Our Teachers & Staff
We can’t even begin to describe how grateful we are to have these most amazing souls sharing their gifts and passions with us. From personality to skill, we hands down have the best team around and hope you’ll take advantage of having them all in one place!
Angela H
Yoga (RYT 500) Zin Yoga Studio’s Co-Lead Trainer for 200YTT
Angela teaches in the vinyāsa style of yoga. Her classes focus on linking poses together and connecting the breath with movement. She strives to bring a peaceful, yet uplifting energy to her classes and encourages her students to look inside themselves to connect with their inner beauty, strength and peace, during their practice both on and off the mat. Angela enjoys sharing information about anatomy and its relationship to poses and movements throughout her classes. She also loves to incorporate chanting at the beginning or end of the practice and often plays her harmonium in śavāsana. Along with vinyāsa, she teaches restorative yoga, meditation, Sanskrit, yoga history and philosophy and kid’s yoga.
Angela completed a 200-hour teacher training in 2010 and a 500-hour training in 2017, both at blue lotus yoga studio in Raleigh, NC. She continues to study anatomy on a regular basis and has devoted several years to studying the Sanskrit language, yoga history and yoga philosophies.
Angela G
Yoga (E-RYT 200, YACEP, 500RYT)
Angela Y. Griffin is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher who received her training from Indigo Hot Yoga Center and blue lotus in Raleigh. She has been a lifelong fitness and health advocate as early as childhood and through adulthood. Although a student of many yoga disciplines, her passion is for gentle and YIN yoga. Over the years, Angela’s dedication to teaching in the areas of inclusivity and accessibility has evolved. Angela finds that the practice of yoga brings clarity, calmness and an overall sense of peace to her life. Her passion is to share this with everyone she comes in contact. A message that Angela tries to spread is that you do not have to be flexible to do yoga, just willing. Yoga is a lifestyle and we have so much power in our breath.
You are invited to join Angela at one of the yoga sessions that can be tailored to help you stretch your mind and body, thus helping to alleviate stress, and encourage whole body wellness.
Ashleigh
Yoga (RYT 500)
Ashleigh is a nationally certified yoga teacher with extensive training in restorative and therapeutic yoga. She loves bringing the life-changing practices of yoga to her students. From asana (with an emphasis on alignment) to breathwork and meditation she works with her students exactly where they are to help guide them home to themselves.
Christopher
Yoga (RYT 500)
Christopher grew up in Greenville, NC and graduated from UNC-G. He first discovered yoga in 1997 after moving to San Francisco. As a therapist, he was fascinated by yoga’s integration of mind, body and spirit. After teaching and training for 25 years, he moved back to NC in 2019. His classes are a moving meditation, mindfully sequenced to build strength and balance, flowing into deep rest and inner peace.
Join Christopher Tuesdays at 5:30pm for All levels Flow, Wednesdays at 10:30am for Gentle Yoga, and Saturdays at 11am for Gentle yoga
Elizabeth
Yoga (RYT 500) I Yoga Therapist I Barre Fitness
Elizabeth has been practicing Yoga for 15+ years. She completed her 200-hour Yoga certification through Eight Limbs Yoga Centers in Seattle, WA in 2014 and has been teaching ever since.
Dealing with years of chronic low back pain she was diagnosed with degenerative arthritis in her lower back (L4 & L5). It was with this diagnosis that she decided to pursue becoming a Yoga Therapist. She has completed an 865-hour Yoga Therapy Program through The Optimal State of Living and is currently in her Practicum pursuing her C-IAYT. She believes Yoga is essential to healthy aging, and overall health and fitness including mental well-being. She feels honored to share her passion and knowledge with others.
Elizabeth is married, has 5 children and 6 grandchildren. When she’s not teaching Yoga or Barre, she enjoys Cuban Salsa dancing with her husband and playing Pickleball!
Join Elizabeth weekly for Barre Express on Mondays at 5:30pm, Myofascial Release and Deep Stretch at 6:30pm, Open Level Flow Yoga on Saturdays at 9:30am and Gentle Yoga Saturdays at 11am. You can book private Yoga Therapy sessions with her through our site.
Jennifer
Wine Manager aka Chaos Director
We are very blessed to have Jennifer here on staff as our wine manager. Her knowledge on not only wine but also beer is vast! Jennifer also trys to manage all things the owner comes up with….
She can help you arrange a private wine tasting for your private party or team event.
Reach out to find out all the special events we offer in the wine lounge.
Kara
Owner | Lead YTT Trainer | Yoga (E-RYT 500, YACEP) Reiki | Fitness
North Carolina native, Kara has been teaching yoga to The Triangle since 2008 and in the fitness industry since 2006. She then opened Zin, Garner’s first yoga studio, in November 2014. Students can expect a class of passionate alignment instruction, hands on assists that support healing in the body, unapologetic encouragement of self-care, and fun music along with sporadic bursts of contagious laughter.
Join Kara weekly for Flow Yoga (level 2) Tuesdays 7pm and FriYay Yoga on Fridays at 10:00am. She’s also available for private instruction!
Kristin
Yoga RYT200 Dr of Physical Therapy
Kristin started practicing yoga in her teens after an injury sidelined her from the soccer field temporarily. And while she initially started yoga for the physical benefits, she stayed for the mental and emotional aspects.
In 2017, she completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training in Morgantown, West Virginia. And she taught consistently until relocating to Raleigh with her husband and pup in 2022.
That same injury that brought her to yoga, led Kristin to pursue a career in physical therapy. She is now a doctor of physical therapy with specialty in women’s and pelvic health. She uses her extensive knowledge of the body and its mechanics to inform her yoga teaching.
She has a passion for trauma informed teaching practice. Her classes offer a safe place for folks to tune into their bodies, connect to their breath, and explore poses and postures on their mats.
Jennifer T.K.
Jennifer has been an ACE certified group fitness instructor. As a high school athlete, she strove to find a way to stay active as an adult. Weight rooms and solo jogging did not ignite a passion, but she found her niche in the world of group fitness, first as a long-time participant, and then as an instructor.
When not in the group fitness studio, Jennifer can be found working full time as a counselor at South Garner High School, or at her home in Garner enjoying time with her husband Don, two children, their dog, two cats and bunny.
Kate
aka Magik Woman, Juice slinger, artist, musician and more
Kate is one of the many amazing bar staff we have here. She is also an artist and singer song writer among her creative talents. Kate helps book all of our live artists and host open mic twice a month.
AMANDA
Bartender on the wine side
Amanda is a middle school teacher who loves to read, snuggle with her dog, and spend time with family and friends. She grew up in Garner and loves to go to the beach as often as possible. You can find her in the wine lounge on Tuesday evenings and occasionally on the weekends.
Chris
Yoga (RYT 200) | Fitness
Currently working as a first responder and rock climbing coach, Chris is abundantly clear that yoga is life and practice extends far beyond the four corners of the mat. Chris’s personal practice and classes fuse concepts of basic (and advanced) human mechanics, while continuing to strengthen roots in mindfulness and yoga history in order to continue a 5,000-year practice dedicated to coming back to the present moment.
Although Chris is not currently on the weekly schedule, we invite you to keep an eye out for the special offerings he regularly brings to Zin!
Egey
Yoga Instructor
Egey started practicing yoga not long after he moved to Garner from Northern Virginia in 2021. His interest in yoga stemmed from a desire to unify his mental, emotional, and spiritual development into an embodied practice with his local community. Physical fitness has always been a part of his life in the forms of soccer, running, and weightlifting, but yoga presented an invitation to explore new areas that integrated mind, body, and spirit.
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In 2023, Egey completed his 200-hour yoga teacher training at Zin. He is passionate about exploring the breadth of the human experience through yoga, and cultivating a space for practitioners at any level to find what they need through their practice.
Kendra
Yoga (RYT 200) |
Kendra began her yoga journey in 2011after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She quickly discovered that yoga supported her healing. This mental and physical respite made yoga one of her happy spaces, and she is passionate about sharing and creating space for others.
Kendra is excited about teaching, especially seeing others embrace yoga. In her class, you’ll find an empowering flow that encourages you to embrace what works best for you.
Marguax
200HR Yoga Instructor
Margaux has been doing yoga since she was 16 and credits it for getting her through many of life’s challenges. She started her teacher training as a means for deepening her own practice and came away wanting to share that joy and peace with those around her. Her hope is to see her students take the practice of yoga off the mat and into their daily lives. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her two children, getting out in nature, and playing scrabble.
Veronica
Yoga (RYT 200) | Yoga in Spanish
Veronica started her yoga journey eight years ago. She was looking to find a balance that would help her with the stress, anxiety and depression she was having during that part of her life. For several years, the practice of yoga helped her balance her physical, emotional and spiritual health. In 2020, she began to deepen her journey of self-healing and self-discovery and decided to complete her YTT 200 training at Zin Yoga Studio. This certification helped her to discover herself in a profound way and took her personal practice to a deeper level. Along the way, she has also completed her certification as a personal trainer and Holistic Health Coach by the Institute of Integral Nutrition of New York City (lIN). She believes that the practice of meditation, yoga and mindfulness can help everyone to live a much fuller and healthier life by taking care of their mind, body and spirit. Veronica believes that yoga is for everyone and she enjoys offering lots of options for movement where everyone in class feels welcome. She loves to create a space and an experience in every of her classes where people of all ages, skills and yoga level feel comfortable and safe on their path of self-discovery and yoga.
Ann
RYT200HR Yoga Instructor
Ann Holdren-Kong is a RYT200 instructor who discovered yoga through her love of fitness. After healing from a thyroid disorder, she used yoga to practice mindfulness and stay healthy. She loves vinyasa, power, and yin yoga. As an instructor, Ann's mission is to empower others, bring joy, and create an inclusive environment for all.