Team – Synergy
Adam Schawartz
Adam Schwartz has been teaching yoga since 2012 and has done 1400 cumulative hours of training. He has studied with internationally renowned teachers such as Gokulacandra, Sri Dharma Mittra and Jared McCann. Adam teaches Vinyasa, Hot 26 and yin yoga as well as breath work and he also maintains a personal practices of breath work, poses and meditation.
Alice P Nelson
Bikram and Kripalu certified in yoga, Mad Dogg certified in spinning and Les Miles Body Pump trained. Started teaching step aerobics as a result of her love of movement on a bicycle, which she did then and still rides today. During the early years of group classes I taught step aerobics, body pump, cycling, pool classes and eventually yoga. Yoga’s popularity started to grow when I was teaching at Bally’s Total Fitness gym in NJ.
From finding yoga at the gym, I attended a 200 hour training in 1999 at Kripalu center for yoga and health which opened its doors in MA, in 1983 a time of change in the yoga world in the west. In 1973 Bikram Choudhury opened his studio in Beverly Hills, CA and became well known as the yoga teacher to the stars. This style of yoga was also gaining followers at his studio. He started offering teacher trainings to people in that original studio in Beverly Hills, in 1994 with small groups to start. When I attended the Bikram yoga, 500 hour Teacher training, it was the fall of 2000, my class of 203 (I believe we started with) was the largest class at the time. Years following, the teacher training offerings grew even bigger. From 2001-2006 I owned and operated a Bikram Yoga only studio in NJ. That year brought change to my life with the selling of the studio to then riding my Bicycle across the USA in the summer of 2006.
Since selling the studio Iv been lucky enough to teach and practice at many amazing studios. Iv been fortunate enough to teach in NJ, NY, CA, WA, MA, FL, England and New Zealand. I love visiting studios all over as well as one meets amazing and welcoming teachers and students alike. Yoga brings people together with others and more importantly, together with the self. Yoga gives one the opportunity to explore the self via movement and breath to better connect to everyday activities of daily living on planet earth. Any style will do! Come and explore how you feel via poses and breath work with me!
Allison Caulfield
Ali is a Yoga Alliance 200-hour registered yoga instructor, trained by Ann Yocum at Colts Neck Hot Yoga. Always active in various sports and fitness, she became instantly hooked on hot yoga for its various benefits, both physical and mental. While she practices various styles of yoga, Ali primarily teaches the Hot 26 series and Yoga for Athletes. “Yoga has been such a gift in my life-mind, body and spirit-and I am so grateful for the opportunity to help others find how yoga can enhance their lives on and off the mat.” Find Ali’s blog at www.yogamamamuses.com
Amy Budinich
In 2008, Amy discovered something that ultimately saved her life—Yoga. From her first Yoga class, to the creation of a local non-profit organization, to her current role at The Phoenix, Amy has long devoted herself to the principles and practice of Yoga. She witnessed how the practice of Yoga, which often begins as a physical quest, ultimately transforms into a journey towards self-realization, enabling the mind, body, and spirit to become connected. Equipped with experience in nonprofit & retail management, as well as numerous Yoga trainings, certifications, and thousands of hours of teaching, her passion and skill soon became her calling. Amy has helped to develop and deliver a Yoga practices & trainings that are nurturing, healing, and accessible for all.
Amy’s teachings focus on the whole person. She believes the practice of yoga begins as a physical quest and then transforms itself into a self-actualization journey. Amy is an advanced teacher of Yoga Therapy, As well as a teacher of Hot 26, Power Yoga & Trauma Sensitive Yoga. In addition to teaching yoga, Amy is a Program Director for The Phoenix, www.thephoenix.org
Amy’s has been teaching since February 2011 & trainings include: Hot 26 training, Baron Baptiste Level 1 Teacher training in Hawaii, Drishti Power Yoga Training, and Yoga Gangster Training, Kripalu 500 Hour Advanced Teacher of Yoga Therapy
Breane Trotte (Azad Kaur)
Breane is a 300-hr KRI-certified Kundalini Yoga instructor and a RYT-certified Yoga instructor. An avid yoga practitioner for 20 years, she has practiced and embraced all different lineages including Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Jivamukti. Breane’s love of astrology has led to years of exploration and study. She is the resident astrologer at Stars Align, an astrology-based dating app, as well as the founder of The Mystic News, an online astrology newspaper.
She offers group and private astrology and numerology readings.
Other healing modalities of study include Sat Nam Rasayan under Guru Dev Singh, and a Meridian yoga training. She is currently in an ongoing Kundalini Therapy Training with Guru Dharam Singh Khalsa in NYC.
Breane’s classes are healing yet fun, as she believes that building the group energy, is how we heal and experience higher levels of consciousness. She integrates traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and astrology into her asana flow as well as a creative vibe from her days as an actor and writer. Through asana work, pranayama, and mantra meditation, she hopes people will explore a deeper sense of self while experiencing a connection to all beings.
Cara Yakey
Cara began practicing yoga 25 years ago. It was her passion for yoga that lead her to do her classic Hatha teacher training in 2001, but has practiced ashtanga, jivamukti, and Bikram. Prior to teaching yoga she worked as a physical therapist specializing in sports related injuries. She brings an extensive knowledge of anatomy and proper biomechanics to her teachings. Besides being a devout yogi, Cara is the proud Mom of thirteen-year oldLucas. She also enjoys walking the boardwalk in Long Branch and riding her beach cruiser.
Eileen Natale
Eileen is a 500-hour RYT, trained in the YogaWorks method, which combines the Iyengar and Ashtanga methods with a focus on alignment and safety. Although Eileen enjoys many forms of yoga, she is passionate about the Hot 26 series. Eileen attends a wide variety of workshops to increase her knowledge and enjoyment of yoga. She has been teaching locally since 2011.
Eleonora Zampatti
Eleonora is a native of Milan, Italy now living in NJ, USA. Body movement specialist, Author, fitness model, and cover girl, Eleonora began her career as a varsity synchronized swimmer.
Her love for movement and fluidity easily transferred from the water to the dance floor when she moved to NYC and enrolled at Peridance International School of Dance. There, she studied ballet, modern dance, and flexibility, but not until she tried a hot yoga class one day that her life was transformed.
Convinced that yoga is much more than just asana, Eleonora encourages her students to accept their vulnerabilities. She feels that without weakness there can be no strength and without acceptance there can be no healing.
Her classes are challenging yet accessible and provide her students with the knowledge and courage necessary to carry their practice out of the yoga studio and into their daily lives.
Georgette Kaftan
Georgette is a 300 hour RYT trained in Vinyasa Flow, Rasa Restorative, Yin Yoga, and Yoga for Trauma & Addiction. Georgette has studied with Eckhart Tolle, incorporating his wisdom into her yoga classes, workshops, and remote retreats. She has also studied bio-mechanics with Jules Mitchell, the art of attention with Elena Brower, and meditation immersion with Kula for Karma.
With Undergraduate degrees in Economics and Psychology, and a Masters Degree in Computer Science, Georgette understands the enormous pressures of corporate life and how vital it is to stay balanced and focused. Her teaching style is fun, encouraging self-acceptance and mindful alignment with the goals of creating internal strength and space for growth.
Jen Portman
Always an avid athlete, Jen found yoga about 20 years ago when injuries prevented her from running and competing in triathlons. Bikram yoga quickly became her passion because of its physical intensity, as well as its ability to heal and strengthen, its power to create balance both mentally and physically, and for the simple freedom and joy it created in her life. One day she accidentally ventured into a hot vinyasa class and the rest is history. She has completed teacher trainings with Baron Baptiste and Schuyler Grant, and her rigorous classes focus on finding ease and freedom within adherence to proper anatomical alignment.
Kristin Gould
Kristin (Jyoti), RYT is an inspired and spirited yoga teacher. Using her dedication to ballet, creative dance and yoga, she brings passion, intuition and grooviness to her teaching. Kristin specializes in Ayurveda and meditation and always brings elements of both to her classes. She believes in order to be a responsible teacher, she must continue to be a humble student; always learning, growing and sharing her knowledge of this ancient practice from the countless numbers of teachers who have come before her. When not teaching or studying yoga or philosophy, she enjoys cooking, gardening, painting, surfing and boating. Kristin reminds us that as we practice yoga with skillfulness uniting breath, body and soul, we are ultimately connecting to all things beyond our egos and off our mats.
Lilly Flanagan
Lilly began practicing yoga during my time at Eugene Lang College in 1999. She soon developed a daily yoga practice and deep appreciation for the science of yoga from her first teachers-Jillian Pransky and Carl Horowitz. After suffering a lower back ligament tear in a “cold” yoga class, Lilly discovered hot yoga in 2004. After experiencing tremendous healing not only in her back, elbows, spine and mind, Lilly enrolled in the Spring 2005 Bikram training. Lilly had the honor of studying under Emmy Cleaves, Rajashree, Craig Villani and of course, Bikram himself in the immersive 9-week training in Los Ángeles. Lilly is trained in both the intermediate and advanced series and focuses on making this wonderful healing modality accessible to students of all ages and levels.
Lily trained with yoga champions Joseph Encinia ans Emily Avery. Lilly specializes in working with athletes to help them heal faster, prevent sports injuries, and increase focus though emphasis on proper alignment and breath. When not teaching, Lilly enjoys swimming in the sea, reading, and cooking delicious vegetarian meals.
Tanya Williams
Tanya has been teaching yoga and serving her local community for more than ten years. She is trained in the Bikram Yoga advanced series and achieved both 200 and 500 hour teacher trainings with the highly respected Sri Dharma Mittra in New York City. For over a decade, Tanya has been studying the comprehensive and meditative path of Yoga (Raja) with Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, an English mystic and Sufi lineage teacher. Contemplative by nature, Tanya is known by her students for continued patience, respect and dedication.
Vanessa Van Noy
Vanessa has been teaching in the NY metro area for more than 20 years. She has worked with pro and collegiate athletes, people with physical limitations, and everyone in between. She specializes in creating practices that are fluid, functional and fun. She encourages compassion, perseverance and laughter in her classes. Vanessa is very hands on, using touch as a way to deepen a posture or just show a little love. Vanessa is the founder of “Headstands for Hunger “a annual yoga-based community event that feeds hungry people and homeless pets in Monmouth County NJ.
Virginia Lennon
Virginia Lennon was an accomplished scholastic basketball player, softball player and runner who has always had a passion for sports. Multiple knee surgeries prohibited her further pursuit of running but opened up the world of yoga to her several years ago. She completed Level 1 training with Baron Baptiste, 200-hour and 500 hr. trainings with YogaWorks, and a teacher training for children through Bee You Yoga in April 2017. Virginia has expanded her teaching to barre classes. The knowledge of the low-impact isometric workout strengthens and compliments students of all levels. She completed the YogaWorks BarreWorks Teacher Training in 2013, and most recently the Barre Intensity Teacher Training in November 2018.