Meet the team at Evolve Yoga Studio
Meet Us
Meet Our Yoga Instructors
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach yoga“
Janet Parks began taking yoga classes in 1998. In 2008 she enrolled in a 200-hour teacher training program in San Diego, CA. In 2010 she opened Power Yoga Palm Springs, offering Power, Hot, Sculpt, gentle and private yoga sessions. In 2013 she received certification to offer a 200-yoga teacher training program at her studio. She has guided 108 wonderful yoga teachers. In addition she has offered 20-and 30-hour continuing education courses for yoga teachers in hot and gentle yoga.
Janet is dedicated to the practice of yoga, both in furthering her education and sharing what she knows. She continues to maintain her certification with Yoga Alliance and is delighted to be teaching at Evolve Yoga and Fitness. She considers it an honor and a responsibility to help yoga students experience the transformative power of yoga.
” I wanted to deepen my practice but I also wanted to be in a position to share all the amazing benefits that come with it, so when life brought me back to Leesburg, I jumped head first into teacher training.” Brittany
In truth, I took my first yoga class to fulfill a physical fitness course credit requirement. I was interested in yoga but didn’t really know anything about it at the time. I figured it would be a nice way to wake up before I headed off to the painting studio for hours on end every day to get through my undergraduate degree as a fine arts major. I was right about that. I always left class feeling a little more centered, a little more awake. But after finishing the semester & getting caught up in the chaos of everyday life again, I threw my yoga mat into my closet & didn’t touch it for years.
It wasn’t until a little over a year & a half ago when my best friend came to me with the idea of completing a 30 day yoga challenge using guided practices online that I decided to make yoga a part of my daily routine again. I had no idea what would happen after those 30 days were up but once I reached the end I knew I wanted more. I needed yoga more than ever. So I kept going, and it’s truly wild to look back now & realize how much it has altered my mental & physical health & awareness.
The circumstances of my life have shifted drastically over the past year. There has been so much change, so many obstacles & uncertainties but yoga has sustained me. I reached a point where it felt like time to take the next step. I wanted to deepen my practice but I also wanted to be in a position to share all the amazing benefits that come with it, so when life brought me back to Leesburg, I jumped head first into teacher training.
The idea of returning to a studio setting after so much home practice was intimidating, but Janet literally welcomed me with open arms & Evolve has become a second home to me.
I’m honored to have the opportunity to be a part of this community & share my love of yoga!
“yoga lit a fire in me like nothing ever has, I felt at peace, stress-free and very happy for the first time in a long time. Yoga was the missing puzzle piece I needed.”
Clover took her first yoga class here at Evolve in December 2018 and instantly fell in love with the way yoga made her feel, She says “It lit a fire in me like nothing ever has, I felt at peace, stress-free and very happy for the first time in a long time. Yoga was the missing puzzle piece I needed.”
She was drawn to yoga to relieve stress from her busy lifestyle and quickly fell in love with the benefits of the entire practice, noticing changes in her body and the way it made her feel relaxed and rejuvenated.
She completed the yoga teacher training course here in March and received her 200-hour certification to spread the love of yoga and for it to be as beneficial to others as it was for her!
Her goal is to get her students to forget about the world and everything going on in their life to have 60 minutes to themselves. She says “These 60 minutes are for YOU! To put the phone down, put your life on the back burner, and just to be here in the present moment. I hope you join me on this journey to take 60 minutes out of your day to focus on you! New to yoga? Let’s start your journey together! I look forward to seeing you in my class!”
1st Timers, Beginners and Experienced Yogis welcomed!!
“I am honored to be part of the Evolve Yoga family and excited to pass along the gift of yoga!”
Desiree first fell in love with yoga in 2014 after taking her first Hot Yoga class while visiting New Smyrna Beach. She felt alive and healthy after just a few weeks of taking 2 classes a week. She was so excited to see Evolve Yoga Studio open in Leesburg, FL. “During my time at Evolve Yoga, I’ve learned that yoga is so much more than just having a toned body. It’s about our connection to ourselves and others around us. It is a tool for navigating this crazy thing called life. Never did I dream that I would get to take my love for yoga to the next level by becoming a yoga teacher. I am honored to be part of the Evolve Yoga family and excited to pass along the gift of yoga!”
“I am incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to contribute to physical and spiritual wellness through yoga. My goal is for students to feel inspired, empowered, peaceful and connected.—
Deanna has a ballet and modern dance background. Music and dance has been her passion for many years. After a college dance program, she became involved with group fitness classes, running and other activities. Over the years, she has taken yoga classes but began to deepen her practice two years ago when she discovered Evolve Yoga.
She realized that Hot Power Yoga gave her a great work out while nurturing the spirituality and self-actualization she was looking for.
Yoga encourages Deanna to live each moment more mindfully. She is excited to share her vibrant energy with others!
“Yoga has been instrumental in keeping me out of my own way”
Erica
Yoga has been instrumental in keeping me out of my own way.
The first time I tried yoga I found a sense of peace that I had not found anywhere else in life. As a person who is always on and always overthinking everything; I was unable to sleep, had anxiety attacks, suffered from depression, self-medicated and did not take care of myself in general. I didn’t even know the word self-care existed. It was mentally, emotionally and spiritually depleting. Yoga was a large part of getting back on the road to wellness.
The past four years I have been more dedicated to my practice and it has been instrumental in helping me stay out of my own way. As I evolved in my life, I started to ask the bigger questions about my purpose on the planet. I knew I wanted to share my love and light with people and make my part of the world a better place – but how?? Then I was introduced to Janet and Evolve Yoga. I knew I found my yoga home! When Janet asked me to become a yoga teacher, I was very hesitant – I don’t like attention! Although I had often thought about how cool it would be to be a yoga teacher and share the gift with others.
Through my journey with Janet and other teachers at Evolve, I have learned that I am perfectly imperfect. I have discovered that this is a wonderful avenue for me to help share my light. I have learned that self-care is not selfish – it helps your cup overflow so you have more to share with others.
I am humbled by the opportunity to share the practice of yoga with the students who come to the classes. I am grateful for the friends I have made along the way. I am honored to be able to guide students on their individual journeys. Most of all I am dedicated to holding space for everyone I teach to feel welcomed, safe and loved as we evolve and grow together on the yoga journey.
~ Namaste
“I felt so good I was hooked!”
Jim took his first hot power yoga class in 2007. Trial by fire for sure! “I felt so good I was hooked.”
Through yoga he has overcome his many athletic injuries and improved his overall health. Jim is a certified 200 hour registered Yoga Alliance instructor. He also has a background as a golf teaching professional.
He’s proof that anyone can practice yoga. “If I can do it, so can you.”
“I have been practicing yoga on and off for years”
My name is Liz … I have been practicing yoga on and off for years. My background includes being a health and fitness coach for all ages. I am now offering myself to you with beginning yoga so I can show you the expressions to take your practice too whatever challenging limits you might see today or in the future.
Liz
“I want them to leave my class with a different perspective on the outside world, knowing they can handle anything life throws their way”
Monica tried a yoga sculpt class for the first time in Virginia 5 years ago because she needed to find an outlet for her stressful work life. She never expected that one class would open her eyes to all forms of yoga, she was hooked! She took all classes offered at the studio (Vinyasa Flows, Hot Power Fusions, Yin and Restorative). Monica soon took a yoga teacher training course and received her 200-hr certification in August 2017, after 8 weeks of immersed yoga training!
Moving to Florida a few short months later, she was eager to find a studio where she could continue teaching various types of hot yoga.
Her goal is to have the students look at classes as their escape and simply to take the 60 minutes for themselves. “I want them to leave my class with a different perspective on the outside world, knowing they can handle anything life throws their way”, says Monica.
“Yoga has helped me to rediscover my true self, and I think everyone deserves to feel that kind of inner peace”
Growing up, Niara always had a love for yoga, but it wasn’t until she had a daughter that she deepened her practice as a way to heal and strengthen her body.
Niara took her first Hot Power Yoga class a few years ago at the behest of a friend, and absolutely fell in love with it after realizing how detoxifying yoga could be for the mind and spirit as well.
Having felt like she finally found her yoga home at Evolve Yoga in downtown Leesburg, it was a natural progression to then become a certified teacher herself, in order to spread the wonderful healing power of yoga to others.
“Ever since that first Saturday I have been practicing yoga a couple times a week and I honestly do not think I could live without it”
When I was younger, I participated in gymnastics. Once I got older, I looked at the pictures of Yogis doing cool handstands and crazy arm balances and thought, “I want to try that!”
I went to a few yoga classes at my local gym and loved them but did not start a steady practice until a year later when I went to Yoga in the Square. Ever since that first Saturday I have been practicing yoga a couple times a week and I honestly do not think I could live without it. Since I began my practice, I fell in love with the physical aspect of yoga and have gained a great appreciation for the mind body and spirit connection I am shaping. –Victoria
“My goal is to help reconnect others with their own bodies and discover the wisdom that they have within.”
Brittany Carter has a lifelong background in dance. She intuited at the age of 3 that movement would be very important for her journey. Her awakening started the year she finished college when she accepted that her path would be a bit different than she thought. However, it truly began before her four month voyage through Southeast Asia, studying Buddhism, Hinduism, yoga, and meditation.
She sat in two silent Vipassana meditation retreats in Thailand, looking inward and uncovering immense peace. She studied a large variety of yoga styles in Thailand and Indonesia, from restorative to aerial to Iyengar.
Yoga, dance, and meditation became the vehicles for her connection to something higher within and without. She has just returned in May from two months in India where she completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh in Ashtanga and Vinyasa styles.
Brittany has since been traveling around Florida and Europe teaching, learning, and exploring along her yogic journey. She wishes to combine the strength and specificity of yoga with the fluidity and freedom of dance. Her goal is to help reconnect others with their own bodies and discover the wisdom that they have within.
“I’m so grateful for this practice and that I get to share it with other people!”
Erin has been practicing yoga for about 3 years. She found yoga after being diagnosed with epilepsy and needing a way to quiet my mind and still my body. She took her first teacher training just a few weeks after becoming involved in yoga community and has been hooked since.
“I’m so grateful for this practice and that I get to share it with other people!” says Erin.
“I want to bring happiness to all around me. I want to leave the world a happier, healthier, and more peaceful place at the end of every day.“
I found yoga a couple years ago when my mom introduced me to it.
For a little while it was just something fun to do. After I had my daughter, I wanted to get some of my pre-pregnancy body back.
I went to yoga off and on, until I got pregnant with my son. A couple months after I had my son, I started going to Evolve. I met Janet! She encouraged me to go to yoga teacher training. I was a mom to 2 small children! I didn’t think I had the time and yoga was only something I did for exercise. Little did she know I was also struggling with postpartum depression and anxiety. In addition to that, our son began to have some seizures. We were in and out of the hospital for a couple of months. In that time, I was still going to yoga. It started to become more to me. It was helping me cope with things going on at home and with my postpartum problems.
Then, at last, Janet convinced me to do yoga teacher training. In that 10 weeks I felt such healing and such love. Yoga is about more than getting fit or physically healthy. It is about healing your soul and keeping your soul healthy.
I want to bring this happiness to all around me. I want to leave the world a happier, healthier, and more peaceful place at the end of every day.
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