Margo Tacey
Power yoga instructor, Margo Buchanan uses her physical practice on the mat, as a way to check in with what is going on off the mat. Growing up as a competitive gymnast, Margo fell in love with the strength and endurance that the challenge of power yoga gives her. However, after completing Level One with Baron Baptiste, she experienced a transformation in her personal power, recognizing her ability to create a life that nourishes her. She supports and encourages her students to push past discomfort and into possibility. Margo received her 200-hour Teacher Training at her home studio, Down Dog, a Baptiste afilliated studio in Washington, DC and is currently working towards becoming a Baptiste Certified Instructor. She is also certified to teach yoga to children of all ages and uses her yoga philosophy in her clinical work as a child therapist in her day job.
Billy Spott
Although Billy didn’t find his way to a yoga mat until his late 40s, yoga has become an integral part of his life and wellness, both physically and mentally. Following an injury in 2018, Billy had to take a break from practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and decided to try out hot power yoga. Not only was he immediately hooked on the practice and how it made him feel, he discovered that the benefits of breath, strength, and flexibility improved his performance and helped prevent injury in jiu-jitsu. He completed his 200 hour teacher training in 2019 and taught at a local studio for several months up until the pandemic. Since then, he has taught both on-line and in person for the gym where he and his wife, Donia, train jiu-jitsu. He also teaches an introductory jiu-jitsu class there in the evenings.
Donia Spott
My husband Billy and I found Humble Haven Yoga in the summer of 2020 and started joining the Zoom classes in an attempt to survive the pandemic shutdown. For the next year, we found community and strength with people we had never met while practicing at home together. We will be forever grateful to Suzanne, Camille, Jennie Ray, Margo, Tarole, Andrea, and everyone else for what they did to make that possible.
Suzanne Burns
Suzanne’s yoga practice began in 2008 out of curiosity for the physical nature of the practice, but she quickly realized that the practice was also supporting her in reducing unnecessary anxiety, as well as, processing the recent loss of a loved one. Suzanne’s training crosses many lineages of the yoga practice - Power Yoga, Kundalini, Integral Yoga, Yin, and Hatha. She is passionate about making classes and spaces accessible to all individuals who desire to participate, particularly individuals with varying disabilities, and her advocacy extends beyond the world of yoga and into the realm of inclusive employment and education. When not teaching, you will most likely find Suzanne enjoying outdoor spaces around Richmond with friends, her husband, and three kids.
Gabi Ries
Through yoga, Gabi found a way to embrace all sides of herself. She's a Trauma-Informed 200-RYT trained at Soul Tree in CO, with additional certifications in Yin, Restorative, and Ayurvedic yoga. Her focus is longevity, helping students build a practice that grows and adapts with them for the long haul. That means healthy alignment, an evolving relationship with the postures, and space to move intuitively rather than perform. She'll meet you where you are, with no expectations about where you should end up. Off the mat, Gabi is a painter, musician, and writer. She spends her free time reading and writing, and enjoys traveling abroad to teach and volunteer.
England Rozum
England took her first Hamstrings, Hips, and Spine class in 2020, in an effort to find inner peace during a time of global uncertainty. While having practiced yoga sporadically for years at different studios, she found a refuge at Humble Haven. The practice, staff, and community have all played an indispensable role in her mental health and spiritual journey. Outside of the studio, England is a full-time real estate agent and home stager, while also taking on part-time interior design jobs. She is immensely grateful for a career that leaves her with the time and energy for her other passions in life, like yoga, pottery, and fashion design.
Alicia Golden
Alicia is a meditation teacher, mentor and holistic coach. She has been teaching yoga and meditation for almost 20 years and was the owner of Ashtanga Yoga Richmond for 14 years. A seeker by nature, Alicia landed in her first yoga class in her late 20’s and has since been listening and following a wish to live more consciously and awake. Her background is rooted in ashtanga yoga which eventually led her to meditation where she continues to be in an inner work with her teacher Pat Buxton. Learning to sit, peeling back the layers of her humanness, and using the material of her life - the ordinary moments to the most challenging conditions - has been most influential in creating real change and given Alicia the opportunity to experience herself differently.