Teachers
Many of our talented teachers are available for private sessions.
Contact the teacher directly for more information or request an appointment via our online platform.
Kim Lomonaco, MS, CCC-SLP, ERYT 500, LMT · Studio Owner
Kim believes movement practices and bodywork are means to being in a deliberate relationship with oneself. Sessions are tailored to address clients’ needs, including the holistic perspective that body, mind, and spirit are inseparable. Expect her to create a session that addresses aches and pains, with suggestions on how to carry over new movement and breathing patterns through day-to-day life. Kim will use her understanding of movement and mindfulness in the therapeutic sessions she offers and will empower you to live better in your body.
Kim has been teaching yoga since 2007 and successfully completed two 200-hour Yoga Alliance teacher training, as well as hundreds of hours of continuing education and independent study in the areas of anatomy/physiology, therapeutic application of yoga, breath science, philosophy, meditation, and Thai Yoga Massage. Kim has taught yoga at The Glowing Body since the studio opened in 2008, served as studio manager for several years, and became owner in 2017. Kim completed her certification in massage therapy at Asheville School of Massage & Yoga in September 2018. She currently teaches to groups and individuals, as well as practices massage with private clients at The Glowing Body. Kim serves as the Director of The Glowing Body’s 200 hour yoga teacher training program and has more than a decade of experience mentoring fellow teachers.
Further, Kim earned a Masters of Science in 2010, and has worked as a Speech Language Pathologist in hospitals ever since. Her ongoing experience in healthcare lends balance to understanding the many ways we may influence our health.
The Glowing Body has become an integral part of her development as a person and a professional, and she takes great pride in facilitating the continued success of the studio.
Like on Facebook, follow her on Instagram @bend.breathe.be, or visit her website.
Jennifer Beyt Coffin, E-RYT 200
Jennifer has a 30+ year hatha yoga practice and draws her inspiration from a blend of the essential aspects of Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Forrest, Iyengar, and Yin Yoga practices. Since teaching her first class 22 years ago, Jennifer has committed to make her classes welcoming, challenging, and safe.
It is Jennifer’s goal as a teacher to encourage you to find the therapeutic benefits of your practice, be it vigorous or more passive, so that it may be a life long endeavor.
Follow her on Instagram @coreexplore
Aliya Alewine, RYT 200, Ropes Wall Instructor
As a visual artist, photographer, and trauma-informed yoga instructor, Aliya brings a creative and compassionate lens to movement. Her ropes yoga classes weave elements of Iyengar yoga, TRX suspension training and functional mobility to create an experience that is grounding and empowering.Aliya holds a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling, a 200-hour yoga certification, and a CrossFit Mobility certification. For over a decade, she has studied under Jennifer Beyt Coffin, whose approach continues to inspire and inform her teaching and ongoing training.
Her classes are rooted in consent, curiosity and body awareness. Each class is a safe space for students to explore their connection with the their bodies and their relationship with movement. She believes that caring for our joints, tissues and nervous system through diverse, intentional movement is one of the most powerful ways we can support ourselves through life.
See you at the wall.
Emily Atwell, RYT 200
Emily’s passion for movement originated from childhood, but began to grow more intently while studying anatomy and physiology in high school. After working for several years as a Certified Nursing Assistant, with the intentions of becoming a nurse, Emily found she still wanted to help others live a healthy life, but that nursing wasn’t the path for her vision.
Emily completed her 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher training in 2019 at TriBalance Yoga Studio in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. She was guided under the practice of Joy Antipow and delved into the study of Hatha, Yin, and Vinyasa styles. Through this training and her own personal practice she began over 10 years ago, Emily knew this was the direction she wanted to take in order to fulfill her vision of guiding individuals to a balanced life of mind, body and soul. In her classes, you will find an emphasis of; holding on and letting go, moving with intention, a community, and a safe place to move through life’s cycles. Her teachings are a blended version of the styles she has studied.
Emily continues to study the philosophies of holistic healthcare including: Usui Reiki level 1 & 2 practitioner, certified Flexologist through StretchLab, and 30 hours of assisted yoga and Thai stretching under Kelly Scott at The Glowing Body.
Follow her on Instagram @emily_coco15
Annie Blanton, PhD, RYT 200
Annie began practicing yoga in 2009 and graduated from The Glowing Body Teacher Training in 2023. A Michigan native and former collegiate athlete, she turned to group fitness for stress management and fitness during graduate school. With over ten years of teaching experience, Annie is certified in yoga, Lagree Pilates, and barre. She is passionate about helping others discover movement that can support them throughout their lives. Annie currently teaches power and slow flow yoga at The Glowing Body and also teaches undergraduate yoga courses at the University of Tennessee.
Follow her on Instagram @kirkanna
Amalia Brusati Di Settala, RYT 500
Amalia is certified as an RYT 200 from New York at YogaShanti with Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman. She learned a gentle, yoga flow style that matched perfectly with her philosophy of practice. In 2019, she was continued her studies and completed a 300 hour training program of Ashtanga Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga in Mysore, India at Yoga Darshanam with a strong focus on pranayama and meditation.
Her class will explore the connection between mind, body and soul through breathing and gentle movements and are suitable for all experience levels.
Follow her on Instagram @ama.mi.kitchen
Suzanne Dismukes, RYT 200
Suzanne found the true value of yoga while searching for relief from severe back pain. She discovered the healing and strengthening aspects of yoga to be clearly evident. The results were so amazing that she felt drawn to become a yoga instructor in order to share the beauty and healing power of the asanas to help others explore yoga’s curative benefits for themselves. The stars aligned and Suzanne found the teacher’s training course and her yoga home at the Glowing Body in 2015. After graduating from the program, Suzanne was thrilled to start teaching at the Glowing Body in 2016.
Her teaching style focuses on deep breathing paired with flowing body movements to help anyone move more gracefully through BKS Iyengar’s principles of alignment. Her desire is to help students to better understand and develop their own proprioception as well as fulfill their personal yoga goals.
Suzanne enjoys incorporating her musical background into her yoga practice by creating soundscapes that evoke desired feelings and moods in her yoga classes. She believes in the power of rhythm to move your body, sooth your soul, find your spiritual center and connect to your breath for a deeper yogic experience.
Suzanne has a background as a dancer, classical pianist, holds a BS in Communications, School of Broadcasting from University of Tennessee; she has worked in advertising, owned & operated Suzi’s Groovy Garden in Bearden and worked as a Realtor in Knoxville. She enjoys gardening, growing and cooking healthy food, loving her two black dogs and riding her motorcycle with her husband and friends as much as humanly possible.
Follow her on Instagram @suzisgroovyyoga
Jill Frere, DYRT 1000, E-RYT 500
Jill was born in Knoxville, TN. Her love of yoga first began in 2001 when she took some classes in college and read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda. After graduating from New York University in 2004 with a BFA in dance performance, she started taking classes at Dharma Yoga Center in NYC, where yoga became not just something that she enjoys, but a life long path.
Jill is an RYT E-500, and a Dharma Yoga Registered Teacher at the 1000 hour level. She lived in NYC for 10 years, where she loved creating and performing dances and studying and teaching yoga. When employed with Dances for a Variable Population, a company whose members’ ages ranged from 22 to 92, she discovered her love of working with seniors.
In 2010, Jill moved back to Knoxville, where she continues to share her passion at the Glowing Body, Lotus Light, and Strang Senior Center, as well as with private clients, Studio Arts for Dancers, and Go! Contemporary Dance Works. Jill is fervent about all aspects of yoga and weaves many different elements into each class, from breathing and meditation, to the philosophy and physical practice of yoga. Jill is currently developing a moving meditative practice called Moving Ground.
Jill feels grateful to Dharma Mittra for transmitting the knowledge of Hatha Raja Yoga. “Be Receptive to the supreme teacher within!” – Dharma Mittra
Follow her on Instagram @dharmafrere
Anita Garrett, RYT 200
Anita comes to us from Romania and has been living in Knoxville since 2010. She began with occasional classes at Glowing Body, overtime expanded her practice and completed Teacher Training in 2018 led by Kim Lomonaco. She is an avid learner and endlessly fascinated by the complexities of human movement. She has taken various workshops by Jen Coffin, Jules Mitchell and Trina Altman. Anita teaches from a skills based approach, breaking down poses into its components and offering students a progression of shapes to fit everyone’s needs. Her aim is to build mobility and strength in a safe and effective manner while cultivating an attitude of self-discovery and mindfulness.
Follow her on Instagram @anitagarrett865
Claire Hyrka, RYT 200
Claire is a native Knoxvillian, mother of four grown children and one precious grandchild. She works as a realtor and office manager/bookkeeper for a local general contractor. She has recently rehabbed two houses, and may have found her next passion in addition to yoga!
Claire started practicing yoga 20+ years ago in Memphis, but really began her yoga journey in earnest upon return to hometown in 2008. She completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training with Cindy Dollar at The Glowing Body in May 2015 and has been teaching regularly since.
Follow Claire on Instagram @clairehyrka.
Amberly Kelley-Dotson, E-RYT 500
Amberly has been teaching yoga since 2016 and continues to deepen her practice through ongoing study in areas that support healing, resilience, and connection. In 2022, she completed two years and 500 hours of in-depth training to earn her certification through the American Viniyoga Institute’s Foundations Program for Teaching and Yoga Therapy. She’s currently in her second year of a 750-hour Ayurvedic Health Counselor program with Joyful Belly’s College of Ayurveda, and will graduate in August 2025.
At the heart of Amberly’s teaching is a deep respect for the uniqueness of each individual. She specializes in one-on-one, breath-centered yoga sessions designed to meet students exactly where they are. Her approach emphasizes function over form, and supports students in exploring what healing and wholeness look like for them—whether that means relieving pain, settling the mind, rekindling energy, or reconnecting with a deeper sense of self.
In addition to working with private clients, Amberly teaches in several yoga teacher training programs and offers continuing education for fellow yoga teachers. With a background in Recreation Therapy and holistic coaching, she brings a creative, compassionate lens to her work—often weaving in guided breath, visualization, journaling, and meaningful conversation to help people navigate stuck places and tap into their own inner wisdom.
Follow her on Instagram @amberlyyoga
Ajeet Khalsa, E-RYT 500
Ajeet is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) who has taught and practiced yoga for over 30 years. She specializes in Svaroopa® yoga classes and mantra workshops. She is a Reiki master, and her style often helps you to become wonderfully relaxed and filled with deeper understanding of your true Self.
Follow her on Instagram @retreatwithajeet.
Becky Maze, RYT 200, RYT 500
After acquiring a B.S. in Health Education, Becky has worked as a dental hygienist for many years. She finds it fascinating that each tooth is also related to a reflex in the body.
In 2013, she completed a 200 hour lyengar yoga training and finished her 500 hour yoga training in Subtle (trauma informed) yoga in 2015. She teaches a gentle flow yoga as well as yin, restorative and lyengar styles of yoga. She is also a Reiki Master and Arch Angelic Light Master/Teacher.
It is her belief that individuals must become an advocate for their own health and treat the whole body as a temple–a housing for the soul. “The body is divinely created and should be treated with respect by the individuals and practitioners.” Reflexology and energy work will develop more awareness of oneself and aid in bringing balance into a healthy lifestyle.
Follow Becky on Instagram @reflexologyknoxville
Niki Myers, RYT 200
Niki has been a lover of yoga since her first class in her home while pregnant with her son over 20 years ago. In addition to being a yoga teacher, she is also a hair stylist at Oddities Hair Parlour. She feels the two professions go hand in hand, and the longevity of her 11+ year hair career is connected to her yoga practice and several other therapeutic modalities. The awareness and stability learned through applying yogic principles proves to be a solid anchor throughout her career and life and is always growing and evolving. Yoga is woven into every aspect of her daily life, and she’s happy she gets to share the philosophies and benefits with others.
She received her 200 hour teacher certification in 2024 with Kula Collective at Seven Springs retreats. She currently continues her education by working with a mentor and taking classes and workshops locally and through the American Viniyoga Institute. Niki is fascinated with anatomy and how understanding the body’s structure enhances the yoga practice. With her holistic approach and focus on accessibility, her classes are great for beginners or advanced students with an emphasis on slow gentle movement, alignment and breath awareness. Because of her experience as a hair stylist in a radically inclusive salon, she is committed to creating a welcoming, accessible and inclusive atmosphere for all students of all levels to deepen their practice in a supportive nurturing space.
Follow Niki on Instagram @mountainmoonhair
Jessica Reese, MS, CYT, RYT 200
Jessica began her journey with yoga in 2005. As a life-long competitive gymnast and athlete, she found that yoga met her need for a creative, mental, and physical challenge. After years of practice and recognizing all of the benefits of yoga on her whole person, she made the decision to deepen her study of all aspects of yoga and completed her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Certification Training in 2016. In October 2016, she attended a weekend immersion in teaching children’s yoga. Jessica is a Master’s level clinician who specializes in trauma, attachment, and development and works with children and families in therapeutic foster care. Teaching yoga has allowed her to expand her passion of teaching, helping, and understanding others in a way that also provides a much needed outlet for self-care. It allows her to slow down, focus on others, and continue to learn and grow through sharing her love for all things yoga. Her classes focus on the importance of mindfulness, breath, and focus to find hidden strength, balance and awareness of the potential of the whole self.
Follow her on Instagram @jess_reese_yoga
Jaleria Rivera
Jaleria Rivera is a transnational fusion belly dancer and cultural organizer, who uses movement as a form of African diasporic storytelling. Her signature style fuses the principles of North African belly dance, street dance and Symbol Dance. As a self-taught artist shaped by digital and community learning, Jaleria approaches dance as both personal expression and a political act that honors the living traditions of those who embody, steward, and birthed the art forms she admires.
Jaleria pursued a B.S. in Communications and Creative Writing with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and discovered fusion belly dance during the height of the pandemic. The temporary loss of connection amplified Jaleria’s purpose to use raw enthusiasm as a gateway to collective liberation. Her practice is rooted in the teachings of Rachel Brice, Donna Mejia, Gary Kraftsow, Kristy Nataraja and Ohad Naharin.
Kristin Samples, RYT 200
Kristin has been practicing yoga for almost half her life, since 2011. She was originally lured in by the promise of a free t-shirt at a yoga event at her college. Many years later, Kristin depends on her regular yoga practice to calm her anxious mind. She considers the predictability and rituals of yoga to be a balm for the unsteadiness that life can bring.
Kristin has been a long-time student at Glowing Body, and she completed her 200 hour YTT under the direction of Kim Lomanaco in 2023. Kristin’s classes reflect her background as an elementary school teacher. Her classes, regardless of style, are conversational and playful. She welcomes all to experience a sense of nurturing and curiosity. Kristin believes in the use of props to help each practitioner find their personal expression of each pose, and she enjoys working with beginners.
Follow Kristin on Instagram @kristinlynell
Alison Saville, MSW, MSPH, PMP, RYT 200
Alison Saville, a native of western North Carolina, has called many places home, from Texas to California to Colorado. In 2013, she and her husband settled in Knoxville with their son, where they’ve now established their roots. Alison adeptly balances her role as a research project manager for an academic institution with her passion for teaching yoga.
In the heart of her 40s, amidst the 2020 pandemic, Alison immersed herself in daily yoga practice, an experience that profoundly changed her life. Inspired by this transformation, she pursued her yoga teacher training certification in 2023 at Glowing Body. Today, her yoga practice complements her busy life, bringing a fresh perspective to her vinyasa-style classes.
Alison’s deep life experiences infuse her teaching style, creating a relatable and nurturing environment for her students. In her classes, attendees will discover not only physical strength but also mental and spiritual resilience. Alison guides her students to honor their body’s wisdom while cultivating an inner and outer strength that extends beyond the mat and into everyday life.
Follow Alison on Instagram @alisonwsaville
Carra Simpson, RYT 200
Carra began practicing Vipassana meditation in 2009. She has spent over 120 days (non-consecutive!) in silent retreat and served for a year as residential staff at Cloud Mountain Retreat Center in Castle Rock, WA. She is a graduate of the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, guided by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. She is also a very proud graduate of the 2023 Glowing Body Teacher Training. Carra lives in rural Knoxville, is a proud chicken mom, and in is her first year of acupuncture study at Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine.
Jessica Tezak, YTT 200
Jessica Tezak has been practicing yoga for over ten years and teaching for two. She received her Yoga teacher training from Blue Ridge Yoga, enjoys teaching Vinyasa flow and exploring other styles, such as ashtanga, yin and hatha yoga.
For Jessica, yoga is a way to stay in touch with herself and to experience community with others. She believes in the power of a personal practice, and its profound ability to bring about positive change in one’s life. Her classes are intended to give students a chance to go inward, challenge themselves and discover something new!
Kelly Smith Trimble, RYT 200
Kelly Smith Trimble is a writer, yogi and passionate gardener.
After practicing yoga casually for more than 20 years, Kelly’s interest in wellness and the mind-body-earth connection led her to complete her yoga teacher training under the direction of Kim Lomonaco at The Glowing Body in 2023 and become a Yoga Alliance 200-hour certified yoga teacher.
Finding a particular interest in how yoga affects the nervous system, Kelly has taken additional trainings in gentle flow and restorative yoga, and she is currently training with Jillian Pransky to become a certified restorative yoga teacher.
Her books, The Creative Vegetable Gardener and Vegetable Gardening Wisdom, are available at the studio.
Follow her on Instagram @kellysmithtrimble
Nora Vines, E-RYT 200
Nora came to yoga as a means for movement and learning about her body. Her practice deepened through her studies at Neighborhood Yoga in Boone, NC. She found her yoga home at The Glowing Body after she moved to Knoxville and the birth of her first child in 2015.
Nora completed YTT under the direction of Kim Lomonaco in 2018 and joined the studio as an instructor in 2019. Nora is honored to learn from and with the amazing yogis she has the privilege to share space with at The Glowing Body. Her classes approach movement with curiosity, compassion, and humor. She believes yoga is for everybody (and every body).
Nora invites you to practice and play with her!
Follow her on Instagram @noravyogi
Helen Wilds, RYT 200
Helen attended her first yoga class in her living room with a DVD over a decade ago. Since that time, she’s developed a personal practice that emphasizes resilience and balance. She brings these values to the classes she teaches with asana influences from vinyasa, yin and Iyengar yoga.
As a sociologist, Helen believes firmly in creating a more just and equitable world and feels that work must be done within and without to achieve this. She uses movement and reflection to encourage mental, emotional and physical resiliency to help people better move through the world.
Follow her on instagram @wildsthingyoga