~ Wild Lotus Yoga Staff ~
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Sean Johnson - Founder of Wild Lotus Yoga and Soul School: Yoga and Spirituality Teacher Training Program
• Teaches: Floating Lotus, Flow
....................Lotus Power, Kirtan (Singing)
Sean Johnson, M.A., R.Y.T., is a proud native of New Orleans, founder of Wild Lotus Yoga, and creator of SOUL SCHOOL, Wild Lotus Yoga's signature spirituality and yoga teacher training program.
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Sean shares a creative teaching style that joyfully unifies hatha yoga - physical yoga, and bhakti yoga - the yoga of the heart. Sean encourages you, through your practice, to celebrate and honor the blessing of being alive.
Sean's unique yoga education began with intensive, experiential, interdisciplinary study of yoga and related spiritual traditions in college and in graduate school. He is a graduate of The Naropa Institute where he received a Masters Degree in Creation Spirituality and apprenticed with South Indian teacher and yogi-musician Russill Paul. Sean is also gratefully inspired by his friendships and study with heart-centered yoga teachers: Dana Flynn and Jasmine Tarkeshi founders of Laughing Lotus Yoga; Holistic Yoga teacher Saul David Raye; and ecstatic kirtan singer Jai Uttal.
Before opening Wild Lotus Yoga in 2002, Sean taught at The New Orleans Yoga Center, The University of New Orleans, Loyola University, Delgado Community College, L.S.U. Medical School, and other regional yoga studios. Sean was named one of New Orleans' outstanding achievers in Gambit Weekly's 10th Annual 40 Under 40 Issue. He has been invited to teach at major yoga conferences internationally and has been featured in many yoga publications including Yoga Journal, Fit Yoga, LA Yoga, Yoga Chicago, and Yoga + Joyful Living. Sean and The Wild Lotus Band were recently signed by Nutone Records and lead kirtan concerts, workshops, and retreats across the U.S. and abroad.
To find out more about Seán's musical endeavors visit www.seanjohnsonkirtan.com.
CDs/MP3s of Seán's classes are available at www.AliveYoga.com
"I see myself as a guide seeking to help students connect to a deeper awareness of the life force within them. I offer an inspiring approach to yoga that weaves together informative and poetic instruction, uplifting music, and a deep respect for the creative spirit of each individual. My intention is for students who take classes at Wild Lotus Yoga to feel charged with vitality, peace, and inspiration."
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Andra Aitken
• Teaches: Community Flow Class
• Graphic Designer
Andra is a graduate of the Wild Lotus Yoga Soul School and loves to share her passion for yoga through teaching. She was introduced to yoga while finishing her Architectural Thesis and immediately embraced the various asana, breathing, meditation and chanting practices that helped her maintain balance in her life. In addition to her work at the yoga studio, Andra makes dog and human shirts through her graphic design company New Orleans Dog, LLC.
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AAndra loves to spend her free time taking her three fabulously cute dogs to the park, cooking and spending time her friends, chanting kirtan and discovering new ways to be crafty. She is especially looking forward to learning how to crochet.
To view Andra's products come to the studio or visit www.nodognaked.com
"As I was taking my first class, I realized that yoga was what I was looking for in my life. I love how the teachings and practices of yoga integrate my mind, body, emotions and spirituality. As I embrace the practices of yoga, I become a more connected and balanced individual, and am able to greater appreciate the experiences of my life."
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Amy Archinal
• Teaches: Lotus Roots,
....................Floating Lotus,
....................5 Week Intro To Yoga Course
Amy Archinal is a painter, Reiki master, and certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. She was certified to teach yoga at Shoshoni in Colorado and is registered with the Yoga Alliance (RYT). She is also a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
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Amy studied Tai Chi, Ba Kua, and Taoist meditation with Wilson Pitts and has also practiced hatha yoga for many years. She previously worked as a manager in the natural foods industry. Her passions include cooking and hiking. Her yoga therapy web site is neworleansyogatherapy.com.
"I've had a longtime interest in yoga and meditation in motion, first through Taoist forms, then through Hatha Yoga, and most recently through Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy training . The practice of yoga brings a deep level of awareness into the body; as we cultivate awareness without judgment we become more present and compassionate, essentially making more space for ourselves inside ourselves. I love helping students to connect with the innate wisdom of their bodies and to create more openness in their bodies and in their lives."
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Kendall Ashley
• Teaches: Community Class,
....................Sunday Soul Time,
....................Nutrition Coach
Kendall is a graduate of the Wild Lotus Yoga Soul School and loves to share her passion for yoga through teaching. She first came to Yoga because she was a runner and she wanted to gain greater flexibility and strength. What surprised Kendall was Yoga was much more then a physical practice.
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Yoga gave her a sense of community and gave her a forum to connect with herself and her feelings in a deeper way. Through her Yoga practice, Kendall was able to bring her passion and zeal off the mat and into her life. In addition to teaching Yoga, Kendall is a Holistic Nutrition Coach specializing in the nutrition needs of yogis and runners. She is the founder of Passion Fed, a wellness company. Kendall spends her free time playing tennis, visiting with friends and running. She is an active volunteer and donates her time to the Gulf Restoration Network and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She is currently training for the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon. To Visit Kendall's Nutrition Coaching website go to www.passionfed.com.
"My yoga practice has given me the confidence to overcome any obstacle life offers me. It has been my confidant through a divorce and given me a sense of home when I moved 11 hours away from home. My yoga practice offers me space to be who I am and create who I want to be. My life with my Yoga practice by my side keeps unfolding in the most amazing ways."
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Lauren Best-Shapiro
• Teaches at Healing Center - Thursday nights; Tweens class
I first bumped into yoga as a child when given a book on yoga for kids. I loved doing the poses photographed in the book. It wasn't until years later, as an adult, that I attended my first yoga class.
Nervously giggling my way through that class, I soon noted a mental calm, clarity, feeling of physical expansiveness and improved, restful sleep. My experience as an occupational therapist working with adults and children enhanced my interest in yoga.
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I've participated in numerous yoga trainings and programs including Yoga for the Special Child, Next Generation Yoga, Yoga Skills for Youth Facilitators Training, Therapeutic Yoga: Bridging Ancient Practices with Traditional Therapy Techniques, and Wild Lotus' Soul School program. I'm grateful for all that yoga has welcomed into my life, and am excited by the range of benefits it can offer to adults and children.
My goal is to encourage students to explore movement with curiosity, appreciation, and without judgment. When students connect with mindfulness, wonderful things can happen: anxiety and physical pain can diminish; self-esteem can increase; physical strength, coordination and balance can improve; a feeling of connectedness to community can emerge.
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Michael Coleman
• Teaches: Flowing Lotus
Michael has been practicing yoga in the New Orleans area for 15 years. He was recently certified in Kripalu Yoga and is a member of KYTA. Michael counts Sean Johnson as a long-time friend and mentor and has had an affiliation with the Wild Lotus Yoga studio since its inception, including performing with the Wild Lotus kirtan band. He is the father of one awesome grown daughter and is a degreed Petroleum Engineer. He works at his "real job" as a Drilling Engineer, drilling oil and gas wells (sometimes referred to euphemistically as an "earth acupuncturist" around the yoga studio).
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"Fifteen years ago I would have been voted 'redneck least likely to practice yoga'. I was led to yoga rather than chose it. I am grateful for the Universe's intercession. The benefits of yoga are numerous. I especially appreciate the transformative and healing aspects of a consistent practice. I am both excited and anxious as I explore the new role of teacher. I view all of yoga as an exploration, there is no 'right' or 'wrong'. I appreciate all the flavors that yoga comes in and the uniqueness of every yogi's experience. In my teaching I hope to guide students toward a personal and meaningful yoga experience."
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Maribeth Del Castillo
• Teaches: Lotus Power, Hot Lotus
Maribeth Del Castillo is a vinyasa yoga instructor whose interest in yoga began over 15 years ago while living in Japan . Seeking knowledge in a variety of yoga styles, Maribeth found that she was initially drawn to the power and discipline of Ashtanga. Upon her return to the United States, Maribeth settled in the San Diego area and was fortunate enough to meet and study with her teacher, mentor and friend, Dana Rae Pare. Not only did Dana introduce Maribeth to fantastic and inspiring instructors Tim Miller (Ashtanga Yoga Center) and Ana Forrest (Forrest Yoga), she also helped cultivate and nourish in Maribeth a passion and interest in vinyasa yoga that has permeated every facet in her life.
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A teacher for 11 years, Maribeth brings a playful, energetic spirit to her classes, which are taught in a non-competitive, welcoming and empowering environment.
She lives uptown with her husband and 2 small children, and has recently begun coursework in Ayurveda.
'Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny.'
-Upanishads
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Claiborne Davis
• Teaches: Lotus Power, Flow, Yoga for Athletes
Claiborne is a Certified Instructor of Yoga Tune Up®, a format that incorporates calisthenics, unconventional exercises and self-care into traditional yoga as a means of refining physiological awareness. He earned his first yoga certification through Wild Lotus Yoga's Soul School teacher training program. He has taught yoga to Tulane University's baseball team and introduced a yoga program with renowned fitness coach Mackie Shilstone.
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Claiborne found yoga as a tennis player who was developing strength imbalances. “Racquet sports tend to overdevelop muscles on one side of the body, so I realized it was important not to neglect my left half!” A friend convinced him to attend his first class. “After that one session, I was hooked. I had the idea that yoga was passive, but soon realized it's actually an active and precise way of tuning the body, both physically and mentally. It's done wonders for my tennis game.”
He worked a number of years in the television news business and credits yoga with maintaining his sanity throughout odd work hours and ever-present deadlines.
Claiborne has studied extensively with Yoga Tune Up® founder Jill Miller. He has attended yoga retreats in Cat Spring, Texas, with Dana Skoglund, a Jivamukti Yoga-certified teacher, and in Cartagena, Colombia, with Jessica Bellofatto, owner of KamaDeva Yoga in East Hampton, New York, and co-founder of Yoga Shanti in Sag Harbor, New York.
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Michelle Duncan
Michelle Duncan, RYT, is a graduate of Wild Lotus Soul School, an interdisciplinary yoga and spirituality teacher training program. Michelle teaches a vinyasa flow style of yoga weaving into the classes inspirational readings, poetry, philosophy, and music. Michelle began her yoga journey about 6 years ago when she was experiencing severe lower back pain, most likely due to all the sports and injuries over the years. She was on a quest to find something that would ease her consistent pain that didn't involve surgery or medication.
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She tried acupuncture, massage, chiropractic and eventually decided to try yoga since nothing else seemed to be getting at the root of the problem. After her first class she was hooked. It had transformed her not only physically but spiritually. Michelle now uses a combination of all the methods mentioned above to keep her body in tune and healthy. She is now happy and eager to share with others her life changing experience with yoga.
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Laura Flora
• Teaches: Lotus Roots, Flowing Lotus,
....................12 Week Building the Foundation Sessions, and
....................12 Week Deepening Your Practice Sessions
Laura Jarrait Flora, Certified Anusara Yoga Instructor, RYT, is committed to helping students unfold the fullness of their lives through the elegant system of Anusara Yoga. Laura moved to New Orleans in 1996, and was introduced to yoga thanks to an invitation from a passing acquaintance. She began studying Iyengar yoga with Becky Lloyd soon thereafter, and is very grateful for the sound foundation her compassionate teaching provided.
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She found Anusara yoga during her four month evacuation from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and life has never been the same. Laura is deeply grateful for the many hours she has been fortunate to spend in the great company of gifted Anusara teachers Sommer and Paul Sobin, Lila Pierce Brown, and Jordan Bloom, as well as Anusara founder, John Friend, philosophy teachers Dr. Douglas Brooks and Dr. Paul Muller Ortega, and countless inspiring students. It is her heart's desire to share these gifts, to help others connect into the beauty, power, and virtuosity of their own being and of this resplendent universe one asana at a time, and to cultivate a community in which we support one another on this grand adventure.
"My practice of yoga has helped me to develop freedom and spaciousness in the body, but more importantly, freedom and spaciousness in the mind. It continually amazes me that the physical practice of hatha yoga relates directly to our thoughts and actions off the mat. My highest wish for my students is that they also can experience more freedom and live more skillfully each day. I am a life-long student and hope to pass the excitement of learning new things onto all my students. I am excited to be part of the Wild Lotus community and look forward to all it can do to help New Orleans renew."
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Kelley Gill
• Teaches: Lotus Roots, Flowing Lotus, Blossoming Lotus-Prenatal Yoga, Mama and Baby Lotus Postnatal Yoga
Kelley is a native New Orleanian who has recently returned to the city after 14 years away. She is a graduate of Wild Lotus' Soul School teacher training program and is currently completing her prenatal certification through the Mamaste™ program. Kelley studied yoga with various teachers during her years living in Boston, San Francisco and New York. She was most profoundly inspired by the soulful teachings of vinyasa goddess Janet Stone and the Anusara-inspired prenatal classes she took with Mary Barnes while pregnant with her first child in 2006.
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Kelley's teaching is influenced by the Anusara style of yoga, with its beautiful blend of uplifting philosophy supported by precise alignment principles. When not teaching yoga, Kelley enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband, and preparing for the arrival of their second child this December.
“Like most Westerners, I came to yoga to exercise my body. And while my body has worked at the practice, the practice has worked on my mind. It was the health and fitness benefits that led me to explore yoga, but the practice's ability to quiet my mind and shift my perspective keeps me coming back to the mat. My yoga practice helps me flow through life with a bit more grace and a lot more gratitude.”
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Farah Gokturk
• Teaches: Community Flow Class,
....................5 Week Nutrition Course (Nourish Yourself, Feed Your Life)
Farah Naz Gokturk, founder of Sweetpeace Wellness, is a holistic health counselor certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.
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At the core of her practice, Gokturk believes that good, nourishing food, and a positive, nurturing lifestyle can provide for optimal wellness, health and happiness. Guiding her clients to access their own intuition in creating a dietary program that best suits their needs, Gokturk incorporates nutritional consulting based on a wide array of dietary theories, as well as yoga and meditation.
Gokturk is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City where she later mentored students for their Professional Training Program. She helped to create a Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA) in New York City, and has trained as a Community Food Chef. Gokturk is a graduate of Soul School, Wild Lotus Yoga's Interdisciplinary Yoga Teacher Training Program. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Media Criticism from the City University of New York, Hunter College. A native New Yorker, she now lives in New Orleans.
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Cheryl Golich
• Teaches: Hot Lotus, Lotus Power, Intro To Yoga
Cheryl has a deep love and appreciation for the transformative power of yoga. She completed her teacher certification program in vinyasa yoga at The White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, California. Cheryl teaches vigorous classes in a calm, supportive and encouraging manner. Her friendly, relaxed, confident presence is an inspiration to her students. Guided by a vibrant eye for detail, Cheryl entices students to challenge themselves while maintaining deep respect for their bodies. Cheryl also loves biking, running, golf and playing with her dog Buddha.
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"I have yet to meet a yoga teacher who teaches yoga purely as a profession. We choose to practice and teach because of a passion for yoga. My students, my teachers and the yoga community continually educate and inspire me and my practice. The intention I have for each class is to encourage you to work your edge while listening to that inner voice that tells you when to ease back, staying focused but always having fun no matter how challenged you feel. Yoga teaches us to be strong and flexible on and off the mat. Come to your mat and watch your practice blossom from there!"
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Hans Gruenig
• Teaches: Meditation, Buddhist Philosophy, Positive Psychology, .....................and Compassionate Communication
• Webmaster
Hans Gruenig, Ph.D. is a professor who teaches courses in Buddhist philosophy and applied positive psychology; an experienced meditation instructor, an integral wellness coach; and a musician. He enjoys exploring, practicing, and teaching practices that lead to greater peace, insight, enjoyment, gratitude, wonder, connectedness, and happiness.
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Hans has studied and practiced in a variety of Buddhist and yogic spiritual traditions and has attended meditation retreats and intensive trainings with masters in India, North America, and Europe. He has completed an M.A. in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies; a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Tulane University; a Dharma Teacher Training with Bhante Gunaratana; a Big Mind Facilitator Training with Genpo Roshi; a Facilitator Training with Byron Katie; an International Intensive Training in Compassionate Communication with Marshall Rosenberg; and a Positive Psychology Coach Training with MentorCoach. For more info about Hans, please visit www.gruenig.net
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Tamarin Hennebury
• Teaches: Flow, 5 Week Intro to Yoga Course
Tamarin has practiced yoga for many years with various teachers, learning various styles. She recently began teaching yoga at Wild Lotus after completing its Soul School teacher training. Her classes at Wild Lotus Yoga offer the added depth and insight that she gains working as an occupational therapist at Touro Infirmary and in private practice. "I love that I can bring physical rehabilitation experience to my yoga classes and use yoga in my therapy work."
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Tamarin incorporates a flow, vinyasa style of yoga in her classes. She feels this style helps students access a calm and centered state of mind, leading to an intuitive awareness of movement, while gaining strength and flexibility. "A yoga class allows us to reset our internal wiring helping us get to that peaceful state of mind on our own".
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AC Lambeth
• Teaches: Lotus Power, Hot Lotus
Born in Atlanta, Anne-Compton (AC) lived in Germany, Prague, Colorado, and Montana before finally finding a spiritual and physical home in New Orleans and in the community at Wild Lotus Yoga. She is a graduate of Wild Lotus Yoga Soul School and has practiced Shambala Meditation for many years. She holds a BA from Naropa University in Boulder, CO and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans.
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AC has published short fiction in several literary journals and is working on a second novel. For over seven years she has taught writing at the university level and is currently an adjunct instructor at Tulane University.
When she isn't practicing yoga, writing, or teaching, AC enjoys spending time with her husband Bill Loehfelm, walking their two dogs, gardening, cooking, playing the violin, reading, seeing live music, and drinking good wine with good friends.
“To me yoga is a place where doing meets being, where the borders between mind, body, and spirit melt. As a creative writer, I am especially interested in how the practice of yoga affects and nourishes our creative lives, how yoga feeds the creator inside all of us, banishing doubt and judgment so that everything we do can be an expression of the pure, luminous, and inspiring true self within.”
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Beverly Morris
• Teaches: Flowing Lotus-Waves
Beverly is a Certified Yoga Teacher for Kali Ray Tri Yoga Basics and Level I. She is working towards certification in Level II.
She also works as a clay artist, primarily using coil-building, one of the oldest forms of creating pottery. She has participated in three 1,600-mile walks across Europe, each of which took approximately three months; and one 600 mile walk across England and Ireland.
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"As a teacher, I most want to be experienced as simply a channel - relaxed, calm, encouraging, able to provide an opportunity for any student to have a wonderful yogic experience; to truly experience being present. I think Kali Ray Tri Yoga is one of the most beautiful forms of yoga - I appreciate its beauty, its system; its gentleness; and it is through this form of yoga that I truly was able to connect the breath with the movement and understand the importance of the breath. Prior to that it seemed like some unsolvable mystery that only hermits or gurus attained."
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Leslee Reed
• Teaches: Lotus Buds-Kids Yoga
Leslee is the founder of the kids yoga program at Wild Lotus and was certified to teach Kids Yoga by Next Generation Yoga in New York. Her Kids Yoga classes incorporate yoga poses, art, music, storytelling, and relaxation techniques. She has done graduate work at UCLA in learning disabilities and has been a teacher for 30 years, mainly teaching first grade and kindergarten. She currently teaches kindergarten at St. Andrew's Episcopal School and has a part time gardening business ("Quite Contrary"). Leslee is also enrolled in Soul School, Wild Lotus' Yoga and Spirituality Teacher Training Program
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"I have an abundance of energy, enthusiasm and patience! I love being with children. The world is fresh and new for them. I love looking at the world through their eyes. That joy is communicated to them."
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Nicole Rezza
• Teaches: Lotus Power, Blossoming Lotus-Prenatal Yoga
• Studio Manager
Nicole Rezza, RYT, is a yoga teacher, group fitness instructor, and personal trainer who received her yoga teacher training from Frog Lotus Yoga in North Adams, MA and is also certified in Mamaste™ Yoga. Nicole fell in love with Wild Lotus in 2002 at the first class she took at the original Mid-City location and is excited to share her passion for yoga with others.
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In addition to practicing and teaching yoga, Nicole also enjoys reading, volleyball, biking, and traveling with her husband.
"We can discover the process of letting go and relaxing during our lifetime. In fact, that's the way to live: stop struggling against the fact that things are slipping through our fingers. Stop struggling against the fact that nothing's solid to begin with and things don't last. Knowing that can give us a lot of space and a lot of room if we can relax with it instead of screaming and struggling against it." -Pema Chödrön
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Amanda Rubinstein-Stern
• Teaches: Flowing Lotus, Lotus Power, Lotus Roots
Amanda Rubinstein-Stern is certified to teach yoga by the Yoga Alliance and by the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, California where she received her teacher-training. Amanda is also certified as a Pilates Mat instructor and as a personal trainer. Amanda came to yoga from dance, which she studied at the University of Texas at Austin. As one might expect from someone with a dance background, her focus is on alignment in asana as well as on creative movement from asana to asana.
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Amanda has focused her study of late on Iyengar yoga. She has been fortunate to study with great teachers in a number of styles. Among her recent influences are Edward Clark of Tripsichore Yoga Theatre Group in London; Ganga White and Tracey Rich of White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara; Laurie Greene of Yoga Nine Studio in New Jersey; and, of course, Sean Johnson and all the teachers at Wild Lotus Yoga in New Orleans.
"There is a certain feeling that I think everyone has had at some point when they meet someone and feel as if somehow they have known that person their entire life. When I was introduced to yoga it gave me that same feeling about myself. It has been an important part of my life ever since. As a teacher, I want my students to have the same feeling."
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Tamar Starck
• Teaches: Restorative Yoga, Roots
• Event Coordinator
Tamar Starck is a yoga teacher and graduate of Wild Lotus Yoga's Soul School Teacher Training Program and also works at the front desk and coordinates events and publicity for Wild Lotus Yoga. Tamar moved to New Orleans after Katrina and immediately found a home in the Wild Lotus community. Yoga has been part of Tamar's life since she took her first class in college, and she is in awe of the journey of self discovery it has taken her on. While enjoying many styles and forms of yoga, Tamar loves getting into the flow of a vinyasa class and really digs kirtan.
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Currently, Tamar is employed full-time as an academic advisor at Tulane University and spends her “free” time dreaming about her passions which include making pottery, cooking, knitting, reading, hiking, biking, and traveling. She hopes to get back to these passions once teacher-training is complete, but is also open to discovering new interests.
"Ever since I was a teenager in New Jersey, I knew there had to be more to life than shopping malls. From my first class, yoga has blown my world apart in a good way - the messages yoga offers immediately spoke to me. The deeper I go into my practice, the happier and healthier I become."
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Jennifer Teague
• Teaches: Lotus Power, Flowing Lotus,
....................Blossoming Lotus-Prenatal Yoga,
....................Mama and Baby Lotus-Postnatal Yoga
Jennifer Teague, R.Y.T., believes that yoga should be accessible to everyone - regardless of body shape, physical ability, or experience. Jennifer is committed to teaching demystified, sensual, and invigorating classes while offering options and modifications to ensure that everyone in the room can find their own personal challenge during the practice. Jennifer is Yogafit ™ (Levels I-IV), Mamaste ™ Pre- and Postnatal Yoga, and Yoga West certified and is registered with The Yoga Alliance.
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Jennifer is employed as an Occupational Therapist and enjoys reading, traveling, entertaining friends and spending time with her husband and three young children.
"My yoga practice is continually changing and expanding to reflect my personal life. I am in a place now where I am truly learning what it means to take yoga off the mat and apply it in my daily life."
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