Bios

TEACHERS

Adi Carter
Vinyasa, Pilates
Adi draws from her background of over 14 years on the yoga mat with study in the Ashtanga, Iyengar, Anusara, Jivamukti and Dharma Mitrra lineage- with whom she completed her 500 hr advanced training under. A certified Pilates and AcroYoga teacher, Adi is also a member of Team YogaSlackers, with whom she travels to help spread awareness about extreme living with awareness (www.yogaslackers.com). Known for her creative sequencing, vibrant sound tracks and awareness of alignment, Adi creates unique classes that draw awareness to the body and our overall state of well-being. She is passionate about speaking out on environmental issues, helping students to find purification in themselves so that we may all work together to take care of the planet. She is the creator of the Detox series as well as Core Integration, and enjoys traveling to yoga studios at all ends of the earth to connect with the global yoga kula that is working towards change on a personal and global level. Adi acknowledges that this bio might be a bit eclectic and congratulates you for reading this far...seriously...and if you would like to know more (or just need some clarification on what slackline yoga is) please visit: www.adicarter.com.
Thanks to all of the teachers past, present and future...especially the teacher that lies within.

Alyona Mindlin
Alyona was first introduced to movement at age 5 with ballet. Her ballet years, of which there were 10 were lead by a strict Russian teacher, Olga Kressin. The practice focused on creating the perfect line.
After years of dancing and not being able to hone in on a steady balance, her friend Claire Melbourne invited her to a yoga class. That was seven years ago, and since then, she has been hooked.
While studying yoga, Alyona became fascinated with natural geometry and line in the visual form. She spent seven years taking images with a prime focus on line. Her latest series, Dancers Playground (nude ballerina's and modern dancers on construction sites) coupled with a lifelong lust for line and yoga gave birth to Bhakti Metric. Bhakti defined by the surrender to universal love and will; Metric, the study of lines and geometry.
In surrendering to the universal will and love of lines, an innate understanding of the human body unfolds. We are a grid of lines (bones, nerves, energetic channels, etc.) Alyona incorporates her studies in movement and photography, coupled with vinyasa, kundalini, meditation, eft, vibrational sounds and the students in front of her to create an intricate sequence steeped in repetition to unlock the body into the magic that it is.
She is grateful to her teachers at Kula Yoga Project for unlocking her body and introducing her to precise alignment within a creative sequence.
Alyona is super stoked to the Greenhouse Holistic community of yogis.

Amanda Capobianco
Vinyasa
Amanda is a devoted practitioner and teacher of Hatha Yoga. Four years ago she became certified by the Laughing Lotus School of New York in Hatha Vinyasa Flow and has since continued an on going study of the various aspects and limbs of yogic practice and philosophy. Amanda's intention as a teacher is to create a contemplative and permissive space where students can learn and practice tools that engender awareness, compassion, gratitude, and balance in a place and time often marked with chaos, stress and disorder. Her teachings are grounded in the belief that through an awareness of our breath and our bodies, our selves and each other, our inner and outer environments we learn to release and forgive, becoming ever more present and therefore capable of creating change and growth in ourselves and the world. Namaste.

Amanda Zapanta
Vinyasa
For the past nine years, Amanda has immersed herself in daily yoga practice. She has studied with various known teachers such as Ramanada Patel, Dharma Mitra, Cindy Lee, Shanon Gannon and David Life. She also has her 200 hr advance training with Leslie Kaminoff in 'Breath Centered Yoga' a therapeutic approach to yoga, using the breath as a starting point to understand the anatomy of the body in depth. But don't be mistaken these classes are on the more challenging side of the yoga world and are not for the faint hearted, working a lot with inversions, arm and abdomen strengthening within a unique flow sequence of postures.
Amanda's experience as a professional dancer and licensed Thai Body-worker is often reflected in her balanced teaching style. Her classes are fun, lively and energetic, though also focused on anatomical alignment, healing and spiritual awareness. Looking for some serenity while still getting a good workout? Come and flow with the breath and take Amanda's class.

Amy Secada
Amy Secada integrates 20yrs of professional dance and martial arts experience into her Yoga practice and teaching methodology. She is a registered Yoga Alliance Vinyasa Flow instructor and frequents Mysore, India to practice the traditional Ashtanga Yoga system under her mentor and Guru, Sri V. Sheshadr (2nd generation under Sri Krishnamachari) She studies Mantra/Yoga philosophy under Dr. M.A. Jayashree and has studied Thai massage for 3 years in NYC and Thailand. She currently holds an Advanced Level Thai Yoga Massage Certificate from the School of Massage for Health in Chiang Mai, Thailand.. When in NYC, she continues to deepen her Yoga practice under the guidance of Dharma Mittra, Hari Kaur Khalsa and David Regelin.
As well, Secada is founder and artistic director of KJM, a martial arts dance fusion company. (www.KJMNYC.com) In 2007 Secada was chosen to represent NIKE Women Dance commercials and print campaign, which spread her unique fusion technique to international status. This lead her to the current TARGETs “C-9 Champion” Yoga campaign and fitness magazine spreads featured in Womens Health and Self. Secada has traveled internationally teaching dance and Yoga workshops and is a proud volunteer for the under privileged youth program Rhythm of Hope in Salvador, Brazil and the Odanadi Orphanage in Mysore, India. Secada continues to develop her Yoga practice, teach and travel the world gathering knowledge and joy to share with her students and welcomes you to discover the moving meditation we call life....
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WORKSHOPS AND TEACHING SCHEDULE VISIT WWW.BELLAGAIANYC.COM OR CONTACT SECADA DIRECTLY INFO@BELLAGAIANYC.COM

Angelica Kushi
Angelica Kushi is certified in Conquering Lion yoga. Her classes consist of sanskrit chanting, meditation, vinyasa sequencing, hands-on alignment, and dharma from the Indian Hatha Yoga and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. She is grateful for all of her wonderful teachers, particularly Kelly Morris. Angelica is also a wellness consultant and aerial dancer. Expect to sweat in the name of love!


Brynne Billingsley
Pilates
Brynne has been proudly teaching Pilates in New York City for the last 6 years. She received her teacher training and mat certification from Kelly Kane at the Kane School for Core Integration and a 600 hour Pilates Machine Certification from Lawson Harris at Half Moon Pilates. In addition to teaching Pilates, Brynne is also a trained dancer and uses her knowledge of anatomy and various movement techniques to inform her teaching method. Most recently, Brynne studied with Jonas Westring and received a Thai Yoga Massage Certification. Her teaching style is upbeat and challenging with an emphasis on alignment and personal awareness.

Clare Ryan
After dabbling for years, Clare established a consistent yoga practice when she moved from London to New York City in 2001. She loves connecting movement, stillness and breath through vinyasa, and she feels fortunate to have discovered a mindful and compassionate practice which shows up in many other areas of her life. Clare graduated from OM Yoga's 200 hour teacher training program in 2006 and is also certified to teach prenatal yoga (Mia Borgatta) and restorative yoga (Judith Lasater). Through her classes, Clare hopes to help her students develop a relationship with themselves which is openhearted, curious and friendly. She likes to imagine how different the world might look if we could figure out how to infuse all of our relationships with these qualities! Clare is grateful to her teachers, especially Cyndi Lee, Margi Young, Sarah Trelease and Christie Clarke for providing the ground and endless inspiration.

Dana Perry
Vinyasa
In addition to her love of music and acting, Dana found a new passion soon after moving to NYC in 2003 when she discovered yoga. (or yoga discovered her, as they say). After several years of practice, and wishing to give back to the community what so many wonderful teachers have given her, she received her yoga certification from Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica.
She humbly bows to her teachers Don and Amba for creating an inspiring and compassionate environment, and an interdisciplinary approach to yoga that has provided a strong foundation onto which she continues this journey of self discovery today. Since her training, Dana has been deepening her practice by studying with the plethora of beautiful teachers enlightening this crazy city. No doubt the study of Yoga and Buddhism has transformed Dana's world. She hopes to continue on this blissful journey and offer much love, patience and inspiration to her students. LOKAH SAMASTAH SUKINOH BHAVANTU.

Elias Lopez
A naturalist and environmentalist at heart, Elias combines his love for nature with his love for yoga and his students find there is an obvious connection in his instruction style. Born and raised in Mexico Elias enjoys bringing his inspiration from his roots to his yoga practice. He infuses his classes with music and with careful attention to alignment and he views yoga as a journey to live well, and love fully. He believes in the power of Yoga to deeply transform our lives and is inspired by the poetry of the body, the yogis around him and the organic forms of nature.
Elias is honored to study with John Friend, Jim Bernaert, Ellen Sallston and Jackie Prete who infuse him with a passion for aligning the body with the Divine through breath and heart. Elias relishes sharing this beautiful journey called Yoga with his students. He loves to create a fun, safe and sacred place where you are empowered to achieve your full potential and connect to Grace.

Gabrielle Epstein-Casper
A native of London, Gabrielle's interest in yoga began with her move to Toronto, where she studied Flow Yoga with Kyla Kukla, and spent a year at the Toronto School of Iyengar. Since coming to New York 12 years ago. Gabrielle has practiced at Jivamukti, and completed several teacher trainings at the Integral Yoga Center. She is now a Certified Integral Yoga Instructor for Hatha 1, 2, 3, pre- & post-natal, and chair yoga. Gabrielle continues to pursue her own practice with various teachers and workshops in New York (e.g. Rodney Yee, Allison West). To further enhance her teaching, Gabrielle has also completed Irene Dowd's "Communication with Touch" course. In addition, Gab is a certified Shiatsu therapist, having completed advanced training at the Ohashi Institute. She currently teaches yoga privately and at several yoga centers in Brooklyn.
For Gabrielle, yoga is a never-ending exploration of how we move through life, allowing us to use the form and energy of the external body to travel within. Yoga wokrs with opposites, bringing right and left, male and female into balance. With practice, we come to find a consistency, a calm, a focus in the movements, which can then move us on all levels - evoking greater peace of body, mind, emotion, and spirit.
Most recently, in addition to her yoga teaching, Gabrielle is a practicing holistic therapist, intregrating mind and body through therapeutic talk, yoga and energy work. Perhaps the biggest teaching in Gabrielle's life so far has come from being a mother to her 5 yr. old Ben and 2 yr. old Theo, who keep her in the present.

Greg Woodson
Tai Chi
Greg began his study of the martial arts in 1969 and has been an active t'ai chi teacher of the Cheng Man-ch'ing style (Yang style short-form) under the auspices of Patrick Watson's School of T'ai Chi Chuan since 1976. The School of T'ai Chi Chuan has since become the T'ai Chi Foundation and continues to train new teachers using Patrick Watson's version of the Cheng Man-ch'ing method of sequential study of t'ai chi principles across a combination of solo form, push-hands and sword form and fencing.
Greg has been a senior faculty member for the T'ai Chi Foundation/School of T'ai Chi Chuan since the late 1980's offering seminars, training workshops and group trainings with other participating teachers throughout the TCF community in the US, Europe and Latin America.
Greg has also worked with various experimental programs targeted to bring practical application of t'ai chi principles to groups without t'ai chi chuan experience. These have ranged from teaching (simplified) Eight Ways exercises at senior centers, offering TC principles for acting groups and offering a post 9/11 t'ai chi based therapeutic movement program for lower Manhattan elementary school students.
Greg has a deep and abiding love for t'ai chi and is constantly interested in finding opportunities to share it's value with all people novices and enthusiasts alike.

Heather Lilleston
Jivamukti, Vinyasa
Originally from Northern California, Heather has been living and teaching in New York City since 2003. She completed the Jivamukti teacher training with Sharon Gannon and David Life while still in college at New York University, and recently completed her 800-hour Advanced Certification.
Her classes integrate creative vinyasa sequences with meditation, visualization and chanting, honeyed with uplifting music. Interweaving scripture from both the Yoga and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, her goal is to create a space for practitioners to realign themselves with conscious intention, leading to both an inner and outer transformational experience. She is known for her sweetness, passion and authenticity.
She has studied with myriad teachers of deep tradition and wisdom: Sharon Gannon, David Life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Gurumayi, Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally and Ruth Lauer-Manenti.

Janet Casson
Janet has been a teacher since long before she was old enough to have a career as one. She has used her skills as an educator to teach drama, music, and yoga to students of all ages. Janet completed her 200-hour and her prenatal yoga teacher certifications through Om Yoga Center. She is also a certified children's yoga instructor with Karma Kids Yoga.
Janet's yoga practice offers her a sense of exploration and ease in her relationship with her physical, mental, and spiritual self. To incite curiosity and make challenges accessible for her students is her goal as a yoga teacher, and she accomplishes this by emphasizing the playfulness that is inherent in the practice of yoga.

Julianna Takacs
Vinyasa, Prana
Julianna is a certified Prana Yoga Teacher, Thai Yoga Bodyworker and Reiki Practitioner. With a background in movement and dance which stretches over 20 years, Julianna incorporates her acute knowledge of the body into carefully articulated guidance and support. She has studied extensively with her teachers, Ruth Lauer-Manenti, Jeff Migdow, Robyn Ross and Jonas Westing and has assisted trainings at The New York Open Center and Kripalu Center for Yoga. Julianna currently leads classes and workshops at various locations in New York, Canada and Italy.
Through the cultivation of balance, strength and joy, her classes strive to bring an awareness to our limitless potential. Focus is kept in the present moment through a deep connection to breath, the integration of yogic philosophy, chanting and guided meditation. Julianna's personal practice and teaching methods are influenced by various styles including Vinyasa, Prana, Kripalu, Jivamukti, Anusara, the philosophies of Yoga, Sufism, Tibetan Buddhism and especially by her students who serve as constant inspiration.

Katelin Sisson
A natural athlete, Katelin grew up in Rhode Island, where physical activity was as much a part of her daily life as the ocean breeze. She ran and lifted weights and believed in the discipline of a strict exercise regime. But she began to feel something was missing, and when she found her way to Jivamukti in the fall of 2005, she realized what it was: she developed an overwhelming curiosity about the role the mind played in the physical aspect of her existence. Jivamukti deepened her understanding of the mind-body relationship and instilled an understanding of yoga not as an intermittent practice but as a lifestyle that encourages and fosters happiness and freedom for all beings.
Katelin completed the Jivamukti 350-hour teacher training in May 2008, which was taught by her Holy Teachers, Sharon Gannon and David Life, the founders of Jivamukti Yoga. And then she went on to complete her 800-hour apprenticeship under the guidance of her beloved mentor Rima Rabbath. It was through her work assisting Rima that she learned how to be a student. It is in the humility of being a student that the teachings of yoga become accessible.

Lee Schmidt
Vinyasa, CLY
Lee is a certified Conquering Lion and Vinyasa Yoga. She inspires others to join the highest intention with the physical practice to attain ultimate happiness and complete freedom from suffering for the sake of every living being. Lee encourage students to explore both inner methods – our mind and outer methods - pranayama, asana and ethical rules – as a quick method to unravel their true nature. Her classes consist of vigorous vinyasa balanced by relaxed poses with an emphasis on correct breathing and preparation for meditation. Lee includes dharma, Tibetan and Sanskrit chanting, guided breathing and hands on alignments. She is grateful for the guidance from her teachers.
Graduated from Columbia University in English and Comparative Literature, Lee traveled and lived in Europe and East Asia. She studied Mandarin Chinese language and Literature at the National Taiwan University in Taipei and University of Hong Kong and taught English as second language to children and adults. She is inspired to use her formal studies to reaching out to as many beings as possible. Lee is a student of Tibetan Buddhism and meditation. She is currently working towards her Yoga Therapy certification.

Leigh Evans
Leigh Evans is a yoga teacher and dancer dedicated to awakening creativity and aliveness in the body. Leigh has been teaching yoga for 17 years. Her emphasis is on developing mindfulness through the yoga practice, inviting you to witness the shifting sensations of the body and attune to the inner unfolding of each asana. Since 1985, Leigh has practiced Hatha Yoga in the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Viniyoga traditions in the U.S. and India. She is grateful for the guidance of her teachers, Dharma Mitra, Sarah Powers, Rodney Yee, Lisa Walford, Barbara Benagh, Mary Paffard, and Ramanand Patel. Leigh loves the practice of yoga for the peacefulness and clarity of mind that comes from the breath flowing freely in the body. Leigh is the Director of the Greenhouse Holistic Teacher Training Program.
Please visit: healthyarts.com/leigh-evans-yoga/

Paul Manza
Vinyasa
I am very excited to be at Greenhouse Holistic and finally make my Brooklyn teaching debut. I am so grateful to have some very generous and gifted teachers in my life right now, Barbara and Christin at the Shala, and the wonderful teachers at the New York Iyengar Institute. My classes incorporate the tools I have learned over the years to prepare practitioners for pranayama, meditation and a life that is more vibrant, fluid and easeful.
Please visit: www.iheartheartland.com

Rebecca "Bex" Burton
Pilates
Rebecca Burton aka 'Bex' is a creative hybrid, having worked in various forms of movement including dance, video and fabric. Bex began her Pilates journey in 2000, as the Method offered a doorway returning to movement and her body after a 7-year hiatus from dance. She has been practicing Pilates ever since, and in 2006, defected from the corporate world to pursue a full-time life in motion.
Burton received her Pilates Mat certification through Dance New Amsterdam under the instruction of Teri Steele, and is currently on faculty at DNA teaching Pilates Mat. She received her apparatus certification from Half Moon Pilates with Lawson Harris in Brooklyn, and has continued to study with master teachers across New York, including two Pilates Elders.
In her classes, Burton offers students descriptive imagery to support anatomical directions, delivering quality and precise workouts unique to each individual. Her motivational coaching drives clients to push perceptions of their own personal abilities.
When she is not teaching or doing Pilates, Bex is hoop-dancing or turning cartwheels. Find her at www.senseofmotion.com.

Shahar Yannay
Prenatal
For the last ten years Shahar has been practicing various forms of Yoga and meditation. She attended numerous Vipassana silent meditation retreats that were taught by S.N Goanka and received her Yoga teaching certification from Bhava Yoga. In 2008, she completed Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training at the Integral Yoga Institute in NY. Shahar is a Certified Movement Analyst (CMA) from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC. She is fascinated by and continues to study extensively anatomy, psychology, and developmental movement. She teaches Yoga private and group classes and creative movement/Yoga classes for early childhood. In her classes she offers a safe environment where individuals can explore the relationships between emotional and physical being through movement.

Stephanie Sandleben
Stephanie was first hooked by yoga in her teens through her mother, a Kripalu style Hatha yogini, along with inclusive spirituality and awareness of breath from her father, a Sufi Sheikh. After several years of exploring different styles and teachers, and a mind-blowing trip to India, she completed her 200-hr teacher training with Alison West at Yoga Union in NYC. Stephanie is currently inspired by the precision of Iyengar yoga, the freedom and creativity of Vinyasa, the poetry of Anusara, and continues her studies with Tias and Surya Little. Her classes are a glistening balance of alignment and flow imbued with heart, sweat, and breath. Deep gratitude for her hippy parents, for the amazing teachers who continue to peel open her eyes, and to the students who open her heart!

Summer Quashie
Prana, Pre-natal, Vinyasa
Summer is an artist of many means. She is constantly exploring new ways to communicate ideas of the universal thread. At art school in Georgia, in 1999, she found yoga, then after living through 9/11 in NYC, she felt an urgency to commit to the practice of helping other and soon after completed her training in Prana Yoga with Jeff Migdow and Robyn Ross,. During her pregnancy with Lulha, she attended Prenatal Teacher Training at OM Yoga with Janice Clairfield. She has completed over 500 hours of yoga studies. She is passionate about working with youth and mothers-to be and wishes all beings a very calm and relaxed state of being.
Please visit: www.facebook.com/summer.quashie

Val Shaffer
Val Shaffer is a Junior Intermediate I certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, who has been practicing Iyengar Yoga for more than 20 years. He is a graduate of the three year teacher training program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles, where he apprenticed with the Institute's senior teacher,Karin O' Bannon. He has studied with the Iyengars in Pune, India, and also with Carrie Owerko, Anna DeLury, Paul Cabanis, Diane Gysbers, Manouso Manos, Faeq Biria, Kofi Busia, and Stephanie Quirk, among others.

Yiannis Andritsos
Yiannis Andritsos has been a dedicated teacher for nearly five years, with a specialty in Vinyasa Flow and Hatha Raja yoga. He is an avid student of Bhatki yoga, Karma yoga, Sanskrit, meditation and pranayama (sacred breathing practices), and is also a Thai yoga masseuse, which has enlightened his teaching and knowledge of body dynamics. He is committed to healing and helping others reach their full potential.
Yiannis began studying yoga when he moved to the United States from Greece in 2002. After completing the 200-hr teacher training at the Atmananda Studio in Manhattan in 2003, he met the great yoga master Sri Dharma Mittra, with whom he has been practicing full time ever since, taking 4-5 advanced classes per week along with meditation study. Previously, he worked in Athens as a personal trainer at a popular fitness center and was a professional dancer.
Currently, Yiannis is teaching Open Level Vinyasa Flow classes at Yoga Spot, Yoga People, Lucky Lotus Yoga, Equinox, and the David Barton Gym. Inspired and awed by the way that yoga has transformed his life, Yiannis teaches so others may also experience the many amazing benefits of yoga to the body, mind and soul. He feels incredibly grateful and blessed to be able to share all that yoga has to offer in a positive and inspiring way.
Yiannis's yoga classes are deeply focused, but also fun, spontaneous, and appropriate for all levels of practitioners, as various options and variations of each pose are always offered. Coordinating movement with breath allows for the detoxification of energy channels, deeper concentration and meditation, and works to elevate and balance his students' energy. His warm-hearted humor and sincere devotion make every class a unique and pleasurable experience.
yoga@yogawithyiannis.com
www.yogawithyiannis.com

Yuval Boim

Yuval Boim is a graduate of the Yogaworks teacher training program and holds an MFA in movement from the London International School of Performing Arts in collaboration with Naropa University. He has been practicing yoga since 1997 and has since been studying the way people move through the world on both gross and subtle levels. He has taught in France, the UK and across the US. He draws from an eclectic variety of yoga and movement traditions – slow flow, attention to alignment, breath and intention, to awaken a spirit of creativity through which to explore the fun and conflict of having a body that moves. His classes are well-rounded, challenging and safe, and lead the practitioner toward adventure, integration, and healing. He is a member of Yoga Alliance.

Zelina Blagden
Zelina Blagden grew up in New York City and studied Yoga at Jivamukti for many years. She received her certification from Alison West and David Swenson in 2000. She has taught Yoga in New Mexico, California, and New York. She recently returned to the area after traveling as the yoga teacher to Rufus Wainwright and his band. Zelina focuses on the internal wisdom that a yoga practice brings whether it is through a restorative or vinyasa style of class.