Much of what we do at BPY is rooted in an understanding of anatomy and functional movement. We are interested in the real effects of yoga and teaching you how your body works. To that end, please note that BPY does not play music in any of its yoga classes. Krishnamacharya taught that we should rely on our own internal resources whenever possible, so our teachers will guide you to observe your body, breath, and mind, as the cadence to your own practice.
Our Instructors
Alexis (she/her) RYT200 took her first Yoga class in college to help her find balance while in school for her Bachelor’s in Biochemistry and hasn’t stopped since. As a newer teacher, her focus is on connecting with her students, encouraging them to explore their practice without fear of judgment and hopefully inspiring everyone to bring yoga with them on and off the mat. All are welcome in her class. Her classes often incorporate mindfulness and breathwork, enhancing the overall experience and promoting holistic well-being. For her, yoga has brought her self awareness, lots of laughs and time to observe her thoughts.
Andrea’s (she/her) passion is to support women along their motherhood journeys, so they can embody and embrace the transformation with strength and power. She was introduced to yoga as a teenager and has been practicing ever since, adapting and evolving her practice through her pregnancies and as a mom. Teaching prenatal yoga combines her deep love and fascination with both yoga and pregnancy. She completed a 500 hour yoga teacher training with the late Esther Myers in 2004 and prenatal teacher trainings with Stephanie Keach in 2004 and Janice Clarfield in 2010. Since 2001 Andrea has been supporting couples as a birth doula, and brings this unique perspective to her yoga teaching. Her prenatal yoga classes focus on postures and exercises that emphasize the breath and relaxation, flexibility and strengthening of muscle groups that are specific to pregnancy and childbirth. Her goal is to help pregnant women create strength, energy and balance in their bodies and lives so they can have a fulfilling and joyful experience of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Andrea teaches prenatal yoga, is a birth and post partum doula, and a holistic health coach. She is currently immersed in the joys and challenges of mothering her two beautiful children, Miles and Zella. Photography by Jessie Greenberg
Casey (she/her) (RYT500) (RPYT) (YACEP) is a Registered Vinyasa and Prenatal Yoga Teacher and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. She completed her 200-hour vinyasa and 85-hour prenatal yoga teacher trainings at Blue Point Yoga with Andrea Dixon and Sara Doyle, and her 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training with Asheville Yoga Center. You may also know Casey as one of BPY’s studio owners. When Casey moved to Durham in 2015, she didn’t realize how much Yoga (BPY specifically) would change her life. Over time yoga helped her lose weight, lowered both her cholesterol and blood pressure, and mourn the loss of both her dad in 2017 and her mom in 2021. Casey’s classes are filled with playful poses, quiet stillness, and observing the breath and body. You’ll often hear her say, “just keep breathing,” or “find your breath,” which are mantras she uses to help center herself during challenging times or poses. Photography by Jessie Greenberg
Charlotte (she/her) has been practicing yoga since 1990 and did her teacher training in 2004 in New York, in the lineage of Krishnamacharya and Viniyoga. Born in Sweden, she has lived and taught in several different countries before moving to Durham in 2023. Charlotte’s focus lies as much on physical body movement as inner body awareness. The breath plays a vital role in her classes, connecting the inner and the outer. Recently, Charlotte has focused on guided meditation through Stillness at Heart, which she founded in 2021. Charlotte is an avid student of yoga philosophy in the Vedanta tradition and has studied Sanskrit to deeper her understanding of key philosophical concepts and classic chanting. She is also a writer who has published one novel and five books of poems. She is currently writing a book about meditation and inner exploration.
Christie (she/her) (YTT200) took her first yoga class with Fran Gallo in 1998 in Seattle, WA and was quickly hooked. She finds that yoga helps her live with greater body awareness, which in turn helps to reduce anxiety and improve sleep. As a new teacher, Christie embraces the beginner’s mind to explore ways to deepen the practice with students. Her classes take a “yoga is for every body” approach and focus on gentle movement, self-compassion, and quiet reflection. Oh, and bring on the props!
Linda (she/her) graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in sociology/anthropology; received a Masters in Library Science from Simmons College and a Masters in Education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Her interest in teaching yoga grew from her diagnosis of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2006. As her yoga practice deepened, she is convinced that the physical and mental benefits of yoga contributed to her RA’s remission. Linda received her 200 hour yoga certification through OM Yoga. She has earned a Certificates of Completion in Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors and Yoga of Awareness for Cancer from Duke Integrative Medicine. Photography by Jessie Greenberg
Lindsay (she/her) grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has been a music teacher and performing flutist in North Carolina since 2006. She earned her yoga certification (RYT200 and RPYT85) in 2020 from the Yoga and Ayurveda Institute, and became a Certified Health Coach the following year. She has used yoga in her own flute practice to overcome performance injuries and enjoys the positive effects that yoga pranayama and meditation has had on her breath control and performance anxiety. Lindsay also has an interest in prenatal and postnatal yoga having utilized the therapeutic effects yoga offers during all of her pregnancies. As a mom of three, she often finds application of her Yoga and Health Coaching training in her own home and loves to share those practices with other parents and families. With her husband, Michael, they both run the music non-profit “Sparks Creative” where health and wellness take a central role in private and group instrumental lessons. In terms of self-care, Lindsay enjoys baking, reading, long-distance running with her dogs and leading her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.
Lynn (she/her) (E-RYT200)(YACEP) added yoga to her repertoire of chronic pain management strategies in 2007 and then started thinking about how to follow her career as a Duke professor of environmental science with something that didn’t involve sitting at the computer for the rest of her life – yoga teacher! In January 2014 she completed her 200 hr certification at Blue Point Yoga, with Sarah Trelease from Portland, Oregon, and Sara Doyle as instructors and has recently earned her E-RYT200 accreditation. She has since earned a Certificate of Completion in Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors from the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine and attended workshops on yoga injuries and their prevention and on yoga for a healthy back, and is a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP). She is most interested in adapting yoga for those who believe they are too old, too stiff, too weak, too fat, or too something else to do yoga – not true! Since completing her training she has enjoyed teaching yoga for beginners, for the desk-bound, and for older adults with a range of sensory and physical limitations. Photography by Jessie Greenberg
Nicole (she/her) (M.A.T., YTT-200) took her first Yoga class in 2008 and has been practicing ever since. As a student at BPY, several teachers — specifically Rachel Campo, Jacque Johnson, Sara Doyle, and Nicole Mark — encouraged Nicole to take her first 200 hour YTT in 2016. Since then she has taught various vinyasa, Yoga 101, restorative yoga, yin yoga and hands-on assist workshops for teachers at several yoga studios and breweries around Durham. Nicole continues to be a student (in many ways!) and explores her yoga practice using meditation, asana, pranayama, and journaling. In her heart, she is a Yin teacher and it’s the only class you’ll take with her these days. Her classes give students a container for self-guided practice with an emphasis on using the breath to unveil full body-heart-mind awareness. She is thrilled to return to Blue Point as a teacher and hopes to see you on Sundays for more space and more ease.
Originally from Maryland, Melissa (she/her) found a new home in North Carolina while studying Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill. She has been a dedicated yoga student since 2009 when she discovered yoga as a way to be more compassionate with herself. Melissa was certified in 2015 with Andrea Dyer of mindbodyfitness in Greensboro (RYT 200). Combining foundations in the ashtanga tradition with creative vinyasa sequences and compassionate rest, Melissa encourages students to practice patterns of breath, thought and movement to reduce anxiety and increase joy in their lives- both on and off the mat. She is grateful to her yoga practice for helping her learn not to take herself too seriously! Photography by Jessie Greenberg