Yoga East Alumni and Affiliated

Yoga East Alumni and Affiliated Teachers
Jeffrey Abbott YE2003	Jeff Abbott completed the Yoga East teacher training program in 2003. He has also attended advanced training workshops with Sharath Rangaswamy (Ashtanga), David Swenson, (Ashtanga), Ramanand Patel (Iyengar), and Mitchel Bleier and Sianna Sherman (Anusara). He visited Mysore, India and studied with Pattabhis Jois for six weeks in 2005. The practice of Ashtanga yoga, and the reading of yogic texts has had a transformative effect in Jeff's life, and he looks forward to sharing its gift with others. He is currently living and studying in Tucson, AZ.
Cheryl Bennett YE1997	graduated in 1997 and currently teaches classes in Elizabethtown and Bardstown, Kentucky. (Certification renewal, 2002).
Judith Berg YE1997	graduated in 1997 and uses her yoga skills with patients as a nurse specializing in ultrasound and pre-natal counseling.
Evelyn Blum Yoga East 2002	Evelyn started practicing yoga at Yoga East in 1996 and soon became a regular. After several years, she started teacher training to deepen her personal practice. In 2002 with 852 hours of instruction and training under her belt she graduated as a certified Hatha yoga teacher. Much to her own surprise she decided to teach and then to her greater amazement found she really enjoyed the process and the results manifested in her students. Ashtanga yoga taught by Laura Spaulding was the first yoga class Evelyn took and a love for the practice has remained a constant in her life. She practices on the Ashtanga intermediate level. She views her primary teachers as Shri K. Pattabhi Jois (deceased), Sharath Rangaswamy in NYC and Mysore, India (2006). Her Practice and teaching is also influenced by Ramanand Patel, Francois Raoult, John Friend and David Swenson. For the past several years Evelyn has been teaching beginner and intermediate levels of Hatha yoga at Baptist East Milestone Wellness Center These classes are strongly informed by her confidence in and admiration of Ashtanga Yoga. Imparting information physically, emotionally and intellectually with humor and understanding is her style. Her goal to help all students become their best person.
Sue Briney YE1999	Sue graduated in 1999 and is currently teaching yoga full-time in Texas. She is in the process of receiving additional certification in the Namaste Method of Vanda Scaravelli.
Rob Burns YE2002	Rob Burns graduated from our teacher training program in 2002.
Dana Carnall YE2001	Dana Carnall is an honors graduate of our 2001 teacher training program. She has a strong, accomplished Ashtanga yoga practice. Dana has studied with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in both the United States and Mysore, India, where she received permission in 2003 to start Intermediate series. She received an Ashtanga teaching certificate from David Swenson in May, 2002. Dana currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Paula Carpenter YE1999	Paula Carpenter graduated in 1999.
Bonnie Clements YE 500 Hr 2008 RYT 500	Bonnie is the Fitness Coordinator for the Frankfort Kentucky YMCA branches. She has been teaching fitness classes since 1985 and also teaches at Falling Springs Parks/Rec in Versailles KY. Bonnie teaches yoga, pilates, aquatics, seniors, low impact, SilverSneakers, step and is personal trainer. Bonnie says, "When teaching yoga, I felt the need to get the "right" Yoga training. That's when an instructor guided me to Yoga East. Going through the training and classes at Yoga East gave me the proper foundations to teach safe and effective yoga classes for all students. I am forever grateful to my mentors, Karen Strobel and Laura Spaulding for offering guidance for teachers. Recently receiving 500 Hour YE Certification was the longest endeavor I have ever taken, but it was so worth it." Bonnie is also certified with the YMCA as a Group Fitness Trainer, personal trainer, America Council on Exercise, Aquatic Exercise Association, American Aerobics Association of America and SilverSneakers.
Deborah Cohen YE1999	Deborah Cohen graduated in 1999. She teaches yoga to children at Hayfield Montessori School.
Tami Sue Combs YE 2006	Bio coming soon.
Kristina Dunham YE1999	Kristina Dunham's accomplished and precise yoga practice is the result of 20 years of yoga experience, including teaching at the Himalayan Institute in NY City. She graduated from our teacher training program in 1999 with honors. She focuses her personal practice in Ashtanga yoga and studies with Judi Rice, Amanda McMaine Smith and Beryl Bender Birch. She traveled to London to study with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in October, 2001 and received an Ashtanga teaching certificate from David Swenson in May, 2002.
Nadia Duran YE 2009	Nadia is originally from San Juan de Ambato, Ecuador. She has a degree in Financial Engineering from SEK International University, BSBA from U of L and and MBA from IU. She began practicing yoga while at U of L and has been a student at Yoga East for three years and is now a student in our teacher training program. Nadia is a regular Mysore Ashtanga student and also attends many other classes with Yoga East teachers and our guest instructors. Nadia teaches the Saturday and Thursday night Hatha Yoga classes at Kentucky Street.
Lauren Eirk YE2000	Lauren Eirk is an honors graduate of our teacher training program (2000). An accomplished fitness instructor and personal trainer, Lauren combines her fitness expertise and love of yoga. She conducts ball and yoga workshops and teacher trainings in Europe and across the United States and recently finished filming a yoga ball video. She holds an Ashtanga teaching certificate from David Swenson and is going through teacher training in the Anusara tradition of John Friend. Lauren is Fitness Director for LAC.
Ashi El Aruoa-Bey YE1996	Ashi El Eruoa-Bey graduated in 1996. She is an accomplished painter.
Julia Fine RYT/CYTA 2004	Julia began practicing Ashtanga yoga in 2002 when she discovered the practice at a gym in Washington, DC. From there, she completed a 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Certification at It's Yoga, San Francisco, and learned the Ashtanga-based Rocket series. In addition to Larry Schultz from It’s Yoga, she considers Laura Spaulding, Darren Rhodes, Francois Raoult and Doug Keller as the main influences on her practice and teaching. She is currently enrolled in the YE 500 hour program and is a lifelong student seeking to explore further and go deeper in her yoga practice. Julia has undergraduate degrees in public health and Spanish. In addition to teaching yoga, she works in international trade with Latin America. Her free time is spent laughing at her dog and two cats’ antics, biking and exploring Louisville, travelling, and reading page turners on the couch. In her classes, she encourages students to have fun and play, stretch the limits, and invites them to challenge themselves and overcome their fears.
Krista Ford Interdisciplinary Flow	Krista has been practicing yoga and exploring diffferent styles and philosophies of yoga since 1999. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from San Diego State University. Her burn to learn led her to Corepower's Teacher Training Program in San Diego. She completed a second Interdisciplinary Flow Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga One of San Diego. She's trained with Amy Caldwell, Diana Beardsley, Trevor Trice, Suzy Midbrod, Lesli Christiansen, Sam Rangaswamy and most recently attended a Doug Keller workshop at Yoga East. Krista has taught Dance and Yoga in Florida and offers private and group yoga classes at Waterfront Park Place in Downtown Louisville. Krista is a Yoga Alliance certified instructor who offers an athletic practice grounded in an awareness of breath that's filled with joy and creativity. Her favorite quote, "Every thing that lives is holy."- William Blake
Lisa Frantz YE1999	Lisa Frantz was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998. She found her yoga practice to be an important physical and emotional support during challenging times. She completed our yoga teacher training program in 1999 and teaches Iyengar style yoga to students with MS, beginning students and to individuals with special needs, physical and mental challenges, limited mobility or in wheel chairs. She recently received additional training in restorative yoga.
Meg Fuqua YE1999	Meg Fuqua graduated in 1999. She teaches yoga for Hope of Kentucky.
Lisa Flannery YE2001	Lisa Flannery is a 2001 graduate of our Teacher Training program. She is a gourmet cook and combines her knowledge of healthful cuisine with her love of yoga. Lisa's studio, Full Moon Yoga, is in the Crescent Hill neighborhood of Louisville in 2003. Lisa recently made a yoga instructional video.
Kathleen Geile YE1997	Kathleen Geile is a certified Iyengar teacher and has practiced yoga for 30 years. Her articulate expression of yoga is a reflection of her years of experience in literacy and teacher training with the Jefferson County Public School System. Kathy studies with Rodney Yee and Judi Rice and teaches Iyengar style classes at the Crescent Hill United Methodist Church at the corner of Peterson and Frankfort Avenues. For more information you may email her or call 454-3242.
Maryam Hand YE1996	Maryam (Mary) Hand graduated from our program in 1996. She teaches yoga privately and recently combined training in family counseling and spiritual healing with skills in home organizing, simplifying, and decluttering to start Hearts and Hands Consulting. She writes spiritual poetry, practices Shadhuliyya Sufism and is trained in the art of Sufi Spiritual Healing.
Beth Handelman YE1999	Beth Handelman graduated in 1999. She is currently pursuing Iyengar yoga certification, studying with Judi Rice, Dean Lerner, and Gita Iyengar. Beth traveled to Pune, India to study at RIMYI in 2006.
Ann Happel YE1999	Ann Happel graduated in 1999. A former student of Yoga East's founder, Maja Trigg, Ann is a massage therapist.
Cheri Harvey YE2000	Cheri Harvey graduated in 2000. Cheri has a special interest in relating yoga for Christians. She currently teaches classes at her studio in Jeffersontown.
Maura Hencker YE 2000	Maura Hencker is an ASL instructor and teaches at the University of Louisville. She completed our teacher training program in 2000 and completed Ashtanga teacher training with David Swenson in 2002. She has also studied with Rodney Yee, Tim Miller, T.M. Fortel, John Friend and other teachers in the Ashtanga, Iyengar and Anusara traditions.
Ola Gordinier YE1999	Ola Gordinier graduated from Yoga East's teacher training program in 1999 and received our award for Best Research Project for her study, "When Everything Hurts: Yoga and Fibromyalgia". Ola teaches at Yoga East, Powerhouse Gym and Baptist East/Milestone Fitness. In 2000 she completed David Swenson's Ashtanga Teacher Training Program. She studied restorative yoga and yoga for people with MS with Sam Dworkis in 2001.
Jennifer Hamill YE2003	Jennifer attended her first hatha yoga class in 1991. She graduated from Yoga East teacher training in 2003 with special merit for her research paper on Pranayama. She mainly practices Ashtanga yoga and studied with Sharath Rangaswamy. She has continued her study of yoga with Francois Raoult and Kali Ray of Tri Yoga.
Scott Hyer YE2003	Scott is a 2003 graduate of Yoga East Teacher Training. Born in Dayton, Ohio and raised in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, Scott discovered yoga as a teenager. Scott started teaching first as a hobby and now enjoys offering the positive benefits of yoga to other teenagers.
Linda Ball Hodge YE1994	Linda Ball Hodge was given teacher training by Yoga East's founder, Maja Trigg, in 1994. She was a member of the first Board of Directors after Maja retired and taught classes 1994-1995.
Nicole Hubbard YE1997	Nicole Hubbard graduated in 1997. She is a poet and recently attended the Naropa School.
Kellye Johnson YE 2003	Kellye Johnson began practicing Hatha Yoga in 1999 as a supportive practice for smoking cessation at the suggestion of her 12-step program sponsor. In 2000, she discovered Yoga East and became a student here, studying Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga. In 2002, Kellye spent a month practicing Ashtanga Yoga with K. Pattabhi Jois In Mysore, India. Upon returning, she was invited to enter Yoga East's teacher training program, and she graduated in 2003. She has studied with Sharath Rangaswamy, Francois Raoult, and David Swenson. She has taught classes for The Center for Women and Families and the Girl Scouts, Yoga East, Full Moon Yoga and the Southern Indiana YMCA. Click here for Kellye's Mysore India Experiences.
Margie Jones YE 2006	Margie was certified as a Yoga East Teacher with Honors in 2006, and received Special Merit for Excellence on her research project: "Yoga & Balance". Her yogic journey began in the 1980’s with an Iyengar teacher in Colorado, which instilled the belief that solid fundamental skills provide a positive base from which to explore various styles of yoga. Since then she has placed an emphasis on her study with Doug Keller, and has a special interest in the areas of vinyasa, pranayama and relaxation.
Diane Kaufman YE2003	Diane completed the Yoga East teacher training program in 2003. She has practiced Yoga since 1999, enjoying Bikram, Ashtanga and Iyengar styles of Yoga. Since all three types of Yoga are considered Hatha, she enjoys combining ideas and techniques to challenge her students, but mostly she stresses "foundation, breath, and grace" throughout her classes.
Debra Kehl YE1996	In 1993, Debra’s oldest sister suggested they take yoga to help with stress, so Debra and two sisters attended their first yoga class. It was a life-changing experience that resulted in Debra enrolling in the Yoga East Teacher Training Course in 1995 and received her yoga teaching certificate in 1996. From the course Debra learned more about the life of St. Francis, a saint known for peace, non-violence, joy, simplicity and his love for earth and all of creation. Later Debra met a Franciscan nun who became an important role model for her. Now resigned from the corporate world, her work is teaching yoga at Yoga East and Unity Church and introducing yoga at corporate meetings, church and civic organizations. Debra embodies the spirit and teachings of St. Francis. Debra grew up in Louisville, youngest of five children from a Catholic family.
Paul Long YE1999	Paul Long is an honors graduate of our teaching training program (1999). Paul has been a member of Yoga East's Board of Directors and a co-Manager of our Holiday Manor studio. He brings his gentle humor and years of coaching and teaching experience to yoga, to the delight of yoga students. Paul had the opportunity to study with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in Boulder, Colorado in 2000, and he is also a student of David Swenson and Sianna Sherman and Mitchel Bleier. Paul is currently residing and working in Phoenix, Arizona.
Karla Markendorf YE2001	Karla Markendorf is an art therapist and teaches yoga as part of her therapeutic practice. She has studied yoga with Father Joe Pereira in Mumbai, India as well as with other teachers in the Iyengar tradition in Seattle. She now lives and teaches yoga in Seattle.
Beth McCoun YE1999	Beth McCoun graduated in 1999 and now teaches full-time in LaGrange and Shelby County, Kentucky.
Lavenia McDaniel YE2003	Lavenia McDaniel is a graduate of Yoga East 2003 Teacher Training class. She began practicing Yoga in the 80’s and resumed a dedicated practice in 1998 despite many challenges. Lavenia initiated a program “Yoga In The Workplace ” at LG&E, and teaches yoga full-time now throughout the Louisville area at Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Basil for seniors, Catholic Enrichment Center and various community centers and churches. She has attended workshops with Ramanand Patel, Mukesh Desai, and Sharath Rangaswarmy, and traveled to Mysore, India in February 2004 to study with Shri K. Pattabi Jois & Sharath. Click here for Lavenia's Mysore Experiences.
Jessica Moreland YE2003, 2004, 2005	Jessica Moreland graduated from our teacher training program in 2003 teacher training, and received merit for excellence for her research project "Yoga and Female Reproductive Health". She has a deep love for Ashtanga yoga and attended classes with Pattabhi Jois in New York City in 2002. After having abdominal surgery she also discovered the benefits of restorative yoga. A former assistant manager of our Holiday Manor studio, Jessica now runs her own consignment shop in St. Matthews. She said of yoga: "I feel very blessed for the opportunity to share my love of yoga with others. It has helped me to remain joyful and positive when dealing with challenges."
Santoshi Diane Murphy YE 1997	Diane graduated from the Yoga East teacher training program in 1997 and is certified in Cardiac Yoga from Integral Yoga International (Swami Satchidananda) in Virginia. In her work as a social worker has taught yoga to children and utilized elements of yoga with adult clients affected by chronic pain, depression, panic, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders. She has studied Iyengar, Sivananda, Bikram, Ashtanga, Integral and Kundalini yoga and is also influenced by Mindulness meditation and Ayurveda. The late Swami Satchidananda gave Santoshi her spiritual name, which means "one who is endowed with contentment". Santoshi says, "A spiritual name is a reminder to connect with and manifest the quality in the name."
Colleen Musinski YE2003	Colleen is a 2003 graduate of Yoga East’s teacher training program and teaches hatha yoga at several locations in Louisville including churches and hospitals. She has attended workshops with internationally-recognized yoga teachers David Swenson and Doug Keller and she incorporates therapeutic aspects of yoga into her classes. She has a business called Yoga to Go, specializing in creating parties and fun yoga classes for children, teens and adults. Colleen has been an educator since 1975 with a B.S., Master’s and Rank 1 in Education. She teaches in many areas in the JCPS system including PE, Yoga, Language Arts, Music, and Computers ECT.
Donna O'Bryan YE 1994	Donna O'Bryan is an innovative and creative yoga teacher who has been teaching yoga for over 25 years. Donna has served on Yoga East's Board of Directors as Program Director and Vice-President since 1994. She has a Masters Degree in Health Education from the University of Louisville. Her interest in health led her to look into yoga as a modality for stress and pain management. She received teacher training by Yoga East's founder, Maja Trigg in 1994, Integrative Yoga Therapy certification in 2001, and Ashtanga teacher training from David Swenson in 2002. Donna is an activist in Women's health issues through Her Health, a women's health consultancy and advocacy group for women's health issues in Kentucky.
Jardana Peacock	Jardana accidentally found yoga in the summer of 2001 in Cincinnati, Ohio and fell in love. She has since studied in Tucson, AZ and Louisville, KY at Yoga East. Jardana was inspired to enroll in the YE 2009 teacher training program after leading several in-home yoga classes with friends. Jardana practices mostly Ashtanga yoga. She teaches a blend of vinyasa flow and restorative poses. In her other life Jardana works as the community education coordinator for the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research at UofL. She is the co-creator of a feminist choreo-poetry group, S.H.E.! Jardana is an artist leader and coordinator for a "Special Project" housed at the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Louisville Department of Metro Corrections which provides art activities in the lobby of the jail for young people whose family members are incarcerated. She finds balance when her art, activism, and yoga practices intersect.
Andrea Perkins YE 2006	Andrea has always been active with gymnastics, karate and running track in high school, but her focus wasn’t on competition but self improvement. After graduation from the University of Kentucky in 1999, she became interested in Yoga and began a home practice using video tapes. This continued through her pregnancy and after her daughter was born. In 2003 Andrea and her husband joined a gym and began taking yoga classes. Her gym instructor encouraged her to check out the teacher training program at Yoga East and enrolled in the program in the fall of 2004. Andrea says, "I have loved being immersed in the practice as a whole. I began teaching the prenatal class at Yoga East at the end of August and I have structured the class to prepare students for labor and to also help relieve some of the stresses that pregnancy can put on the body. We do a lot of breathing exercises and restorative poses as well as poses that help open the chest, tone the pelvic floor and open the hips which will aid in child birth. I have seen many times in others lives and in my own how beneficial yoga is both during and after pregnancy, both physically and mentally."
Linda Naulty YE2001	Linda Naulty has been immersed in the practices of yoga since 1998. In 2000 she was accepted into the Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Course at Yoga East in Louisville, Kentucky where she completed over 800 hours of study in Hatha Yoga Techniques, Anatomy, Physiology, Philosophy and Ethics. Her practice embraces the disciplines of Ashtanga, Iyengar, Kundalini and Siddha Yoga. She has studied with Saraswati, daughter of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India, and has journeyed to the Siddha Yoga ashrams in Oakland, CA and South Fallsburg, NY to offer seva (selfless service) and attend meditation intensives given by Gurumayi Chidvilasanda. In addition to her Yoga practice, Linda holds a first degree black belt from Lee's Tai Kwon Do Academy; a first and second degree Reiki Certification from the Usui Reiki System of Natural Healing; and is a Level I and II Certified New Decision Therapy Practioner. In 2001 she founded the Journey of Yoga with Yoga East Alumni Dana Lindley and Full Moon Yoga Studio in Louisville with Flannery. Linda currently lives in the Philippines and teaches yoga and practice Reiki and New Decision Therapy.
Jason Neely YE2006
Paula Neys YE1999, 2001	Paula Neys is a 1999 graduate of our program. She had her own yoga studio in Lagrange, Kentucky and taught yoga, Reiki and aromatherapy. Paula now lives in Michigan.
Kari Nolan YE2002	Kari Nolan is a 2002 graduate of the Yoga East Teacher Training Program. She has studied and worked as an artist since 1982. She now finds Ashtanga Yoga to be her ultimate form of artistic offering; one that springs from her heart and her deep devotion to her teachers and students. Kari has studied Ashtanga with Laura Spaulding and Paul Long for five years, and also with David Swenson, Doug Swenson, Leno Miele, and with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in New York. She received an Ashtanga teaching certificate from David Swenson in May, 2002, and studied with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India in June, 2002.
Paige McDaniel YE1999	Paige McDaniel graduated in 1999.
Deanna O'Daniel YE2000	Deanna O' Daniel graduated in 2000. She teaches in several locations in Louisville and conducts a hypnotherapy practice through Self-Seek Hypnosis.
Carrie Ormerod YE1996	Carrie Ormerod graduated from our teacher training program in 1996 and currently directs the massage therapy program for Caritas. She is a Lamaze instructor, teaches infant massage and yoga for pregnancy.
Sarah Padgett YE1997	Sarah Padgett graduated in 1997. She is a professional stunt performer.
Rosemary Pearson-Rosenthal YE2006
Kim Porter YE 2003	Kim Porter was introduced to yoga by Yoga East teachers Linda Naulty and Dana Carnall. Kim began taking Ashtanga classes in 2002 and was invited to participate in teacher training . She graduated with honors in 2003 and received special merit for her research project: Support for Your Ashtanga Practice. Kim has taken classes with both Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in New York City and Sharath Rangaswamy here in Louisville and she teaches Ashtanga Yoga. Kim studied with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India in February-March, 2006.
Zelda Spalding-Powell YE2002	Zelda Powell is a faculty member in the Psychology Department at JCC. She has continued her interest in yoga for over 25 years. She completed our one-year teacher training program in 2002 and teaches popular yoga classes at Jefferson Community College.
Mary Lynne Price YE1999	Mary Lynne Price graduated in 1999. She is the owner of Ayus Yoga Center in Prospect, KY.
Diane Rabinowitz YE1995	Diane Rabinowitz graduated from our teacher training program in 1995. She was the first yoga teacher in Louisville to receive training from Bikram Choudhury in his method and to teach Bikram classes in Louisville (1995). She has also received Advanced Teacher Training from Bikram and Erich Schiffman and she is working toward certification in Integrative Yoga Therapy. Diane worked for Bikram Choudhury at his headquarters in California and is now a teacher.
Chaz Rough YE2002	Chaz Rough is a 2002 graduate of the Yoga East Teacher Training Program and is also a Certified YogaKid Facilitator. He has been practicing yoga for 10 years and teaching for Yoga to kids for 3 years. He released his nationwide video/DVD, "Yoga for the Kid in All of US," in the Spring of 2002, and is currently developing his next Yoga video to be released in the Spring of 2003. He has studied Ashtanga Yoga with Laura Spaulding, Doug Swenson and David Swenson and completed the David Swenson's teacher training program in May 2002. He also studied Bikram Yoga with Jimmy Barkham and Betsy Jones. Chaz has integrated all of these different styles of yoga to form his YOGAmazing workout. His classes have been created to capture and inspire the yoga practitioner on every level. Chaz is also known for his songs of peace, love and harmony. He has performed at the White House twice, taken part in the International Children's Peace Festival at Sivananda Yoga Camp in Montreal, Canada, and has been featured in Billboard Magazine. Chaz has his own studio, Yogamazing, in St. Matthews.
Debbie Saag YE2000	Debbie Saag lives and teaches yoga in the Baltimore, Maryland area. She graduated from our teacher training program in 2000 and taught Ashtanga Yoga in our classes from 2000 through 2003. Debbie has studied with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in California, and was studying with Guruji in New York City on September 11, 2001. She has also studied with Sharath Rangaswamy, David Swenson, Doug Swenson, Rodney Yee, Sianna Sherman and Mitchel Bleier. She received an Ashtanga teaching certificate from David Swenson in May, 2002.
Brett Stallings	Brett began practicing yoga eight years ago with John Washburn in Muncie, Indiana. Brett currently teaches in several locations in Louisville and Southern Indiana. He wants to focus on teaching yoga to seniors, children and other special populations. Brett is enrolled in our Yoga Explorations teacher training programs and teaches in our Healthy Hometown Yoga classes.
Marilyn Stafford YE1999, 2001	Marilyn Stafford graduated from our teacher training in 1999.
Karen Strobel Vice-President of Yoga East YE 2000	Karen Strobel began yoga in the late 1980s with Maja Trigg, the founder of Yoga East and is a member of our Board of Directors. Karen's love of teaching has always drawn her into the classroom. She received a Masters of Education with an emphasis in reading at U of L in 1991. Karen began teaching full time as a 5th grade teacher at St. Francis School in Goshen and remained there for 9 years. To deepen her knowledge of yoga and yogic philosophy, Karen enrolled in Yoga East's Teacher Training program in 1999, graduated in 2000 and began teaching yoga part-time. In June 2001, Karen joined Yoga East full-time to manage the new Holiday Manor studio and to teach classes there. She has studied various styles of yoga with several teachers, but regards Maja Trigg and Laura Spaulding as her first and foremost teachers and credits them with lighting the spark of yoga which now burns in her heart. In 2005, Karen studied Ashtanga Yoga with Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Rangaswamy and Saraswati Rangaswamy at AYRI in Mysore, India. Karen moved to Phoenix, Arizona in July, 2007, but she is still a member of our Board of Directors. Karen and Sharath, 2003
Rae Strobel	Bio coming
Monica Sweeney YE2006	Monica has been practicing yoga since 1999 starting with hatha yoga and Bikram Yoga. She studied with Shawna Hogan Spellman to begin teaching Bikram classes in 2003 and came to Yoga East to learn about other forms of yoga in 2004. She teaches private classes and works with students with paraplegia and major injuries and limitations in the body and the mind. Monica is returning to school to obtain a nursing degree, a strong background in holistic medicine and knowledge of the human body. Monica says, I am driven to work with challenged students due to my own limitations. I love teaching, and sharing yoga. I have learned to work with my own limitations, and that has enabled me to further my own practice immensely. It is important for me to teach so that everyone can benefit from yoga. Monica has also studied with Amanda McMaine, Francois Raoult, Doug Keller, Doug Swenson, David Swenson, Bryan Kest, Darren Rhodes and Laura Spaulding. She enjoys volunteering to teach yoga for anyone who needs it.
Jane Tauer YE2003	Jane Tauer completed the Yoga East teacher training program in 2003. She has also attended advanced training workshops with Ramanand Patel, Francois Raoult, Richard Freeman, Angela Farmer, Erich Schiffmann and others. Jane has been practicing yoga since 1998, beginning her practice in Laramie, WY with Sally Benedict in the White Lotus tradition of yoga.
Sue B Turner YE2003	Sue B Turner completed the Yoga East teacher training program in 2003 and has been actively teaching yoga for several years. Sue B’s experience with mindful movement began at an early age with a passion for ballet, modern dance and theatre and water exercise. Recalling a teen encounter with yoga, she began incorporating yoga components into her water classes and turned to Yoga East for training. Sue B's careers have spanned a variety of interests from marketing to real estate, with degrees in communications, journalism, and a post-graduate degree in paralegal studies. The common thread of her life, though, is a genuine desire to serve others, expressed through the Buddhist practice that is the foundation for her life. As Kentucky’s public relations coordinator for the Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA, the American branch of an international Buddhist association that promotes peace and individual happiness based on the teachings of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism), Sue B works within the local community to increase awareness and understanding of Buddhist values and interfaith dialogue.
Kelli C. Torpey YE2003	Kelli is very grateful for her teachers at Yoga East, and in life. When she started practicing yoga in 1998, she knew yoga was very different from regular exercise. She followed her inner yearning to learn more and joined Yoga East. For years she benefited from the excellent teachers who taught the inner and outer elements of Ashtanga yoga (Laura Spaulding, Sharath Rangaswamy, David Swenson), Hatha (Karen Strobel, Paul Long, Kim Esteran et al) and Anusara yoga (John Friend). Her teacher training taught her more about discipline of practice, the value of mantras and meditation and the beauty of early morning practice! Although a knee injury impacted her for over a year in 2004, Kelli always returned to her yoga -- first with a Hatha practice, then a year of Bikram Yoga under Shawna Spellman. She taught yoga for Full Moon Yoga, classes at Amazing Grace and occasional private lessons. Over time, she returned to her beloved Ashtanga yoga. In 2008, Kelli moved to Wisconsin in search of a new direction in life (as Program & Marketing Director for a local historical foundation) and love. She turned to her yoga practice even more so -- to help her feel balanced through all the changes. She feels grateful for yoga�s gifts, which included being asked to teach Ashtanga at the Sturgeon Bay YMCA. Kelli teaches yoga 2 times per week, and will soon teach 3 times per week, every morning from 6-7 am. Once again, she is involved in early morning yoga practice! As she begins and ends each class, she thanks her gurus and mentors. As she walks around helping others with their poses, their breath and their awareness, she continues to feel awed and grateful for the gift of yoga � for herself but even more importantly, to see and hear how it benefits others.
Ken Von Roenn III Skanda Yoga YE2000 Honors	Ken von Roenn III is the creator of Skanda Yoga, and is a former affiliate of Anusara Yoga. A practitioner for 13 years, Ken presents a dynamic synthesis of attributes from many Hatha Yoga systems. Ken holds a B.A. In Philosophy, and was an Honors graduate in 2000 from the Yoga East Teacher Training program. He has since then studied alignment and therapeutics extensively. His main teachers have been: Amanda McMaine, Laura Spaulding, John Friend, Mitchel Bleir, Sianna Sherman, and Jordan Bloom. Skanda Yoga is a breath-inspired practice based in an intelligent power vinyasa format. Skanda Yoga uses alignment to honor the basic form of the pose, but seeks to inform the pose with breath and energy. It is a free-style that embodies techniques and advanced methods from many yoga systems. A Skanda Yoga class invokes the warrior spirit for a challenging, inspiring, and self-empowering practice. Ken's mission is to Divine a higher form of practice, that embraces advanced techniques and extreme methods for a complete transformation of mind, body, and spirit. He is seriously committed to playfully challenging the parameters of what is possible. Ken's Skanda Yoga on YouTube
Suzanne Yoffe YE1997	Suzanne (Carey) Yoffe graduated in 1997. She currently lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and son and is a Montessori teacher.