Shannon Branch

Always active and trying the latest fitness trends, yoga and Pilates were a constant. In 2015, Shannon completed her 200-hour YTT and that same year she became Barre certified. She has been teaching Mat Pilates since 2011 and received her official certification in 2017. She is also certified in restorative yoga, adaptive yoga, accessible yoga, meditation and trauma informed yoga. Currently, she is enrolled with the Himalayan Institute for her 300-hour YTT. In earlier times, the studio bore the name Yoga U, where Shannon was an instructor for five years until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. After decades of running the widely popular studio, the previous owner decided to embark on a new endeavor and closed its doors in October of 2020. Presented with an opportunity to reopen the studio and the resolve to keep the community practicing in the same space, Shannon decided to take a leap of faith and make it happen. With limited income and working a part-time job, she quickly took action and led the charge towards orchestrating a business strategy, used some of her life savings to finance the startup, and launched the opening of Sound Body Studio on December 14, 2020. The studio commenced its “opening” with virtual classes in the wake of the pandemic and gradually transitioned to full in-person classes by June of 2021. In the latter part of 2021, the studio began to grow, evolve, and hit its stride. It was during this time that Shannon was diagnosed with breast cancer. Shortly after, she went on to have a bi-lateral mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. Her positive attitude and cheerful heart have been good medicine, which has given her the strength and courage to persistently persevere. Shannon has been back to teaching since April of 2022 and bursting with energy. Her approach to teaching is to encourage growth of the physical and spiritual self and condition each one to find balance on and off the mat. As she continues her healing journey, her vision is not lost. She sees Sound Body Studio as a safe space and brave space for people to come as they are, find their core, and know that yoga and Pilates is accessible for EVERY body and ANY body!