Shannon Brasovan

Shannon, a native of Birmingham, has been practicing yoga for over 16 years and teaching for 10. Shannon is an ERYT-500 hour certified teacher and seeks to teach a style of yoga that is integrated philosophically, mentally, physically, and spiritually. You can expect a slower pace and a more athletic class, as well as a class centered around a yogic theme. Shannon seeks to teach to the class you come to, but also to the bodies in the room, so if you have requests- bring them on!

Ellen Gomory

Ellen began taking Power Yoga in high school and loved the discipline and concentration that yoga required. The practice allowed her to move her body and sweat but with more focus and less frenetic than her usual workouts.
She practiced for 10 years prior to taking her 200Hr training with laughing Lotus in NYC and is working on her 500 Hr with Laughing Lotus.
Students can expect a creative and flow-y class set to vibey tunes and her teaching style is straightforward and relaxed.
Her teaching mentors are Mary Dana Abbot, Miriam Wolf, Kate Cariati, Dana Trixie Flynn, Sheri Celentano, Ana Forest and Lara Heimann.

Whitney Elrod

Whitney has spent her entire life immersed in the arts and fitness industries. She obtained a degree in Dance Performance from Birmingham-Southern College on a merit based scholarship in 2009. Whitney enjoyed a professional career in classical ballet with Atlanta Festival Ballet and Birmingham Ballet. In 2013, she transitioned to contemporary dance. She moved to Boston, MA to dance as a company member for BoSoma Dance Company and SundanceX. During this time, she also worked as a personal trainer and took a deep dive into her personal yoga practice. She sheltered herself from the harsh winters in steamy yoga studios, falling in love with the physical and emotional benefits.

Whitney returned to Birmingham upon the birth of her first child. She later founded Formations Dance Company in 2018, with aspirations to bring professional contemporary dance to her hometown. Simultaneously, she took the plunge and completed her RY-200 teacher training under the instruction of Shannon Hancock, followed by gaining her Paddle Board Yoga instructor certification with Leisha Knight. Whitney is a level II Reiki practitioner, after studying with Reiki Master Terri Ann Heiman. She also has a huge appreciation for Kinstretch and FRC and maintains a regular practice with Hai Nyguen.

Whitney enjoys finding new ways to merge her passions, cultivating flows that feel like dancing while challenging the body to find stability and strength. She also places heavy emphasis on connecting breath to movement and working intelligently within each person’s own functional range of motion. She embraces the fact that the human body is an ever changing instrument for movement, and as such must be tuned in different ways on different days! Her classes are designed to ignite body + mind + spirit. (And to create sweat.)

Pilar Taylor

Yoga Lab Bham owner
Pilar’s yoga journey began in the early 2000’s with Emma Terndrup at the Birmingham JCC. She initially went to recover from a running injury and stayed because there was so much there. She received her 200HR teacher training from North Shore Yoga in Chattanooga in 2009, 500 HR from Laughing Lotus on NYC and working towards a Smartflow® certification from Annie Carpenter .
Students can expect to find a purposefully sequenced class that builds upon itself with options for varying levels all set to her newest playlist (really for her true DJ ambitions).
Her yoga mentors are Kenny Frisby, Mary Dana Abbot, Dana Trixie Flynn, Emma Terndrup and Annie Carpenter.

Dawn Cassizzi

Dawn began her yoga practice in 2002 after a back injury led her to seek a holistic and natural solution. The practice immediately resonated with her and she soon discovered the many other benefits from a regular practice. Dawn received her 200 YTT from Asheville Yoga Center in 2019 and is currently pursuing her 500 hr accreditation. She feels honored to be able to share yoga with others and hopes they find the healing and transformation that has kept her committed to her own practice.

Renny Ratliff

Renny’s first class was at Core Power® yoga with her mom. It didn’t really resonate except as a form of exercise. After studying Philosophy in college she took another venture into asana and recognized the value of combining physical movement with internal exploration.
She practiced for a few years before getting her 200HR with Kula Collective in Costa Rica in 2016. She also has Hot Yoga training from Yoga Pod in Boulder, CO.
Students coming to her class will find high-energy powerful flows with groovy music and good vibes.
Her current yoga mentors are Chelsey Korus, MC Yogi and Jiya Randal.

Kristin Rand

Kristin knows that magic is real. She infuses this sentiment into all of her work. She believes it is our deepest calling to wake up to our own unique light and come back home to ourselves.

A graduate from a 200hr core-strength RYS with additional certification in prenatal and accessible yoga, Kristin’s passion is working with anyone who might not feel ‘ready’ or “enough’ to practice yoga: primarily queer, bigger, and pregnant/post partum bodies. She wishes for all folks to reclaim a relationship to their body in way that empowers them.

Expect to ground down and connect to joyful movement in her classes.

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Alexis Unger

Alexis is a yoga and meditation teacher, music and ecstatic dance enthusiast, and in her spare time: writer, barista, and banker. Alexis was initially drawn to yoga after a fraught relationship with gym class and sports as an alternative, non-competitive method of movement and physical wellness. Alexis has since expanded her love of yoga to focus on meditation and overall mind-body connection.

Alexis completed her 200HR teacher training at Yoga Vida in New York City in 2018 and completed continuing education in Restorative Yoga teaching at Pure Yoga, also in NYC. Alexis co-taught a 200HR vinyasa teacher training at Shiva Shakti with Angela Rauscher.

When attending one of her classes, you can expect vinyasa flow movement with a focus on slowing down in the second half of the class to prepare for meditation. Her passion is encouraging students to slow down and connect with their inner voice both on and off the mat.

Alex Ngo

Alex Vu Ngo is a bilingual, Vietnamese-American yoga teacher originally from San Jose, California. Alex wandered into his first yoga class back in early 2017. After that class ended, he was taken aback. He didn’t realize how invigorating and powerful yoga was. He found himself showing up time after time again wanting even more. Curious of the many types of yoga, Alex has practiced a variety of different styles, but was drawn to the creative sequencing of Vinyasa and the strong straightforward approach of Power Yoga.Alex has practiced consistently with Pilar Taylor and Martee Hewitt in Birmingham, and with Core Power Yoga and Christine Chen in the Bay Area of California. After honing a practice of 5 years, Alex trained at Yoga[Lab] under the guidance of Pilar Taylor and Haley Duggan for his RYT-200 with Yoga Alliance. He cites Martee Hewitt, Haley Duggan, Christine Chen, and Pilar Taylor as his yoga mentors. Alex’s practice and teaching emphasizes on proper techniques, modifications, and alignment. Expect to laugh and incorporate mindfulness with movements that are culturally dynamic, strong, and engaging. He hopes to add diversity to modern yoga and use it as a means to give back to his communities, while honoring the lineage of which this practice came from.Alex teaches by the beliefs his mentors instilled in him of building strength and finding flexibility within strength.