“You only have to let the soft animal of your body. love what it loves.”

Four women standing together, smiling and laughing in front of a brown background.

Hello, we are playful heart studio, an accessible place to join together in reverence for our beloved bodies. We want you to be you, feel good in your skin, learn a thing or two, and cultivate joy as a community.

A woman practicing yoga in a studio, resting her head on a folded towel on a chair, with a yoga mat and bolster on the wooden floor.

  • Noelle is a yoga therapist/wellness coach, floral designer, and performance artist. She grew up in Boone doing community theater and dance. Her first yoga class was at age 6 with her father, who practiced energy healing + sound therapy. She began teaching Iyengar-inspired yoga in 2009 and became an internationally certified yoga therapist in 2017 (over 1200 hrs of training and 2000 classes taught) She continues to study and practice accessible alignment-based, therapeutic yoga, somatic therapy, movement, performance, story telling, and song as tools to healing. As a back care specialist, living with scoliosis, she has a deep understanding, and ample experience helping others through chronic pain of all kind in their bodies. Noelle performs as a musician in the band, “The mountain whistles,” and as a solo singer and rhythmn dancer, Petals the clown, and in professional theater productions with her family. She fell in love with floral art in her grandma’s garden and grandfathers japanese maple nursery. She then honed her skills at Mast Farm Inn and freelanced with local event florists in the Banner Elk area. She deeply loves working with natural elements to create works of art for special events that evoke a sense of calm, creativity, and play in your heart.

A woman with long white hair wearing glasses and a colorful knitted sweater standing against a brown background.

  • Alena is an experienced and certified qigong, taijiquan, yoga instructor and sound therapist. She excels at teaching mindful, safe and intelligent movement to all ages and fitness levels. Her lifelong interest in health, fitness and well-being are woven together to form creative, dynamic and inspirational class experiences. She has over 45 years of experience in movement arts and holistic studies as an educator and enthusiast.

A person in a light-colored shirt stands indoors by a large window with orange flowers in a vase on the windowsill. A floor lamp provides warm light in the background.

  • Chelsea has been practicing yoga since 2009. She is certified and registered as a 500 E-RYT with 12 years of combined teaching experience in Florida, Peru and Western North Carolina. Trained in Vinyasa and Hatha styles with a self developed affinity for the depth of Yin, she loves combining styles both in personal practice and shared instruction for a balance of fluidity and creative self expression.

A young woman with long brown hair smiling, wearing a teal sweater, posed against a dark brown background.

  • Sabrina has been a practitioner and teacher of yoga since 2016. She expanded her depth of understanding by becoming a Licensed Bodywork Therapist in 2024. Breath is an essential component of Sabrina’s approach to movement, and she loves to offer an approachable experience focusing on the fundamentals of alignment.