Meet The Team
Lyn Kirkman
ERYT 500, ERYT 200, YACEP, REIKI MASTER, CERTIFIED SOUND PRACTIONER, AERIALIST, FOUNDER
Lyn Kirkman is the founder & lead instructor of Atomic Lotus Yoga & Aerial Fitness. Lyn loves to share her knowledge & passion for aerial fitness & yoga with others. Lyn has been practicing & teaching aerials/yoga since 2013 in studio class settings, private class events, & group settings. More than anything, Lyn loves to share aerial arts with others & is most comfortable teaching her love for the art & practice with people from diverse backgrounds & fitness levels.
Lyn is inspired by her students & lives for the moments of achievement that only comes with the development of strength & mental clarity that aerial arts, fitness, & yoga provides. With a background in biological sciences/genetics & with a passion for anatomy, various forms of yoga, pilates, & aerial arts have been a natural continuation of her love for creative movement arts & restorative fitness. Lyn's drive & passion for helping others in her community by way of yoga, aerial arts, movement, & meditation continue to fill her heart daily.
Lyn teaches:
Monday Slow Flow Yoga 1015a
Wednesday Yin Yoga 10a, Lyra/Trapeze 1/2 430p, & Silks Level 1/2 6p
Thursday- Aerial Yoga Level 1/2 1015a & Mixed Aerial Level 1/2 715p
Friday Hammock Level 1/2 6p
Saturday- Rotation Aerial Yoga Level 1/2 930a & Hammock Level 1/2 1045a
BUNGEE FITNESS COMING SOON!! 2023!!
Monday Fly Bungee 1130a
Wednesday Fly Bungee TBD
Friday Fly Bungee 430p-530p-630p
She also teaches private lessons, private group lessons, parties, & events.
Cassidy Garber
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
Aerial Yoga Coach
Cassidy is a certified yoga instructor, certified aerial yoga instructor, & a Reiki level 1 certified student based out of St. Petersburg, FL. She could not be more excited to branch out & begin teaching around the Tampa Bay Area.
Yoga has been a huge part of her life ever since her yoga journey started in 2016, & her practice continues to provide a safe space for her mind, body, & spirit to relax, rejuvenate, & reconnect. She is ecstatic to share with others the incredible ways yoga has impacted her life. Cassidy also loves to incorporate sound healing, guided meditation, breath-work, crystal healing, essential oils, & different themes of nature, such as the elements, into her yoga class sessions.
A little more about Cassidy: "When I’m not on my yoga mat, I’m either in my home studio working on music, on stage as a DJ, or you can find me enjoying some outside time! Some of my favorite places to reconnect with nature are the beach, Florida’s springs, or when I have the opportunity to travel - the mountains! (Preferably snowy ones.) I love my family, animals, exercising, paddle boarding, skiing, roller blading, & cooking healthy vegetarian eats. I am also very passionate about living sustainably, & taking care of our planet Earth".
Cassidy teaches:
Friday 1015a Restorative Flow Yoga
Katie Lawrence
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
Aerial Yoga Coach
Katie Lawrence, 200hr RYT, yoga practitioner of 10 years, certified in Antigravity aerial yoga, with a background in musical theater & stage production.
Katie strives to curate a unique, multi-sensory experience in each & every class design. Her yoga journey began at a young age with a curiosity for her own potential & limitations, & since then has found a love for pushing her own boundaries.
Equally, she has relished in & learned from the benefits of slowing down, listening to her body, & being gentle on herself - 3 core values she holds dear to every single class. A mental health advocate, Katie aims to blend traditional yoga ideologies with modern Western principles in order to provide an accessible & inviting practice for all.
Whether it be yin or hatha, power or restorative, flips & tricks or meditation, Katie’s class is sure to leave students refreshed, rejuvenated, & eager to get back on the mat or swing!
Katie teaches:
Monday 6p Aerial Yoga Level 1/2
Amber Young
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
Aerialist Coach, Performer
Amber loved being active her whole life and wanted to know how the body moves and works but also struggled with health issues and fatigue. Exercise became an outlet to improve her health and strength. She tried hot yoga in 2009, falling in love with the heat, the physical aspect, and the emotional release.
After having two girls 19 months apart, Amber was consumed by motherhood and struggled to get through each day. Remembering her love of yoga, she started again. Yoga helped her identify as someone other than a mom, improving her mental and physical life. She then was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune disorders and chronic Lyme Disease. Again, yoga was there to keep her body and mind strong, while releasing the stress and emotions of chronic illnesses. She decided to further her practice by becoming an instructor, graduating Yoga Centric’s 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in April 2021.
In addition to mat class, Amber tried an aerial yoga class in 2017 and again immediately fell in love. It was the perfect complement to mat practice. In September 2020, she graduated Aerial Teacher Training through AerialKim Aerial Yoga. She then began advancing her skills in October 2020, through aerial sling classes at Ascend Flow Arts and started teaching aerial privates in April 2021.
Amber’s passion is to share her journey and knowledge, so she may help people find their own healing paths, both on and off the mat or in the air if they choose to fly!
Amber teaches:
Tuesday Aerial Yoga Level 1-3 6p & Hammock Level 2/3 715p
Saturday Rotation Aerial Yoga Level 1/2 930a & Hammock Level 1/2 1045a
Rachel "Kittie" Howard
Aerial Coach
Performer
Rachel "Kittie" Howard is a Florida native that has been a performing aerialist for over five years, and a contortionist for over three years. She has studied under a number of the country's best coaches, including Womack and Bowman, an aerial duo based in L.A., and Katie Brier, who is a world-renowned contortion instructor.
She has performed at numerous local events, such as the city of St. Petersburg's "First Night" NYE event, Florida's Hulaween, Brainquility, and Sunset music festivals, and with Tampa Bay's premier burlesque troupe "Femmes and Follies". She also began teaching flexibility and aerial arts classes in 2019. Kittie specializes in aerial silks, but also performs on aerial hoop/lyra, rope, and hammock, as well as practicing contortion.
She has a BFA in photography, is a dog mom of four, and works by day in St. Petersburg as the manager of a fine wine retailer. She has a mind, body, and soul that's built for the circus.
Kittie teaches:
Monday Aerial Silks Level 1/2 715p
Friday Aerial Silks Level 1-3 1130a
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Jennifer "Jhenie" Rivera
Jennifer "Jhenie" Rivera
RYT 200 Yoga Instructor
Aerial Coach
Performer
Jennifer "Jhenie" is originally from Chicago. She relocated to Tampa, Florida to care for her sick father and continued her education at the University of Central Florida. She is currently a Speech Pathologist and is continuing her fulfill her path as a mother, healer, and Aerial Arts/Yoga teacher.
As she grieved for her father's passing, she sought healing and was guided by doing the Yoga Teacher Training at the Lotus Pond in Tampa, FL. She later graduated from the YTT in 2015 and later found her love for Aerial Arts. She continued to seek her passion and has trained and performed in Puerto Rico, Chicago, Tampa, and the Orlando area.
Her goal is to pass on the concept of mindfulness and healing throughout the practice of Aerial Arts and Yoga. She believes in the interconnectedness of the brain to the body and shares the love of Aerial Arts, Yoga, and mindfulness to help the average being and persons with Disabilities. She loves helping others find balance throughout chakras to become stronger spiritually, mentally, and physically to reach a state of enlightenment.
Jhenie teaches:
Tuesday Mixed Aerials Level 1/2 1115a
Sade Mendez
Aerial Coach (In Training)
Sade Mendez is an aerial coach in training & specializes in aerial hammock!
Sade discovered aerial arts while she lived in Arizona back in 2019. You can say it was love at first flight. Aerial yoga was her gateway into finding hammock & other circus apparatuses.
Sade is passionate about helping others find the courage to experience the beauty, strength, & freedom of aerial arts. When she is not on the mat or in the air, you can always find her spending quality time with my dog, reading, or reconnecting with nature — even with something as simple as walking around.
Born & raised in Los Angeles, Sade has been fortunate enough to travel all over the country thanks to my background in event production & marketing. After visiting Florida during several business trips, I packed up my belongings & moved to Clearwater in 2021.
Lindsay Rapuano
Aerial Coach (In Training)
From 6 years old through college, you could find Lindsay on the soccer field, on the track, or in the pool. After wrapping up her Division I college athletics career in NYC and returning to her hometown of Clearwater, FL, Lindsay was looking for new physical experiences that challenged her mind and her body in different ways. This led her to attempt her first aerial silks class in 2014, and she has felt a calling to aerial arts ever since.
The wholly individual challenge presented in each of the different apparatuses in the aerial arts has been mesmerizing for Lindsay. Every class is an opportunity to challenge oneself physically and mentally and, more significantly, to honor the movements and self-appreciative mindset that become part of one’s daily life.
Professionally, she has served as a coach, a teacher, a school administrator, and the co-founder of 2 non-profits. Lindsay’s passion is creating communities and spaces that meet and celebrate individuals where they are and help empower them achieve their individual goals and aspirations. In her classes, you can expect this passion to feel palpable as you are supported in your individual journey and relationship with the aerial arts.
Lauren Smith
Aerial Coach (In Training)
Lauren has been a nurse and hospital administrator for over 10 years, dedicated to patient care and serving my community.
She came to find her aerial practice after she realized she needed to start caring for not only her body, but also her mind and soul.
Over the last 3 years of continued practice, Lauren has been able to find mental clarity, internal peace, direction, and community; all while working her body safely to its limits and beyond.
Lauren hopes to be able to share the peace and community her aerial practice has given her, and she will remain dedicated to inclusion and creating a safe and inviting environment.