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Emily is a certified SUP instructor with Water Dog Yoga as of July 2023. She is excited to share her love of floating with everyone! Playing soccer and hiking mountains in Maine, she grew up around sports, teamwork, and an appreciation for a challenge. Embracing her inner nerd, Emily has a Master’s in Kinesiology from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and loves incorporating movement into her life and trying new things. If she isn’t out on the water, Emily is teaching barre classes, reading, napping, or shopping for athleisure wear she doesn’t need.
Lisa is a certified group fitness instructor who has taught a wide variety of classes throughout her fitness career which started in 2003 when she began teaching circuit training at Curves for women. This inspired her to obtain her first fitness certification in personal training that next year. Lisa completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training online in 2020 during the pandemic and has been teaching Les Mills Body Balance; a yoga, tai chi & Pilates flow since 2016. Lisa and Lawrence took yoga teacher training with Water Dog in the summer of 2023.
Stacie is the owner and founder of Water Dog Floating Yoga. She received her certification in SUP Yoga from Austin, Texas as well as her RYT 200 from Black Swan Yoga in Austin, TX in 2016 and she is currently working towards her 500hr Pilates Certification. She was a school teacher for twelve years, most recently teaching at Flour Bluff ISD. She has lived and taught all over the world including; Key West, Japan and Abu Dhabi. For her, staying active is an important part of life and its much more enjoyable outdoors. Stacie started competitive running at a young age and earned a scholarship to run Cross-Country and Track at Penn State University. She later became a group fitness & yoga instructor, opening Water Dog in 2017. She was voted Best Yoga Instructor by The Bend Magazine three years in a row. Stacie’s love for dogs, especially her Sheltie pups, inspired the name “WATER DOG”.
Diane Kay is a RYT-200 with over 15 years experience. She is an outdoor enthusiast and when not at yoga you can find her in her garden or on the water. She attends most sunrise classes at Water Dog and you can find her teaching sunrise hatha style classes from time to time.
Josh is the co-owner of Water Dog Floating Yoga. He has lived in Corpus Christi for most of his adult life. Twenty years ago he started a successful IT business in the city: Richline Technical Services. Josh is a long time, active sailor. He has crewed on racing sailboats on the East, West and Gulf Coasts of the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. He is an active member of the Corpus Christi Yacht Club. Josh also has extensive knowledge of boats and water safety as well as knowledge about the local waters, wind and weather conditions in the Corpus Christi Marina and Bay Area. He occasionally joins and teaches the Community Paddles.
Heather is CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) since 2005 and a licensed esthetician since 2008. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Texas. Go Mean Green! Heather was born and raised in Corpus Christi and at the age of 22 she left to gain knowledge and experience in California, New Mexico, and northern Texas. After being away for 17 years she is happy to be back home where she opened her facial treatment business. Heather has a holistic approach to wellness with a love of educating and sharing her knowledge of healthy aging. She specializes with microcurrent (as she describes, “it’s like yoga for facial muscles”) and hand blending plant-based skin care products.
Heather is passionate instructor and puts her heart in everything she does. Her yoga background is B.K.S. Iyengar- vinyasa flow. Iyengar emphasizes correct alignment and the use of props. Finding the correct alignment in posture not only ensures each asana is done safely, but also helps guide the yogi deeper into their practice.
Teaching classes through the years has helped Heather fine-tune her style so it is achievable for all levels. She will instruct on how to listen to your body and honor where your practice is currently, how to make the adjustments needed to better serve your practice safely, and how to utilize breath to find focus and mental clarity. Her classes are cumulative- building each session onto the next. This helps to really feel each asana and know where you are in your yoga journey, where you want to take your practice, and ultimately finding flexibility where most think is not possible. Her style is vinyasa flow. This style cues breath work while synchronizing movement, safely transitioning from asana to asana. You will leave her class feeling refreshed and centered.
In September 2022 Heather became certified SUP yoga instructor with Water Dog Yoga. An accomplishment that has been a long-time goal of hers. She has a strong swimming background- from early age competitive swimmer, lifeguard (pool & ocean), water safety instructor, long board surfing, and has natural love of water. You will often find Heather and her two boys with their rescued pup, Sunny, on an outdoor adventure
Chris completed Water Dog’s SUP Teacher Training in September of 2022. He considers himself a ‘Paddle Junkie’ and he has a wide variety of interests, especially on the water, including sailing. He has also been a fitness instructor and a boxing coach. Chris wonders if he’s still the only person crazy enough to have swum across the Corpus Christi Bay!
Cali’s passion encompasses Health and Wellness while promoting safety and injury prevention. She has a background in personal training, fitness and dance instruction as well as water sports. Her full time career is an Emergency Room RN. She completed her SUP Yoga and Fitness Teacher Training with Water Dog in 2022.
David is an athlete, paddleboard enthusiast and SUP Surfer. He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and he attended the University or Puerto Rico, majoring in Psychology. He’s always been an athlete, playing basketball, volleyball and running track. He earned the “Athlete of the Year” award in high school. He was a sprinter and ran Track & Field in college on a partial scholarship. After college he took up rock climbing.
In 2007 he got married and moved to San Antonio, TX and in In 2012 moved to Corpus Christi, TX. His passion for cars led him to attain his Automotive Mechanic Certificate through Austin Community College and he also got his ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certifications. Throughout the years David’s wife’s love for travel has taken them abroad to places like Rome, Berlin, Madrid, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Guatemala.
In 2016 David discovered the sport of Stand Up Paddleboarding and he’s been hooked ever since! In 2021 he completed his PSUPA Certification. He can often be found paddling the canals of Padre Island or SUP surfing and finding his own peak. His love and respect for the ocean has grow immensely since he’s spent so much time on the water and he isnow a member of the Surfrider Foundation and he regularly attends and participates in beach clean up efforts.
Ruff!
Habibi is a Sheltand Sheepdog. He is Water Dog’s Official Mascot.
He enjoys playing fetch, short walks around the neighborhood, chasing cats and “Doga”. His favorite yoga pose is Downward Facing Dog.
Habibi doesn’t like to swim, but he is a natural SUP Pup! He makes an occasional appearance at Water Dog and for Paddle Conditioning on Sundays!
Ruff!
Pearl is a Sheltand Sheepdog. She was born just before Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
She enjoys playing tug-a-war, walks around the neighborhood, chasing cats and “Doga”. Her favorite yoga pose is Puppy Pose.
Pearl doesn’t like to swim, but she likes to play around the water, especially with the water hose! She makes an occasional appearance at Water Dog Floating Yoga.
I started dancing when I was four years old, studying many forms of dance and competing in the US and Europe. Growing up as an Army brat, I have lived and traveled all over the world, and made Texas my home in 1994. I realized very early on how important health and fitness are, and knew I wanted to pursue a career helping people incorporate exercise into their everyday lives. I graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi with a BS in Kinesiology in 1999, and have worked in fitness ever since! I’ve been an ACE certified personal trainer at the Corpus Christi Athletic Club for twenty-two years, and am also an ACE certified Medical Exercise Specialist and a certified Barre Above instructor. I was also an Elite instructor with Piloxing for four years.
After all these years, I’m still so passionate about helping people meet their fitness goals in new and creative ways, which is one of the many reasons I love Water Dog! I’ve been taking SUP classes at Water Dog since the day it opened, and I’m beyond excited and blessed to join the Water Dog family! I’ve been married to my husband Jarod for twenty years, and we have two amazing teenage sons, Cameron and Kelen.
As a young Texan, Heather McVay always had a love of dance, music and helping others. Heather attended Texas Christian University and Texas A&M University of Corpus Christi where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science as well as a minor in Chemistry. Heather is currently an Executive Clinical Specialist with LivaNova/Neuromodulation providing devices for epilepsy and allowing Heather the opportunity to improve peoples’ quality of life through her work.
Growing up, Heather competed in gymnastics, ballet, Texas state swim team, and UCA cheerleader competitions, representing USA in London in 1992 and serving on staff in 1998. With her ballet background and natural love of performing, Heather became hooked on Pilates in 2004, and this past year completed her 500 hour Comprehensive Pilates Training through Body Arts and Science International. She has also been a Master Trainer for all three programs of PILOXING for the past 4 years. Heather lives on Padre island with her husband, Brett, and their English Bulldog, Francis. Having grown up in the Coastal Bend, Heather understands Stacie’s vision of introducing Pilates on the surf, and could not be more excited to join the Water Dog team taking their Pilates Instruction afloat.
