Our History

Established in 1968 and incorporated in 1971, our center is the oldest active yoga

studio in South Florida. The studio began as an extension of the Ma Yoga Shakti

Mission in Palm Bay, Florida. It was opened by Madhu in memory of her daughter, a

young yogini, Gail Teichmann. Gail had served youth and cared for animals at a the

YogaShakti Mission in India. When she died tragically from her work with animals, her

mother created a sacred space in connection with the YogaShakti Mission to carry on

her daughter’s commitment to the principles of yoga.

When Madhu could no longer maintain the Yoga Center, it was taken over by Dotty

Zevin and Denise Springer to prevent losing this precious space. It became an

independent Yoga Center, and in time Dotty became the sole owner. She committed

herself to running the studio for 27 years. During her stewardship, the studio was

graced with our long-time teacher JoAnn Evans, who created the first Teacher Training

at the Yoga Center in 1988. Among her students in that class were Dotty, Denise, and

Louise Goldberg. Ma Yoga Shakti attended the graduation and conferred diplomas on

each of the new teachers. In 2001, the Yoga Center expanded the teacher training

program to meet the 200-Hour standards of Yoga Alliance, with JoAnn as lead teacher

and adding Louise, Eunice Wellington, Dotty, and Christine Apter to the faculty. Eunice

was a blessed addition to our Yoga community, leading workshops and classes well into

her 90’s. Louise and Christine also led advanced Teacher Trainings, a program that

Christine has continued and oversees.

Louise Goldberg became the owner/ director of the Yoga Center of Deerfield Beach in

2016. She developed a 95-Hour Children’s Yoga Teacher Training during that period, to

complement the Creative Relaxation Yoga for Special Needs trainings that she had

been leading since 2008. Louise expanded the offerings at the studio and became

director of the 200 Hour Teacher Training when her beloved teacher JoAnn resigned in

2018. She held the studio together during that transition and through the Pandemic,

which was complicated when we lost our original location. Moving the studio in spring,

2020, transitioning to online classes, and keeping our community united and functioning

during that period was a Herculean effort. For many, online yoga classes were a lifeline.

When we reopened our studio in our new location in Palm Plaza, it was the beginning of

a new era for the Yoga Center of Deerfield Beach.

In January 2025, Louise passed the reins of studio ownership to her long-time assistant

Melissa D’Errico, who has brought a new energy to the studio. It has been a joyous

transition, with Louise continuing to teach her weekly classes and directing the 200 -Hour Yoga Teacher training. Melissa’s exuberance and creativity have further expanded

the offerings at the studio.

Today the Yoga Center hosts a variety of yoga classes every day of the week. Day and

night classes include Hatha Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Yin Yoga, Yoga for Core Strength and

Balance, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Mat Pilates for Core & Restore, Sivananda, Kundalini, and Qi Gong.

Our teachers represent many different backgrounds of yoga. All are Registered Yoga

Teachers (RYT) with Yoga Alliance. The touchstone of the Yoga Center is the Teacher

200-Hour Training Program. Our studio has been offering Yoga Teacher Training since 1988, and became a Yoga Alliance School in 2001. The program begins every fall.

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