Anna began practicing and studying yoga over 15 years ago, after her aunt had introduced her to yoga in her teens. She found that her yoga practice left her feeling strong and balanced in her body and mind. Over time, it became an anchor in her life.
Anna also loved the feeling of connection and sense of community she experienced in yoga studios. The overall sense of well-being and greater mind/body connection led her into pursuing further study at Naropa University, in Boulder. She graduated with a BA in Contemplative Psychology and minor in Yoga studies. While she lived in Boulder, she regularly practiced at local studios and also had completed a yoga immersion with Amy Ippoliti.
Anna moved back to the Chicago suburbs after college and became a part of a yoga community that was similar to the one she had belonged to in her teens. Her passion for yoga eventually shifted into a desire to teach and offer the benefits of yoga to others. She received her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Certificate through a training led by Kathy Simonik at Pulsation Yoga.
Anna is a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. Since being certified, she has taught studio classes for beginners and all level students, private lessons, online classes as well as children’s yoga.
In her classes, she aims to focus on bringing alignment, awareness and breath into the yoga postures and movements. She offers various options(modifications)for postures, as well as props, to allow the yoga practice to be available to all in her classes. Her greatest intention to leave her students with a greater sense of ease and wellbeing; an opportunity to experience the many benefits of a yoga practice.
Anna is committed to continuous learning through workshops, trainings, other teachers, her own practice and self-study, and most importantly her students. Most recently, she has completed an intensive teacher training and study for trauma- informed yoga. She is truly grateful for the yoga teachers and communities that have influenced and supported her yoga journey.
Britt is passionate about sharing the healing benefits of yoga and meditation. She believes that integrating yoga and mindfulness into your life should never be intimidating. It should be fun, playful and accessible to everyone. Britt gives lots of clear and precise instructions, demystifying yoga and meditation for greater mental focus, physical strength, flexibility, agility and balance. Expect mindful stretches, intentional movement and synchronized breath. Expect to feel calm, confident and empowered in your body, mind and spirit.
Britt has been studying yoga for over 25 years and teaching for 15 years. She practices varied styles (Iyengar, Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga, Restorative Yoga) and loves to weave these traditions into her classes. In 2020, Britt upgraded her Yoga Alliance designation to the 500 level, having completed a 300-hour teacher training (focused on advanced vinyasa practices and yoga philosophy), two 200-hour teacher certifications (one on hatha yoga and meditation, one on physical and energetic anatomy), and over 10 years of study with Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher George Purvis.
Britt and her husband live north of Chicago, with their two teenage sons.
Cami Codell (E-RYT, YACEP, C-IAYT candidate) completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training at Kripalu Center in 2017, shortly after experiencing the yoga’s transformative healing power in her own life. Since then, she has done specialized trainings in trauma-informed yoga, children’s yoga, pre/postnatal yoga, mindfulness & wellbeing coaching, yoga nidra, sound healing, Kabbalah yoga, and more.
She has spent the last several years teaching to and learning from students/teachers of all ages in North America, Europe, & Asia. Cami has taught in studios, schools, camps, corporate settings, and residential psychiatric treatment. She is currently studying to become a Yoga Therapist, with an aim to lovingly support those struggling with trauma & mental illness using the practice of yoga, with a special focus on kids/teens and their families. For more information, visit camicodellyoga.com.
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.
Chuck 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.
Debbie stepped onto the mat for the first time in 2000 when her husband suggested they try a yoga class together. Initially looking for the physical benefits of yoga, she began to realize how much more the practice brought to her life. A life-long educator, Debbie became certified to teach children through YogaKids International in 2006 and began to bring the benefits of yoga to children and to children with special needs from preschoolers through teens. She added adults to her teaching practice in 2011 after earning her 200 hour certification through Blue Sun Yoga. Debbie also holds a certification in Dr. Loren Fishman's method of yoga for osteoporosis and shares that in her Yoga for Optimal Aging workshops. Debbie is an E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance and enjoys bringing the joy, peace, strength, focus, balance, stability, and flexibility of yoga to people of all ages and abilities.
Each class Debbie leads centers around a theme and includes gentle opening to prepare the body for safe practice, efforts to join mind, body, and breath, and flows designed to help the student gain strength, flexibility, balance, and awareness. She encourages each student to move into poses and flows with their individual abilities in mind.
Debbie is thankful for the support and encouragement of her husband David, her family and friends, and her mentor, Wendy Sadler.
Certifications include CYKF (Certified YogaKids Facilitator), RCYT (Registered Children's Yoga Teacher, Yoga Alliance), Certified Yoga Instructor (Blue Sun Yoga), and RYT 200 (Registered Yoga Teacher, Yoga Alliance).
Recent trainings include Yoga Therapy Training with Geri Bleier, Yoga Anatomy Training with Ray Long, Wisdom Warriors Workshop with Desiree Rumbaugh, and Yoga for Posture Improvement - Essentials for Healthy Aging with Gill Solberg.
Debbie is passionate about sharing all that yoga has to offer. She enjoys teaching an active, alignment-based vinyasa practice in addition to the stillness of restorative yoga and meditation. In all classes, she values creative sequencing and mindful cueing and pacing. Debbie teaches with compassion, sensitivity, a touch of humor and she prioritizes adapting the class to meet individual students’ needs. She empowers all students by providing appropriate variations so that individuals can develop tools to find their own inner strength and stillness. She always strives to encourage students to move and breathe in ways that are challenging yet accessible – to be their best selves as they age.
Debbie is an E-RYT 500 and a registered Ayurveda Yoga Specialist, YACEP, who holds the following certifications:
Restorative Yoga I & II (with Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, E-RYT)
Yin Yoga (with Josh Summers MaOM, L.Ac, E-RYT)
Yoga for Athletes (with Sage Rountree, PhD, E-RYT 500)
Reiki I & 2 (with Nia Tracey Ostrand)
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Training (with Angela Thomas, FNP, AHN-C)
Off the mat, Debbie is a leader in educational technology, a wellness educator and advocate who strives to embody and teach work/life balance. She is a lifelong fitness and health enthusiast who enjoys travel, music and playing the piano. Learn more about Debbie, her schedule and yoga retreats at www.debbiewoodsyoga.com.
Erin Ipjian is the owner and founder of Evolution Yoga, where she teaches several group and private yoga classes every week. Erin first began practicing yoga in 2002 and, over time, has developed a deep appreciation for the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of her time on the mat. Erin is a former attorney who had a sense that her true calling might lead her down a different path as she found herself immersed in yoga philosophy books alongside legal texts. Eventually, she began studying yoga more formally and opened Evolution Yoga in 2014 to share the practice with others.
As a teacher, Erin leads a well-rounded yoga practice that is physically challenging, yet mindfully paced to allow for exploration and refinement of the poses. Her classes interweave practical and modern-day applications of yoga's contemplative practices, a strong knowledge of anatomy, and an emphasis on the breath. She thoughtfully and creatively sequences her classes to ensure that her students can safely challenge themselves in an environment that is fun, supportive, and free from judgment.
Erin is a 500-hour experienced registered yoga teacher (E-RYT 500) who has trained with and is influenced by teachers from a variety of yoga traditions, including Aadil Palkhivala, Gabriel Halpern, Gary Kraftsow, Jason Crandell, Jenni Rawlings, Rod Stryker, and Tias Little. A lifelong learner, Erin is dedicated to her continued study of yoga.
Erin’s ultimate goal is to assist her students in reconnecting to the place of strength, clarity, freedom, and ease within themselves. She finds immense joy in sharing the practice of yoga with others.
To learn more about Erin, check out erinipjian.com
Katie began practicing and studying yoga over 25 years ago while working as an illustrator in New York City. She shares her love of the yoga practice at yoga studios, schools, The Art Center Highland Park, and the Cancer Wellness Center. Katie also works privately with students to develop individualized yoga practices.
She is registered at the 500-hr level with Yoga Alliance and is also a certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). Katie has completed trainings in Marma Therapy, Prenatal Yoga, Children’s Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and Yoga Nidra. She continues to study yoga and yoga therapy in the Krishnamacharya and Desikachar lineage. Katie is grateful for her teachers, JJ Gormley, Laura Jane Mellencamp, and Suddha Weixler.
For more information visit: https://linktr.ee/katiehoffmanyoga
Leslie has been practicing yoga for over twenty years, but it wasn’t until her youngest child entered school full time that she found herself being drawn to yoga classes more regularly. The physical benefits of flexibility and strength were undeniable, but it was the sense of calm and emotional grounding that helped convince her that something meaningful was taking place in her life outside of class also. Once she fully opened up to the many powerful healing benefits that yoga offers the body and mind, she found herself viewing the world around her with a more patient and compassionate lens.
To dive deeper into exploring and learning more about the physical and spiritual aspects of yoga, Leslie enrolled in the Blue Sun Yoga teacher training program under the guidance of Wendy Sadler and Wendy Dahl and completed her RYT200 training in 2018. In 2022, she further expanded her study by completing the RYT300 Yoga Psyche Soul advanced teacher program under Ashley Turner. This trauma-informed program merges yogic philosophy with psychology and is deeply rooted in a mental health perspective. This approach deeply aligns with Leslie’s passion for using yoga and meditation to support those struggling with depression, chronic stress and anxiety.
Yoga continues to cultivate a sense of peace, strength and emotional resilience in Leslie as she navigates life in many different roles and relationships. She hopes to share with students mindful and accessible techniques that can lead to greater awareness, self-acceptance and gratitude.
Leslie has done additional training in Chair Yoga and the Yoga to Transform Trauma certification program. She taught Gentle Yoga at Samadhi Yoga for 4 years and has volunteered teaching gentle and healing-informed classes to shelter residents and trauma victims to support their recovery journey. Ever fascinated by and grateful to yoga, she plans to never stop studying and learning more about this life-changing practice that has given her so much.
“Physical asana (poses) leads to deep inner connection and stillness and oneness with our spirits.” B.K.S. Iyengar
What first draws many of us to yoga is the exploration of our physical bodies, which is profound, but as time goes on and our physical practice develops, we tap into the many layers of richness and healing that are also the gifts of yoga.
When we step onto the mat and get grounded, find deep connection with our inner and outer self, notice more equanimity in our bodies and our minds, feel, move, integrate and move closer and closer to being in harmony, balance, and flow on and off the mat this is the “yoking” together that is yoga.
A yoga teacher since 2008, Megan has 200 hour RYT certifications in Forrest and Anusara Yoga and a 500 hour RYT Iyengar Influenced Advanced Teacher training at Prairie Yoga. She is also certified in Levels 1 & 2 Yoga for Golfers. Megan’s classes are uplifting and energetic, while also embracing calmer, reflective moments. Her classes are alignment based with mindful sequencing and flow to either an apex pose or type of poses with yoga philosophy and wisdom weaved in. For more about Megan, please visit her website meganmiller.com.
Trupti Gokani is an award-winning, board-certified neurologist, health & mindset coach, ayurvedic expert, yoga teacher, and Master Practitioner of NLP, who has dedicated her life to developing a unique blend of ancient wisdom with modern approaches. By melding these approaches, she’s become a highly sought-after speaker and coach, sharing holistic wellness strategies with larger-than-life media personalities like Dr. Oz, global pharmaceutical giants like Teva, and coaching clients from all over the world. She has been a blogger for Huffington Post and served on the faculty for The Shift Network and Metagenics.
She is best known for her revolutionary integrative approach to treating migraine, one of the most disabling neurological conditions, through The Zira Mind & Body Center which she founded in 2006. As a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, she now uses this additional approach to help clients understand their unconscious mind programs which keeps them in repetitive patterns of disharmony of thoughts, words, and action, leading to misalignment with the true self and optimal health. From this experience, she has created the Three Brain Optimization ProgramTM, which allows clients to discover the exact source of their disharmony. She is now offering this program of integrative coaching, using cutting-edge techniques, to improve energy, mindset, focus, and clarity in purpose.
She helps high performers create a strategy to move them from survival mode to thriving. This allows them to attract abundance of health, wealth, and relationships in life. Currently, Trupti is the Chief Medical Officer of Saffron & Sage, a holistic healing center in San Diego. She has served in previous roles as CMO of Ancient HealthCare, LLC, an organization founded to advance the knowledge of wisdom to the world. She is currently President of the board of the American Chronic Pain Association and is on the advisory board of Patient Mind, LLC both non-profits with a mission to empower patients with mood and pain disorders. She is Secretary of the Great Lakes Regional Headache Society. She is also on the advisory board of Verse, an online healing arts educational platform. She is a consultant and spokesperson for Microbiome labs and is working with them to conduct research on imbalanced gut flora and neurological and psychiatric disorders. She is a consultant for BrowTine Consulting, and assisted them with the development of an online education program for migraine.
Wendy is a longtime yoga teacher and practitioner who has been sharing her love of yoga with students for over 25 years. Her studies have included training in a variety of lineages, including that of the Himalayan Institute, Iyengar yoga, and Anusara.
Wendy’s classes feature an emphasis on the therapeutic aspects of yoga. Over the years, she has co-taught several teacher trainings and led workshops on the subtler practices of yoga, like pranayama, the chakras, and ayurveda. She looks forward to sharing the life-changing practices of yoga with you.
