“ū4ic is such a special place, with the BEST, most welcoming teachers! The space is gorgeous (that wolf mural!) but it's Tony’s energy that really lights up this studio. You'll find people from all ages, backgrounds, and yoga levels. It's super easy to book a class and is the perfect place to relieve stress and get grounded…makes perfect sense because of the CEO Pete Todd”
Our Team
Pete Todd, CEO
Tony Todd
Tony Todd (E-RYT-500) is a multifaceted light – with a background in pharmaceutical and medical device sales, who has transformed herself into a yoga instructor, philanthropist, avid explorer and owner of ū4ic yoga. Drawing on her diverse life experiences and worldly travels, she lives each day with the goal of living a relatable and authentic life, effortlessly spreading light and love while inspiring genuine connection with those whom she encounters.
Stillness and presence are the foundations of Tony’s purpose. She practices Pranayama, Meditation, Vinyasa Flow and Manifestation to achieve her overall life vision. These fundamental and creative passions are also the essence of her instruction.
Through the Black Swan Yoga Dallas 200 Hour Teacher Training Program, Tony substantially furthered her instructional skills and she now views yoga as a medium for creating safe, genuine, connections in her community. Furthermore, Tony is the heart beat and owner of ū4ic yoga and community, on a mission to build and create the most vibrant space in Homewood-rich in knowledge, energy and so much love.
Teaching, mentoring and pouring her heart into ū4ic yoga is Tony’s absolute passion! She lives to share her unique perspective on Yoga, Breath, Stillness and overall LIFE by openly and honestly telling her story.
Sara Shedler Patterson
Sara (RYT-200) fell in love with yoga in 2014 that absolutely complimented her background in performing ballet, running track, and playing lacrosse in upstate New York. She wanted to channel her active energy into a permanent practice on the mat. Sara’s yoga journey was catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, where her vision for life became more urgent and she decided to pursue her Yoga Teacher 200 hr certification.
Sara comes from a background in exercise and health. Growing up with a disabled parent, she implemented a strong emphasis on taking care of the human body-mentally, physically and emotionally. Prior to her yoga education, Sara has worked with physically and intellectually disabled people to create exercise regimens and even led classes for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Through her practice Sara has learned that Yoga permits one to turn inward and grow from the inside out. Each posture allows us a window into our everyday lives proving to ourselves that we can endure anything that life will bring to us.
When Sara is not on the mat she enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time outdoors.
Whitney Renfroe
Whitney Renfroe has spent her entire life immersed in the arts and fitness industries. She obtained a degree in Dance Performance from Birmingham-Southern College on a merit based scholarship in 2009. Whitney enjoyed a professional career in classical ballet with Atlanta Festival Ballet and Birmingham Ballet. In 2013, she transitioned to contemporary dance. She moved to Boston, MA to dance as a company member for BoSoma Dance Company and SundanceX. During this time, she also worked as a personal trainer and took a deep dive into her personal yoga practice. She sheltered herself from the harsh winters in steamy yoga studios, falling in love with the physical and emotional benefits of yoga.
Whitney returned to Birmingham upon the birth of her first child. She later founded Formations Dance Company in 2018, with aspirations to bring professional contemporary dance to her hometown. Simultaneously, she took the plunge and completed her RY-200 teacher training under the instruction of Shannon Hancock, followed by gaining her Paddle Board Yoga instructor certification with Leisha Knight. Whitney is a level II Reiki practitioner, after studying with Reiki Master Terri Ann Heiman. She also has an appreciation for Kinstretch and FRC and maintains a regular practice with Hai Ngyuen.
Whitney enjoys finding new ways to merge her passions, cultivating flows that feel like dancing while challenging the body to find stability and strength. She also places heavy emphasis on connecting breath to movement and working intelligently within each person's own functional range of motion. Her classes are designed to ignite body + mind + spirit.
Kaleen Lavin
Kaleen (RYT-200) is excited to join the team at ū4ic! She has been practicing yoga since April 2019 and completed Yoga Teacher Training at ū4ic in December 2024. Kaleen is a trained skeletal muscle biologist, exercise physiologist, and computational biologist. She grew up in Scranton, PA and moved around for her education, landing in Birmingham for her postdoctoral training, which was completed in 2020 at the UAB Center for Exercise Medicine.
Formal training and personal experience alike have imparted Kaleen with a firm belief that exercise is medicine for body, mind, and soul, especially as we age. She has formally studied the molecular benefits of exercise in health and disease alike, and she led a research team review exploring the many benefits of physical activity across body tissues. Kaleen brings her background in muscle physiology and exercise metabolism in her approach to teaching yoga in order to maximize neuromuscular communication to facilitate long-term adaptations that promote well-being, healthspan, and quality of life.
In addition to yoga, she enjoys many other forms of exercise, including running, swimming, Pilates, and hiking. Kaleen is also strongly passionate about environmental wellness and climate health. She enjoys the practice of yoga for its spiritual benefits in bringing her in touch with the beauty of the natural world around us at all times. She is also active in the Birmingham music sphere as an amateur singer-songwriter and chorister, cantor, and rhythm guitarist at St. Francis Xavier parish. Music has always been a huge part of Kaleen’s life, and she greatly enjoys using music as a tool to weave together motion and energy in her yoga classes.
Patricia Freitag
A Michigan native, Patricia is excited to bring Michigan’s unique vinyasa style to Birmingham. Patricia has spent her entire life exploring various modalities of movements. She began her personal yoga journey by accidentally joining an advanced hot power vinyasa class and probably spent the entire class in child’s pose. However, simply connecting to her breath changed her perspective on life off of the mat, and she has been exploring her practice ever since.
She has taught yoga in a large variety of settings. From chair yoga to yoga for swimmers, her classes synthesize her experiences with her love for aerial yoga, pilates, cycling, and weight lifting. She believes that yoga is for everyone at every stage in life and works to make her classes accessible yet challenging (always encouraging child’s pose when needed!). She emphasizes connecting breath to movement and prioritizes listening to your body. Patricia hopes that you leave class having tried something new, fallen out of an asana once or twice, and having cultivated a stronger mind-body-soul connection. Her classes and mantras draw strongly from Ahimsa (the Yama representing non-violence) and urges the practice both on and off the mat, especially in how we treat ourselves.
Jennifer Ferdin
Jennifer (RYT-200) started her yoga journey in 2013 to manage chronic back pain. What started as a practice to provide some pain relief, quickly became a passion. Increased energy, better mobility and peace of mind, were just a few of the benefits that kept her coming back to the mat.
Her continued practice led her to the discovery of Yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda, which is a 5000 year old holistic approach to health. Embracing Food as Medicine, is just one of the concepts that Ayurveda uses to transform “disease to ease” in the body.
Today Jennifer continues to study and practice Ayurveda and Yoga together as a way of life. These practices have transformed her health and now fuel her passion to help others discover their own version of “wellness” no matter the season of life. She hopes to see you on the mat soon!
Jennifer’s approach to yoga is simple… she says, “keep an open mind”. Her love of Vinyasa, Hatha and Yin influence her style of teaching and you are likely to experience a fusion of all three when you take her class.
This past year she decided to formalize her studies as an Ayurveda Wellness Coach and is a graduate of U4iC’s Yoga’s YTT 200hr program.
Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, RVing, cooking, aromatherapy, live music, and especially dancing… all of which she says, "nourish her soul.”
Jessica Wood
Jessica (RYT-200) is thrilled to join the ū4ic yoga team! A Birmingham native, Jessica has been practicing yoga since March 2020, and completed the dream of Yoga Teacher Training via ū4ic yoga in December 2024. Jessica is passionate about empowering students to cultivate strength, flexibility, and a deeper sense of self-awareness and self-confidence both on and off the mat.
Coming from a background in mental health, Jessica graduated from The University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s in Psychology, and is now pursuing a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with the focus on trauma recovery. She has experienced first-hand the power of yoga, meditation, and breath work when it comes to therapeutic healing and renewal within the yoga studio and the counseling space.
When Jessica is not practicing on the mat, she might be found enjoying another form of exercise such as pilates, kickboxing, cycling, or barre. She also takes delight in spending time with family, friends, and her cats, Stevie Nicks and Mac.