Anusara Yoga is a highly esteemed and professional yoga system in which teachers are rigorously trained over several years in a broad and in-depth curriculum that encompasses studies in eastern philosophy and yoga history, biomechanics, anatomy, detailed postural alignment, therapeutics, and the art of teaching yoga.

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." Albert Einstein

Stacey Millner-Collins, Certified Anusara Yoga® instructor & RYT-500

Founder & Director

As a Certified Anusara Yoga® teacher, Stacey is one of the most highly trained and skilled yoga teachers in the country. She began her practice in 1994 and has been teaching full time since 1999. After living in India, where she studied Raja & Kundalini Yoga, she has become a dedicated student of John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, for the last 8 years and has completed well over 1100 direct contact hours of training with him to date. She received her Anusara Certification in 2006 and is registered with Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level. ‘Opening to the full magical spectrum of life,’ a main tenet of Anusara philosophy, resonates in the deepest levels of her heart and being!

Stacey also has the honor and delight of studying yoga philosophy, meditation & mantra technique with Professors Paul Muller-Ortega, Douglas Brooks, and Bill Mahony, three of the most respected scholars of Tantric Yoga philosophy in the world. She has completed the year long 200-hr Blue Throat Yoga Meditation & Philosophy Intensive with Paul Muller-Ortega and is currently participating in his 18-month second level course, Abiding in the Kechari Mudra. In 2008, she was invited to deliver a plenary speech on the History of Yoga to the Southeastern Conference of Asian Scholars. Stacey's expertise rests in making the intricate philosophy of Tantra accessible to a wide audience and using precise bio-mechanical alignments of the body for their therapeutic benefit.

Stacey is grateful for all the fine yogins she has met along the way, especially within the Anusara community. Before becoming a dedicated Anusara Yoga student, Stacey had the pleasure of studying with David Life, Sharon Gannon, Shiva Rea, Angela Farmer, Richard Freeman, Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, and Mary Dunn. Between 2000 and 2003, she taught the Stress Management component of the Dean Ornish program through Palmetto Health Richland.  As an energetic and hands-on teacher, her vision is to create an inclusive and diverse community who wish to express their yoga and lives as a celebration of joyous and auspicious spirit.

Annie Wright, Ph.D., Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga instructor & RYT-200

Annie’s teaching is fueled by a desire to widely share the empowering properties of yoga.  Students enjoy Annie’s creative teaching of the principals of alignment and her skill at blending yoga philosophy into the poses she teaches.  Known for the meaningful ways in which she encourages students to live their yoga in all facets of their lives, she skillfully weaves her knowledge of psychology and yoga philosophy to give students a unique classroom or workshop experience.   Annie grew up in Dallas, TX, dancing with a young professional’s ballet company.  She attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, and there took her first yoga class as a P.E. credit.  Hooked, she then pursued yoga at Midtown Yoga with Sarla Nichols.  Her move to Columbia, SC in 2003 brought her to her yoga home at City Yoga, and to her primary teacher, Stacey Millner-Collins.  Annie continued into a more focused study of Ansuara, where she completed the Anusara Immersion in 2008 and the Carolina Teacher Training in 2010.  She has been an instructor at City Yoga since 2005, teaching a range of classes and workshops.

Annie has enjoyed studying with several of the finest teachers the Anusara community has to offer and counts among her most influential teachers Betsey Downing, Kelley Gardner, Sarah Faircloth, and Douglas Brooks.  Annie and fellow City Yoga instructor, Jemme Stewart, have combined their backgrounds and talents by providing private and group yoga therapy sessions and workshops.   Their approach blends a Western approach to mental health concerns with an Eastern approach to physical, energetic and spiritual well-being.   Combined with the many other classes resources that are offered, Annie and Jemme’s work helps make City Yoga a unique spot in Columbia for addressing bio-psycho-social-spiritual well-being.

As a Community Psychologist, Annie is dedicated to promoting positive social change on a range of issues.  She works as a consultant, assisting public and private organizations with program implementation and evaluation, assuring that the services provided to families and youth are of the highest quality.  She has and continues to work to in the areas of teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, high school drop-out, gang violence and housing.

In her personal life, Annie has found yoga asana, meditation and philosophy to provide deep contentment and stillness in the midst of a busy modern life.  Annie’s husband Russell is high school  creative writing and film teacher, and they have three daughters, Zoe, born in 2006 and twin girls, Nora and Lila, born in 2010.

Betsy Fuller, RYT-200

Betsy Fuller is trained in Massage Therapy, Reiki and Healing Touch and began her yoga practice in 2006.  She is a co-founder Numina, Inc. - a non-profit in North Carolina that teaches mentoring skills to women.  Betsy is a mother and grandmother.  She works with Medicaid Eligibility for SC Department of Health and Human Services.  She is in the final stages of her 200-hr Carolina Yoga Teacher Training certification.  Betsy is dedicated to living life to the fullest – body, mind and spirit.

Dara Brown, Anusara Yoga Certification process & RYT-200

Dara has been working in the wellness field and practicing yoga for the past 14 years. She earned her 200-hour teacher training certification with YogaFit and is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance. As a former senior teacher trainer with an YogaFit, Dara has taught a wide variety of people with differing abilities. She is also a former certified personal trainer, group exercise instructor and mat Pilates instructor. Dara enjoys teaching and encourages people to celebrate each triumph, no matter how small. Dara's yoga journey began when she was 17 in Atlanta, GA. There, she studied with a Kundalini teacher and began practicing Power Yoga. Dara began teaching yoga to patients in a chiropractic exercise therapy clinic during a college internship. There she found a love for teaching and sharing the gift of yoga. In 2001, Dara graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Masters in Public Health, emphasis in Health Promotion and Education. Dara's enthusiasm is infectious. She teaches with passion, humor, and relatable examples that everyone can apply to life. Dara is currently in the Anusara Certification process and has had the pleasure of studying with John Friend, Suzy Hurley, Sianna Sherman, Todd Norian, and many more. In her free time she enjoys reading, going out with friends, and curling up on the sofa.

Ginger Doughty, Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga instructor & RYT-500

Ginger, interested in health and fitness since her teens, offers a mature and dedicated yoga practice that is a result of many years of study and perserverance. Early on, Ginger studied martial arts and meditation. As her skill increased she began teaching. Later, as manager of a fitness center, Ginger competed as an amateur body builder which created a demand for her as a personal trainer, a job that brought great satisfaction by helping others. In 2002, she began her yoga journey under the guidance of Stacey Millner-Collins at City Yoga. Additionally, she has had the opportunity to study with many leading Anusara instructors including, but not limited to, John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh, and Betsey Downing. She has also trained in Therapeutic Yoga as a curative and restorative practice having completed a Level 1 Advanced Yoga Nidra course with Richard Miller. She is a trained 'Yoga Warrior' Instructor who works with military personel suffering with PTSD. Ginger is registered with Yoga Alliance at the 500-RYT level. Ginger has personally experienced many mantal and physical benefits from her time on the mat and is passionate to share her insight and knowledge with others.

Jemme Stewart, RYT-200

Jemme is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Psychiatric Nursing and a Licensed Professional Counselor.  She has a private practice in Columbia where she provides individual, relationship, and group therapy.  Jemme is also a graduate of the 200 hour RYT Carolina Yoga Training Program and has attended numerous workshops with John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh, Betsey Downing, and Professors Douglas Brooks and Bill Mahony. After four years, she continues to study with her teacher and mentor, Stacey Millner-Collins whose knowledge of yoga is a constant inspiration.  She is currently integrating her therapy practice and her yoga practice to provide her clients with a full range of opportunities for good health and healing.   Jemme is committed to the yogic path and has experienced the transformative possibilities of Anusara yoga. She is the mother of two wonderful children, Christi and Matthew, and the proud grandmother and great auntie of five beautiful children with whom she regularly spends time.

Jenny Prather, RYT-200

Jenny was first attracted to yoga as a teenager by a colorful picture book, the pages of which were adorned by a woman dressed in a unitard demonstrating various Hatha Yoga Asana. The exploration of the possibilities held within and unlocked by these delightful postures continued to intrigue her until, in 2009, life brought her, catapulted her, into the arms of City Yoga and her beloved teacher Stacey Millner-Collins. From that first class with Stacey she has sought to find every possible opportunity to sit at her feet, and the feet of other leading Anusara teachers in workshops and immersions. Anusara Yoga has unlocked so much possibility for her and the desire to share these gifts is her passion. Jenny earned a B.S. in exercise science from USC in 2007 and is director of wellness at a Columbia-based continuing care retirement community, as well as a certified personal trainer through ACE. She has experience teaching group exercise to seniors on land and in water, and has learned much about working with people of various activity levels and with special needs. After graduating from the 2010 Carolina Yoga Teacher Training she has been teaching chair yoga to seniors, a class for the staff where she works, and volunteer yoga classes for women who are residents of a local women’s shelter. Jenny is constantly inspired by the strength and bravery of the human heart. When she’s not on her mat she enjoys hiking, camping, reading, and cuddling with her two 60 pound lap dogs.

Juliet Hewitt, Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga instructor & RYT-200

Juliet found yoga in 2000 when the fitness center she was teaching aerobics at paid for her to attend a weekend yoga workshop.  Those two days of training sparked a passion in her that is still ignited today.  In 2004, Juliet completed a yoga teacher certification (RYT-200) from Holy Cow Yoga Studio in Charleston.  During this time, she had the great fortune of meeting Stacey Millner-Collins who became her primary teacher and introduced her to Anusara yoga.  Since then, she has studied with Stacey and many other Anusara teachers, and in 2007 received her Anusara-Inspired™ teacher status.  Besides teaching yoga, Juliet works full-time as a corporate software trainer for a utility company and delights in seeing how these two different careers relate.  When not teaching, Juliet keeps busy with her husband Tim and her teenage son Adam.

Laura Rooney, MS, E-RYT-200

Laura began practicing yoga over nine years ago as part of an active lifestyle and exploration of herself after college. Initially drawn to viniyasa and power styles of asana practice, her practice continues to transform as she does.  A couple of years ago, Laura got a first taste of Anusara yoga, was bitten by the bug of Tantra yoga philosophy, which she has had the great fortune to pursue even more since moving to SC and joining the City Yoga community.  Studying and applying the philosophies, lessons and opportunities for self-awareness that yoga provides transformed her perspectives on the significance of mindfulness, whole-person well-being and “being a good person” while embracing life. Laura has studied health, wellness, and mindfulness extensively attaining an M.S. in Exercise and Wellness and working for a number of years in the fitness industry as a trainer, group exercise instructor and program coordinator. Prior to that, Laura spent a couple of years in advanced study of accounting and behavioral decision making following 3 years as a tax consultant with her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting.  She is always amazed at how all of life’s experiences shape us and help lead us to where we are right now.  Laura is pursuing her PhD in public health with focus on physical activity promotion while in Columbia with her husband, Dan, and four-footed companion Roscoe the dog.  As an avid cyclist, you might also see Laura pedaling around town while commuting to campus or out for fun with friends.

Pat Feigley, Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga instructor & RYT-200

Pat Feigley studied yoga during her twenties. Five years ago, after a long hiatus, Pat resumed her practice and her passion for yoga. She explored various popular schools of Yoga before discovering the Anusara school. Pat has studied Anusara Yoga with Stacey Millner-Collins at City Yoga since 2002. She has also trained & studied extensively with many nationally known yoga teachers, including John Friend. Pat has completed an Anusara Teacher Training Program in Pennsylvania and is registered by the Yoga Alliance at the 200-hr level. Pat is a Family Therapist in private practice in Columbia and an Adjunct Professor at the USC Medical School. She has utilized a systemic mind/body approach to mental health for the past 28 years. The principles that have guided her Family Therapy practice have also proven to be valuable in her Yoga practice. She is excited about the opportunity to share these principles, the countless health benefits, and the sheer joy of practicing yoga.

Randa Downs, RYT-200

Randa Downs conducted her yoga teacher training at the Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, NC, under the direction of Stephanie Keach. Randa views yoga as a way to utilize the body as a tool for self-discovery, and draws from her background in Psychology and Education to assist students in discovering their true selves. She has been teaching since 2003, drawing from an eclectic mix of yoga styles, including Flow, Anusara, and Iyengar. Randa is also certified in prenatal yoga, and attributes the drug-free, uncomplicated births of her son and daughter to the practice of yoga throughout pregnancy.

Rick Widdifield, Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga instructor & RYT-200

Years of computer work, martial arts practice and running contributed to a physical body in need of, shall we kindly say, a bit less stability. Rick credits his Karate instructor, Ridgely Abele, with introducing him to Iyengar’s “Light on Yoga” and his Yoga journey continued with classes in the mid 90’s as a way to relieve the stress of graduate school. He began studying with Stacey Millner-Collins in 2003 and was drawn both to her enthusiasm and to the elegant alignment principles of Anusara. Rick completed a 200 hour teacher training with Trace Bonner/HolyCow Yoga in Charleston (2004) followed by intermediate teacher training at the Integral Yoga Institute in Coimbatore, India (2006). He has studied with John Friend and many senior Anusara instructors and has tremendous respect for the creative way Anusara integrates Yoga philosophy, mindfulness meditation and a principle based asana practice. Rick believes that Yoga can be profoundly transformational and is best approached with a spirit of playfulness and acceptance.

Sally McKay, Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga instructor

Whether through the art of speech coaching or the practice and teaching of yoga, Sally is a communicator. She is an Anusara-Inspired teacher and brings to her mat more than 15 years of experience in public relations, as well as a dance background, both performing and teaching. Sally owns McKay Consulting and helps her clients to explore, enhance and enjoy public speaking. She brings playful humor and an open, celebratory spirit to her yoga practice and teaching. Sally has studied for eight years with Stacey Millner-Collins and is grateful to Stacey for sharing her knowledge, beauty, and her ever- growing perspective. Sally also has studied with John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh, Betsey Downing, Sarah Faircloth, Mark Stevens, Sianna Sherman, Paul and Sommer Sobin, Amy Ippoliti, and Mitchel Bleier. Sally and her husband, Walker, have two wonderful boys, Walker III and Mitchell.

Shelley Jones, RYT-200

As a doctoral student in literature and an assistant preschool teacher at Harmony School, Shelley brings to the mat and to her teaching a love of language and storytelling.  She is drawn to the metaphorical quality of asana – how the body becomes a vehicle for the heart through each pose – as well as the mythological and philosophical roots of Anusara yoga.  Her years of teaching experience at the university level and of being a caregiver provide her with a unique insight into teaching sophisticated concepts to young audiences.  In her classes for children, Shelley weaves the creative and steady aspects of her practice into a classroom designed to be fun and focused.  Shelley began her practice with Stacey Millner-Collins in 2005 and has also studied with John Friend, Sarah Faircloth, Kelley Gardner, Betsey Downing, and Professor Douglas Brooks.  She completed her Kids’ Yoga Teacher Training at Holy Cow in Charleston, SC, has completed the 100 hour Anusara Immersion of the Carolinas, and the 2010 Carolina Yoga Teacher Training Program to obtain her RYT-200 status.