AMY BETH TRECIOKAS
Amy started practicing yoga in 1993 with Kim Schwartz of the Temple of Kriya Yoga. She left the corporate world in 1996 to become a yoga instructor.

Her first step was traveling to Mysore, South India to meet and study with her teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson, Sharath Rangaswamy. After 5 visits encompassing 24 months of study with Jois he gave her his blessing, authorizing her to teach Ashtanga Yoga in the States.

Amy has also studied with Certified senior Ashtanga teachers Tim Miller, Lino Miele, Dena Kingsberg and David Roche.

Amy is the Director of YogaNow and teaches the traditional method of Ashtanga (Mysore-style) at YogaNow. Amy started chanting while in India and has been leading Kirtan in the Chicago area for the last 5 years. She greatly looks up to kirtan wallahs Debi Buzil, Dave Stringer, Bhagavan Das and and Krishna Das. She leads Kirtans every other Friday night at 8p.m. at YogaNow.

AINE ROCK
Check back for Bio soon.

Cara Jepsen
Cara Jepsen began studying yoga after her mother died and believes that regular practice can help people weather difficult times with dignity and grace. She's been teaching yoga since 1998.

Since 2002 she's spent eight months studying in Mysore, South India with the living source of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and his grandson, Sharath Rangaswamy (the former singled her out as a "bad lady" only twice). She has also spent ten weeks with them in New York City.

She has completed teacher trainings with Suddha Weixler and Manju Jois; her other primary teacher is Lino Miele. She's also studied with Dena Kingsberg, Annie Pace, Karen Haberman, Eddie Stern, Tim Miller, David Swenson, and David Roche; her articles about these experiences can be accessed via Yoga Chicago website, www.yogachicago.com. Yoga Chicago is also where her restaurant reviews, India diaries and her cartoon "On the Mat" appear.

For more information visit: my website at www.carajepsen.com.

Carl Gartner
5Rhythms Certified Teacher, began his journey into the 5Rhythms Movement Practice in 1994. He was introduced to the work by a friend, Karyn Tonkinson, who would later become his wife. Carl began to study with Karyn and continues to do so. He has also attended workshops offered in Chicago, California, New York and Canada with Gabrielle and Faculty of her International Organization – The Moving Center School.

In 2003, Carl became a co-founder of Mandala – Center for Transformational Arts, a non-for-profit organization, that focuses on the work of the 5Rhythms and also is the Midwest base for Workshops offered by Gabrielle Roth and her faculty.

In 2004, Carl was invited into the 5Rhythms Teachers program by Gabrielle. Carl was certified in April of 2005 to offer this wonderful practice to the world. He is the proud parent of Jasper and Chloe, two adorable little ones --- white Maltese puppies.

For more information visit: www.mandala-cfta.org

JENI O'KEEFE
Bio coming soon. Please check back.

Brian Pace
Brian Pace has been practicing yoga for over 15 years. He came to yoga because of a chronic neck problem and stayed because yoga gives him the excuse to be barefoot every day. Through the years he has studied a number of styles including Desikachar, Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Kundalini Yoga. He now focuses almost exclusively on Iyengar and Kundalini Yoga. He received his teacher's certification through Spirit Rising Yoga in Chicago.

Brian has an empathic style of teaching: gently, but firmly encouraging his students to challenge and expand themselves. His style is also informed by his study of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practices. In his classes he stresses the importance of being in the moment and opening to the higher self through body and energy awareness. The ultimate goal for each class is to achieve a deeply meditative connection with the Self.

Dearbhla Kelly
Dearbhla Kelly left Dublin, Ireland, in 2001 to pursue a Ph.D.in philosophy in Chicago. She began her practice of yoga 11 years ago while living in Amsterdam.

A dedicated student of Ana Forrest, Dearbhla also gives significant time to service and reflection in the ashrams and centers of the Sivananda lineage.

The yoga she loves cultivates compassion, radiates calm, and celebrates play, and her teaching hopes to inspire these qualities in others. She also finds great joy in the heart-opening chanting practice known as kirtan.

Currently, Dearbhla is maintaining a committed teaching schedule and personal practice while continuing work on her dissertation. Her studies of both Yoga and Western philosophy give balance and nuance to her teaching style.

Katy Schaffer
Katy started practicing yoga five years ago at NU Yoga (now Chicago Yoga Center). She was drawn to yoga because of a marathon running injury that conventional medicine would not heal. Just a month after beginning yoga, the injury was gone and Katy was hooked on Ashtanga. Katy instantly fell in love with the disciplined Ashtanga practice and slowly transitioned from a daily running regimen into a daily yoga practice.

In January 2004, Katy gave up her corporate chemical engineering job to take the year off to travel, volunteer, and deepen her yoga practice. While traveling throughout SE Asia, Katy studied with Paul Dallaghan in Koh Samui and was inspired by his dedication and in-depth knowledge of the Ashtanga System. After spending 3 months in Nepal, Katy traveled to Mysore, India to spend 6 weeks studying with Pattabhi Jois (Guruji) and his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy. While studying in India, Guruji often asked Katy if she knew Amy Beth Treciokas in Chicago. He obviously had a fondness towards her and Katy decided to seek out Amy upon her return to Chicago.

After returning to the United States, Katy began studying at Yoga Now with Amy Beth Treciokas and continues to teach and study under Amy’s guidance. Katy returned to Thailand in October, 2005 to attend Paul Dallaghan’s intensive 5 week teacher training which intensified her interest in prayanama, the study of anatomy, and yogic philosophy. Katy has committed her life to teaching and sharing her passion for Ashtanga while strengthening and deepening her own practice.

LaGenia Bailey
LaGenia Bailey began her yoga practice in her teens and came back to it as an adult to heal a back injury. She brings to her practice and teaching a varied background as her original training is as a scientist. She holds a Doctorate and BS in Pharmacy from University of Illinois, College of Pharmacy and is Board Certified in Psychiatric Pharmacy. (BCPP) Her post-doctorate training included a Residency in Psychopharmacy at University of Missouri at Kansas City and a Research Fellowship at the Greater Kansas City Mental Health Foundation. Her scientific endeavors, teaching and work with new medications for schizophrenia, substance abuse/dependence and other mental disorders has offered her opportunities for learning. During a teaching exchange at University of Punjab in India during 1997 she was taken with the wonders of the culture and yoga as a modality for healing. Although she still works as a scientist in her field, her current interests include the use of complementary healing techniques for improvement of quality of life and healing of the body, mind and spirit.

The practice of yoga has led her to study with many great teachers. She graduated in May of 2001 from the Temple of Kriya Yoga School in Chicago, one of the oldest yoga schools in the United States and is certified through the U.S. Yoga Alliance. Currently, she studies with Gary Kraftsow and is scheduled to graduate from the advanced Viniyoga teachers training program in 2006. She has studied with Rhiannon vocally and has completed training in sound healing with Jonathan Goldman. She also completed advanced training in pranic healing with the founder of Pranic Healing; Grand Master Choa Kok Sui. In her classes, the use of breath, asana, meditation and sound is part of the experience. She feels strongly that yoga is for everyone regardless of size, flexibility and ability and teaches in a safe and supportive environment for all attendees. She teaches yoga for health, stress reduction and well-being.

Dr. Bailey loves the practice and teaching of yoga and is known for her style of teaching as well as the ability to motivate students and tap the individual’s inner resources for bringing together the mind, body and spirit; the true practice of yoga. More information on her work and philosophy can be found at Yoga Chicago Magazine: Teacher profile Jan/Feb 2004.

Lynn Mutchler
The way I see it, whether we intend on it or not, at some point or another, yoga finds us...as much as we seek Yoga...

On The Mat…
I spent about 5 years, exploring in depth, many types of Hatha Yoga like Bikram, Kundalini, Anusara & Iyengar, and gathered many valuable tools along the way from teachers like Vinnie Hunihan, Claire Mark & Tom Quinn. I was gradually drawn to Ashtanga Yoga, as taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. I remember the first year not being able to even explain why. It is not that I “enjoyed” it SO much more than other disciplines. It is not that I was GOOD at it either, (which certainly was not the case!) But I liked the concept of “JUST DO IT”. 99% Practice 1% Theory. This appealed to me greatly. It was from this place that I found Paul Dallaghan, a remarkable teacher based in Thailand. For the past three years I have returned over and over again to deepen my understanding, & develop my practice under his guidance. Last year I spent 2 months in Mysore, India studying with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Directly through this set series of postures I have learned to practice, I have learned to focus, and I have learned to surrender to the teachings. In the past few years alone I have seen my own practice, develop to levels I couldn’t have fathomed when I started all this and I am truly grateful. In my gratitude I offer my experience.

Off the Mat…
I grew up a swimmer, swimming competitively for 8 of my formative years. I have found a career working in various aspects of Film Production for the past 12 years now and counting. There was a point early on in my yoga journey where I thought in order to go any further, I’d need to quit my job since it is TOO stressful, too not yoga. What actually happened was that through a dedicated yoga practice I learned how to appreciate my job more, and as a result work more efficiently. Through detachment, my job became much less stressful, and I became far more confidant in my own abilities. I have learned that yoga doesn’t ask us to “quit” anything. We just naturally re-prioritize as we go along.

Sarah Cruze
Sarah Cruze has been practicing yoga since 2003. Always a conscious athlete, Sarah decided to undertake a teacher training course primarily for her own practice while attending school. During the certification, Sarah found her calling. Sarah is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) through Yoga Alliance and received her instructor certification in 2006 at Corepower Yoga in San Diego, California. Recently moving to Chicago in the spring of 2007, Sarah has been teaching community class at Yoga Now throughout the summer and has just began to guide a Vinyasa flow on Thursday evenings. Apart from yoga, Sarah enjoys eating naturally, nature hikes, traveling, world music, mastering new skills, reading, meeting people from all walks of life. In class, Sarah likes to set a comfortable, peaceful and encouraging space to practice asana. One aspect of yoga Sarah particularly resonates with, is the non-competitive, non-judgmental philosophy and implements this in her instruction. Sarah believes the only thing you need to practice yoga is a flexible mind and the body will come in time.

Sarah’s intention for this year is to build community and share it through her classes, communication with others and spread enthusiasm to the expansion of consciousness on this planet.

MICHAEL McCOLLY
Bio coming soon. Please check back.

Niema Wilson
Niema Wilson is so pleased to be joining the YogaNow family. She has been teaching yoga for over a year, and practicing for four. She received her Hatha Yoga teacher training and certification from The Temple of Kriya Yoga under William Hunt and Mary Samanos, and since then has taught at many studios throughout the city. Her style is a combination of precise, classical alignment and breath awareness with blissful, explorative flow and earthy spirituality. She creates a nurturing, playful, and transformative environment for self-evolution. Niema is also an actor (BFA from Roosevelt University), singer (jazz and kirtan), painter, dancer, lover, and beautifier. She is cultivating the idea that the Universe is constantly conspiring to shower us with blessings, and yoga helps us let go of the umbrella. Jai Ma!

Patricia Hyland
My students experience and growth is my sole focus. I believe and encourage the study of our strengths and weaknesses carefully with joy. Through self-practice, great teachers, and motherhood my teaching and adjusting techniquies have matured. My understanding of the benefit of yoga is clear. Yoga is the ultimate healer without a doubt in my heart. My teaching began in college 20 years ago. I have completed teacher trainings with Suddha Weixler, Chicago Yoga Center and Advanced Forrest Training with Anna Forrest and Johnathan Bowry. I have a private labour assisting and lactation consulting practice since 1991. I am the honored mother of Elias (14), Henry (10), and Isaak Altenberg (6).

Yoli Maya Yeh
Yoli Maya Yeh (Ma Kurukulla Prajna) is a yogini of the Buddhist Aghora Nath order. A certified Yoga Therapist and Hatha Yoga practitioner from the age of five, Yoli has lived in India for seven years studying Buddhism, yoga, language, and philosophy in the unique cultural lineages of the Himalayan mountains and Bengal. A yoga teacher since 1999, Yoli Ma has brought innovative yoga programs to the corporate sector, children with special needs, seniors, teens, universities, and schools. Yoli believes in walking the path of wisdom and compassion by balancing the inner and outer natures, in order for harmony to emerge.

Tracy Wozniak
Tracy believes that through the practice of yoga, we are open to express the divine qualities that are found within each of us. She allows her students to be aware and comfortable to express their inner radiance through prana, the breath or life force, and encourages them to shine out their innate beauty through their poses. By accepting who we are in the present, we are able to be more fulfilled with the joy of offering our hearts and joining the celebration of life through the mind, body and spirit as one. Her yoga teaching is influenced greatly by Anusara, yet she integrates many benefits from other styles as well, but it was through her own personal birthing experiences that led her to choose a specialty in teaching prenatal yoga. She is also a certified HypnoBirthing® childbirth educator in which she teaches parents relaxation and incorporates the numerous benefits of yoga to bring about a safer, easier and more comfortable birth.

Karyn Gartner
5Rhythms Certified Teacher has been studying with Gabrielle Roth, creator of the 5Rhythms Practice since 1990. Along with Gabrielle, she has also studied and continues to study with core faculty of Gabrielle Roth’s International Institute, The Moving Center School in Chicago, New York, California and Canada. In 1994, Karyn was invited into the 5Rhythms Teachers Program. She was certified as a 5Rhythms Teacher in 1996 making her the first 5Rhythms Teacher in the Midwest.

Karyn also in the Founder of Mandala – Center for Transformational Arts, a non-for-profit organization, that focuses on the work of the 5Rhythms and also is the Midwest base for Workshops offered by Gabrielle Roth and her faculty. She has also produced other workshops in the Healing Arts at Mandala.

She is very honored to be offering 5Rhythms in the Midwest. She also is the proud parent of Jasper and Chloe, two adorable little ones --- white Maltese puppies.

For more information visit: www.mandala-cfta.org

Terry Wohl
My intention is to assist people in connecting with their Divine Sacred Essence and Experience a lasting sense of wholeness within themselves and with all aspects of their lives. I am a Healer, published Author and Facilitator. I have been teaching alternative healing classes since 1990. I hold a Doctorate of Divinity, am a member of AOBTA and a graduate of numerous healing and I am also a master practitioner of Yuen Energetics and MariEl Healing and certified Hendricks Body-Mind Vibrance Coach. I have also been a certified Skydancing Tantra teacher since 1996. My partner Victor and I hold monthly Sacred Saturday Evenings Healing Circle at Yoga Now on the second Saturday of each month, where we facilitate people accessing and celebrating their exquisite divine loving essence. Blessings,
Terry Wohl

Website: www.terrywohl.com
Email: terrywohl@aol.com

Marron Burke
Marron discovered yoga in 1999 while at the University of Montana. As a competitive runner, yoga was a way of finding balance in body and mind as well as much needed flexibility. After a couple years of vinyasa and Bikram yoga, Marron found Ashtanga yoga.

Marron was instantly enamored with the Ashtanga system for its discipline and consistency. Marron completed Ashtanga Teacher training with Richard Freeman in 2005, Yogaview’s Hatha teacher training in 2006, as well as Ashtanga Teacher Training with her most influential senior teacher, Tim Miller in 2006 and 2007. Marron periodically studies with Tim Miller throughout the year; her daily practice is influenced by Bill Shapleigh, Sharyn Galindo, Rebecca and Keith Bell and Amy Beth Treciokas. Marron brings compassion and sense of humor to her dynamic vinyasa flow and ashtanga classes; encouraging self-acceptance and a feeling of centeredness.

Liza Ferguson
I am a 2002 graduate of Moksha's Teacher Training Program. I completed David Swenson's Primary Series Teacher Training and his Second Series Intensive. I am also certified through Forrest Method Advanced Teacher Training, and have worked with a number of senior teachers including Duncan Wong, Andre Lappe, Tim Miller and others. I hold a black belt in Shotokan karate, and teach cycling, advanced sports training, stability and BOSU balls, and am a certified Personal Trainer specializing in rehabilitating athletes from sports related injuries. I am a Certified Child Exercise Specialist, and hold certifications in stability ball training, BOSU, sports training, kick boxing and mat pilates. I teach the Yoga for Athletes class at Niyama, and also lead yoga classes throughout the North Shore.

Gwen Mihaljevich
Gwen is a Chicago based yoga instructor helping students discover their authentic self, and develop a feeling connection to body and emotions through Forrest yoga.

Forrest Yoga strengthens and centers you as you connect to your core. Heat, deep breathing and vigorous sequences sweat out toxins while long holds in a series of poses help flush, oxygenate, and rejuvenate every cell.

Forrest Yoga does not require strength or flexibility; it only requires that you bring a willingness to learn how to feel authentically and respond honestly, thereby allowing you to feel fully the spectrum of human emotions. With practice, you will begin to trust your innate intelligence, investigate your edges, and begin a healing path toward more fully integrated senses and experiences.

After years of running, weight lifting, karate, and biking, Gwen has turned to practicing Forrest yoga and has completed over 500 hours of teacher training with Ana Forrest (qualifying her to teach beginners to intermediate). Gwen brings compassion and strength to her students' physical and emotional injuries building upon her skills as a music therapist. Interested in each student's growth, she challenges you to overcome your personal barriers that keep you dulled or numb as you discover a more energetic being, a freer self, and a more joyful connection to life.

Erin Walsh-Rodriguez
Erin Walsh Rodriguez, RYT is a certified Viniyoga Teacher through American Viniyoga Institute (500 hours) having studied with Gary Kraftsow since1999. Erin teaches safe and effective group classes as well as develops personalized practices for individuals and an introduction to Yoga Philosophy.

Through AVI, Erin continues to learn and grow, developing her skills in Yoga Therapy. She is a member of Yoga Alliance (500) and the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).

Erin spent two weeks studying at KYM (Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram) in Chennai, India to further her knowledge and experience. The curriculum included Yoga Therapy, Vedic Chanting, the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali and Yoga Theory in addition to Asana, Pranayama and Meditation classes. Erin thanks her husband Francisco for all his support.

Erin also owns a company, Urth Gurl, with her sister Therese. They specially blend therapeutic organic essential oils to achieve health, balance, and deep meditation, featuring a chakra collection.

For more information visit: www.urthgurl.com and www.chakrayoga.net

Email me at: erin@chakrayoga.net

Suzanne Clores
Suzanne Clores discovered yoga in 1997 while she was living in New York and writing her book, "Memoirs of a Spiritual Outsider" (Conari, 2000). Once she ventured into the Jivamukti Yoga Center, she fell in love with the dance-like yoga sequences and the firey mantras of Sharon Gannon and David Life. Eventually she was drawn to study traditional Mysore Ashtanga at a small shala in Chinatown, the only place in Manhattan where she could experience being quiet and internal. It wasn't until Suzanne left New York to attend graduate school in Arizona's Sonoran desert that she found Anusara yoga. Suzanne fell in love with the yoga community of Tucson, and revolutionized her practice with Anusara's focus on opening the heart to the current of grace. She is currently a student of John Friend and the many instructors who celebrate the same principles. Now in Chicago, Suzanne continues to write about spirituality and holistic lifestyle, among other subjects, while she teaches yoga. She is grateful to have the opportunity to live a double life as both writer and yogi. Suzanne is continuously uplifted by the spirit of fun in Anusara, and hopes to spread that quality of enjoyment to all her students.

Judith Sample
Judith Sample aka: Rebecca Giggle-Hawk received her Laughter Yoga Leader Certification from The American School of Laughter Yoga. A friend recommended laughter Yoga to her because she is a joyful spirit who laughs easily and often. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist, holds a black belt in Aikido, is a Taiko drummer and Drum Circle Facilitator and has been trained in Science of Mind spirituality. She also has Inprov training from Second City. An artist and performer, her mission in life is to be a catalyst for others to find the joy and creativity within them.

Laura Landecker
Laura Landecker tried yoga to help heal a back injury. She worked with many different styles of yoga but it wasn't until she did a workshop with Ana Forrest and starting taking Forrest classes, that her physical injury began to finally heal. She was determined to carry that message to others and became a certified Forrest Yoga instructor. Her personal experience with injuries and diseases, along with her deeply caring nature, make her an assest to students needing extra care in their yoga practice."

LIBBY GALIN
Bio coming soon. Please check back.

Laura Pascow
Laura Pascow, MSW, has her Master's degree in Social Work and has been practicing yoga for 14 years. Healing and working with mind-body dualities and alternative healing is a family matter for Laura. Her mother is a Reiki master and reflexologist. Her brother is a personal trainer and energy healer, as well as currently studying to become a Thai Massage therapist. Laura has trained with yoga masters, Ana Forrest, Tias Little, and YogaKids founder, Marsha Wenig. As a yogi and social worker, Laura works with the mind-body-self connection by embracing modalities both mainstream and not. Her experience has been with group and individual therapy as well as therapeutic yoga. Her approach to yoga is one of healing and growth. Laura emphasizes exploring alignment on and off the yoga mat to discover where the individuals are holding their tension and pain. Working with her clients to help them to understand their bodies, asansa (poses) are adapted to respond to the individual's needs. Laura's goal in working with her clients is to help them to thrive-physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Mary Herman
Bio coming soon. Please check back.

Mark Lerro
Certified Yoga instructor /Thai Yoga Therapist
Mark Lerro began his practice in Seattle, Washington before moving to Chicago and finding deeper immersion into the yoga disciplines and community that the change in cities offered. Working and training for the past five years with many mental, physical, and spiritual disciplines has opened up Mark's nurturing qualities and his power to inspire others. Elements of Martial arts, Thai Yoga massage, sound therapy, fire ritual, and Zen meditation can be experienced in his classes.

Fire Arts Instructor
Mark Combines his dedicated practice of yoga with the development of his Fire Arts, integrating two ancient practices into a beautiful and spiritual pursuit. Agni, the yogic term for the fire element , governs Marks personal yoga practice and performances. He explains that fire, as a combustive force, is one that burns within you, one that moves you, and then one that becomes a part of your natural flow. Nourished by the same oxygen, fire and practitioner breathe and move as one. It is this sacred connection to fire and its symbolic representation as an initiation and rebirthing process that inspire Mark to teach others the beautiful and powerful Fire Arts.

For more information visit: my website

Miguel Elliott
A Northern California native, Miguel began his Yogic journey while practicing with his Grandfather, long before he even knew what yoga was. Inversions were always his favorite pose, giving him opportunities to see the world from an altered view early on. Growing up on a country farm, Miguel enjoyed his long summer days away by trying to dig a hole clear down to China, which proved to be impossible, but discovered he could dig tunnels, thus beginning his passion for natural building. Upon completion of his studies in psychology and music at Humboldt State, in the heart of the Redwoods, Miguel taught environmental education in a program he helped develop, and discovered his teacher within. He then helped his uncle build a straw bale house, which raised money for his trip to Thailand, a two week trip that turned into two years, where studied Thai massage, spent 5 months living in a Buddhist monastery, and another 5 months working as a councilor at the New Life Project for troubled youth, where he first taught yoga to the 80 teenage boys living there. Upon returning to America, he moved to Chicago, and instantly started teaching music to disabled, followed by running his own ceramic tile business, and getting certified to teach yoga at 8 limbs yoga studio. Meanwhile, he discovered his knack for cooking, and took on the position of cooking for spiritual retreats. Miguel followed a lead to Argentina to build a school out of sand, clay & straw (cob), where he spent nearly a year, refining his skills as a natural builder. It was in Argentina where he began his studies in Mayan astrology, and stayed at a Mayan community called the "Garden of Peace". He then returned to Thailand where he helped build an orphanage out of cob & adobe, and helped with the areas affected by the Tsunami, and spent more time practicing his massage work. Miguel has since started his own company, ChiCobCo, building cob benches, and recently completed the construction of Yoga Now Gold Coast, which has a cob dome, a heated cob bench, cob trees sculpted, and clay plasters. He is currently building the Butterfly Cafe featuring all natural materials, and teaches his own style of yoga, called "Lom Yoga". Lom, which was also his nickname in Thai means "Wind", and in English, is a type of fertile clay, suggesting that through being grounded & rooted, allows us to be free like the wind. He also teaches the Mayan Mudras, which are hand and body movements which align us with the 20 Mayan archetypes.

For more information visit: my website

Rich Logan
Rich Logan has traveled the world studying and teaching massage therapy and Yoga. He has been on faculty at the Chicago School of Massage therapy and The Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Rich has also been a guest speaker on Western massage techniques at the Auyurvedic College in Mysore, India. A student of Yoga for 10 years, Rich incorporates his knowledge of anatomy and physiology with a unique understanding of spirituality in the modern world. Rich has studied in the Forrest Yoga discipline as well as at the prestigious Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras, India. Rich's significant teachers have been Anna Forrest, Kim Shwartz, Tias Little and currently interns at the Yoga Circle under the tutelage of the enigmatic and brilliant Gabriel Halpern in the Iyengar tradition.

Brooks Hall
Brooks enjoys inspiring students to practice yoga in alternative places such as elevators, bathrooms, and offices--wherever a little calmness and peace-of-mind would be helpful. Take yoga to the streets!

She feels that the practice of Yoga Basics is a way to nurture wellness and balanced emotions in a person's experience. Her approach to the actions (or "what to do") in the yoga poses is in line with the teachings of Iyengar yoga which emphasize alignment and stability, yet she also appreciates the abundant techniques of yoga practice.

Brooks is grateful for Gabriel Halpern's generous teaching in Iyengar yoga and beyond, from which she learns about everything from her little toe to her conception of the universe. And she is thankful for Quinn Kearney's infectious teaching that helped her to recognize her passion for yoga. She is especially thankful to her Nana who introduced her to yoga in 1978 when she was 7 years old. Also she feels incredibly blessed to be in a universe that has yoga!

Jamie Klausing
Check back soon for bio.

Matthew Wiley
Matthew Wiley has studied and practiced Traditional Tantra, Shamanism & Yoga for many years, in India and worldwide. For the past 8 years he has been teaching both publicly and privately on Yoga, Tantra, Shamanism, the core mechanics of Western Occultism & comparative religion. He holds a Yoga Shiromani (degree in Classical Yoga) & studied at Bihar School of Yoga, India.

Michelle Bullington
Check back soon for bio.

Rachel Sledd
Rachel first began practicing yoga as a toddler, spending Sunday mornings in Yoga for Children class at the Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago. After years of studying Hatha and other forms of yoga, in 2003 Rachel began a daily practice of Ashtanga Yoga as a student of Noah and Kimberly Williams in Los Angeles. She has also studied Ashtanga Yoga with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India, Eddie Stern, David Swenson and currently Amy Beth Treciokas here at YogaNow. As an instructor, Rachel places emphasis on Ujjayi Pranayama breathing as the primary means to develop mindfulness, proper alignment, and to facilitate physical safety and healing. Students are encouraged to practice with a balanced sense of ease and discipline, and to encounter challenges in their practice with an open heart and playful spirit.

Tonya Melendez
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Jennifer Enders
Jennifer started practicing yoga in 2001, searching for a mind body connection. It was through this exploration that inspired her to rethink and refocus her life. In 2005 she quit a career in finance in order to pursue and dedicate herself to her practice and to teach others. Her intention in teaching is to empower and to motivate students to their greatest potential not only on the mat, but more importantly, to take what they learn about themselves in yoga and incorporate it into their daily lives. She has studied and completed teacher training with Yoga Alliance certification from Paul Dallaghan in Thailand. She also has done teacher trainings with Tim Miller, Andrey Lappa, and has studied with Sri K Pattabhi Jois in the U.S. and India. Jennifer teaches classic Ashtanga and more contemporary Vinyasa Flow classes.

Julia RAE Antonick
Julia Rae Antonick is a dancer, choreographer, videographer and yoga teacher whose primary passion is the the language of the body. Finding true love in the movement of the body through space, she is a believer that ones anatomy holds the history and secrets of life and in order to begin existing in the constant rapture of being alive we must be curious about our skin while listening softly and humbly to the stories etched in our own physicality. Her yoga classes use the structure and fundamentals of classical hatha asana practice from both the vinyasa and Iyengar lineage while incorporating her various threads of knowledge from different somatic techniques such as Body Mind Centering, Laban Bartenieff, Pilates, Feldenkrais, Klien/Mahler Technique and Contact Improvisation.

Julia has been dancing since whe was five years old and continued to train in her Grandmother's dance studio throughout her childhood. She graduated from the Chicago Academy for the Arts with the Dance Department's Award of Excellence where she trained in Classical Ballet, Modern Dance, Art and Anatomy. While attending the Jacobs Pillow Modern Workshop and studying with Ralph Lemon, Meredith Monk and Randall Sanderson, she found a passion for Contemporary & Improvisational Dance and Yoga. She pursued these passions along with Balinese & Javanese Dance, Pilates, Laban Bartenieff Technique, Feldenkrais, Anatomy & Kinesiology and CI at CalArts where she earned her BFA for Dance on partial scholarship. It was here that she fell in love with Anatomy and also began playing in the hinges between words and movement, two-dimensional image and performance, and the crossroads between science and the arts.

Recently she has deepened her studies of Contact Improvisation and the UnderScore with Nancy Stark-Smith, wandered throughout Europe performing and researching dance, spent time in NYC at Om Yoga diving into a silent and personal yoga practice and at The Kitchen developing site specific performances. She returned to Chicago upon receiving a residency for dance choreography and videography at Links Hall. Julia completed her Yoga Teacher Training at Moksha Yoga Center in Chicago where she had the pleasure to study under such visiting practitioners as Tias Little, Mark Whitwell and Shanna Linn. She began apprenticeship with Gabriel Halpern with his yoga therapy workshops and gentle classes at the Yoga Circle and Asanas and More in early 2006 and continues to benefit from his knowledge. She recently received a grant from Chicago Seminar on Dance and Performance to develop a yoga workshop that is free to the public which reveals different applications of yoga to the process of dance making and performance.

Julia feels completely invigorated and alive each time she shares a practice with her students and encourages a physical space of compassionate vigor with a balance between the science of anatomy and the poetics of emotion.

YUKTA GIRARD
Each of us is unique, yet each of us shares a common desire to enhance the quality of our life. My vision and purpose, is to provide this opportunity for you. I have studied and practiced yoga for eleven years and I know that it can be a powerful tool to help you feel good. That is why I teach yoga - because it makes us feel good.

My intention is for you to get to know one of the most important things on Earth, yourself. In meditation - we gather the energy of our senses to a center within. When we become deeply absorbed in the center it is called meditation. The practice of yoga fills our lives with inner tranquility and great joy. It is a prayer of the heart, it is a vision of the highest truth - it is honoring life - it is acknowledging the presence of divine energy in your life. It is the way to make life more meaningful. The fruit of yoga is immense.

SUSAN SMARTT
With a background in modern dance and ballet, I had long been searching for a fun, energizing way to keep my body moving. After hearing about NIA, an integrated, whole person fitness technique that combines martial arts, dance arts, and healing arts, I knew that I had found what I was looking for. Not only did I fall in love with NIA as a student, I very quickly knew that I was meant to teach as well. The great gift of NIA is that while it draws from rich movement traditions such as modern dance, tae kwon do, and yoga, it does not require mastery of any one technique. NIA invites us to move at our own pace and in a way that is respectful of our own body’s natural rhythms. We are given space to move with freedom and strength as integrated beings: physical, mental, and spiritual.