Flow is recognized throughout the community for its amazing teaching staff!  Here you will find the most experienced and skillful teachers in DC.  Each one brings years of experience joined with passion, soul and a deep commitment to their teaching and personal practice.  All Flow teachers are certified through the nationally recognized Yoga Alliance and are involved in ongoing trainings and studies.  

              Private Lessons |  Teaching Assistants| Teacher Training

Agatha Glowacki still glows with the shakti imparted on her by co-founders Sharon Gannon and David Life after a month-long training with them in their Jivamukti Method. Returning to DC, Agatha was personally instructed by Sharonji (herself a native of DC!) to build up the Jivamukti presence in our nation's capital. Agatha returns to join her mentor, Jivamukti instructor Jill Abelson, at Flow Yoga Center from which they hope to expand the Jivamukti Satsang. Agatha hopes to follow the teachings of Davidji and Sharonji, who emphasize that the number one job of a yoga teacher is to see each student as a holy being. In her classes, she strives to share the authentic teachings of Yoga as passed down from a long lineage beloved gurus. Her classes consist of rigorous vinyasa sequences combined with teachings on scripture, chanting, meditation, and nonviolence in a creative yoga practice with a strong spiritual message. In addition to her yoga classes, she is a Massage Therapist!  Check out her blog Jiva Journeys as she explores issues like interfaith understanding, ethical vegetarianism & social/political action. 

Angela Cerkevich teaching style is a collective expression of all the teachers she has studied under including:  Doug Keller, Jonas Westring, Amy Weintraub and Richard Miller. Her flow-styled yoga is alignment- based, and infused with techniques geared towards balancing. Her flow 2 and 3 classes are challenging and invigorating, while her flow 1 classes offer encouragement and a safe environment to learn and explore to new depths of the body-mind connection.  Classes include Pranayama, chanting, imagery, asana and meditation. She strives to inspire students through a mix of sacred poetry and nondual yoga philosophy. Her goal is for students to leave feeling balanced, energized and at peace. Her private sessions are an excellent opportunity to deepen an already existing practice by exploring the more subtle aspects of asana and meditation. Beginner yogis will benefit from privates with Angela by tailored guidance in what styles of yoga may be best for their individual constitutions.  Angela’s current interest lies in the application of yoga for of emotional and psychological healing. After training with Amy Weintraub in yoga for anxiety and depression and becoming a certified Life-Force Yoga Practioner, Angela expanded her studies to Richard Miller’s yoga nidra training. She has apprenticed at Walter Read Army Medical Center and assisted in facilitation of  yoga nidra for PTSD diagnosed veterans. Currently, Angela is studying for certification of yoga for trauma recovery  through The Trauma Center at  JRI in Boston. She teaches therapeutic yoga for recovery at a local women’s shelter and offers yoga nidra to the public at Flow.  In an effort to utilize yoga to make a real - world impact in peace, reconciliation and healing from life’s traumas, Angela created the NGO Anahata International whose mission is to assist with the self-healing of individuals and communities affected by trauma, by teaching strategies for recovery using yoga and meditation.  teacher spotlight >>

Angela Ingram began her dance career at the age of nine studying ballet, jazz, tap, and Hawaiian.  Her passion for dance and moment led her to study intensively with Alvin Ailey, Frank Hatchet and Fred Benjamin.   Angela is especially attracted to folklore dance and she frequently travels to Brazil and Cuba studying Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban folklore as well as samba and rumba.  Angela's love for teaching is evident in her classes.  They are are lively and fun incorporating vibrant music with accessible choreography and smiles!  teacher spotlight >>

Cory M. Bryant is a graduate of both the Flow Yoga Center and the Jivamukti Yoga School teacher training programs.  He first experienced the motivational teachings of Sharon Gannon and David Life shortly after 9/11 while living in NYC.  Life has not been the same since.  Cory truly believes that yoga can and is changing the world in a positive way and aspires to live by the words of his beloved teacher, Sharonji, “together we can create a world which is not based on the old paradigm of our culture which tells us that ‘the earth belongs to us and exists for us to exploit’ --- to be political is to care for others who you live with. We have no problem with being labeled ‘political yogis’.  We encourage our students to dare to care about others.  As yoga practitioners, we cannot be content to live in our own little ‘I-me-mine’ bubble while the rest of the world deteriorates.” Along with Jill Abelson and Agatha Glowacki, he hopes to impart the spirit of Jivamukti yoga to the Flow community.  Cory’s teaching is infused with sacred sound, spiritual activism, pranayama, meditation and vigorous asana.  He also works for Food & Water Watch and maintains Food Karma Alert, a food policy information blog intended to inform and motivate public action to ensure a wholesome, ahimsic food supply.

Debra Perlson-Mishalove is an ERYT with the Yoga Alliance.  Founder and Director of Flow Yoga Center, she first began practicing yoga while living in San Francisco.  She has studied a variety of yoga traditions including Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Bikram.  Debra is a graduate of the renowned Yoga Union teacher training program in NYC through which she is formally certified.  She embraces the interdisciplinary approach to lineages that she has experienced under the guidance of her teacher, Alison West, to whom she is forever grateful.  Debra believes yoga is a powerful way to free the body and mind from the self limitations we impose on our selves and that through practice we are able to get in touch with the very essence of who we are.   Debra's classes are playful and challenging, intelligently blending a vinyasa flowing class with healthy alignment.  Her goal as a teacher is to help students uncover their own personal truth enabling them to live consciously, in touch with their hearts and finding a practice on sukha sthira (relaxed effort).  An insatiable yoga "student" Debra has also completed formal teaching certifications with David Swenson and is currently immersed in Shiva Rea's Prana Vinyasa and working on her 500hr program.  Outside of yoga she cares deeply about protecting our natural world, and human and animal rights.   Her vision for Flow is to offer an environment that is a clear representation of all that yoga is -- vibrant, joyful, nurturing, spiritual, transformative and unifying.

Erin Wheeler recently returned from two years in the Peace Corps in Senegal and is really excited to be back teaching at Flow. After her first yoga class in 2001, she was hooked! She went to class three days in a row and life hasn’t been quite the same since. Erin became a certified vinyasa yoga instructor in 2003 and has studied with Shiva Rea and Ana Forrest, among others. She draws inspiration for her classes from fellow teachers, students and many yoga and movement traditions. Erin loves the dance-like and creative aspects of vinyasa and encourages her students to express themselves through their practice. Her classes include a balance of challenging flows with mindfulness, relaxation and philosophy that applies the American yogi.

 Fidel Garcia finished his Studios at the National Ballet School in Cuba (Camaguey City)as a Professional Dancer and as a Ballet Teacher.  Since then he has been teaching Ballet in Mexico, Washington and New York, among other cities in the world,and dancing as a Principal/Soloist with Dance Theater of Harlem, The Washington Ballet, Ballet de Camaguey (Cuba)in Peru and Mexico.  In 2006 Fidel started to study Pilates in New York City in the School of the most recognized name in the Pilates world: Romana Kryzanowska (Mr. Joseph Pilates "Protege and Muse"). He learned from the direct hand of Daria Pace (his first teacher and Romana's granddaughter), and Sari Mejia Santo (Grand Maitre in the Pilates world and Romana's daughter).  Mr.Garcia finished his Certification Program at True Pilates/New York after more than 800 hours of dedicated practice where he had the great experience to work,observe and learn from the prestigious Instructors of True Pilates NY/Romana's Pilates (a unique experience).  Currently Fidel is working in different venues as a Pilates Teacher in the Washington DC area, faithfully keeping his dedication and loyalty to Romana's Pilates Method. Fidel is now a Certified Romana's/True Pilates Instructor since 2007.

Gail Harris has been teaching yoga for over 26 years.   She began her practice in 1974. In 1978 she went off to Canada and became certified as a Sivananda Yoga instructor. Gail has always had a vigorous teaching style and found herself drawn to Ashtanga in 1994. After taking a number of workshops with nationally recognized teachers such as Richard Freeman, Gail made Ashtanga her primary practice.  Gail has studied directly with Pattabhi Jois on his last three world tours in New York as well as senior Ashtanga teachers Dena Kingsberg and Lino Miele. “What I find appealing with an Ashtanga practice is the opportunity for the mind to gel with the body and become suspended, even while the body works. Eventually, with practice, one can have a strong physical workout while the mind is still. Ashtanga, simply put, is "meditation in motion".  teacher spotlight >>

Gopi Kinnecut is an Experienced Registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance (ERYT 500). She lived in an ashram for 8 years where she studied and taught Indian philosophy in-depth, vegetarian cooking, ayurveda and mantra meditation.  She is the founder of Yoga Mandali in Saratoga Springs NY, she has been practicing yoga for more than ten years and has been teaching since 2002.  She first trained in Astanga Vinyasa, she further trained extensively with Shiva Rea and completed an advanced training with Ana Forrest. Through her personal practice and experience, Gopi has developed her own unique teaching style. She takes her students into a dynamic multi-dimensional flow, breaking through rigidity and stiffness; she infuses her classes with penetrating mantras and breath work. She incorporates deep marma (pressure point) therapy techniques when assisting students.  She addresses individual’s needs and limitations, creating a safe environment for her students, guiding them through physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions.  Gopi has furthered her studies in yoga therapy, completing her certification for trauma sensitive yoga. She is certified in Thia yoga  body work, completing her training with Micheal Buck. She specializes in privates as she  incorporates marma point’s (accupressure), and Thai yoga massage techniques.

 Hugh Byrne, Ph.D.,has studied and practiced Buddhism (in the Theravadan and Zen traditions) in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Hugh is a contributing Buddhist minister at Georgetown University and a co-founder of the Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowship. He is a member of the teachers council of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW)--a large and growing Sangha (community) whose senior teacher is Tara Brach--and teaches classes on Buddhism and meditation in the Washington area. Hugh is committed to sharing the wisdom and compassion of Buddhist meditation and mindfulness practices to help individuals find peace and awaken to their true potential and to help transform the suffering in our world.  Hugh directs our Meditation Program and offers a weekly class and monthly workshops. 

Jessica Lazaar has been practicing yoga in many forms for about thirteen years; the longer she practices, the less she knows for sure! These days, Jessica is interested in what is flowing through her on a moment-by-moment basis, and she hopes to share that with students looking to evolve consciously on and off the mat. Whenever she can, Jessica studies with and assists for her primary teacher, Shiva Rea, as well as other members of the Prana Flow Global Vinyasa Collective.  When not teaching or practicing yoga, Jessica can usually be found with her husband, Dan, and her two daughters, Ella, 7, and Eden, 5, either hanging out at home or doing handstands in the park.   Come to Jessica's class to enjoy Prana Flow yoga, a vinyasa style that weaves together traditional asana with dance, Indian martial art (kalari), play, and ritual.  Be ready to sweat, pray, laugh and sing on any given day!  Newcomers and dedicated practitioners alike will be delighted by the layering of spontaneous, circular flow with both depth and devotion. 

Jill Abelson is the founder and spiritual leader of the DC Jivamukti satsang.  Her world renowned teachers include Sharon Gannon and David Life (coming to DC in Sept 2008), Narayani Nicole Nichols and Lady Ruth Lauer of Jivamukti NYC, David Swenson, Shiva Rea, Bikram Choudury, and Lex Gillan, among others.  She is a a certified Jivamukti teacher at the 800-hour level.  In her classes you will find vigorous asana in the Jivamukti tradition,  teachings from the ancient texts,  hands-on assists, uplifting and innovative music, and loyal devotion to her teachers, a combination many students have called life-changing.  Jill has taught in DC since 1999.  You can listen to Jill discuss Spirituality - On and Off the Mat  or read more in our teacher spotlight >>.  

Jen Rene first experienced the power of yoga in 2003 and her life has not been the same since.  Jen started her yoga practice as a way to calm the mind, she quickly realized the physical benefits of the practice, and with time yoga became her spiritual practice.  In 2005 Jen started practicing Pilates to help strengthen her asana practice.  She now realizes the transformative effects the combination of Pilates and yoga can have on the mind, body, and spirit and truly believes in the power of the two practices to heal and prevent ailments.  Jen has studied various styles of asana and her classes are a reflection of this.  Jen's classes are physically and mentally challenging; they have a quick tempo, a fresh soundtrack, and a core focus.  Classes include chanting and scripture as a way to practice devotion.  She encourages proper alignment and for her students to take themselves lightly and use their yoga practice in all their actions.  Jen has completed more than 500 hours of yoga and Pilates training and is forever grateful to her two most influential teachers, Larry Schultz and Rusty Wells. 

 Johanna Nichols Johanna is a lover of life whose teaching heals and empowers. She is known for being upbeat and positive and it is reflected in her teachings.  Her classes are full of joy and an uplifting yet grounding energy. She emphasizes inner listening, encouraging students to draw deeply from knowledge of one's authentic self to enrich their lives and relationships.  Johanna has been practicing yoga and meditation regularly for more than 13 years. She first undertook Vinyasa teacher training with Kimberly Wilson in Washington, DC, and went on to study Yoga and Meditation with Judith Lasater, Sarah Powers, Shiva Rea, Erich Schiffman and many others. A certified Pilates instructor, she incorporates elements of Martial Arts, Thai Yoga Massage and Pilates in her classes to create a rich synthesis of styles and approaches to meet a student's unique needs.   Johanna also instructs privately with clients specializing in Restorative, Yin and Gentle yoga along with deepening your practice with Vinyasa and Meditation. As a professionally trained artist and chef, she also enjoys guiding retreats and workshops on cooking, yoga, meditation, and the power of creativity and art. Her off-the-mat time is dedicated to cooking and baking with her husband and sharing long walks with her Buddha-bellied English bulldog. She is expecting her first child in June of 2008.  Johanna is currently taking on a limited number of new private students. Continuing her studies extensively this year she remains thankful and inspired by her wonderful yoga community here in DC and in the many healing yoga communities she has visited in her travels.

Joline Sikaitis "In asana our consciousness spreads throughout the body, eventually diffusing every cell, creating a complete awareness. In this way stressful thought is drained away, and our mind focuses on the body, intelligence, and awareness as a whole." – B.K.S. Iyengar
With a background in psychology and mental health Joline hopes to share with her students how yoga can integrate the various layers of journeying towards actualization of their full potential. To that end, Joline has studied with senior teachers such as Doug Keller, Amy Weintraub, and Ana Forest to understand how asana, pranayama, and meditation can bring balance and harmony to the mind, body, and spirit. 

Juliet Stovall  is an ACE Certified personal trainer, with additional certifications in Spinning and Body Pump.  She adores exercise and becoming an instructor was a natural progression.  She feels sharing her knowledge, time and energy with others is positively addictive and oh so satisfying!  Her yoga practice began 5 years ago, initially as another form of physical exercise.  She immediately became aware that it was also a powerful mental and spiritual exercise.    Deeply drawn to her yoga practice, she obtained a 200 hour Yoga Training  and continues to grow in her practice through continuing education conferences/retreats and through other teachers in the DC area.   Juliet's philosophy is that our bodies and minds are beautiful works of art even when we don’t exercise or take care of them.  And through fitness and yoga we have a great opportunity to enhance our works of art and to maintain them as a gesture of gratitude for what they do for us everyday.

Kristin Olson completed her teacher training through Flow Yoga Center in February 2006. She has always been interested in athletics and learning new methods of using the body to express onself.  She was a swimmer, gymnast and soccer player when younger and first turned to yoga 6 years ago to help heal an injury. She fell in love with the fact that yoga challenged her body, mind, and soul. Kristin brings to the mat an energetic and playful style of linking movement and breath, which she believes allows one to explore the limits of the body and mind while not taking oneself too seriously. Her yoga classes combine strengthening moves and demanding postures for a physical and mental challenge, while maintaining safe and correct alignment. Kristin's Flow Fit classes incorporate cardio, weights, yoga, and Pilates for an intense, full-body workout that will help you take your yoga practice to the next level. In any of her classes, you can expect to enjoy a wide variety of upbeat music such as hip-hop, rock, and reggae. Off the mat, she is pursuing her PhD in clinical psychology and focusing on working with children and families. Practicing yoga helps her to relieve stress, remain centered, and remember to breathe.

Laura Ivers journey into yoga started in the early 1990s as a means to balance a physically active lifestyle as a figure skater, avid skier, tennis player and hiking enthusiast in the West. Subsequently, as a New Yorker for a nearly a decade and now a Washingtonian, Laura discovered the gift of yoga as a way to manage urban stress by finding the quite and abiding bliss "inside". In her own practice and as a teacher, Laura's emphasis is on fluidity in movement, freedom through strength, and a quest for self knowledge through using the yoga mat as a mirror for daily life. In her vinyasa flow classes, creates a comfortable atmosphere where students of varying levels are guided through options to practice in a manner that meets their individual needs. Laura is a certified and registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance, having completed the 200 hour teacher certification. While off the mat, Laura is committed to helping to resolve global environmental and development issues through her work on forests, climate change, and agriculture at the World Bank. A frequent international traveler, Laura takes her magic yoga mat wherever she goes to maintain her journey within while venturing out in the world.

Laura Zam has been practicing yoga and meditation for 15 years. Though originally trained in the Vinyasa tradition, she draws from varied yoga styles in her teaching. In all of her classes, she emphasizes a celebration of life through a celebration of the body – just as it is at this moment. She has been privileged to study with many world-renowned teachers including Shiva Rea, Erich Schiffmann, Sharon Gannon, David Life, and Aadil Palkhivala.   She is certified with Yoga Alliance.  When off yoga mat, Laura can be found both teaching and performing theater, performance arts and workshops encouraging individuals to explore their creativity and inner artist!  teacher spotlight >> 

 
Leah Kalinosky first began exploring yoga when she was in college in Madison, WI, taking Iyengar-based classes. After moving to Washington, DC in 1999 she began taking vinyasa classes at area studios and discovered how playful, dynamic and creative yoga can be. She has also studied ballet and modern dance and loves the dance-like quality of vinyasa yoga. She has always enjoyed the introspective and reflective aspects of dance, yoga and other movement and yoga has helped her connect learning from movement to learning about the rest of her life. She completed Flow’s 200-hour teacher training program in February 2006. Leah has a background in community development and urban planning and has worked with various nonprofits over the years on issues related to community development, affordable housing, and other neighborhood issues. She is very happy to be teaching on Fridays at Flow and is grateful to the wonderful staff at Flow for their excellent teaching and inspiration! teacher spotlight>>

Leticia Franchi embarked on her Yoga journey by looking for a healing and balancing physical and emotional activity after some injuries caused by her career in Tumbling and Acrobatics.  She has always liked dancing and expressing herself by movement and music, believing in it as the only way to be healed and set ourselves free from our own limitations. After her immersion in this journey she found herself drawn by the natural course of living Yoga so she started exploring the depths of this art. She is trained with Neva Ingals as her daily practice and certified in Vinyasa Flow Yoga and Yoga Trance Dance by Shiva Rea, Power Vinyasa with Jennifer Baldwin and done various workshops and trainings around the world experiencing different branches of this art. Leticia keeps following Shiva’s and her own creative way of teaching. She believes love is within everyone and everything; we just have to believe... 

 Mariska Breland Mariska Breland has loved to work out ever since she was a little girl sweating in her first dance class.  Today, she fuses aspects of her favorite past fitness obsessions in a unique style of pilates.  Her teaching philosophy is simple - no one exercise system offers everything, so mix it up by combining elements of everything from pilates and yoga to dance and plyometrics, and keep the class moving with upbeat, fun music that makes you want to move.  Mariska is also Flow Yoga's resident Holistic Health Counselor.  She has studied health and wellness since 1999, and in 2006, she founded Fuse Health, an organization committed to teaching the bioindividuality of nutrition and exercise.  Mariska's teachers have included Drs. Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra and literally dozens of other leaders in the alternative health world. Through her “day job,” she has produced health documentaries for CBS and Discovery Health Channel and worked on both the Tour of Hope and the National Race for the Cure.  Mariska holds a PureBarre certification, pilates certification from Power Pilates of New York City and her holistic health counseling certification from the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

Megan Davis, is an ERYT(Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with the Yoga Alliance.  Her study and practice of yoga are informed by her experiences with rehabilitation after knee surgery and after a car accident that injured her neck, back and hips.  She received her 200 hour vinyasa certification in 2003 and in 2007 completed a 50 hour yoga therapeutics training and was certified as an Anusara-Inspired teacher.  Megan’s classes combine anatomy and physical alignment of Iyengar and Anusara with the creative aspects of vinyasa.  She has a special interest in working with people who have injuries or special conditions and want to explore asana, pranayama and meditation as healing or therapeutic modalities.  Megan has studied with many world-renowned teachers including John Friend, Ana Forrest, Doug Keller, Douglas Brooks and Shiva Rea.  Off the mat, Megan teaches undergraduate philosop hy and religion courses and is working on finishing her dissertation in disability studies.

Mike Graglia began practicing yoga in 2002.  He knew that he would be practicing for the rest of his life.  Mike is blessed to have met many great teachers in his journies; many of them here at Flow which is his "Yoga-homebase."  Mike spends every class trying to imitate his two greatest teachers--Kartik and Dharma. Kartik Master from Nairobi, Kenya often looked at students and told him to do things that they were sure they couldn't do (but did) but Kartik always made his demanding classes fun creating a strong community.  Mike completed his teacher training with Sri Dharma Mittra in New York in mid-2006 and Mike's classes always begin with variations of Dharma's challenging Shiva Namaskara and end with Dharma's closing "Be receptive, to the grace of God."  He has also studied with Ana Forrest, Rusty Wells and Janet Stone as well as Surinder Singh in Rishikesh, India.  This year he is looking forward to formal training in ArcoYoga and meditation.  Regardless of the level, Mike seek to make his classes challenging for everyone.  Mike teaches level 2, 3, Midnight Flow and Flying Yoga.

Neva Ingalls is a certified yoga therapist and ERYT500 with Yoga Alliance. 
In her core classes, Neva guides students through the participation of an eclectic combination derived from the teaching of the vigorous, strengthening flow of Ashtanga, the mindfulness of Iyengar and the ecstasy of Tantra and Hatha yoga.  The empowerment of body, mind and soul form the underpinning of the class. Students are encouraged to travel deep below their own surface on a path toward discovering their individual essence and its interrelation to the environment in which they live.  With experience in yoga and dance as healing arts spanning three decades, Neva was inspired and found her original roots in classical ballet.  In seeking to combine her studies of personal and physical growth, Neva began a lifelong exploration of yoga. This dynamic combination of yoga and dance gave Neva the unique opportunity to be at the forefront of a small movement of instructors that, at the time, were beginning to experiment with Flow Yoga in the United States.  Neva thanks the many teachers who have inspired her journey. Among these are Maharaji, Charmaine Lee, Micheline Berry, Max Strom, Lauren Peterson, Shiva Rae, Rod Stryker, David Swenson, Edemir, Flaco and Sandra Wood. The latter three have helped Neva integrate the world views of the eastern systems of Yoga and Buddhism with the Shamanic visionary work of the Native Americans.

Radhika Thakkar fell in love with yoga after taking her first Vinyasa Class in Central NJ because it reminded her of her roots in classical Indian dance.  She has studied with Baptiste Power Yoga in Massachusetts and completed her teacher training at Sonic Yoga in New York City.  Before moving to Washington DC in 2004, Radhika taught vinyasa yoga to at-risk high school students in summer programs in New York.  Radhika thinks of yoga as a moving meditation, and she tries to cultivate this sensation in her classes by combining flowing asana with upbeat music.  Outside the yoga studio, Radhika spends weekdays traveling throughout the US as she pursues a career in marketing and enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking, and time at the beach.  She is excited to be teaching at Flow Yoga Center on Saturday afternoons! 

Rob Hess has been practicing yoga of many forms for ten years he  completed  his teacher training in 2004 here in DC. After years of trainings with other great teachers Rob found his home in the Prana Vinyasa Flow community  with Shiva Rea, upon arriving felt that he had come home.   His style of teaching is fun, challenging, and lighthearted he tries not to take life to serious and enjoys the journey rather than fighting to get to the destination.  If you come to his classes you can plan on moving in a mandala connecting to the energy of the whole collective also Rob loves to get off his feet and turn the world upside down whether it be inversions or arm balances he loves to see the world from a different point of view.

Shawn Parell doesn’t much remember this life before yoga.  She picked up an Ashtanga hobby as a young teen, developed a Power Yoga addiction  in college, and then, after ten years, gently tucked away her structured asana practice to tap liquid meditation through Prana Vinyasa in her twenties.  Through her teaching, Shawn hopes to share an embodied understanding of yoga as both an elemental inward journey, and a spontaneous blossoming of divinity; as the simple essence of being, and a lifelong remembering of that essence; as a holistic cultivation of love, and as love’s ecstatic expression. To her teachers, Shawn devotes thanks & love. To Baron Baptiste, for his Level One and Level Two Teacher trainings; to Leticia Franchi, for sahaja ananda; to Patty Ivey, for her Teacher Assistant program, her 200 Hr teacher training, and her strength; to Jessica Lazar, for leading us to the river; and to Shiva Rea, for sharing all that’s come through her body.   Shawn is in ongoing training towards her 500 Hr certification with Prana Vinyasa global collective, and spends her days as a Communications Associate for Sustainable Development at the United Nations Foundation. She is thrilled to join the Flow community.

Sierra Weaver was first drawn to yoga in 2001 as a way to maintain the flexibility and strength developed through her lifelong love of dance.  She discovered early on, however, that there was a mental and spiritual side to this practice that she wouldn’t find in a hip hop or modern dance class.  That early knowledge has deepened over the years as Sierra has personally experienced the power of yoga to carry her smiling through injury and illness, inspiring her to complete Flow's 200-hour teacher training program in 2007.  Through her classes, she seeks to help all students befriend their bodies and themselves, learning to honor each moment and cultivate gratitude for whatever it might bring.  Sierra's teaching style is influenced by her trainings with Sarah Powers, Sharon Salzberg, and Alison West, and offers students an opportunity balance to their fast-paced active lives (and yoga practices) with a slower, gentler combination of asana and meditation.  Off the mat, Sierra is an environmental lawyer, currently working to protect our nation's wildlife from the impacts of a world not living mindfully. 

Siobhán Alfonso stumbled into her first yoga class in 2005 after having studied pilates for two years.  Instantly, she felt the calming effect of yoga on both her mind and body and began to study yoga intensively at Flow Yoga Center where she also completed her 200 hour, Yoga Alliance approved, teacher training program.  Siobhan has studied pre and post natal yoga with Shiva Rea and is certified to teach children through the Budding Yogis teacher training program.  Siobhán is excited to share her passion and knowledge of yoga creating a nurturing environment for students to explore their bodies, abilities, and experiences without judgment. 

Tazima Davis, born in Georgetown, Guyana and raised in Evanston, Illinois, began practicing power style yoga in 1999 while living in Chicago.  After relocating to Washington, DC, she continued her study of yoga with various local teachers.  An insatiable student, Tazima seeks opportunities to study with teachers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, both locally and in her travels.  She has attended teacher training courses with Beryl Bender Birch and Doug Swenson and continues to deepen her understanding of yoga through meditation, independent study, and personal practice.  Tazima creates a light-hearted environment in which students explore a physically challenging, yet mindful practice, and cultivate compassion through self acceptance.  In addition to teaching yoga, Tazima is a holistic health counselor and a food scientist. 

Vanessa King has been studying yoga since 1998.  She has been honored to share the empowering teachings of yoga with seniors, professional athletes, troubled teenagers, power execs and all those in between. On her journey, she has learned that yoga offers something special for each of individual, regardless of background.  She teaches Anusara-inspired yoga and which encourages students step into the currents of their own greatness. Vanessa is deeply indebted to her many teachers, past and present and continues to be a grateful yoga student.   She has a RYT-500 certification in Ashtanga Vinyasa  Yoga.  In addition, Vanessa is a Thai Bodywork therapist and holds certifications in Reiki 2 and craniosacral therapy, among other modalities.  When Vanessa is not teaching yoga, you can find her upside down, practicing Flying yoga with the DC Flyers crew, cooking, drinking wine or planning her next surf getaway.

Visiting Guest Teachers

We are honored to present an amazing array of guest teachers at Flow to support your practice and exploration of yoga.

Sharon Gannon and David Life created the world-famous Jivamukti Yoga Method in 1984. They are pioneers in teaching yoga as a path toward spiritual enlightenment, and are widely recognized as innovators in Yoga. They are both considered yoga masters and are in-demand around the globe. For the past 20 years, they have taught throughout the US and Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, Italy, India, Turkey, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Philippines, Australia, China, the Caribbean, and Israel.  http://www.jivamuktyoga.com

Alanna Kaivalya A life-long obsession with sound led Alanna to Jivamukti Yoga, where her teachers Sharon Gannon and David Life gave her the freedom to immerse herself in the power of yoga, chanting and music. Also known as the JivaDiva, she produces the Yoga Jam podcast which garners over half a million listeners worldwide. Her album, Shine, was released in May. For more information about Alanna, please visit www.jivadiva.com.

David Newman (Durga Das) is a frequent guest at Flow.  David or Durga Das, as he is also known, is a Kirtan Chant Artist and a practitioner and educator of Bhakti Yoga - the yoga of love. David's music, rooted in the ancient yogic tradition of sound as a healing path toward self discovery (Nada Yoga), embodies a devotional mysticism, distinctive musicality, poetic intimacy and a deep respect for India's ancient chant tradition.  Learn more about David and his music by visiting his website!

Dana Flynn is Co-Founder and Co-Director for the School and Center at Laughing Lotus, NYC.  Dana has been dubbed the Janis Joplin of Yoga. Always wild and playful, creative and offbeat, she is a Mystic, a Minister and Messenger of Light.  Her classes are designed for you to uncover, explore and Celebrate your own Greatness!  Teaching from her own practice, Dana is constantly reminded that Yoga is a Living, Breathing Tradition, one that is constantly evolving...just like YOU!

Jasmine  Tarkeshi is Co-Founder and Co-Director for the School and Center at Laughing Lotus, NYC.  Jasmine Tarkeshi was born into a mystical heritage where Eastern philosophy, spirituality, and pure creativity have saturated her whole life. Her teachings are inspiring, passionate and devotional and are always infused with her wisdom, humor, and creativity that come from a lifetime of Spiritual exploration. Her classes enable you to reveal and express your true essence as an instrument of Divine Love to help serve and heal the world.

Para  has studied yoga for over 11 years and has been walking the path of Divine Mother for over six.  His education includes a wide range of renowned asana teachers, mystics, and sages; most notably Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Sri Swami Satchidananda, and Bhagavati Sri Karunamayi Ma. Para teaches tantric yoga, an approach to asana that honors the feminine Divine by focusing on energetics and receptivity.  Para's classes are a meaningful blend of asana, philosophy, humor and devotion

Estelle Eichenbergere Yogeswari is one of the foremost teachers of the Jivamukti method, and is hands-down one of the most knowledgeable  teachers in the yoga community today.  She graduated from the Jivamukti teacher training program in 1999 following extensive studies in Integral, Kundalini, Sivananda and Kripalu yoga, and complimenting a lifelong background in professional dance and choreography.  Based in New York City, she teaches around the world, and is well-known for her thought-provoking teachings, and her vigorous and inventive sequencing.  A native of Switzerland, Yogeswari spent extensive and highly influential periods of her life around the Meditteranean, Middle East, Asia and South America, and speaks multiple languages.

 
Sharon Salzberg has been a student of Buddhism since 1971, and has been leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. She teaches both intensive awareness practice (vipassana or insight meditation) and the profound cultivation of lovingkindness and compassion (the Brahma Viharas). She is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and The Forest Refuge, a new center for long term meditation practice.  Sharon has recently finished writing a book titled Faith. She is the author of Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness and A Heart as Wide as the World, by Shambhala Publications; Lovingkindness Meditation (audio) by Sounds True; and co-author with Joseph Goldstein of Insight Meditation, a Step-by-Step Course on How to Meditate, also from Sounds True. She has edited Voices of Insight, an anthology of writings by vipassana teachers in the West, published by Shambhala. Please see her complete list of books and tapes. 

 
Simon Park is an innovative teacher of Vinyasa Flow and Thai Massage. Drawing inspiration from many yogic
styles and master teachers, he has developed a truly unique and energetic practice. Simon has taught Yoga and Thai Massage workshops nationwide, assisted extensively with Shiva Rea, and has been featured in New York Times and Yoga Journal. Nomadic by nature, he travels the world to celebrate the pulse of the global yoga community.

Kate Miller is a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher.  The heart oriented approach to her teaching is strong in alignment principles and is combined with a balance of strength and flexability.  She weaves her love of yogic philosohpy through her classes and motivates students to step into the current of their own greatness.  She holds a BFA in Fine Arts and brings the creativity of her many years of dance to her teaching.  With a firm knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology, Kate is able to help her student’s with injuries and special conditions they may come to class with.  Above all, Kate’s passion for yoga shines through her teaching with a light heart and a playful sense of humor.

Alison West is known for her dynamic and precise instruction, coming from both backgrounds of Iyengar and Astanga yoga. Her first training was under the aegis of the Sivandanda organization where she completed both the Teacher Training and Advanced Teacher Training Courses. She then studied for many years with senior Iyengar teachers Kevin Gardiner and Mary Dunn, as well as other leading Iyengar teachers Genny Kapuler, Bobby Clennell, Robin Janis, as well as Astanga yoga with Sri K. Patthabi Jois in Mysore and with Eddie Stern in New York. Alison spent September 2004 in Pune, India, studying at the Iyengar Intitute and apprenticing in the medical classes with BKS Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar and Stephanie Quirk. She has been teaching in New York since 1988 and gives workshops around the country and in Europe.

Cameron Shayne has devoted 20 years to the study and mastery of body organization and awareness through the classical arts of Yoga and Martial Arts. His keen understanding of body dynamics, coupled with an eye for the complex qualities of movement, make him an uncommon commodity. "Yoga and martial arts are simply an external expression of ones internal being. Therefore by better organizing the way a person moves, we serve to better organize the way that person thinks and lives."  in 2002, Cameron created Budokon, a holistic training method that combines the classical martial arts, hatha yoga, meditation and optimal nutrition all designed to explore the maximum potential of the mind and body. By exploring the physical, emotional and spiritual body through movement, diet and meditation, the student works toward achieving truly sustainable health, wellness and personal power.

Julie Schwartz offers her passionate expertise as a Life Coach and Yoga Instructor to the Flow community. She is deeply and lovingly committed to her clients living the most amazing lives they can imagine. Julie will support you and challenge you to reach into all pockets of your being to discover and live from your true essences/values. Julie will partner with you, and honor the natural wisdom of your mind and body, as you shed stale habits, envision and design your dream life, and take action to make it real. She has over 10 years of experience in the Personal Growth field. She trained with the Coaches Training Institute for life coaching, with Ana Forrest to teach yoga, University of Chicago to receive a Masters of Social Work, Chicago School of Massage Therapy to become a Certified Massage Therapist and has worked as an Organization Development Professional.  Julie’s rigorous and passionate commitment to her own fulfillment and growth enables her to be the nurturing, spunky and inspiring coach/teacher that she is today.  Visit Vivid Living to learn more about Julie!

Jeff Cohen and Andrea Boyd are both personally trained and certified by Sharon Gannon and David Life in the Jivamukti Yoga® Method. Jeffrey has been studying and practicing yoga since 1995, and is one of the few Jivamukti teachers to teach extensively at the popular New York City centers.  Andrea, a former dancer, searched to regain extensive flexibility and strength by enrolling in a yoga class at the College of Charleston in 1997, later moving to New York City, where she found Jivamukti Yoga, served as long-time personal assistant to Sharon and David, and received her teaching certification.  In 2005, Jeffrey and Andrea relocated to Charleston, South Carolina and opened Satsang Yoga, which quickly earned a feature story in Charleston City Paper, as well as many loyal students.

Michael Hewett has been teaching yoga since 1997 and is a student of Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally, with whom he has been studying Yoga Sutra, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and Tibetan Heart Yoga.  An accomplished composer, guitarist, and recording artist, in 2000 he released "Hidden in Plain Sight", a CD of original compositions written for solo acoustic guitar. In 2002, the Dharma Moon record label released his second CD "Being in Dreaming", which is used in yoga centers around the world.  Michael's third CD "Ally," was released in Fall 2005. He currently performs in the hit Broadway musical, "Wicked," and is recording his first classical CD.

Narayani (Nicole Nichols) has been teaching yoga for over ten years, and is an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher. She also studies and teaches Tibetan Buddhism in the Gelukpa Tradition with Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally . By using the asanas and breath as the outer method and intention and prayer as the inner method, Narayani teaches yoga as a transformational means to discover joy, overcome suffering, and to realize one’s full potential in this lifetime. Deeply inspired by Sanskrit and the relationship between yoga and sound (Nada Yoga), Narayani has created live-music yoga workshops for Sony Music as well as yoga centers throughout New York City. She has had the privilege of working with internationally renowned musicians including Laraaji, Michael Hewett, and music healer Tom Rossi. 

Christine Davis graces Flow with her touch as a yoga teacher and massage therapist.   She loves that something as joyful as yoga can be used as a tool for something as (sometimes) serious as personal growth. She took her first yoga class in ‘89 at Sarah Lawrence College, where she was inspired by the gentle nurturing of her teacher.  Christine spends most of her week giving Therapeutic Massage to the Flow community.   Other times she is either teaching or taking yoga, Shake Your Soul and West African dance classes or spending time with nature in Charlottesville.  Her students are drawn to her nurturing and enthusiastic energy coupled with her deep knowledge and healing of the emotional body.  Christine’s yoga teaching is inspired by many styles, most recently Anusara and Vinyasa. She is certified with Shake Your Soul/Kripalu Dancekinetics, The Yoga Alliance, ACE, National Board of Therapeutic Massage, and massage licenses in Washington State and DC. 

Andrea Franchini is an Anusara yoga instructor with a background in dance.  An injury  and an extended period of healing led her to leave the conservatory world,
for studies incorporating structural healing into her movement practice through a BFA in Dance with an emphasis on body awareness.  Andrea continued to dance and perform many years after college on a company/professional level while building a regular yoga practice before deciding to train as a yoga instructor.  She has been teaching since 2000, when she completed her first teacher training in Vinyasa. Since then she has deepened her skills and knowledge as a teacher with four additional teacher trainings in Anusara and therapeutic yoga. She teaches at World Yoga in Walnut Creek , Yoga Kula,
Berkeley Ca and the San Francisco Bay Club and in collaboration with Qi Gong instructor Ken Yamaguchi-Clark. She has taught in DC, Costa Rica and Peru. Currently she is a guest teacher at Flow yoga center in Washington DC and teacher in residence at Manzanita Village Dharma Center, California. Her classes are intelligently sequenced, and she incorporates her knowledge of anatomy and movement into flowing sequences allowing students to evolve in their own practices with both
ease and steadiness.