Mary Clare O'Connor Owner And Instructor |
Mary Clare O’Connor has been practicing yoga on and off the mat for over twenty years. Her study began in life, religions, spirituality, philosophy and the workings of the mind and then shifted into the body through sound, asana and dance. She seeks to integrate an appreciation for the wisdom found in the body into consciousness in everyday living. She earned a 200 hr. Kripalu Yoga Teachers Certification in July 2011 as well as a Kripalu Yoga Dance Certification in 2009. Along with graduate study in Literature and Philosophy at SUNY Albany, she also studied philosophy, cosmology, and consciousness @ The California Institute of Integral Studies. |
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Christine Barton has been teaching yoga in the capital region for 14 years. She received her training and certification at Kripalu after retiring from teaching elementary school. She loves sharing the gift of yoga with her students. Her classes are safe havens with a lovely, calm spirit. Christine currently teaches yoga for cancer survivors and caregivers at Hope Club, as well as a gentle class at Schenectady’s YWCA. She moved to the Stockade about two years ago and enjoys her Riverside walks with her dog Cocoa, savory meals at Tara Kitchen, African drumming on Jay Street and now, teaching yoga on the boulevard.
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Christine Barton Instructor |
Amit Goel Instructor |
Amit Goel is originally from India and has been teaching at Yoga Bliss since 2014. He has experience in various styles of Yoga – Sivananda, Ashtanga, Vinayasa, Hatha and Restorative. He practices Vipassana Meditation and has attended many 10 day silent retreats as well as maintaining a daily practice. He offers a fun blend of asana, pranayama and meditation with focus on alignment and breath. He has also taught Yoga at Heartspace Yoga, Siena College and volunteers teaching at the Albany Hindu Community Center. Along with his 200-hr. YTT certification he has attended various workshops, wanderlust yoga festival etc. and is near to completing his 500-hr teacher training at Kripalu.
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Graciela is a certified yoga teacher, holistic minister practitioner, reiki master practitioner and reiki teacher from Binghamton, NY. With her background in Nursing, her passion for helping others has shaped her love of using her healing gifts to bring balance to the mind, body and spirit.
When working with her yoga students, she encourages them to cultivate a yoga practice that best meets their needs. Through yoga, Graciela encourages her yoga students in learning how to connect to their mind and body so they can lead better lives off the yoga mat. One of her favorite quotes that she encourages her students with is "Yoga is not what you practice on your mat. It teaches you how to live your life off your mat." Graciela teaches many styles of yoga including restorative, vinyasa, chair, yoga nidra and yin yoga. She is also certified in teaching yoga to people who are receiving cancer treatment and are in survivorship through her Yoga4Cancer classes. |
Graciela Solano Instructor |
Alithia instructor |
Alithia Rodriguez-Rolon, a registered 200 RYT yoga teacher, trained at Jai Yoga School’s in Slingerlands, New York where she developed a love for Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion and service) and deepened her expertise and mastery of asana. Along with her 200- hour certification, she is certified to teach Kundalini and Yin yoga. Her yoga journey began in the 1990’s, watching Gaiam videos and practicing at home. Combining her love of yoga, and many years as a student (more than a decade), she creates a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment for all of levels of students. Alithia is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys running and outdoor activities. Alithia was born in Brooklyn, New York and relocated to Albany where she currently resides, to attend graduate school at Rockefeller College.
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Rosa Rivera...I am teaching myself how to love better one day at a time...reading, writing, meditating, praying, saying affirmations, doing yoga, therapy, practicing positive self talk, doing things for myself, making new friends, believing in myself, exploring the world, taking missed steps along the way, practicing being gentle and coming more and more into full awareness. I don’t have any answers. I’m not perfect. I am still growing everyday. But, I know that I am a love child. I know that I was put here on this earth to remind people how to love, especially myself. I surely know that “I come as one but, I stand as ten thousand.” I know that I come from generations of traumatized women and yet in my healing, I heal the trauma of my line. I also know that my personal journey and the journey of others are interconnected. If all I can do is feel good in my body, I think I will have achieved what I was meant to in this life!
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Rosa Rivera instructor |
Bill Gathan instructor |
Bill Gathan has been practicing yoga since 2015 and completed his first 300-hour Teacher Training with Instructor Justin Wolfer at Rise Yoga & Movement Arts Center Saratoga, NY in 2017. In August 2020, he completed an additional 200 Hour Teacher Training with Instructors, Raghunath, Bobbie Marchand & Kaustubha Das at Supersoul Farm in Chatham, NY. During this immersive training at Supersoul he learned, studied and actively applied the principles of Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of Devotion. Bill is a husband and a father of two teenage sons, who have been residents of the Niskayuna community since 2001. He is also a writer and a long-distance runner, not to mention an arm balance ambassador, inversion enthusiast, vinyasa flow advocate, dancing warrior, primal mover, who is grateful to be able to give back through teaching, volunteering and charity work.
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Lua Arcos will be joining us as a new instructor after just finishing her 200 Hour Vinyasa Yoga Certificate at Studio 4! Coming from a background in theatre, dance, carpentry, and professional organizing, Lua has always had an extreme awareness of how her body moves through space. Her need for emotional, physical, and spiritual healing is what originally lead Lua to yoga and is what continues to push her forward as an instructor. Lua understands the patience and the care it takes to practice yoga daily and hopes to impart her students with the same, if not more, attention as she gives herself. When you practice with Lua, you will be getting doses of freedom, fun, and radical acceptance of yourself. She strives every day to learn more about what it means to be a good student in order to be a good instructor; gaining knowledge from trauma-informed yogis, intertwining her Mexican roots with her spiritual roots, and expanding on her understanding of breath.
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Lua Arcos-Pangione instructor |
Diana Domingo instructor |
Diana Domingo, M.A., is an Artist, Singer-songwriter and Creative pathfinder. She has worked with the healing power of music, imagination, creative expression, breath, movement, voice and sound for over a decade and helped numerous individuals from all walks of life move deeper within to find connection, create space, healing energy, grace and ease. Bridging her Masters in Psychology with in-depth work and study in art, music and bio-acoustics, Diana combines empirical science with techniques and modalities that use the body’s own natural intelligence and intuition to inspire people to break through, heal trauma, find their truth and live more creatively and joyfully.
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Jenny Meers has been working in the dental profession for over twenty years. Her love of yoga initially began many years ago as a practice to soften the occupational demands that dentistry can take on the body, later while pregnant, she utilized yoga and meditation as a way to connect with her breath, deeply understand her body, and prepare it for childbirth. After years of daily practice, yoga opened doors to a deeper connection to the divine. It made her see herself more clearly, allowed more peace in her life, and gave her courage to speak her truth. More recently her practice paved the way for her sobriety. Knowing she wanted to share her experiences and assist others in their healing journeys, she earned RYT 200 at Jai Yoga School in May 2018. In September 2018, she became Y12SR (Yoga of 12 Step Recovery) Certified Leader.
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Jenny Meers instructor |
Mandee Guzzo instructor |
Mandee Guzzo has been practicing yoga, asana, and meditation since 2012. She began her practice in her early 20s as a way to navigate her anxiety. Cultivating a mind-body connection while practicing yoga transformed her. Eventually, she earned her 200hr YTT at Phoenix Rising School of Yoga Therapy. She offers a range of classes, including Adaptive, Chair, and Vinyasa. These classes are taught with an inclusive and trauma-informed approach. Emotions and past experiences present themselves in our bodies and manifest in our minds. Her goal is to help others understand and internalize this. She aims to create a safe yet challenging space where people can meet themselves, recognize their patterns and habits, and make the shifts they're ready to make. She believes that even the darkest parts of ourselves deserve love, care, and compassion and that the only way out is to go through. Through this practice, she hopes to bring you to a deeper understanding of yourself and how you navigate and experience the world!
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A fitness enthusiast since childhood, Sarah was introduced to yoga in 2008 as a way to reduce injuries from competitive sports. She instantly connected to the physical aspects of yoga and loved challenging herself with fun poses and handstands. In 2015, Sarah found a new connection to yoga that extended far beyond the asanas. She turned to yoga as a way to gain emotional strength from the passing of her parents. Sarah believes that by connecting with a local community and developing a practice she gained a new outlook on life and restored her well-being. Through movement and meditation, she found emotional balance, physical and mental strength, and positivity on and off the mat. Wanting to share her healing journey with others, she completed her 200-hr Hatha Yoga Certification from GypSEA Yoga School in Costa Rica. Since then, she has taught multiple styles of classes around the capital region and even owned a local studio pre-pandemic. As life ebbs and flows, she hopes to serve as a source of strength for others and to inspire people to live their yoga everyday on and off the mat.
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Sarah James instructor |
Mena Zarrelli instructor |
Mena Zarrelli began her Yoga practice in 2002 when she spontaneously walked into an Ashtanga Yoga class. After this first yoga experience, she immediately felt the call to include yoga in her life, forever. She has had the opportunity to practice, study and teach many different styles of yoga including prenatal yoga and yoga for kids. Mena received her Yoga Alliance 200 Hour Training in Hot Warrior Yoga with Jennilee Toner in 2009. Her style of teaching includes a strong, power-centered asana practice coupled with a mindful, meditative flow. Mena’s goal is to challenge her students both mentally and physically while still allowing for a motivating, energizing and tranquil practice. She has taught Yoga classes at the YWCA, The Yoga Spa, Best Fitness, E-studio, Yoga Bliss, Union College and Soluna Yoga Studio. In addition to Yoga, Mena owns and operates Club Z! Tutoring and Test-Prep in Niskayuna, NY and is a NYS certified Spanish, Italian and Art teacher. Mena’s greatest accomplishment is being mamma to three beautiful and active teens.
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Sandra Kahlon is an Occupational Therapist and Expert Level John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Therapist. She has completed a 200 hr YTT and 16 hr Yin yoga training in addition to becoming an Inner Alignment Spiritual Coach and mentor. Sandra has a passion for combining her knowledge of the fascial system, yoga, body mechanics and meditation to bring a holistic approach to her classes for the greatest amount of release, healing and fun. Off the mat she is a mother of three daughters, runs a private Myofascial Release practice, and is a plant medicine enthusiast. She was able to 'find her way home to herself' through yoga and cultivates the space for her students to do the same.
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Sandra Kahlon instructor |
Emily Savona instructor |
Emily has been practicing yoga for almost half of her life, she was introduced at an early age as a way to help with the effects of Lymes disease but it soon turned into much more than just a physical practice. Yoga has brought a sense of joy and self appreciation to her everyday life that she wants to share, so she decided to get her teaching certification though Jai Yoga School in 2021. Emily focuses mainly on soothing Vinyasa flows to help dislodge and disperse negative energy along with meditation to center the body, mind and spirit. Through positivity and enthusiastic flair, Emmy aims to bring a sense of lightness and comfort to the mat, her biggest goal is to forge a sense of community and camaraderie between all that decide to take the leap and start the ever rewarding journey that is yoga. She has two goats whom she loves and thought would be good for goat yoga but they have gotten too many treats and don't listen well to instruction!
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