Above and Beyond Yoga and Salt Therapy
Studio founders Shoshana Treichel and Ashley Ramsay-Naile first collaborated on a reception for the 2015 Mobile Jewish Film Festival. They quickly formed a friendship as they bonded over their shared ideology of helping others embark on a personal journey of self-discovery and renewal.
As time passed, they kept coming back to their fundamental beliefs and when the opportunity presented itself, the two women decided to take on a new adventure by opening a Yoga Studio. The studio would allow for a variety of yoga honoring each practitioner with love and support.
When it came time to name the studio, Shoshana reminisced about how their friendship had evolved from their first successful collaboration. She remembered the time they spent to organize every detail of the reception honoring visiting Director Nancy Spielberg after the showing of her documentary film.
The film was a post-WWII movie about overcoming adversity and reaching above all obstacles for the impossible. The name of the film, fitting enough, was Above and Beyond. The name encompasses the very essence of the journey to open up “Above and Beyond” Yoga. When Shoshana shared her idea with Nancy Spielberg, she was ecstatic in her support.
She and her husband, Jake, moved to Mobile in 2014 with the United States Coast Guard. She wanted to bring health and happiness that comes from yoga to the people of the Gulf Coast region in a way that was approachable, empowering, and most importantly, fun! The studio had its grand opening on January 18, 2016. Since then, she has become the sole proprietor of the studio. Shoshana and her team’s deepest wish is to help each person access and develop the strength, grace, health, and focus that resides in each and every one of us! We are excited you want to start your yoga journey with Above and Beyond Yoga and Salt Therapy. See you soon!
Namaskarum!
About Shoshana Treichel
Shoshana Treichel decided to become one of the world's strongest women after a brutal attack in NYC in 1986 that left her feeling vulnerable and powerless. She began a training regimen to achieve her goal and has not only achieved world records in the bench press, but has become one of the world’s most talented figures in Women's Bodybuilding. She has owned her own gym, developed weightlifting curricula at universities and has trained and taught yoga to elite athletes from all over the world. Her clients have included NFL players, NBA players, MMA fighters and many bodybuilding and Physique competitors. Additionally, Shoshana worked for Strategic Operations located in San Diego, working extensively with elite military teams as a role player in hyper-realistic training operations. One of her clients has been one of the top MMA fighters of the decade, KJ Noons. With her training, yoga, and nutrition programs, he won the World Title belt and defended it 7 months later.
At the time, she was one of the only female MMA trainers. Shoshana opened Shoshana's Gym, in Kodiak, Alaska, in 1999. Before long, the gym became one of the best-known landmarks in town and Shoshana practically became a household name. In 2005, she relocated to San Diego with her husband, Jake, a Coast Guard Officer, and then-teenage daughter, Kaila! Shoshana and Jake moved to Mobile, Alabama in 2014 with the USCG, after positions in New Orleans and Tennessee.
Shoshana has completed an MS in medical stress reduction through exercise and nutrition from Harvard University and carries certifications in nutrition, personal training, yoga, advanced yoga, and Mat Pilates. She also teaches and prepares other personal trainers in their efforts to become certified.
Ever since Shoshana took her first yoga class in the basement of a dear friend in Kenai, Alaska in 1994, she decided one day to add yoga instruction to the mix. Shoshana has continued her education with her first 200 RYT Yoga Certification from Core Power in 2005. She went on to complete an additional 200 RYT in the Hot 26 series with Hot Yoga Vail Valley. Shoshana then went on to complete an Advanced yoga certification with Core Power Yoga in 2012. In 2014, Shoshana began accomplishing her original dream of pursuing a 3-year program at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, India.
India has a very rich inheritance in the fields of philosophical reflection and spiritual inquiry, with the idea that we should undertake a special journey towards an inner light. T. Krishnamacharya is recognized as one of the greatest masters of the last century, the top authority in the field of yoga. His son, TKV Desikachar, founded KYM in 1976, to spread the teachings of his father. TKV Desikachar, in his own right, is one of the world’s leading authorities in yoga. Sri Desikachar taught all over the world, participated in many international conventions and conferences, and authored numerous books on yoga. Shoshana was inspired to study at the finest Yoga institution in the world! She completed her IYTT degree and graduated on July 7, 2017, from the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram! This past fall, Shoshana has begun, yet another 2 year program at the KYM, earning her a very prestigious Yoga Therapist degree.
Shoshana also has masterminded her own yoga sequences, including combining her weight lifting expertise, yoga training and meditation practices to make Above and Beyond Yoga ONE stop shopping. She has developed programs for Yoga studios in the Washington DC area, Kentucky, the west coast, and the Southern part of the USA and continues to help develop sustainable yoga practices that are based on the KYM standards.
Shoshana is a sought out therapist for the medical community and has made sure to spread the important healing modalities of the East to the West. Shoshana teaches her own style of Hatha, Pure Power, Therapy, and her favorite Krisnmacharya style, preparing the body, breath, and mind for the "pinnacle posture".
Shoshana also trained to become a Krav Maga instructor. Krav Maga is a form of self-defense originating in Israel and taught to the Israel Defense Forces soldiers. It is also used extensively in many of our police departments and elite military forces. It is a must-have skill for all who are looking to protect themselves.
As a personal trainer, nutritionist, and Yoga Instructor, Shoshana has helped her clients shed thousands of pounds of fat, replacing it with hard-earned muscle! She continues working on publications on how to stay healthy, fit, and at peace and is a popular public speaker who helps inspire and empower women with her own personal story of breaking through adversity and defying so many odds!