Leslie Graves (she/her) I believe in the practices of yoga and creativity to journey inward and outward to uncover our most authentic path. In 2000 I took my first yoga class at the 92nd St Y and immediately felt a sense of coming home. Yoga combined with my acting studies and creative pursuits helped me feel my whole self and find healing. Since then I’ve been cultivating a practice which integrates artwork and Yoga, and devising ways to make space for others in their search for full expression of Self.
In 2007 I started Work Study at Jaya Yoga Center and later took on a studio manager role. Sound editing workshops for Krishna Das allowed me to hear many stories of Maharaji. Through the teachings was the message - Guru is not outside, Guru is within. Guru is Self. I completed Jaya’s teacher training and started teaching yoga in 2012. Yoga led me to explore other healing modalities including Reiki and Breathwork. I continue to realize the importance of being in community and am forever a devoted participant and student.
I have found for myself, creative process and yoga share the same trusting space, allow for inquiry, and expand our perceptions and capacities. As practices they feel vital for the health of our world, to connect us and grow compassion and freedom for all.
My classes offer a spacious, easeful approach in to connect with our bodies and breath, combine traditional hatha-vinyasa yoga with intuitive movement, and weave in wisdom through embodiment, poetry, and sacred texts.
Paula Reyes (she/her) has always been fascinated by bodies and movement. She received her first training in movement at the early age of 5 as a ballet dancer. She grew up with a dancer’s discipline, allowing her to explore her own body’s capabilities and perceive her own space. She presents this dynamic background into her yoga practice and shares it in her yoga offerings.
Paula took her first yoga class in 2008, which to her felt like coming back home. Since then she has become intrigued by the joy and other feelings that emerge during and after all forms of the practice, and has learned to cherish the experience. She considers this experience as a gift and aspires to share it with as many people who are open to receiving it as possible.
Paula considers herself a forever student. Since receiving her foundational teacher training in 2010, she has now acquired 1000+ hours of training and is inspired to continue learning from her yoga teachers. She believes that for her to be a trustworthy teacher, she must remain open to learning—even sometimes unlearning and re-learning—the many aspects of the yoga practice.
Through her decade-plus experience as a yoga teacher, Paula is able to reaffirm her core belief time and again: you are your own best teacher. She hopes to keep supporting others so that they can explore their own strength and ability to evolve within their unique yoga practice.
Holly Ledbetter (they/them) My classes celebrate each practitioner’s unique harmony of mind and body as well as the strong, sustainable community that is created through the practice of yoga. Though my teaching practice focuses on wholeness, contentment, and ease, I value inviting your full experience into the room – life is certainly not always easeful! I came to New York to pursue a BFA in Dance from Tisch School of the Arts where I began studying yoga under TaraMarie Perri and have since completed my 300-hour teacher training through the Perri Institute for Mind and Body. I continue to be amazed at the body’s ability to work with its own limitations and look forward to being curious about these realities together. Other parts of my life include time spent in the ocean, adventure cycling, and bodywork.
Nami Soga My spiritual journey started to deepen when I completed my first 200hr teacher training in 2008, and I have been teaching yoga since then. I have a great passion for the energetic spiritual healing system, and I believe any spiritual practices including yoga and astrology are here to help us dissolve any illusionary separation and guide us back to the wholeness. In my class, I bring in different elements together through creative sequencing to balance our yin + yang, and above + below. I am also a licensed acupuncturist, massage therapist and reiki master practitioner and I offer private sessions incorporating different healing modalities that I have studied for over a decade.
Please visit ajnapura.co for more info.
Jessica Reidy is a movement maker, educator, and motivator based in Brooklyn, NY. As a teenager, Jess came to yoga to supplement her dance training. As an adult, she continues to come back to the practice for grounding, self-study, and community.
Jess found her way to teaching yoga and exercise after falling in love with movement sciences while earning her BFA in Dance at SUNY The College At Brockport. Feeling empowered by her newfound understanding of her body, she set out to find work that allowed her to help other people feel the same way—powerful and comfortable in their skin. Since 2009 she has worked with diverse populations in private and group settings as a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist, and more recently, a 200-hr Registered Yoga Teacher. A life-long student, she is currently working towards her Masters Degree in Movement Sciences at Columbia University.
Jess’ classes are lighthearted, fluid, and full-bodied. Students are encouraged to disconnect from their day through strong breath connection, vigorous flow, deep relaxation, and practical philosophy.
Patrick Millard is a life-long explorer with a heart that actively seeks truth. He feels most like himself when connecting with, learning from and helping others. His strongest passion revolves around sharing his experience in yoga and sound, guiding people toward themselves as they are right now, to create space for what they’re becoming. Keeping these practices accessible for everyone is tantamount to his work and reflects itself in his warm and welcoming presence
He began diving into yoga and spiritual practice back in 2015 and shortly thereafter felt compelled to share the major impact it continues to have on his life. Since completing his first teacher training in 2016 at Laughing Lotus, he’s been fortunate to find numerous communities over the years that have supported his ongoing commitment to healing. His teaching has been grounded in elements of Hatha/vinyasa, functional movement therapies, and psycho-spiritual systems from east to west. Patrick’s inherently creative and intuitive sensibilities emanates through each of his offerings, and will give you permission to explore your own uniqueness.
Patrick’s love for making music became duly ignited when introduced to the power of sound meditation. After sitting in and assisting ceremonies for over four years, he finished two sound trainings at WOOM Center and began facilitating sound experiences there regularly. Using breath-work, vocalizing and overtone-emitting instruments he welcomes people to inner dimensions where deep listening can take place.
Patrick is endlessly grateful to be doing this work alongside inspiring teachers, students, and loved ones alike. They remind him everyday to lead with a compassionate heart, an open mind and to live in reverence for the beauty of each moment.
Addie Tacadena (she/her)
I was initially drawn to yoga as a way to physically challenge myself although I soon discovered that there was so much more to it than a good sweat. Yoga became a healthy outlet for emotional release and I began to see the connection between what I was experiencing on and off the mat. Through the years, this practice has softened my rough edges and constantly shows the facets of myself.
I received my 200 hour training at Three Sisters Yoga in 2013 through the invaluable lessons of Jen Whinnen, where I became empowered to take what I’ve learned and share it through continued service.
I aim to hold a space where yogis of all walks of life can connect to creativity, movement, self-discovery with a strong focus on the wondrous breath and what an open heart can conjure. Expect a class that’s physical, fun, and down to earth with many moments to drop into the stillness of our practice. I’m quirky in my sense of humor and always have a great playlist. As both a student and a teacher, I look forward to continuing my yoga journey and sharing light and love with everyone I meet on my path!
Quazzy Herd is a man of many hats. Quazzy has a background in Film and Digital Media (New York University BFA ‘11), and discovered Yoga as a way to reconnect to his sense of purpose and identity. After teaching hundreds of Yoga and Meditation classes around New York and abroad, Quazzy founded “Running River Collective”, an organization that amplifies access to wellness.
The main goal of Quazzy’s mission is to bring joy through inspiration and understanding. The more one can understand their own nature, the more input they have in the Universe’s phenomenal flux.
Quazzy believes that when we show up authentically, we allow others to do the same. With a background in Ayurveda, Yoga, and Media, Quazzy finds a fusion of these practices to bring an understanding of these ancient practices to the modern human.
www.runningrivercollective.com
Shieri Yamafuji is a Yoga, Pilates and Personal Trainer. My journey as a teacher began as a patient as it does for many people. My first passion was dance, starting when I was 8 years old practicing Ballet, Jazz, and Street Dance and eventually bringing me to New York City in 2007 to further my professional career. After an experience with a foot injury and panic attack from being in the competitive performance and entertainment industry, I was compelled to study the practices of Yoga and Pilates as part of my healing process. This journey created the desire in me to help others heal as well.
My interest in Pilates came first and I completed my teacher training at the Kane School of Core Integration in 2011, Studied Personal Training at Studio Luxe/ NCSF. Then yoga, taking my 200 hour RYT yoga teacher training at Dou Yoga and 500 hour RYT training with Guta Hedewig at The Yoga School NY, training in the Krishnamacharya/Desikachar tradition. I also went to the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, India to complete the Jivadhara Intensive Course, gaining a deeper understanding of Subtle Anatomy and Pranayama/Breathing Techniques in the Krishnamacharya Tradition.
I am passionate about supporting my clients on their path to healing, teaching methods that create sustainable well-being and helping people to realize their full potential.
Lily Gelfand Lily received her 200 Hour RYT Certification through Erin Kouvas’s Mindful Movement Yoga Teacher Training in 2015. She has taught power-based Vinyasa as well as Yin and Restorative flows. Class will be centered on dynamic, creative flows, focused on breath and alignment, leading into mindful meditations. Modifications to any poses or flows will always be a priority to make class accessible to all. She is passionate about cultivating community within class as well as her students’ growth and curiosity within their personal practices.
Lily is also a professional cellist and dance musician with a passion for providing a form of sound healing for movement, yoga, and meditation through live, improvisations and electronic looping.
Eva Kornet (she/her) is an intuitive Healer, a Kundalini Yoga Teacher and a Breathwork Healer. She discovered her natural healing abilities by healing herself. She combines different healing modalities, such as hypnosis, NLP, guided imagery meditation and emotional freedom technique that she has learned in a profound systemic life coaching education. While traveling the world, she touched base with shamanism. Eva is a free spirit, that lives by her own truth and sees the world the way she wants to experience life. She believes that the world is in a global awakening and we have to create new ways of living. She believes that healing can come easy, if we make a commitment to ourselves to figure out who we truly are, shed our skin and bravely figure out why we came to earth in this time and space. She believes in higher consciousness and feels guided on her path by it. Healing is unique to every human being and the beauty of awakening into a deeper truth is like a piece of art for her, because it is so creative and it results in deeper levels of love. Love heals everything. Eva channels the love of the Universe in her healing work.
Kundalini Yoga found her in 2015. It is the foundation of her life since.
www.the-art-of-consciousness.com
Özzy started her yoga journey in 2015 in İstanbul. Soon after that she decided to move to NYC… was there a connection between beginning her yoga path and her move to New York? She can't say for sure but she does believe there is a reason for everything.
After moving overseas, yoga became a very important anchor in her life. Özzy started practicing daily and right away, she began to notice the good changes in her life. She rewired her anxiety-driven brain in a way that she didn’t even know was possible.
In 2016, she took her first 200-hr training at Yoga to the People and has since taught hundreds of classes in many studios and online platforms. In 2020, she took another 200-hr training in Rocket Yoga with the Yoga with Carson Academy, where she is now a part of the teacher training crew.
Since the pandemic started, she has been teaching personal online and outdoor classes. She likes creating playful and challenging sequences and combines breath and mindfulness work into her classes.
Özzy believes that with a clear mind, one can do or be anything she/he wants! Yoga, mindfulness, and meditation practices are her ways of keeping her mind in a good space. She loves to share the good and for her, yoga has become the greatest path for sharing the good with others.
Aisha Mitchell completed her 200hr TT in 2019 at Laughing Lotus after many years of a dedicated practice. She has since been teaching for the online platform tru community, launched in 2020 by Ruth Zuckerman, co-founder of the athletic enterprises Flywheel and SoulCycle. She also serves as a Yoga Instructor/Mobility Coach for Power Monkey Fitness and was a featured instructor for Grubhub’s Wellness Wednesday. She is also certified in and enjoys teaching Rocket Yoga. Aisha loves to empower her students to explore the capabilities of the mind & body. She is a Brooklyn-based professional dancer and considers herself an inversion enthusiast!
Amy Priya (she/her) In 1999, the Ashtanga Yoga practice swept Amy into its power and beauty for the first time. In 2003, on her third year of study at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India, she was officially authorized by K. Pattabhi Jois to teach this method. In 2009, Sharath Jois elevated her to Level 2 status. Aside from the Jois family, Amy has studied with senior teachers Eddie Stern and Peter Sanson.
Amy additionally studies sanskrit and vedic chanting with Dr. M.A. Jayashree and pranayama, ayurveda, and philosophy with A.G. and Indra Mohan.
Amy is also a performance artist. She has danced professionally in NYC and Berlin with a number of celebrated choreographers. As a musician, she has worked with Meredith Monk, Heather Christian, and sings and plays upright bass in the Americana trio, Sunshine Nights. She lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn with her husband Steve.
Amy describes her class as an 8 limbs flow: an open level vinyasa style yoga class which uses the ashtanga primary series as a foundation for practice, but also explores the other 7 limbs (including breath work and meditation) beyond physical postures. Yoga therapeutics may also be incorporated, dependent on the students’ current needs.
Natasa Babic Throughout the years, yoga has become a way of returning home to an honest and spacious place where I can work and live with clarity. I wish to create this space for my students, where one can mindfully allow themselves to unravel and explore in a safe environment. From my hometown of Ljubljana, Slovenia to Vienna, Austria to New York, I had many aspirations: being a dancer, becoming an actress. After several years of working in the entertainment field, I found myself in a yoga teacher training. At the time, I was not really certain why I was there, but something about it felt right. As the years go by and my practice evolves, I see a vast space of possibilities. It is from this space I wish to offer these teachings to others. I’m a 500-hour RYT certified yoga teacher. I teach a smart, alignment-based vinyasa class. At times it can be vigorous, other times it is soft. I encourage a healthy attitude, include a grain of wisdom, and teach with a caring approach. At the end of the day, I wish to create a space for my students where they are able to see the boundless possibilities to flow intuitively and playfully, on and off the mat.
Marina Scarlata (she/her) I first discovered yoga while solo-traveling the world. Yoga created a space that enabled me to process all the wonderful moments, places and people I experienced on my journey through meditation and movement. Yoga became my anchor - a perfect place to find stillness and balance in ever-changing, and often hectic, environments.
In 2016 I decided to leave my career at a German insurance company and completed my certification as a 200 hour yoga teacher at AYM (Association for Yoga and Meditation) Rishikesh, India. During my time there, I traveled the country in an effort to learn from a variety of gurus and to absorb the cultures and customs.In 2019 I returned to India to complete an additional 300 hour teacher training based on the 5 Elements of Ayurveda and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) with Trimurti Yoga School.
In the time since, I have been teaching yoga in Germany, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, India and New York. With each class that I give, I feel a deeper fulfillment and growing connection to people.
My classes maintain a focus on alignments and strength. I like to keep the sequences traditional and my personal style leans towards Hatha based classes, though I also teach Vinyasa flows and Yin Yoga.
I was born and raised in the South of Germany and recently moved to Brooklyn, New York where I want to continue sharing a space for others to strengthen and heal themselves through the practice of yoga.
www.marinascarlata.com