For Margaret, yoga reveals the wild freedom and outrageous joy that is the birthright of every human heart. Margaret has been a dedicated student of Anusara Yoga for over ten years, a yoga teacher for over six years, and is Vermont’s first Certified Anusara Yoga teacher.  She has spent over 1000 hours studying yoga under the guidance of John Friend (founder of Anusara), Deborah Neubauer, Todd Norian, and world-renowned scholars of the Hindu Tantra Douglas Brooks and Paul Muller-Ortega. Margaret is a national YogaAlliance Registered Teacher.

Jill Mason is a 200-hour-certified Kripalu yoga teacher. A long-time student of modern, jazz, and West African dance, she began taking yoga classes in 2009, at age sixty-five, and fell in love with it. Since then she has been taking multiple classes a week, and in June 2011, partly inspired by Laughing River co-founder Jane Jarecki Lanza, she completed the intensive yoga teacher training program at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Mass. She has a particular interest in teaching older students and conceived the idea of what she calls Slow Yoga to bring yoga especially to beginners and lapsed practitioners 50 and older.

Elise ( Weezy to most ) started practicing yoga with her mother many many years ago. Since then she has been fortunate to practice and study with some remarkable teachers. Elise is honored to be teaching at Laughing River Yoga.

Deb fell in love with yoga in a pre-natal class 15 years ago and began practicing regularly soon after. While she has always engaged in various forms of exercise, it was immediately apparent that yoga offered an opportunity to work with mind, body, breath and energy all in one powerful package and that the benefits were enormous. Deb completed the Vajra Yoga Teacher Training Program led by Jill Satterfield and Emily Garrett which was a perfect fit due to its emphasis on mindfulness, alignment, breath and deep embodiment of the poses. For Deb, yoga is an opportunity to connect to one’s true experience on physical, emotional, intellectual and energetic planes, and in doing so, experience a sense of home-coming and integration.  It is also strengthening, energizing, relaxing and fun!  In teaching, Deb aspires to create a space that allows participants to engage in yoga in a safe, compassionate and individual way.  As Matthew Sanford, a master yoga teacher and paraplegic, says: “Yoga can move through any body.”  Deb enjoys helping anyone who wants to experience yoga to try it, and as a result, is excited to be teaching her first “beginners” class at Laughing River.

Deb has additional training in therapeutic yoga, including completing a trauma-sensitive yoga certification program at the Trauma Center directed by Bessel van der Kolk, a renowned trauma expert.  She offers trauma-sensitive yoga classes at the Vermont Center for Yoga and Therapy, as well as private sessions related to trauma or other personal or therapeutic needs (e.g., infertility). Deb plans to offer more Yoga and Writing: Exploring the Gifts of Two Practices workshops at Laughing River and would love to explore an on-going class for students interested in both practices. To learn more about Deb and various services, classes or workshops, visit her website at www.yogatherapyvt.com or www.vtcyt.com.

Yoga and Snowboarding go hand in hand.  Gaby started her study of both through the past 9 years with stints as a snowboard coach at Killington, a Seva volunteer at Kripalu Center for Health & Yoga, and as a Living Yoga Trainee (LYT) at the Sri Swami Satchidananda Ashram (Yogaville) in VA. She earned her 200HR Yoga certification through Yoga Vermont with her teacher trainer, Kathy McNames. Gaby is influenced by Ashtanga, Kripalu, and Integral Yoga.

Gaby teaches a practice that is light-hearted, inviting, and accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and ability levels. Her classes ask students to observe their abilities and limitations without judgment. She teaches how to build a keen body awareness that safely challenges the student as their practice evolves, day to day. Gaby helps students work through and face their challenges.

Watch a video with Danny, speaking about how awareness creates change.

Julia is a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher who has been benefiting from the boundless gifts of the practice for ten years.  She took her first yoga class at age sixteen, and since then has been a devoted practitioner and student of asana, pranayama, and meditation.

Yoga planted the initial seed on Julia’s journey toward self-discovery, love, and compassion.  Her classes emphasize a deep appreciation for all that we are, both as individuals and as a collective consciousness.  As a teacher, she aims to ignite and nourish self-inquiry and love as students move through a flow of postures linked to breath and intention.  Students are encouraged to tap into their own, unique body wisdom as they allow the mind to quiet and the heart to open.  Whether it’s your first time stepping onto the mat or something you do daily, Julia’s priority is to create a safe and sacred space for your practice.

Watch a video with Julia, speaking about how yoga helped open her to love.

If you are looking to bring movement, awareness, and relaxation to every part of your being, in a fun, accepting, encouraging atmosphere, come experience yoga with Patrick!
Patrick’s classes are infused with unique posture sequences, deep devotion, and a light-hearted sense of humor.

Mandi started practicing yoga twelve years ago. In 2004 she attended her first Ashtanga teacher training with Kathy McNames of Yoga Vermont and then with David Swenson. Mandi has also studied with LRY’s Sofi Dillof, Desirée Rumbaugh in Anusara & biomechanics, Linda Ruth Spitzfaden in Transcendental Meditation, Bob Schroedter and Shelly Power in Polestar Pilates and most recently with Baron Baptiste. In addition to these wonderful teachers and experiences in yoga, one of Mandi’s principal teachers has been her own body through injury. This is why alignment and patience on the mat are two things she strives for in her classes.  Currently Mandi teaches Power Vinyasa Yoga in the Baptiste methodology and is a Polestar Pilates Teacher.  Baptiste Power Vinyasa is fun, transformative, and a way to rewire the true self thru inquiry, asana, and meditation.  Both on and off the mat, Mandi teaches to inner and outer strength and flexibility  – flexibility to drop what we know, so we can be open to growth and transformation in whatever form it is presented to us in our daily lives.  Mandi’s classes are a mix of playfulness and purposefulness.  Having fun and moving with intention allows our authentic selves to shine more brightly.

Lindsay is a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher. She has been practicing yoga for six years and meditation for eleven years. As a yoga and meditation teacher her primary focus is to create a container for people to come home to their true selves with deep compassion and acceptance. Her students describe her approach as gentle and welcoming. Influenced by the teachings of Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, Lindsay offers students practical ways to incorporate mindfulness into daily living, to encourage balance, connection, and wellbeing.

For six years Lindsay served as a case manager and advocate in the social services, interweaving mindfulness practices into her work with women and youth. Lindsay has also led classes on compassionate communication, conflict-resolution, and stress-management. In 2007 she co-founded the Gentle Heart Sangha, a mindfulness group in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. She is currently establishing a program to bring yoga and mindfulness tools to under-served populations. Through the support of her own Yoga and meditation practice, Lindsay continues to open her heart to her own struggles and to those around her. Learn more about Lindsay at www.lindsayforemanyoga.com.