Whitney Allen is a celebrated senior teacher at YogaWorks in Los Angeles, where she has been teaching yoga full-time for over a decade. Whitney is known for her popular, well-sequenced Vinyasa Flow classes delivered with intelligence and creativity as well as a strength and intensity that stems from years of focused study and teaching experience. Musical elements from her successful Broadway singing career can be found in class and eclectic songs strongly influence the mood of her challenging classes, which are taught with an element of lightness and humor. You can find her class schedule at yogaworks.com

After an intense ten day Vipassana meditation retreat, she left her Broadway career, moved to LA and started on her new path which included completing basic and advanced teacher training. Whitney has studied with Iyengar Master Teacher Lisa Walford and became certified in the YogaWorks E-RYTT professional program. During her first years in LA Whitney also assisted and studied extensively with Shiva Rea, Vinnie Marino and Hala Khouri. She is originally from Chicago.

I first stepped onto the yoga mat in 1998 at my health club. However, it wasn’t until 2001 that I developed a dedicated yoga practice when, thanks to a persistent friend, I stepped back onto my mat at a studio with an inspiring teacher. I came to yoga looking for a “physical” workout but found so much more in the emotional, mental and spiritual “side-effects.” In 2004, I completed my Hatha Yoga Teaching Training Certification with Chicago Yoga Center Founder Suddha Weixler. I continue to deepen and expand my knowledge by participating in teacher trainings and workshops. I have also studied with Mac McHugh, John Friend, Rolf Gates, Manju Jois, Martin & Jordan Kirk, Amy Ippoliti, Noah Maze and Desiree Rumbaugh, just to name a few. I will be forever grateful to my “persistent friend” and all the inspiring teachers and students with whom I have had the opportunity to study and practice. Whether I’m teaching Niyama Hot Yoga™, Gentle Yoga, or Vinyasa Flow, my main focus is each student’s personal growth and experience of their essence while keeping them safe on their mat with alignment cues (based on the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment). When I’m not teaching yoga I’m massaging. I have my own private practice (massage & private yoga instruction) at WellSpring Integrative Medicine located downtown Evanston, since 2002. I have been studying and practicing Shiatsu since 1999; completed over 700 hours of training and am certified from the Ohashiatsu Institute in New York, NY/Evanston, IL, Soma Veda Thai Yoga Massage, Flying Shiatsu, Lymphatic Drainage, Hot Stone Massage Therapy and Reiki.

My hearts intention is helping people heal through massage and yoga instruction. I integrate many techniques in a holistic approach to ensure the receiver is able to gain access to their own inner healing ability in order to obtain a deeper connection within their body, mind & spirit. I not only listen to what my clients/students are saying but also to what their body’s are communicating and meet them exactly where they are in growth and development with compassion, encouragement and reverence.

Anna first discovered yoga at 9 years old, doing yoga with her mom out of a book they found at the library. Through the years, she has experienced yoga in many different forms, but created a lasting sadhana and fell in love with the creative, fluid, and vigorous hatha vinyasa practice she discovered in New York and the Laughing Lotus Yoga Center. Anna received her teacher training in 2005 at Laughing Lotus in New York City, under the wise direction of Dana Flynn and Jasmine Tarkeshi, whose passion, knowledge, discipline, and sense of fun she is grateful to have shared and been inspired by. To allow the beauty of yoga to translate off the mat, into the world, Anna emphasizes a strong sense of intention, and weaves music, meditation, and creative movement into a practice that is accessible to anyone, and is always lots of fun.

Anna is an amazingly creative, unique and inventive instructor with a deeply authentic and sincere commitment to the practice. Her classes are vigorous and inspiring. Come prepared to sweat and move like you never have before, and if she’s in the mood, she may share her beautiful gift for singing in sanskrit which is a svasana treat like no other.

I began a devoted yoga practice in 1998, primarily as a change of pace to my usual workout routine. At first, I struggled with most aspects of the practice, particularly quieting the mind, letting go and achieving a fluid breath. But persistence was my friend and over time I learned to incorporate the breathing with the movement, as well as the stillness. This opened the door for my passionate connection with the practice. Yoga began to help me alter my physical body, my perspective and connection to the world.

As my practiced deepened, I felt compelled to share my love of yoga with others, which prompted me to complete my Yoga Alliance teaching certification in 2004. I am forever a dedicated student of yoga, taking every advantage of workshops and conferences with master teachers such as Erich Schiffmann, Shiva Rea, Rodney Yee, to name a few.

I believe that every yoga practice offers the opportunity to reach new levels of awareness, physically and spiritually. I encourage my students to find their own edge with gentleness and compassion. My intent is that students find my classes both challenging and mindful. The music selections inspire fluid movement, connecting to each student’s internal vibration. In every class, I offer a quote to link the wisdom of yoga to everyday life both on and off the mat. My hope is that students leave class feeling balanced and energized so they can bring more positive, compassionate energy to their own lives and to all the lives they touch.

“Yoga has a way of opening your heart and light from within. You begin to realize anything is possible with determination, dedication and patience.”—Julie.
Julie Boyd, a native of Northbrook, IL came to the practice of yoga following her days as a competitive and nationally top-ranked player after she lost her vision to Stargardt’s Disease. In 1995, while attending Arizona State University she took her first yoga class and decided to attend a teacher training with At One Yoga. Her practice and teachings come from multiple disciplines with a strong Ashtanga influence while incorporating her love of music, challenging vinyasa and invitation to deeper openings and freedom from boundaries.

“Yoga holds within it a remedy for today’s fast-paced life, its treasures revealed when approached with patience and acceptance.”

Katie originally came to yoga as a way to ease the cumulative effects of long-distance running. As a social worker, she began recommending it to both colleagues and clients. In 2000, she completed teacher training under Suddha Weixler at the Chicago Yoga Center. Since that time, she continues her study of yoga with senior teachers, including John Friend, Seane Corn, Dena Kingsberg, Tim Miller and Christine Hoar.

She is grateful to have the opportunity to share her passion for yoga with others. She lives with her husband and two children in Lincolnshire.

Katie is a thoughtful, soft-spoken and conscientious teacher with a breath-taking practice that belies her modesty and lack of bravado.

Cynthia Doucette began practicing yoga in 1996 while taking a year off of school to ski in Colorado, her native state. Yoga first served as a nice compliment to skiing, running, and hiking, but quickly became more intriguing and fulfilling. Cynthia continued practicing Hatha, Iyengar, and Flow forms of yoga during her four years at Northwestern University in Evanston, and finally discovered Ashtanga after graduating in the year 2000.

David was drawn to yoga as an antidote to his hectic days at the Chicago Board of Trade. Teaching to others became a natural extension of his own yoga practice. David’s teacher training began with Baron Baptiste and since has gone on to include Yogaview trainings as well as a Bhakti Flow training with Rusty Wells. He leads weekly meditation services at The Midwest Buddhist Temple and meditation studies continue to enhance his yoga teaching. David lives in Chicago.

“As a lifelong athlete, yoga has proven to mirror my strong belief that a healthy life delivers a clear mind and an elevated spirit.”

Mariann teaches athletic yet playfully accessible power vinyasa flow classes at an appropriate pace and skill level for each class. She encourages synchronized breathing and sound alignment. Expect an emphasis on core strength and heat- producing asanas through dynamic and innovative sequencing. Her classes include various sun salutations, standing and seated postures as well as arm balances and inversions. She is a registered yoga therapist and practiced with many master teachers from around the world. Quinn Kearny is her primary teacher and influence.

Yoga makes you happy, skinny, sexy, young, and, maybe even enlightened. Yoga makes your skin glow. It could make you smarter. It definitely makes you a nicer and more compassionate person. And, because yoga enraptures the mind as well as the body, yoga is superbly fun, which is why when I teach yoga I feel a great spiritual joy emanating from deep inside myself.

I’ve been teaching Yoga for the last eight years and practicing yoga for almost 30 years. What I have discovered from these is that the more you do yoga, the more it is astonishingly and completely new. I support my yoga practice, and I encourage my students to do so as well, by faithfully maintaining a daily, seated-meditation practice.

Nicole Brown has been practicing yoga for ten years as a means for physical healing. She still remembers her first yoga class, barely being able to touch her hands to her knees due to limited mobility. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of three and later with Lupus, she consistently struggled with her health.

Yet her yoga practice allowed her to discover a new personal form of expression, awareness, and strength. This experience of transformation has fostered her passion for sharing the gift of yoga and inspiring others to uncover their own deep-rooted power.

Upon completing her Yogaview 200-hour teacher training and Geri Bleier’s yoga therapy workshop, she now instructs people in all walks of life. Her passion for yoga has given her the opportunity to study under Geri Bleier, Quinn Kearney, Claire Mark, and Tom Quinn. She has participated in numerous workshops with various nationally known teachers. Her teaching is guided by her practice under Daylene Christensen, who consistently pushes her to achieve her best and stay true to the practice. Nicole’s classes stem from Ashtanga yoga to help students understand the depth of the asana practice and importance of linking breath with movement. She challenges each student to explore the amazing possibilities while working with bodily sensation, holding awareness in the moment, and having curiosity to see what happens- becoming the observer and creating the needed space to examine the experience.

In addition to her love for sharing yoga’s many benefits with others, Nicole is a visual artist and has a private art therapy practice through The Child, Adolescent and Family Development Center in Lake Bluff. She believes yoga and art are the awakening sources for healing and renewal.
www.journeytowardstheheart.com
“Practice and all will come” – K Pattabhi Jois

I have been pondering what to write in this space for the last four years, as Niyama embarks on it’s fifth year I am finally ready to write about how yoga has changed me. I began a daily meditation practice twelve years ago, after radically changing my life. Spiritual exploration has been a part of my consciousness for as long as I have been able to read. My parents fostered this attitude of exploration, regarding the concept of God and how to live a better life. Outreach work was a part of my family’s spiritual life since I was a little girl. We never celebrated Christmas or Thanksgiving without first serving others. Habitat for Humanity, Helping Hands, The Coalition for the Homeless of Orlando, FL. and The Environmental Research Center were where I spent my childhood. I was active in Orlando, Florida’s ecumenical community all through my childhood and adolescents, eager to understand and share in how many different ways there are to worship God. CS Lewis and Father Andrew Greeley were my guides for looking at how to love with a pure heart. I questioned everything. In my heart I have always known that there are many paths to commune with God, and all are equal. But I didn’t come to yoga for a spiritual life. I came to yoga for a better body. For strength and flexibility. For power and grace. And so I would never have to step foot on a treadmill or “Stairmaster” again. To be blunt- Madonna was my first yogic influence- I wanted the physical control and strength that she showed to the world. I owe everything to my first teacher, Monika Kulas, to her patience- particularly with my cockiness that first lesson (Power yoga in 30 days!! I could not even touch my toes!!) Monika worked with me (one on one) 5 days a week for 2 1/2 years. I was hooked. You see there is something that happens to you the first time you really inhabit your body. The first time you really hear your breath. The first time you become present. So that is why I practice yoga. The physical side effects of the practice are strength, flexibility, connection to the body and a sense of harmony in the body. The mental, spiritual and emotional side effects- well, that is what I think is the miracle part of yoga- as it’s different for everyone, let’s just say that you will change- sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly- but it does happen. To me yoga is part science and part alchemy- I know how it works and intellectually I know why it works, but I am still mystified and thrilled and astounded as it works, every time I step on that simple 2 x 6 piece of rubber called a mat, to me it is a “magic carpet”, Thank you Monika for starting me on this fantastic journey, ten years ago.

Erica Merrill has been practicing yoga for seventeen years and teaching yoga for twelve. She started practicing mainly for the physical challenge and quickly found it transforming her life.

Her roots stem from Brian Kest in Los Angeles, California. He inspired a passion that led her to do teacher trainings with David Swenson in 2004 and Yogaview in 2006. She was also fortunate to get to participate in Yogaview’s 2010 level Two teacher training.

Erica’s teaching style is a special blend that includes a light-hearted sense of humor, a vast experience and knowledge of the practice of yoga, a spirit of playfulness that inspires without diminishing, and sequencing that weaves the familiar to the unpredictable in a way that requires a fullness of attention. Erica lives and teaches in Chicago, Illinois. She feels very grateful that yoga has come into her life and loves to share it with others.

An inner voice prompted me to try my first yoga class, although no immediate “click” happened, I persisted. As a longtime runner, I lacked flexibility and craved constant motion; yoga challenged my comfort zone. I kept at it and found a connection to the practice, at first through the physical, then a gradual mental shift.

After learning that I carried the BRCA1 Gene (Ovarian/Breast Cancer), yoga helped me meet the physical and mental challenges presented by this new information and two surgeries.

My study of yoga, and shift in perspective, changed my life. I put my family first and left my 14 yr career as a Marketing director; as I enjoyed my newfound life, I felt drawn deeper into yoga and to teach. One reason I teach is to help people who are recovering from surgery and/or coping with illness. I currently volunteer at Highland Park Hospital/Kellogg Cancer Center and teach Yoga Therapeutics, breath work and guided meditation. I also teach with the hope of helping students (like me) connect with the practice, whatever their initial challenges may be.

In my class a student can expect focus on alignment, a steady flow sequence, as well as long holds to build heat. My teaching is influenced by the styles of Ashtanga and Anusara, a vigorous practice that provides opportunity to look within and feel gratitude.

I am appreciative of the extensive training I received (Moksha Yoga) from Daren Friesen, as well as the opportunity to work with many master teachers. I am especially grateful to have worked with Jane Alenier, and to have apprenticed with Gabriel Halpern in his therapeutics intensive.

According to Yoga philosophy, Prana is defined as the breath, vitality, or life-force energy. For busy suburbanites, prana is essential. It enters the body through the air we breathe, the food we eat and the environment in which we live.

The daily demands of raising and nurturing children and managing the endless details associated with running a household are undeniably rewarding but relentless exhausting. The moment we believe we do not have time in our lives for yoga practice is the moment we need yoga and the simple promises of prana most.
At the start of every yoga practice one must concentrate on the breath. By slowing the breath and focusing on filling our bodies with this energy; worries, obsessions, distractions, and criticisms leave us. Where we go from there—it is anyone’s guess.

After 6 years of practicing pre and post-natal yoga, Jessica stepped onto her mat for a beginner class and relearned yoga from the ground up. As Jessica continues to practice she discovered that she had more to give to those who rely on her. Jessica follows a playful and creative spirit; one that she feels is nourished by spending time with children.

Jessica has found that yoga is a great exploration, a challenging, valued journey, and one to share most especially with the youngest yoginis. Jessica’s greatest inspiration comes from her three children who inexplicably come into headstand in the middle of the kitchen. She teaches several styles of yoga to adults, children, expectant moms, and families.

With much love and light, Jessica thanks Daren Friesen of Moksha Yoga for sharing his knowledge, infinite patience and gentle guidance throughout his teacher training program. Jessica thanks her husband and 3 beautiful children, for their endless inspiration and wisdom, as well as Fran Smith and her fellow Moksha teacher trainees, who showed me the true meaning of Namasté.

Originally a preschool teacher, Debi began taking yoga in June 2000. Five years later she completed the Moksha teacher training led by Daren Friesen. Wife and mother of two, Debi gives back this wonderful gift of yoga by teaching the mentally challenged at Glenkirk’s Wellness Program in Glenkirk’s Wellness program in Northbrook. Debi is a devoted Ashtangi practicing Second Series and a serious student of Daylene Christianson. She is is kind, “real” and engaging both on and off the mat.

—-“ My love of yoga stems from the ancient truth that our breath is the vehicle for life and an avenue for the spirit. Thus with each inhale and exhale, we connect with Spirit that resides in each one of us.”–Frances.
Frances brings 11 years of yoga experience to her classes. Originally a runner, she embraced yoga for the physical benefits of strength, flexibility and endurance. Soon, she realized that the enhancement of mindfulness, self-acceptance and compassion turned out to be an even larger benefit. She received her teacher training from Moksha Yoga Center and is also a holistic health coach. Authenticity, breath, embracing imperfection as well as asana and pranayama are all incorporated into her vigorous Niyama and Hot Power Yoga classes.

The true meaning of the word “yoga” is to “yoke” or unite. Yoga unites all opposites-mind and body, movement and stillness, strength and softness, sun and moon-in order to bring balance to the world. The inherent beauty of yoga is that we can begin our practice at any point in our lives with grace and wisdom. To observe a young child in tree pose or an elderly woman in lotus pose is to see inspiration embodied. A yoga practice will continue to serve us and amaze us until our very last breath.

Janet has been practicing yoga for more years than she can remember, having begun her journey to find balance between her joy of physical movement and her need for spiritual growth. As she became more devoted to her practice, she learned the beauty of yoga’s simple wisdom: The mind, body and spirit are always united.

“I believe a yogi is someone who leaves the world a little better than how they found it.”

Zoe Nitsun, a mother of three and former competitive runner, began practicing yoga in 1993 from DVDs before going to off to work at her advertising job. In 2002 she took Rod Stryker’s Teacher training and has been a serious yoga student ever since.

She met her guru,David Swenson, in 2006 and completed his Ashtanga Teacher Training. Zoe teaches Ashtanga Yoga, Vinyassa Flow and Niyama Hot Yoga with compassion and humor. She is enthusiastic, humble, genuinely interested in her students and generous in her teachings.

“It will come.”

Bridget took her first Hatha yoga class through the Chicago Park District with a friend. Soon thereafter she was “hooked” and began studying Ashtanga yoga under the guidance of Suddha Weixler and completed his Teacher Training Course at his Chicago Yoga Center.

Bridgett practiced Primary and Intermediate Series Ashtanga yoga throughout both of her pregnancies under Sharyn Galiendo and Bill Shapleigh. She has studied with Lino Miele, Manju Jois, and Tim Miller. Bridgett honors anyone who finds or makes the time to step on his/her mat to practice. Her spirit is colored with a sense of discipline and patience.

Zoe Reese has been doing yoga intensively for the last nine years after deciding in her 30′s that she was becoming old and stiff. She is drawn to challenging poses where she is bound to fail as well as basic classes where the essentials are reviewed and perfected. Currently, her practice includes Primary and Second Series as well as Vinyasa Flow. Claire Mark and Quinn Kearny at Yogaview and Todd Bowman at Moskha are her main inspirations. Her teacher training comes from Sharyn Galindo at Northshore Yoga. Zoe’s teaching style is full of humor, enthusiasm and compassion. Her adjustments are legendary and her cuing is known for helping practitioners make breakthroughs in areas that feel stagnant. Zoe is a certified neuromuscular therapist who lectured and taught anatomy and bodywork around the country before the birth of her three children. She has a small private practice treating injured yogis.

“Yoga brought the grace and beauty back into my life for which I so longed.”

Stacy, a lifelong ballet student and performer, found the benefits of yoga to be much greater than just flexibility. Stacey received her Master’s in Early Childhood Education and taught prekindergarten and kindergarten for many years. She received her yoga teacher training certification from Yogaview Lincoln Park. Currently she is the program director at Jay’s Camp and teaches yoga at Advanced Physical Medicine as well as privates.

Lauri came to yoga with a dance and personal training background. She began taking yoga classes in 2001 and received her 200-hour Yoga Alliance certification under the direction of Lourdes Paredes and Pam Udell. After studying with Mac McHugh, Lauri began teaching challenging Niyama Hot classes. Lauri teaches classes that incorporate power, grace, humor and strength. Laura is a wife and mother of four.

After graduating from Northwestern University with an art history degree, Marcia became a certified personal trainer. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and a certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Teacher training programs, numerous workshops and a committed daily practice have allowed Marcia to understand a multitude of approaches meant to serve students of differing needs. Her teaching is influenced by many master teachers including; Daren Friesen & Shiva Rea.

Gayl began experiencing yoga in 1999. She has taught for almost a decade and has completed a 500 hour teacher training. Life experiences and spiritual training have helped her to develop her own unique style with a great attention to personal needs in a class setting. Gayl is the owner of Ahimsa Global Yoga, a company that brings yoga other institutions and organizations. www.ahimsaglobalyoga.com.

“My hope is that my students leave my class feeling connected to their breath, open in their hearts, physically healthier, and mentally peaceful.”

Kathy Walsh began yoga in 1996 at the suggestion of her personal trainer. She attended the Anusara School of Yoga for her initial training and has since studied all styles of yoga. Although she’s had the privledge to learn from many well-known and ground breaking teachers, she considers her students, life lessons and injuries to be her greatest teachers. Her classes reflect an eclectic approach, often incorporating yoga history, mythology or anatomy, while always championing the power of breath.

Stacy first found yoga over a decade ago, and has been a dedicated practitioner ever since. Rooted in her own personal healing and recovery, Stacy wholeheartedly believes in the therapeutic nature of yoga and its ability to awaken and transform.

Stacy’s vibrant teaching style is inspired by her strong spiritual foundation and love of dynamic movement. She teaches an alignment-based vinyasa flow inspired by traditions such as Ashtanga, Hatha, Anusara and Baptiste yoga. Stacy’s soulful classes mindfully blend her love of music with creative, fluid sequencing that build endurance and strength while honoring the connection between the body and mind. Stacy brings her positive energy and nurturing nature to her teaching and challenges students to explore self-compassion both on and off the mat. She believes that yoga is a powerful way to free the body and mind from self-limitations, let go of expectations and judgment, and to get in touch with the very essence of who we are. Stacy’s passion as a teacher and wellness practitioner is to empower others to live consciously, uncover their own personal truth and liberate their authentic Self.

Stacy completed her teacher training at Yogaview under the brilliant direction of Geri Bleier, Claire Mark, Quinn Kearney and Tom Quinn. She has completed additional trainings such as Yoga Therapeutics and Prenatal Yoga in addition to numerous workshops with internationally known teachers such as Seane Corn, Baron Baptiste, Natasha Rizopolous, Desiree Rumbaugh and Tim Miller.

Stacy is also a Certified Holistic Health Counselor and founder of Aura Yoga & Wellness, where she counsels clients on holistic nutrition and personal development, as well as private and corporate yoga instruction. For more information, visit www.aurayogawellness.com.

Stacy strives to continuously discover the interconnectedness of yoga, the mind, nature and the light in all beings.

Eva Yam began her yoga exposure with some of the best senior Ashtanga teachers in the country. Her teacher trainings and studies have exposed her to Chuck Miller & Maty Ezraty, David Swenson, Petri Raisanen & Rolf Naujokat, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and Kino MacGregor & Tim Feldmann.

In Eva’s class you will find an intense focus on injury prevention, correct alignment and useful anatomical knowledge that is tailored and customized to each practitoner. Students of here Mysore class receive extensive attention and deep yet safe adjustments. Eva is moderate and reasonable in her approach. Students will feel acknowledged and supported by her soft-spoken cues.