Welcome
Christine Hoar
Christine has been a practitioner and teacher of the Ashtanga Yoga System for nearly 30 years. From 1997–2014 she served as the founder and director of Vermont’s only dedicated Ashtanga studio, Bristol Yoga. Her love of surfing then brought her to Montauk, NY where she created a new practice space and yoga community. Specializing in the integration of the Ashtanga system of Asana with the principles of Ayurveda and the depth of Yogic philosophy, Christine offers students unique insights into discovering greater joy, freedom, and self-transformation. She has made many trips to Mysore, South India to study with the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and the Jois family and is honored to have received the blessing and authorization to teach the Ashtanga Yoga system. She has also studied many years with the late Nancy Gilgoff in Maui and has assisted and taught many wonderful adjustment clinics with her.
When you take a class with Christine, you will find yourself engaged with a teacher that integrates alignment and intuition, strength and fluidity, mindfulness and humor. She is passionate about the teachings, and brings a gentle, compassionate, and light-hearted, yet powerful, hands-on approach.
As an Ashtanga teacher, she is committed to health, well-being, and personal growth by making the Yogic practices accessible to all levels of practitioners in a joyful, supportive, and challenging environment. She teaches private sessions in the Ashtanga tradition and yoga therapy, group classes, weekend workshops and longer retreats, both domestically and internationally.
Christine is registered with the Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT 500 Yoga Instructor, and is a certified Yoga Therapist with IAYT, the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Her schools are registered as RYS 200 for teachers and training.
Ayurvedic Lifestyle Practitioner
Christine is also a ayurvedic lifestyle practitioner and educator certified by the Kripalu College of Ayurveda in Lennox, MA. She is devoted to creating health and joy by fostering a sense of interconnectedness with our natural environment. Combining the practices of Yoga with that of Ayurveda, she offers students a body of wisdom designed to help them achieve vitality while realizing their full potential.
As an Ayurvedic practitioner, she offers consultations to improve overall vitality and health, using the tools of diet, daily routine, herbs, meditation, Pranayama and Yoga. This is all based on ancient Ayurvedic principles and techniques. She also teaches workshops ranging in topic from Seasonal Cleansing, “Ayurvedic Nutrition” and “Ayurvedic Cooking” to “Creating Healthy Daily and Seasonal Routines”.
Christine is a member of NAMA, the National Ayurvedic Medical Association.
Testimonials
I met Christine over 20 years ago while studying with a mutual teacher of ours. She was assisting Nancy Gilgoff in Vermont. We had not yet even spoken a word and she was not teaching the workshop, yet something spoke to me in the adjustment of her hands on my sacrum in a downward facing dog, something that resonated and said pay attention this is an important person in your life. Without ever taking a class with her, I invited her to Philadelphia to host her for a workshop trusting my instincts. That was the first of eleven more Philly workshops with Christine. My students and I fell in love with her easy, wise, loving non judgmental and humorous way of transmitting Guruji's teachings. She is a joyful teacher with integrity, genuine love of the practice, making it accessable (and a lot of fun!)..ie the missing link to the Ashtanga and Ayurveda practices. One of her classes began with "inhale love, exhale all else", that sums Christine up to a tee! —Amy
Christine is a passionate teacher. Weaving together her knowledge of Indian medicine, philosophy and embodied practices, she meets individual needs with compassion and expertise. —Sherry
I first began practicing with Christine in 2006 at the age of 19 after having many lower extremity surgeries. I wasn’t very familiar with yoga and not familiar with Ashtanga. Yoga became an important compliment to physical therapy and other modalities during my first phase of healing. Yoga and studying with Christine felt like and continues to be a balm for the body, mind and soul. Christine always creates an environment that is safe, unique to each student, and fun. She is knowledgable, skillful and compassionate. To start, she offered me handfuls of postures at a time, including modifications as appropriate on a given day, until I became comfortable with the ‘choreography’ of the primary series. Over the years she has also taught me a sprinkle of intermediate series. Over the years yoga has continued to adapt to me and me to it. Beyond the physical practice, Christine’s bag of tricks include guidance on pranayama, meditation, philosophy, cooking, and more. Don’t miss an opportunity to study with her! I’d follow her anywhere and have as far as Costa Rica! Yoga is a lifelong friend, as is Christine! —Tenzin
Christine has a sincere, gentle manner but she encourages bravery and a strong practice in a way that makes me believe in myself. My practice has grown since March 2020 when I found her again after a 5 year absence. Christine also has a lovely singing voice, good taste in poetry, and excellent cooking class skills! —Carol
I've been studying with Christine now for about 15 years. What amazes me is that even now after all this time, she still is able to give me insights and ideas for my practice in order for me to move deeper. Not just physically deeper in postures, but in helping me move beyond the physical to make a deeper emotional connection. This past year took things even a step further. While I couldn't travel to see her, I could log in and take class online. At first I wasn't sure what the experience would be, but then I was in awe of how she was able to show so many, including myself, without hands-on adjustments or even being in the same room, where we could go, how to move forward, encouraging us from afar every step of the way. Being in the "room" with so many others, all taking practice together with Christine, laughing, hearing funny stories, and enjoying each other's company even if we can't be together, has made this difficult time a bit lighter and brighter. I am very grateful for the online experience and the continued teachings. —Alissa
Christine has both the temperament and disposition to work with all levels of Yoga practices. Her calm manner, joyous outlook and patience is something that is very rare in this day and age. She is keenly aware of each individual’s capabilities and is quite observant to advise the proper correction of postures in a gentle manner. I always look forward to joining her classes It’s a real treat!! —Ruth
One of the highlights of 2020 was getting to participate in Christine's zoom classes. My hope is that when life gets back to normal, these zoom classes will continue. I feel very lucky to have found this community and be part of it. —Rhonel
I have been a student of Christine for four years. I'm not sure where I'd be without her guidance, but I know it would not be on my current path to physical and mental wellness. Christine is a wonderful example of a kind, caring, humble, down to earth, calm, and extremely knowledgeable teacher. The enriching experiences I have had as her yoga and Ayurvedic student were amazing. She customizes my physical practice as well as lifestyle based on my needs, and is very thorough in her questioning and follow ups, connecting with me on such a deep level of compassion, love, and genuine care. I feel blessed to be Christine's student and to know I am always in good hands! —Denizzie
Christine's teachings are thoughtful, experienced and highly knowledgeable. Upon first meeting her in 2003, she has been one my dearest teachers and friends. Students who study yoga and Ayurveda with Christine receive much more than what they sign up for because Christine cares for them in the most sincere way. She teaches yoga and Ayurveda because she loves the practice as well as people. And this comes out in all her teachings—her kindness and kinship is contagious and students feel welcome, safe and taken care of. I recommend Christine's classes, workshops and retreats to all my students and to anyone who is seriously interested in the study of yoga: what a blessing her teachings are to this world! —Sarah
From the first touch, it is clear that Christine has confident firm hands that can be trusted! However, it is her thoughtfulness and generosity which make her such a rare superb teacher. She makes contact with every practitioner in the room , makes every one feel treasured and completely individualizes each person’s learning. I count her among my blessings. —Nanci
Christine is the most inspirational of teachers I have had the opportunity to know over the past 20 years. She is an intelligent and caring teacher with a great sense of humor. She is a true gem to the yoga community, and I am fortunate to consider her among my most influential teachers. —Lisa
I have been practicing and traveling with Christine since 2015. Christine is not only a magnificent teacher who has spent a lifetime practicing and studying with the great minds of Ashtanga, but she is also a wonderful and caring human being. I consider myself very lucky to consider her my teacher and friend. —Scott
Over the past several years I have been fortunate to experience Christine’s teaching through a multitude of classes and workshops. Christine has the special ability to get a pulse on her students and deliver the perfect balance of challenging and nurturing them with her knowledge, compassion, and dedication. Especially during the health pandemic, her classes have been therapeutic and inspirational for me! —Fran
Though I had many years of yoga practice and experience, I was a complete beginner in Ashtanga when I was first introduced to Christine. She immediately made me feel at ease in a practice that at first I found daunting and intimidating. Christine has a unique nurturing and caring style along with an acute ability to tune into each student’s needs. She creates an environment where we all feel supported, and in constant learning and growth mode. In addition to being an excellent teacher of Ashtanga, her knowledge in Ayurvedic practices and her heartwarming chanting provide many generous offerings to the wonderful community she has created. Thanks to the online classes, we can now all benefit from her wisdom, experience, and teachings. In the true, pure sense of a teacher she takes you on a journey which is your own. —Nazanine
Especially over this last year, I am grateful for the Sangha that Christine created. The combination of different practices: Ashtanga, breathing and meditation, Ayurvedic food and self care, mitigates my chronic health issue, and allows me to experience equanimity. How amazing is that? —Christine
Christine’s Ayurveda teaching has been the most real help in my daily life today. Her focus and clarity has seamlessly made me achieve a body and mind free of pain. With her guidance I have rediscovered a renewed happiness and can now rely on my strengthened and joyous body and brain again. —Sydney
“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees, for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body, love what it loves.”1 Christine’s knowledge, her passion, her caring, her touch, her love provide each of her students with the tools to let the soft animal of [the] body, love what it loves. Thank you Christine for being you. —Herb
1. Mary Oliver, Wild Geese
I stumbled into my first class 17 years ago, a 20-year-old who could not have imagined then how Christine’s teaching would transform my health and the course of my life. Christine’s love of the practice is contagious. She is as studied in Yogic philosophy and Ayurveda as just about any teacher out there today. But the specific alchemy she brings to her classroom doesn’t come from any amount of study—it comes from her intuitive understanding of each individual body, the natural warmth and compassion that she transmits through her words and her hands, her own vibrant and joyful being, and a little bit of magic that I can’t put a name to. —Kendra
When you practice with Christine, you come to realize that you are not simply learning about yoga but about all aspects of your life. She is a profound teacher who models and inspires in her students the integration of yogic practices at the physical, mental, community and spiritual levels. She consistently meets you where you are, without judgment and with love. I have always appreciated the ways in which she embraces vulnerability, speaks openly and honestly about difficult topics, and maintains perspective, lightness, and her wonderful sense of humor. —Natasha
In January 2000 I resolved to develop my flabby spiritual life and somehow Christine appeared! While Ashtanga yoga in the lineage of Pattabhi Jois has been the strong focus (goodbye flabby spirit!) working with Christine has also involved Ayurvedic consultations and guided cleanses, cooking classes, retreats around the globe (pre and I hope post covid), Sutra and Bhagavad Gita study, and the constant presence of a kind, funny and wise friend in my life. If you are drawn into the sphere of her guidance you are most fortunate. —Eugenie
Christine is one of the most accomplished Ashtanga Yoga teachers and practitioners I have ever spend time with. Apart from decades of dedicated practice, she is an expert in Ayurveda, and has studied Pranayama, Philosophy and Meditation extensively in the East and West. Christine’s teachings draw from all aspects of these sacred traditions and what is most inspiring is that she shares her knowledge in a way that makes people feel comfortable and relaxed. Christine clearly loves what she does and she loves to share it. It is a great privilege to spend time with such an amazing and inspiring human being. —Babsi
"I first met Christine when she was teaching with Nancy Gilgoff in Vermont in 2003. Her love for and knowledge of the Ashtanga practice and Ayurveda are infectious. While I lived in NYC at the time I seriously contemplated moving to Vermont just so that I could practice with her. Instead I found teachers in the city who were wonderful but lacked that spark that Christine brings to her teaching. 13 years later I finally wised up to the fact that I could follow her around the world so that I could see her when I can even if it's only for a couple of weeks a year collectively. Now, thanks to Zoom and the year 2020, that's more days than not in a week and is the one good thing about this pandemic. She teaches from the wisdom of her heart and when you have the gift of practicing with her in person you will also appreciate the wisdom in her hands. You won't find a teacher who cares more. —Katherine