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
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.
Barbara’s (she/her) first introduction to yoga was during her senior year in high school. Fortunately for her, the interest grew after she graduated from college. After taking various classes over the years, she found a yoga home at Global Breath and took their inaugural teacher training in the spring of 2021. As a newer yoga teacher, she is interested in letting her students experience in the benefits of yoga while exploring the roots of yoga. She is eager to teach at Blue Point and to grow as a teacher. When not teaching, she enjoys hanging out with her husband, cooking, exploring new restaurants, and music. She and her husband welcomed their first child in March 2022.
Casey (she/her) (E-RYT200) (RPYT) (YACEP) is an Experienced Registered Vinyasa and Prenatal Yoga Teacher and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. She has trained under Andrea Dixon, Sara Doyle, Richard Fabio, Joe Taft, Shala Worsley, and is currently embarking on her 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training through 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.
Jacque (she/her) (EdD, RYT-500) has been practicing yoga since 1976, and after much coaxing began teaching in 1992. She teaches several styles of yoga, primarily Sivananda and more recently Viniyoga. She also teaches vinyasa flow, restorative, Vipassana meditation, guided imagery meditation, and yoga therapy. She has been an academic in health behavior, healthy psychology, and health promotion for 15 years. As an academic, Jacque has collaborated on research investigating the changes in brain activity during specific elements of yoga. She was also one of the developers of a 200hr yoga teacher training of an university curriculum as a minor. She moved to NC from DC several years ago, and is excited to inspire others on their journey towards a fulfilling life.
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.
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.
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 Friday nights 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!
Rachel’s (she/her) training began at Republic of Yoga in 2014. Since then, she has taught vinyasa, hot yoga, restorative yoga, and yin yoga. Rachel has studied with many teachers and continues to be a student. She explores yoga through study, asana, pranayama, and meditation. She hopes to share yoga in a way that allows students to develop a practice that suits them. Rachel tends to be quiet and doesn’t play music in class, but she will keep reminding you to breathe and feel what’s going on in your body. Because that’s yoga.
Sara (she/her) (PhD, E-RYT 500) has a Ph.D in Anatomy and has taught anatomy at Duke University School of Medicine since 2003. She has a unique perspective on how the body works and the anatomical variation between individuals. Her yoga classes and workshops reflect a science-based perspective with an emphasis on smart movement and mindfulness. Sara has completed two 200hr trainings – the first with Sarah Trelease, and the second with Srivatsa Ramaswami. She has also completed a 300hr training. Currently, Sara is enrolled in the MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) teaching program at the UMass Center for Mindfulness. She has attended several retreats and trainings and incorporates mindfulness into her teaching at all levels. Sara’s yoga classes are physically challenging and energetic, with an emphasis on alignment, anatomy and mindfulness. She provides clear verbal and physical adjustments to allow the body to discover each pose and each moment. Her goal is to allow the practice to speak for itself.
Stanley (he/him) (RYT-200) has been practicing yoga for close to twenty years and finished his teacher training in May of 2022. For him, yoga started out as a way to gain flexibility and stay in shape and has evolved into a way of life, fully believing in the eight limbs of the yoga practice. Stanley’s mission as a yoga teacher begins by knowing that everything that is in him is also in his students. He strives to be a teacher that honors his own life journey: pain, scarring, joys and successes. In authentically teaching to his own journey, he will then be teaching to the journey of all yogis.
