TESTIMONIALS
Shelly Smith Hornback
Director of Community Relations
"As the director of community relations for an excelling school district with 16 schools and 12,000 students, my role is to enhance education by fostering strong ties to our local business community. It is an absolute delight to work with Eva Shaw and her enthusiastic Ignite Yoga team to promote quality education in the Southwest Valley of Phoenix, Arizona.
Eva moved to the area 12 years ago and immediately established herself as a creative leader in a robust community where partnerships were already well established. She created an award-winning yoga studio from the ground up and immediately employed her formidable talent to benefit students and teachers. As a champion of public education, Eva has supported our district in a myriad of ways, including free yoga classes to kids in impoverished neighborhoods, engaging activities at PTA events, after-school lessons in mindfulness, advocacy for bond and override ballot initiatives, and title sponsorship of the district’s annual FiTKiDS awards.
Eva has a strong sense of herself and her purpose. She is fully committed to personal relationships, inclusivity, and strengthening the fabric of her society. That is the base from which she built her company, her family, and her exceptional reputation for service to others. As a local business leader, Eva is driven by her integrity, intelligence, and passion. She takes every opportunity to flex her personal and professional muscle to benefit our local schools by being an advocate, a partner, and a champion of public education.
Especially as a pregnant mother of a young child with a deployed military spouse, Eva showed great determination and commitment to her ideals. She is not afraid of hard work. Like her immigrant father who used a soccer scholarship to become an electrical engineer, Eva has used yoga to launch herself into a life of love and purpose. She has a charming, powerful, and humble way of embracing struggle and transforming it into a gift to enhance herself and her community.
Eva bundles her vision and intensity with empathy, patience, and non-judgement. She uses her successful yoga studio to help people grow and thrive. Be it in the boardroom or on the yoga mat, Eva brings her creativity, determination, and natural leadership qualities to enhance the quality of life in our community."
Mishara Cruz- Previous 300HR YTT Student
Current Ignite Teacher
"I am not a strong student, when it comes to the left side of the brain. I have had to take almost every math class twice, I changed majors in college from botany to marketing (eventually education) because I couldn't get a strong grasp on biology. Math, science, anatomy... these are very challenging subjects for me.
I was apprehensive in signing up for Ignite's 300HR teacher training because I knew they planned to dive deep into the functionality of the body: the muscles, the fascia, and how it is all interconnected. And although I could probably draw you a lovely picture of a proportionally-correct body, understanding how to sequence anatomically and truly understand how the muscles work together was an entirely different story. Regardless, the universe urged me into the program, and on day one I knew I was right where I was supposed to be.
I had found my Darma. The program brings in specialists from a variety of fields which gave me a practical, hands on understanding of how the body works and why it is important to incorporate this information into your practice. Yes, it is anatomy packed, but I-- as a very right-brained person-- actually understood the content the first time around. I also worked one on one with Eva during the mentorship program learning physical adjustments, training my eye to be able to see the differences of the same posture for different bodies.
I can now confidently say that I have the ability to sequence very effective, safe classes and am able to do so for a variety of abilities, and most importantly, bodies. Not only have I become a stronger teacher, but I have drastically changed yoga for myself. My understanding of how the body can and should move into ease has cultivated a practice of deeply mindful action. I cannot express my gratitude for this program enough."
Jenn Eckert, 200 and 300 hour Ignite Yoga graduate
Current teacher at Ignite Yoga
“Every since I was a little girl, I’ve always been in love with movement. I spent the vast majority of my childhood either dancing or playing school (my dream was to be a school teacher/ballerina on the side)
As I grew up , so did my dreams. I was very fortunate to have been able to have been a stay at home mom!! Later, I became a cosmetologist. While I loved making people feel good, the long hours, nights and weekends, and long commute became too depleting on my family life. I made a decision that I was no longer going to sacrifice the little time that I have left with my kids.
Wanting to have both a career and family time, I decided to go back to my passion of movement and teaching! Becoming a yoga instructor would allow me to experience both passions!
I did a lot of research to find the right teacher training program! The minute I walked into the studio, I knew I made the right decision. Not only was it a physically safe environment, but it was also an emotionally safe one as well.
I felt truly valued and cared for. I was taught by highly experienced teachers who dedicated years of their life to learning and perfecting their craft. Their dedication and passion for the different styles/systems of yoga, allowed me to find my own!
I found the teacher trying program to be such a valuable experience that I decided to continue my education with them. I also received certificates in Yoga Nidra, Reiki, Kids Teacher Training and also went back for my 300 hr advanced teacher training certification.
The 300 hr in-depth program helped me to both deepen my knowledge and practice. That combined with the mentorship program, gave me the confidence to think outside the box. The 200 hr shows you the rules, and the 300 hr shows you how to safely break them.
Ignite has been such a huge factor in my growth both personally and professionally! The little “school teaching ballerina” in me, will always be grateful to the universe for helping me find such a rewarding career. I will always be indebted to Ignite for helping me to become her!”