The Studio DC - Yoga in Dupont & Adams Morgan

Our Studio

We offer hot yoga and non-heated yoga classes that produce extraordinary results for all ages and all levels of fitness. Through accessible class offerings ranging from beginners to advanced level, alignment focused to creative flow, workshops & private instruction options, our mission is to introduce everyone to the adventurous journey of yoga and all the magic that follows. We recognize yoga as an ancient tradition, capable of enriching all aspects of modern life and encourage each individual's personal growth while fostering a sense of community and friendship. Our expertise is founded on the excellence of exceptional teachers, who will guide you through each yoga session. We are trained and certified by some of the best scholars in the world: Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest, YogaWorks, Chuck Miller, Rod Stryker, Max Strom, OmYoga, Laughing Lotus, Kripalu, John Friend, Pattabhi Jois and many others. Our gifted team is working to collaborate and deliver life affirming miracles with every class, workshop or product that we offer. We take pride in our exceptionally warm and welcoming teachers and faculty. Our staff is sincerely committed to serving you in a loving and supportive atmosphere. Lastly, we make yoga accessible to Washingtonians by keeping our prices as affordable as possible while drawing on the best teachers locally and internationally. Choosing from over 80 yoga classes each week really does offer something for everybody!


Meet the Owners and Managerial Team



Meet the Teachers

Ryan Arnoldy's interest in yoga as a means of understanding body dynamics has been a lifelong pursuit which began when, as a teenager he became an avid runner and practitioner of high impact sports until his knees finally succumb. No longer being able to enjoy the athletic activities that had at one time brought a great sense of joy and freedom, he was blessed when the gift of yoga and the healing arts found him. Since 2006 he has taught over 3,000 classes and lead yoga teacher trainings over the past 3 years. Ryan is an avid student of both Eastern and Western philosophy. His ability to integrate and juxtapose multiple viewpoints of religion and spiritual philosophy without losing the beauty, uniqueness, and depth of each has lead to a powerful and transformative yoga practice that gives students a sense of fulfillment on all levels. His teaching style combines his love for ashtanga vinyasa yoga, his deep interest in Shamanism and somatic healing, the awareness work of Eckart Tolle, and a sense of his own limitations. By incorporating the element of awareness of the mechanisms of the psyche that drive us to make our decisions and determine our patterns, Ryan teaches yoga from an intuitive and highly developed understanding of the human body and psyche that creates an opportunity for students to redefine how they choose to show up in this world, and creates an environment that makes his classes joyful, challenging, inspiring and approachable. Ryan's schedule


Katja Brandis has been studying the healing arts for 25 years and teaching yoga & somatic movement for 16 years. In her previous career in the public sector, she worked for the World Bank and the US Senate and has been a presenter at the Green Festival and a keynote speaker at the Truman Foundation. After years of extensive traveling to over forty countries and studying with most of the senior yoga masters, she is delighted to bring many of her international teachers directly to her students in DC. Today in her 40s, she is the owner of The Studio DC, Studio Serenity and Omm Baby, a maternity center located in Washington DC. Katja feels deeply inspired by her student's journey and joyfully serves all practitioners, students and staff in creating a nurturing and loving space for their fulfillment One of Katja's greatest passions is supporting women as a natural birth advocate, prenatal educator and birth coach. With the mission to give new families the best possible start in life, Katja founded Omm Baby in 2000, -Washington DC's first "one-stop" parent center for all things baby. Over the past decade she guided 3000 couples through their perinatal period and her acclaimed birthing classes were featured on Fox TV, Washington Post and Washington Times. Katja graduated magna cum laude from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and danced with Hawaii's celebrated dance company Iona Contemporary Dance Theater. She offers private healing sessions specialized in somatic experiencing and voice dialog. Katja's schedule


Gregory Stuart is a classically trained singer and actor, holding degrees in those disciplines from Ithaca College and The George Washington University respectively. He has always enjoyed helping others, so teaching was a natural development in his life. Prior to teaching yoga, he was already teaching Pilates, private voice lessons and acting. So, of course, he just had to share the joy that he experiences in his personal yoga practice with others. Teaching yoga has been a major journey of its own, a rigorous discipline and a demanding craft but one that has taught him the simple and subtle life skills of being authentic in connecting with others, of perceiving individuals intuitively, of acknowledging that we are all vulnerable and many more skills for being a leader in the yoga room and beyond. In his classes, he endeavors to empower his students to explore within on various levels. Gregory earned his Yoga Alliance 200-hour certification through Down Dog Yoga and has completed Baron Baptiste's Level One and Level Two Teacher Training Bootcamps. He has been fortunate to study not only with Baron Baptiste but also with Coeli Marsh and Elizabeth Huntsman, Baptiste master teachers. Recently, he has been finding considerable inspiration in the teachings of Dharma Mittra in New York City. Gregory certified to teach Pilates mat classes through PhysicalMind Institute, and to teach Pilates Ring through Washington Sports Clubs. Gregory performs regularly in the choir of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Arlington, with the men's a cappella ensemble Open 5ths and elsewhere. He recently made solo concert debuts in Paris and New York City. He loves to garden and is an avid francophile. Gregory's schedule


Lexie Bohnert found yoga in 2005 when a friend suggested she take a class to fill a void that dance had left in her life. Shortly after taking a few classes, she began working at At One Yoga in Scottsdale, Arizona and has been a dedicated practitioner ever since. Yoga manifested itself as a practice, way of life, second home and brought together a new family that continues to grow with yogis from around the country. In 2008, Lexie completed her 200 hour training at At One Yoga. She credits the following teachers for helping her find her yoga path and truly making this journey spectacular: Alex Austin, Jenn Chiarelli, Ian Lopatin, John Salisbury. She has found influence from Steve Ross, Dharma Mittra, Shiva Rea and David Romanelli. After moving to DC, Lexie found her place at The Studio DC. She quickly came to feel the positive energy that meets all yogis and has become a part of the yoga community. When not teaching or practicing, Lexie works at a public affairs firm. In yoga, as in life, honor your body, be present, be at one and have fun. Enjoy all moments on and off the mat and joy, and love and laughter will inevitably follow. Lexie's schedule


Julie Breedlove brings her enthusiasm, encouragement, and mindfulness to Studio DC and its students. Her activity list is extensive… dancing, running, surfing, tennis, playing with dogs, as well as teaching yoga! Stumbling across yoga, as she cross-trained for the LA marathon in 2007 ended up being a bolster for improving her runs, and eventually her life. Julie is a marketing manager by day and enjoys balancing the stresses of work with a regular yoga practice. She completed her 200 hour with Katja and Ryan at The Studio DC. Julie aims to provide a playful, positive, and safe learning environment to help others explore and enjoy the versatile benefits of yoga both on and off the mat. As students discover their abilities in the classroom, she provides useful tools that help them cultivate harmony, security, focused attention, and heightened awareness to their daily internal and external experiences. Connecting to nature, animals, and the universe around helps Julie find center and gain fresh perspectives. Striving to keep each class relevant and valuable, Julie inspires students to shift their focus from limitations to possibilities… and eventually achievements! Students return to Julie’s class to receive patience, creativity, synergy, and skill development. Her wish is to help each student navigate their personal life journey in a more effective and comfortable way. Julie's schedule


Jolie Carey works for the government supporting international development programming in Africa. She has lived and worked in East and West Africa for approximately five years. Her background focuses on gender and economic sustainability. She serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for a local NGO that helps orphans and vulnerable children in Mali, West Africa. Jolie focused more on asana practice during graduate school at Columbia University in NYC, between work trips to Africa while based in London, and when working in Sudan where it was often too hot to run. To Jolie, yoga is bliss in action. With each asana, she strives to help yogis reconnect with their inner nature: joyful and mindful. She is a graduate of The Studio DC's Yoga School training program and has benefitted from workshops with master teachers: Donna Farhi, Shiva Rea, Eion Finn, Bryan Kest, Natasha Rizopolous and Ana Forrest. She also practices transcendental meditation (TM) which is based on the repetition of a mantra to facilitate mental and physical relaxation and overall well-being. When not on the mat she enjoys dancing, art galleries, tennis and the Adirondack Mountains with family in upstate NY. Jolie intends to lead yogis on retreats abroad so that practitioners can deepen their practice in new environments, re-opening their hearts and consciousness to the global community in which we all live and breathe. Jolie's schedule


Shauna Coleman first discovered yoga in 2008 as a means to complement her marathon training. Later, Shauna fell in love with yoga for its mental and spiritual benefits and found that yoga helped her mind, body, and heart be more open, present, and resilient to life’s challenges. After briefing living and volunteering in Malawi, Shauna returned to DC and enrolled in the Studio DC Yoga Center’s 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher Certification Program. She is specifically trained in vinyasa flow and power yoga techniques and deepened her knowledge of various yoga styles by studying with several Master Teachers. When not on the mat, Shauna practices law and loves to rock climb, camp, and spend time with her new kitten, Max. Shauna's schedule


Chanda Creasy has been studying yoga for 16 years and has been teaching for a decade. She has studied with numerous master teachers and is certified at the 500 hour level with both Shiva Rea and Shri Kali Tantra Ashram. Chanda's long-standing friendship with The Studio, DC began in 2005 when she studied with The Studio, DC and realized she had found a yoga home. Chanda is deeply grateful for her many yoga and life teachers. Chanda has been drawn to fluid movement since she was born, beginning to study dance at the age of 4, and embraces yoga as a pathway to realize our fullest potential and inherent creativity and freedom. Chanda was introduced to yoga while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia in 1997. Since that time her love of yoga and her love of Africa have been intertwined, with Chanda having led several yoga retreats to the coast of Kenya. Chanda is grateful to have seen many examples of human resilience, flexibility, power, and compassion as a yogini, an anthropologist, and through her work in geopolitics and encourages her students to view yoga as a full spectrum life practice of cultivating the ability to move through life with greater awareness, confidence, creativity, strength, and intelligence. Chanda's classes are breath centered and fluid and invite students to find spaciousness and peace whether engaged in a fiery flow full of arm balances and inversions or a lunar flow of hamstring and hip openers. Chanda's schedule


Courtney DeRuiter came to yoga in her own life in an effort to continue her quest of developing mindfulness. She continues to be drawn to yoga for its benefits in enhancing physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. Recognizing yoga as a self-empowering practice, Courtney encourages students to explore their own practice on and off the mat. Courtney creates challenging yet playful Vinyasa sequences, emphasizing breath work in order to deepen the physical and mindfulness practice. Moving from Seattle in 2011, Courtney became immersed in the Studio DC community where she completed her 200-hour teacher training. She has deepened her knowledge-base and skills through training with Master Teachers including Bryan Kest and Eion Finn. Courtney hopes to contribute to the Studio DC community by spreading good vibrations through teaching! "I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, we are one." Courtney's schedule


Alyson Fiorillo began practicing yoga over 5 years ago while living in Chicago, IL after being inspired by a weeklong workshop given by The Dalai Lama. In an attempt to get out of the competitive mindset that both graduate school and triathlon training helped to cultivate, she traded her swim cap, road bike and running shoes for a yoga mat and has never looked back. After a long search for a yoga studio after moving to DC many years ago, she found her new home at The Studio DC. Alyson completed her 200-hour training with The Studio DC and has had the opportunity to study with master teachers Donna Farhi, Chris Tompkins and Mark Whitwell. Alyson believes that yoga can help each of us to quiet the mind’s chatter, cultivate compassion and live in a fuller sense of awareness in our everyday lives. Her classes are playful, and energetic, with a focus on safely and alignment and she challenges students to find their own “edge.” Off the mat Alyson is a PhD research scientist at Children’s National Medical Center. She is extremely passionate about her research which focuses on personalized therapeutics for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a devastating pediatric muscle wasting disease. Alyson's schedule


Ruth Ann Hudson is a public sector management consultant with IBM and is currently pursuing her MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ruth Ann iscertified by the Studio DC Yoga School and brings kindness, humor, patience and inspiration to her classes, with a strong focus on breathwork and pranayama. She is excited to share yoga with others and hopes to spread the joy she has found in her own practice with her students. Ruth Ann first discovered yoga while on a work assignment as a means to stay active after weeks of living in hotels. She was quickly amazed at the impact a regular yoga practice had on her life. By cultivating a regular practice, Ruth Ann began to build not only physical strength but mental and emotional strength. For Ruth Ann, yoga is not only a physical practice – it is the anchor that grounds her in an often stressful, hectic world. Since 2005, Ruth Ann has trained with Shiva Rae, Natasha Rizopoulos, Donna Farhi, Edely L. Wallace, and Ana Forrest, among others. Ruth Ann's schedule


Christine Kontra's vinyasa flow classes offer plenty of challenges, groovy music, and a space to have fun and add a healthy balance to our busy lives. She completed her 200-hour certification at The Studio DC, and has complimented her training by studying with master teachers including Bryan Kest, Tiffany Cruikshank, and Eoin Finn. First discovering yoga in 2008, Christine grew to appreciate her practice for its physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. Looking for a way to prevent running injuries through greater flexibility, she found her yoga practice made her body stronger and more resilient than ever. In addition, yoga offered a way to peel away distractions and let the things that truly matter rise to the surface. Building on her former experience as a fitness instructor, she wanted to share this practice with others seeking greater health, wellness, and clarity. When not on the mat, Christine loves to run, hike, write, and cook, and enjoys her work in government affairs for a public research university. Christine's schedule


Dasha Kuts is a financial service specialist with International Resource Group, where she currently works on projects related to microfinance and financial inclusion. Dasha was first exposed to yoga while living in a small town in Siberia and she further continued her practice as she moved to US to pursue her graduate studies in economic and international business. She completed the 200 hours certification at The Studio DC Yoga School. Through challenging, fun and mindful vinyasa flow and power yoga classes she helps her students to realize and appreciate their unlimited internal potential, strength and beauty. In addition, she trained at Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga Studio in Santa Monica as well as with Ilya Zhuravlev and Anne Klein in Moscow. Upon moving to the US, Dasha started to teach Power Yoga to her fellow students while pursuing her undergraduate studies at Towson University. Dasha is also certified as a personal trainer through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA). Dasha's schedule


Johanna Kracke is a certified personal trainer with a Master’s degree in Exercise Science, and completed her 200 hour teacher training at The Studio DC in 2012. As a lifelong runner, Johanna started taking yoga in college and her hamstrings and stress level have thanked her ever since. After personally experiencing the transformational effects yoga can have and realizing how the fitness world still vastly ignores the mind/body connection, Johanna hopes to bring the two worlds closer together. Johanna is the owner of Vigor Fitness and Wellness, LLC, and is incredibly grateful that yoga clothes are her standard work attire. Johanna's schedule


Chris Parsons is a bit of a nomad, having traveled to more than thirty countries and lived in six of them. He is an avid photographer, music nerd, and is a life long student of global cultures. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Comparative Religion, and has been studying yoga intermittently for nearly ten years. While totally embracing the notion of living yoga "off the mat," Chris has practiced asanas in places as diverse as a barn in rural Texas, a pit stop off Pacific Highway 1, a small apartment in sight of the Nile River, and in the middle of several disaster zones (both natural and man-made). Chris' day job involves a bunch of spreadsheets, telling people where not to spend their money, and more frequent flyer miles than is probably healthy. Chris completed the Studio DC's 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training and is passionately committed to sharing the self-empowering beauty of yoga with the world. Chris' classes are heating but also contemplative. He brings his experience as a Somatic student and coach to his teaching, helping people to experience a more fully embodied practice through the power of conscious presence and mind/body integration. Chris's schedule


Josh Kaplan is a former lawyer turned law school tutor and his interest in yoga led him to Key West, where he completed his 200 Hours certification. Since returning from Florida, he has enjoyed sharing his practice with students at the Studio DC, in classes ranging from Vinyasa and Gentle Flow to Restorative Yoga. Josh's yoga path began in 2004 when he graduated from law school and subconsciously realized that he could benefit immensely from a regular yoga practice to balance an otherwise hectic lifestyle. Josh's classes are all about mindfulness, whether it be mindfulness of the heart, the mind, or the body. Accordingly, his classes are focused on creating a space where his students can feel comfortable being themselves and practicing on whatever level they feel is appropriate for them. Josh hopes to create a place in which his students can discover themselves on their own terms, using their practice as a tool of self-exploration, challenge, and acceptance. Josh's schedule


Liat Rosen began practicing yoga in 2006 and at the time, was focused only on the physical benefits yoga could provide. Four years later, a yoga retreat in Thailand opened her eyes to meditation, the power of breath and the spiritual aspects of yoga which resonated with her deeply. She was immediately drawn to the supportive, loving, and joyful environment yoga communities bring. She received her teacher assistant training/mentorship and 200 RYT from Dancing Mind Yoga, a Baptiste Affiliate Power Vinyasa Yoga Studio and completed Level 1 Teacher Training with Mr. Baron Baptiste in Phoenicia, NY. Liat brings humor, ease, breath, and flow to her powerful classes. She offers a flowing style of yoga with both amplifications and modifications for all poses. Liat is very grateful to have the opportunity to teach at The Studio DC and share her love of yoga with others! Liat's schedule


Krista Rossow began practicing yoga over 6 years ago at the urging of a friend. She found it a way to deal with stress and enjoyed newfound flexibility. Five years ago she moved her regular practice to The Studio DC and has made it her yogic home ever since. Krista completed her 200-hour training with The Studio DC and has studied under such renowned teachers as Tiffany Cruikshank, Donna Farhi, Mark Whitwell, Jason Crandell, Chris Tompkins, and Shiva Rea. Krista believes yoga is a tool that allows us to return to our true nature, something that can become lost in the hectic pace of daily life. She is grateful that the practice of yoga allows her to re-center mind, strengthen the body, and open the heart. Her classes focus on safe alignment and she encourages students to gain awareness of their own bodies. She strives to share with her students the benefits of yoga beyond the physical asana practice. Krista works as a photo editor and photographer and in her free time enjoys traveling, biking, cooking, and dancing. Krista's schedule


Emily Sargent completed the 200-hour teacher training program at the Studio DC Yoga School and has studied with master teachers such as Jason Crandell, Natasha Rizopolus, and Anna Forest. She was a part of the Studio DC Studio Assistant program from June 2010 through December 2011 and appreciates the Studio’s environment of community. By day, Emily works as a strategic management consultant, currently focusing on state and local emergency response coordination. Emily is deeply grateful for the balance and centeredness that yoga brings to her everyday life. In her classes, through flow sequences and a focus on alignment, Emily hopes to safely and comfortably encourage students to open up to themselves and better understand their bodies. She strives to create an atmosphere of openness and acceptance in order to make the yoga experience accessible and applicable to people of all different backgrounds and experiences. Emily believes that there are truths locked in our bodies that hold onto our history and experiences and that yoga helps us unlock those truths about ourselves and allows us to grow. Emily's schedule


Eric Schwarz’s teaching philosophy centers on the idea that advanced practice means walking away feeling more mindful, subtle, and aware, and that one should not feel worse because he or she is unable to “do” a pose. For his students, he creates a positive yoga practice, celebrating body shape, size, gender, age, or any other characteristics that one might narrate as either a “limitation” or a facilitator to a robust practice. He believes that yoga is an experience enhanced through diversity; there is room on the mat for individuals from all walks of life. Like many others, Eric first found yoga as a low-impact alternative to running following an injury incurred during marathon training, but soon learned that yoga was able to heal, comfort, and strengthen far more than a superficial knee injury. He has learned from master teachers such as Katja Brandis, Ryan Arnoldy, Shiva Rea, Jason Crandell, Natasha Rizopoulos, Bryan Kest, and Mark Whitwell. Expect a vigorous yet playful practice with focus on breath, movement, and a celebration of your body. Eric's schedule


Corey Cohn joined the Studio DC community several years ago and completed the 200 hour teacher training program. Ultimately, Corey hopes to help students on their journey whether it is purely physical or if it relates to reducing stress and anxiety, expanding awareness, gaining more self-gratitude, finding more ease when responding to challenges, or even more fully experiencing the wonder of living and developing a deeper feeling of connection with all that exists in their environment. By offering classes that incorporate both high intensity and deep relaxation, with compatible musical selections, Corey provides the means to safely explore physical boundaries and mental processes. As an instructor and continual learner, he strives to lead safe practices that draw upon his education and current knowledge in medicine and psychology while maintaining a free-spirited practice.


Lindsey Uhrig completed her 200 hour teacher training through the Studio DC and has found inspiration in Master Teachers like Bryan Kest and Eoin Finn. Through challenging sequences and a focus on safety and alignment, Lindsey invites students to find discipline in their practice and openness in their minds and bodies. A non-profit employee by day, Lindsey enjoys taking yoga off the mat finding connection and harmony with those around her. Having first found yoga as a form of healing, both physical and emotional, Lindsey understands the holistic benefits this practice can bring. Through deep breathing and fluid asanas, she hopes students can find joy and bliss in the everyday routine and a refuge from the often hectic DC existence. Lindsey brings a playful sense of ease into her classes by allowing students a safe space to experiment and explore remembering always that the journey is most important. Lindsey's schedule


Regina Wilson feels yoga found her when she was a teenager, and kept coming back to find her until she made it a central part of her life. She has experienced yoga as a powerful and healing practice that can be shared by anyone, no matter where they are on their own journey. She seeks to create a space where students learn from the body, rock the soul, and have fun! Regina completed her 200-hour teacher training at The Studio DC and has studied with master teachers including Bryan Kest, Eoin Finn, and Tiffany Cruikshank. When she’s not on the mat, Regina is an international development professional specializing in conflict transformation and governance in sub-Saharan Africa. She also plays guitar and writes creatively. Regina's schedule


Visiting Faculty

Donna Farhi Donna Farhi is a Yoga teacher who has been practising for 30 years and teaching since 1982. She is one of the most sought after guest teachers in the world, leading intensives and teacher training programs internationally. Donna is best known for her unique ability to help students and teachers embody their spiritual practice. Her work focuses on the refinement of natural and universal movement principles that underlie all yoga practice. This concentration on fundamental principles allows students of all levels of experience and from all traditions to build their own authentic yoga practice. Donna has been the asana columnist for both Yoga Journal and Yoga International Magazine (U.S.A), and has been profiled in four separate publications on exceptional contemporary teachers of our time. Donna is the author of the contemporary classics; The Breathing Book, Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit: A Return to Wholeness and Bringing Yoga to Life: The Everyday Practice of Enlightened Living. Her fourth book Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship was released in November by Rodmell Press. American born, Donna now resides in Christchurch, New Zealand where she pursues her passionate love of horses.


Ana Forrest Ana Forrest is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in yoga and emotional healing. Born crippled, her own life trauma and experiences, including physical abuse, drug addiction, epilepsy, and bulimia, compelled her to create Forrest Yoga and the Forrest Yoga Educational Library. Ana took her first yoga class on a dare at age 14 and became a certified yoga instructor at age 18. In her search to become a better healer and teacher, she studied Native American medicine and ceremony, Homeopathy, Hands- On Healing, Martial Arts, Psychotherapy, and Regression Therapy. Her philosophy and approach are unique and powerful, drawing on her vast life experiences. She is a living example of a spirit who has freed herself from the bondage of trauma, and chosen a warrior's path of compassion. Having studied a multitude of yoga styles and healing modalities, Ana's focus is on guiding the student to use Forrest Yoga in a meaningful way for the sacred exploration of truth, wholeness, and health. Ana is a well-known contributing expert to Yoga Journal and other national wellness publications. She has journeyed to India, Nepal, Costa Rica, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and throughout Europe and the United States and currently teaches internationally at yoga conferences, workshops, and teacher trainings. Ana is on the board of Advisors for the Foundation for Athletic Research & Education (F.A.R.E. Play) and is an instructor for continuing education at the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic.


Bryan Kest Bryan Kest has been practicing yoga for over 30 years and has been teaching for over 26 years. He developed his unique, distinctive style of yoga, Original Power Yoga, in 1979. Over the years, this style, an amazing workout for the body, mind and spirit, has made him a well-known, popular teacher across the country and around the world. His mainstream popularity is matched by an authentic foundation in the ancient practice of yoga and a long path of development as a yogi (a practitioner of yoga). At age 15, Bryan uprooted from his native Detroit home to make a life change in Hawaii. He moved to live with his father, a doctor, who understood the benefits of yoga. Like many of us, Bryan originally thought yoga was nothing more than strange contortions, but that changed when his father introduced him to a physical style of yoga called Ashtanga. This appealed to him immediately, and he soon observed great changes in himself, both physically and mentally. Yoga quickly became his passion, one that would take him to India for a year to study with the great yoga masters of the world, Pattabhi Jois. He has been continuing on his yoga path ever since. Bryan founded three studios in Southern California (Santa Monica and Calabasas). He also teaches at workshops and retreats around the world; provides an intensive teachers training program; and is featured in his own Warner Brothers video series from 1995, as well as a newer video series and audio CD series. For articles by Bryan and more information about Power Yoga, visit www.PowerYoga.com.


Mark Whitwell Mark Whitwell has enjoyed a life long relationship with the teachings of Professor T. Krishnamacharya "the teacher of the teachers," notably BKS Iyengar, K Pattabhi Jois, Srivatsa Ramaswami, Indra Devi and TKV Desikachar. Having studied since 1973 in the home of Krishnamacharya with his son Desikachar, Mark is committed to communicating the timeless yoga principals with compassion and clarity. Yoga is the means by which ordinary people absorb the nurturing and healing force of Life. It is made clear in TKV Desikachar's book The Heart of Yoga. Developing a Personal Practice to which Mark contributed and edited. He also contributed to Desikachar's Health Healing and Beyond. Mark's books include: - The Promise - Practical Secrets for Your Life - Love, Sex and Intimacy - Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection Mark established The Heart of Yoga Association a non-profit foundation that provides yoga education around the world with a multi cultural training program in the Middle East. The Peace Project. Visit www.heartofyoga.com


Micheline Berry Micheline Berry's Vinyasa Flow Yoga work integrates fluidity with yoga asana structure, flow with dynamic stillness, strength with deep release. Often accompanied by live world music, her yoga classes are an urban ritual experience designed to activate and deepen the flow of Shakti Prana - the sensual and vibrant creative principle that exists as latent potential within us all. You will come away from this practice feeling deeply relaxed, creatively inspired, empowered and rejuvenated. In addition to her ongoing somatic dance and yoga innovations, Micheline's work is informed by Prana Flow, Forrest, Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga systems. As the Founder of Zen Dancing® and the Creative Director/Founder of the world music ensemble Shaman's Dream, she has produced and facilitated over 500 ritual world music concerts, dance performances and multi-media events. Also an award-winning filmmaker, Micheline has Produced and Directed over 15 instructional yoga and dance DVD's including her own Liquid Asana series, Yoga Works' Sports Yoga Series and was Associate Producer on DVDs for Shiva Rea and others. Based at Exhale in Venice California, Micheline leads yoga teacher trainings, workshops & retreats internationally including Brazil, her second Home.


Natasha Rizopoulos As a former ballet dancer, Natasha knew she had come home when she discovered Yoga in her 20s. That moment of recognition and delight continues to inspire her teaching to this day. Now a Senior Teacher at YogaWorks, and a writer, teacher, and DVD instructor with Yoga Journal, Natasha is known world-wide for her ability to communicate the essence of sophisticated postures and ideas in ways that have a transformative effect upon one's understanding of Yoga. A dedicated Ashtanga practitioner for many years, she is equally captivated by the precision of the Iyengar system. These two traditions inform her teaching, creating a dynamic and rigorous blend of intelligently sequenced and aligned Vinyasa Flow. In addition to her classes in Boston, Natasha travels extensively, teaching at conferences and leading workshops and teacher trainings around the world. For more about Natasha (and to see clips of her DVDs) visit her website at www.natasharizopoulos.com.


Cameron Shayne Cameron Shayne created Budokon International in 2000 as a functional integration system designed to approach human potential from the ancient perspective of Zen Mind. His integration of Yoga, Martial Arts, optimal nutrition and Zen meditation has established him as a true pioneer in the fields of health and wellness. Master Shayne has trained for more than 25 years in Japanese Budo and for nearly a decade in Hatha Yoga. His keen understanding of mind/body dynamics, coupled with an eye for the complex qualities of movement has made him one of the most sought after mind-body-spirit innovators in the world. He travels throughout Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States teaching and certifying Budokon teachers.


Jason Crandell Jason Crandell was recently named "one of the next generation of teachers shaping yoga's future" by Yoga Journal for his skillful, unique approach to vinyasa yoga. Jason is the creator of Yoga Journal's newest dvds: Yoga for Wellbeing; Yoga for Morning, Noon, and Night; and, The Complete Beginner's Guide to Yoga. He is a contributing editor for Yoga Journal and has authored over 17 articles for the magazine. Jason teaches extensively at conferences in the United States and abroad and is part of numerous teacher-training faculties.


Tiffany Cruikshank For more than 15 years, Tiffany Cruikshank has taught yoga throughout North America,empowering her students to transform their lives through mindfulness and dedication. Her classes and workshops are full of humor, heart and hard work. In addition to teaching yoga classes, retreats and workshops internationally, Tiffany is the Acupuncturist for Nike World Headquarters in Portland, Oregon, and runs 200hr and 500hr yoga teacher trainings. She has been featured in various video and print ads for Nike and Lululemon, founded sports medicine clinics and treats many professional athletes and celebrities in Portland & NYC. Combining her education and training in Acupuncture, Sports Medicine, Nutrition and Herbal Medicine, Tiffany created the Optimal Health Program, a system of looking at a person's whole body to help them achieve a personalized, vibrant state of health. Her book, Optimal Health, for a Vibrant Life was recently published and her DVD, Intermediate Power Vinyasa, will be out fall 2010. For more information about Tiffany visit: www.tiffanyyoga.com


Dave Stringer The Los Angeles Times has declared the experience of chanting with Dave Stringer to be “a departure from ancient kirtan. Stringer’s performance shaped the experience into a far more compelling musical encounter.” Kirtan (pronounced keer-tahn) originated in India, and is currently experiencing a worldwide renaissance as a participatory live music experience. Stringer has been widely profiled as one of the most innovative artists of the new American kirtan movement in publications as diverse as Time, Billboard, Yoga Journal and In Style. Stringer’s sound marries the transcendent mysticism of traditional Indian instruments with the exuberant, groove-oriented sensibility of American gospel, and he is regarded as one of the most gifted singers in the genre. Stringer, who is also an accomplished composer and multi-instrumentalist, has a special ability to bring people together and inspire them to sing. His work intends to create a modern and participatory theatrical experience out of the ancient traditions of kirtan and yoga, open to a multiplicity of interpretations, and accessible to all.


Gaura Vani At the age of six Gaura Vani left the US to study sacred music in a gurukula or temple school in the timeless town of Vrindavan, India. He learned ancient prayers in Sanskrit and Bengali and to sing and play ethnic instruments like the harmonium and mrdanga. 25 years later he continues to share the magic he received and performs extensively with his kirtan ensemble, As Kindred Spirits, throughout the world from Europe, Africa and Asia, to the Americas. As Kindred Spirits features the voice and harmonium of Gaura Vani, and the rhythms and melodies of multi-instrumentalist Shyam Kishore, along with a multicultural group of talented musicians, dancers and performers.


Dhanurdhara Swami Dhanurdhara Swami has been a practitioner of bhakti yoga for 40 years. He took initiation into the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage in 1974 and accepted the sannyasa ashrama or renounced order of life and became a monk in 1982. Dhanurdhara Swami spent the last 30 years in India where he focuses on studying, writing and taking people on pilgrimage of holy places. Half of the year he spends in the west traveling, leacturing and speaking about bhakti yoga. He is the author of three books — Waves of Devotion: A Comprehensive Study of The Nectar of Devotion,Greetings from Vrindavana, a selected collection of his thoughts and realizations from 2000–2004, and Japa Meditations: Contemplations on Entering the Holy Name, a collection of selected personal realizations on japa meditation. He is currently working on several writing projects including a contemporary book on bhakti and a book on kirtan. He is originally from Brooklyn, New York.


Christopher Tompkins Christopher Tompkins is director of UC Berkeley’s renowned “Meditation, Mysticism, and the Mind” class. Christopher and his team of instructors have now initiated over 2,500 students in the practice of yoga meditation. He has 3 degrees in Religion, including a Master’s Degree from Harvard and a Master’s from Berkeley in Sanskrit. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the Tantric Origins of Hatha Yoga. Christopher is a Yoga Philosophy teacher at Yoga Tree (SF), lectures nationally and trains Yoga teachers in the history and philosophy of Indian Yoga. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Yoga Foundation. He has also founded Yoga Sculptures of India, which imports rare and sacred Indian art for the Yoga Community.


Wynne Paris Wynne Paris is a world beat artist/producer and musician who has spent the last decade devoted to an emerging genre of spiritual music: Yoga music and Kirtan. Wynne’s artistic sound is derived from 20 years of musical adventures and spiritual experiences. As a yoga musician, Wynne has performed his music on such diverse stages as those at Constitution Hall, the Smithsonian music series at the National Zoo and the Millenium celebration in Washington DC; CB’s Gallery (CBGB’s) in New York, the Health and Harmony Festival in northern California, and Karmapalooza in Florida. Wynne has also performed with the Indian Saint Ammachi, and sang at a Washingtonian event that featured H.H. The Dalai Lama. Since 2004, Wynne has focused his live performances on a new, spiritual kind of venue -- the yoga studio. At his live shows he sings in English and Sanskrit, he plays guitar, Sarod and percussion with dance loops, and delivers a set that includes kirtan chanting, American music (jazz, gospel, rock), world beat rhythms and raga scales. A participation mystique is encouraged as Wynne leads the audience through singing, dancing and meditations during his performance.


Kamaniya Devi Kamaniya has committed her life fully to devotional chanting. Attracted by Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion, both Kamaniya and Keshavacharya have spent many years living in ashrams, searching for the divine through devotional service and singing. Seeing the impact of chanting on people, Kamaniya & Keshavacharya Das were inspired to dedicate their lives to sharing the universal spiritual practice of kirtan with the Western world. Known for her joyful expression, Kamaniya's love for kirtan and Sanskrit chanting is contagious. As well as leading her own kirtan for the past ten years, Kamaniya has accompanied several well-known devotional singers, including Shyamdas, Jai Uttal, Girish, and Durga Das.


Keshavacharya Das For Keshavacharya Das, kirtan is not merely a musical style – it is a way of life. Through his daily practice, he refined his natural talent for singing more and more and began to fall in love with kirtan. Desiring to go deeper in his chanting, he journeyed to several sacred places in India , staying in ashrams there and learning at the feet of masters in the birthplace of kirtan. A life-long learner, Keshavacharya studied under renowned world music singer Jai Uttal and others. With their loving encouragement, Keshavacharya embarked on his own kirtan project. After regular concerts in the New York City area, including Jivamukti Yoga Studio, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and the Ananda Ashram Yoga Society, he recorded his first live studio recording of traditional Indian kirtan. Released in April of 2007, “Crying of the Soul” continues to be warmly received and praised. Keshavacharya's musical and spiritual journey led him from the pristine mountains of Switzerland , to the ancient temples and simple monasteries of India , and now to the yoga studios and ashrams tucked within America 's bustling cities. He sees kirtan as a way to connect the performer and the listeners on a spiritual and artistic level, and an opportunity to create sacred space and invite others to enter into that space through the medium of sound.


Michael Schiesser Founder, and a member of the board of directors of the Inner Journey Seminars, LLC, based out of California. Michael has 28 years of experience in the field of facilitation in the US, Canada, and Europe. Specializing in individual and group dynamics, he is a facilitator for The Inner Journey (outside of DC), the Human Experience Seminar, the Inner Journey Transformational Facilitation Training, and the Essential Pilgrimage courses. He is also a life coach as well as a consultant for organizations. He is a co-creator of A Journey into the Soul of Leadership, a transformational course for organizational leaders.


home \| about \| schedule \| workshops \| teacher training
specials \| prices \| faq \| contact


The Studio DC Dupont Circle: 1710 Connecticut Ave NW Adams Morgan: 2469 18th St NW 202.518.YOGA (9642)