Donation Power Yoga Class

Donation Yoga Class with Sparkle Thornton benefiting Lyon Martin Health Services

Bio: My yoga journey started in 2001 at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Little did I know from my first class my life would change forever.

I was immediately attracted to the observation of emotion, awareness, and embodiment. After this class I viewed yoga as a way to achieve my full potential. I practiced whenever I could (mostly by myself for a few years) and looked inward, searching for an increased sensitivity and understanding of myself.

In 2007, after years of being a yogi, musician and artist I decided to branch out and focus on my passion for yoga. I viewed my involvement with yoga to be the best thing I could do for myself and those around me.

I decided to pursue teaching and began practicing at Triangle Yoga in Chapel Hill, NC. During this time my practice blossomed and affirmed my life with truth, beauty, freedom, and love.

In 2008 I graduated from the Asheville Yoga Center intensive teachers training program (230 hours). This experience proved to be a cathartic and indescribable journey because of which I will never be the same.

After the program I moved to Asheville where the yoga community was thriving and began teaching Vinyasa Flow yoga. I taught yoga for 3 years in Asheville, NC at Asheville Yoga Center, Namaste Yoga Sanctuary, South Asheville Yoga, AB-Tech Community College, University of North Carolina at Asheville, and the Lululemon showroom.

In 2009 I completed a 108 hour Anusara yoga immersion, and in 2010 I completed a 675 hour massage school curiculum which included 100 hours of yoga, pranayama and meditation.

In 2012, I am focused on teaching a compassionate and uplifting blend of vinyasa flow yoga with pranayama and yogic philosophy. I look forward to getting certified in Anusara and Jivamukti yoga, as well as unveiling my own inner knowledge to support  my unique creative voice.

Benefiting: Lyon-Martin Health Services provides personalized healthcare and support services to women and transgender people who lack access to quality care because of their sexual or gender identity, regardless of their ability to pay.

Lyon-Martin Health Services, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was founded in 1979 by a group of medical providers and health activists as clinic for lesbians who lacked access to nonjudgmental, affordable health care. Named after Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, feminists and well-known LGBTQ civil rights activists, the clinic soon became a model for culturally sensitive community-based health care.

Since 1993, Lyon-Martin also has provided case management and primary healthcare in programs specifically designed for very low-income and uninsured women with HIV.

In 2007, the organization added sliding-scale mental health services for our patients.