About Heather ::

Heather Acomb is… MFA, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, RPYT, a Rochester-based dance and yoga teacher well known for her spiritually-oriented, heart-centered, alignment-based approach to hatha yoga rooted in the Anusara and Iyenger traditions. Her classes invite all ages and levels of movers into the physical practice of asana with a focus on breath, body awareness and mind-body connectivity all while honoring the individual self and playfully enjoying being in the present moment. She is known for her smart sequencing and for cleverly weaving the teachings of yoga philosophy into her classes in order to guide students toward a deeper understanding of their own true nature.

In addition, Heather works as a perinatal yoga instructor and postpartum doula, supporting pregnant bodies, post-pregnant bodies, and new families.

Heather first met yoga… in 2002 as an undergrad student and began enjoying the physical practice as a means of conditioning for dance while completing her MFA in Dance at SUNY Brockport. She is a longtime student of teachers Jacki McCausland and Angela Caplan at Shakti Yoga and Barrie Risman.

Heather has had the honor of studying… with internationally renowned teachers Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Bill Mahony, Sonam Targee (Ayurveda) and Ellen Saltonstall.  

Heather is also… a dance artist and educator, and has been studying and teaching several somatic movement practices since 2006, including somatic-based contemporary modern dance, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Body Mind Centering and Pilates.  She teaches dance at Nazareth College where she enjoys exploring the intersection of dance and yoga in her classes on both physical and philosophical planes.  She has held several full and part-time positions at institutions across the finger lakes region and has worked extensively as a guest artist nationally.

Heather has performed nationally… with the Bill Evans Dance Company and is a certified Evans Method and Technique teacher, well versed in the Laban/Bartenieff framework. She has worked closely with Evans since 2010, teaching and assisting in his annual summer intensives. She also performs locally in the Rochester area on a project basis with Biodance and with electricGRIT/Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp. She has performed and had her work shown in venues such as Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Core Project/Going Dutch, Rochester Fringe Festival, WAX Works, and Midwest RADFest.