Zimboga is unusual, challenging and impactful. If you come to Zimboga, you will be exposed to yoga you’ll never see at a yoga studio. Expect fitness, cardio, strength, balance, flexibility, advanced arm-balances and inversions, advanced breath control, advanced mindfulness and a supportive community. I also use props. Blocks, straps and yoga wheels are used practically every class. Bands, weights, Barre balls, medicine balls, Gliders etc are used on occasion. The gym does not supply yoga wheels so regulars have bought their own. I purchased a few extra to lend to visitors and people new to the class, once you decide to become a regular you’ll want to get your own. I have a way to secure them in the M/B storage room.
All my classes are ‘all levels’ but are in 2 categories. Zimboga is focused on advanced students but accommodates beginners. Zimboga Lite is focused on beginners but accommodates advanced yogis.
As of Dec 2025, Zimboga happens 4 times a week. Zimboga: Mondays and Thursdays 5:15. Zimboga Lite: Thursdays 10:35 (NFC Signature) and Fridays 08:30 (NFC Sevierville).
I get asked why I only teach 4 classes a week; the answer is balance. I try not to commit too much time to one thing. I need decompression time and time to engage other interests. There is also the time I spend on Zimboga outside of class, such as planning and communication on our Facebook group page. I also get asked why I teach at a gym, the answer is flexibility. I’ve taught at yoga studios and instructors must follow the schedule. If the schedule says ‘power yoga’ then that is what must be taught. Our wonderful gym does not restrict me in that way. As long as I provide a good yoga fitness experience they are ok with leaving me to my ways. Also, yoga studios are essentially businesses about profit. I’m retired and don’t consider income. To attract and keep the most people, studios always provide the most palatable classes. By that I mean; making the students feel good even at the cost of their practice. In my opinion, most yoga studios do not pay enough attention to form, effort, progress and yoking mind, body and spirit in balance. Essentially they are just group fitness classes disguised as yoga. That said, our gym has lots of Les Mills classes that resemble yoga studio yoga. You should do those too. I offer something different. My classes can be your only fitness but really, you need more. Use my class as a base to build your other fitness activities e.g. running, lifting, tennis, kayaking, hiking etc. My vision is to attract a large community of people to our gym looking for advanced and impactful yoga for a great price that includes all the other benefits of our fabulous health club. There is a nifty, free, 3-day pass you can get at the front desk if you want to try our gym and classes. Come on! Bring your people with you…
Practice Outside of Class
I post tips, techniques, flows and suggestions on the Zimboga Facebook page and Facebook group. These are not mandatory homework assignments. They are opportunities to prepare so you can get more from each class. There are also posters in the storage room that show over 100 postures. If you treat these with respect (they’ll tear if you’re to rough), you can hang them in the M/B room (stand on the chair to reach the hooks) to work on your practice outside of class.
Playlists
I use all kinds of music in the class playlists. I go through phases of what I like but perennial favorites are: classic rock and drumming. I use Spotify, and you can find my Spotify profile here. Once you find my profile, just navigate to the Zimboga folder.