Our Staff

Dr. Haunani Chong Drake, [houW-nuh-nee] is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, a Licensed Acupuncturist trained at the highest level in the U.S., an international Yoga and Ayurveda educator, facilitator, and mentor, and adjunct faculty in the A.A.S Yoga Studies program at Pacific College of Health Sciences (PCHS). She is a bridge builder and connector by nature who has served her local, national, and international communities with holistic body, mind, heart, and spirit wellness for over 20 years. 

Like her path in Chinese Medicine, her journey in Yoga philosophy and practices has led her to various teachers in different lineages that have allowed her to explore existential questions while grounding theory into the body, heart, and spirit for personal and collective healing. She is certified as an Ayurveda Wellness Counselor and is a trauma-informed E-RYT500 Yoga instructor who mentors Yoga teachers and healers around the globe.  Because of her unique ability to cross-talk between East Asian Medicine and Ayurveda she is sought out by her colleagues for her unique perspective on both systems of healing and medicine. 

Haunani regularly gives workshops on topics of stress management, Yoga, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, cultural stewardship, and professional practice and ethics that integrate movement, breath, self-inquiry, neuroscience, and trauma-informed healing processes. 

Haunani is a proud mixed-Asian American raised in a Hawaiian community as a cultural practitioner, a mom of two little kiddos, and a globe-trotting military spouse to an active duty Marine Corps Infantry Officer.  As a clinician who is also involved with her state and national Acupuncture organizations, she is passionate about health equity, supporting underrepresented voices, rebelling against diet culture, and creating a model of dignity-centered medicine.  She’s not your average military spouse.  When she’s not geeking out on all things healing and medicine, you’ll find her spending time with her family in nature, traveling, connecting with her Hula Halau, finding the best ramen in town, reading, listening to podcasts, or relaxing on a surfboard.  

Haunani holds a B.A. in Sociology with honors from Whitman College (2002), a M.S. in Traditional Oriental Medicine from PCHS (2011), and completed her clinical Doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from PCHS (2023). She received her NCCAOM Diplomate of Oriental Medicine in 2011 and is board-licensed in Virginia, Michigan, and California.

[[w|jhdrake, Connect with Dr. Haunani]]

Martha was a committed public school science educator and assistant principal in Connecticut for over 31 years. She served a science and math teacher, department chair, and middle school Assistant Principal before relocating to Virginia in 2018. Trained initially as a marine biologist, Martha’s love of science drew her to explore the field of mindfulness in 2007.

Martha has completed coursework in trauma-sensitive mindfulness, mindful leadership, mindful communication, and compassionate integrity. She holds Qualified Teacher Status for UMASS Medical School’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. With mindful movement becoming an essential component of her mindfulness training, she completed 200-hour Yoga Alliance Yoga Teacher Training in 2016. In 2021, Martha completed WellCoaches Certified Health and Well-Being Coach through The National Board for Health and Wellness. Currently, Martha serves as an Adjunct Lecturer for Mindfulness Mediation at the W&M. Additionally, she offers support to students, staff, and faculty with resiliency building through varied mindfulness programming.

Martha’s passion is to support others, through mind/body awareness, as they cultivate skills to live life with enhanced wellbeing, compassion, and connection to self, others, and life. Martha believes in everyone’s innate capacity to tap into their inner compass, through awareness, as they navigate life with focus, clarity, and presence.

Cindy received her 200 RYT credentials in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga.  She had the privilege of one-on-one training with Q. Reynolds to attain her 300 RYT credential. Cindy then went on to acquire her 300 Yoga Therapy designation through Inner Peace Yoga Therapy, one of the first Yoga Therapy programs to be accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Cindy has over 5,000 hours of teaching experience as a yoga educator and yoga therapist. She is committed to maintaining her continued education in yoga therapy with a focus on Chronic Pain,  Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Functional Yoga Therapy, Cancer Mentoring, Healing our backs with yoga, and Healing Relationships. 

As the Director and founder of Shanti Garudasana Yoga School, she is committed to providing quality yoga education for students at W&M, as well as the surrounding Williamsburg community. She loves outdoor sports and most weekends she can be found with her husband on the James River sculling.  She's been married for 40 years with two grown sons and a zoo of pets.

Patti is an E- RYT 200, RYT 500, C-IAYT yoga instructor with specialty training in Yoga for Seniors from Duke Integrative Medicine, Yin Yoga, PTSD-Traumatic Stress and Therapeutic Yoga.

She obtained her Yoga Therapy Certification (an 800-hour course) from Inner Peace Yoga Therapy in Durango, Colorado under the direction of Michele Lawrence. Her emphasis is on chronic pain, cancer, depression/anxiety, addiction and grief. Patti is certified in Functional Yoga Therapy and her training and teaching exceed over 4,000 hours. She enjoys the challenge of creating group classes to suit her individual student’s needs physically, medically and spiritually as she is always utilizing the yogic principles to empower individuals to progress toward improved health and wellbeing. 

Patti, and her husband Dave, are the founders of Blooms that Brighten, Inc., a Williamsburg nonprofit dedicated to donating fresh flowers to continuing care facilities. When not practicing, teaching or attending workshops for yoga, she enjoys any time spent outdoors, especially with her husband, two daughters and four rescue dogs.