Namaskar, my name is Toni Ann and welcome to my journey!
I have been a part-time fitness, yoga, pilates and wellness instructor for 34 years beginning as a certified group fitness instructor, Pilates teacher and certified personal trainer along with working full-time, by day, in sales, marketing and PR. In 2008, something changed within me. I was being drawn to yoga to begin practicing and to start a certified Yoga Alliance 200-hour teacher training program. Little did I know, at that time, my life was about to change in a major way…personally, financially and health wise. Right after starting the teacher training program, I found myself involved in a messy divorce, then changed jobs for a a new position with a start-up company to only find, shortly after, the acquisition fell apart. I, then, got hit by a car while out riding my bicycle…and so on! To say the least, it was a very challenging and stressful time in mind, body and spirit. Yet, it was the yoga that helped me through it all (amongst family). I found yoga and the mindful breathing (meditation) helped ease the stress levels and feel grounded, calmer, more peaceful, getting a better nights sleep. Yoga helps to keep the mind quiet, the heart from racing and soothes the inner self and grounds you. It took time to bring my mojo back and stronger within, but yoga and mindful breathing was the key.
I continued my yoga education with taking intensive workshops in Yin Yoga, Restorative, Youth-at-Risk, and Yoga Therapy. In 2014, I enrolled in a certified 500-hr Yo/ga Alliance teacher training program which included learning therapeutic yoga movements and adaptive teaching methods for various populations – chronic pain, such as back, leg and shoulder, scoliosis to those with PTSD, grieving, anxiety and depression.
I am a certified Usui Reiki II Practitioner, a Japanese form of alternative medicine called energy healing, hands-on healing through which a “universal energy” is said to be transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing.
I am a forever student of learning and use these tools to heal myself from the inside out…a new me…inner strength and resilience, calmer, wiser, joyful and grounded. My passion is to “Improve Lives Every Day” and guide my students to living a healthier lifestyle in mind, body and the inner soul.
Toni Ann Riedel, MA
Yoga Alliance Member 500-hr Yoga Therapist, 200-hr Yoga Instructor
AFAA certified Fitness & Personal Training