Teachers
Lucy Cimini Founder of Central Mass Yoga And Wellness and Yoga Warriors International, BA, E.R.Y.T. (E-500 hour)
Lucy has a background in Education and Social Rehabilitation with over 25 years of experience teaching therapeutic to advanced yoga classes. She is the founder of Central Mass Yoga and Wellness, Inc. (13+years). CMYW is one of the most popular and established studios in Central Mass. For the past 10 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, active-duty personnel and their families (Yoga Warriors International), recovering addicts and prison inmates. She has integrated formal instruction on teaching "trauma sensitive" classes to yoga teachers across the country. Lucy is the program director/founder and subject matter expert of the published Iraq study,(Jan. 2012; American Journal Of Occupational Therapy) “The Effects of Sensory Enhanced Yoga on Symptoms of Combat Stress in Deployed Military Personnel”.
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.
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.
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, Prana Flow Teacher Training - Creating Collective Flow with Shiva Rea and Empower Flow Yoga: An Invigorating and Soulful Vinyasa training with Seane Corn. Denne's yoga classes are filled with passion, peace and boundless positive energy. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Denne-Ziegler-Yoga-Instructor/161663893884454
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. (E-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.
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 is an enthusiastic grandmother to Annabelle, as well as a married mother of three delightful adults.
Joan Trigiano MA, R.Y.T. (200 hour)
Joan is a graduate from the teacher training program at CMYW. She holds a masters degree in counseling psychology and is a licensed individual, group, and family therapist in the state of Massachusetts. Joan continues to complete weekly and weekend retreats at the Barre Buddhist Center. Joan has a faith that yoga is a way to calm the physical and emotional realms in our lives. It is a way to channel the abundant latent energy we possess. She incorporates yoga into her therapy practice with families, individuals and groups.
Kim Genest R.Y.T. (200 hour)
I began practicing yoga about 6 years ago. Little did I know at the time how transformational it would be in my life. Not only is yoga an amazing form of exercise, it is a tool for self-observation and a great coping mechanism. Yoga opens your heart and gives you a sense of connection, with your higher self, with humanity, with your community and with something greater. Yoga reminds me to breathe, ground and center, no matter what is going on around me. My personal practice is a mix of Vinyasa, Power, Yin and Restorative. I love it all. Practicing yoga makes me feel good and brings me joy! I would love to share that joy with others. I graduated from the CMYW Teacher Training program in April 2013.
Marissa Fratoni RN-BSN, LMT, R.Y.T. (200 hour)
I have enjoyed practicing yoga for about ten years, but it wasn’t until a few years ago when I really devoted myself to the practice. I came to Central Mass Yoga and Wellness in 2010 seeking healing from the depths of depression and found solace at a time when I was in a place of hopelessness. Over time, I started to heal and my “great depression” was a faded memory. Through my own personal practice and completion of the CMYW teacher training in 2013 (which included Yoga Warriors Method™ training), I have developed a greater understanding of the healing powers of yoga and wish to help others find their way onto their own healing path. I believe that everyone has the ability to heal; we simply have to unlock this innate healing power from within. I have studied several styles of yoga based in the Hatha and Ashtanga traditions including vinyasa, power, Iyengar, and Bikram and enjoy bringing elements of these styles into class. In addition to being a yoga teacher, I am a practicing registered nurse at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, as well as the licensed massage therapist based out of CMYW. I am an integrative health practitioner looking forward to guiding you on your own journey to health, happiness, and wellness.
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. (500 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 hour)
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.
Valerie Wedge R.Y.T. (200 hour)
“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.
