Teachers
Carolyn Kogut MAE., R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Carolyn is a certified 200hr. Hatha yoga teacher and has been practicing yoga for over 20 years. In May 2011, She earned her ChildLight yoga certificate to teach children. Carolyn currently holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bridgewater State University and a Masters of Art Education from Rhode Island School of Design. Since 1985 Carolyn has taught Art Education for the 9th - 12th grades and is certified to teach K-12. She is currently teaching the Tween Yoga and Kids Summer yoga classes. She is blessed with three beautiful children who also love yoga.
Christa Nee R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Christa is a graduate of the 2011 CMY teacher training. She initially took the training because she wanted to expand her personal knowledge base for yoga, learning more about its benefits and why yoga provides such positive results in people. She is an occupational therapist, working with adults in the homecare setting and yoga seemed like a natural fit with this background. She likes the practical aspects of yoga, how it can improve ones health, including ones strength, flexibility and outlook on life. She hopes to bring that aspect to her classes.
Denne Arruda Ziegler R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Denne experienced yoga for the first time in 1986. By the mid-90's she was confident that yoga would be a big part of her life. While Denne's yoga practice was blooming, her life's journey also led her to studies in holistic therapies. Denne received training in a variety of areas and acquired her Reiki Master/Teacher attunement in 2002. The pairing of her passion for yoga and holistic studies helped clarify her true direction in life. Denne received her 200 hr Teacher Training from CMYI. She went on to train with Baron Baptiste, the yogi behind Baptiste Power Yoga, followed by Hip Hop Yoga training with Lynne Begier, an Ashtanga Intensive training with Beryl Bender Birch and also Prana Flow Teacher Training - Creating Collective Flow with Shiva Rea. Denne's yoga classes are filled with passion, peace and boundless positive energy.
Elaina Wagner R.Y.T. (500 hour), BS Psychology
of Central Mass Yoga and Yoga Warriors in West Boylston, Massachusetts. In
high school, Elaina put off yoga to focus on her studies but this resulted in large
amounts of anxiety. By her senior year, she took the teacher training course, which
significantly changed her life. The practice of yoga then became increasingly
important in Elaina’s life as a tool for healing, physical/mental discipline and
spirituality. In 2006, Elaina graduated from CMY with 200 hours and in 2010, she
went on to receive her 500-hour registration in Hatha Yoga. Elaina realizes the deep
process of yoga as a self-soothing technique as well as a life changing body/mind/
soul discipline. In her classes, she encourages people to listen to their body’s needs
and practice at their own pace. Using a mixture of prolonged postures, flows, twists,
stretching, breathing techniques and relaxation, Elaina hopes that her student’s will
leave feeling revitalized, grounded and relaxed.
Erin Bradley R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Erin has had the privilege of studying yoga with many great teachers; practicing with many great friends; and now teaching with many great students! Erin’s practice has grown from Vinyasa, Hatha and Power traditions, and her instruction is designed to meet students where they are in each moment. She believes that like life, yoga is best experienced by going with the flow; that in every yoga practice humor and music have as much a place as deep exhales and sweat; and that with each practice we don't become closer to perfection but to ourselves. Always a student, Erin learns something new every time she steps onto the mat and is very grateful for the opportunity to guide others to their mats. ebyoga.yolasite.com
Gina Engel E.R.Y.T. (500 hour)
Gina is a certified yoga instructor and Reiki Master. She began teaching yoga in the mid 90's, but fell in love with yoga as a teenager. Gina continues to be passionate about yoga both as a student and as a teacher. She has studied with many nationally known instructors such as Marshall Govindan, Richard Freeman, David Swenson, Dharma Mittra and Baron Baptiste. Gina prefers the vigorous styles of Power and Ashtanga yoga and is inspired to make these styles accessible to all students. She is an easy going and compassionate instructor who loves sharing humor and the fun of yoga with her students in class. Gina has studied yoga philosophy extensively and is one of the main presenters in CMYI’s teacher training programs. She enjoys mentoring the new teachers as well as teaching the classical forms of meditation and pranayama in the program.
Janet Colantuono R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Janet brings a relaxed, fun-loving approach to teaching. She subtly integrates all aspects of yoga into her classes and loves to see her students ‘blissed out’ on the yoga mat. Janet teaches Hatha, Yin, and Restorative yoga in a variety of settings: one-on-one, studio, or corporate classes. One particular focus is working with athletes to enhance performance through yoga - for equestrians she currently offers Yoga for Riders workshops at CMY. Janet is a certified equine massage therapist and a Reiki practitioner for humans, horses, dogs and other pets.
Jean Theurkauf Certified Zentangle Teacher, BA Studio Art, BA Psychology
Jean is a Certified Zentangle Teacher, having completed the Zentangle Certification Course with Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts, founders of Zentangle. Jean has a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Pychology from Brandeis University. After working for many years in software engineering, she has returned to her passions... art, fiber and teaching. Jean approaches the teaching of Zentangle as a way to help people unlock and expand their natural artistic talents. She also teaches knitting, crochet and weaving techniques, and encourages students not to follow a pattern, but to invent their own.
Jeff McKenzie R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Jeff started practicing yoga for chronic lower back pain and quickly realized that yoga did so much more. Improved posture, mood, strength and balance led yoga to become a larger part of his life. Seeking to deepen his personal practice brought Jeff to the Kripalu Center For Yoga and Health where he learned breath awareness through pranayama exercises and body awareness through finding and exploring his “edge” while sustaining each pose. Now certified as a Kripalu Yoga Teacher, Jeff hopes to incorporate his training with his Vinyasa background as he shares his love of yoga with friends, family and his fellow students at CMY.
Jennifer Kulesa-Kelley MA, RN., C.Y.T. (200 hour)
Jenn is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher. She began practicing meditation and yoga in 1995 while studying abroad. Yoga quickly became an essential part of her life and she completed the 200 hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training in 1997. In addition to Kripalu, Jennifer has studied other styles of yoga, such as Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Kundalini. Yoga has continuously been a source of strength and peace for Jennifer throughout the years while balancing family, work, and school. Jennifer is passionate about sharing the philosophy of yoga to students to help build a solid foundation in yoga practice. Jennifer has a warm and affirming personality and strives to create an experience for students that encompass meditation, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Jennifer is honored to share this yoga experience with you.
Joan Egasti Platt R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Joan creates a safe space, a held space, in which to remember that you are a divine being. Her classes are designed to calm, rejuvenate, and heal you. She leads a broad range of classes at CMY, and is particularly interested in the transformative and healing effects of breath and body awareness. Her approach is therapeutic, largely informed by her studies with Nischala Joy Devi and Judith Lasater. She has been teaching since 2005, when she began with her beloved Combat Veterans. Since then she has taught at an inpatient rehab center, for teachers at local elementary schools, and now to those living with cancer. Before discovering yoga for herself in 2002, Joan was a professional librarian, and a high school science teacher. She isan enthusiastic grandmother to Annabelle, as well as a married mother of three delightful adults.
Laurie Stokes R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Laurie graduated from the CMY teacher training program in 2009. She began practicing yoga more than 8 years ago. She was initially drawn to yoga for physical health reasons, but has come to enjoy the peace that yoga has brought to her life. She encourages everyone to try yoga because she feels that the physical and mental benefits of yoga are necessary in today's stressful world.
Lucy Cimini Central Mass Yoga Founder and Owner, BA, R.Y.T. (E-500 hour)
Lucy has a background in Education and Social Rehabilitation with over 20 years of experience teaching therapeutic to advanced yoga classes. She is the founding director of Central Mass Yoga and Wellness, Inc. CMY is one of the most popular and established studios in central Mass. For the past 9 years, she has expanded her teaching to include a 200 hr. and 500 hr. Yoga Teacher Training program, recognized by the National Yoga Alliance. She has developed outreach yoga programs for corporate clients, combat veterans (Yoga Warriors International), recovering addicts and prison inmates. She has recently integrated formal instruction on teaching "trauma sensitive" classes to other yoga teachers across the country. Her work has been the subject of many local, national and international yoga and news articles. Lucy studies with local and internationally known master teachers, but relies strongly on her own personal practice and intuition to influence her teaching. Her teaching incorporates a strong knowledge of alignment and sequencing to ensure safety while allowing students to develop to their full capacity in the posture. She is an initiate in the Tantric tradition of Swami Rama of the Himalayas.
Mary Beth Woodward R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Mary Beth graduated from the CMY teacher training in 2007. She has 3 daughters and is an accomplished dancer. Her yoga teaching philosophy is to encourage her students to find inner peace though the body, mind, and soul connection that yoga offers. Yoga is her passion, and her goal is to allow students to discover their own inner strength and confidence through their practice.
Mary Fowler Ph.D., R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Mary came to yoga seeking physical healing and received that and so much more. She teaches with the desire to share these gifts with her students. She uses props to explore modifications of postures with the intent of having her students become aware of their edge, the place where the posture opens the body, the heart and the mind AND the breath is maintained. It is here where she and her students receive many of the benefits of yoga. Mary continues to immerse herself in the exploration of therapeutic yoga through personal experience, working with students, academic study and contribution to Yoga Warrior research. Mary teaches Yoga Warriors to combat veterans, Mildly Heated Level 1 Yoga and Iyengar Style Yoga.
Millie Johnson R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Millie is a graduate of the 2010 CMY Teacher Training Program. Her interest in Yoga started while living in Germany. She has studied and practiced with Lucy Cimini and the CMY staff for the last eleven years. Being able to develop a personal practice while studying at CMY has helped her become a more dedicated student and teacher. She enjoys teaching her classes at CMY and practicing with friends and family. Being able to share the physical and spiritual benefits of yoga with others continues to be a rewarding experience for Millie. She looks forward to practicing with her students as they learn to bring yoga into their lives on and off the mat.
Stephanie Earls BA, RYT 500
I love yoga. I practice because it feels good. Yoga heals and unites us with our own best teacher: the one inside ourselves. I teach to help others feel good and learn to use yoga as a tool to tap into their own clarity, strength and healing. Yoga is one way that our bodies and minds can be used to express our spirit and live in a way which feels real, connected and centered. My approach is compassionate, encouraging, grounded and inspired. I offer balanced classes at several levels which build strength, reduce stress and combine stillness and flow. I offer individual sessions to begin or refine practice or to experience relief in the body with more attention to hands-on assists, body work and/or energetic healing. Come share yoga with me, connect to your breath, listen to what you hear in your heart and see where it brings you. For more information about me please visit BreatheHere.com. - Stephanie
Sue Stevens R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Sue has been sharing her love of yoga with children and adults of all ages for years. She holds certifications in Hatha Yoga and Yoga Warriors from CMY, Color Me Yoga for Children, and has studied with Baron Baptiste, founder of Power Yoga. Besides teaching in the studio, Sue has taught at a rehab center, to support groups and has done workshops in the public schools. She began practicing yoga several years ago and has personally experienced the transformational and healing powers of yoga. Sue's calm presence will help you to open your heart and find peace within. Her classes are designed to relieve stress and to bring the healing powers of yoga to all.
Valerie Wedge (200 hr. R.Y.T)
“All Yoga, All the Time” was a phrase coined as Valerie was moving through the CMY teacher’s training class in 2010-2011. Valerie strives to abide in yoga philosophy and practice every day. She also believes that sharing the benefits of yoga with students, clients, friends, and family is a compassionate action that offers others the opportunity to live a more balanced, calm, and healthy life. As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in practice for the past 15 years, Valerie’s original intent in becoming a yoga teacher was to expand her toolbox in assisting clients. As the training progressed, she realized that she enjoyed fully teaching yoga philosophy, breathing, meditation, and postures; she has been sharing her practice at CMY ever since.