RYT 200

STUDIO OWNER

HATHA | VINYASA | RESTORATIVE | YIN | CHAIR

A longstanding chronic knee injury drew me to yoga. A time-lapsed video of a yoga instructor coaching a man who needed the aid of braces and crutches to walk caught my attention. To witness the transformation of this man who was facing life in a wheelchair to the man running, skipping and playing with his grandchildren truly moved me and gave me the motivation to try yoga.

In 2017 I found a yoga studio in Cambridge, MA and my yoga journey began. I moved to Nashua in 2020 (4 days before Covid) and had a total knee replacement in October 2020. I found a local studio and practiced Restorative Yoga. I was fortunate to find a teacher who encouraged me to safely step out of my comfort zone. This was the defining moment for my transformation.

I progressed from Restorative to Power Yoga; however, my greatest transformation was awareness of my breath and using it to calm my mind.

Family and friends are most important to me. In my spare time, I enjoy being outdoors, crafts and travel.

RYT 500 | E-RYT 200 | YACEP

STUDIO MANAGER

REIKI I | TRAUMA CONSCIOUS YOGA | EMBODIED ENERGY | POWER HOUR | CANDLELIT GENTLE FLOW

Leah was first introduced to the physical practice of Yoga while living in Key West in 2012. Her yoga journey has most recently included graduating from her 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training program with My Vinyasa Practice, based in Austin, TX.

Leah feels strongly about interweaving many of her passions into her teaching, such as chronic illness advocacy, body awareness, and anatomy & physiology. It is her goal to continuously hold the space for people of all different backgrounds and create a welcoming and inclusive environment where her students can feel happy, safe, and at peace.

Leah is trained in Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra. She holds certifications in Trauma-Conscious Yoga and Yoga for Women’s Health and is available for 1:1 classes.

RYT 200 | REIKI I | VINYASA

Jeremy (Jay) Hanson began practicing yoga in 2015 and recently graduated the Yoga NH Teacher Training Program at Banyan Tree Yoga. Jay loves helping to guide others to find a little more peace in their day. He finds that (with the right combinations of movements, your state of mind and the proper breath) Vinyasa can be both vigorous and relaxing! Jay brings at least one unconventional pose to every class!During his free time, Jay likes to hit the gym, attend a spinning class or search YouTube for inspirational yoga sequences.

RYT 200 | REIKI MASTER | YIN | YIN-YANG

Sue graduated from the Yoga NH Teacher Training in August 2015 and from Josh Summers YIN training in April of 2016. Sue is a Reiki Master and is also continually developing her knowledge of crystals, essential oils, medicinal herbs, meditation and other topics she sees as complimentary to yoga. Sue’s blended style ranges from gentle Hatha to a more vigorous Vinyasa Flow. She focuses on the basics of breath and alignment while keeping things fresh, often incorporating something just a bit different, never teaching the same exact class twice! Having started her journey a bit later in life, Sue is sensitive to the diverse needs of all levels of students and offers modifications and challenging poses as necessary while never forgetting the importance of rest during a practice.

RYT 200 | REIKI II | MINDFUL FLOW | POWER HOUR | YIN & SOUND | GONG MEDITATION

Arianna has been practicing the art of yoga since 2015 and has been teaching since 2020. Arianna first found yoga when she needed to accommodate an old knee injury. She wanted to remain active, but needed a low impact activity. Yoga ended up becoming so much more for her, on and off her mat.

Arianna received her 200-HR, Restorative, and Chair Yoga certifications through Yoga & Ayurveda Center in Pennsylvania. Arianna also has Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Second Degree certification.

Arianna believes that yoga is for anyone in any type of body and demonstrates this in her ability to offer modifications for injury or skill level. Arianna has a passion for pranayama, hand mudras, Yoga Nidra, and tries to incorporate them into her classes as much as possible.

In her spare time, you can find her enjoying a cup of iced coffee while getting lost in the woods with her husband or closest friends, buying crystals, and making malas.

RYT 200 | YIN | SLOW FLOW FUSION

Valerie is a licensed clinical mental health counselor and completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training program in August of 2014. Prior to her completion, she had already begun to teach Yin yoga locally. While she enjoys teaching Hatha and Vinyasa to keep things fresh, her passion has become Yin and the need for people to understand why deep stretch is so important (whether you practice yoga or not) and how to make your body work smarter so that you lessen the chance of becoming injured. Val is quick to remind her students that it is their practice and their body and the importance of listening to it.

RYT 200 | HATHA | HOOP YOGA | YIN-YANG

Shelly is a yoga enthusiast and has been teaching since 2016. The hoop yoga training called HoopYogini occurred when teaching in person stopped in 2020. The hoop helped Shelly find a new mindful practice while building strength and confidence.

Outside of teaching yoga, Shelly is an engineer and is always solving problems. Yoga and meditation have brought in a chance to ‘see the good’ instead of the problems all the time.

RYT 500 | RISE & FLOW | HATHA | VINYASA | MEDITATION

Frankie has been involved in yoga since 2009 when he was introduced to it to cope with the stresses of war as a U.S. Marine Reserve Combat Veteran. In 2015, he went to Rishikesh, India, to get his 200-HR Yoga Teacher Training in Hatha yoga and meditation. This was an attempt to bring healing modalities to his fellow veterans. Over the years, he has volunteered to teach communities, people experiencing homelessness, and Veteran populations. Then in 2023, Frankie got his 300-HR Yoga Teacher Training at Down Under School of Yoga in Boston, focusing on Vinyasa styles of yoga. Frankie focuses on Hatha, Slow Flow, and more meditative styles of yoga to help counteract the hectic American lifestyle. He welcomes people from all walks of life to join him from novice yogis to more experienced ones and feels everyone can benefit from getting on the mat and cushion frequently.

RYT 200 | RESTORATIVE YOGA NIDRA | HATHA

Evie completed YogaWorks 200-Hour Teacher Training in 2017. When Evie took her first yoga class in 2013, her goal was to become more physically fit, but soon found that she gained significant positive emotional benefits with consistent practice. She aims to create and share an environment in which individuals may cultivate their own peace on the mat and carry that calm into their lives.

RYT 200 | POWER HOUR | VINYASA | HATHA

Vail-Marie is a recent YTT graduate through the YogaWorks program at Yoga Balance in Manchester, NH. She has had a consistent practice since discovering the physical practice of yoga in 2016; quickly falling in love with the mental benefits and as a way to cope with the stress and anxiety of the pandemic and events of her past. Upon diving into the philosophy of yoga, Vail-Marie found many parallels to Taekwon-Do which has strengthened both of these practices for her.

RYT 200 | PRENATAL

Michelle has been in the Health & Fitness industry for over 35 years, teaching group, semi-private and private classes. She found her fondness and love for Pilates, Barre and Yoga, which are more focused on a mind/body connection. After stepping into a Yoga class in 2001, Michelle knew after that first class this was the healing her body truly needed. She embraces being surrounded by those who enjoy how they feel when they leave a class and feels it is important to have a healthy mind and soul, which leads to a healthy body and overall positive outlook on life.

RYT 500 | E-RYT 200 | YACEP | YIN

Michael has a light hearted approach to teaching yoga. Oftentimes you may hear him say " It's just yoga people, don't take it so seriously" What Michael does take seriously is moving the body and moving the body safely. Michael has many certifications and is currently E-RYT200, RYT-500 and YACEP. When he is not in the studio teaching or taking a yoga class you will find him on a disc golf course or on the water in one of his kayaks.

RYT 500 | YOGA THERAPIST | SUBSTITUTE TEACHER

More of a bookworm than an athlete, Shelli had little experience being present in her body when she stepped onto the mat at a crowded, sweaty Baptiste Power Yoga class two decades ago. She felt the energizing and calming effects immediately. Since then, her practice has been a refuge from overthinking, anxiety, and burnout.  It has been the place for her to cultivate kindness toward herself and to feel connection to the divine. 

An RYT-500, Shelli completed her 300-hour certificate under the direction of Natasha Rizopolous at Down Under School of Yoga in 2015.  A passionate student as well as teacher, she has over 300 hours of continuing education in yin, restorative, and yoga for emotional health and healing, and will earn certification as a yoga therapist from The Mindfulness Center in 2023.  She credits Kate Graham of Soulful Yoga Therapy for inspiring her journey into healing-focused yoga.

Shelli combines her yoga training with 10 years as a certified health coach and over 20 years as college writing faculty.  Her practice and teaching style are shaped by the movement of vinyasa and the stillness and nurturing components of restorative.  Her classes promote self-discovery and help students feel more grounded and balanced as they work through sequences, breath work, and visualization that promote emotional regulation.  She uses props and offers modifications, but never shies from building a little heat.  She encourages her students to move and breathe in a way that feels good in their bodies and to carry their practice into their lives off the mat.