On the yoga mat, I am no longer “Dr. McCoy” – I am simply a body and mind trying to find union, or working to “yoke” my breath and body. Roughly translated, this is what yoga means – to “yoke” the physical and mental, inner and outer-ness of being. I consider it a life-long journey that is different for each person. Touching your toes or doing a headstand brings you no closer to enlightenment – don’t let that pressure dissuade you from developing your own practice.
Asana practice – the bendy poses you see on Instagram or the ones in my little photo array below – are only one part of Yoga. There are eight limbs of yoga, but in the US we tend to concentrate on the asanas the most; I like to bring other limbs into my classes when appropriate or requested.
In 2017, to mark 20 years of yoga study and practice, I obtained my a Yoga Instructor Certification from ExpertRating. I then started “Yoga Club” at the University of South Carolina Beaufort in order to create a space for students, faculty, and staff to find movement and rest; it has since morphed into a space where USCB students pursuing their 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training Certifications at Dancing Dogs Yoga (Bluffton) to practice teaching. I currently teach a free community yoga class at Savannah Combat Club in Savannah, GA. In 2020, I enrolled in Breathe for a Change‘s 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training, Wellness, and SEL (Social Emotional Learning) course. In December 2021, I officially became a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and hold a 200 RYT certification with the Yoga Alliance.
I have taken workshops on with various yoga luminaries, such as Faith Hunter, Kathryn Budig, etc., on topics ranging from physical assists, Yoga Nidra, Yin Yoga, Laughing Meditation, and Restorative Yoga. My practice and classes are rooted in Iyengar and Hatha yoga (holding poses for a long time with concentration on breath and alignment). My practice developed under the tutelage of Brian Delaney at North Main Yoga (now Greenville Yoga, in SC) in 2005, and continued with Shelli Carpenter at Eternal Health Yoga in 2009 (Louisville, KY). Upon moving to Savannah in 2013, I’ve studied with Roland Nash, Melissa DeLynn, and (now Maui-based) Cara K. Griffin.
I have extensive background in Vinyasa, Kundalini, and Aerial asana practices, but I prefer to teach Hatha yoga, which is the building block to the aforementioned versions of yoga, as part of my own Karma Yoga practice.
Meet me on the mat, and let’s see where we can go!
"Miz McCoy" 