Jean Massimo - Anusara Inspired
I have had many wonderful and inspiring teachers whose voices are echoed in my practice and my teaching. I would like to extend gratitude to Ganga White and Tracy Rich of the White Lotus Foundation with whom I received my first teacher training and certification. I am currently an Anusara Inspired instructor and am working toward full certification.
In my classes I will quest to help you fully reach optimal alignment and explore the potential of your practice. Come in and find strength, focus and fluidity.
Tricia Pleasant - Forrest Yoga
(www.triciavilleyoga.com)
Recognize gifts that are in our lives… not just physical, but talents, energies, and experiences that make our spirit shine. Experiences that teach us compassion. People that teach us about love and trust. Events that seem so horrible when they happen, but they lead to an event so amazing you’re filled with gratitude for being in that moment, but, without the first event the second would not have happened. Or if it did happen, the heart of the sweetness of what is that moment would never have been so intense.
We all have paths that we walk, all have our good, and (what we inside consider) bad. But without the bad there would be no good, without down, there would be no up, without bitter… no sweet. It would all just be uneventful and the same. Its taken years of searching and finding who I am, years of physical pain from endometriosis and scoliosis, emotional pain from not following my inner guidance and not walking the path that was true to my spirit, to finally find yoga. I realized very quickly that yoga was going to become a huge part of my healing and I became a Yoga Instructor and Reiki practitioner so I could in turn pass those healing benefits on to my students, family, friends, my teachers and loved ones…… thinking about it…. they are all one in the same. Teaching has been a true gift in my life. As I am teaching, I learn so much from each individual. All of these experiences, teaching me as I transition every moment into who I will eventually become, because, I am a work in progress.
I am truly blessed to be living fully in this life, walking through it in awareness and gratitude for all its gifts. My beautiful kids, my amazing and loving partner in life, a mom that is so supportive and siblings that I wouldn’t trade for anything…. even if I could, and friends that are truly beautiful.
If my life starts to feel stressed and my thoughts clouded and down, I step on to the mat and through the practice of yoga (it is truly a ‘practice’) I can center, refocus, regroup and regain clarity of what truly matters in my life and what I really want to be doing. I love being a mother, a partner, daughter, sister, friend, teacher, and healer. It is who I am; it is the path I walk. A path that is so clear that I wonder sometimes what took me so long to get here, loving every moment.
Susan Roser - Anusara Inspired
My Yoga career began over 8 years ago. I stumbled upon a Bikram class which I took religiously twice a week. In a short time, I began to feel positive changes mostly on a physical level. It felt wonderful, but after a while, I became weary of the repetitive nature of the class. Something inside me longed for more. Fortunately, I found a unique style of “Power Yoga” taught by Brian Bales, the former owner of Yoga House of Bellevue. I quickly fell in love with this new style. His classes addressed more fully all parts of the body. Even more exciting, his teaching more fully addressed the mind and spirit too. I found it all to be quite nurturing and heart opening. From this launching point, I eagerly studied with Ana Forrest, Rod Stryker and Erich Schiffman. My practice deepened even more.
Then, the most pivotal event in my Yoga career came a little over 6 years ago. It was the day I met John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga. John’s personal style, brilliance, and bright heart endeared me to him immediately. After many workshops with John, my practice transformed. I learned about the Universal Principles of Alignment and I suddenly found my asana practice to be much more enjoyable and free. In addition, my practices became an elegant expression of my deepest passions. For once, I felt like Yoga was my own.
Currently, I am an “Anusara Inspired Instructor”. Inspired is a good word. As I approach the mat, I affirm the goodness within myself, the world around me, and in all of my students. It is my clear intention to assist students in their health and wellness on all levels. In my classes, you will ideally, and at your own pace, increase muscle strength, flexibility, hone better balance, increase circulation and oxygenation, and most importantly, touch down a deep sense of worthiness, self honor and interconnectedness to all of life. I respect the individuality, limitations and strengths of each and every student and I encourage all students to learn and grow within their ability and stage of readiness. It is my hope that students leave my class with a sense of calm awareness and joy that will continue to infuse their lives even off the mat. As John says, “Let’s make today a better day!”
Andrea C. Skelly - YREC Certified
PhD, MPH
On a winter’s day almost a decade ago, the decision to “drop in and try” a Yoga class started Andrea on a path that continues to evolve her life to combine ancient wisdom and well-being practices with science. She consistently reaffirms that a day without Yoga is like a day without sunshine!
Stress management and self-discovery have become the primary focus of her teaching. By guiding students through gentle movement and restorative Yoga postures and the basic aspects of Yoga practice, they discover healthy ways of reducing stress and enhancing well-being. Personal experience with and dissertation work on stress, coping and connections between the mind and disease, have led her to reaffirm the immense value of and need for gentle and restorative Yoga as well as the practice of Yoga Nidra. Andrea loves sharing these practices and teaching/reaffirming the basics via her Level I class.
Andrea earned her certification as a Yoga instructor via the Yoga Research and Education Center (YREC) program under the direction of Georg Feuerstein, PhD, world-renowned expert on Yoga history, philosophical and spiritual tenets of traditional Yoga. The asana part of the program included instruction by internationally respected teachers such as John Friend, Patricia Walden, Janice Gates, Frank Jude Boccio and Judith Hanson-Lasater (to many, the “Queen” of restorative Yoga), among others. In addition, she continues to train with nationally known and respected Anusara Yoga instructors, (some of whom are in the Northwest!), as well as with local and internationally known Yoga instructors from other traditions. While her teaching is primarily influenced by the philosophies and principles of Anusara, she incorporates the tools from many traditions and is grateful to all of her teachers, particularly her students!
Andrea combines her Yogic path with training in ancient Hawaiian Huna, health coaching and hypnosis as well as her education as a scientist (epidemiologist) to assist people with their journeys.
Tara Barry - Forrest Yoga
(www.tarayogini.com)
Melanie Foust, LMP - Shiva Rea trained
www.joyofmassage.net
Melanie Foust, LMP is a spirited, attentive, and playful teacher. She is inspired by Shiva Rea, who introduced her to her true love- the style known as Prana Flow Vinyasa. Also near to her heart is AcroYoga, a blend of therapeutic partner yoga, acrobatics, and Thai Yoga Massage, which she blends into her bodywork sessions. In her classes, you will find alignment through movement and liberate your body through pulsation, finding a true joy of being in your body! You will also feel the serene peace of stillness, enjoy hands-on enhancements, and explore new connections to all of the asanas.
Melanie’s yogic journey began early on in life, inspired by her mother, a yoga practitioner who left a mysterious paperback book about yoga on the living room bookshelf. While awed by this book, Melanie was not officially introduced to yoga Vinyasa until college as a part of her modern dance training. She spent her early years through her teens training professionally in ballet, tap, and jazz. In college she moved on to modern dance, salsa, Afro-Brazilian dance, and also started playing capoeira, a Brazilian art form incorporating dance, music, and acrobatics into martial sport. Post-college, she took up yoga classes and trained in a variety of styles (Bikram, Hot Power Vinyasa, Baptiste, Jivamukti, and Forrest Yoga to name a few) and knew that she was on her way to a career teaching yoga. Originally drawn to yoga as a way to help her cope with scoliosis, she soon began to realize that yoga, like bodywork, could dissolve all sorts of limitations and lead to a joyous way of being!
In addition to giving Thai Yoga Massage sessions, teaching classes & giving private yoga sessions, Melanie also works with the dancers of Pacific Northwest Ballet. She is highly skilled in massage treatment work and injury recovery and graduated from the top-notch Brian Utting School of Massage in Seattle, WA. She holds a BA from the University of Washington and lives in a pack with her husband and two gorgeous dogs in Redmond. She continually lives yoga on & off the mat is often found dancing or enjoying spontaneous yoga asanas!
Sosie Sagherian - Kundalini
(http://sosieji.com/ - Sosie's blog)
I have been practicing Kundalini yoga for over 12 years and fell in love with it within my first few classes. It has transformed my life in ways that would not have been possible otherwise. Many times I was blessed to be able to sit at the feet of Yogi Bhajan, the Master of Kundalini and experienced his lectures and workshops. I then began to understand the vastness of our being. That we are all connected and once I made that connection, my life began a remarkable shift in awareness and consciousness.
In Kundalini Yoga we begin to experience our true identity and universal connection through a dynamic blend of postures, pranayama, mantra, music and meditation, which lead you the art of relaxation, self-healing and elevation. Balancing body and mind has enabled me to experience the clarity and beauty of our souls.
I now live in Washington but spent most of my life on Boston. Boston still has a strong pull for me, though I have embraced the natural beauty of the Northwest. I’m married and have two teenage boys and teach Kundalini Yoga. I also do a fair amount of community work mostly centered around teens and the arts.
I’ve done many things in this life, architect by trade, having practiced for 13 years, advertising sales for a wonderful quarterly holistic magazine “Sprint of Change” which guided me on my spiritual path. I opened a artist co-operative gallery both on the east coast and the west and explored my own creative process. I am now truly blessed to be a teaching Kundalini Yoga here in the northwest.
Barbara Krauss - Nia
Barbara Krauss discovered Nia on a chilly October morning hoping it would be the answer to what would give 'new life' and inspiration to her mundane workouts. Four months later she became a Certified White Belt Nia Instructor. For Barbara, the practice of Nia is one of shaping of self; a holistic approach to the wellness and nurturing of the body, mind, emotions and spirit. As an artist, writer and now a dancer and teacher, Barbara has found her way to integrate her creative journey through the dance of life.
Irene Pasternack - Nia
After spending way too many years glued to my computer at work and to my car driving my family around, I noticed I had a body when a herniated disc in my back shouted so loudly I had to stop to listen. A friend introduced me to the Feldenkrais method, which thankfully put me on the path to healing by teaching me how to listen and respond to more subtle cues. But then the true joy started, as I realized not only could I return to how I was before my injury, but actually expand what was possible. So at 45, life opened up to all sorts of new types of fun.
Two years ago I decided to switch directions, and start sharing what I was learning. I started a 4-year training program to become a Feldenkrais practitioner, and also started teaching inline skating and partner dancing. My goal in teaching is to help others explore the question "What would life be like if I could move more easily...?" This is more than a physical question: in my classes we'll use movement to expand the possibilities of what might happen if our movement and behavior habits become more flexible.
In 2007, I took my first Nia class, and was immediately hooked on the playfulness, sensuality, and just plain fun. Within a few weeks, the joy of being part of a community of people who were living fully and enjoying their lives added a new dimension to the dance. Then, the pounds started dropping, and I began feeling more powerful, sensual, and energetic. I'm excited to join the community at Village Green Yoga, and to share the twin joys of Nia and discovering more ease in life.
For more information on my Nia, movement, inline skating, and swing dance classes, see www.whatmoves.us.
Nancy Sides - Qi Gong
For the past 6 years she has studied with Dr. Liu Dong and Master Liu He. Their Ling Gui Healing Qigong School features the Liu family qigong forms, classical qigong forms and Qigong TuiNa and Qi healing. In the spring of 2007 she traveled with Dr. Liu, taking a group of students for an intensive study of qigong in Buddhist and Taoist monasteries in China.
Qigong has become an integral part of Nancy’s life. She finds it brings balance to life’s numerous demands and activities. Through her journey of studying with several lineages, she is able to bring to her students a broad perspective of how we as westerners can integrate these practices into our lives.
Nancy lives in Issaquah and also works as a Certified Reflexologist and Licensed Massage Practitioner.
look for more QiGong with Nancy in the Fall