Annie's Teaching Schedule:
Monday Level I 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Monday Level II 7:15pm - 8:45pm
Tuesday All Levels 6:00am - 7:30am
Tuesday All Levels 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Friday All Levels 6:00am - 7:30am
Saturday Level II 8:30am - 10:00am
Saturday Level I 10:15am - 11:45pm
Contact Annie; register for a class; check Annie's Yoga Workshop offerings
Annie Stocker, owner of Two Dog, first discovered yoga while traveling and studying in Southeast Asia in 1980. She was instantly drawn to the quiet strength and depth of tradition, and felt the deep grounding that a practice of physical, mental and energetic commitment offers. Since then, the practice and teaching of yoga has been fundamental to her life study of health and well-being. For many years, the strength and precision of Iyengar yoga was her focus. More recently, she’s found her home in the practice of Anusara Yoga, spending the last seven years studying primarily with founder John Friend, as well as Sarahjoy Marsh and Doug Keller. As an Anusara-inspired instructor, Annie’s fascination with anatomy and physiology, and her passion for the natural world and its rhythms continues to inspire her yoga practice and teaching. She brings over twenty years of experience as a Hellerwork and massage practitioner to her teaching. Annie also considers her path as life partner and co-parent with Ray of their two children fundamental to her passion as a teacher.
When she's not teaching yoga at Two Dog, Annie offers massage therapy and Hellerwork in a lovely garden studio. Yoga students benefit from the one-on-one focus Hellerwork brings; bodywork clients can take their healing deeper by joining Two Dog's ongoing classes.
Annie’s teaching style is crystal clear, specific in her directions and imagery, and very grounded
and calming. She structures each class around a theme or a pose or a specific part of the body,
and builds so intelligently and gradually to the challenging poses, one almost doesn’t notice how challenging they are. The Anusara style develops core body
strength and incorporates principles inspiring to the spirit, such as “opening to grace.” It is
perfect for my middle-aged body!
— Beth Healy, psychotherapist
From "Meet the Instructors: Annie Stocker", September 2009 Two Dog e-Newsletter:
When I was a child we had a world map that filled one whole wall in our kitchen. The place I wanted to go was 'Kandy', for obvious reasons. Thirty years ago this fall I was introduced to yoga at a Buddhist Temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka while traveling and studying as a college student. A sweet treat of another kind entirely.
I was immediately moved by the depth of peace that this traditional form of movement and reflection gave me. In the mountain city of Kandy where I lived, the lifestyle was far from abundant in our terms, but the pulse of life was rich with the warmth of a close knit, active and productive community. The market bustled with artisans and farmers with crafts and local foods, including the most amazing cashews I have ever tasted. People moved primarily on foot or bicycle; open space was well preserved with care given to the plants and trees. I felt deeply nourished.
When I returned to the US, I pursued studies in Cultural Anthropology at UW, fascinated with other cultures’ healing traditions. It was during this same time that I envisioned a place where people could gather to nourish themselves with yoga, massage and music. I got my massage license while teaching yoga at the Center for Yoga and continued to work as an office manager in holistic health clinics throughout Seattle while growing into more full time teaching and bodywork practice.
In 1987, my husband Ray and I moved into our new home in Lake City. He took a chainsaw to the roof to create more natural lighting and fresh air, crafted beautiful post and beam supports, sanded down the hardwood floors, and then sheetrocked the shell of our former garage/barn. Little Dog, our first studio, was born, sweet cozy and garden nourished. A birth, weddings, a monk, a lama and many, many classes and workshops have all been part of the gathering of humanity in the beloved Little Dog studio.
Fourteen years later, with two dogs and two kids, we were bursting at the seams. We took a leap, to...Big Dog. Three blocks away and a BIG stretch for me, an introvert, out into the wider community. We have steadily grown over the last nine years adding many different kinds of offerings including voice, massage, concerts and qigong, creating a lively, robust, vibrant community here in Lake City.
And so with it I have grown too, drawing from my years studying with Iyengar yoga instructors , Richard Schachtel,Pine Crooks, Aadil Palkhivala and Felicity Green who strongly influenced my first decade of yoga studies. Iyengar yoga spoke to my desire to work strongly and intelligently with care to the body's alignment and to draw from Patanjalis teachings. More recently I have been inspired by John Friend's 'Anusara Yoga' and teachers who are now studying or have studied with him. Sarahjoy Marsh, Doug Keller and Denise Benitez.
The Anusara invitation to see everything as part of the divine and to celebrate and draw inspiration from the natural world in our teachings spoke to me from the first class I took from John Friend. I am deeply grateful for the abundance in my life. From diving into a glacial-fed lake last week in the mountains to eating a #1 northwest peach at the local market today, I am deeply nourished by all that is around me and acutely aware of the preciousness of life.
Precious in my life also is my bodywork practice, 23-years old and filled out with trainings in Hellerwork, craniosacral and energy work. I enjoy the one-on-one time I spend with clients who I often see in my yoga classes. And most precious of all is my relationship with my family, life partner Ray, and children Quillan and Skye with whom I have learned much about love. Learning to love and be loved, I believe is at the root of our life journey.
Special thanks to all of you who bring life to Two Dog and fulfill my vision of a healing, healthy community.
