I found yoga in the late spring of 2021 after searching for a fitness routine that would not only train my body but provide me mental clarity as well. I had previously enjoyed many other group fitness classes and even spent time in the gym on my own, but never found a fitness routine that left me feeling satisfied yet challenged. After my first class at Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford, I knew that the search was over and that I had discovered a space where I could be challenged and supported both mentally and physically.
After practicing for a few months, and falling absolutely in love with the benefits yoga had brought me, I decided to elevate my understanding of my practice by going through 200-hour teacher training in January of 2022. Teacher training taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible and it is my absolute joy to share that passion and understanding through my teaching style. My goal is to guide students through not only a physically invigorating class, but also to foster mindfulness through breath work and, in turn, uncovering the strength to face life’s challenges.
I have lived in Oxford for 5 years and recently completed my MBA. When I’m not in the studio practicing or teaching, I enjoy playing tennis and going on walks with my partner, Drew, and our dogs Memphis and Alys. I look forward to seeing you on your mat!
Cole Barnhill, 200-hr RYT
As I began my sobriety journey over two years ago in 2021, it was a true gift to find yoga. I was in desperate need to align my body, mind and soul. More importantly, I needed to learn how to breathe real, healing life into my hurting body. I had always been a cardio lover and after several surgeries I realized I needed a form of exercise that would no longer bring pain into my hurting body. When I first walked into Baptiste, I felt “off my game”, but I also felt such a deep sense of community. I knew I could show up authentically, as I was. I had found a safe space, where I could learn a new practice of yoga that had previously seemed very intimidating to me. I continued to show up on my mat each week and eventually I never wanted to miss a class. I realized I wanted to share the gift of yoga with others, especially in the recovery space. Yoga was a huge gift given to me and I wanted to share with others the balm it had become for my soul. I firmly believe we heal to then go forth and help others heal as well! I completed my 200-hour training in January 2023 and earned my YOD certification in May 2023. I have loved coming alongside others in their yoga journeys. I love serving in a space that welcomed me in with such open arms as I began again! It’s truly never too late to reset and start over.
I love to bring breath work, high energy and a powerful flow to my students and to remind us all perfection is never our goal. My husband David and I moved back to Oxford in 2005 to raise our three children in the town where we met our freshman year at Ole Miss. I’ve been honored to serve our community through More than a Meal, St. Jude Taste of Oxford, Mosaic women’s support group, 12 step recovery community, and Pinelake Church. Over the years, I’ve also several worked as a teacher, real estate agent and personal trainer. But now I have finally said yes to what is right for me in yoga. I can now embrace this season of life as an empty-nester and love the freedom to travel and learn new skills along the way. Dolly, our golden retriever, has become our new baby and you can often find me enjoying walks with her when I’m not on my yoga mat. I look forward to sharing the gift of yoga with you and being a part of your unique journey. There is nothing to fix when you walk into Baptiste. You are always free to be the true YOU in our community! I hope to see you on your mat with us soon as you begin your own journey!
Kristy Bridgers, 200-hr RYT; YOD certified
I first encountered Baptiste Power Yoga in 2012. I was sure that my preference for “high intensity” workouts and yoga would not mesh. I left my first class surprised at how physically challenging it was, and the competitor in me went back for more. With every practice I experienced unexpected feelings of strength and ease while gaining a greater appreciation for my body and my life.
I was so profoundly impacted by my yoga practice that I left my career job, moved my family from Nashville, TN (after having lived there 23 years) to Oxford, MS to open Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford. I can honestly say I am doing what I love. To be able to share this life-changing practice with others is a dream come true. My intention for Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford is that it is a safe and nurturing space to build community and empower others to live an inspired life.
I am a certified Baptiste Yoga Leader and an E-RYT 500, through Yoga Alliance. I also co-facilitate 200-hr and 300-hr yoga teacher training programs in Oxford and Nashville.
My classes are rooted in Baptiste methodology, providing simple tools to access a deeply physical experience that will awaken and empower you both on and off your mat.
Mary Morgan Bryan, E-RYT 500, 300-hour certified Baptiste Yoga leader; YACEP; YOD certified
Lauren Colliau, 500-hr RYT
I stumbled upon yoga in 2010 after giving up competitive sports. Yoga helped me feel strong and powerful while also giving me the calm and grace of fluid movements and focused breath. In 2019, I wanted to both deepen my practice and share the benefits of yoga by completing my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Southern Star Yoga Center. I am Yoga Alliance Certified and trained in the Hatha Vinyasa style of yoga which balances movement and breath while working up a sweat. I also love to teach a powerful yoga sculpt class helping students to build strength with weights and cardio. I have taught locally in Mississippi as well as internationally in Southern Africa.
I love the strength of the Baptiste Power Flow and all the benefits that come with dedicated practice to that sequence. In addition to the Baptiste Power Flow, I teach Breath2Movement Workshops with Deb Jones. We have taught these workshops locally in Oxford, at Yoga on the Mountain, and at Little Rock Yoga Festival. These workshops provide students an opportunity to get out of their heads and fully into their bodies by repeating a choreographed yoga sequence set to one piece of music. We also teach handstand workshops to challenge students and help flip their perspective.
I cannot wait to catch you on the mat. Namaste!
Rachel Haggard, 500-hr CYT
My yoga journey began in April of 2020 during the pandemic. Although I tried yoga in the past, I didn’t feel led to begin a committed practice until I came to Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford. Initially, I bought the 30 days for $30 intro pass and thought “what do I have to lose?!” At the end of my 30 days, I realized there was nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Yoga gives me a true sense of love, light, and peace. It also gives me the opportunity to shut out the busyness that life brings and turn my focus inward.
I became a 200-hour RYT in February of 2022 and am thrilled to be teaching in the Oxford community that is so dear to my heart. Always a student, I am continuing to grow and deepen my knowledge in all areas of my practice. Yoga has given me so much more than I could have imagined, and I want to share this gift with as many people as possible. I will bring energy, positive vibes, and fun to my classes rooted in Baptiste methodology. I feel very at home with this loving community of yogis that inspire me daily and I know you will too!
Off my mat, I love fishing, reading, watching baseball, traveling, and being outdoors. I am a wife and mother of three boys that keep me rolling and shaking. I absolutely love connecting with people and cannot wait to meet you on your mat! I encourage you to give BPYO a try – the only regret you may have is not beginning your own journey sooner.
Jennifer John, 200-hr RYT, YOD certified
I found yoga in 2013 when my work as a high school teacher and mother of 2 kiddos was wearing me out. Yoga became the journey inward that helped me quiet my mind, catch my breath, and rebuild the strength and flexibility I had as a dancer. My regular yoga practice quickly changed my life both on and off my mat. The increased balance, body awareness, and connection to breath kept me grounded on the mat, in the classroom, and driving all over the state cheering on my kids.
I completed my 200 hr Yoga Teacher certification with Southern Star in 2015 and have been teaching ever since. I am so excited to teach the Baptiste Power Flow. I also teach Breath2Movement Workshops with Rachel Haggard. These workshops provide students an opportunity to get out of their head and fully into their bodies by repeating a choreographed yoga sequence set to one piece of music. I can’t wait to practice with you and find grounding and connection in our Oxford community.
Deb Jones, 500-hr CYT
I found Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford in spring 2022 after I looked at two of my friends and said “I want to find a sauna in town.” It is the best joke now because I have found much more than a “sauna.” Being a former college athlete, I have pushed my mind and body in a variety of ways, but none have ever challenged me in the way Baptiste Power Yoga has.
In my classes, I aim to empower students in their poses and their mindset and offer them ways to continuously listen to themselves and offer gratitude for the amazing ways their bodies move and carry them through life. When we love our bodies, we care for them more deeply and from that overflow we can better love others. When not teaching or practicing, I enjoy any time I can get outside and in nature, listening to podcasts and TedTalks, experimenting in the kitchen, and spending quality time with friends, family, and my two fur babies.
Alexis Lee, 200-hr RYT
My journey on the path of yoga began in 2008. I immediately was drawn to the physical yet spiritual aspects of the practice. I was blessed to have many excellent teachers in my early years of practice that inspired and encouraged me and helped guide me to a healthier and happier life. After practicing for several years I had the misfortune of losing my 23 year old son. Without my yoga practice and community I am not sure how I could have gone on. Stepping on to my yoga mat every day at that point gave me a place to grieve, reflect, shed tears, and find strength to move on.
I am drawn to the Baptiste style of yoga for the physically challenging practice but also for the self inquiry work it asks of me. I am trained to teach yoga for recovery from substance use disorder and have taught in a local inpatient treatment center as well. I love helping guide newcomers to yoga on how the practice can help bring a sense of peace, strength, and well-being to your whole being- mind, body, and soul.
I am thankful to be part of the Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford team since the studio opened. I hope to inspire deeper inner wisdom so that others may have positive transformations in their life as well.
Kent Magee, 200-hr CYT; Y12SR certified, YOD certified
I first began exploring yoga on and off when I was in college, but I found a home and routine practice at Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford in July of 2020. I quickly came to love and appreciate the physical and mental health aspects the practice offered and I was grateful to find a space where I felt challenged, welcomed, and supported. It was an easy decision to take the next step and complete my 200-hour certification in January 2021. I am excited to continue growing in my practice and now share the benefits of holding time and space to nurture the body and mind. I believe every practice is an opportunity to experience growth and self-empowerment and I can’t wait to meet others on their mat!
Brittany Power, 200-hr CYT
I began practicing yoga in the fall of 2000 on the Ole Miss campus. I instantly fell in love with the practice. However, with my work schedule at that time, yoga took a back seat. I would find a place that offered yoga and would kind of practice, but again, made excuses to not be on my mat.
I’ve been an athlete and in athletics for over 25 years and all of those years on the softball field took a toll on my body. After a long year of back, neck and knee issues, doctor appointments, MRI’s and injections, it was finally time for me to slow down and take a different approach and stick with it – both mentally and physically.
Pridefully, I stepped away from hardcore exercising and found Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford and got serious about being on my mat, digging deeper into my practice and learning about the methodology as well. Baptiste Power Yoga has taught me to meet myself right where I am, today. I’m a few years older and much wiser when it comes understanding my body’s needs and my personal expectations of what I think I should be able to do.
I graduated from Baptiste Power Yoga Oxford’s 200-hour teacher training program in February, 2019. In addition, I also completed the Baptiste Foundation’s Social Impact Training in November, 2019 being certified as a Baptiste Foundation Social Impact Leader. This program is designed to lead individuals to impact social change into every population with the art and mastery, tools and techniques of Baptiste Yoga.
I’ve been a volunteer with North Mississippi Regional Center / Communicare since 2000. My main goal after teacher training was to do what I needed to do to help bring Small World Yoga to Oxford. SWY is a Nashville based nonprofit that connects yoga instructors and volunteers to those in the community with limited access to yoga. I now serve as the Outreach Coordinator for SWY Oxford.
Chyna Sinervo, 500-hr RYT; certified Baptiste Foundation Social Impact Leader; YOD certified
After many years of Pilates, barre, and interval training classes, I was initially drawn to power yoga for the workout and sweat it provided. From the moment I began, I was committed to getting on my mat daily and soon learned that the physical was only a small part of the yoga equation. The powerful practice has been a wake up call to feel, heal, and tap in to a source of strength never experienced before.
In the summer of 2019, I completed Level 1: Journey Into Power through the Baptiste Institute and hold a instructor credential through the Institute. I completed my 200-hour teacher training in April 2015 and have loved evolving as a teacher as much as evolving as a yogi. Forever a student, I continue to seek out new and different teachers to learn from.
My classes offer attention to breath and mindful movement. I encourage my students to seek challenge as well as joy in the process of listening to and moving their bodies. Through Baptiste inspired flows created for both strength and openness, I hope to create space for my students to grow in grace and courage so that they can face whatever next comes their way.
Ginger Whitwell, 200-hr E-RYT; 500-hr RYT; Baptiste Instructor credential