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POLLY LIONTIS is certified is through the Himalayan Institute and continues to be influenced by the work of Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. Polly’s approach to teaching honors each individual and is grounded in a mindful exploration of treating the body with respect. Instruction in pranayama (the mindful use of the breath throughout the physical practice) and the application of spiritual precepts of yoga are hallmarks of Polly’s approach. Nourishing the beauty and light in the heart of each student is Polly’s passion. Tibetan Heart Yoga and the teachings of Thich Nhat Hahn and Pema Chodren influence Polly’s work in her meditation classes. Polly graduated from the Ohashi Institute in New York in 1999 and is currently on staff teaching Shiatsu Technique at Zen Shiatsu Chicago. Polly is also a long-time practitioner at the Integrative Medicine Program at North Shore University Health System where she treats the Shiatsu patients. Polly is proud to have pioneered their Therapeutic Yoga Program and meditation classes.
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MARY
LOU CERAMI completed her 200-hour yoga certification at Global Yoga and Wellness
Center. Mary Lou's goal as an instructor is to create a sense of community while
sharing the simple beauty of yoga and its path to self-acceptance through awareness
of the body. Her outreach in community teaching has allowed her the opportunity
to teach for the Chicago Department of Aging's Senior Fitness Program since 2006.
Her lifelong commitment to health and fitness allowed Mary Lou to grow first
as a fitness competitor until a
personal training position led her to yoga and its ultimate reward as a yoga
teacher. Today Mary Lou shares the gift of Thai Bodywork and therapeutic yoga
from trainings with Chuck Duff of the Thai Bodywork School and Jason Nemer, Jonny
Nobleza and Lindsey Britt of the AcroYoga kula.
For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth. ~Sanskrit Proverb
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RACHEL COPPOLA for the past 15 years, Rachel has been blessed with a beautiful career in dance.
With a BFA from the University of the Arts, she moved on to do both company work and musical theatre on Broadway and around the world. To enhance a rigorous dance career, she discovered yoga as a way to stretch and warm up for performances. It did not take long for her to realize there was more to yoga than just the physical. Practice taught her that stepping onto a yoga mat is a statement to oneself: "I am here for me, to breathe, to connect, and to find quiet in the mind so I may experience peace if even just for a moment." A graduate of the Heaven Meets Earth 200-hour teacher training, it is with humble gratitude that she now shares a fun, nurturing, challenging, and creative vinyasa-style class with her students.
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A yogi for more than 20 years, CARYN CIAGNE GALLAGHER believes she is believes that she is a better mother, wife, daughter, friend and teacher thanks to her practice. She first discovered yoga as a means to de-stress from studies at the University of Michigan (BA 1989). Later, as a sales, marketing and real estate professional in Chicago, Caryn completed the 200-hour certification through Daren Friesen at Moksha Yoga, then went on to become a certified YogaEd Educator in 2008.
Caryn continues to grow her own practice through study with many nationally-known yogis including Shiva Rea, Baron Baptiste, Andrey Lappa, Duncan Wong, Ana Forest, Gary Krafskow, Jonny Kest, Erich Schiffmann, Rod Stryker, Donna Farhi, Bryan Kest, and Sean Corn. Caryn gratefully strives to make yoga accessible to anyone at any age or level and to meet their needs and work within their abilities and comfort.
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GOSIA RYZEWSKA is a devoted
student of Kriya Yoga - (a path of self-study, self-control, purification, and
meditative attunement). She seeks wisdom in every action and continues to deepen
her understanding of yoga through study of Kriya, Hatha, Astrology, and Sacred
Scriptures. Gosia teaches traditional Hatha with strong principles of alignment
(bones and muscles are the starting points in hatha yoga), breath and mindfulness.
Her gentle approach takes students on the journey through self- exploration
of physical body, astral body, and causal body which is significant in developing
a deeper understanding of transcending everyday consciousness. Gosia is certified
Hatha Teacher. For over three years Gosia, was involved in apprenticing and assisting
to the teacher trainings. She also assisted Daren Friesen in the Moksha/Shanti
Teacher Training 2009/10. Gosia continues to enhance her personal practice and
teaching skills with trainings, classes and workshops with locally and nationally
recognized master teachers.
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KELLEY ROZELLE has a degree in dance and a strong background in ballet, modern, and jazz. She has been teaching dance for ten years. In college she was introduced to yoga and has been practicing ever since. In 2005 she decided to move forward with her yoga training that will undoubtedly take a lifetime to fully understand all that yoga has to offer and looks forward to being a lifelong student. As a graduate of Moksha’s 2007 Teacher Training she studied under Daren Friesen’s guidance and has also studied with Tias Little and Aadil Palkhivala.
Kelley’s teaching style is based on Vinyasa Flow which she feels connected to because of her dance background. She hopes to guide students into a peaceful awareness so they may learn to carry that peace throughout their day to day routine.
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BRIAN CARMANY wandered into a yoga class at his gym on a lark: suffice it to say that he was instantly hooked and his gym membership soon cancelled. Brian is grateful to share yoga with students at all levels, striving to create an environment that provides each student with an empowering, rewarding practice. He believes in the power of yoga to enrich, expand, and complement one's life regardless of age, flexibility, size, and physical abilities. His classes encourage others to strengthen and have fun, all the while integrating the body and mind. Having completed his Teacher Training at Yogaview.
Brian counts himself blessed with having had the opportunity to study under a number of amazingly gifted instructors, among whom he counts Joey Tran, Alie McManus, Claire Mark, and Sue Rexford.
Brian also heads the Global Yoga Foundation, a nonprofit organization bringing the blessings of yoga to refugee camps and underprivileged communities ... learn more at globalyogafoundation.com
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KIM WEBER Practicing yoga challenges Kim to stay present in each moment and to address the fluctuations of mind, body and spirit in one energizing pursuit. One breath at a time, yoga gently awakens the divine self, even if all you were initially looking for was a better butt. Kim teaches a vigorous Astanga-inspired flow class that will definitely sculpt your backside, while leading you along a subtle, yet joyful, path to greater awareness off your mat.
Kim trained at Yogaview and North Shore Yoga. In addition to Sharyn Galindo, Geri Bleier and Tom Quinn, she counts her four young children and husband among her most challenging teachers.
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GINA FITZPATRICK received her certification through the Temple of Kriya Yoga. She is owner and operator of Yoga Break Chicago where she teaches lunchtime yoga on sight. She also teaches in public and private high schools all around Chicago. Gina admits that her teaching style changed dramatically after spending time with teenagers. Their willingness to be fearless made her realize the endless possibilities that we all possess. That all that we ever needed we already had.
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JENNY GLICK is a relatively new yoga instructor, but is no stranger to the beauty of yoga and the art of teaching. Jenny has been practicing yoga since 1999 and teaching students about the dynamics of television studio production. Now, she has combined these talents – yoga and teaching – to provide students a revolutionary form of yoga, meditation and relaxation.
A graduate of the Heaven Meets Earth Yoga Studio in
Evanston, Jenny defines her style of teaching as uplifting, motivational
and restorative. Previous to her yoga instructor training, Jenny worked
at WTTW Chicago Channel 11 as an associate producer.
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SARAH WILL has a background in dance (ballet, aerial, modern, butoh, etc...) Although she no longer performs, she takes several workshops throughout the year and is on the Board of Directors for Breakbone Dance Company. Sarah wandered into her first yoga class while still in college and hated it. Several years later, after sustaining multiple injuries, she decided to give yoga another try. This time she found an ashtanga class and loved it!
Sarah received her first teacher training certification in 2006, and has been building on it for the past three and a half years. She is now a very well rounded teacher with primary focuses on Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Power Vinyasa, Yin, and most recently, Taoist Flow. You may also notice at times she may add Feldenkrais method and anatomy training into her class. In Sarah’s free time she operates a German Shepherd Rescue, as well as provides transportation for other rescue organizations.
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CHUCK FRENKEL (Guest Instructor) is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and teaches Ashtanga based Vinyasa Flow and Yin Yoga. Chuck brings to his classes a feeling of spaciousness and lightness and offers the student the time to fully explore the inward journey during asana practice. He endeavors to uplift, inspire, and bring joy to the yoga experience.
Chuck's background as an athlete brought him into contact with yoga a number of times during his life– as an Olympic-style archery competitor and as a competitive cyclist. But he truly opened and committed fully to the practice in order to help rehab from a serious cycling accident. Not only did yoga "bring him back" from a broken body, but also helped to heal his mind and spirit.
For Chuck, the inward journey during asana practice is a beautiful meditation which brings him fully into the here and now, accepting the present and all that it offers. Yoga is now a calling for Chuck and the more he practices the more he grows to love and embrace it.
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ANNE POTTS comes to yoga via the internist’s office. A benign but persistent irregular heartbeat prompted the doctor to suggest, “Try yoga.” That sounded as good a suggestion as any, and soon she, like so many who come to yoga, fell in love but didn’t know why. The asanas challenged her body, and the focused breathing forced her mind to let go of its innumerable “vritties.”
After a few years of practice, she enrolled in Moksha Yoga Center’s teacher training. Under Daren Friesen’s direction, she quickly saw how much more there was to yogic practice and philosophy. As the director of Shanti Yoga Center, she considers herself a humble, lifelong student who wishes to joyfully share that knowledge with others. Her yogic inspirations include Gary Kraftsow, Daren Friesen, Mac McHugh from Niyama, Kim Wilcox and Dorie Silverman.
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