From the Founder

About Lillah Schwartz
Lillah Schwartz, has been studying and practicing the Iyengar Method of Yoga since 1979. A certified Iyengar instructor and founding director of the Lighten Up Yoga Center & Teacher Training Institute in Asheville, NC, Lillah continues to guide and inspire students on the path of yoga.

Lillah views yoga as a healing art. Her primary strength as a teacher is her incredible knowledge of the body from anatomy to biochemistry to emotions, and her ability to translate the information in a way that her students can understand and learn. She is very much a leader, an educator, and a mentor. "My goal is to make yoga practical and accessible, assisting students to experience their full potential and gain a sense of self reliance and inner freedom."

Gifted in the therapeutic applications of yoga, and certified by the National Safety Council, Lillah has helped thousands become pain-free with her two nationally distributed companion videos/DVDs, "Yoga: Your Freedom from Back Pain" and "Yoga: Relief from Neck & Shoulder Pain", which Prevention Magazine recommended as "safe for beginners", June 2003.

Lillah has studied with the Iyengars in India and in the US. She continues to train with Senior Iyengar Instructors and is currently most influenced by Aadil Palkhivala, Felicity Green, Eric Small, Dean Lerner and Patricia Walden. The source of her spiritual guidance and unfolding can be found in the devotional practices of the Sufi Order of the West along with the practical map of the yoga sutras. In her classes one can anticipate clear guidance grounded in experience.


About Lillah Schwartz Lillah Schwartz, has been studying and practicing the Iyengar Method of Yoga since 1979. A certified Iyengar instructor and founding director of the Lighten Up Yoga Center & Teacher Training Institute in Asheville, NC, Lillah continues to guide and inspire students on the path of yoga. Lillah views yoga as a healing art. Her primary strength as a teacher is her incredible knowledge of the body from anatomy to biochemistry to emotions, and her ability to translate the information in a way that her students can understand and learn. She is very much a leader, an educator, and a mentor. "My goal is to make yoga practical and accessible, assisting students to experience their full potential and gain a sense of self reliance and inner freedom." Gifted in the therapeutic applications of yoga, and certified by the National Safety Council, Lillah has helped thousands become pain-free with her two nationally distributed companion videos/DVDs, "Yoga: Your Freedom from Back Pain" and "Yoga: Relief from Neck & Shoulder Pain", which Prevention Magazine recommended as "safe for beginners", June 2003. Lillah has studied with the Iyengars in India and in the US. She continues to train with Senior Iyengar Instructors and is currently most influenced by Aadil Palkhivala, Felicity Green, Eric Small, Dean Lerner and Patricia Walden. The source of her spiritual guidance and unfolding can be found in the devotional practices of the Sufi Order of the West along with the practical map of the yoga sutras. In her classes one can anticipate clear guidance grounded in experience.	"I feel like I am getting to know and understand myself/body better than I ever imagined after only 12 weeks of studying under Lillah, and I've practiced yoga for 12 years. What I have learned previously doesn't compare to what I've learned with Lillah, not to mention the motivation and inspiration that has come with the knowledge and support she gives." - Stephanie Noland Teacher training student. "My goal with my students is to help them to get their cellular and endocrine bodies percolating in a healthy way, gain confidence in their ability to heal through understanding proper alignment and action, as well as opening to receive the full potential of their *body,* mind, and spirit." -Lillah Schwartz, RYT Founder/Director Lighten Up Yoga and Healing Arts Center

Message from Lillah I would like to begin by saying thank you to everyone who has been a patron of Lighten Up Yoga during this past year. Your presence here has been a testimonial to your satisfaction with the services we offer thru our teachers and therapists. I would like to share some of my recent thoughts on Creating Peace. Have you ever noticed how life seems more complicated, more diverse than ever before? The computer age, the nano-second response, the multiplicity of the market place. Meanwhile, the journey of the hungry soul continues its search for peace, for home, for safety. Our world gets bigger and smaller at the same time. All we can really affect is what is right here in front of us. Loving what is, even when we don't like it. When I reflect on the actions required to operate Lighten Up Yoga, I am stunned by the current complexity of the computer age and how many more man (woman) hours are required to offer our services. The challenges of living, managing time, money, dreams and aspirations, and learning to serve are challenges I believe we all share. In these challenging and conflicted times, I watch my mind, heart and will team up to meet the challenges change offers me. At times the "to do" list is so long I loose sight of what to do next, or sometimes, even how to go about it. Again, I turn to the practice of Yoga, where I can turn my senses inward and breathe, connect with myself, and hear again that still small voice that holds wisdom and guidance for me through this mystery of life. It is no news to a Yogi that our minds are like computers, multiplying again and again with millions of connections that are oftentimes wonderful and other times convoluted and entrapping. In my pranayama, I can touch the multiplicity of my mind and cut the threads of worry, doubt and confusion. The practice of Yoga is a way of coming home, allowing the resonance of our essential nature to shine forth bringing clarity and discernment to life. When we redirect the complexity of our minds to serve the truth, there is Peace. Namaste, Lillah For More Refelections from Lillah, Click here (opens new window) Home Page New to Yoga? Enjoy a FREE Class Weekly Classes, Rates & Policies Class Descriptions Instructors Events Calendar Teacher Training Institute 230 Hour Program 500 hour Program Teacher Training Institute Application Enroll in Classes Directions Yoga Gear and Books Therapeutic Videos Rent our Studio Contact Us Healing Arts Campus Site designed by Brady Market Group. Copyright © 2003, 2004. All rights reserved. Revised: October 8, 2004