Cary Yoga Collective (CYC), was founded by the owners of two former studios, Yoga-Mojo & Yoga Garden of Apex in January of 2022. We offer authentic and mindful yoga practices, teacher trainings and special events that support mind, body and spirit~ A community studio dedicated to sharing the practice of yoga ~
A true “collective” of teachers and practices that are rooted in serving our community ~ throughout the Triangle and beyond.
Yoga-Mojo and Yoga Garden, boutique and unique yoga studios, served the Triangle Area for a combined 20 years. Loretta Jo | Yoga-Mojo and Heather | Yoga Garden, met in 2021, to discuss how best to serve their local and growing yoga communities while maintaining individual roots. Discussions led to the desire to open a new and bigger space, bringing our communities together.
The name “Cary Yoga Collective” surfaced, and the Vision: To provide Yoga for All was created.
In October 2024, Loretta Jo decided to step back from operational duties to spend more time with her newly retired husband and family, and relish what she truly loves ~ creating classes, workshops and retreats in our sacred space. Discussions began with local studio owners who shared the same vision, and were dedicated to classical yoga to step in and continue our growth. We were thrilled to find and partner with Bridget Rawls Peterson, the owner of Lucky Elephant Yoga & Wellness in Apex to expand our circle of offerings and energies. We are so pleased to share the practice of yoga with all, and invite you to visit our studio and experience the magic of this ancient science with us.
RYS200, RYS300
Loretta Jo Schlatzer is the owner/founder of Yoga-Mojo, LLC, and the founder/co-owner of Cary Yoga Collective, both based in Cary NC. She is happily obsessed with exploring and sharing many different aspects of Yoga, and is a master of yoga sequencing.
At her core, Loretta Jo is a teacher – dedicated to helping students and yoga teachers to confidently and consistently experience the uplifting magic that occurs within practice – the unified mental, physical, and spiritual “mojo” that moved her to begin her own personal journey.
Pursuing her passion, she has provided 12,000+ hours of teaching and training to students, delivered deep from her heart – living and sharing her belief that yoga can be both a positive means for personal transformation, and a path to joy.
Professional, authentic, and relatable, she provides a variety of classes, trainings, educational events, workshops, and retreats in the US, abroad, and online.
Loretta Jo’s classes incorporate an abiding love of the Sanskrit language, mantras, mudras, and yoga mythology – her classes weave in symbols, themes, storytelling, and a bit of humor to enhance the practice experience.
Prior to embracing Yoga as her full-time profession, Loretta Jo gained significant interpersonal and business experience as an executive in a global technology firm.
She has a deep affinity for animals, trees, our earth, and its environment…with sincere empathy for the struggles of the humans that inhabit it, and a strong belief in the common good.
Loretta Jo is registered with Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT500, RYS200, RYS300 and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider® (YACEP)– and is a recognized Yoga Teacher Central Authorized Trainer. She completed Integrative Yoga for Seniors professional training at Duke Integrative Medicine, and is a certified Thai Yoga Bodywork Practitioner.
Heather took her first yoga class in 1995 at a local fitness club where she worked. At the time, her passion for movement stemmed from a lifelong love for dance, and she was fond of the lengthening and alignment yoga provided. Upon being asked to add yoga to the fitness classes she offered, Heather worked with a local instructor to learn some simple Hatha sequences. Soon, yoga became her favorite class to take, and she searched for a deeper understanding of the tranquility found through her physical practice. In 1998, she was trained by Triangle Yoga to teach special populations at Duke’s Diet & Fitness Center. Their vast knowledge inspired her to explore many different styles of yoga, and she began a regular home practice. In 2005, Heather took a hiatus from teaching fitness and yoga classes in order to care for aging parents and her young children. During that time, she took classes at various small studios and gyms, but truly missed her community of students. In 2012, she was ecstatic to begin renewing certifications, and discovered Dharma and the Yoga Garden in Apex. She truly loved the rich history, Holy Science and variety of styles taught through Yoga Garden’s school, and found it encompassed far more than other programs. Heather joined the staff in 2013 and continued studies with Dharma for over seven years.
Heather is a self-described yoga, anatomy and essential oils geek. “After years of teaching yoga, I yearn to expand the benefits of this ancient practice, both mentally and physically, to students everywhere. I’m passionate about sharing knowledge while continuously learning myself, and believe that each moment spent in a limb of yoga is a gift that translates off the mat to our everyday lives. It’s a privilege to share that with students, and to follow my dharma of giving back to others.” Heather lives in Cary with her husband Eddie, and has three daughters that are the light of their lives. She was truly honored and grateful when Dharma approached her to talk about transitioning The Garden into new hands, and was excited to continue offering the nurturing training and classes this community has come to love with our Collective of exceptionally trained and dedicated teachers in our expanded new space.
Heather was the owner of Yoga Garden of Apex, and is the Co-owner of Cary Yoga Collective. She is an ERYT-200, RYT-500 Yoga Alliance Teacher, and is registered as a RYS200 Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. She is also a Reiki Master, and AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor.
E-RYT 500, YACEP, Trauma Informed Teacher
Bridget Rawls Peterson, E-PRYT 500, began her yoga practice in college in North Carolina as a compliment to her dance training. She had been a technically trained dancer for her entire life and the power poses really challenged her in a way her body had never been challenged before. When she obtained her BA in Dance Education from Meredith College, she began teaching movement to people of all ages and physical abilities, incorporating many of the yoga poses she had learned into her teachings. She found a fun way to bring poses to children, a way to challenge professional dancers, and even a gentle way to bring movement to the elderly using yoga. When Bridget moved to NYC to pursue her professional dance career, she kept connected to her yoga training and began to explore more into the many styles of yoga. Bridget quickly attached herself to the Vinyasa style because of the similarity to dance it holds. It is a fluid approach to the traditional yoga poses she had begun to love. The precise attention to alignment and breath also helped her to connect deeper to movement within her performing and choreography. While choreographing and performing with a small dance company, Bridget attended the 200-hour certification program at Om Yoga Center in New York City under the direction of Cyndi Lee. While there she began to delve more into meditation and Buddhist spiritual studies as well. She also obtained her Prenatal Certification while studying at Om Yoga under Janice Clarfield and later her deeper Prenatal Training Certification under Leah Hartofelis at Breathe N Flow Yoga. Bridget also completed her 500-hour Yoga Teaching Certification at Om Yoga Center, including her Restorative and Pranayama certifications. She holds her Yin Certification through Wake-Up Yoga under the direction of Corinna Benner, her Meditation Certification through Cyndi Lee and David Nichtern and completed her Kids Yoga Certification through Karma Kids Yoga in NYC. She is also proud to be a member of United We Om, a non-profit organization, brining trauma informed yoga to underserved populations. Bridget is the owner and founder of Lucky Elephant Yoga and Wellness and a new co-owner of Cary Yoga Collective. Through her teaching she hopes to inspire her students to see the beauty and joy that is around them and within them through breath and movement.