Meet the UPY Team

Our team of highly experienced yoga teachers work together with a unified passion for helping people of all levels learn and practice yoga. Our classes include mindful movement and postures to improve flexibility, mobility, strength, balance, focus, relaxation and peace.

We are so excited to welcome you to our community! All are welcome here!

Jen Palmer

Jen Palmer, Owner and Founder of Universal Power Yoga, is a 500-Hour E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance. She has been teaching yoga for 14+ years and opened UPY to share her love of yoga. Jen is the Director of UPY’s 200-Hour and 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification Programs.

In 2007, Jen found yoga at a time when she was stressed and working a lot of hours in the corporate world. While training for a marathon, Jen hurt her knee and yoga was recommended. In the very first class she took, she experienced a new feeling of peace and balance. She immediately knew that yoga would be a meaningful part of her life from that point on.

A few years later, in 2013, Jen followed her passion and her dreams and opened UPY as a way to share the healing benefits of yoga with as many people as possible. In 2019, UPY expanded and opened a second location in Wrentham. Just recently, in June 2022, UPY opened its 3rd location in Westwood.

Jen and...

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Sue Bonanno

Sue is our expert in Meditation, Energy and Yoga Philosophy. The founder of SoulSpace Meditation, Sue is passionate about teaching and sharing her wisdom. She is also an expert in Ayurveda, having studied at the Chopra Center and leads us all on the path of peak health. Sue specializes in helping yoga students establish a balanced lifestyle including hot power yoga, meditation and other healthy rituals.

Sue is a 500-Hour E-RYT, YACEP and one of our instructors for UPY’s 200-Hour and 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification Programs!

Take class with Sue!

Sign up for Teacher Training with Sue!

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Cheryl Baumhauer

Cheryl is our in-house anatomy expert with over 20 years of experience working as a Personal Trainer and Yoga Teacher. She is passionate about teaching people to move their bodies with functional movement and awareness of the muscles and bones working together to hold you in a shape. Cheryl is devoted to helping her yoga students with good posture, healthy movement and a focus on making sure that they get the advice that works for them in their particular situation. Cheryl has comprehensive knowledge of how yoga can help prevent and heal various injuries in conjunction with physical therapy.

Cheryl is a 500-Hour E-RYT, YACEP and is our anatomy & sanskrit expert in the 200-Hour and 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification Programs.

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Gale Giacobbe

Gale is an alignment expert who uses her 20+ years of yoga experience to share best practices and principles to help her students learn their postures and integrate good form within every class. Gale found yoga when she was in the corporate world. She leverages her skills and experiences to create a yoga class experience of precision, integrity and alignment to help yoga students feel confident in their practice.

Gale is a 500-Hour E-RYT, YACEP and is our alignment expert in the 200-Hour and 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification Programs.

Take Class with Gale!

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Lisa Howard

Lisa is a 500-Hour RYT with 15+ years of experience. She loves teaching hot power yoga and building our UPY community! She is dedicated to creating transformation in people’s lives through the power of community, yoga and breathwork. Lisa teaches a class which will have you feeling energized, focused and challenged.

Lisa teaches the power yoga segment of our 200-Hour Teacher Training Certification Program. She is also UPY's Community Lead!

Take class with Lisa!

Sign up for Teacher Training with Lisa!

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Mary Walek

Mary is a 500-Hour RYT and she's been teaching yoga since 2016. She teaches All Levels Vinyasa, Slow Flow & Restorative and Yoga Nidra (Yoga Sleep). A former English Teacher, Mary is a natural teacher with wise words to share with her classes about how yoga philosophy can apply to your life. She completed both her 200-Hour and 300-Hour Teacher Trainings with UPY in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Mary’s classes are known for helping you feel relaxed and ready for a good night's sleep! Sometimes Mary even shares her beautiful singing at the end of her classes!

Mary is a part of our faculty for our 200-Hour and 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification Programs.

Take class with Mary!

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Jackie Atencio Yoga

Jackie Atencio

Jackie has been teaching yoga since 2015 and has been practicing yoga for over 10 years. She first fell in love with yoga sculpt, as it combined the focus of weights with the focus of yoga. Soon followed her love for heated vinyasa flows, and she now enjoys teaching both! In Jackie's classes, you can expect to be challenged but also know that her priority is that you leave feeling refreshed, supported and encouraged. She believes in meeting yourself where you are at each day both in your physical practice and off of your mat. When Jackie's not at the yoga studio, she's spending time with her family and friends!

Take Class with Jackie!

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Julie Atwood

Julie A took her 300-Hour Teacher Training at UPY in 2020, making her a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher. She teaches Power Yoga, Yoga Sculpt and Advanced Yoga Classes. She has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and teaching for 12! Don’t blink during her classes, because if you do you might find yourself in arm balances and jump throughs you never thought possible! You can expect to feel strong and energized during Julie’s classes!

Take class with Julie A!

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Rhianne Berardi

Rhianne is a 500-Hour Yoga Teacher...and a powerhouse! She teaches our Power Yoga classes. She took her 300-Hour Teacher Training with UPY in 2020. Rhianne is sure to bring the heat and great music! Her classes are for those who like dynamic movement and energy. Show up, enjoy the challenge and have fun! Off the mat, Rhianne is also a Health Coach.

Take class with Rhianne!

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Courtney Dutch

Courtney is a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher who teaches our All-Levels vinyasa classes, with a special focus on how yoga works! She has been teaching and practicing yoga for over 10 years. Come to one of Courtney’s classes to learn about the systems of the body, unplug & unwind. She is sure to make every class worthwhile!

Take class with Courtney!

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Julie Elpus

Julie E is a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher with over 10 years of teaching experience. She teaches All-Levels Vinyasa Yoga and Meditation. Her classes are for everyone who ever thought about wanting to take a yoga class. She will be sure to ease you into poses while offering modifications. Julie's classes are fun, supportive, nurturing and balanced. You are sure to leave with a smile on your face!

Take class with Julie E!

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Dianne Croteau Yoga Teacher

Dianne Croteau

Dianne is a devoted 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher with a gentle spirit and a kind heart who has practiced and studied yoga and meditation in locations around the globe for 20 years. In combination with an extensive background in healthcare, she views the science and spirituality of yoga as a path to guide each individual to find a deeper relationship with their own physiological, spiritual, and emotional body. Dianne encourages students to practice at a comfortable pace in their own unique form within a welcoming, safe, and transformational environment.

Take Class with Dianne!

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Esther Hogan

Esther Hogan is a certified yoga instructor who has completed over 500 hours of training. Her first training in 2011 was a week-long 100hr intensive focusing on power yoga. Shortly after, Esther received her 200hr yoga teacher training in vinyasa flow. Esther completed an additional 300hr advanced yoga teacher training which included introductions to the modalities of functional movement, gentle and restorative yoga, as well as trauma-informed practices in 2020. This training also provided the opportunity for her to deepen her understanding of meditation and mindfulness. Esther received Reiki level 1 certification in 2024 and plans to continue with more Reiki practice and training in the future.

Esther has been guiding students in yoga for over 12 years, and has been a student of the practice for over 25. She was first introduced to hatha yoga but found her way to heated vinyasa after the birth of her three children. The combination of physical movement connected to breath...

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Katie Kourtis

Katie received her 200-Hour Certification in 2015 and has been teaching ever since. For Katie, yoga is a way of life. She teaches a fun all levels class, combining a traditional vinyasa practice with an updated twist by using music and creative sequencing. Katie puts love into preparing for her classes, creating a space where you can come breathe and just be free. She hopes that you leave class feeling refreshed, balanced and more at ease. Teaching and sharing the benefits of yoga is one of Katie’s most favorite things to do, “Just trying to spread some love, one yoga class at a time. “

Take class with Katie!

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Gigi Kim

Gigi is a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher who teaches All Levels Vinyasa yoga classes. She took her 200-Hour and 300-Hour Teacher Trainings at UPY in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Her classes are balanced and calming, with smooth sequences that flow and awaken your body and create space for your mind. You will feel that you got your work out in as the challenge slowly builds throughout class! Gigi will take you to where you are meant to be at that moment. You will leave her class feeling strong, grounded and relaxed!

Take class with Gigi!

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Amy Orsini

Amy did her 200-Hour Teacher Training with UPY in 2019 and has been regularly teaching since then! In addition to a moving meditation (yoga flow), she loves to offer inspirational words of wisdom from the ancient yoga teachings that we can apply to real life during her classes. With a different theme and fun playlist each week, you will build strength by holding poses and tone our abs. You will leave Amy's class with a renewed mind and body!

Take Class with Amy!

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Danielle Piccarini

Danielle P. is a 200-Hour Certified yoga teacher who dabbled in the world of yoga for many years. Her experience as a dancer and former dance instructor led her to believe that yoga was simply a good way to stretch. During a particularly stressful time in her legal career, she turned to yoga and the lightbulb finally went off! Yoga truly changed her life. She completed her training at UPY in 2020 and quickly discovered her love for teaching a powerful, slower flow that allows you to settle in the pose and truly notice what’s happening in your body, breath, and mind. Her creative flows may leave you wondering what’s coming next and the playlist will never disappoint. You’ll finish class feeling stronger, grounded, calm, and peaceful.

Take class with Danielle P!

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Shannon Rolston

Shannon is a 500-hour yoga teacher with 10 years of teaching experience. She aspires to teach the kind of class that she loves to take – challenging, fun, fluid and balanced, with room to explore and get a little messy! The challenge and inspiration for each practice is to show up, step out of the box, and trust that the practice will lead you where you need to be.

Take class with Shannon!

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Danielle Sciotti

Danielle S is one of our All-Levels Vinyasa yoga teachers. She has been practicing yoga for 9 years and is a 200-Hour RYT. Danielle likes to work a little bit of everything into her classes…creative sequences, detailed alignment cues and upbeat playlists! You will leave her class feeling strong and ready for your day!

Take class with Danielle S!

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Rachel Smoller

Rachel is a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher, specializing in Prenatal Yoga & All Levels Vinyasa Flow. Her classes are well-balanced, safe and calming, the perfect way to take care of yourself during busy times.

Take class with Rachel!

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Erin Wachtendonk

Erin took her 200-Hour Certification at UPY in 2013 and she's been teaching with us ever since! We love her fun classes, creative practice and focus on breath. Erin balances her corporate career with yoga and skiing in VT!

Take class with Erin!

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Kim Whalen

Kim completed her 200-Hour Teacher Training in 2015. A calf injury led her to her yoga journey which helped to speed up the recovery. Over time, her practice evolved, and she found herself connecting both mind and body with a strong passion to dive deeper and become a teacher!

Kim teaches a playful vinyasa fusion that incorporates both stretch and strength movements for all levels. Each class focuses on listening to your body and honoring your own inner teacher. Kim hopes you leave her classes feeling powerful, more mobile and at ease!

Take class with Kim!

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Tricia Cunniff Yoga Teacher

Tricia Cunniff

Tricia found yoga while studying Art History in college. She's been practicing yoga for almost two decades and continues to delve into how yoga and meditation can be tools to navigate our daily lives. Whether exploring the strength in holding yoga poses, the power in stillness, or the softening in slower practices, Tricia invites students to find the space to practice in a nurture, contemplative way.

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Liza Govoni

Liza is a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher and Prenatal Certified Yoga Teacher. She has been practicing with us at UPY since 2015 and completed her UPY 200-Hour Teacher Training in 2021. We are so excited to have Liza on our team!

Take class with Liza!

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Stephanie Luke-Gilbert Yoga Teacher

Stephanie Luke-Gilbert

Stephanie is an amazing yoga sculpt teacher! Her high energy classes and love for yoga sculpt will get you moving and building strength! Join her on Sundays in Wrentham at 9:30 am.

TAKE CLASS WITH STEPH!

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Sarah Barry

Sarah Barry has been teaching yoga for 4 years and she absolutely loves it! She recently completed her 300-hour teacher training at UPY and is excited to be teaching with us!

Take class with Sarah!

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Julie Levine

Julie has been a dedicated student and recently completed her 200-Hour Teacher Training at UPY! Her passion and dedication say it all... try her all levels class! You'll love it!

Take class with Julie L!

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Ariana Brody

Ariana is a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher with over two decades of experience as a student and teacher. She is passionate about movement, and the healing benefits that come from a physical and mindful practice. Ariana teaches a challenging and accessible practice where students can find strength and balance. So much can happen by just showing up!

TAKE CLASS WITH ARIANA!

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Marlo Franco

Marlo is a 500-hr Registered Yoga Teacher and a life-long lover of learning and exploration. She completed her 200 and 300 hour trainings at Universal Power Yoga and loves teaching all-levels Vinyasa and Power classes. It is her role as a high school special education teacher that first brought her to yoga. She entered a class seeking peace and healing for herself and left with an understanding that she could use the tools learned in yoga to guide her own students down a similar path. Her yoga classes provide students with a safe space to challenge self-limiting beliefs, develop resiliency, and become agents of their own positive change.

TAKE CLASS WITH MARLO!

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Mara Robinson

Mara combines her experience as a physical therapist with her yoga knowledge to deliver an empowering all levels vinyasa class, that leaves you reflecting on how your yoga practice serves you both on and off the mat. A recent 200 hour UPY teacher training graduate, Mara would love to share her energetic practice with you.

Find Mara on the schedule subbing!

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Rick Schlosser

Rick began practicing Yoga in 2002 at age 50. Fast-forwarding, he completed his RYT-500 training at UPY in 2021 and Meditation Teacher Training at Soulspace in 2023.

He offers All-Level, Slow-Flow and Beginner asana classes into which he incorporates a variety of meditation and mindfulness practices. His intention as a teacher is to inspire his students, young and old, from his experience and to help them discover and achieve their own transformation, wellbeing and longevity.

Find Rick on the schedule subbing!

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Jessica Sechoka

Jessica Sechoka, is a Certified Life Coach and Yoga Teacher on a mission to cultivate inner peace and connection through the practice of yoga. With a background in Early Childhood Development and over 15 years of experience in nurturing children's growth, Jessica has found a profound connection between yoga and holistic well-being.

Jessica's classes are a blend of mindful movement, breath work, and self-discovery, aimed at helping individuals find balance and harmony within themselves. Join Jessica on the mat to embark on a journey of self-exploration and empowerment. Together, embrace the transformative power of yoga and unlock a deeper connection to our true selves.

PRACTICE WITH JESSICA!

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Ingrid Jaeger

Ingrid is a Yoga Teacher who works with students of all ages and abilities. Her style is relaxed, accommodating, and inclusive; she infuses her classes with a blended style that includes vinyasa, qigong, hatha, yin yoga, and meditation. She started teaching a weekly yoga class at her gym years ago, but after making some significant life changes, she decided to commit to teaching yoga on a full-time basis.

She has a 500 hour certification with a focus on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Yin yoga, and a 200 hour certification in QiGong. She currently teaches at 2 studios on Cape Cod, works with private clients, provides corporate offerings, and leads workshops designed to help those who are interested in healing through yoga and meditation.

TAKE CLASS WITH INGRID!

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Danielle Ayotte

Danielle is always eager to share the tools of yoga and meditation which have enabled her to move through her life more skillfully–with greater ease and clarity. Through the lens of these ancient, yet constantly evolving practices, Danielle’s classes emphasize the importance of supporting ourselves well physically and emotionally (both “on and off the mat”) through functional movement and alignment focused asana coupled with ample space and time for self-introspection.

Danielle is a graduate of The Golden Mind Project 200-hr Yoga Teacher training, the Yoga San Kalpa Teaching School’s 300-hr Yoga Therapy program, 50-hr Yin Yoga & Yoga Nidra program, 50-hr Advanced Yin Yoga program, 50-hr Chair Yoga program, and 50-hr Pre/Postnatal Yoga program. In addition, Danielle is a 200-hour certified Meditation teacher and is currently completing a 300-hr Advanced Meditation training. Danielle also enjoys training yoga teachers and is the Teaching School Director of Yoga San Kalpa...

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Sam Scarafone

Sam is an all-embracing 500-RYT who teaches an energetic and revitalizing class! Her overall goal for her students is to be able to provide an open space to find joy and mindfulness on the mat. Her intention as a Yoga teacher is to guide others towards awareness in self-love, as well as providing a meaningful asana practice based on inner calm, happiness and overall growth!

Sam completed her 200 - Hour Yoga Teacher training in November 2020, and her 300-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training in June 2021...both at UPY!

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Karen Cheromcha

Looking for balance from a career in the software engineering world, Karen completed her 200 hour RYT training in 2017. Her classes move at a slow gentle pace through poses that are held for a varying length of breath to relinquish the busyness of the mind and connect the breath and mind with the pose.

Considerations are made to allow all students to find what they need for their practice, be it their own flow or a restorative resting poses. She welcomes students of all abilities.

TAKE CLASS WITH KAREN!

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Anna Lambros

Anna has lived on Cape Cod for 35 years. Growing up in and around the Boston area, she attended UMass Boston and later Lesley University for her Masters in the Creative Arts with a bachelors degree in Elementary Education. She has been married 35 years and raised twin fraternal boys. She loves to travel, enjoys the ocean, gardening and connecting to nature. She has been practicing yoga for 24 years and has been teaching in her Cape Cod community for the past 16 years.

She is 200 hour Hatha certified through Inner Peace Yoga School and 300 hour Vinyasa certified through All That Matters School of Yoga with Coral Brown in Rhode Island. She is also a practicing, certified Reiki Master, using this energy healing to help others help heal themselves. Anna teaches a graceful vinyasa flow, beginning and ending with meditation, leaving you feeling refreshed, present and grateful.

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Lynne Buscher

As an avid runner, Lynne took her first yoga class to improve her flexibility. She learned that yoga helped with so much more, including stress management. She decided to become certified, and under the tutelage of Sheryl Light and Michelle Itzkowitz, she attained the 200 hour RYS training through Yoga Alliance, and has been teaching yoga ever since. As a wife, and mother to two grown daughters, and a veteran teacher of the Falmouth Public Schools, she recognizes the necessity of creating balance in her own life, and helping others to work toward that balance. Her passion for teaching is inherent, and the reward for her is seeing the improvement in her pupils. Her family and her students serve as her inspiration to continue to persevere.

Her interests include: enjoying family at the beach, running along the beach, teaching yoga on the beach, and reading at the beach. Notice the theme? The ocean is important to her, and she is proud to call this beach community her home....

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Kirsten van der Bil

Kirsten is an experienced 500 hour yoga teacher. She focuses on moving from inner experience, rather than an imagined and often judged shape. The sensation of life force (prana) guides the flow of movement, intending to ground awareness into the body. She is also a 90 hour prenatal yoga teacher and a licensed massage therapist. Being in the classroom of yoga has been her greatest joy.

TAKE CLASS WITH KIRSTEN!

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Holly Commesso

Holly has been a Pilates Instructor for 13 years and a Barre Instructor for 10 years. She has also been a Personal Trainer for the last 11 years and has taught and trained in several studios and health clubs over the Cape.

Holly has lived in Bourne for the last 25 years where she has raised 3 children. Her philosophy is everyone needs to live a balanced life, mind, body and soul.

Whether your a man or woman, Holly will work with you through core work, flexibility, and strength training to help you find your balance.

TAKE CLASS WITH HOLLY!

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Carol Thompson

Carol has been in the fitness industry for almost 40 years mastering many techniques and disciplines. She has a passion for fitness and strives to improve lives through physical fitness.

Carol earned a Masters from Ohio State University in physical education and holds numerous certifications that enable her to personal train and teach group exercise classes including: weight training, core strength, senior fitness, zumba, water aerobics, spinning, and barre Carol owned and operated her own fitness studio in downtown Chicago where she ran the group exercise program for AT&T and provided Oprah with personal training.

All though Carol could teach a wide range of activities, she always wished to enhance her list with Yoga. After moving to the Cape and taking numerous Yoga classes, Carol began her yoga journey and dedicated herself to learning as much as possible of the blend of breath with movement and received her 200 hour yoga training in 2017 and has been...

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Sara Hubbard

Sara Hubbard is a 500-Hour E-RYT with over 10 years of yoga teaching experience and practice. After a decade working in the insurance industry and experiencing corporate burnout, she resigned and followed her passion for holistic wellness to become a certified yoga teacher and health coach. Yoga inspires Sara to connect with her authentic self, be present, and honor the simple joys in life.

She teaches vinyasa flow classes that are inclusive, upbeat, and challenging. Her classes combine a dynamic sequence of postures, carefully curate playlist, and daily dose of inspiration that will guide you in and through the body.

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Stephanie Burke

Stephanie Burke, proud native of Cape Cod, brings a wealth of expertise in holistic well-being, backed by her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology.

As a yoga instructor, meditation guide, aqua therapist, personal trainer, and more, she's dedicated to helping others achieve optimal health. Stephanie's commitment to wellness shines through her multifaceted career, enriching her community one person at a time.

Find Stephanie on the schedule subbing!

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Susan Andersen

Susan started taking yoga at a local gym as a compliment to other forms of exercise in 2010. After the death of her son in 2012, she realized how breath work, meditation and yoga would be integral to her healing journey. With a mission to share these healing attributes of yoga with people of all levels of yoga practice, she enrolled in teacher training.

Through years of practice Sue has found balance and peace as a student and joy as a teacher. Meditation, mindfulness and breath work are the foundational elements that connect the physical to the spiritual practice and are key to her teaching style. Whether guiding a vinyasa, yin or a gentle yoga class, her goal is to help students find their own practice and to enjoy all the benefits yoga brings.

Susan is a 500-hour registered yoga teacher with certifications in Vinyasa/Hatha, Yin Yoga, Trauma Informed Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and Yoga Warriors International and Grief Movement.

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Kat LaBaire

Kat is a 200-hour Registered Yoga teacher on Cape Cod and has been practicing yoga for over 10 years. Kat loves to teach all-levels slow style vinyasa flow offering a serene sanctuary where students can cultivate harmony between body, mind, and spirit. By slowing down, students can access a state of deep presence, fostering a sense of inner calm and rejuvenation.

PRACTICE WITH KAT!

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"Best studio in the Norwood area."

Owner and instructors are welcoming, knowledgeable with great training backgrounds, and strive to build a great sense of community. Great variety of classes and workshops to keep you motivated and help take you to the next level, or just a great place to keep your practice going. Highly recommend.

-Chris B.