In a partnership of mutual respect and responsibility, teachers and students share the journey at Thrive. Empowering students with accountability for their own discipline and development, Thrive instructors support students in bringing their maturation and acquired self-knowledge to their mat. Familiar with students by name and needs, teachers seamlessly integrate individual instruction into the group teaching, creating a public class that feels both intimate and focused.
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Love at first sweat, in 1996 Shannan Donovan wandered into a hot yoga class that set in motion a journey still unfolding. Transforming both her body and mind, Shannan committed to her calling in 2001 when she moved to Asheville, North Carolina and signed on for an intensive, yearlong teacher training with the highly respected vinyasa flow instructor Stephanie Keach. Renown for her non-dogmatic and comprehensive curriculum exploring the roots and traditions of yoga, including its many distinct expressions, Keach inspired Shannan to synthesize her studies and evolve her own style.
Eager to learn more, Shannan headed to Los Angeles to train with Bikram Choudry and earn accreditation as a Bikram Yoga instructor. From Bikram, she continued adding to her Yoga Alliance hours, and her style, by studying with Shiva Rae, Shawn Corn and Bryan Kest.
A word that means to develop gradually, the concept of evolving exists as the central tenet behind Shannan’s approach to her studio, her students, her self. Promoting the mantra —practice not perfect— Shannan’s manner balances playfulness with discipline, openness with boundaries, guiding with allowing, stretching with integration. Considering herself first-and-foremost a student, Shannan strives to daily discover and incorporate new insight and wisdom into both her personal practice and her role as a model and guide. Borrowing perspective from other teachers, her students, as well as philosophy and scholarship, Shannan continually experiments with the dynamic dialog between physical patterns of holding and release, inner truth, and the content and boundaries of our life experiences.
From her background in ballet, Sara was drawn to yoga as a way to heal the body. She observed yoga transform all aspects of her life and discovered the benefits of a committed and consistent practice. In addition to a vigorous practice at Thrive, Sara studied with Baron Baptiste and teaches his powerful vinyasa flow sequence. Inspired by her own teachers, she is dedicated to helping her students explore the moment and push themselves with compassion and joy.
After years of competitive athletics, Brenda departed competition and sought yoga to challenge her body with the intention of quieting her mind. Brenda’s yoga practice has provided her with a genuine sense of calm, balance and an opening of heart, allowing for deeper relationships and more present living. Fascinated with human anatomy and physiology, Brenda completed an undergraduate and a graduate degree in Exercise Science and continues her studies today focusing on Herbal Medicine. In addition to teaching yoga, Brenda teaches Health Science courses at a local high school. She completed her first yoga teacher training in 2007 studying Kundalini and Hatha Yoga under Jeffrey Williams. Brenda continues to deepen her knowledge and practice of yoga by way of studying under the guidance of teachers Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane. She has completed Maya Yoga Teacher Training Levels 1 and 2. Brenda’s teaching is the confluence of her light-hearted and sprightly approach to life, enabling her to offer classes that provide a dynamic interplay of movement and stillness that cultivates an environment for each to develop their personal practice. She remains grateful for her many teachers who continue to share their knowledge and wisdom, and inspire her to deepen her personal practice, as well as evolve as a teacher.
Natalie-Perez Hayden was inspired and transformed by her very first yoga class in 2005. Through consistent practice with Shannan Donovan and other Thrive teachers, she pursued yoga beyond being a student and attended teacher training. Natalie is a certified yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance and continues to study various yogic traditions. Her teaching style is reflective of her workshops with Shiva Rea, John Friend and her tremendous love of nature. Natalie is a mother of two teenage boys and is a trained pre-natal yoga teacher. Natalie has a warm, welcoming approach encouraging discovery and ease within each asana.
Most of Indira’s training has evolved from a competitive sports and dance background including basketball, volleyball, track, swimming, cycling and ballet. After many repetitive injuries and finally a lumbar injury that resulted in the inability to walk for two months, Indira hung up her high tops and bought a yoga mat. This transition painfully but successfully turned her life around. Indira holds the following yoga certifications: Maya Yoga Level I; Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane, Restorative Yoga; Judith Lasater, and Bikram Yoga; Bikram Yoga College of India. In addition to her ongoing yogic study, she blends shamanic counseling, an Environmental Science degree/CA Teaching Credential and study of functional anatomy into her yoga instruction. Her ultimate goal is to offer students access to the healing power of yoga from several perspectives.