Discover inner peace and holistic well-being at Ahlara International in beautiful Lake Norman, North Carolina. Join our rejuvenating yoga classes, led by experience instructors, in our serene Akasha Center. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced practitioner, our diverse range of yoga styles caters to all levels. Unwind, stretch and find balance as you connect with your mind, body and spirit. Book your mat today and embark on a journey to wellness with Ahlara International.

Sign up for a Yoga Class

All Students are asked to register at least an hour in advance for all yoga classes. Students can register on-line or call Ahlara at 704.662.0946.

Class Schedule:

Mondays

9:00am Mindful Slow Flow with Leandra

11:30am Graceful Healing Flow with Cherie

Tuesdays

9:00am Energize & Flow Vinyasa with Leandra

10:30am Yin Yoga with Aparna

6:00pm Reiki Infused Stretch and Restore with Kim

Wednesdays

9:00am Explorative Yoga with Cherie

Thursdays

11:30am Gentle Yoga with Emilie

Fridays

9:00am Energize & Flow Vinyasa with Leandra

10:30am Deep Stretch with Emilie

Prices:

New Student = $5.00

Single (Drop-in) Class = $15.00

Ten Class Pass = $100.00

Monthly Membership = $80.00

Class Descriptions:

Deep Stretch with Emilie

Deep stretch focuses on the connective tissues of your body. By holding certain poses you allow your joints and fascia to release as well as your mind and body to relax. Get ready for a practice that will benefit your joint health, flexibility, circulation and mental well-being. All levels welcome!

Energize & Flow with Leandra

Energize & Flow is a vibrant yoga class that harmonizes breath with movement to awaken and energize the body. This dynamic Vinyasa session builds heat, boosts strength, and enhances flexibility, offering an invigorating and revitalizing experience. It's perfect for all levels and anyone seeking a balanced yet energizing start to their day

Explorative Yoga

Experience a diverse range of yoga styles including Jivamukti, Kundalini, Yin, and others. In Explorative Yoga, you will learn terms such as kriya, mudras, nidra, and various breathing techniques and meditative practices. This class offers a deeper exploration into postures, helping you achieve challenging positions or deepen your current practice, often with the use of props. Each session is unique, focusing on different styles and concepts, ensuring a dynamic and enriching yoga experience.

Gentle Yoga with Emilie

Gentle yoga is accessible and beneficial for everybody! You will be guided through postures and movements that will be synchronized with your breath. You will increase flexibility, mobility, strengthen the body, relieve stress, calm the mind, and have a little fun.

Graceful Healing Flow Yoga

Graceful Healing Flow Yoga is a unique blend of vinyasa flow and movement arts. This class offers a graceful and fluid experience with circular joint movements, various spinal undulation techniques, and body isolations. It integrates movement arts theories from martial arts and dance, making it excellent for relieving stiffness, lengthening muscles, strengthening, and promoting relaxation. The practice allows for simultaneous connected openness in the fascia, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Incorporating many principles of the viniyoga style, this class is ideal for beginners, advanced practitioners, individuals with medical concerns, and athletes seeking to enhance their skills.

Raise Your Vibration Flow with Cherie

This dynamic and uplifting class is designed to help you shed stress and negativity, while guiding you towards a radiant and positive state of being. We will blend the fluidity of Vinyasa yoga with spiritual elements that encourage positivity and release stagnant energy. Through sequences, heart opening postures and mindfulness techniques, you'll experience a transformative journey that helps you connect to your inner radiance. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or new to the practice, this class offers a path to vibrational ascension and a sense of inner light.

Reiki Infused Stretch and Restore with Kim
This class is all about stress release and relaxation.  Using the healing powers of Reiki (healing energy to reduce stress and promote health and vitality) and a variety of relaxing deep stretches, yin postures and restorative poses, you will leave class feeling relaxed and renewed.  Each class will incorporate breathing techniques to expand lung capacity and calm the nervous system.  Peaceful grounding techniques at the beginning and end of class will help balance body and mind, creating your own inner sanctuary.

Instructors:

Aparna Varma 

Aparna is a RYT200 certified passionate and dedicated yoga teacher. Her approach to yoga is to make it simultaneously accessible, challenging and transformative to all clients both as a physical practice as well as a holistic discipline. She loves teaching multiple styles of yoga including Power, Restorative, Yin and Stretch. Pranayama and yoga philosophy is an integral part of her classes and is woven seamlessly into the practice. She believes that yoga is a holistic practice that serves both the mind and the body and can be made accessible to everyone. She infuses her classes with creativity, fun and laughter and loves her yoga community.

Cherie Gallo

Cherie’s journey with yoga began at the age of 16, when she discovered how seamlessly it complemented her martial arts training. Over the years, she immersed herself in various yoga styles including Kundalini, Ashtanga, Jivamukti, Viniyoga, Yin, and Brahmrishi Yoga. This holistic approach not only enhanced her physical capabilities but also enriched her spiritual and mental well-being.

As she progressed in her career, Cherie established and managed her own martial arts and fitness centers. In an effort to balance the demands of her work, she embraced ballroom dance as a means of relaxation and rejuvenation. However, a health issue eventually required her to scale back on some of the more strenuous activities. Undeterred, Cherie adapted and became a certified yoga teacher in 2011, with a focus on therapeutic yoga.  She then hired other teachers to run the more strenuous classes under her direction and focused her energies on adding a yoga studio into her business.  This all was in Ohio and lasted for 13 years until she sold her businesses to move to the warmer climates of North Carolina and focus on her health primarily.

Drawing from her extensive background in martial arts, fitness, dance, and personal health challenges, Cherie developed a unique and effective teaching style known as Graceful Healing Flow. This method integrates her diverse experiences, offering a gentle yet powerful approach to healing and wellness. Through her innovative practice, Cherie hopes to inspire and empower others to achieve balance and harmony in their lives.

Emilie Michael

My journey into the vast knowledge of Yoga and Ayurveda began in 2008. After attending my first class, I had a deep feeling that yoga would become an integral part of my life. Quickly, I became hooked on how yoga made me feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. Early on, in my yogic journey, I knew that I wanted to share these ancient knowings with others. Having been an elementary education teacher, I already had a passion for teaching.

In April of 2010, I received my 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certification at Joyful Yoga, in Bonita Springs, Florida. In September 2018, I completed Rolf Gates’ 300 hour vinyasa yoga teacher training.  From a gentle to an advanced vinyasa flow, I am skilled and experienced in teaching a wide range of classes. My intent is to provide a space where students feel love, acceptance, and joy.

Along with alignment of the physical body, my classes emphasize on the connecting of the breath with the physical movements and postures (asanas). By using humor, creative sequencing and smooth transitions in my classes, I aim to create a space where people feel comfortable. I believe that ultimately yoga should be fun because this is when we reap the benefits. Having experienced how deeply yoga affects both health and emotional challenges, I continue to draw from my own experiences to assist students in finding their most joyful selves. It is my belief that anyone can practice yoga.

Kim Shaffer

RYT 200 Certified Yoga Instructor Aerial Yoga Certified Instructor Usui Reiki Master

Kim is originally from Arlington, Virginia and moved to Mooresville, NC in 2014 with her husband Pat, 3 sons and a pack of labs. She was in search of her true passion in life and felt yoga was calling. She signed up for yoga teacher training and never looked back, it became her passion. She is now devoted to living her yoga on and off the mat, and she hopes to inspire her students to do the same. Her classes will infuse this through mindful meditations, breath focused flows, reiki infused adjustments and inspirational reflections. Her hope is that each student leaves class feeling inner strength, peace and excited to live their authentic life.