About Holly —

Contemplative Teacher, Mentor, Visionary

Holly is a contemplative teacher and the visionary force behind Circle Yoga Shala, a wisdom school in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozark mountains. She is also a mother, a horsewoman, and an internationally certified yoga therapist.

With a commitment spanning over three decades, Holly has pursued ancient teachings and methodologies grounded in self-observation and self-inquiry, including more than thirty years in the recovery tradition.

Holly has been privileged to study with Father Richard Rohr in his prestigious three-year Living School, a non-dual wisdom institution in partnership with the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, NM.

For the past twenty-five years, she has worked with individuals and groups both domestically and internationally.

Holly has evolved into a master in her own right, embodying wisdom cultivated through her diverse experiences and profound studies.

Holly is a teacher of Presence.

She elegantly blends practices from several wisdom traditions that she has fine-tuned for the purpose of helping individuals experience freedom.

  • Yoga & Yoga Therapy

  • Ayurveda

  • The Wisdom Enneagram

  • The AA Recovery Path

  • Self-Observation & Self-Remembering

  • The Native American Tradition

  • Contemplative, Non-dual & Mystical Christianity

  • Natural Horsemanship

  • Buddhism

Personally Speaking—

- I turn 60 this year (2024). My life has been a crucible for learning forgiveness, a resiliency that transcends and includes, and parenting oneself into full Adulthood. 

- I’ve been sober since 27 years of age.

- I had a traditional career in corporate America before teaching full-time. I worked at our market's #1 country music station, followed by news radio and network television at both CBS and NBC affiliates. In the last years of that final chapter, I juggled two careers as co-owner and manager of our yoga studio, which grew into our state’s premier studio.

- I had a full kundalini awakening in 1993, verified by an internationally renowned Ayurvedic Doctor.

- Some thirty-plus years ago, my Catholic priest introduced me to Eastern philosophies, which began my yoga studies.

- My human design is Manifestor.

- I’m a Gemini rising ruled by Mercury, a Sagittarius sun, and an Aries moon.

-In 2009, at 44 years of age, I convinced my husband to sell our yoga studio and newly renovated home, leave our community, and buy a remote homestead in Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains, in the state's poorest, most unpopulated county. 

- Beginning with only $27,000, amazing friends, recycled material from the land, and a whole lot of sweat, prayers, tears, willpower, and trust in a higher power, we began building our vision, Circle Yoga Shala, a wisdom school and an Internationally Accredited Yoga Therapy Center.

- My teaching style, grounded in decades of study and practice, is also spontaneous and intuitive to the students or clients present.  

“When I am feeling especially anxious, unsure about a decision, doubting myself, doubting life, and feeling scared, the only person I trust is Holly. She has this uncanny way of leading another person to the truth with no tricks and nothing to learn or figure out. Inquiry is the most honest, hopeful work you could ever do, and Holly is a master.”

—Zoe

"Observing Holly lead individuals through the inquiry process is witnessing mastery in action. Her compassionate and patient approach is relentless in uncovering truths beyond mere narratives. The outcome is a glimpse of liberation that might leave one yearning for further exploration."

—Pat

“Holly makes self-inquiry accessible. She brings years of her own practice and training to the table, introducing ways to train attention, process emotion, and stay present in the body. What she teaches is simple but profoundly important.”

—Joy

My Commitments

Since leaving my lucrative career, I have lived one day at a time, trusting in whatever comes. Despite the financial instability of homesteading, teaching Yoga, and sharing wisdom teachings, I stay committed to helping others and following my heart and passions.

Seva, meaning selfless service or conscious labor in Sanskrit, is part of Circle Yoga Shala’s business model. 

I have a foundation for rescuing horses from the slaughter pipeline, and the revenue from my programs, separate from Circle Yoga Shala, like Spiritual Sobriety, support my rescue efforts.