Kay's yoga routines can bring stronger muscles and stronger bones.

Practice with balance is the only way to reclaim lost capacity.

Gradually, gently, stiffness yields and flexibility improves.

Energy can be developed and managed through breathing practices.

Release tension, fatigue, and stress; emerge refreshed.

Bring focus, calm or a needed energy through breathing practices.

Tune in to your inner self and become more of who you are.

Kay Hawkins

Kay Hawkins

Yoga Teacher & Therapist • Certified in the Viniyoga Tradition

20 years experience teaching - 10 as a yoga therapist.

A Late Start

I'm a late bloomer when it comes to yoga. In my mid-50s, my passion for yoga came together with the opportunity for an 'early out' from my desk job. Taking a giant step into the future, I enrolled in a month-long residential training program and became a certified yoga instructor.

This is More Complicated Than I Thought

I immersed myself in teaching throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. metro area. Many classes brought in mid-life beginners who struggled with back pain, shoulder problems, arthritis, surgeries and more. I needed more training and tools to reach this population.

Dig Deeper

I sampled the major yoga styles before deciding on Viniyoga. There, I took a second, in-depth teacher training and continued on for a certification as a yoga therapist. During this time, my husband and I relocated to a small town in Virginia's Northern Neck. Here, I have my own quiet yoga studio only a few steps from our home on the Nomini cove, just off of the Potomac River.

Yoga, Big Picture

In Yoga, one style does not fit all, and there are many options and styles to choose from. Each style offers certain recognizable characteristics. I have chosen to teach the style known as Viniyoga.

"Viniyoga is the most highly customized form of yoga. Viniyoga teachers cater….postures to individual student needs and abilities. Function is stressed over form, with an emphasis on integrating the flow of breath with the movement of the spine." ….Time Magazine

"Yoga is not about yoga, it's about you" …Gary Kraftsow, Founder and Director, American Viniyoga Institute.

These statements capture the essence of the yoga I teach. The roots of this tradition are ancient and deep. The focus is practical, useful, and accessible. In this tradition, form follows function--this means that we emphasize the primary benefit of each posture and adjust-out the forbidding elements. Instructions on the breath are intertwined in the practice.

Start Where You Are • Get Where You Want to Go

According to ancient teachings, life comes in stages: Sunrise Stage is when the young body and spirit can take on many challenges and keep on rolling. Mid-day Stage is when we realize we must re-focus to release stress and regain or maintain strength, flexibility, and energy.

The fact is, as a body ages it become more stiff and tight. Limitations and restrictions come into the picture. Aches and pains become routine and expected. Balance falters and disappears. Strength erodes. Stress clouds the joy of living.

Whatever your stage of life, limitations or restrictions, goals or aspirations, I offer a safe and sophisticated practice for improving the comfort and general function of the body. This includes diminished aches and pains as well as improved flexibility, muscle and bone strength, better balance and body awareness. Throughout each class, I instruct on breathing. Many sophisticated breathing practices unlock keys to inner calm, energy or both. Finally, the practice of yoga offers a spiritual dimension, but yoga is not a religion.

Yoga is not about yoga; it's about you.