic back pain.  She quickly found that yoga is much more than contorting the body into poses – it is a way of life blending mind, body, and spirit.  She completed her 200-hour training at ZYA in Newport News and has recently completed the YogaWarriorsInternational™ training, hoping to take her Yoga practice to a higher level working with wounded warriors and caretakers.  Becky adapts her classes to meet the needs of her students, focusing on helping students find their center and improve their strength, flexibility, and balance.  

Audrey is a York County local with serious adrenaline issues (skydiving, anyone?), and a passion for serving others. Diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at the age of eighteen, Audrey was determined to incorporate healthy lifestyle habits and natural remedies into her treatment. A few months later in January of 2009, she began her first yoga class. Originally intending to use yoga as not only a compliment to her medical treatment, but also as a way to stay fit as an aspiring airline stewardess, she was surprised to instead find her niche in the serenity and incredible journey that was yoga. 

Trading in her travel aspirations in for an RYT-200 (Registered Yoga Teacher through Zenya Yoga Academy) in the Spring of 2013, Audrey has committed her life to serving others through yoga. Additionally, she has since enjoyed five years of health far exceeding the grim predictions of her doctors, and is entirely confident she has yoga combined with a healthy lifestyle to thank for her success in combating Crohn's disease. 

When Audrey is doing something other than lounging around in Scorpion Pose, you'll most likely find her afloat in her kayak, playing fetch with Aziza (the mystery mutt), or seeking out local adventures with her loved ones. She couldn't be more excited to be a part of the Garden of Zen family, and sincerely looks forward to traveling through this yoga journey with you.

Martine has a passion: restoring physical and mental balance to all her students through therapeutic yoga exercises led by a warm and caring instructor.  Since her earliest years growing up in France, Martine has always enjoyed sports (aerobics, tennis, Jazzercise, and fifteen years of yoga), but when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer, she found her calling.  As her daughter slowly recovered, Martine was drawn to therapeutic yoga, taking her 200 hour yoga certification at the Glenmore Yoga and Wellness Center in Richmond, focusing on a gentle yoga designed for students recovering from illness, surgery or other health considerations.  Martine adapts her classes to ensure that all of her students can safely practice poses that develop strength, increase range of motion, and enhance self-esteem and wellbeing.  Martine strives to ensure that all her students leave her class stronger, both physically and emotionally.  

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Nancy settled into Hampton Roads in 1994 with her husband and two sons. She discovered yoga in 2008 after two years of physical therapy due to a back injury from a car accident. She quickly realized the many benefits of yoga for the body, mind, and spirit. Yoga was the answer to her life-long interest of being health conscious and physically active but not competitive. Her interest evolved from practicing locally to exploring yoga techniques in studios worldwide while traveling with her husband, always packing her mat wherever the destination. Nancy's passion and belief in yoga shines 100% and her energy comes from teaching yoga and being of service to others by making a difference in others’ lives. 
 Accomplishing 200- and 300-hour yoga certification, Nancy also is certified to teach child, prenatal, and senior yoga as well as tai chi. She is certified in Silver Sneakers, which is a free health benefit for those 65+ with insurance. Her most recent certification is for Parkinson's through the Brian Grant Foundation. Always remaining humble on the yogic path, Nancy is invested in learning more about the ancient practice knowing what light of knowledge she soaks in, she radiates out to others. 
"Inspiring yourself through the yoga physical practice and the emotional link is a human connection we all seek. We're using our bodies and breath to find the common ground of the human language of love and compassion for ourselves as well as others, and nothing is lost in translation. By the end of class, something is different. We're no longer strangers. We see that despite any differences that we're just the same." - by Robert Schware, Huffingpost. 
Nancy likes to meditate, listen to Kirtan music, connect with nature, and travel. Along with staying active with yoga classes and workshops, she is on the York County Senior Board and stays busy with her family.  

Tai chi for Arthritis Certified

Kim was born and raised in Yorktown, VA and now resides in Poquoson, VA with her husband. She grew up dancing (ballet, tap, jazz, and many more styles) and has always had a passion for movement. So when Kim attended her first yoga class in college, it was a natural fit. She continued to develop her personal yoga practice throughout college and graduated from Liberty University with a degree in accounting in 2013. Seeking to deepen her practice and find balance in both her career and lifestyle, Kim began her yoga teacher training in 2016 and became a RYT-200 Yoga Instructor in 2017. After years of nurturing a passion for yoga, meditation and mindfulness, Kim is eager to share this passion with the community in her hometown. Kim enjoys teaching Vinyasa style yoga classes that focus on both building strength and clearing stress. She believes that a yoga class should generate positive energy and cultivate a strong connection between the mind, body, and spirit.

Jessica was born and raised in Northern Virginia. Some might call her the sensitive artist type. Before having children, she was a Graphic Designer & Print CS Rep. She and her husband moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2003, where they started a family. Striving to be the best, she quit working to concentrate on giving her family all of her time and energy. Even with a busy family, she tried to be physically active when she could.
Jessica took her first Yoga class in the mid-90s and has practiced on & off since then. If not Yoga, she tried to be active in other ways, like working out at home and meeting friends at the gym. After living in PA for almost 13 years, she moved back to Virginia, but now on the southern coast, which is awesome because she loves
the ocean.
She still loves to take care of her family & home, but her daughters are growing up and she wanted to find a new purpose, outside of her home. She went to Yoga class to help with the stress of trying to figure things out. Little did she know, that Yoga was her new purpose! She wanted, even needed, more than what a gym Yoga class could give her. Fate stepped in and now she is proud to say she is a Yoga Instructor. Being able to help herself and others is very fulfilling to her. She wants to be her best self, for her, for her family, and for everyone else in her life. Yoga is teaching her the tools to be herself and to be happy. She is dedicated to teach and show you how Yoga can bring happiness and tranquility into your life.
When Jessica is not spending time with friends and family, being a softball- and dance-mom, or practicing Yoga, she is being “crafty”. She loves to make homemade cards, fun home décor, and scrapbooking her family’s fun and active life. – Namaste!

Lee is active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard having served as a Health Promotion Coordinator where he experienced his first yoga class.  He has always enjoyed health sciences and fitness including various outdoor activities such as running, bicycling, and kayaking.  He returned to a regular practice of yoga after traditional rehabilitation failed to produce results following a skiing accident in 2016.  Lee is a graduate of 200-hour teacher training at Zenya Yoga Academy and 300-hour teacher training at Swami Satchidananda Ashram – Yogaville, and has specialized teacher training in meditation, restorative, adaptive/chair, and trauma sensitive.  He is also a registered EMT, and certified first aid and CPR instructor.   He completed his BBA at Averett University (Danville, VA) and MAEd at Argosy University (Honolulu, HI).  His yoga journey is representative of a passage from Yoga Vasistha, “Who am I who speaks, walks, stands, and functions on this elaborate stage known as the world?  I should find this out.”

Born in Fife, Scotland, Frances has traveled and lived overseas for many years throughout her career with the British Government.  More than 25 years ago in Scotland, Frances attempted her first yoga class in order to find an alternative exercise option from running outside in the rain.  Upon recognizing the challenge of a yoga practice, and the various limitations she experienced (touch my toes - is that a joke?  Hold a Downward Facing Dog?  I don’t think so!) a newly humbled, and inspired Frances began to seek as much knowledge for her own personal yoga practice as possible.
Upon moving to Washington D.C. where she met and married her husband.  They were fortunate enough to move every two years with her husband’s military service, this gave her the opportunity to try out different styles of yoga, from the East Coast to the West Coast.  They eventually settled into Southern VA, this granted her the opportunity to take the next step and enroll in the RYT-200 Teacher Training at Zenya Yoga Academy.  Then followed on with the RYT-300 Teacher Training.  Finding a love of Yin Yoga, Frances has taken 150hrs

Training with Biff Mithoefer.  
Frances finds herself drawn to Vinyasa Flow, Yin, Yoga Nidra, and Chair Yoga.  Constantly evolving, incorporating meditation and Yoga Nidra into the class allows everyone to find Joy in their practice.   Her motto - forever a student of yoga, on and off of the mat, you can take your practice with you wherever you go - at home, in a studio, or just sitting outside in quiet meditation.

Alexis is an RYT 500, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor with additional training and certificates in trauma-sensitive yoga and mind-body addiction recovery coaching.  She discovered the benefits of yoga through her own journey toward wellness and self-acceptance and finds joy in sharing what she continues to learn with others.  When not teaching or training, Alexis can be found living her yoga with her husband on their small farm where they raise milk goats, heritage turkeys, and a bunch of crazy chickens. 

Sumeda is a certified yoga instructor and certified in stress management. Raised in Bangalore, India, she brings the eastern perspective and an authenticity to her yoga. As a scientist and a chemistry teacher by profession, she is able to attain a good mix of both the western and eastern perspectives of bodily forms. She is also able to get old ideas to the west with her understanding of Sanskrit and Ayurveda. She has experience practicing Hatha and Ashtanga forms of yoga. Come join her for the relaxing and stress relief salutations.

Agatha was born in California but moved with her parents back to Switzerland as a toddler. She spent the rest of her childhood in Switzerland where she earned a business degree. Later she moved back to the states where she married her husband, a naval officer. While in the USA she earned her nursing degree which she has kept active. Being married to the military meant thirteen moves, but she and her husband still managed to raise three children.

An avid runner since childhood, Agatha ran her first half-marathon while living in Germany. All of the years of running finally caught up with her and she suffered numerous injuries which helped her to finally discover yoga. She is passionate about her practice because she saw first-hand what a great difference it has made in her life. Agatha is a  certified RYT 200 Teacher from Zenya Yoga Academy in Newport News and she is also certified in Chair Yoga, Meditation and CPR certified through the Red Cross. 

Maygen is a homegrown Pennsylvanian and has lived in several parts of the U.S. to include Mississippi, Florida, California, and now Yorktown, Virginia. After a traumatic car accident, battling PTSD and anxiety that followed it, Maygen was determined to find a positive, uplifting outlet. After a year of trying to find ways to cope, she went to a yoga class at GOZ and was on a high with how she felt afterwards! It wasn’t long after that first class that she signed up for Yoga Teacher Training, graduated, and is now determined to spread the benefits of yoga for mental and emotional health. When Maygen isn’t creating yoga sequences, she is challenging herself in the kitchen, hanging out with her family, and working on her 300-hour YTT. She is beyond excited to be a part of the Garden of Zen Family, where it all began.

In 1978, Vicki took her first yoga class at the Los Angeles Center for Yoga. After more than 40 years, 4 children, and 20 years in the Air Force, she is still going to classes. The difference is that she is also teaching some of the classes. In 2012, she completed the initial 200 hour training. She wanted to introduce yoga to those who believe yoga is weird, only stretching, or only for those who are already flexible. She also completed her 500 hour training and a variety of classes for continuing education. Through YogaFit, she completed focused training for back problems, seniors, weight loss and people who are overweight. At Satchidananda Ashram, the Integral Yoga Academy, she completed 20 hours of LifeForce Yoga for depression and 30 hours of Yoga for Arthritis. She is an experienced teacher with well over 500 classes taught. She has been teaching a group of mostly retirees at Langley AFB twice a week for 6 years.
Vicki has brought her husband to yoga. They like to travel and try local studios wherever they go. They have tried Ashtangha yoga and plan to keep trying different types and different places. “Yoga has brought positive mental and physical changes to our lives. Where would I be without it? “

Vashwee is a RYT 200 certified yoga trainer who was born and brought up in a military family in India. She started her yoga journey 8 years back when she was pursuing her MBA. She was smitten with the effect of yoga on the mind, body and well-being and got inspired to pay it forward. She learned from extremely talented yoga instructors in India and is a progeny of Garden of Zen’s first Yoga Teacher Training batch. She enjoys practicing and teaching about pranayama and yoga asanas and is familiar with Hatha, Vinyasa, Power and Acro yoga styles. She enjoys reading about health, wellness and human psychology. In her leisure time Vashwee enjoys being close to nature by taking long walks in the woods or on a beach. Alternately, she also loves to binge watch drama series and superhero movies.

Kathy, a Virginia peninsula native, has fun memories of growing up in a lively family with five siblings. A favorite vacation was the yearly trip to old Nags Head, known now as the Outer Banks. Those trips created a lifelong love and respect for the power and beauty of the ocean and its beaches. Entering her teens, Kathy encountered a far different power, beyond comprehension - that of alcohol and drug addiction. For the next 20 years this baffling disease “ran the show”, resulting in physical and emotional trauma from substance abuse, stress and a near fatal car accident. Blessings and miracles brought sobriety in her early thirties, and the healing journey began. Recovery created a passion and curiosity for learning about the human experience. Asking “what will heal and balance mind, body and spirit?” led to the study of nutrition, spiritual teachings, naturopathy, energy healing and more. Introduction to yoga in the mid-1990’s was inevitable, love and enthusiasm for it - immediate! Kathy practiced yoga through decades of career, marriage and family life but didn’t consider teaching until Garden of Zen announced its first instructor training program beginning January 2020. Fear showed up around teaching. Facing the fear brought gifts beyond the teaching certificate - the journey with fellow students and the Garden of Zen community, and a deeper look into self through yoga, the union of individual and Universal Consciousness. Yoga is a philosophy for life and fulfills Kathy’s desire to be of service, to continue growing spiritually, and to encourage others on their own path toward an abundantly healthy life. Her own abundant life is filled with family (including kitty Cricket!) friends, travel, classes, gardening and involvement in the recovery community. “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field...I’ll meet you there” - Rumi

John was born into the military as an Air Force dependent and claims Idaho as his home. He attended Devry University in Phoenix, working on his Electrical Engineering degree, before joining the Army in 1981. During his fist overseas assignment in Germany, he met his wife Christine and they traveled the world with their 3 children before settling down in Newport News, Virginia in 1998. After 20 years of active duty, he worked for NASA and then transferred to a DOD civilian on Fort Eustis, where he is currently a course manager for TRADOC.

John was introduced to yoga when Christine started her yoga career in 2007. He started practicing yoga to be a good supportive husband, but soon realized how helpful yoga was. While in the military, he had fractured his vertebrae and was suffering bouts of extreme backache. His newfound yoga practice was alleviating the intensity of his pain. When Christine started training yoga teachers in 2011, he expressed interest in eventually taking one of her trainings. When she partnered up with Garden of Zen, he was excited to join the first GOZYTT class and graduated as a RYT-200 Yoga Teacher in August 2020. He became certified in Yin Yoga in October 2020.

John is also a certified soccer referee. He enjoys traveling all over the world with his family, hiking, skiing, biking and being in Nature. He has recently found a new passion: brewing beer and is part owner of a local brewery. One of his greatest gifts is to figure out how to fix things. His children have encouraged him to start his own YouTube channel: the Mr. Fix-It Yoga guy! Stay tuned!

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