Our Teachers

Kari discovered yoga in 1996 while recovering from a knee injury suffered during the Off-Broadway production of "Tony 'n Tina's Wedding". Inspired, she has been practicing ever since, becoming certified through the Integral Yoga Teacher Training Program in 2002, the Bhava Teacher Training program in 2003, and the founding of East Yoga Center in 2004.

Kari's passion for yoga continues through her continued study with John Friend in the anusara tradition of yoga and Rodney Yee, who never fails to change her practice again and again.

Kari is also an accomplished dog trainer, having merged her passion for yoga and dogs with a monthly Dog Yoga class at East Yoga. This has led to features in numerous publications, including Yoga Journal, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal as well as the 2005 Animal Planet television series, “K9 Karma” which followed Kari and her dog Charlie both in and out of the yoga studio.

Anna Greenberg

Anna was first introduced to yoga by her mother, a lifelong practitioner. The sounds of her mother chanting used to make her laugh and even roll her eyes, but eventually and inevitably the yoga practices crept inside her soul and she was begging her mom to give her classes and tell her what studios to go to!

Through Yoga Anna has found the stability and strength to begin to embrace and find joy in the wonderfully unstable nature of life. She is a graduate of the 2010 Jivamukti 300 hour teacher training, as well as the 2010 200 hour Prajna Yoga teacher training, and has completed an apprenticeship with the lovely ladies at Mala Yoga. Anna is continuously grateful to and inspired by all of her wonderful teachers and students. They infuse her life and practice with knowledge, joy, and an endless curiosity and passion to teach and continue to travel this beautiful path. Anna teaches a challenging vinyasa class with attention to proper alignment, creating a safe space where practitioners of all levels can challenge, nourish, and explore their bodies and minds through the Yoga practice. Endless thanks to Stephanie, Angela, Christina, and Jen for their abundant love, support, and guidance.

Anne Taylor

Anne Taylor has been practicing for over fifteen years and has completed more than1000 hours of formal study/training with a variety of teachers in the Krishnamacharya tradition. Anne has studied alignment based vinyasa and restorative yoga with Bo Forbes PsyD, applied anatomy with Leslie Kaminoff at The Breathing Project, traditional practices according to TKV Desikachar with Guta Hedwig at Yoga Sutra and Iyengar yoga with Genny Kapuler. Anne is also certified in prenatal yoga. Anne's classes are characterized by slow flow alignment based vinyasa. Anne gives detailed anatomy instructions so that beginners and advanced practitioners alike can go beyond the visual aesthetics of a pose, to understand the correct neuro-muscular and skeletal actions that support energetic alignment. Sequences vary considerably from week to week and are designed to promote exploration of patterns of holding within the body and mind. Attention is given to observing habitual patterns/samskaras which may occur in both stillness and in movement. The hope is that students will begin to use their yoga asana/posture practice as an gateway to growth and change in their life on and off the mat.

Erin Donnelly

As a dancer, I learned at a young age how to harness the raw strength and agility of a well-conditioned body. Years of training taught me to move "beautifully" with grace, but it was yoga that taught me to move with intention. That powerful, mind/body connection, inspired by many teachers from New York to California, has made all the difference.

In my classes you can expect unique sequencing, and frequent "geeking-out" to teach alignment points. Learn to move with grace and focus and discover your ability to accomplish anything you set your mind to.

In addition to teaching yoga, I am also the founder of ErinEvents, a boutique marketing and special events agency in NYC, and a self-professed wine-o and chef!

Erin Teague

Erin was first introduced to yoga at the age of 19, through an Iyengar class in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After experimenting with various styles of yoga, she was drawn in by the creativity of Vinyasa flow. Erin has completed a 200 hour certification, having studied with Richard Freeman, Shiva Rea and Roger Cole, and she is currently enrolled in the 500 hour teacher training program at Yoga Sutra in Manhattan. Erin draws from many sources when teaching. Her classes include unique Vinyasa transitions and an emphasis on precision. She is fascinated with the power and beauty that can be created by linking the breath, pose and mind. She is enthusiastic to share with others the many blessings that come with this practice. In addition to being a yogini, Erin practices dentistry in New York City and enjoys down time with her pug, Maude.

Frances Anderson

Frances Anderson received her prenatal yoga teacher training at The Prenatal Yoga Center in Manhattan. Frances completed her 200 hr yoga teacher training at Yoga To The People.

She has taught at Yoga Sole, Bija Yoga and The Commons Community Center in Brooklyn as well as Lila Yoga, Dharma & Wellness in Manhattan. In 2010 she gave birth to her son Luan, who continues to illuminate every moment of her life with joy and learning.

Jen Whitney

Jen believes that right intention guides one toward yoga. Her goal is to help students understand how realization is inevitable for those who seek to know themselves. Her vigorous asana flows build strength, clear the mind, and challenge students to break out of habit mind-body energies. She incorporates chanting, yoga philosophy, music and meditation into her classes, and encourages students to take what they learn out into the world.

Jennifer Whitney has been practicing vinyasa yoga since 2003, and teaching since 2006. In 2007 she received her 300-hour Jivamukti Yoga teaching certification, studying the integrated form with masters Sharon Gannon, David Life, and Manorama.

Abhyasa vairagyabhyam tannirodhah PYS I.12

Jill Camera

Jill began teaching yoga in 2001 and is a 500 Hour E-RYT. She is trained in vinyasa, alignment and classical philosophical methods via the Krishnamacharya lineage.

She is also a student of the Western Esoteric Tradition and is known for integrating both Western and Eastern philosophies into her classes. A lighthearted and practical approach makes the yogic teachings accessible to her students. From alignment basics to rhythmic vinyasa and everything in between, intelligent physical practice and breath awareness are used to cultivate peace of mind, while developing ease and stability in the practice of yoga.

Jill completed her advanced certification with Adrienne Burke in 2003 and went on to assist Adrienne in her subsequent teacher trainings. In 2004, Jill co-authored the book Yoga Fan and has been teaching philosophy and asana and methodology in numerous Teacher Training programs in New York City and New Jersey for over 7 years. She teaches weekly classes in Manhattan, and is former Director of Vinyasa at Yoga Sutra NYC. She has studied anatomy and alignment with Beth Biegler and currently studies Vedic Chanting and chanting the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Guta Hedewig. She regularly attends philosophy classes with Dr. Edwin Bryant and Christopher Hildebrandt.

Jill expresses sincere gratitude to her family, students and teachers for their love and support.

Kristen McKee

Before becoming a yoga teacher, Kristen was a Montessori elementary teacher in Brooklyn and traveled around the world during her summers "off." She also spent time volunteering in domestic violence shelters and inner-city schools. As a teacher and volunteer, her goal was to inspire others while providing them with the opportunity to empower themselves in a safe environment. In doing so, Kristen was often granted the challenge of guiding students towards recognizing the potential of their own hearts and minds. She had an inkling of knowledge then that changing the world meant changing our mind about how we see ourselves and others. She has come to recognize a much deeper truth in that through a further yogic exploration.

Kristen has been dedicated to practicing yoga for ten years, continuously expanding her awareness of all that yoga has to offer. She has infinite gratitude for her close teachers Kimberly Theresa Lafferty, Ted Lafferty, and Nicole Nichols who have transformed her life and continue to alter/revolutionize her world. She is most thankful for the opportunity to offer these teachings to others. Kristen is passionate about her practice and about bringing the benefits of yoga to other people. Kristen teaches a strong vinyasa class that is theme-based, tailored to the needs of individual students, and encourages students to enhance their personal practice by empowering themselves from within.

Lindsay Sullivan

Lindsay Sullivan fell for Yoga in 2005 in an attempt to strengthen her physical body, but was ultimately taken by its power to transform the mind and the heart. Two years later, she stumbled upon the wild and beautiful Tibetan Buddhist Lineage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and has been a devoted stumbler ever since. Her heat-building sequences use hands-on alignment, breath awareness, subtle body development and meditation – combined with ancient wisdom and The White Album– to crack open the heart, awaken the mind, and unravel the mystery that is Yoga.

A student of renowned Yoga teacher Kelly Morris, Lindsay is a graduate of her New York based Conquering Lion Yoga training program. She also studies Tibetan Buddhism and Yoga extensively with her heart teacher, Kimberley Theresa, at Yoga Studies Institute. Believing it’s never too early to fall for the practice, Lindsay teaches children and families and is certified through Bija Yoga.

The path could not be tread were it not for the grace of those who walked the walk before us and continue to patiently pull us along our way. She thanks her Teachers from the bottom of her heart – over and over, again and again.

Maja Sidebaeck

Maja Sidebaeck first discovered yoga in her hometown of Stockholm, Sweden in the early nineties. From the sense of clarity, balance and openness the practice of yoga brought her, she knew immediately that she wanted yoga to be part of her life. Through the years her love for yoga has only grown and led her to complete the OM yoga center teacher training program in the spring of 2006. She has also completed the Relax and Renew, restorative yoga teacher training with Judith Hanson Lasater. Her classes are infused with a sense of joyful exploration while being mindful of alignment and invoking the transformative power of the breath. She also likes to add a bit of a challenge and have fun. When Maja is not practicing, teaching or thinking about yoga she writes her own sophisticated pop songs which she performs around the city with her soulful and jazzy voice.

Michael Guiou

Michael Guiou, RYT 500, teaches in the lineage of Sri T. Krishnamacharya, the man responsible for teaching BKS Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, TKV Desikachar, Srivatsa Ramaswami, and Indra Devi among others. Michael uses the flowing vinyasa of Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga to build heat and energy, the meticulous alignment of BKS Iyengar to physically and mentally challenge students while maintaining a safe environment, and the course planning strategies of TKV Desikachar to design a useful and satisfying class. Michael teaches classes that are enjoyable and useful to the students while rooted in tradition. Michael has had and continues to have the great privilege of studying and mentoring under experienced ashtanga teachers John Campbell and Kimberly Flynn. In 2011, at the urging of his teachers, Michael made his first pilgrimage to India to see where it all began.

Come to class prepared to work and with an open mind. Practicing yoga is a blessing and teaching yoga magnifies this blessing one thousand fold.

Steady practice is established when undertaken for a long time, without interruption, with faith and a commitment to truth. – Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras

You can find Michael on the internet at www.sadhanainthecity.net.

Peyton Biederman

As a lifelong dancer with a MFA in Dance Choreography and Performance, Peyton continuously gravitates toward the study of movement. Though familiar with the asanas from modern dance class, it was during a summer evening class right here at East Yoga when she fell in love with yoga.

She completed the teacher certification program at the Om Yoga Center where this fall she will also be attending the Restorative Teacher Training. Peyton teaches hatha yoga in a flowing vinyasa style always embracing thoughtful creative sequencing, precise alignment and safety, and the use of subtle language. She aims to bring students to a place grounded in strength and spaciously-open in mind, body and breath.

Phil Lynch

Phil has been teaching yoga for over 10 years. His unique approach to yoga has evolved from his own visceral synthesis of three different schools: Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Triyoga. Each student receives encouragement and support as Phil gracefully links posture to posture with breath, passion and a touch of humor. Blending yogic philosophies into modern-day metaphors and action into experience, Phil challenges the student to cultivate a strong and flexible body, steady emotions and an open heart.

Ria Cooper

Brooklyn-based teaching artist Ria Cooper uses yoga and theatre to educate and build community. She has worked both domestically and internationally, most recently in places as varied as the five boroughs of New York City, New Orleans and Rwanda. Ria first began studying yoga and meditation as a teenager, and currently practices Iyengar- and Ashtanga-based vinyasa yoga. She received her children's yoga teaching certification from Karma Kids Yoga, and completed her 200-hour certification with Yoga Vida. She holds an MA in Applied Theatre from the CUNY School of Professional Studies and a BA in Theatre and Dance from Oberlin College. Ria teaches yoga and theatre to young people and adults in New York City.

Sara Nicole Baxley

Sara Nicole Baxley is originally from Southern Louisiana, where she began doing yoga postures with her mother as a child and later began her professional dance career. Sara Nicole discovered vinyasa Yoga at a dance symposium in college in 1999. Since then, Yoga has complimented her dance career and life.

She is an experienced 500-hour teacher with the Yoga Alliance. Her studies with Yoga Effects have provided Sara Nicole with extensive knowledge about yoga anatomy and contributes to her unique and vigorous style of vinyasa sequencing.Sara Nicole is certified to teach Sadie Nardini's trademarked core-strength vinyasa style yoga, by the Prenatal Yoga Center of NYC and Deb Flashenberg, certified Doula and prenatal yoga expert, and by Karma Kids to teach yoga to children of all ages. Sara Nicole is currently continuing her yoga studies, focusing on yoga philosophy, the Yoga Sutras, Vedic chanting, meditation, and the TKV Desikachar lineage with Guta Hedewig.

Sara Nicole teaches awareness of the body and alignment implementing a vigorous asana class, leading to improved mental awareness. Through her teaching, she hopes to bring attention to the physical body, which in turn awakens the mind and offers unlimited possibilities for each practitioner. She is personally interested in how to implement her own yoga practice “off the mat,” and the ways in which Yoga philosophy can be uncovered in the tradition of Western Philosophy.

Sarah Tomlinson

Sarah Tomlinson is a pioneer in the field of Yoga, Ayurveda, andHealing With Yantras. From extensive time in India with her teacher Harish Johari, Sarah shares the spiritual practice of working with Yantras. http://www.yantratecture.com. She is one of the first teachers to be trained in the Jivamukti Yoga Method by David Life and Sharon Gannon. Sarah's approach to asana is informed by her studies with Diane Long in the tradition of Vanda Scaravelli. In Sarah's classes you'll find a delicious mix of finding both fluidity and ease in your yoga practice. Sarah is the author of Nine Designs For Inner Peace, Inner TraditionsPublishing, 2008, www.sarahtomlinsonyoga.com Sarah also teaches Ma Yoga -- prenatal yoga created by Mia Borgatta, to prepare mothers both for their birthing process and as a preparation for motherhood.

Shevy Katan

Shevy was first introduced to yoga while working in corporate America and used the practice to ease the stress of the 8-hour work day. She soon found that the benefits of the practice helped her develop a clear sense of self and realized that working in a corporate environment was not stimulating her creativity or helping her find ways to be more joyful. She turned to teaching yoga as a way of paying forward the jewels of this practice to others. Her classes are about helping students breathe and become curious about themselves while building physical strength and flexibility in basic or challenging poses. She encourages students to ask questions of themselves, ie; what are my habits, how do I react when asked to do something unfamiliar and most importantly where does my mind go as I sit in these asanas? Shevy is a native New Yorker and also an actor. She uses her skills as a performer to help students be present throughout their practice.

She received her teacher training at Om Yoga Center in 2005 and credits Cyndi Lee for making her a better teacher!