After being a student of yoga for over 20 years, Renée found her yoga home at Stone Center for Yoga and Health and became a 200 hour RYT in 2016. She came to yoga through dance as a performer, choosing yoga for training and cultivating peace of mind. As a professional dancer, Renée performed nationally and internationally, winning a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award. Always wanting to become a teacher, she taught at various colleges and universities across the country, including her alma mater Sarah Lawrence College, and as an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU/Tisch. Most recently she returned to NYU/Tisch as an Adjunct Professor in the drama department, and she continues her tenure at Atlantic Theater School, where she has been on faculty since 1997. Renée has a Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State University, majoring in Physical Education, minoring in Dance; she continued her studies in dance at Sarah Lawrence College, where she received the degree of Master of Fine Arts. In addition to dance and yoga, Renée is also a meditation teacher, a Certified Movement Analyst, an Integrated Energy Therapist, a Reiki Master Teacher and a Contemplative Psychotherapist through the Nalanda Institute of Contemplative Science.
The connection between dance, mindful movement, and yoga is natural for Renée, and she infuses her yoga classes with a mindful, meditative approach and a calm, serene style that make her classes delightful and contagious in the best of ways. As Renée puts it, “One of my greatest joys is teaching Saturday morning Mindful Yoga! I teach because I love connecting with the light that resides in us all.” And that is exactly what students feel in every class she teaches.