Charlotte Nuessle, ERYT-500

Charlotte is a certified Viniyoga Yoga Therapist with two 500-hour Yoga teaching certifications: one from the American Viniyoga Institute (www.viniyoga.com) and the other from the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health (www.kripalu.org). With a BS in Gerontology from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, NJ, Charlotte has been a certified yoga teacher since 1980 and registered with Yoga Alliance and the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

For the last 18 years Charlotte has been teaching yoga to a diverse community. Charlotte was senior staff in residence at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health for 19.5 years, and was teaching faculty for Yoga programs at Kripalu for 4 years. Her teaching experience also includes adapting yoga for seniors and elders in both public and private/community residential settings. For the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, she created and delivered programs on-site to hundreds of seniors living in low income housing in Western Massachusetts. She was the Director of Therapeutic Recreation at Melbourne Place in Pittsfeld, MA for several years.

Other trainings include the land based American Arthritis Foundation Practitioner certification and Practitioner certification in a present-moment focused approach to mental health, "Health Realization," through the Center for Optimal Living (www.optimaliviing.net). She attended professional enhancement courses and is continuing her education in Anatomy Trains with Thomas Myers, (www.anatomytrains.com). She continues to stay involved and inspired with the work and teachings of TKV Desikachar of the Krishnamacharya tradition, and Gary Kraftsow, Director of the American Viniyoga Institute.

She has held weekly classes in settings such as Canyon Ranch of the Berkshires; the YMCA; Kapiolani, a hospital-based community resource center; and at the beach in Kailua, O'ahu. She trained as a Hospice volunteer. She's had the privilege of adapting yoga for people from all walks of life addressing a wide range of conditions in private instruction and/or in classes, such as: post heart surgery; Parkinson's; Lou Gehrig's disease; multiple spinal fusions; Harrington implants for scoliosis; arthritis; glaucoma; macular degeneration; post-polio; joint replacements; cancer recovery; Multiple Sclerosis; low back pain; ligamentous conditions; headaches; grief; limitations in mobility; depression and anxiety. She finds joy in reflecting on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, an annual Jyotish reading (vedic astrology) and explorations in Ayurveda.

In 2009, Charlotte was chair of a committee that created the Bread Together program at First Congregational Church, Ashland, a community strengthening program based around shared breakfast and conversation, bringing together those living without a roof and those living with a roof over their heads. In 2010 the program was awarded a grant from Community Outreach at the Ashland Food Co-op. She continues to be dedicated to programs that uplift our community in the Rogue Valley and beyond.

"What a great journey this relationship with yoga has brought to my life. "

You can read more about her work and testimonials at www.ashlandyoga.net.