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Ashtanga
John Campbell
John
Campbell has been a student of Sanskrit and Yoga philosophy since
1993 with a variety of teachers in India and with Vyaas Houston
in the US. In the past ten years he has been a student of Tibetan
Buddhism; his teachers include HH the Dalai Lama and Denma Lochoe
Rinpoche. He began practicing Ashtanga Yoga with Sri K. Pattabhi
Jois in Mysore sixteen years ago, receiving Guruji's AYRI Certification
in 2003.
From 2003-2004 he carried out doctoral dissertation research in Mysore, Varanasi and Dharamsala as a Fulbright Fellow, and recently completed a Ph.D. in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University under the guidance of Professors Robert A. F. Thurman and Gary Tubb.
He has been a senior instructor for the American Sanskrit Institute, and has taught courses in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Religious Studies at Columbia University, the New School and Brooklyn College. He currently teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Drew University in Madison, NJ. John is also a senior ashtanga teacher.
Mary Flinn
Mary has been teaching yoga since 1995. She began studying Mysore style Ashtanga yoga in New York 1997. In 2000 she practiced with Pattabhi Jois in NY, and continued each year until she went to AYRI in India to study with Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Rangaswami and Saraswati. She spent ten months in Mysore from October of 1995 until February of 2007. In January of 2007 she was authorized to teach Ashtanga Yoga from Pattabhi Jois and the AYRI. While in India she studied yoga philosophy and pranayama with Shankaranarayan Jois. Along with her Ashtanga practices she has studied Kundalini and White Tantric yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. In 1997 she studied yoga at ‘The Divine Life Society- Sivananda’ in Rishikesh India, and received a certificate to teach from Swami Madhavananda and Swami Krishna.
Mary has an MFA from Queens College in NY. She has had numerous one Woman art exhibitions in NY, as well as shows in Maryland, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Mary has been a model for Dorlin Kinersly books “Kundalini Yoga” and “Kiss Yoga” by Shakti Kaur. She was featured in the article “Mary’s Loft” by Trish Dalton in Ascent Magazine in the fall 2001 issue. She directed and co-directed teacher training programs in NYC in 2003-5. She has lead national and international workshops in Tokyo, Canada, and Costa Rica.
Mary teaches Ashtanga in the light of her Guru Shri K Pattabhi Jois.
Olivia Martinez
Olivia is the former director of Zohar Yoga Center in Mexico. Completed her teacher training at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City in 1998 and has since devoted herself to the study of Ashtanga yoga. Over the years, she has travelled to Mysore to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy as well as apprenticing with Guy Donahaye, Director of the Ashtanga Yoga Shala in New York City for two years. While living and teaching in New York City, she taught a series of private lessons with many advanced practitioners, including celebrity trumpet player Chris Botti (She was recently on tour with him). Olivia is the first authorized ashtanga yoga teacher in Mexico. Teaching yoga is her calling in life and is grateful for the opportunity to spend her life in service.
Kristen Stanley
Bio coming soon...
Lori Zatz
Lori has been part of the Philadelphia yoga community for 10 years. She began practicing yoga in Washington State in the early 1990's, took her first teacher training in Philadelphia with David Newman in 1999, and began teaching shortly thereafter. It was by accident that Lori discovered Ashtanga yoga in 2000 -- right away she knew it was the practice for her. Lori has studied extensively with Beryl Bender Birch, David Swenson, Manju Jois, Dee Silvers and Eric Powell; she is grateful for all of her teachers, both on and off the mat who have helped her blossom into the person and teacher she is today. Lori sees her yoga practice as a good friend, a guidepost as she travels along her spiritual path of awakening; it's been one constant in a world of change. Lori also works with individuals and groups as a breathwork facilitator and licensed psychotherapist.
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Iyengar
Caroline Cahill
Caroline Cahill began studying Iyengar yoga in 1991 with her primary teacher, Joan White, and has taught since 1996. She has completed intensive Teacher Training with Joan White and has also taken numerous workshops with other senior level Iyengar instructors, such as Mira Mehta and John Schumacher, and participated in the Yoga Journal Convention with BKS Iyengar in 2005.
Caroline received a bachelor’s degree in painting and art history, and spent over ten years working at the University of Pennsylvania as the administrative coordinator for a large graduate program. It was while working at Penn that she first discovered the benefits of Iyengar yoga in classes with Joan White. For Caroline, Iyengar yoga provided a gradual physical transformation that lead to a much deeper personal transformation, as well as an intense devotion to the discipline, and a desire to share of benefits of Iyengar yoga with others through teaching.
Caroline has taught Iyengar yoga at the University of Pennsylvania since 1997, and at other locations both public and private throughout the Philadelphia area. Since leaving her administrative job in 1998, she has had two children while continuing with her study, practice and teaching.
Caroline teaches with a great amount of compassion for her students, and strives to help students to discover that Iyengar yoga is primarily about awareness, awareness of the specific movements of the body and the breath, as well as awareness of the alignment that underlies each posture. It is through awareness and attention that students can achieve a sense of grace in the pose, and begin to understand how Iyengar yoga can discipline and transform not only the body, but the mind.
Robin Lowry
Robin has been studying Iyengar Yoga exclusively since 1986, and with Joan White since 1987. She has studied with the Iyengars in Pune several times, and has taken many workshops and Teacher Training courses with Senior Iyengar Teachers.
Robin's teaching follows the Iyengar Teacher Training and Assessment method designed and continuously refined by BKS Iyengar. She has received certification at the Jr. Intermediate 1 level in this system and is perpetually preparing for the next level of certification.
Helena Dobromilska
Helena Dobromilska is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher who has been teaching since 1995 in the Art Museum area of Philadelphia where she resides. Since 1991, she has studied continuously as a practitioner of Iyengar yoga under Joan White, Director of the BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Central Philadelphia. She has been a continuous participant in the yoga teacher training conducted by Joan White since 1994. She believes in the transformative process of yoga in mind, body, and spirit and looks to convey this experience through her teaching
Jill Jones
Jill began to study yoga in the Iyengar tradition in 1994 with her primary teacher, Joan White. The Iyengar method’s emphasis on inward focus through detailed alignment in each asana, what B.K.S. Iyengar refers to as meditation in action, is what immediately captivated Jill’s interest in yoga and she has remained a dedicated student of this method ever since. Jill began to teach in 2002, after being reminded by a senior teacher of the importance of giving back to the community. Teaching has become an essential part of the learning process and practice for Jill. Her goal in teaching is to pass on the tradition as faithfully and passionately as possible and to help spark passion for the subject of yoga & self-study in others. Jill continues to train under Joan, as well as with other senior Iyengar teachers as frequently as time and funds will allow. Jill is an Introductory certified Iyengar teacher.
Russ Taylor
Russ Taylor is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher. He has been practicing Iyengar Yoga for over 30 years and has been teaching for 15 years. He has studied in India with the Iyengars on 5 separate occasions. On one of his trips there, he studied for 11 consecutive months. He was also formally trained in the US in the physical therapy profession. His teaching is strongly influenced by Manouso Manos, who he apprenticed with for 7 years.
Liz Templeton (on leave)
Elizabeth Templeton is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher. For the past six years she has taught in a variety of yoga venues including Temple University and private studios in Fishtown and Old City. Elizabeth’s primary teacher is Joan White with whom she has had the privilege of studying since 1993. Elizabeth has also studied yoga with the Iyengar family in Pune, India for a month in 2005, and with Sri Rudra Dev on the banks of Ganges in Rishikesh for a month in 2001. In addition to her devoted yoga practice, Elizabeth holds a Master’s degree in Dance/Movement therapy and Doctorate in Dance Education. She is an adjunct faculty member at Temple and Drexel Universities.
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Hatha/Vinyasa
Lisa Grunberger, Co-Director Vinyasa Department
Lisa Grunberger was first exposed to yoga as a child by her babysitter, an accomplished yogini and professional flutist. She deepened her studies of Eastern Religions at the University of Rochester where she majored in Religious Studies and studied Hinduism and Buddhism with Douglas Brooks, who currently directs the philosophy component of John Friend’s Anusara Yoga. In 2003, she deepened her yoga practice through her Sivananda training in the Bahamas. She is prenatal certified and has taught yoga for children as well.
Lisa went on to earn her doctorate in Religious Studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She has taught Comparative Religions and Literature at Hofstra University, Parsons The New School for Design and John Jay College for Criminal Justice. She currently teaches writing and literature at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Lisa teaches a vigorous, but gentle vinyasa yoga class which challenges students to be fully mindful in each asana. She views yoga as a dance between body, mind and breath that can return us to ourselves each time we come to the mat with an open heart and good intention.
Inspired by Buddhism, poetry and Western philosophy, her teaching has also been enriched by the classes she has taken from such teachers as Alicen West, Shiva Rea, Mark Whitwell and Rolf Gates.
She is thrilled to share that her humor/gift book, Yiddish Yoga: Ruthy’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Position will be published by New Market Press in the Spring of 2009.
Kelly Smith, Co-Director Vinyasa Department
Kelly's journey in yoga began as a desire to change direction in life. Like many yoga practioners, her yoga practice began as a search for peace and health, and over time evolved into a way of life and source of love. Kelly's dedication to teaching yoga is an extension of her commitment to her practice as well as a response to a call for peace and health among people today. Kelly is the founder of Inner Bliss Yoga Center, a welcoming center established to provide a safe, nurturing and empowering place for anyone seeking physical, mental or spiritual health.
An experienced Yoga and Pilates instructor, Kelly was recognized twice in 2005 by Philadelphia Magazine as one of the best in the city for both Yoga and Pilates instruction. Her studies include multiple trainings in Shiva Rea's fluent and powerful Vinyasa method, the freedom of Angela Farmer's intuitive approach to yoga, and weekly classes with Joan White, a senior Iyengar teacher living in Philadelphia. Kelly has completed trainings is many areas of special interest including prenatal yoga, yoga for scoliosis and yoga therapy.
Kelly also studies Indian Ayurveda holistic nutrition, and is informed by 18 years of dance experience. She recently began Martial Arts training. She holds a BA in Psychology from Villanova University and has taken many post-graduate courses in the areas of psychology and kinesiology.
The style of yoga Kelly teaches is challenging and nurturing; incorporating yoga philosophy and knowledge of the physical and subtle body. After 7 years of teaching yoga, Kelly believes this blend of balanced yoga will guide students toward a deep experience of yoga on many levels.
Jillian Bird
Jillian Bird has been studying Hatha yoga since 1992 and has been teaching since 2003. Her primary influences have been teachers Deva Parnell, Shoban Richard Faulds, Megha Nancy Buttenheim, Sudhir Jonathan Faust and the many others of the Kripalu community.
In addition to teaching Kripalu yoga Jillian is currently practicing as a holistic health counselor, utilizing various forms of massage, nutrition counseling and such mindfulness based methods as meditation and yoga to support an individual to reach their health and lifestyle goals.
Jillian's background in dance and the performing arts inform her teaching style which focuses greatly on alignment and the joy of the moving body. Jillian believes the answers for ones personal transformation lie within. Her classes aim to create a supportive and safe environment wherein everyone can create their perfect practice, align with the universe and feel greater joy and connection in their lives.
Galit Carthy
Practicing yoga on her own since 1997 (guided by a book by BKS Iyengar), Galit began her formal study of yoga with David Newman at Yoga on Main in Manayunk, where she completed teacher’s training program focusing on the spiritual and devotional aspects of yoga. In 2003, after completing the teacher’s training program with Corina Benner at Wake Up Yoga, she began her teaching journey.
Since 2003 Galit has focused her practice and study of the Iyengar system mainly with Joan White and other Iyengar teachers such as Kofi Busia.
Inspired by her various teachers, Galit’s approach to yoga teaching encourages attentiveness to alignment and precision through which students cultivate mindfulness in their practice, hopefully carried off the mat and into life.
Galit holds a master degree in Art History; she graduated from Wharton Management Program and is also trained as a professional Chef (now happily cooking for her friends and family).
Nora Drummond
Nora Drummond began practicing yoga in earnest in 2001, and has been teaching full time since 2004. Her initial 200 hour teacher training was under the tutelage of Yogiraj Alan Finger at BeYoga (now YogaWorks) in NYC. She has also been greatly influenced and inspired by her studies with Rod Stryker, A.G. and Indra Mohan, and Twee Merrigan.
Nora's yogic path began while attending the North Carolina School of The Arts as a ballet major. When an injury forced her out of the dance studio one of her teachers introduced her to a few yoga poses. The practice which at first felt awkward and a little silly, became a refuge of healing for both an injured body and an anxious mind. After graduation she moved to New York City, and found her heart leading her up four flights of stairs to Alan Finger's yoga class. The rest, as they say, is history.
Upon moving to Philadelphia in 2005 she has taught extensively throughout the city. She has also created and implemented a 200 hour teacher training course that has graduated 15 yoga teachers to date, all of which have taught or are currently teaching in Philadelphia.
Nora went back to NYC to complete a Pre-Natal Yoga Training at YogaWorks, and is also a trained Doula. In her prenatal classes she creates a nurturing and fun atmosphere for woman to explore not only the changes in their bodies, but also the changes in their lives.
Terry Ann Haggins
Bio coming soon...
Katy Hawkins
Katy Hawkins took her first yoga class in 2002 when pregnant with her first child. She continued to study Vinyasa yoga in New York City until relocating to Philadelphia in 2006, where her primary influences have been Jill Manning, Corina Benner, and Sophie Simpson. She did her teacher training at Wake Up Yoga.
While completing a Ph.D in Comparative Literature at New York University, Katy’s academic work began to take on a yogic flavor. Her dissertation came to focus on how “Eastern” frameworks, especially Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist influences, appear in several contemporary American studies of illness.
Katy studied modern dance from the age of four. In addition to collaborative performances with members of Martha Graham, José Limon, Mary Anthony, and Bill T. Jones companies, she has performed solo at several New York venues, most recently a sequence of yoga poems set to movement and cello.
The two real keys to her soul and sanity are her partner Dan and a daily meditation practice that has guided her through the wild and rugged wilderness of stay-at-home motherhood.
Her teaching style is a Vinyasa flow (with Ashtanga and Iyengar influences) colored by her keen interest in mindfulness practices.
Don Maiorano
Don Maiorano has studied Classical Hatha Yoga since 1982 with Dr. Pratop at Sky Foundation Yoga School in Philadelphia.
He has been teaching since 1994 in Philadelphia. Don takes a gentle approach while teaching the asanas insisting you hold them for as long as you feel comfortable. The benefits of each asana are explained as well. Pranayama techniques are not ignored in his class.
As well as teaching Yoga, Don is a certified public school teacher in Philadelphia.
Penelope Armstead-Williams
Penelope began practicing yoga as a way to stretch, strengthen, and soothe her body as she trained as a modern dancer. She earned her BFA in Dance and Economics from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she also studied Vinyasa Hatha Yoga under TaraMarie Perri, and Anusara Yoga under Deidre Smith. She earned her certification in the Baptiste Power Yoga style under the tutelage of Bill Raup in Philadelphia. Penelope's class focuses on grounding and stretching of the mind and body together, moving at an organic rhythm while focusing on proper alignment and mindful transitions. She is honored to be able to work with her fellow yogis to find the light and purpose in each of their practices.
Penelope's love of yoga also stems from her love of dance, which brought her to Philadelphia in 2007 to join Philadanco! (The Philadelphia Dance Company), with which she tours as a performing member. She is thankful for this transition and the beautiful opportunities it has given her to share her passions with others. Namaste
Chae Hui Yang
Chae Hui Yang has been practicing yoga since 2001. In September of 2005, she decided to dedicate her life to studying and sharing yoga. This lead to her first teacher Training with Shiva Rea then moving to Central America for 17 months to immerse herself in studying, teaching and Living yoga. She has completed an advanced Teacher Training with Shiva Rea in Prana Flow who she had the honor of assisting in India in March of 2009. Chae’s other studies include Kundalini with Gurmukh, Iyengar with Joan White, Bikram, Ashtanga, Thai Massage and workshops with Simon Park, Sean Corn, Yogeswari, Duncan Wong.
Chae and her father immigrated to Philadelphia from Seoul, Korea in 1975 . Chae has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Philadelphia University in Fashion Design. Over the last two decades, she has sold her clothing and accessories to private clients, local boutiques and galleries and was part owner of a catering and specialty foods market for ten years.
Chae is dedicated to serving the community through yoga. She leads benefit classes that raise funding to purchase garments for homeless shelters in Central Philadelphia. Chae’s other great interest is in Ayurvedic studies, a sister science of yoga.
As a river guide of yoga, Chae integrates the mirroring of life in our yoga practice in mind and body. She offers challenges with compassion and warmth to serve her students.
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Kundalini
Sati Rose Yogeshwari
Sati Rose Yogeshwari is one of Philadelphia's brightest yoga teachers. She has been alive with escoteric and mystical curiosity since her early life. First schooled in Yoga as a child by her mother who was a mystic Sati was on the path in early adolescence. Her journey led her to many incredible mystical experiences, and teaching was the next level. She became inititated into the Hatha Yoga tradition by David Newman at Yoga on Main with 200 hours of training in 2000 and began teaching Hatha Yoga right away. Following her schooling/teaching in Hatha Yoga, she then went on to become initiated into the Kundalini Yoga tradition (as taught by Yogi Bhajan) and taught by Sada Sat Singh and Kaur in 2003. She is a Yoga Alliance certified and insured instructor (RYT 500). She is a member of The International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association (IKYTA 200). Sati has lived and worked at The Himalayan Institute one of the most respected Yoga associations here in the United States. Sati received her spirit name 'Sati' meaning 'selfless devotion' from her beloved Guru Ammachi while living in India. She received the name 'Yogeshwari' after being initiated into the shakti tradition of Yoga by Bhagacan Das.
Sati has completed certifications in Rebirthing Breathwork, and energy work (Reiki I & II). She has assisted and observed several world renound body workers and chiropractors. She is certified to provide Vedic Thai Body Work as taught by The Vedic Conservatory. Sati has been schooled under several specialty chefs and leans toward a RAW Vegan diet. Sati is also schooled in Cognitive based Psychology through Saint Joseph's University, she plans to complete her MSW in the next several years.
Sati during her training in mysticism acted as a Marketing and Sales executive. She has assisted several small businesses in their growth. She is an excellent public speaker and is currently in the process of developing her speaking resume.
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Management & Staff
Lisa Bridge, Managing Director
Lisa was one of the first hires at Yoga Sutra (New York) when it opened its doors in October, 2004. She began as an Assistant Manager and was quickly promoted to Manager, Administrative Director, Director of Operations, and now Managing Director of both studios. Lisa has been integrally involved in helping with the growth and structure of the center. She oversees the entire managerial staff, daily operations of the center, marketing and promotion and is a key programming director for both schools.
Lisa moved to New York in 1998 after graduating from Purdue University with a B.A. in Creative Writing. She worked in advertising and publishing for three years before entering the NYC Teaching Fellows Program. While earning her M.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Bank Street College, Lisa taught third grade in Central Harlem. There, she developed programming to bring yoga to at-risk students, later utilizing a National Americorps Scholarship to complete her certification in Vinyasa yoga. While working at Yoga Sutra, she ran an after-school yoga program under a Red Cross 9-11 Grant, serving over ninety students a week.
Lisa graduates with a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University in the Spring of 2010. She also still rocks it out with 14 Lines, an alternative rock band in New York City.
Ivy Glass, Operations & PR Director
Bio coming soon...
Katy Ambrose, Senior Director
Bio coming soon...
John Jarboe, Senior Director
John Jarboe is an actor/singer/dancer/director living in Philadelphia. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Theatre Performance and a BA in English. He is currently auditioning in the Philly and New York areas. He is thrilled to be a part of the Yoga Sutra team.
Lauren Cawley
Bio coming soon...
Han Meadway
Bio coming soon...
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