Yoga Pointe Teachers

Full time teachers

Jana Whiddon, PhD, LMHC, ERYT 500, IYT 1000
I have been practicing and teaching yoga for over 11 years.  I have been trained in Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga, Hot yoga, and most recently Integrative Yoga Therapy.  I am an IYT-1000, having completed the IYT yoga therapy training and am an E-RYT-500 with the Yoga Alliance.   I have had the honor of training with many empowering yoga teachers and have a diverse teaching style.  I am also a mental health practitioner and currently participate in research and practice in the area of complementary and alternative medicine and mental health, integrating yoga therapy philosophy into traditional mental health treatment.

Stephanie O'Steen

I have been practicing various styles of yoga for over 10 years, including Power, Ashtanga, and Core-Focused yoga and have engaged in much self-study of yoga concepts and principles.  I have noticed the changes that yoga has made in my life.  I appreciate the ways that yoga helps bring balance and peace into each moment and how it keeps me active and healthy.  I recently completed hiking the Appalachian trail and utilized yoga to maintain flexibility and health in my body and mind.  I also enjoyed teaching regular yoga classes to my trail mates.  I am a mental health counselor and hope to integrate yoga philosophy into my counseling practice.   I am also working on the 200 RYT training with Yoga Pointe, Inc.  I look forward to sharing my practice with others.

Giavanna Geraci

Currently I am attending the 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Program through Yoga Pointe after having practiced the discipline and it’s ethos off and on since the 70’s.  However, I participated with little regard to its rich history and timeless truths.  I think my years of practical experience coupled with a greater philosophical understanding and its application affords me a most welcomed development as both student and guide.  For this I am encouraged and grateful while humbly anticipating continued growth.  For this is what Yoga is:  a continuum; a daily PRACTICE of mind, body and spirit in helping heal ourselves, calm our chatter and connect each individual closer to their own notion of the Divine.  This, of-course, done not only for oneself, but for applying the ideals of selflessness, generosity, kindness, acceptance, and  love into our world……So, do come join me at Yoga Pointe as we practice and learn together the great art of a Yogic lifestyle.  All you’ll need to bring is a non-condemning and self-forgiving heart, an open mind, and plenty of patience!

Beth Moran

Yoga found me in a gym teaching step aerobics and group fitness classes 11 years ago.  At first, yoga was just another type of exercise to me.  After my daughter was born, I continued to practice and soon found her innocent joy of copying my practice and I began teaching Children’s Yoga.  I was amazed at the physical, mental and emotional benefits to children.  My personal enlightment was recognized deeply with two life experiences.  The first was when I returned to my yoga practice after losing a dear family member to a terminal illness.  The second was in mid-2011 when I had a major hip surgery.  In both situations, yoga became more than just another form of exercise.  Yoga helps me stay centered and provides the pathway to find peace and balance to live and love every moment of life to the fullest.  After my surgery, I am passionate about encouraging people that anyone can do yoga.  I once thought that a person had to be as flexible as a pretzel to attend class and that the goal of yoga was to stand on one’s head or perform an amazing arm balance.  But I have found that staying present in the moment, learning your true self and being accepting that can lead to pure joy. I am currently completing the 200 RYT Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga Pointe. 

Farrah Mahmood, RYT200

For me, yoga is the practice that connects me to my breath, energy, wellness, self-love, and the beauty of the present moment. It has been the catalyst in my life that brought me greater empowerment and self-healing, and I have been eager to share this tool with others. I am a Yoga Alliance 200-hour certified teacher. I have been influenced by many styles of yoga, especially Kripalu, Iyengar, and vinyasa flow, and have been blessed with so many wise and compassionate teachers. My focus, no matter the style, is to create a heart-centered practice in which we open to the joy that is ours.

Ruth Silva

As a professional dancer for over twenty years, Ruth has enjoyed a career that has taken her from her home in England, around the world, and ultimately to Central Florida.  During that time she has gained experience teaching, choreographing, and leading as a Dance Captain. Ruth has trained extensively in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Modern Dance. After a ten year career with Carnival Cruise Lines, Ruth discovered Zumba and quickly fell in love with it. She decided to follow her passion and become certified as a Zumba instructor in February 2010.  Ruth now leads Zumba classes that are known for their high energy and huge amounts of fun.

Brian Jorgesen

I initially started my yoga practice seven years ago to improve my flexibility, but I found so much more.  I found a rewarding lifestyle.  I have always been active; playing rugby, running a marathon, playing golf, roller blading, kayaking and other activities, but I never did enough stretching.  Yoga has not only improved my flexibility, but has also improved my balance and body awareness.  Learning the founding concepts behind yoga has helped me grow as a person mentally and spiritually as.  Now I enjoy sharing the yoga experience with others.  I have lead Ashtanga groups and started a lunchtime yoga program at my office.  I feel you are successful in yoga when you take that first step and walk into the studio.  I am completing Yoga Pointe’s 200 hour yoga teacher training program and look forward expanding my instruction.

Sara Herzog, certified prenatal yoga teacher

Yoga, such a simple four letter word, yet will forever be the experience that has saved my life.  My practice began 6 years ago and it all began with the relationship that was blooming between my mother and me … such the irony being that I now am a prenatal yoga instructor.   My mother invited me for the very first time to a class and from there it all unfolded.  I was a birthing doula and working in obstetrics.   My career as a birthing doula and my exploration of yoga began to emerge and collide.  I began the process of falling in love with pregnancy, birth and the relationship between a mother and a child.  The most empowering moment in a woman’s life, becoming a mother.   Upon receiving my certification I was given opportunities immediately to teach.  I will say that it wasn’t until I taught for a good year did I actually consider myself a teacher.  Every woman who has stepped foot into my class has taught me most of what I have come to know.  I will continue to grow in my practice and as a teacher with each and every blooming individual I come across.  With my life experiences, lessons, relationships and an open mind there is an endless learning in what we call our yoga practice.  It is a privilege to be able to offer the opportunity for women to witness motherhood is a different light, to build strength in their mind, body and spirit.  Motherhood is our foundation, let it be strong.  The prenatal yoga has offered mothers a new sense of strength, empowerment, patience, connection, breath and allowing mothers to grow within each present moment.