Cindy Olah- E-RYT
Cindy Olah- E-RYTStudio Owner & Head Instructor

As a long time yoga student, Cindy has experienced how this beautiful, ancient practice has empowered and awakened her in so many ways. She began her studies by receiving her teaching certification in 2002 through Peachtree Yoga Center. She continued with many renowned teachers mostly being influenced through the life affirming practice of Anusara® Yoga. Even though she has now resigned her Anusara affiliation, she received her Anusara Inspired Certification in 2011. She has also received certifications in hypnotherapy and is a Reiki Master. She opened Sacred Garden Yoga, which has been thriving since 2003, and has also led several retreats to the mountains of N. Georgia, North Carolina, Costa Rica and Peru. She has developed many programs and courses in her time at SGY, including the Yoga of the Heart Teacher Training Program. Besides teaching yoga, her highest service is that of an energy practitioner and teacher of the intuitive arts.

In her 27 years of study, Cindy has cultivated a teaching style that strongly integrates alignment of body, mind and heart. She understands both the energetic and physical body so is able to help her clients and students align themselves to greater strength, balance, freedom an clarity. Cindy loves philosophy and is a bit of a spiritual junkie so her teachings are richly infused with theory, but translated in a way that is applicable and practical for greater understanding. Her greatest aspiration is in empowering others to find  joy, purpose, and complete well being in their lives.

Born in Peru, Cindy is fascinated with the relationship that the native Peruvians have with nature and loves to incorporate this knowledge into her teachings. A modern day mystic, she is highly empathic, loves ceremony and is a well renowned energy worker. Having that latin flare, Cindy and her husband have also been enthusiastic salsa dancers for over 15 years. Most of all, she enjoys spending time with her greatest teacher and grand musician- her son Ethan, who is 16 and the source of so much delight and inspiration.

Meet Our Staff

Carole Fischer
Carole FischerYoga Instructor, RYT
Carole Fischer is a wife, mom of two young children, and former elementary school teacher. Carole became a student of yoga 5 years ago when she was pregnant with her son. At the time, she wanted to relieve back pain, but soon realized that yoga was much more than stretching and breathing; yoga is a vehicle to observing strengths and perceived weaknesses, opening up to grace, reaching out to others more freely, and finding a sense of empowerment. Vinyasa inspired, Carole is a natural story teller, and weaves the breath and mythological heritage of yoga into her classes. Her education background has allowed her to work closely with many people and has inspired her to share her passion for yoga with others. She received her 200 hour yoga certification from Sacred Garden Yoga with Cindy Olah.
Diane Gottlich
Diane GottlichYoga Instructor, E-RYT 500
Diane Gottlich is a Registered Yoga Teacher at E-RYT 500-hour level, certified by the Yoga Alliance with over 1600 hours of teaching experience. She trains every year with Yoga Masters like Patricia Walden, Rodney Yee and Judith Lasater. Diane is also a licensed Neuromuscular Therapist, Thai Massage Therapist and a Certified Reflexologist. She holds a Masters degree in Psychology and has been a healthcare management/IT consultant for 30+ years. Her advanced clinical training and education combined with her compassionate spirit, shines through in her open hearted teaching style. Her classes are inspirational, educational and fun!
Steve Hogan
Steve HoganYoga Instructor, RYT
Steve reluctantly began his yoga practice in 2015, hoping to end three years of chronic pain that so reduced his pride, he was ready to try something totally different. It did that and a whole lot more, bringing a balance that gave him his life back.

Steve was a competitive cyclist from 1993 until 2007, winning numerous State Championships on the velodrome and a Masters National Championship and a Masters World Championship in 1998. Yoga got him back on the bike, and he currently coaches school age mountain bikers for Georgia Cycling Association.

He is married to a spitfire, and has two fine teenage sons.

He completed his teacher training in 2020, and is ready to share his passion with everyone!

Bridget Maddocks
Bridget MaddocksYoga Instructor, RYT
Bridget started taking yoga shortly after her first child was born purely for the physical benefits. Her practice wasn’t consistent but she continued throughout three more pregnancies over the next 10 years. However, after her fourth child was born, she began to feel increasingly overwhelmed, tired and anxious. Years of putting herself last finally began to take its toll on her physically, mentally and emotionally. Yoga became her only safe place and she knew there was something very powerful in that.

She signed up for the 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training at Sacred Garden Yoga Studio not to become a teacher but to satisfy her desire to understand yoga more fully. Over the next four months, her life began to transform in ways that she could never have imagined! So much so, that she decided to teach so that she can share her story and her passion for yoga with others! She teaches a vinyasa flow bringing awareness to her students’ inner power and strength.

Yoga is an amazing journey of self-discovery. It takes courage and strength, power and persistence. It is about unbecoming everything that you are not so that you can become who you were truly meant to be in the first place. Be bold, Be brave, Be fearless!!

Julie Patchouli
Julie PatchouliYoga Instructor, RYT
Julie is a mother, yoga teacher, introverted lover of people, and fledgling poet.

She completed her 200 hr yoga teacher training in March of 2016. And has since continued to study and walk the Vedic path, honing her skills as a teacher with nearly 500 hours of vinyasa, pranayama, and meditation taught in the last two years.

Julie is a student of the Tantric path of Fire and Light. For her, yoga is both somatic and spiritual. And this is evident in her vinyasa classes.

Julie came to yoga in her search for relief from intense anxiety. Through asana and pranayama she was able to “come down out of {her} head, and step back into her body.”

She credits yoga with saving her life and is deeply honored to share her love for this powerful medicine with practitioners of all experience levels.

Her classes are centered around the students connection to their breath. Postures are cued to emanate from that breath connection.

Sydney Roth
Sydney RothYoga Instructor, RYT 500
Sydney (500 RYT) found the physical practice of yoga several years ago as a way to recover from the strain that her other physical hobbies and chronic health issues put on her body. After the first few classes, she fell in love with how it made her body (and mind) feel. For many years, Sydney found herself on the mat to center and transform herself. Loving the way yoga made her feel, Sydney decided to start YTT in November 2019 so that she could share her passion for the practice with others. She was blown away with how much more yoga had to offer her than just the physical practice and how much the philosophy of yoga transformed her life. One of Sydney’s favorite things about yoga is how it meets you where you are each day and is therefore non-competitive. Yoga isn’t about how perfectly you do each pose, it’s about connecting your mind, body, and soul and the poses are just a tool to help us get there. This is one of the many reasons why Sydney feels that yoga is such a powerful path of self love and why she is so passionate about sharing it with others. She is currently certified as a 500 hour teacher with the yoga alliance and carries additional certificates for yin, restorative, adaptive, and trauma informed yoga, as well as yoga nidra. She is continuously learning and doing new training programs and is passionate about being a “forever student.” She teaches vinyasa and hatha flows as well as yin and restorative yoga. Come join her on the mat!
Michelle Sessions
Michelle SessionsYoga Instructor, RYT
Michelle began dabbling in yoga in her mid twenties, and fully devoted herself to the practice when she began studying with Cindy Olah in March of 2008. She was so inspired by her practice that she decided to become a certified teacher in order to share this wonderful way of life with others. Michelle completed the Anusara Immersion program with Gina Minyard in early 2011. She then received her certification through the Carolina Yoga Teacher program in September 2011. The program was taught by renowned Anusara teachers Sarah Faircloth, Kelley Gardner, and Stacey Millner-Collins. Michelle is also a Registered Yoga Teacher at the 200 hour level with the Yoga Alliance. She continues to be influenced by the Anusara style of yoga. Additionally, she has taken workshops with John Friend, Christina Sell, and Ross Rayburn. Michelle believes that in the context of a comfortable, inviting environment that everyone can enhance their lives with yoga.
Amanda Tucker
Amanda TuckerYoga Instructor, RYT
Amanda Tucker, E-RYT 200/YACEP

Amanda is a mom of three, plant lover with a slightly yellowing green-thumb, and tattoo-enthusiast. She has been practicing yoga since high school and used its benefits over and over again for healing.

Having come to yoga initially for physical healing over fifteen years ago, Amanda quickly learned that yoga is so much more than the physical practice. She received her 200-hr. certification from Launch Awareness Yoga Center in 2015. Immediately after, she delved into healing with Tantra Yoga and fell deeply in love with how yoga benefits the impact of trauma. She is deeply passionate about drawing awareness to healing trauma in the yoga room and beyond. Amanda believes that there is so much to find in doing yoga, namely yourself.

Brice Elizabeth Watson
Brice Elizabeth WatsonKPJAYI Authorized Teacher
Brice started practicing yoga in London, England, in 2001 at the age of 18 and became a daily Ashtanga practitioner under Atlanta-based teacher Gary Jones in 2010. Gary was instrumental in teaching Brice full primary and encouraging her to go deeper in her yoga study. From there, Brice became a student of David Garrigues in 2013 (one of 47 certified by the late Pattabhi Jois) of Philadelphia, PA. With David, Brice began to deepen her philosophy study, Sanskrit study, and practice of pranayama and chanting. In 2015 Brice became a student of Sharath Jois (lineage holder of Ashtanga yoga, grandson of the late Pattabhi Jois) and KPJAYI in Mysore, India. Brice continues to take annual trips to India to study under her teacher, Sharath, and while in India continues to study Sanskrit, chanting, and philosophy under Lakshimsha at KPJAYI.

Carryn Wyrick
Carryn WyrickYoga Instructor, RYT
Regardless of the circumstances in life, Yoga and nature continue to serve as Carryn’s biggest grounding tools. Carryn (like “Car-in” the garage) (kaar-rin) has been practicing Yoga for over 20 years. In 2019 at the age of 50, decided to delve deeper into her practice to become a certified Yoga teacher.

Carryn’s sense of adventure, movement and unique perspective on life fueled her to embark on a cruising sabbatical, selling all and sailing off to the Caribbean on a 3-year trip that would span 14 countries and countless islands from Maine to Grenada. Embracing the rhythm of nature was key to thriving on the ocean.

By way of her unique experiences, she enjoys a Vinyasa style Yoga with a lot of play sprinkled throughout her practice. Recently, Carryn received her Yin Yoga certification, along with certificates to include Yoga for trauma and addiction.

Her sense of curiosity, along with her love of nature, are constant guides for the movement and themes in her class. It is a daily task to find balance in our everyday life. Carryn’s goals are for others to explore Yoga and nature as tools to quiet the mind, move the body, achieve emotional balance in a welcoming space comfortable enough to try anything with an open heart!

200 RYT, Sacred Garden Yoga, Cindy Olah
Yin Yoga Certification, Michelle Young

Isabel Aviles
Isabel AvilesYoga Instructor, RYT 500
Isabel started practicing Yoga in 2006 in her city of birth Guayaquil, Ecuador, when she attended an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga class, and never stopped. From that moment on, and without leaving her Ashtanga roots and practice, she learned other western styles, like Vinyasa, Anusara, Kundalini, Yin, and Restorative, while also learned about Meditation and Pranayama, as well as Yoga Philosophy.

She started her studies in 2009 by doing an Anusara Immersion under the close eyes of Benita Galvan, which helped her attain an in-depth learning of Yoga Alignment. Years later, while living in Argentina, she studied with Noah Maze and Sandra Kessel from The Maze Method, with whom she obtain her first 200Hr Yoga Teacher Training Certificated. Simultaneously, she started studying Ashtanga Vinyasa with Ale Chiarella, where she gain knowledge of the Primary Series, during an intensive immersion and training in this traditional lineage of Yoga.

Isabel moved to Atlanta en 2019, and started studying along side Tiffany Cruikshank and the Yoga Medicine team for her 500Hr Certification, understanding the importance and deep impact of the Yoga practice on a physical and psychological level. As of right now, she has completed the following trainings from the Yoga Medicine curriculum: Mindful Trauma Informed Yoga, Mental Health & Wellness, Myofascia Release, Sequencing with Purpose, Women’s Health & Fertility, Nervous System & Restorative, Yin and Meditation, Spine: Anatomy, Dysfunction and Application, Hip: Anatomy, Dysfunction and Application, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Yoga for Athletes. Beside this trainings, she also worked on other Yoga Medicine courses focused on: Common Yoga Injuries and Prevention, Prenatal Myofascia Release, Prenatal Therapeutics, Sex, Gender & Identity, Yoga for Addiction Recovery, Yoga for Older beginners, Beyond Chair Yoga, Recognizing Red Flags, and Intake Evaluation.

But after all this years, what has really being determining for Isabel in becoming a Yoga teacher is her passion for her own practice, reason why she never stopped practicing Ashtanga, understanding and becoming more committed to her practice each day. She now practice and study with Todd Roderick, KPJAYI authorized Ashtanga teacher, founder and lead teacher at Ashtanga Yoga Atlanta, with whom she is also doing an apprenticeship, learning not only about her practice, but the depth and teaching methodology and biomechanics of adjustments and assistance in Ashtanga.

Isabel started teaching in 2016. Evolving not only in her practice but also on her teaching style, she gives a lot of importance to alignment and Yoga philosophy, as a way to focus the attention to oneself, and creating a practice based in selfstudy, establishing the gateway to the physical, energetic, and spiritual body. At the same time she is continuing her trainings with Yoga Medicine, with the goal of understanding more about the effects of the practice, and creating a real and complete learning Yoga experience for her students.