With over 29 years of experience, Annie is one of the most adept practitioners of traditional Ashtanga Yoga. She received her Advanced B teaching certification from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in 1995, a rare honor, and she continues to study extensively in India. Annie has a very clear and compassionate teaching style. All levels of practitioners benefit from her ability to distill her decades of yogic studies and experiences in ways appropriate for each individual student. Annie offers local community classes and custom retreat weekends for small groups, as well as private instruction and national/international workshops.

Annie resides in the small mountain community of Crestone, Colorado, USA, a place known for its many spiritual centers as well as its stunning natural setting in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Annie is the founder and director of Shakti Sharanam, the new yoga shala and retreat center in Crestone. The shala embodies both traditional yogic principles and contemporary sustainable living practices. The project is intentionally designed and constructed to host students for custom courses of study including all aspects of yogic lifestyle. In addition to traditional classes in Ashtanga Yoga, the center offers Ayurvedic cooking, Hindustani music, and therapeutic oil massage.

Annie is also an accomplished harmonium player and a singer, and has released a new CD of devotional chanting, “Ekam,” recorded at Shakti Sharanam with drummer Glenn Bergstrom.

Practicing with Annie at Shakti Sharanam offers a rare opportunity to study with a senior Ashtanga teacher in a small group setting. Crestone’s unique environment provides the ideal situation to deepen one’s yoga practice. Annie’s students agree that she combines the best of the east and the west in a comprehensible style. Another adds that Annie is “one of the most wonderful and inspirational teachers in any discipline I have ever met.” A Crestone student writes:

My yoga path spans 20 years and I spent the first 14 looking for the right teacher!  When I found Annie Pace I knew I had found my yoga home and a teacher I could commit to 100% for guiding my practice life. The past six years I have studied consistently with Annie and deepened my practice on so many levels.  Her ability to meet her students where they are, yet always see in them where they are able to go with their practice, is a rare gift. She is dedicated to the yogic path and lifestyle and able to bring this purist approach to her students in a way that enriches their practice regardless of their own philosophical, spiritual or physiological background. Shakti Sharanam as a practice space is just icing on the cake - I feel truly blessed and in harmony every time I practice in the new shala.

Whether you are a longtime yoga practitioner or just beginning on the path, studying at Shakti Sharanam will enrich your practice and strengthen your understanding of all aspects of yoga.

© 2008 Annie Pace