Meet Our Teachers
Nichol Walters
Founder of Ahava Collective
I am Nichol Walters, the Founder of Ahava Collective, a 501c3 nonprofit yoga and meditation studio in Greensboro, NC.
I am also the Community Support manager for Higher Ground, a judgment free day center through Triad Health Project that provides support and resources to people living with HIV.
In addition to the collective and my work at Triad Health Project, I teach weekly yoga and meditation classes at Caring Services, a substance use rehabilitation center in High Point, NC.
I began my personal yoga and meditation practice in 2014 as an adjunct to my life in long term recovery. These practices became the foundation of lifelong healing for me and I am inspired to share with others, especially those who are often overlooked in the health & wellness industry.
Through my own lived experiences and in my interactions with underserved communities, I recognized a need for this space and in the Fall of 2021 the doors of Ahava Collective opened.
With help from the community and our incredible teaching staff we have been able to provide over 300 free classes for people in the community, who otherwise may not have had access to the practices of yoga and meditation in a studio.
With clear intention and discipline, we are committed to fostering a safe, welcoming, inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment for growth and learning.
We believe all people should have access to yoga and its benefits, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age, religion, or socioeconomic status.
We offer classes for free to those who need it and $10 for those who can pay. We have a variety of monthly membership tiers that help sustain the costs associated with the studio and allow space for anyone who needs it.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who helps keep this community growing and thriving.
Chandni Lal
(she/her/hers)
“Yoga became my jam about 3 years ago and I knew I wanted to teach when I started volunteering for The Yoga Connection which provides yoga therapy for refugees and immigrants. I knew that yoga would be a part of my service towards healthier well being for others when I recognized the power of yoga and it’s benefits to my own mental health. I received my RYT200 this May and am so excited to be a part of @ahava_collective . I know for a fact I will love and learn a lot from Ahave Collective, the yoga teachers and students due to its foundation of accessibility and inclusion towards everyone.
In July, my classes will be called “Soulful Sundays” which will be a gentle flow leaning into how/what you feel rather than focusing on whether you formed the asana correctly. This will cultivate the development of your perspective towards your own body in an accepting and comfortable way while connecting the mind, body and soul deeply. We will move through the practice with respect to ourselves and our body to discover the layers in our mind to find our purest form. My yoga classes will have a theme every week to help us contemplate to discover new insights about our true spirit.”
Carmen Cavanaugh
(she/her/hers)
Carmen has been practicing yoga for over 15 years. She first underwent yoga teacher training in 2014 @ Revolution Hot Yoga studio in Greensboro, NC and continued her studies to earn her RYT 200 in August of 2021 @ Sit Well Yoga School in Charlotte, NC. It was Carmen’s practice and teaching of yoga that brought her to pursue a career in physical therapy and rehabilitation after seeing the benefit yoga had on her students. She graduated from Guilford Technical Community College with a physical therapy associates degree in 2018. Carmen works as a PTA for Kids in Motion, a pediatric outpatient physical therapy clinic. Carmen became interested in pediatrics and she knew she wanted to follow her love for working with children after volunteering at the Special Olympic Healthy Athletes event in Raleigh. She is deeply grateful for the opportunity to make an impact not only in children lives working as a PTA but also for everyone she comes in contact with on the yoga mat. Carmen lives in Greensboro. She loves being outdoors working in her garden, running or walking trails and enjoying time with her family and friends.
Juliet Brown
Bio – Juliet Brown (she/her/hers)
Juliet came to yoga in 2003 during a particularly challenging time in her life. She found peace, healing and inner strength in this amazing practice that held no judgment or expectation. With the desire to deepen her practice, she enrolled in the 200 hour Teacher Training at Triad Yoga Institute and received her 200 RYT certification in April, 2020. She’s benefitted from practicing under various teachers, in a variety of styles and in numerous workshops.
Juliet will tell you she has heard so many people say “I can’t do Yoga, I’m not flexible”. She firmly believes that we practice Yoga not because we’re bendy but that with a dedicated practice, we can affect change – in our minds, bodies, even in the way we interact with our world! As one of her teachers says, “Yoga meets you where you are”! Her hope is to help others find the self-acceptance she has found through a practice of proper alignment, use of breath and inner exploration with an open heart.
Olivia Wilson Smith
Olivia (she/her) began her journey with yoga in college as “just” another form of movement and exercise. After some consistent practice and some mentoring from other practitioners in her early 20s, she began to witness the ways yoga gently fosters both physical and emotional healing. After falling in love with the capacity yoga has to transform and wanting to share this with others, Olivia received her 200-hour teacher training at Greensboro Downtown Yoga through Savvy Soul Yoga and Mindfulness School in 2018. Olivia is a clinical social worker and trained child trauma therapist and has always been fascinated with the complexity and beauty of the human experience. She enjoys being able to incorporate her knowledge of yoga and mental health with clinical clients as well as with her yoga students through a trauma-informed lens.
Embodying a lifestyle of yoga encourages her to let go of anything that isn’t serving her or the best version of herself on a daily basis. This is what she hopes to foster in her students and anyone she is privileged to share yoga with. She seeks to create a safe space in her classes where all find a place to belong, where vulnerability is welcome and self-compassion is encouraged. She loves teaching both energetic and active vinyasa practices as well as mindful and restorative postures. You can expect movement paired with a grounding setting of intention, and utilization of pranayama (breathwork). Olivia enjoys an active lifestyle connected to others and to the outdoors. She and her husband Macon are both Greensboro natives and are currently enjoying this season of life soaking up as much quality time as possible with their 9 month old daughter and the company of an amazing community of family and friends in Greensboro, NC