CHARMAINE VAN NIEKERK, Certified Forrest Yoga Teacher

South African born Charmaine van Niekerk moved to Sugar Land in 2003 where she began her study of yoga.

Charmaine is a Yoga Alliance 500-hour RYT and has been teaching yoga since 2004.

She was certified as a yoga teacher by Robert Boustany in 2004, and by Ana Forrest in 2007. She has trained with Rod Stryker, John Friend, and Doug Keller, and continues to study extensively all the eight limbs of yoga, deepening her personal practice and enhancing her teaching skills.

Running is Charmaine’s first love and she has raced ultra distance competitively since 1990. Her main event was the challenging Comrades Marathon in South Africa, one of the world’s top ultra-distance races. High intensity training often led to chronic injury caused by muscle imbalances and tightness. She credits Yoga for allowing her to continue to run marathons and ultra distance races without fear of being side-lined by injury.