Maria Andrade
Maria has been practicing yoga since her college years in the early 1990’s. Her studies have lead her not only into movement and asana work but also into the complex worlds of breath work and meditation. In her practice she believes that yoga helps us to have a strong body, mind and heart. When we open ourselves up, we learn to listen and feel.
In 2018 she was given the opportunity to teach. She has a 200YTT certification with the Asheville Yoga Center. Her passion and vision drove her to a kid’s yoga certification. In 2018 she was certified with On the Same Breath, teaching breathing for self-regulation in schools. In 2020, she finished her 95 hour Grounded Kids Yoga Certification. She has also received trauma informed training with Johns Creek Yoga. Her certifications and passions also include asana, vinyasa, pranayama, mantra and meditation. In 2021 she married the Grounded Kids yoga and On the Same Breath training to create ABC Breathe. ABC Breathe is a non-profit that uses all of the yoga philosophies to empower children and caregivers. It uses the best of both programs to help children use their breath to connect to each other and themselves, and be emotionally successful.
She loves teaching on and off the mat, in studios and in your back yard. She will go wherever she is invited. She works with community organizations such as Bibb County Schools, Clark County Schools, Resilient Middle Georgia, Macon Mental Health Matters/Choice Center, Weslyan College, Brookdale Warming Center and the P.A.C.E center. She believes yoga is a life long practice. She believes that we need to be constantly in motion learning how to be the truest and kindest version of yourself. OM Shanti Shanti Shanti (Peace, Peace, Peace.)
Megan Carson
Megan has avidly explored yoga for years, first as a student, then as a teacher, and most recently as the founder of Macon’s downtown yoga studio, Sparks Yoga (2017). Her background in therapy and social work is ultimately what led her to seek further training in this mind-body therapy world. She began teaching yoga in 2012, earning her teacher's certification from Atlanta Peachtree Yoga. In addition to teaching locally, she has taught yoga internationally, primarily working in Costa Rica assisting in training programs for yoga teachers. Along with her RYT certification, she is also a certified AIReal Yoga™ teacher and On The Same Breath teacher.
Megan has recently stepped down as owner of Sparks Yoga and is working to build her own practice as an LCSW therapist and yoga teacher. She plans to blend traditional therapy with yoga, breathwork, and mindfulness techniques. She believes in using therapy for the mind, body, and spirit as a holistic way to not only heal, but to live.
Nikki Porcher
As a former educator, Nikki Porcher understands that yoga is a powerful tool and resource that when taught early, can be transformative.
Porcher is also an Air Force with an extensive history of working with and for non-profits. She uses these skills along with her other wealth of knowledge and experiences to support as well as provide tools and resources for everyone she comes across. Porcher is a member of the Atlanta NAACP Chapter, The Women’s Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters and an active advocate for a number of other causes. She is excited to serve as a Board Member of ---- and use her gifts and talents to help empower this community.
Susannah Maddux
Susannah Maddux is the publisher of Macon Magazine, a bi-monthly publication in its 35th year that seeks, shares and celebrates the good life and great stories in Macon, Georgia and surrounding region. She grew up in a family of storytellers in Monroe, North Carolina, and quickly found home in Macon a decade ago, when she dug in her (mostly high) heels and started listening, connecting and creating through her first business, Goods Public Relations. She went completed her 200-hour yoga accreditation at Asheville Yoga Center, after being compelled by her 60-year-old mother’s challenge: “Go, learn so you can teach me to do a headstand!”
In addition to Macon Magazine, Maddux is co-founder of The Web, a women-centered work club, headquartered in Downtown Macon, that offers community, workspace and online programming, as well as an active network of support for the work-life blend. She graduated from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication. She and her husband Tripp restored a family home just outside of Macon and are parents to daughter Kitty and son Henry. Maddux currently serves on the boards of the Macon Chamber, Bibb County Community Partnership, Historic Macon Foundation and member of Macon Rotary and Knight Foundation Community Advisory Committee. Susannah and her family are active at Christ Church, Episcopal.
She believes that while breathing is a most basic foundation, for life, breathing work is vital for sustained wellbeing. We must learn to turn inward, establish self awareness, and trust our bodies or we risk loving full productive lives. We risk losing the opportunity to be active, successful citizen in community.