Bios

TEACHERS

Adi Carter
Vinyasa, Pilates
Adi has been a life long student of practicing yoga off the mat in all shapes and forms especially when it involves being outdoors. Her passion for movement and the environment have taken her on countless adventures around the world and she currently travels and teaches as part of the YogaSlackers sharing the modalities of redefining balance through yoga, slacklining, acrobatics, climbing, surfing and just about anything else you can think to do on the Earth's terrain. With her car as a home base you can find her somewhere in the vicinity of an ocean, mountain or legit climbing tree as she works with students on and off the mat to discover a new sense of balance, strength and focus in whatever their form of practice might be. She has created the Core Integration series at Greenhouse Holistic as a result of her travels and pursuits to stay aligned, open, upside down, laughing and in tune with her surroundings as much as possible wherever she may be. For more information please visit www.adicarter.com

Amanda Capobianco
Vinyasa
Amanda is a devoted practitioner and teacher of Hatha Yoga. Four years ago she became certified by the Laughing Lotus School of New York in Hatha Vinyasa Flow and has since continued an on going study of the various aspects and limbs of yogic practice and philosophy. Amanda's intention as a teacher is to create a contemplative and permissive space where students can learn and practice tools that engender awareness, compassion, gratitude, and balance in a place and time often marked with chaos, stress and disorder. Her teachings are grounded in the belief that through an awareness of our breath and our bodies, our selves and each other, our inner and outer environments we learn to release and forgive, becoming ever more present and therefore capable of creating change and growth in ourselves and the world. Namaste.

Amanda Zapanta
Vinyasa
For the past nine years, Amanda has immersed herself in daily yoga practice. She has studied with various known teachers such as Ramanada Patel, Dharma Mitra, Cindy Lee, Shanon Gannon and David Life. She also has her 200 hr advance training with Leslie Kaminoff in 'Breath Centered Yoga' a therapeutic approach to yoga, using the breath as a starting point to understand the anatomy of the body in depth. But don't be mistaken these classes are on the more challenging side of the yoga world and are not for the faint hearted, working a lot with inversions, arm and abdomen strengthening within a unique flow sequence of postures.
Amanda's experience as a professional dancer and licensed Thai Body-worker is often reflected in her balanced teaching style. Her classes are fun, lively and energetic, though also focused on anatomical alignment, healing and spiritual awareness. Looking for some serenity while still getting a good workout? Come and flow with the breath and take Amanda's class.

Andrea Beeman
Andrea Beeman, the Enchantress of Bioluminosity, has been a dedicated teacher of the Middle Eastern dance arts since 1993, teaching weekly classes to all ages and to all levels, from beginner to professional. Her knowledge of traditional Egyptian, North African and Turkish dance is the foundation upon which she builds her classes, but she also adds Indian, Latin and Spanish influences to her choreography and combinations. Andrea has shared her elegant & ethereal dance style with audiences in theaters, cabarets, restaurants, museums, & universities in NYC & abroad. Her versatile palette ranges from traditional ethnic dance to technologically savvy multimedia performance art. Performance highlights include opening for Rickie Lee Jones’ East Coast Ghostyhead Tour; dancing with the Rhode Island Symphony Orchestra; collaborating with the Minister of Lamination to present Lamination Rituals worldwide; starring in Amy Greenfield’s internationally acclaimed cinedance films Wildfire & Dark Sequins; and performing as part of the post-punk/new wave electronic dance music band Crash Course in Science. Her troupe the Dancing Rubies began performing in 2000 at NYC events, & in 2010 Andrea created the Sparks in the Dark to present her innovative, light imbued choreography.

Attiss Ngovál
I've had the honor and pleasure of training with true masters. I studied Ashtanga Yoga under Larry Schultz, Pilates and Circus Arts with Reed Taylor, and Kung Fu with Matt Lucas, and I've been developing and refining my practice to incorporate all of these disciplines. My system is dynamic. It will challenge your breath and your balance. It will make you stronger and exhilarate you. I want to provide my students with a recipe for transformation, a fun and exciting way to get into your body and out of your head.

Aude Cardona
Aude started practicing Iyengar Yoga in Rishikesh, India, in 2001. Since then, she has continued to deepen her practice in France with S.F Biria, and in the US with Kevin Gardiner, Genny Kapuler, Carrie Owerko and Joan White - eventually choosing to complete a 3 year training where she obtained her Iyengar Yoga teacher certification. Audeʼs interest in Iyengar Yoga was instantaneous. Her mind was able to focus and quiet while her physical awareness increased. She also graduated from Manhattan School of Music where she studied voice and is an active performer. Aude's classes reflect a focused, calm yet energetic environment. Aude is grateful to share yoga, a vehicle that keeps her going more gracefully through life, an endless path of wonderful discoveries. "Yoga releases the creative potential in life." BKS Iyengar


Brynne Billingsley
Pilates
Brynne has been teaching Pilates in New York City for 8 years, 4 of which have been under the tutelage of renowned Pilates expert, Erika Bloom. She received her teacher training and mat certification from Kelly Kane at the Kane School for Core Integration and a 600-hour Pilates Machine Certification from Lawson Harris at Half Moon Pilates. Brynne believes in the importance of continuing her education as an instructor and has completed courses in anatomy and biomechanics including muscular imbalances, scapular stability, scoliosis, the sacro-iliac joint, and the psoas muscle. She enjoys working with a variety of clients and personalizes each session based on the individual's needs and fitness goals. In addition to teaching Pilates, Brynne is also a professional dancer and yoga practitioner and uses her experience with various movement techniques to inform her teaching method. Her teaching style is upbeat and challenging, yet thoughtful and centering with an emphasis on alignment and personal awareness. She is also a certified Thai Yoga Bodyworker and incorporates this therapeutic knowledge into her Pilates classes.

Brynne has been recognized on numerous accounts as both an artist and a teacher. She has been invited to teach both dance and pilates at many residencies and universities throughout the United States and Europe. As a dancer, she has had the unique experience of body-doubling for Bjork in her music video, Wanderlust, and with her dance company Misnomer Dance Theater was featured as "one of the top ten dance performances" by the New York Times. She is currently working on her own evening length dance production which will premier in NYC in the spring of 2011.

Carla Waldron
Carla Waldron is dedicated to the practice of the traditional Ashtanga yoga method and to sharing the beauty of this practice with students of all abilities. She has been authorized by Sharath Jois and offers deep respect and gratitude to Guruji, Saraswati and Sharath for their teachings and dedication to this practice. Further thanks are extended to Rolf and Marci Naujokat, Eddie Stern, and Richard Freeman for their inspiration and illumination of this path.

Carlos Rodriguez
As a native New Yorker, Carlos has practiced martial arts, Capoeira, and dance, and has been an avid runner for many years. It was practicing yoga, though, that truly changed his life. Many years ago, when Carlos first started his Yoga journey, he instantly has a profound connection and awakening with his body and heart. He found a stability and comfort in the notion of combining physical activity with the art of meditation and self-realization.
The practice of yoga on and off the mat opened Carlos's heart and mind, allowing him to find that internal flexibility of the mind. Spiritually touched by the intense power of yoga, Carlos realized his life's purpose was to help others realize their own potential to experience empowering breakthroughs.
Carlos is living proof of the profound effects and changes that can be created through yoga. With intense dedication, Carlos now spreads the gift of yoga enthusiastically with his style of Yoga, Caponyasa™; a combination of elements of modern dance with Capoeira technique in a Vinyasa form.
Carlos is committed to helping others realize their dreams and the potential that lives within them.

Dana Perry
Vinyasa
In addition to her love of music and acting, Dana found a new passion soon after moving to NYC in 2003 when she discovered yoga. (or yoga discovered her, as they say). After several years of practice, and wishing to give back to the community what so many wonderful teachers have given her, she received her yoga certification from Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica.
She humbly bows to her teachers Don and Amba for creating an inspiring and compassionate environment, and an interdisciplinary approach to yoga that has provided a strong foundation onto which she continues this journey of self discovery today. Since her training, Dana has been deepening her practice by studying with the plethora of beautiful teachers enlightening this crazy city. No doubt the study of Yoga and Buddhism has transformed Dana's world. She hopes to continue on this blissful journey and offer much love, patience and inspiration to her students. LOKAH SAMASTAH SUKINOH BHAVANTU.

Gabrielle Epstein-Casper
A native of London, Gabrielle's interest in yoga began with her move to Toronto, where she studied Flow Yoga with Kyla Kukla, and spent a year at the Toronto School of Iyengar. Since coming to New York 12 years ago. Gabrielle has practiced at Jivamukti, and completed several teacher trainings at the Integral Yoga Center. She is now a Certified Integral Yoga Instructor for Hatha 1, 2, 3, pre- & post-natal, and chair yoga. Gabrielle continues to pursue her own practice with various teachers and workshops in New York (e.g. Rodney Yee, Allison West). To further enhance her teaching, Gabrielle has also completed Irene Dowd's "Communication with Touch" course. In addition, Gab is a certified Shiatsu therapist, having completed advanced training at the Ohashi Institute. She currently teaches yoga privately and at several yoga centers in Brooklyn.
For Gabrielle, yoga is a never-ending exploration of how we move through life, allowing us to use the form and energy of the external body to travel within. Yoga wokrs with opposites, bringing right and left, male and female into balance. With practice, we come to find a consistency, a calm, a focus in the movements, which can then move us on all levels - evoking greater peace of body, mind, emotion, and spirit.
Most recently, in addition to her yoga teaching, Gabrielle is a practicing holistic therapist, intregrating mind and body through therapeutic talk, yoga and energy work. Perhaps the biggest teaching in Gabrielle's life so far has come from being a mother to her 5 yr. old Ben and 2 yr. old Theo, who keep her in the present.

Julianna Takacs
Vinyasa, Prana
Julianna is a certified Prana Yoga Teacher, Thai Yoga Bodyworker and Reiki Practitioner. With a background in movement and dance which stretches over 20 years, Julianna incorporates her acute knowledge of the body into carefully articulated guidance and support. She has studied extensively with her teachers, Ruth Lauer-Manenti, Jeff Migdow, Robyn Ross and Jonas Westing and has assisted trainings at The New York Open Center and Kripalu Center for Yoga. Julianna currently leads classes and workshops at various locations in New York, Canada and Italy.
Through the cultivation of balance, strength and joy, her classes strive to bring an awareness to our limitless potential. Focus is kept in the present moment through a deep connection to breath, the integration of yogic philosophy, chanting and guided meditation. Julianna's personal practice and teaching methods are influenced by various styles including Vinyasa, Prana, Kripalu, Jivamukti, Anusara, the philosophies of Yoga, Sufism, Tibetan Buddhism and especially by her students who serve as constant inspiration.

Kaitlin Hines
Kaitlin Hines has a background in Middle Eastern belly dance, contemporary/modern, jazz, African and a variety of folk dance techniques. A graduate of Hampshire College, with a degree in Creative Writing and Dance, she has been in NYC for 7 years. She has had the pleasure of performing as a soloist at various cabaret venues, including Mehanata, Tagine Dining Gallery, Katra Lounge, and the Grisly Pear. Kaitlin has danced as a company member with the Casbah Dance Experience, Nadia Moussa Dance Company, Dunyana Dance Ensemble, Shelley Poovey/BIGGRITS, Malleable Dance Theater, A.H. Dance Company, and the Elea Gorana Dance Collective, among others. Currently, Kaitlin is a member of The Dalia Carella Dance Collective and Sublime Dance Company. She teaches belly dance technique regularly, and has presented her own dance work at Hampshire College (MA), Connecticut College (CT), and at Greenspace (LIC, Queens). She is pleased to be part of the staff at Greenhouse Holistic. For more information visit: katraqs.weebly.com

Katelin Sisson
A natural athlete, Katelin grew up in Rhode Island, where physical activity was as much a part of her daily life as the ocean breeze. She ran and lifted weights and believed in the discipline of a strict exercise regime. But she began to feel something was missing, and when she found her way to Jivamukti in the fall of 2005, she realized what it was: she developed an overwhelming curiosity about the role the mind played in the physical aspect of her existence. Jivamukti deepened her understanding of the mind-body relationship and instilled an understanding of yoga not as an intermittent practice but as a lifestyle that encourages and fosters happiness and freedom for all beings.
Katelin completed the Jivamukti 350-hour teacher training in May 2008, which was taught by her Holy Teachers, Sharon Gannon and David Life, the founders of Jivamukti Yoga. And then she went on to complete her 800-hour apprenticeship under the guidance of her beloved mentor Rima Rabbath. It was through her work assisting Rima that she learned how to be a student. It is in the humility of being a student that the teachings of yoga become accessible.

Kendra Mylnechuk
We are alive! Often in our daily lives, we are so busy thinking about living, we forget that we are living right now. Kendra's classes focus on the present moment. It's called a practice because it's just that: a preparation for the rest of our lives. The skills we develop will begin to creep into every other part of our world. The practice of Hatha Yoga using pranayama (breath), asana (postures), mantra, and guided meditation help us to realize the mind/body connection, and in turn, our innate Oneness. Kendra has been practicing yoga since 1999, and teaching since 2005. Her training emphasizes the journey rather than the destination, a focus on life in this world, but above it. She received her teacher training at Divine Motion Yoga with honored teachers Tracee Stanley and Everett Newell in July 2005 and an additional training in 2009 here at Greenhouse Holistic with Summer Quashie, Leigh Evans, and Paul Manza. Kendra has also been in the presence of some of the great spiritual leaders and teachers of our time including Amma, Gurmukh, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as sever other less famous but equally profound beings. She is eternally grateful to each of her students, from whom she has learned so much. Blessings. www.kendramyoga.com

Kim Blanchard
Kim is an active member of the NYC dance and movement/anatomy education scene, and has taught choreography and somatics nationally since 2001. She was an invited speaker at the 2010 International Conference on Arts and Humanities, and was recently invited to present work at the University of California at Riverside. She holds a BFA in Modern Dance alongside a Certificate of Nutrition, and is a Certified Pilates instructor. Her latest project, titled "Movement Improvisation Created by Skeletal Shift" was just awarded a 2011 Brooklyn Arts Council Regrant. When she is not training her fabulous students in efficient and mindful fitness practices, she is on staff at the Streb/Espana Trapeze Academy and skating Roller Derby with the Gotham Girls in NYC.

Lauren Fecarotta
Lauren has been practicing yoga and meditation for the past 12 years. Her classes incorporate creative sequences of traditional asanas and emphasize alignment, opening, and synchronicity between breath and body. She believes that yoga teaches us to move from the heart with more grace, mindfulness and ease and enjoys helping students find this lightness within themselves. She also leads community cleanses at studios throughout New York City. Her eight day Kali Yoga Detox program, rooted in the principles of Ayurveda, teaches students to use their own bodies and naturally available medicines to eradicate physical and emotional sludge. For more information, visit www.kaliyogadetox.com

Lee Schmidt
Vinyasa, CLY
Lee's Vinyasa classes are creatively inspired by Astahnga and gently balanced by a sweet and calm touch of Yin yoga practice. Lee maintains a clear focus on the breath and a coherent flow and hands-on alignments. Each class is infused with the wish that every being finds space and freedom to bring the mind to its most natural serene state of equanimity. She encourages others to turn the effort on the mat into a joyful journey of awakening to their innermost essence and to recognize it as it manifests in every phenomena to direct the mind to its ultimate truth. Lee received her Vinyasa training with Kelly Morris' first Conquering Lion Yoga teacher training. She continues to study with Ruth Lauer-Manenti, Barbara Verrochi, Kristin Leigh, Tias Little, Eddie Stern, Leslie Kaminoff and other yoga masters. After long travels and studies in Europe and Asia she returned to New York to complete her English and Comparative Literature BA at Columbia University. She also attended the University of Taiwan for Chinese studies while teaching English as a second language in Taipei. Lee also teaches gentle yoga to the elderly and trains with Bent on Learning to bring meditation and yoga to youth in public schools. Lee is a student in the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana tradition of the Nyingma Palyul lineage of Penor Rinpoche where she has found her root teachers.

Leigh Evans
Leigh Evans is a yoga teacher and dancer dedicated to awakening creativity and aliveness in the body. Leigh has been teaching yoga for 17 years. Her emphasis is on developing mindfulness through the yoga practice, inviting you to witness the shifting sensations of the body and attune to the inner unfolding of each asana. Since 1985, Leigh has practiced Hatha Yoga in the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Viniyoga traditions in the U.S. and India. She is grateful for the guidance of her teachers, Dharma Mitra, Sarah Powers, Rodney Yee, Lisa Walford, Barbara Benagh, Mary Paffard, and Ramanand Patel. Leigh loves the practice of yoga for the peacefulness and clarity of mind that comes from the breath flowing freely in the body. Leigh is the Director of the Greenhouse Holistic Teacher Training Program.
Please visit: http://www.leighevansyoga.com

Luke Simon
Luke completed Hatha Yoga training at Sivananda Yoga Center in Kerala, India in 2006 and graduated from Laughing Lotus Yoga School in New York in Spring of 2009. His class uses the tools of chanting, philosophy, along with the physical asana practice to bring harmony and exuberance. Visit his website www.future-saints.com.

Mika Samuel
In this life, Mika is grateful to have found her yoga practice. The power of a constant yoga practice and lifestyle continues to inspire and surprise her on an every day basis. As a registered yoga teacher with Yoga alliance, licensed massage therapist in New York State and certified in prenatal for both, Mika connects the physical knowledge of the body through work as a massage therapist, and the emotional and spiritual side of the mind through yoga into her classes. Each class is a blended balance of the mind/body connection, with great attention to anatomical alignment and core integration. Mika is inspired by the essence of classical Hatha yoga, dynamic and intelligent Vinyasa flow sequencing and through the various teachers who have lit up her path along the way. She incorporates elements of her own practice into her classes while adding an eclectic range of music, with much attention to breath and movement, and meditation techniques that help cultivate inner spiritual awareness.
Mika received her 200 hour certification from Sonic Yoga. She then went on to complete the 500 hour certification with Sri Dharma Mittra, a true master and conveyer of the spirit of yoga. Additionally, by October 2011, she will have her 75 hour advanced training certificate from Kula Yoga Project NYC. On this transformation quest, Mika has learned a great deal about herself and feels blessed to be a continuous student on this journey, while also having the opportunity to spread the knowledge and love of yoga to others. She is passionate about the holistic approach to treating physical and emotional ailments and aims to heighten her students and clients’ awareness, as well as her own. www.mikasamuel.com

Ola Widera
Ola's classes are inspired by Anusara Yoga, and the healing principles within its methodology.

By cultivating an awareness of body alignment and an understanding of the Anusara philosophy of kinesiology, Ola brings each student toward their optimal potential of flexibility and strength, and helps them to identify, reference and holistically address their injuries. Ola's classes are playful and challenging but also great for students trying to work through physical injuries.

Paul Manza
Vinyasa
I am very excited to be at Greenhouse Holistic and finally make my Brooklyn teaching debut. I am so grateful to have some very generous and gifted teachers in my life right now, Barbara and Christin at the Shala, and the wonderful teachers at the New York Iyengar Institute. My classes incorporate the tools I have learned over the years to prepare practitioners for pranayama, meditation and a life that is more vibrant, fluid and easeful.
Please visit: www.iheartheartland.com

Rebecca "Bex" Burton
Pilates
Rebecca Burton aka 'Bex' is a creative hybrid, having worked in various forms of movement including dance, video and fabric. Bex began her Pilates journey in 2000, as the Method offered a doorway returning to movement and her body after a 7-year hiatus from dance. She has been practicing Pilates ever since, and in 2006, defected from the corporate world to pursue a full-time life in motion.
Burton received her Pilates Mat certification through Dance New Amsterdam under the instruction of Teri Steele, and is currently on faculty at DNA teaching Pilates Mat. She received her apparatus certification from Half Moon Pilates with Lawson Harris in Brooklyn, and has continued to study with master teachers across New York, including two Pilates Elders.
In her classes, Burton offers students descriptive imagery to support anatomical directions, delivering quality and precise workouts unique to each individual. Her motivational coaching drives clients to push perceptions of their own personal abilities.
When she is not teaching or doing Pilates, Bex is hoop-dancing or turning cartwheels. Find her at www.senseofmotion.com.

Rebecca Eisner
Practicing yoga for me is about attention in the moment and being available to see what is truly present. Following this path has led me to look deeply into the nature of existence, which in turn has brought greater purpose, connection and understanding...and more questions! My classes emphasize breathing technique, mindfulness, gentleness, body awareness and alignment, open-mindedness and interconnectedness. I practice primarily in the Mysore Ashtanga style with ample restorative, pranayama and seated meditation to round it out, and class is influenced by that. I also consider life off the mat yoga practice - how I stay aligned and centered facing a person or situation, whether or not I react to a pattern out of habit...Life is one big yoga class, and I love to listen and share how to be in each position with as much grace as possible. I am a graduate of the 2009 Greenhouse Holistic 200-hour yoga teacher training led by Leigh Evans, Summer Quashie and Paul Manza. Related certifications include 250-hour Esalen Massage, 30-hour Kids and Teen Yoga by Karma Kids, and a four-month Prenatal Yoga apprenticeship with Summer Quashie. I also teach yoga to seniors in Chinatown. I look forward to being part of your journey toward your deepest, truest self.

Seth Lieberman
In Seth's experience as a classically trained musician, he has discovered how discipline and technique are not goals in and of themselves but rather instruments to support creative expression in the present moment. He is therefore excited and inspired by the details of proper anatomical alignment and how they combine with breath, movement, and spirit to reveal moments of harmony, balance, freedom, and a sense of connectedness to all things. Seth received an alignment based vinyasa certification from Greenhouse Holistic under the instruction and guidance of Leigh Evans, Summer Quashie and Paul Manza. He continues to explore yoga practice, meditation, and philosophy as well as play, compose, improvise, study, and share music.

Stephanie Conway
Stephanie was first introduced to yoga as a young child by her mother, who shared how to use it as a relaxation tool. Years later, she rediscovered yoga for herself. Following the birth of her own daughter, she stumbled into an Ashtanga yoga class, and immediately embraced the practice for the calming, transformative, and cleansing effect it had on her mind, body, and soul. The straightforward method and process imparted patience and acceptance and a chance to delve deeper into a quieter space. She hopes to help her students find this space and more open heart through conscious use of breath and alignment and consistent practice- whatever their path - so that they may nourish their inherent peace of mind.
Stephanie is profoundly grateful for all the teachers she has encountered and learned from along the way, including Susanna Finocchi, Lino Miele, Eddie Stern, R. Sharath Jois, Leigh Evans, Summer Quashie, Paul Manza, and Andrea Matura. Special thanks to her husband, Lucas, and daughter, Madeline, the most illuminating of all teachers aside from the practice itself. She humbly continues this journey and looks forward to the next place the path may take her.

Steven Prestianni
Steven Prestianni aka Anandabhairava, began studying under the guidance of Sadguru Sri Mahayogi Paramahamsa, founder of the Mahayogi Yoga Mission, in 1996. He also had a definitive meeting with Sri Swami Satchidananda, founder of the Integral Yoga Institute, in 1988. Both schools profess the knowledge of Raja Yoga ( the eight-limbed Royal Path), utilizing a classical form of hatha for the third limb, asana (postures). He instructs classes as he learned from Mahayogi, holding each posture for an extended period of time, focusing on the exact alinement for each individual dependent upon their present physical capabilities, focusing on a specific rhythmic breathing pattern, and focusing attentively with the eyes for each posture, to acutely increase ones ability to concentrate. Every posture is then alternated with repose in savasana, the corpse, or rest pose. The two hour class concludes with approximately 10 minutes of pranayama (breath retention, or control) and a 15 minute seated silent meditation. Though the class is intense, it operates as a one room school house, open to all levels of practitioners, from first time beginners, to those physically challenged, to those highly advanced. Each will receive modifications appropriate to their level of practice.

His teaching credentials include 4 years for the Mahayogi Yoga Mission, 2 years at the Kearny Correctional Facility with incarcerated women, 3 years for the Multiple Sclorosis Society with wheel-chair bound, chair ability, and mat capable members, 2 years at the Earth School with primary school children, 1 year with AHRP for those mentally-handicapped, including training the staff at AHRP to work independent of his person, 10 years and running with a community class run by donation at the Sixth Street Community Center in the Lower East Side, and 2 years and running at Greenhouse Holistic. He also teaches privately from his own home in the Lower East Side.

Summer Quashie
Summer Quashie is trained in Hatha Yoga by Jeff Midgow, MD. She assisted in Prana Yoga teacher training and workshops with Jeff at Kripalu and in NYC from 2002-2006. From a dedicated home practice to experience in asana and meditation, the search for more understanding in meditation practices came. Since 2007, she has been practicing Tibetan Buddhism in the Palyul Tradition under the guidance of the kind Khenchen Tsewang Gyastso and attends annual month long retreats in upstate NY. Summer has studied philosophy through the YSI courses and continues to deepen her studies in Ayurveda and yogic philosophy. Summer is the founder of Sacred Shape Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, NYC's first Yoga Alliance certified 85hr prenatal training. She co-teaches and co-wrote Greenhouse Holistic's 200 hr teacher training and is honored to work closely with Leigh Evans.

As a lover of creativity, beauty and sacred geometry, Summer organizes classes with philosophical and heart warming themes. The asana presented are simple and clear, with space to be experienced fully. Humor is often embraced and a sacred space is created for participants to go beyond the physical.

Tobias Fields
Tobias Fields has been teaching yoga for over ten years and has taught in Europe, South America, Africa, the Caribbean as well as in Madagascar. His influences as a yogi include Astanga, Jivamukti, Vinyasa, Anusara and Contact Yoga, and most recently he received his certification in Iyengar Yoga. His teaching combines insights from his ever-evolving personal practice, his diverse background, and his commitment to be present and responsive to the constellation of each class, into an experience which is both challenging and fun.The many benefits of practicing with Tobias resonate long after class is over.

Val Shaffer
I was introduced to Iyengar yoga in December of 1986, while residing in my home town in southern Indiana. Since I was a musician, my mother thought that yoga would help me improve my musical endeavors (Which it did!). My first teacher was Jack Busch, who although not certified, was teaching right out of "Light on Yoga," BKS Iyengar's classic text. Jack taught at a health club that my mother had a membership at, and once I took the first class I was hooked. When I moved from home in 1990, I continued to practice in earnest, mostly on my own, again referring to Iyengar's "Light on Yoga." I attended a few workshops/retreats during these years, but it wasn't until I decided to pursue teaching (while living in Los Angeles) that I sought a regular teacher. In the latter part of 2000, I started taking classes with Karin O'Bannon, who was then the senior teacher at the Iyengar Institute of Los Angeles. In 2001, I was accepted into the 3 year teachers training program at the intitute. (I graduated in December of 2003, and also apprenticed with Karin for over 2 years during this period.) I began teaching in 2002, and by January 2004 became a full time teacher in the Los Angeles area. Currently, I am certified at the Intermediate Junior 1 level of Iyengar certification. I have studied with the Iyengars in Pune, India, and also with Carrie Owerko, Anna DeLury, Paul Cabanis, Diane Gysbers, Manouso Manos, Faeq Biria, and Stephanie Quirk, among others. In August of 2008, I moved to NYC, and currently divide my time between teaching yoga, and playing music as a jazz bassist.

Yogi Charu
Yogi Charu is a world-renowned teacher in the Tantra, Kriya, Meditation and Yoga traditions. Originally from Belize, he started his practice at age 15. He studied extensively in the Himalayas and is intimately familiar with the Vedic spiritual culture. He has taught globally from Asia to Africa, Australia, Europe, Canada, and USA and brings a very traditional presentation of yoga and meditation practices to his classes, which is rare to find outside of Indian ashrams." www.yogicharu.com

Yuval Boim

Yuval Boim is a graduate of the Yogaworks teacher training program and holds an MFA in movement from the London International School of Performing Arts in collaboration with Naropa University. He has been practicing yoga since 1997 and has since been studying the way people move through the world on both gross and subtle levels. He has taught in France, the UK and across the US. He draws from an eclectic variety of yoga and movement traditions – slow flow, attention to alignment, breath and intention, to awaken a spirit of creativity through which to explore the fun and conflict of having a body that moves. His classes are well-rounded, challenging and safe, and lead the practitioner toward adventure, integration, and healing. He is a member of Yoga Alliance.

Zelina Blagden

"Why I teach yoga...I enjoy sharing and creating within the realm of expansive consciousness with others. I am consistently awed by the shifting power of the yoga practice.
I began my yoga practice in 1996 at the Jivamukti Yoga Center in NYC, after injuring myself due to scoliosis. I have been teaching and practicing yoga ever since. I received my intensive certifications from Alison West and David Swensen and I have studied with many others fantastic masters. I have taught yoga in California , New Mexico and Connecticut. I went on a year and a half tour with Rufus Wainwright as his yoga teacher , trainer and assistant. Then I landed at Greenhouse! Greenhouse holistic has given me an anchor to explore and root down into an expanse of yogic traditions. It is a good view from here, as we witness the yoga world change and grow all around the country. My style of teaching is vinyasa based and a bit "old school". It is based on exploration and love of the subtle levels of inspiration and healing, such as the those gifted by the natural world......like this cute dog that just came and sat beside me....."