Joelle is an E-RYT 500 hour and YACEP from Yoga Alliance, and holds an C-IAYT certification from the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and received her 800 hour  therapeutic yoga practitioner training at Beloved Yoga. She is excited by structural and functional anatomy and the Krishnamacharya, Desikachar,  Mohan linage, is inspired by Peter Marchand, and has many hours of advanced training in these traditions. Joelle loves her private teaching where she collaboratively creates individual practices designed to meet the needs and goals of each student. She also loves the energy of her classes and sharing a joyful practice integrating alignment, movement and breath to find strength, flexibility and greater balance within each practice. Joelle believes that everyone comes to the mat with everything they need to experience yoga fully and to progress on their own journey, experiencing ease, stability and joy along the way. Sharing this path, and simply being present to the beauty in each day motivates her teaching. Reading ancient yoga texts and philosophy is an anchor for Joelle, as she finds joy in deepening her own practice so that she may share more fully on and off the mat. Joelle is grateful to the many teachers who guide her and looks forward to sharing with many more. Joelle has practiced yoga and meditation for over 30 years and is always awed by its teachings and how every practice is new and lifts us in our daily lives. Joelle loves to connect with her son and daughter, loves the companionship of her loving dog, Luna, and nature always absorbs her in awe and wonder.  She is grateful for her mountaineering, rock climbing and kayaking experiences.

In the early 1970s, Kirk picked up his first book on yoga, The Light of Yogi, by B. K. S. Iyengar. He began his self-taught practice of asanas, pranayama, and meditation. In the mid-’70s, Kirk joined Lorin Roche’s meditation circle in Marina del Rey, California. Kirk practiced with Lorin weekly for several years and in retreats in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the late ’70s, Kirk was initiated by Lorin Roche into the mantra meditation that he was teaching at that time. From there, anchored in his yoga and meditation practices, he plunged into life, instinctively invoking the rhythms and challenges of life to be his spiritual teacher, in partnership with his inner guide. Inspired by Iyengar Yoga, he continued to study and practice this tradition after he moved to the Washington D.C. area, many years ago. More recently, once again called to find a fellowship of like-minded practitioners, he found Beloved Yoga and found the spirit of community at Beloved Yoga. 

When it was time to renew and refresh his long meditation journey, Lorin Roche (author of the Radiance Sutras and founder of Instinctive Meditation) along with his wife Camille Maurine were offering a 200 Hr. Yoga Alliance accredited Instinctive Meditation Teachers Training. Kirk joined this teacher training, the only meditation teacher training to be accredited by Yoga Alliance, and soon realized that sharing Instinctive Meditation with others as a teacher was a natural culmination of his long-held commitment to yoga and meditation. 

Kirk looks forward to welcoming and guiding all who are interested in discovering more about their natural, instinctive ability to meditate. Kirk loves to explore the 112 gateways to life’s wonders and delights revealed in the Radiance Sutras and to offer this exploration to others within the freedom of their own inner and outer relationships to life. 

Kirk lives in Northern Virginia with his two young adult children and his 4-year-old granddaughter. Kirk is nourished by his fathering, gardening, cooking, and traveling to enjoy the breathtaking landscapes offered by nature.