The blue mountain difference
We’ve been a practicing Wellness Studio since 2015. The foundation of our studio combines the physical with the inner emotional and spiritual journey. By integrating body, breath, movement, and meditative awareness, we promote awareness of the interdependency of all these aspects in personal health and wellbeing. At blue mountain Yoga Health and Wellness, we use our extensive training and in-depth understanding of the human body and psyche to teach and cultivate awareness of one’s own practice and life process.
Our History
Our love for wellness goes all the way back to 1988 when Diane Ryland began to teach group fitness (known at that time as aerobics!). Out of the beginning 1988, blue mountain Health and Wellness has grown and evolved. All of our team members are certified, well educated and have lots of experience to pass on to our members. We offer an array of wellness classes including cardio dance, Cardio interval, yoga for beginners, Power Yoga, Fit classes for kids and personal training. We will work with you as health and Wellness coaches to help you meet your goals. We also offer Message therapy.
Diane Ryland, E-RYT 500, ACSM CPT
Owner, Lead Instructor
Diane is the owner and lead instructor for blue mountain Yoga. She is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher and has been in the group fitness industry for over 30 years. She was raised in Alabama and received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of AL in nursing. Diane continues to work as a traveling nurse while operating the studio. She and her husband live in Ringgold, GA with their sweet dogs and a wonderful cat. They have one adult son who is currently serving the Army in Germany. Diane has a passion for practicing and teaching yoga and cardio. She also enjoys backpacking, hiking, car camping, and live music. She started blue mountain Yoga because she believed that if people have a place to come to that has a caring and supportive community, combined with yoga and cardio practices they can become healthier and happier and the best version of themselves.
Sherry Vaughn, E-RYT 200
Sherry was born in Macon, GA, but grew up in Bristol, VA. While she has lived in Ringgold for 25 years, and loves it here; her favorite place to live is Orlando, FL where she lived with her husband for the first 6 years of their marriage. It has everything- it has close beaches on both gulf and Atlantic coasts and you are next door (sort of) to Disney World and Harry Potter world (Universal). Her "wish for " place to live is on a non-touristy beach, with temperatures in the 60's in winter and 70's in the summer. Why - because BEACH and ocean view. When she has time for hobbies, Sherry loves to read- horror, mystery, romance, history, self-improvement, non-fiction, fiction...She also enjoys day hiking, working in the yard, kayaking, playing pokemon go, playing video or board games, especially with her family. She recently began embroidering. Sherry and her husband, Barry, have a 22 year old son and twin girls who are 25 and they recently added a son-in-law. They are all pretty nerdy and love sci-fi stuff. Since her children were babies, they would try to go to Disney at least once a year (but haven't been since Covid) She also has 2 fur-babies (a cat and a dog), and 3 fur-grandbabies. In college she enjoyed aerobics classes, and later took Karate classes with her children, then kickboxing. Sherry came to BMY for Zumba classes, and enjoyed coming to all of the classes offered -Barre, cardio, pilates, and yoga. She took the 16 hour yoga training to help her son who is autistic and had just ended physical and occupational therapy and found that she loved learning about yoga, its philosophy, history, and benefits. Prior to having children, she had obtained a master's degree in social work, and discovered that yoga and social work share many similar principles. She is now a 200 RYT with 2-1/2 years’ experience and has recently completed a children's yoga teacher training program.
One of Sherry’s favorite quotes is by A.A. Milne: "YOU ARE BRAVER THAN YOU BELIEVE, STRONGER THAN YOU SEEM, SMARTER THAN YOU THINK, AND LOVED MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW".
Lamar Ryland
Lamar was born in Miami Florida in 1961 then moved to Central Florida where he grew up and attended high school. After high school he joined the United States Navy and served as a hospital Corpsman. He received a ROTC scholarship and attended Auburn University and got his commission to the United States Navy as an Ensign. Lamar served seven years in the Navy. He then started teaching mathematics and has been teaching for 29 years. He is married to Diane. They have been married for 33 years and have a son, Roman. Roman Lee will be 26 in May and has been in the army for several years stationed in Germany now. Lamar’s hobbies are traveling with my wife, hiking, backpacking, and in a nerdy kind of way mathematics. Lamar and Diane share their home with five dogs and one cat. Their favorite dog is the Jack Russell. He always been a runner, but his knees now have arthritis, so he turned to yoga and swimming. Lately, Lamar has been teaching the weight lifting classes and enjoys the feeling of gaining muscle mass back. He know it’s good for him, and feels good about doing it. Lamar been teaching fitness just over a year, and is glad that it keeps him more fit. His favorite quotes would be “just let it go” and “this too shall pass.
Kaitlin Thomas
Kaitlin was born in Knoxville, TN and grew up in Ringgold, GA. She loves living in Ringgold, it’s what she knows and is comfortable with and loves the charm of the small town. Kaitlin has two young daughters and likes to tell people that her house is full of giggles, squeals, and hair! She enjoys travel and exercise. As a young girl, she was always in dance, they were required to workout regularly and fortunately it is something she has always liked doing. While she has taught and choreographed dance, this is the beginning of her fitness instruction career. She feels like it is very different from dance, and is enjoying the challenge. Kaitlin enjoys fitness and health because of the way it makes her feel, and she enjoys being able to offer that experience to others. She has been known to shout “Let’s rock and roll!”
Tamara Phelps
Tamara is a yoga instructor who is passionate about sharing her love of yoga and its many benefits. She is known for her beautiful dance-like transitions and her magical hands on assist. Her favorite styles are vinyasa flow, gentle yoga, yin/yang, and any opportunity to practice yoga outdoors. With a background in Physical Therapy, she is able to offer modifications for every body type to reap the gifts of Yoga.
Tamara first began yoga in 2000 while going through a divorce and looking for a way to feel better. Yoga allowed her to get out of her head, drop into her body and control at least one thing... her breath. In 2018 she finally took the plunge enrolling in yoga teacher training, and has never looked back. She has a podcast, YouTube channel and hosts special events such as goat yoga.
With over 25 years of experience as a physical therapist assistant, Tamara appreciates the benefits of movement and staying active. She is an ACE certified aerobics instructor teaching step classes for many years and currently pursuing her 300 hour yoga teacher training, and Pilates certification. Tamara and her husband live in Ringgold, Georgia. They have 5 lucky kids, and she is a full-time dog walker to Abby.
name
??
name
??
name
??
name
??