TEACHERS

Nancy Ashcroft

I practiced yoga as a young person and found meditation, centering, and the asanas intriguing.

After many years as an avid athlete, fitness instructor, personal trainer, and mother of four, I returned to yoga for the healing benefits it provides. When returning to my mat, it didn’t take me long to realize that Yoga nourishes my body as well as my mind and spirit.   I am a certified Prana Yoga instructor (taught by Jeff Migdow and Priti Ross) and have taken various teacher trainings with Ana Forrest and Jill Miller. I have a strong background in anatomy and physiology and am in constant awe of the power of our own breath and energy.  Yoga is an exciting journey that unites our spiritual, physical and mental qualities providing strength, balance, mental clarity and compassion. It is exciting for me to share my passion for yoga with others.

Helena Chmielowicz

Helena is a Certified Instructor of Kripalu DansKinetics and Creative Kids Yoga and Movement, and a Nurse Practitioner. Her passion for dance and music dates back to childhood when furniture was frequently moved aside to make room for dance performances. Today, of particular interest to Helena, is how energy held in the body and mind can be released through dance, music, and yoga. It is her hope that this experience with movement can be as freeing for you as it is for her.

Jamie Kassay

Jamie began practicing yoga after the birth of her second daughter.  Coming from a corporate background, she had re-located to the shoreline from Chicago and was craving something meaningful to add to her life.  Her friend, Ronni Ford, introduced her to the Ashtanga Primary Series and she was hooked.  “It fulfilled me in a way that is difficult to put into words; doing the physical work, combined with a peaceful sense of purpose” she has said.  After practicing with Ronni for several years,  she was encouraged to start teaching.  She went to Austin, Texas to study with Beryl Bender Birch at The Crossings (a joint venture with Omega Institute).  She has also completed Levels I, II & III with the Yogafit Training Systems based in Torrance, CA.  Yogafit training has allowed her to cross into teaching yoga in the health club setting.  It emphasizes teaching yoga to everyone, using modifications to maintain safety.  She derives satisfaction both from introducing new students to yoga and helping experienced practitioners bring their practice to new levels.
Jamie feels yoga offers an anchor for people weathering the storms of life.

Barbara Shanley

Barbara is dedicated to helping individuals discover their own unique yoga practice and to deepen a healthy body awareness. She promotes yoga for all ages and stages of life and particularly enjoys working with yoga basics for flexibility with a strong focus on health, alignment and the exploration of the breath. "Explore your body, touch your soul and discover the beauty within." Classes are Iyengar based Hatha Yoga modified for all levels of experience. Barb is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) through YOGAspirit studios under the guidance of Amrit Kaur (Kim Valeri). Barbara has also studied with Cyndi Lee and Patricia Walden.

John Smith

John has studied meditation for over 20 years.  He has attended extensive meditation retreats in both dzogchen and vypassana meditation forms.  He taught classes in meditation and development of concentration skills at the Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health in Guilford for over 10 years.   John is also a certified Rubenfeld Synergist, a Reiki Level III Master and also teaches fundamentals of Emotional Freedom Therapies (EFT).      http://home.comcast.net/~turning.point.meditation/site/

Judy Stevens

Judy began her practice of yoga in 1976, studying with several teachers in New Haven and the shoreline.  She began teaching yoga when two of her teachers asked her to substitute for them.  After becoming a Certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher in 1987, Judy expanded her teaching in schools, recreation departments and gyms as well as teaching privately in Madison and Branford. In 2000, Judy helped establish Yoga classes at Shoreline Health and Fitness in Clinton and Old Saybrook. When not teaching Yoga, Judy has a private Psychotherapy practice in Madison.  Because of her deep and extensive practice of Yoga, Judy knows from experience that the body can be a vehicle for the release of chronically held tension and emotions.  She became a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist in the early 1990s in order to bring this body/mind integration into her psychotherapy practice.  Judy’s primary focus in teaching Yoga is to guide her students to slow down, relax deeply, and to learn to connect and listen to the wisdom of the body.  In addition to teaching classes she offers workshops in Stress Management, Relaxation Techniques, Yoga for Your Back, Partner Yoga, and Yoga as Therapy.  She continues to be involved with Kripalu Center in Lenox assisting in programs including Yoga Teacher Training. 

Lisa Uihlein

Lisa began practicing yoga in 1993 after discovering Kripalu yoga at classes taught by Judy Stevens. The effects of even one class a week were so beneficial the desire for more yoga grew. Lisa completed her basic teacher training in 1998 and became a professional level yoga teacher in 2002. She opened Yogaworks LLC in Killingworth in 1998. Lisa offered yoga to anyone interested as well as the willing and not so willing teenager in several area schools. Her work with alternative high school students has given her the opportunity to watch the transformative power of yoga up close. She has provided workshops and in-service trainings to educators and other professional groups. Lisa is a licensed family therapist and lives in Killingworth with her husband and two teenage sons. 2007 marks the expansion of Yogaworks with the opening of Turning Point Yoga at Mercy Center.

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