All About Us
Leigh Ann
After taking her first Yoga class with Cindy Dollar in 1997, Leigh Ann Mertens was “hooked!” At the time, she was Artistic Director for add dance, a professional,
contemporary dance company based in Asheville, North Carolina and teaching modern dance to all ages at the Asheville Center of Performing Arts. Having danced
all her life, Leigh Ann minored in dance at Appalachian State University and upon graduation she went to New York City to study with and work for the esteemed
Martha Graham Dance Company. She moved to Asheville in 1990 to dance with Ann Dunn & Dancers and to teach at the Asheville Academy of Ballet and
Contemporary Dance. She also taught at the New Studio of Dance and for the Brevard College SGSA Summer Program. After the birth of her first child in 2000,
Leigh Ann stopped performing and teaching dance and decided to focus on learning and teaching Yoga. In 2002, she opened Brightwater Yoga at a studio
in her home and in February of 2005, she moved the studio to downtown Hendersonville where she currently teaches. As a teacher, her enthusiasm and passion are infectious and her
knowledge and clarity are reassuring to students of all ages and levels. Leigh Ann believes that Yoga is a personal journey that cannot be adequately described in 
words, but rather has to be experienced to be understood. Leigh Ann is certified as an E-RYT 500 (Experienced - Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 hour level) through the Yoga Alliance ®.
Meredith Boyd
Meredith Boyd is a new massage therapist in Hendersonville, N.C. and she has recently joined our family at Brightwater Yoga! She is a graduate from the Center for Massage and Natural Health. She is devoted to providing healthy healing tough through massage and other modalities, including wellness counseling information, to help others reach and maintain a sense of well-being. Meredith incorporates many different techniques into the massage based on the needs of the client.
Brook McDade
Brooke McDade is a native to Hendersonville. She studied dance in her youth for 6 years and continues using body movement through Pilates and Yoga. After training with Mike Phillips at The Core - A Pilates Studio, Brooke then went on to get certified through PCC in Raleigh, N.C. She now teaches classes at The Core and is also in training at the Asheville Yoga Center with Stephanie Keach to become a certified Yoga Instructor. Brooke’s classes aim to facilitate health, balance, peace, and connectedness in people’s lives.
Kathleen Wallace
Kathleen Wallace is a certified Lebed Method teacher and accredited yoga teacher, approved by Yoga Alliance, an organization that sets standards for Yoga teachers and teacher training. She taught yoga in Newark and Granville, Ohio before moving to North Carolina. She has also presented yoga to children through dance classes and the Comfort Cottage Camp in Newark. She became certified in The Lebed Method in March, 2006. All her movement classes are based on gentle movement that allows for individual growth in strength, energy, endurance, and flexibility.
Shauna Whiteside
Shauna Whiteside (RYT & 'Anusara Inspired' Yoga Instructor) has been actively practicing yoga since 2000. In 2002, she began her first yoga teacher certification program (successfully completed in early 2003). Teaching yoga since 2002, Shauna has continued on her yoga journey by finding a home in Anusara Yoga. She has successfully completed a 60 Hr. Anusara Teacher Training and an Anusara Immersion I Training.
Shauna has over 10 years experience as a certified aerobics instructor and personal fitness trainer (prior to her active involvement in yoga). Her initiation into yoga developed as she realized the benefits of slowly stretching, moving, and manipulating the body in conjunction with the breath.
"As I began learning more about Anusara yoga and growing in my practice, I became more connected not just to my body, but to the wellness of my whole being. Through the universal principles of alignment, I was finally able to alleviate pain that I had carried for a long time. I still view fitness as a way to have a healthy body. But we are more than just our physical body. While teaching an Anusara Inspired class, I focus more on connecting the physical body to the spiritual heart. I'm enjoying my journey - and that of my students - by taking my love of teaching and creating a classroom environment that is challenging, nurturing, and inspiring.
Shauna's devotion to Anusara yoga is evident in her uplifting philosophy, her emphasis on the heart, and the celebration of the Divine in all beings, all of these being distinctive hallmarks of Anusara yoga.
Travis Ginn
Sahbom Nim Travis Ginn (White Crane Tai Chi) has been and instructor and student of Tang Soo Do since the age of 12 and has trained in the martial arts for over 25 years. He currently holds a 4th Degree Black Belt in the art of Tang Soo Do and is the Master Instructor of the Ho Sin Sool Dojang in Horse Shoe, NC. He is also a Certified Instructor in the White Crane Tai Chi System and teaches at a variety of Retirement Communities and Health Care Facilities where he teaches seniors about health and balance. In 2009 Master Ginn was voted "Master of the Year" in Tang Soo Do along with his school which was voted "Traditional Martial Arts School of the Year." Master Ginn has also studied arts such as Aikido, Isshin Ryu, Hun Gar, Win Chung and Shorei Ryu to name a few. Master Ginn has since dedicated his life to the martial arts and to passing down his knowledge to his students as it has been passed down to him through the long lineage of masters before him. You can visit his website at www.HoSinSoolDojang.com
Vicki Beilharz
Vicki’s first yoga class was in 1992 following double-knee surgery. Her inspiration was to prevent another surgery in the future. She has been a student and teacher of yoga ever since.
At that time, Vicki and her husband lived in Somers, NY and her teacher was Iyengar based. “I loved the detailed instruction on proper alignment and muscle action.” For the next six years she studied and taught the Iyengar Method.
A major turning point for Vicki was moving to The Woodlands, Texas, where she met the founder of Anusara, John Friend substituting for her regular teacher. With John as her primary teacher, she enthusiastically began to study Anusara Yoga. “The underlying philosophy of Anusara touched my heart and renewed my spirit. It was the perfect balance to my obsession with the outer body.”
Vicki is Anusara Certified and E-RYT 500. She also has a B.S. in Physical Education and Health from Slippery Rock University. Her teaching style is joyful, challenging and playful. She encourages students to honor current limitations and when needed she can provide modifications.
leighann@brightwateryoga.com