Ashley Sharp, E-RYT, lives in Northern California among the redwood trees where she runs a small retreat center called Refuge at Pudding Creek. The center focuses on awakening through mindfulness, nature, art, and yoga. Sharp is the author of "Mindfulness for Beginners: 4 Weeks to Everyday Peace, Gratitude, and Focus".
An ardent lifetime learner, Sharp has attended years of yoga, meditation and mindfulness courses, retreats and workshops everywhere from India and Myanmar to California and Massachusetts. She has been teaching for 25 years and founded Insight Richmond, a community based meditation group. She leads retreats at Refuge at Pudding Creek.
Ashley is known for her wit, practicality, and tenderness as an instructor. Also trained in yoga therapy and yoga nidra (a reclining meditation practice), her classes and trainings integrate many yogic techniques and modalities.
Ashley's ongoing practice and study of Vipassana meditation leads naturally to her unique weaving of mindfulness and dharma (wisdom) themes into each yoga class, simultaneously deepening her students' physical and spiritual practice. In addition to completing the "Dedicated Practioner Program," and the "Community Dharma Leader" trainings (both are 2 year invitational trainings through Spirit Rock Meditation Center), she continues to attend silent meditation retreats.
“Thank you for your lovely classes. They are doing me a world of good! As one who has an entrenched self critic in residence, I am deeply appreciative of the sweet balm of the asanas and your gentle, poignant teaching. And the good humor, especially the good humor!”