Cindy Crace

Cindy grew up a competitive collegiate tennis player and youth tennis coach. She took a break from competitive athletics to enjoy the "sport" of raising two wonderful sons. As her sons grew older, she returned to tennis but developed a case of tennis elbow that progressed to the point where she could no longer hold a tennis ball. She began to look for alternatives to cortisone shots or surgery, which led her to hot yoga. Cindy had practiced yoga on and off in the past, but when she tried hot yoga, she was hooked. It helped cure her tennis elbow, gave her an increased appreciation for holistic wellness, and rejuvenated her old coaching spirit with a desire to teach again. After years of yoga teaching experience, Cindy was deeply affected by her mother-in-law’s deteriorating health. She utilized many therapeutic yoga techniques to assist her mother-in-law’s debilitating pain. This experience inspired Cindy to focus on Yoga Therapy Training. Cindy received her 200 RYT credential in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga. She had the privilege of one-on-one training with Q. Reynolds to attain her 300 RYT credential. Cindy then went on to acquire her 300 Yoga Therapy designation through Inner Peace Yoga Therapy one of the first Yoga Therapy programs to be accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Her Inner Peace Yoga Therapy faculty included Michele Lawrence, Nischala Joy Devi, Durga, Maria Mendola, Lillah Schwartz, Dr. Marc Halpern, Laura Kupperman, Neil Pearson, and Amy Weintraub. Cindy has over 5,000 hours of teaching experience as a yoga educator and yoga therapist. She is also committed to maintaining her own continuing education by mentoring modules studies in yoga therapy: 35hrs Chronic Pain with Neil Pearson, 35hrs Anxiety, Depression and Trauma with Sue Dilworth, 35hrs Functional Yoga Therapy with Maria Mendola, 35hrs Cancer Mentoring Module with Laura Kupperman, 25hrs Healing our backs with yoga with Lillah Schwartz, 35hrs Healing Relationship with Nischala Joy Devi. She has attended many workshops from yoga presenters such as Mark Stephens, Richard Freeman, Kathryn Budig, Dice Iida-Klein and Briohny, Sarah Powers, and Leslie Kaminoff. As the Director and founder of Shanti Garudasana Yoga School, she is committed to providing quality yoga education for students at the College of William and Mary, as well as the surrounding Williamsburg community. She loves outdoor sports and most weekends she can be found with her husband on the James River sculling. She's been married for 35 years with two grown sons and a zoo of pets.