Our Teachers
Kim Bennett
Kim was born in Vietnam and raised in Blacksburg, VA. She began her yoga journey in 2016 as a way to aid her weight lifting routine by balancing strength and flexibility. She completed her YTT-200 training in Spring 2021 through the Kunga Yoga School at In Balance Yoga. Her practice is rooted in Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Yin Yoga. She is passionate about sharing her love for yoga by helping others as they discover their own path. She feels that our mind, body, and breath share a deep connection that supports emotional health and well-being. Off the mat, Kim is a nurse and strives to bring movement and mindfulness to her patients and other healthcare providers. She enjoys spending time outdoors and making memories with her family and friends.
Robyn Berg
Robyn Berg is a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance after earning her certification as Kunga Yoga Teacher through In Balance Yoga Studio. In addition to teaching yoga, Robyn teaches movement, acting and other theatre courses at Radford University, where she is an Associate Professor and has been teaching and directing since 2015. Originally from Chicago, Robyn has also lived in New York City, Nashville and Gainesville, Florida (where received her MFA in Acting from UF). She currently lives in Blacksburg with her husband, two kiddos, and a boxador. Robyn's favorite classes are Chill Flow, Flow, Everyday Yoga and Yin. She also loves meditation, food, coffee, wine, tea, travel, and gardening.
Jason Clemons
Jason Clemons is a native of the New River Valley. He completed his 200 hour yoga teacher training with the Kunga Yoga School based in Wilmington, NC and Blacksburg, VA. He continues to study the 300 hour offerings of the Kunga Yoga School and stays immersed in an ongoing Yoga Sutra mentorship. He's the proud father of a twelve-year-old son. Their family also includes four cats and two dogs. When not practicing and teaching yoga, Jason is a cloud engineer for Virginia Tech.
Stephen Patrick Diesel
Stephen Patrick Diesel envisions yoga as a life-long practice. He is passionate about empowering others through movement with vigorous and playful flow, strength building, balance, and breath. Stephen believes a personal practice is an integral step along the path towards unlocking your individual potential.
In his time off the mat, Stephen can be found out on a trail, at a live music event, or tinkering with nascent technologies as a product manager.
Maria Flaccavento
Maria is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the Blacksburg area and online in the state of Virginia. She was born and raised in southwest VA and completed her 200-hour YTT in hatha and vinyasa at Amrita Yoga in Philadelphia in 2016. Since then she has gone on to complete trainings in Yin, Restorative and Trauma-Informed yoga as well as Somatic Healing. Maria strives to offer a practice environment that is curious, encouraging, playful and safe, with lots of options for challenge along the way. Sequencing is informed by the principles of ayurveda and always invites you to choose what’s right for you and your practice.
Hummingbird
Hummingbird is a graduate of the Kunga 200hr YTT, and an experienced somatics practitioner, with a background of 15+ years guiding folks back to body and breath. A Blacksburg native (some of you might remember her as Amy), HB was gone for over a decade before life brought her back to southwest VA. Other modalities she's studied include Neurosculpting, cultural somatics as taught by Susan Raffo and Resmaa Menakem, and a branch of the Korean Taoist lineage SunDo. She's also an astrologer. Hummingbird hopes to make each yoga class a sacred space, giving everyone the rare chance to turn inward, self-soothe, and come home to both body and mind.
Christie Lacy
Christie began yoga in 2004 and instantly enjoyed the physical benefits, but it wasn’t until establishing a regular practice in 2011 that she fell in love with the deeper aspects of yoga. The gifts of one-pointed-focus, mind body connection, mindfulness, and meditation brought her softly through some rough roads and gained her dedication. Christie completed yoga training with Blacksburg School of Yoga with the desire to share all of the benefits of yoga with others. She also has a Masters of Education and has completed courses in Kuro Mindfulness and meditation. Christie enjoys teaching and practicing a range of yoga levels. By using props and instruction, she seeks to create an inclusive environment where each student can access their own yoga practice. When not on the mat, Christie is a scientist in biomedical research, a mother, and a seeker of peace in the forest, the sunshine, and the moonlight.
Lauren Lucas
Lauren is RTY200 certified teacher with Yoga Alliance through the Kunga Yoga School, completing her certification through In Balance Yoga in November 2021. Lauren has been practicing since 2010 when she realized not only the physical benefits of a yoga practice but also the improvements to her own mental health. She now works to share the benefits of yoga in her professional life, in the community mental health world, as well as with friends and family. When she isn’t practicing yoga she enjoys traveling, engaging in a variety of outdoor adventures, gardening, and spending time with her husband and their cats. Join Lauren for playful flows with a lovely mix of effort and ease.
Lisa Machi
Lisa is a yoga instructor, meditation facilitator, and Reiki practitioner. Her approach to yoga is one of service that unites mind, body, and spirit. She offers a gentle style of yoga that incorporates meditation and breath work with a focus on stress reduction and calming the nervous system.
Lisa enjoys teaching Yin and Restorative styles of Yoga as well as chair yoga and has a passion for making yoga accessible to all.
- August 2024: 200 Hr YTT Kunga Yoga School at In Balance Yoga, Blacksburg VA
- August 2024: Yin Yoga Certification- Bodshere Health and Wellness Yoga Teacher Training, online
- August 2024: Restorative Yoga Certification- Inspire Movement Coaching, Amanda Lawford MA online
- July 2023: Meditation Teacher Certification- Priority Academy, Graham Nicholas, online
- June 2023: Reiki Level 1,2, Master/Teacher Certification , Traditional Usui Reiki- Lisa Powers online
Chelsea McCreight
Chelsea, RYT 200, discovered yoga when she moved to the New River Valley 8 years ago. Tired of aggravating old sports injuries through traditional exercise, she quickly fell in love with yoga and gentle, compassionate movement. Inspired by her friend Kady, Chelsea completed a Yoga Teacher Training program in 2021. Since then, she has been committed to teaching body-positive classes filled with laughter and killer playlists. Her favorites classes to teach are Slow Flow, Hatha, and Athletic Recovery.
Chelsea currently works at Virginia Tech and lives in Christiansburg with her husband and 70-pound lapdog. When she isn’t in the studio, she enjoys reading, going to local breweries with her friends, and ridiculously long trips to Aldi.
Laurie Riner
As an athletic young girl growing up in the mountains of western Virginia, Laurie discovered from an early age that she enjoyed expressive movement. Everything from dance to softball, everything just felt more fun if she was moving! Her interest in yoga came about naturally and she took her first yoga class over 20 years ago. She became certified to teach in the Ashtanga tradition at Blue Ridge School of Massage & Yoga in 2012 and has maintained a personal practice and taught vinyasa-style yoga ever since.
Laurie enjoys sharing her yoga practice as a way of getting grounded in the body, switching gears from a stressful day, and using the physical effort of the practice to grow physically, spiritually, and emotionally. She believes that learning about and becoming aware of body sensations creates space to get in touch with our individuality, our needs and ultimately helps us communicate better with others.
Laurie has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from Radford University and has owned a restaurant, practiced massage therapy, and studied Ayurveda. She loves diving into psychology topics, knitting and camping in her free time.
Diana Shippee
RYT200 & Aerial yoga basics level one.
Diana completed her RYT 200 and Aerial yoga basics in 2021. She completed the Kunga Yoga School 200RYT.
Instructed by Nicole LaFon, Lisa Pelanne, Aaron Richards, & Erin Nuckols.
Aerial yoga certification through FlyDog Yoga, instructed by Eliza Whiteman.
Diana teaches yoga flow, restorative yoga, aerial yoga basic, and restorative aerial yoga. Her passion is helping others find peace and joy within their practice. She enjoys making yoga accessible to all ages and body types.
