Our teachers are at the heart of everything we do at YogaSpa. They posses passion, commitment and dedication to give you the very best Yoga classes and instruction. Each teacher is incredibly talented, well trained and experienced. They each, individually, have their own approach and creativity they bring to their classes. Additionally, each teacher knows firsthand the incredible transformative power of Yoga. We are proud of them all and honored to have them on our teaching staff.
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Jacqui Vernon
As co-owner she is a valuable asset to the teaching staff. Her classes are not to be missed! Try a Yoga Boot Camp on for size.
Patricia Fischer
Patricia's teaching approach is playful, mindful and deep, nurturing the body's wisdom and cultivating alignment and breath to support the journey. Her teaching began in Bikram yoga style and completed her 500 hour certification. Her personal studies have grown to include Yin, Vinyasa, Ishta disciplines and is grounded in the universal principals of alignment, breath and bandhas. Patricia believes that yoga is a practice in which each shape, each breath, each focused movement reveals parts of ourselves we may have forgotten, ignored, or have not yet even met, thus allowing everyone to discover, connect and integrate all our parts. Yoga lets us live a fuller more engaged life on and off the mat.
Leslie
Leslie comes to us with extensive knowledge from personal and professional experience. She often travels back and forth from Florida where she studies with Jimmy Barkan.
Ani
Some seventeen years back as a college student Ani discovered yoga, working behind the desk at the then Santa Monica Dance and Exercise. After moving to New York to work as a reporter, she studied more extensively, beginning to better appreciate the many dimensions physical yoga offers. Drawn, in particular, to the power of joining the breath, movement and attention, in 1999 she made a pilgrimage to study Asthanga Yoga in Mysore, South India with K Pattahbi Jois. Since then, she has explored other styles and become a Certified Yoga Teacher. She received her teacher training under Govinda Kai, David Hollander and Michael Gilbert. And, furthered her training with Yoga Works, completing their Teacher Intensive. She is also certified in Baby Om yoga.
She has taught at the Westside Yoga Works in the city, New York Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Be Yoga. Her eclectic teaching style draws from the lineages of TKV Desikichar, B.K.S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois, focusing on correct alignment, use of the breath and flow. She feels fortunate to be able to pass on the life-giving practice of yoga.
Renee
Renee Williams took up yoga after watching Madonna in 'The Next Best Thing' in 2000. After realizing this 42 year-old woman was able to put her leg behind her head and still be peaceful and content, Renee was hooked. Being 35 and unable to bring her fingertips to the floor, a change had to be made. In 2003 she was surfing the internet and came across an article on Bikram yoga. YogaSpa in Elmsford was close by and the rest is history. If you're looking for an Un-orthodox Bikram or Vinyasa style class with eclectic musical selections, give Renee a try.
Victoria
Victoria is a yoga teacher in the vinyasa style. She began practicing yoga in 1989. Her original certification was with Cyndi Lee at Om Yoga Center in NYC in 2000. Since then Victoria has taught in NYC, and more recently in Westchester. She teaches the Vinyasa Style. Her personal studies include vinyasa, Iyengar, Hot Vinyasa, Brikam. She is a psycho-spiritual therapist trained in the Helix Training program, now she specializes in Somatic Experiencing. A body aware therapy which address PTSD and personal relational challenges. She feels that Yoga can be a gateway to personal evolution.
Jimmy
My Journey into yoga started in college where I had this curious (to me) interest in Eastern Philosophies and Practices. I took a little yoga course (Himalyan Institute) and thereafter dabbled in my own occasional yoga practices. Just before my 28th birthday, I found myself a “Stranger in a Strange Land”. I had just moved to Florida only find the marriage for which I had moved was to be no more. I, quite devastated, found what was the ONLY yoga studio in Fort Lauderdale, Jimmy Barkan’s Bikram’s Yoga College of India. Bikram yoga rocked my world! It was intense and amazing! I went everyday, sometimes twice, three, or four classes per day. It absolutely transformed my life! I’ve been practicing and teaching ever since (over 23 years). I served as Director of Bikram’s studio in San Francisco, worked as a faculty member at Jimmy Barkan’s teacher training and also owned and operated my own studio in South Florida for several years. I’m also blessed to be a student of the incomparable teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the classic “Autobiography of a Yogi”. I’ve taught yoga to thousands of yoga students over the years, and I’m still amazed to see how people can absolutely blossom and transform their lives and their bodies! It is a joy and a blessing that I get to share the gift of yoga. I hope to see you soon in class!
Kelly
Want to start your day off Right? Looking to dig into those deep poses before the stress of the day? Need a calm class that takes you a little further that you thought you could go? Come to a 6:45am class with Kelly and have your inner yogi awakened!