If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Joy Longstreth-King
Accessible Yoga, Advancing Your Practice
& The beginner’s mind.
I found yoga while trying to be a fitness buddy to someone else in 2010. I had given up on myself! And we wandered into this yoga class that I thought might be fun to try. We started moving and I remembered doing back-bends and flips as a kid and in martial arts. I was quite heavy because the onset of type 2 diabetes had put weight on me so fast! I never felt good, my legs hurt all the time, and I had no energy. I met my first teacher who I now feel like I owe my life to. Maybe literally but definitely the reclaimed youthful life I have now. I came back to my mat again, and again because I felt so good after. Weight was falling off, my dietary habits were changing and nothing was forced. I kept showing up, and it kept happening! After about 5 years a fellow student told me I should go to teacher training to deepen my own practice, and after hearing this several times, that’s what I did! I had no intention of teaching, not me, no way! This was 2015. A month after receiving my 200 hr certification, along with a yoga anatomy certificate, I got a call, one of the people I went to teacher training with knew a place in my town who needed someone…and here I am today, loving every minute of it. I seem to have a gift to give many different options to get into some poses, or a needed place of healing in the body. I attribute this to being 40-something when I first stepped on a mat. And I had so many wonderful gifted teachers who led me to these places, each one with their own style. I am so grateful. I have practiced on a mat, a paddle board, in the air with silks, on yoga hikes, with my martial arts school, with a partner or group for acro-yoga, with sing bowls, and soundings gongs, with ropes on a wall, with dogs, with goats, and with bunnies and loved it all! I still love being a student just as much as being a teacher because other teachers teach me, but so does each student. I say that yoga starts when we step on our mat, but also when we step off of our mat with what we take into the world. Come and practice with me. Maybe your transformation to wherever you need to be is with all of us at Empowered.
Amanda Darrow(Gill)
Owner, Empowered LLC
“I found my passion for movement out of a need for something that brought me both peace in mind and a sense of strength in my body. I felt like there was a missing link in the bridge between fitness, well-being, and functional recovery so - i set out to connect the dots.”
Amanda is a 200+hr Yoga Teacher, Fitness coach, Certified Chef, and Owner of Empowered Wellness. The creation of Empowered bloomed from her own roots in the holistic path toward mental & physical health. Amanda found yoga in 2010 while on her search for “something better” when diagnosed, and looking to cope, with anxiety. In her 12+ years of personal experience with mental health in combination with fitness & nutrition she found that the path of yoga continued to provide ease for her - not only on the mat & in her body but also in the way she approached life. Natural health through food, exercise, and the path of yoga became lifestyle medicine.
”The comprehensive lifestyle of yoga shows us who we really are and what we do with that knowledge becomes the practice. Yoga’s guidelines call us to a way of living that is of the highest quality -physically, ethically, emotionally, and mentally.. while also maintaining a healthy relationship with being human. This path isn’t about "perfectionism” .. it’s about seeing things as they are and learning to balance. The journey to finding out what shapes our reality is so worth it.”
For Amanda yoga carries over into the way she parents, relates with others, and even brings better focus in her day-to-day. She decided this tool was one she wanted to share.
Amanda believes in the ability of her community to self-heal, grow, and thrive. She, and the Network Partners that work with her at Empowered, encourage students to look within for the answers & witness their own healing power through movement, meditation, body work, pranayama (breath work) and mindfulness. Her thoughts are that through dedication and discernment you can empower yourself to live well.
“In the world of wellness it is not one-size-fits-all. However there ARE groups of tools & methods that one can apply to find their perfect fit inside the gym, kitchen, and studio as well as in their everyday lives. Your baseline needs are unique. Through these universal practices we can design the blueprint for your wellness scaffolding.”
In her classes expect a base of vinyasa yoga with adaptations of functional movement, recovery, and strength (both subtle, foundational, and of the mind).
Kelli Sarlo
Peace in the Practice.
Hi I my name is Kelli . I discovered the benefits of yoga combined with Christian music and meditation during the Covid isolation period in 2020. From all the free time I had available, I was able to research this concept to see if there were others that shared my positive feelings. I was so happy to find that many other Christians enjoy this type of fitness practice! I became a certified Yoga Faith instructor a year later!
I am thrilled to be teaching "Peace in the Practice" at Empowered!
I'm a Christian by faith so this particular class will be unique. My goal is to help participants learn how to connect with Jesus Christ through Biblical meditation, prayer and movement. It is a beautiful blend of prayer, pose, and uplifting music that reflects the intention and subject of each particular gathering.
I feel blessed to share how this practice changed my life and so thankful to be a part of the Empowered Wellness team.
I hope to see you on the mat.
Amanda Coldebella
Hi! I’m Amanda Coldebella and the face behind In the Light Doula. I am a momma, a wife, and an aunt. Science, education, and women’s reproductive health are my jam. After the birth of my son did not go as planned, I started to wonder how many other families felt they had a negative or even traumatic birth experience.
Please read more on my site!
Website