Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Erwin.
Hi Ashley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher based in Atlanta, Georgia and a former Certified Public Accountant. I have an additional 100-hour certification in restorative yoga. I began practicing and studying Yoga in 2004 and began teaching yoga in 2016. I provide alignment-based yoga instruction, combining precise and subtle movements with meditation techniques to fully engage the student’s mind, body, and spirit into their practice. I promote the healing power of yoga and provide a genuine level of care and attention in all of my classes. I am an advocate of the “Yoga Is for Everyone” movement.
Since 2006, I have been involved in outreach with various communities who serve adults living on the extreme margins of society. Being able to serve through yoga was a natural step after completing my yoga certifications. In 2017 I began teaching chair and mat yoga to adults who are marginalized by poverty, physical disabilities and mental and developmental disabilities including incarcerated individuals. In 2019 I left my career as a certified public accountant and began teaching yoga full time.
In 2020 I started a class for individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the Poncey Highland neighborhood of Atlanta. It took a while to develop an approach that worked well for people who live and sleep outside. Over time the class became a unique offering designed specifically for them. In addition to the accessible yoga movement, I started teaching them restorative yoga, bringing in lavender eye pillows and bringing a healthy snack or beverage for us to enjoy together after the class. The class became a way for our participants to experience a gentle and loving type of care through accessible yoga. In 2023 we created the nonprofit, TLC Yoga, to expand this unique offering for individuals experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Also in 2023, we started a program in East Atlanta that serves breakfast and lunch alongside the yoga classes. This class has become a reliable hub in the neighborhood for people to come inside, practice yoga or rest, share a meal and be in community with others.
Today, TLC Yoga has four programs around Atlanta. We have two community classes that serve unhoused neighbors and those with unstable housing. (East Atlanta & Old Fourth Ward). We also have one class at a men’s shelter downtown and one class at a women’s recovery center.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was a big leap to leave my accounting job to teach yoga full time and an even bigger leap to start a nonprofit to serve our most vulnerable neighbors through yoga. Teaching yoga to people who live and sleep outside is beautiful work, but it’s also very hard work. We are serving people with unmet mental health needs, various physical conditions and who experience trauma on a regular basis. We need to be sensitive to these issues in our approach. Most people who are homeless or living in extreme poverty don’t think a practice like yoga is for them and are resistant to the idea. While our students report that the practice makes them feel better in their bodies and gives them peace in their day, the biggest struggle was trying to convince them to participate. I learned that showing up consistently and engaging with community members is key to earning their trust and their participation. Our students now see TLC Yoga as a reliable source of safety, wellness and community.
Another struggle is the general challenge of running a small new grass roots nonprofit. Spreading awareness, collecting impact data, fundraising and applying for grants can easily take our attention away from providing this beautiful service that is based on care and connection. Maintaining smart business practices without losing the heart and soul that goes into each of our TLC Yoga classes is a delicate balance.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about TLC Yoga ?
General Yoga Class Description:
Each class is a mixture of accessible and trauma informed chair and mat yoga. We practice simple, safe and therapeutic yoga asanas for relieving pain throughout the body, easy meditations and breathwork to manage stress and restorative yoga poses for deep relaxation. We add more challenging asanas if/when students are ready and offer modifications for students who need less intensity. Each class is personalized and tailored to the needs we see that particular day.
We welcome our students experiencing homelessness into a judgment free atmosphere that respects their circumstances. In a true spirit of service, we meet our students where they are, physically, mentally and emotionally. Our classes accommodate physical and mental limitations, such as beginning our practice in chairs and giving our students the freedom to rest for the duration of the class or to simply observe the class before participating.We advocate for safe, welcoming environments and strive to offer our students a level of service equal to paying clients.
TLC Yoga Programs:
1.) Community Yoga Class – Community Creation Model – Yoga & Meals – East Atlanta Village
This weekly program in East Atlanta Village combines breakfast, a 60-minute yoga class, and lunch for unsheltered individuals. This is our most robust program and the only one of its kind in the city of Atlanta. We use the community breakfast and lunch time to connect with our program participants. Many individuals begin joining us for meals and work up to trying yoga, deepening their connection to the space, to others and to themselves. This consistent weekly offering provides structure and routine. Gentle movement eases physical strain, while mindfulness and breathwork build resilience and mental clarity—tools that help individuals navigate the stress of homelessness. Over the last two years, this space has become a trusted hub for physical, emotional, and spiritual care.
2.) Community Yoga class – Embedded Model – Old Fourth Ward
TLC Yoga’s Embedded Model brings trauma-informed, accessible yoga directly into existing community spaces that already serve individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. Rather than creating a standalone program, we integrate into trusted organizations that provide meals, support services, and community care. This model allows us to meet people exactly where they are, lowering barriers to participation and creating a familiar, welcoming environment where individuals feel safe to explore yoga and mindfulness.
By working within community spaces where participants are already receiving meals or other services, TLC Yoga provides an additional layer of holistic care that organizations may not have the resources or expertise to offer themselves.
3.) Embedded Program – Sheltered Homelessness – Men’s Shelter
TLC Yoga provides a weekly trauma-informed yoga class for men residing at Gateway Center shelter in Atlanta. The men here are sleeping in a gym with about 100 beds. TLC Yoga offers a consistent opportunity for self care and movement in a quiet separate space in the facility. Through weekly consistency, TLC Yoga builds trust with men who may be wary of outside support, creating connection and belonging within the group. For many, the yoga practice becomes a rare moment of relief and a steppingstone toward stability, complementing Gateway Center’s essential housing and case management services.
4.) Embedded Program – Sheltered Homelessness – Women’s Recovery Center
TLC Yoga offers a weekly trauma-informed yoga class for women residing at Ascensa Health Recovery Center (Formerly St. Jude’s) in Atlanta. Women in recovery often face layered trauma, family separation, stigma, and the challenges of building fragile new beginnings. While the center provides safety and essential recovery services, In this supportive environment, participants can reduce stress, regulate the nervous system, and strengthen resilience—skills that are critical in early recovery. By showing up consistently each week, TLC Yoga builds trust and creates a safe space where women experience belonging, self-regulation, and dignity. For many, this practice becomes a steppingstone toward stability and hope, complementing Ascensa’s recovery services.
From 2024 to 2025, TLC Yoga has grown from two to four weekly classes across Atlanta, doubling our reach to individuals experiencing homelessness. In the year ahead, our focus will shift from expansion to strengthening—streamlining operations, improving attendance tracking, and enhancing the quality of each program so we can serve more people more effectively and sustainably.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
The spirit of compassionate service that TLC Yoga provides is inspired by and emulates what I’ve learned from other service organizations over the years. Specifically, Holy Comforter Episcopal Church and Mercy Community Church. We also need to give credit to our partner organizations who allow us to come in and offer this service: Eastside Church, Restoring One’s Hope of Atlanta, Gateway Center and Ascensa Health.
Our other TLC Yoga teachers, Sarah Shugar, Sarah Landrum and Bree Hibbs-Kenney who bring a level and care that goes beyond teaching a typical yoga class.
The TLC Yoga board members, Julie, Jack & Joelle have been a sounding board and helped me with fundraising, program development and financial management.
Countless meal volunteers: Our Thursday programs could not happen without the help of the community members who provide breakfast and lunch to us on a monthly basis. We should recognize local restaurant El Tesoro for their burrito donations and local bookstore, Bookish Atlanta, for their monthly donation of breakfast and lunch.
My mentors, Wade, Julie & Mary Ann at my former accounting firm raised “business Ashley.” The business and financial expertise I learned from them over 17 years has been instrumental in structuring TLC Yoga with strong fiscal management and long-term sustainability in mind, ensuring donor funds are used efficiently and transparently.
Also, a lot of credit is due to my awesome parents, Linda and John Scariano. They did a good job raising me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tlcyoga.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tlcyoga_atl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlcyogaatl
Image Credits
Sarah Landrum
