Renee Minges Jeffreys Heil ’93: Frustration leads to action

Renee Minges Jeffreys Heil ’93 left her faculty position teaching exercise science at Florida Gulf Coast University because of her frustration with the lack of high-quality yoga on her island home. She decided to do something about it. 

The FMB Yoga Project was born in 2018. It provides yoga classes on Fort Myers Beach at various locations along the island.

I was first exposed to the physical practice of yoga in 1998 during graduate school. As an avid distance runner and group fitness instructor, flexibility was missing from my wellness routine. It wasn’t until 2001, after the birth of my first child, I found the true meaning of yoga and began to create a complete yoga practice. 

My initial yoga training was in Ashtanga and Hatha yoga, which led to years of teaching yoga in gyms and recreational centers. I left the university to pursue a bucket list that included spending two weeks at an Ashram for my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training under the tutelage of Shree Yogi Hari. I became a disciple of the guru and have made regular pilgrimages to the Ashram since then, completing additional training goals.  

With the onset of COVID-19, the FMB Yoga Project expanded to online/live-streamed classes. During the pandemic shutdown, these classes were streamed from the living rooms, bedrooms, and porches of staff members. Not a very good long-term solution, right? 

Enter my second yoga project, the Saba Movement Center. As studios were reopened in Florida, I was offered studio space. This fantastic space allowed me to expand class offerings and livestream from a more sustainable place. In December 2020, the Saba Movement Center moved to its current, larger location.

I take my passion for yoga and knowledge of the human body and its movement into every class, event, and workshop. I love working with beginners and individuals who do not believe that yoga is appropriate for their bodies. For me, movement is my meditation.