Maggie Heinzel-Neel

Owner

Vitality Yoga Flow

The peaceful feeling I receive from practicing yoga asana (poses) and pranayama (breath work), as well as the empowerment from becoming strong and flexible, is at the core of my teaching.  After years of debilitating back pain and a very inflexible body, I finally took my first yoga class.  People say that they’re not flexible enough for yoga - if they only knew what I looked like (for a very long time) in my practice! But what made me stick to it is how I felt afterward; elated.I love to combine a wide range of experiences; a dynamic physical workout with precise alignment instructions, focus on breath within the poses and in pranayama, spiritual reflection, and a mindfulness observation that leads to a meditative experience. My prime focus is on the breath, throughout the entire class, which provides cleansing from the inside out.  I strive to teach an equal part of challenge and nurture, a balance of feminine and masculine. As the breath, heart, and body all work together, I hope to lead students to a deep feeling of connection and wholeness that helps to stay focused and quiet their minds.My initial training came from a foundation in Iyengar Yoga, then Ashtanga, resulting in an alignment-based vinyasa flow that’s a slightly slower vinyasa than the typical vinyasa flow, emphasizing alignment as we move with a rhythmic breath.  I am also trained in Medical Chi Gong, using the 5 elemental theories to guide the practices according to the seasons, which I overlay in the Meridian Flow Yoga+Qigong.  This is the ultimate combination of a strong physical practice combined with a deep inner focus on moving our prana (chi) in the patterns of the energy highways.  It’s a unique combination that is deeply healing.