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-Pangione has been with Inner Bliss since the spring of 2022! Since receiving her 200 hour Vinyasa teacher training from Studio 4, Lua continues to learn more about yoga so that she can share her knowledge with her students. Lua has been involved in movement since the age of 5, starting off as a dancer and being classically trained as a ballet dancer & musical theater dancer throughout her teens and early 20's. Due to her own injuries and physical limitations, Lua is keenly aware of how the body moves differently for every-body. She makes it a point to hold space in all of her classes for students to explore what their comfortable edge is. Currently, she has classes in Slow Flow Yoga, Yin Yoga, Happy Hips, Vinyasa, and our Beginner Series classes! Lua really enjoys teaching the nuances of movement, in all forms, and hopes that when students come to her classes they feel well worked out, refreshed, and at peace. She is constantly seeking new music to play in her classes, so if you have a suggestion send it her way! Lua looks forward to having you in any of her classes.
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Lua Arcos-Pangione instructor |
Charles Adinolfi instructor & Wellness Practitioner |
The path to Holism manifested for me without much choice involved. Rather, it evolved in my life when no other way for me to live made sense. I’d become quite ill. At that time the current Western Medical zeitgeist offered me nothing but more illness. Holistic Healing practices shined a healing light on me. Illuminated was not only a way back to wellness, but a path to follow whereby I could share the blessings Holism as a practice bestows. When the miracle of good health is Holistically returned the reaction to the miraculous nature of that experience is the immediate need to share what’s been learned. That’s just how it works. And that blessing I’ve been living for the past 20 or so years. My Modalities, Bio-Dynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Acupressure, Reiki, Theta Healing, Sound Healing, speak for themselves. They articulate a reorganizational release for my clients that is at once as simple as it is profound. Which is, if you parse it down, the true nature of Holism. ‘The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts’ Are there any words more truthful? Simple, clear, and concise, they’ve been a touchstone for me. They put the ‘light’ in any way I’ve been ‘enlightened’. The fuel I used on my journey collecting Healing modalities. When I work with a Client there really isn’t any one practice I use. All my modalities have morphed into a single protocol. I always start with Sound. Vibrationally the world melts away as my people, stretched out on a massage table, ride a wave of frequency into the bliss of stillness. Once there with Acupressure, I work to clear their most challenged meridians of stagnating energy. Release can happen. I choose the reorganizational safety of Bio-Dynamic Craniosacral Therapy to ease my Clients into a gentler way of ‘letting go’. A wondrous experience all around.
Reiki really opened up the world of Distance Healing for me. A personal Theta practice has enhanced that experience by giving me an in the moment singularity that drives my ability to just ‘ forget’ time and space. This helps to create a container for my Client and I to share. Sound is a tremendous enhancement. The cornerstone of my Sound Healing Protocol is a Wind Chime I call ‘The Shaman’s Sound Tube’. It’s hung horizontally. Once struck it ‘plays’ a coloratura of frequencies for 5 physics defying minutes. The moniker ‘Shaman’ I give to the tube because a Shaman created it. I can truly say, there is nothing like this instrument in the world. I am humbled that it found its way to me. And blessed to be able to share it’s message of powerful Healing. It has singularly reached down inside me and entrained a voice for toning that in and of itself has become a tool that helps facilitate wellness. My Path is a good one. My journey the best. |
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HABIBA (Donna Marie Tritico) is the recipient of several grants from the NYS Council on the Arts. Some past performances include U-Massachusetts at Amherst; Iron Horse Music Hall; Olana State Historic Site; Caffé Lena; Manhattan’s Ibis Supper Club; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; the Organization of African Unity to the United Nations. One of her career highlights was performing at Saratoga Performing Arts Center with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
and rock music legend Sting. |
Donna Tritico 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 |
Karen Radley instructor |
Karen is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher (RYT-200), trained in the Bhakti tradition, under the guidance of Gopi Kinnicutt (ERYT-500). She completed her training in 2015 at Yoga Mandali and has been teaching ever since. Karen specializes in restorative yoga, having completed over 100 hours of study with Ann Saffi Biasetti (PhD, LCSW-R, ERYT-500, C-IAYT) through Ann’s Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Program, Level 1 (2016) and Level 2 (2018), also at Yoga Mandali.
Karen brings to the mat years of mentoring, guiding, and helping people. She first became interested in yoga as a way to stay fit and active. When life got messy, Karen’s yoga practice became her refuge and conduit for working through anxiety, depression, and grief. This experience inspired her to become a teacher and share the gift of yoga with others. Karen is devoted to fostering compassion, humility, empathy, and openness in her classes and private sessions. Let her guide you on your own personal journey in a warm, safe, and welcoming environment, one breath at a time. |
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Mati Grieco-Hackett is a Registered Kripalu Yoga and Certified Elementary School teacher who has been joyfully teaching yoga and young children in the Capital District for the past 20 years. She has been practicing yoga for a lifetime (both on and off the mat) and is continually awed and inspired by its transformative power. Mati's teaching is informed by this ever-evolving practice.
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Mati Grieco-Hackett instructor |
Miki Vysohlid instructor & Wellness Practitioner |
Miki Vysohlid is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher who has been practicing since 2011. She initially started yoga to heal her lower back pain, but its beauty - a sacred communal space to cultivate inner peace – drew her in. She seeks to offer a space where students can truly connect with their body and feelings as just the way they are. She believes that practice of yoga can cultivate deep inner listening and appreciation for who we truly are, which is the most potent part of healing, transformation, and empowerment both at physical and emotional levels. Miki is also a Shiatsu practitioner and enjoys infusing the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine (meridians, Yin & Yan, energy flows, and the Five Elements) into her yoga classes. She is passionate about spending time in nature in all seasons! She enjoys hiking, swimming, camping as well as cross-country skiing. As a faculty of the outdoor programs at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, she is excited about exploring ways to embody nature and co-creating rejuvenating and mindful outdoor experiences with guests by bringing yoga, passion for outdoors, and Eastern wisdom of healing together. With her Master’s degree in Educational Policy and Administration, her professional experience includes administration in higher education, immigration, academic counseling, and adult literacy education. At home, she is a mom of four trilingual children (Japanese, Czech, and English), and loves traveling and exploring different cultures! She lived in Kenya, Japan, and the U.S.
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A practicing yogi for over 20 years, Cheryl Burton Murphy just recently completed her 200 hour YTT through Be Body Electric. While she enjoys a variety of activities such as biking, running and functional strength classes, she always finds her way back to her mat. In the midst of the pandemic, with everything shut down, Cheryl deepened her home practice and completed a long term goal of 30 Days of Yoga. Living in a bigger body, Cheryl has found that not all poses are accessible in the same way as they may be for others. She made up her mind to find that accessibility. In 2022, she completed her Curvy Yoga certification and went on to complete the 200 hour BE Body Electric Yoga Teacher Training in 2023. Cheryl may be a new yoga instructor but she is veteran teacher. In her full time job, she is a system trainer and she holds a position as driving instructor on the weekends.
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Cheryl Burton-Murphy instructor |
Alexa Giardino instructor |
Alexa Giardino, 200 RYT has been practicing yoga for over 10 years. During her time as a grad student, Alexa’s love of yoga deepened, as the practice became her daily retreat from stress. In 2021, Alexa completed her 200hr yoga training at Jai Yoga School in Slingerlands, NY, where her knowledge of yoga asana and philosophy expanded. Shortly after completing her 200-hour certification, Alexa became certified to teach Kundalini yoga and is currently enrolled in a Yin Yoga certification. Off the mat, Alexa works as a Clinical Social Worker and enjoys nature, walks, and hikes alongside her dog, Clover. She is grateful to learn from the individuals she works with on and off the mat. Blending her understanding of mental health and love of yoga, Alexa creates a welcoming, safe, fun, and explorative environment for all those who join her. She encourages individuals to explore and find what feels good in their bodies and finding ease in their lives.
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