Paula Scopino (Yoga For Every Body, Yoga Therapies, etc.)
Paula Scopino is the Owner/Director of Sacred Rivers. Paula was inspired at a young age by her parent's spiritual explorations and discovered yoga at age 19. She has been a student of yoga since 1976 and has been teaching since 1978 after receiving her first certification with Ruth Bender (pre-Kripalu).
Paula has taught in many different settings, including corporations, hospitals, and fitness and rehabilitation centers. She has studied many different yoga styles all over the country and has been inspired and influenced by numerous wonderful teachers. Her love and interest of yoga, movement, and energy led her to study massage therapy, Reiki, Feldenkrais, and Pilates.
Paula is a Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher - 500 hour, and is a certified Cardiac Yoga Teacher, having studied Yoga of the Heart with Nischala Joy Devi (the stress management portion of the Dr. Dean Ornish program). Paula does yoga therapy for heart disease and cancer, and yoga therapy for chronic conditions, back problems, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. She teaches prenatal yoga, yoga for children, and yoga for 60,70, and beyond.
Paula graduated from the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy in 1989 and is a Connecticut licensed massage therapist and member of the American Massage Therapy Association. She also assists her brother Rick Haesche in teaching the Art of Traditional Thailand Massage in massage therapy schools as a part of their regular and continuing education curriculum. In addition, she is certified in Karuna and Usui Reiki. She has maintained a private practice since 1989.

Michael Pierce, MD
Michael Pierce, MD is a Psychiatrist practicing in Glastonbury. He is a Clinical Associate at the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis in New Haven, CT, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University Of Connecticut School Of Medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is a member of the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychoanalytic Association, International Neuro-Psychoanalytic Association, Association for Humanistic Psychology, International Society for the Study of Subtle Energy and Energy Medicine, and the Association for Transpersonal Psychology.
Michael values a holistic approach, which he brings to his practice. Extending his traditional training and interest in the mind and the brain, he has explored many alternative and complementary therapies. He has received the Munay Ki rites, a second level Reiki attunement, and has studied the Art of Living Foundation's sudarshan kriya, and Anodea Judith's chakra teachings, among others. He has been a yoga practitioner for a number of years after personally experiencing a number of positive changes. Michael maintains a private practice at 25 Concord Street, Glastonbury, CT.

Susan Baldwin
Yoga has had ever growing influence in my life after over twelve years work as an occupational therapist and previous occupations as musician, jeweler, teacher and mother. Yoga became a regular part of my life in 2002 when living in Scotland, and its presence has grown steadily since that time. When Sacred Rivers first offered 200 hour teacher training, the time and place were aligned for further expansion of my budding Yoga practice.

My occupational therapy practice has been primarily with adult populations who experience mental, physical, and spiritual health issues. My work over recent years has taken me to hospitals, nursing homes, private residences, universities, yoga and music studios, and several continents. Yoga brings a sense of being centered and here, now! into interactions with others. It provides new ways to look at living and dying, including breath, structure, alignment, relaxation, strength, endurance, focus, nutrition, acceptance, release, balance, and much more. Yoga has great value for health care professionals as we care for ourselves and others, seeking greater health. Yoga provides new and ancient tools for the job of living for all of us.

Susan Taff
Susan Taff (Kinesiology) Susan Taff holds a Masters degree in Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University and a Masters degree in Public Health from Yale University. Susan has been practicing massage therapy for 12 years, teaching kinesiology and massage therapy courses. She has also studied and has been teaching yoga in the style of B. K. S. Iyengar since 1989. She brings to her yoga teaching her years of study and interest in anatomy and movement. Susan especially enjoys adapting yoga asanas for students with physical limitations.

Kate Keefe graduated University of Hartford in 1997 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Occupational Therapy. She received a Master Clinician in Dementia Care Training in 2003. She discovered her personal path with yoga in 2000 as a form of stress management while employed in an acute geriatric-psychiatric setting. In 2002 she received her first and second teacher trainings in YogaFit and began teaching yoga as a form of wellness to her co-workers in the healthcare field.

She attended additional trainings in YogaFit Level III to deepen her practice and further her teaching skills. Through self study and a desire deepen spiritual practice she came to Sacred Rivers in 2006 and completed her 200 hour RYT in Hatha Yoga in 2007.

Kate is trained to teach Tai Chi for arthritis, Certified as a Move Beyond Pain Clinician (chronic pain exercise and education), Shamballa Reiki level I and II certified and Basic Therapeutic Touch Practitioner. In her current practice she works with adults and geriatric clients to facilitate wellness and pain management both in the community and in the long term care setting. She continues to explore her personal path with self-study and exploration of Hinduism with her spiritual mentor Divya Jyoti.

Laura Mignosa, NCCH
Laura is a Nationally Certified Chinese Herbologist, director of the Ct Institute for Herbal Studies since 1992 and is both Western and China trained in this powerful modality. The integration of western & Chinese medicine as it is practiced in China inspires her yearly travel to Beijing hospitals and allows others to view the culture from a holistic perspective. Laura’s work with major hospitals & holistic practitioners since 1995 enhances her teaching and healing skills.

She was enlisted as a co-investigator on a clinical randomized trial study for UCONN Medical Center utilizing Chinese Herbal Therapy to help with the symptoms of menopause in breast cancer patients.

As a professional Chinese Herbologist, she uses only safe hospital-grade herbs which are certified against contaminates, pesticides or heavy metals.

In addition to her work as an educator of Chinese Herbology, Laura is a local & national lecturer, designs Chinese Herbal formulas for Pets and works as a consultant on Chinese Herbal Formulas. Her private practice is maintained at the school where appointments for care are taken as well as at Grant Chiropractic Health Center in Milldale .

Sacred Rivers Yoga is also a 200 and 500 hour Yoga Alliance registered Teacher Training school with new classes beginning soon. Please contact the studio for information.

We are located at 2850 Main Street in the Griswold Mall in Glastonbury, CT near The Garden of Light health food store. Please call 860.657.9545 for directions.