Sipra
Yoga has slowly, subtly changed my way of thinking, my attitudes, my life objectives, and my health and spirit.
I grew up in India, in the Himalayan Mountains, in the old summer capital of the British Colonials when they ruled India. Living 8,000 ft. up in the mountains, my education was from the West with Irish Nuns in a convent school. In my home, my parents kept us in touch with our traditional Indian roots, with the celebration of Indian rituals, yogic ethical values and customs, along with our westernized lifestyle. My father practiced yoga each morning, and I absorbed a lot of it from him without even trying. My father was my first and only teacher. He never felt he was an instructor, but gave me his discoveries with yoga in a gentle, low-key way that made me want to experiment with it on my own. My mother meditated daily on a regular basis, and carefully observed the devotions and charity works that are such an important part of yoga. About eighteen years ago, I took a Vedantic ‘initiation’, and have since practiced meditation on a regular basis. There is a ‘stillness’ that meditation brings to the regular practitioner - it makes me feel as if I am the pilot of a spaceship that is my life, but I can keep it on a steady course as I hurtle through this oftentimes stormy journey.
Kevin
As a runner, biker, cross-country skier, backpacker and overall outdoor enthusiast, Kevin recognized the healthful physical benefits of yoga, but was especially drawn to yoga because of its emotional and spiritual benefits as well. Although his original practice was primarily physical, utilizing yoga with classroom students and athletes for nearly twenty of my thirty-plus years of teaching and coaching, it was after stepping away from those occupations that yoga found a special hold in Kevin’s life. Being a person of meditation and prayer for all of his adult life, yoga’s spiritual dimension lured him beyond its physical shoreline, inviting him to explore new depths through its movement, and its shift toward meditation.
Those with whom Kevin shares the practice of yoga today can expect a reflective style, where one is encouraged to take the energizing practice of yoga on the mat to an embodied yoga off the mat, seeking the yogic goal of the union of body, mind, and spirit.
KRIS WILSON
When Kris was first asked to teach yoga almost two decades ago, it was after fitness classes to stretch the body which was exactly what she taught. Through the years of exploring all the limbs of yoga Kris now recognizes that it was just a small portion of the practice. For herself, each time Kris comes to the mat she finds something different in her practice. Some days it may relate to the physical side of the practice in exploration of the body through sensations. Other days it’s more of a focus on the breath and how it changes one’s practice. It makes one constantly aware of the mind activity and what it can give or take away from the practice and from one’s life.
The paths are unlimited and the benefits are unmeasured.
MICHAEL LANGE
After practicing yoga for a number of years at various studios, the gym, at home and on retreats in exotic places like Cleveland, Upstate New York and Costa Rica, Michael felt in 2013 that it was time to bring his practice to the next level by attending a yoga teacher training. It also enabled him to spread the joy and the body-mind-spirit connection that only yoga can provide. Coming from a history of back problems, his focus is on proper alignment and safe execution of the poses. His goal is to unleash the power that resides within you - the power to flow through challenging poses, the power to direct the breath to where the body needs it most and the power to calm the mind and nurture the soul.
When Michael is not on the yoga mat you may find him at the gym, riding his bike, exploring the great outdoors or at the office doing IT work. If you have a lot of time, ask him about his bicycle travels.
SADA NAM SINGH (ALEX EVERETT)
Sada Nam (aka Alex Everett) became a devoted yogi in 2007 when he started taking yoga courses at the Ohio State University. He has taught yoga and well-being workshops at festivals and conventions around Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Georgia. Now, he teaches Kundalini yoga in the tradition of Yogi Bhajan with the goal of uplifting, energizing, and healing people through the realization of our true potential. Alex is also a lover of devotional music from different cultures, playing guitar, drums, gong, and singing bowls with local kirtan groups. He holds a BFA in Art and Technology from the Ohio State University where he does videography and photography as manager of Educational Technology's Media Services team. Sada Nam strives to share the gifts and benefits that yoga has given him with the world and to clear the clouds of doubt and limitation that prevent us from realizing our true self, which is absolute bliss!
RONA PUNTAWE
Find your flow, move with ease... join Rona now, she'll show you how! Rona advocates living with ease and tapping into our natural gifts to flow in life. A life-long learner, Rona had been a business excellence and transformation consultant, public speaker, an NLP master practitioner and advanced coach prior to teaching Nia technique.
Dance had been a big part of Rona growing up, deeply ingrained in her roots from the Philippines, performing in community and school events, even with neighbours, together with her sisters She got into Karate, eventually became a Tae Kwon Do blackbelt and university athlete.
Rona loves to travel and been to more than 50 countries where she experienced the power of dance in connecting people together: from Cumbia and Salsa in Mexican fiestas, to Hip-Hop in the streets of New York, Reggaeton in Sydney, Tango in Buenos Aires, Samba in Rio de Janeiro, Flamenco in Spain, and so on...
Coming to the USA, Rona was drawn to Nia, not only for the dance and martial arts but also the healing. After Nia healed a recurring arm injury, Rona was inspired to teach.
Rona aims to create a safe space for our community to connect and flow together through the music, movement and magic of Nia.
TARA SURPREM KAUR (MARYBETH AULETTO)
“In my adult years have always approached my health as a discipline and a value. However, my journey with yoga began about 8 years ago. I was fortunate to join a studio where I was exposed to a variety of practices. One of those practices was Kundalini. It validated for me the universal belief that one has to love and care for oneself so one can love and care for others. It integrated and enhanced my faith and prayer life. It elevated my sense of well-being and decreased my anxiety. As I became a more experienced practitioner, I developed a desire to bring the experience to others. The universe aligned and I became a trained instructor.
“I am a wife, mother of three adult children, and an educator. I am also a social activist. Yoga brings needed balance to my life. “
TROY PYLES
Troy is a cancer survivor who found a path to wellness using yoga, Reiki, Ayurvedic lifestyle practices and alternative therapies. As a full-time engineer in a manufacturing environment, Troy understands the everyday challenges of finding balance alongside the stresses of modern life. He enjoys teaching pranayama, yoga and mindfulness “off the mat” and feels that they should be applied in a practical way as part of everyday life.
In Troys class, expect the unexpected. Using yoga moves to explore yoga moves, breathing techniques and meditation and the Ayurveda system of good health through right practices, Troy will make you aware of your senses and help achieve balance in your life through a gentle, thoughtful practice.
DR. VANDANA BARANWAL B.SC., BAMS, MD (AYURVEDA)
Vandana Baranwal is an Ayurvedic physician and educator. Growing up in the holy city of Banaras, India she has been very fortunate to learn from some of the world's most renowned teachers. Before moving to the USA, she was Professor of Ayurvedic Obstetrics and Gynecology in Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India.
She is associated with many Ayurveda organizations’ and schools in India as well as the USA. She has been teaching, practicing and promoting Ayurveda for more than 25 years.
She specializes in Ayurvedic mother and child health and has co-authored “Stree Roga Vimarsha”, a book of Ayurvedic gynecology and “Prasuti Tantra Sandarshini” a book of Ayurvedic Obstetrics. She has been recognized by her peers for her excellence in teaching and won the “Charaka Award” in 2017.
She aims to help people heal themselves by empowering them with the knowledge of simple and powerful tools of food, food habits, daily routine, seasonal routine and lifestyle from the ancient science of Ayurveda.
In her classes she simplifies the basic tenets of Ayurveda to help people understand their unique mind- body type, to create their own balance and live in harmony and balance for a healthier and happier life.
VEDA CAFAZZO
Veda has been practicing yoga consistently since 2000. Trained since 2011, Veda eventually began to teach Yin in 2012, and continues to teach and practice today.
What would you expect to find in a Yin Yoga class with Veda? Since it was originally developed to address issues of tightness and inflexibility in the lower body; it's a complement to more vigorous, Yang practices. In her classes, the initial focus is on releasing the upper body and then moving on to established Yin Yoga postures. Each pose is held for 3-5 minutes, lengthening and releasing connective tissues, particularly fascia and learn correct breathing techniques. Explore and understand Meridian Theory, and grasp the rationale behind it. Classes end with relaxation, enabling the body to absorb the benefits of the practice, and to reunite body, mind, and spirit.
When not involved in yoga, Veda enjoys hiking with husband, Paul, and dog, Sam. She loves gardening, cooking, traveling, and reading. Currently studying Italian, Veda has a B.A. in Anthropology, and an M.S. in Zoology, so watch out, she’ll be looking at your anatomy!
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