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| Our Instructors |
| Susan Baldwin has completed the 200 hour teacher training through Sacred Rivers Yoga. She is an occupational therapist by day, with former lives in music, jewelry, and teaching. |
| Cynthia Barraford’s exploration of the yogic path began 4 years ago in a search for something to quiet her mind and heal her body. |
| Ann Marie Bazzano, RYT has completed the 500 hour certification with Kim Valeri of Yoga Spirit. Ann incorporates many styles of yoga practice in her teaching including Iyengar, Kundalini, and Ashtanga. |
| Pamela Besteman For more than 10 years she dabbled with yoga whenever her back was tight or she wanted an alternate workout. |
| Katherine Crowley has studied Hatha yoga in the Iyengar tradition since 1990. She has studied with Gail Malizia, Yoga Lodge, Whidbey Is, WA, and Wendy Dion, Yogapuram, Hartford, CT. |
| Elaine Ellis has been practicing yoga for more than 10 years. In February 2011, she completed her 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers. |
| Jennifer Errickson completed her 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers. She teaches with a careful eye for alignment and safety, an open heart with a space for each student, an energetic delivery with precise instruction, and always with a smile. |
Jody Forstmann began practicing yoga in 1999 and received her 200 hour certification at Sacred Rivers Yoga in February 2007.
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| Laurie Frucce first experienced yoga as an undergrad at the University of Vermont and has continued with it ever since. |
| Jim Govoni has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 1994. Jim offers individual life counseling and psychotherapy with a holistic Jungian psychoanalytic approach toward addressing Life's issues. |
Neena Gupta is a yoga and health enthusiast and finished her 200 hr training with Paula at Sacred Rivers Yoga.
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| Erika Halford weaves alignment, therapeutics, and creative sequencing with poetic offerings and Tantric philosophy that embraces the fullness of life. |
| Loren Hardy, RYT took her first yoga class at the age of 16. Loren found yoga to be a balanced activity, offering a strong physical workout while helping her to maintain flexibility. |
| John Hauser, RYT Chronic back pain from crushed discs, the result of a life of soccer, hockey, martial arts, backpacking and canoe tripping led him to try Yoga. "I was immediately drawn by the body / mind / spirit connection I experienced." John took dozens of Yoga classes over the next four months, gaining inspiration and experience from many teachers and styles, especially Michelle Hall, Jen Brosious, Kitty Moore and Melissa Hall. |
Margo Hennenbach teaches Awareness Through Movement classes and workshops throughout CT, including Sacred Rivers Yoga, and maintains a private Feldenkrias practice in Bloomfield, CT.
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| Kristin Hotchkiss "My yoga practice changed my life and created a new compassion that I now have towards others and myself. I knew that I wanted to share this personal, spiritual and physical journey with others." |
| Keshav Howe "I have been a seeker of truth and freedom my entire life and I have studied with a variety of teachers, some who were very famous, some who were unknown and some who were not even aware that they were my teacher." |
| Karla Kress-Boyle has been teaching dance and children’s fitness classes for the past ten years. |
| Wendy Kolanz is certified to teach yoga and meditation. She has been practicing yoga and medititation for 30 years. |
| Hemali Lala is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics & Statistics and Psychology. |
Jack Lynch received his formal training from renowned teachers Beryl Bender Birch and David Swenson. These accomplished mentors have instilled in Jack a deep understanding of the ancient Ashtanga system (both first and second series), and imparted an abundance of skillful adjustment techniques.
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Jo-Ann Miller has been practicing yoga for 20 years and completed her teacher training at Sacred Rivers.
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| Lani Dove Roth "When I began practicing yoga in 2005, it was simply another class at the gym. Within a few weeks, it became the highlight of my day. I was eager to come to my mat, the same excitement and eagerness that I feel every time I get to pause and find that still small voice of truth inside of me." |
| Maeve Ryan has been practicing yoga for over 11 years. Maeve began taking yoga as a way to strengthen and tone the body. |
| Paula Scopino is the Owner/Director of Sacred Rivers. Paula was inspired at a young age by her parents' spiritual explorations and discovered yoga at age 19. She has been a student of yoga since 1976 and has been teaching continuously since 1978 after receiving her first certification with Ruth Bender (pre Kripalu). |
| Suzan Sirois, RYT is a 200 Hour Certified Yoga Instructor, Insured and Registered with Yoga-Alliance. In 2004 Suzan was introduced to yoga through a friend and was instantly in love with the way it made her feel both physically and mentally. |
| Jean Skeels "I believe in the power of yoga to create deep healing and transformation on many levels and to reconnect us with our true and complete selves" |
| Laurel Soper a 200-hour Yoga Alliance certified teacher, has been practicing yoga since 1999. |
Susan Taff holds a Masters degree in Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University and a Masters degree in Public Health from Yale University.
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| Sonia Tulyani comes from a family of yoga instructors—her father and grandfather were both yoga instructors in India. |
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| Full Instructor Bios |
| Susan Baldwin has completed the 200 hour teacher training through Sacred Rivers Yoga. She is an occupational therapist by day, with former lives in music, jewelry, and teaching. She began practicing yoga while living in Scotland in 2002, and incorporates yogic principles, breathing, and postures into her OT practice. She gives many thanks to this studio for the wonderful classes, workshops, and community programs.
A passionate yoga student since 1998, I completed my 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers Yoga in 2007. I fell in love with yoga because of the peace and acceptance that each practice brings to me. Yoga has taught me to bring breath and energy into everything I do, and provides me with an overall sense of calm and well being.
My class provides careful instruction on alignment and breath, and encourages each student to become aware of their physical and emotional self. Students are encouraged to listen to their bodies as we explore different levels of poses. We will find stillness and by holding poses longer.
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Cynthia Barraford’s exploration of the yogic path began 4 years ago in a search for something to quiet her mind and heal her body. As with many people, it was love at first  Savasana. After developing a personal practice, she felt compelled to share her new found love of the amazing body-mind connection she had discovered. She recently graduated from Sacred Rivers 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Program. Her classes are philosophically based on the Yoga Sutra: Sthira Sukham Asanam: in all postures find steadiness and ease. Cynthia creates a sanctuary for her students to access the deep peace that resides within them, in a joyous and supportive atmosphere.
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Ann Marie Bazzano, RYT has completed the 500 hour certification with Kim Valeri of Yoga Spirit. Ann incorporates many styles of yoga practice in her teaching including Iyengar, Kundalini, and Ashtanga. Her eclectic background and open heart brings a wonderful nurturing flow to her teaching. She is a certified prenatal yoga teacher and has also studied Meridian yoga, restorative yoga, and yoga therapy.
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Pamela Besteman For more than 10 years she dabbled with yoga whenever her back was tight or she wanted an alternate workout. She began to notice a significant improvement in her training, racing and overall health when she incorporated yoga into her daily training schedule. While taking a step away from full time coaching Pamela seized the opportunity to study Yoga in depth and became a 200 hour certified teacher through the Yoga Alliance. Now she is working to help athletes incorporate yoga into their training schedule in hopes of helping them find their edge. Visit www.theyogaedge.com to learn more.
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| Katherine Crowley has studied Hatha yoga in the Iyengar tradition since 1990. She has studied with Gail Malizia, Yoga Lodge, Whidbey Is, WA, and Wendy Dion, Yogapuram, Hartford , CT. She completed a nine-month teacher-training course while living in Seattle , where she taught beginning and general level yoga classes. She brings to her teaching a passion for the healing power of yoga and year of experience in utilizing this power to create health and unity within the body, mind and spirit.
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| Elaine Ellis has been practicing yoga for more than 10 years. In February 2011, she completed her 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers. “At first, I thought of yoga as just another form of exercise. Eventually, I came to realize that yoga is much more. The physical, spiritual and emotional benefits that I experience each time I practice yoga have helped me to face the difficult challenges life has thrown my way.”
Elaine is always looking to improve her own practice and knowledge of yoga and is eager to share with others.
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 Jennifer Errickson received her 200 hour Yoga Alliance certification from Sacred Rivers Yoga. Having experienced the benefits of yoga first hand as the mom of two young boys, she immediately began teaching classes for mothers and babies. Her classes provide a sense of community as well as an invitation to be playful on the mat. She enjoys sharing creative approaches to various asana expressions; inviting students to create an authentic, personal practice. Jennifer teaches with a careful eye for alignment and safety, an open heart with a space for each student, an energetic delivery with precise instruction, and always with a smile. Jennifer has attended various workshops with master teachers such as Seane Corn, Ana Forrest, Tias Little, Jim O'Leary and Paul and Suzie Grilley, and Anusara teacher Amy Reed. Most recently, she attended a training with Sadie Nardini. Jennifer enjoys weaving Sadie’s core strength techniques into her Vinyasa inspired classes. Jennifer makes it a point to get to know each of her students in order to individualize instruction as well as teach to the whole. Her background is in the field of education where she holds a master’s degree and previous experience as a classroom teacher. Jennifer is also a certified prenatal yoga instructor.
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| Jody Forstmann began practicing yoga in 1999 and received her 200 hour certification at Sacred Rivers Yoga in February 2007 and is presently studying for her 500 hour certification through Sacred Rivers. Jody is inspired by the spiritual and physical benefits of a regular yoga practice and strives to make the practice of Asana accessible to people of all abilities by encouraging her class participants to find the grace, beauty and joy in every breath and movement of their bodies.
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Laurie Frucce first experienced yoga as an undergrad at the University of Vermont and has continued with it ever since. Holding a Masters Degree in Education and working with toddler-age children, she long had the desire to bring a yoga program to young children, but it wasn’t until she began taking Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes with her own son that she realized this was a possibility. Laurie trained with Helen Garabedian, founder of Itsy Bitsy Yoga, to become a facilitator of IBY for both babies and Toddlers. Having done the program with her son since he was 14 weeks old, Laurie knew from experience and love that, in addition to its many other benefits, it creates an incredible parent-child bonding, promotes healthy living from very early in life, and builds wonderful friendships between children and parents alike. “I feel amazingly lucky to be able to bring such a wonderful program to the area.”
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| Jim Govoni has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 1994. Jim offers individual life counseling and psychotherapy with a holistic Jungian psychoanalytic approach toward addressing Life's issues. He holds a Master's Degree in Art Education from the University of Hartford, a Six Year Certificate in Counseling from St. Joseph College. Jim is also a registered yoga teacher having completed his 200 hour RYT training at Sacred Rivers Yoga in 2008. Jim is currently working toward Yoga Therapy Certification.
Jim has been studying Jungian Psychology for over 25 years and is a board member of the Connecticut Association for Jungian Psychology. Jim is also a member of the Connecticut Counseling Association and the Connecticut Mental Health Counseling Association. Jim is available for private counseling sessions. His contact information: 860-295-6491,
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"Jungian psychology provides me a view of the world and psyche that embraces both Eastern & Western sensibilities, both the conscious and the unconscious, the light & the shadow and, like yoga, a willingness to take nourishment in holding the tension of the opposites in order to embrace the totality of who we are, including what is in our power to control and what is not."
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Neena Gupta is a yoga and health enthusiast and finished her 200 hr training with Paula at Sacred Rivers Yoga. In her younger years she was deeply inspired by martial arts and practiced it for many years and earned her 2nd dan in TaeKwonDo. Today, she is commited to yogic philosophy because of its ability to transform the human condition.
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 Erika Halford weaves alignment, therapeutics, and creative sequencing with poetic offerings and Tantric philosophy that embraces the fullness of life. You will find her Yin and Vinyasa classes accessible yet challenging. In addition, Erika leads a monthly Lunar Flow workshop to support community gathering and living yoga through group movement, sharing and journaling. She is also experienced and available for private yoga sessions.
“I no longer believe that yoga is something that can be done. Rather, I think that yoga is a way of being, seeing and experiencing the world around us. The practices help us to release things that no longer serve us and integrate gratitude for the plethora of beauty that surrounds us. I have been fortunate enough to study yoga with Paula Scopino at Sacred Rivers Yoga, who taught me how to make yoga accessible for everyone. I have also had the privilege of studying with Shiva Rea who continues to support me in the tending of my own heart fire and how to inspire that in others. I am currently studying western massage at Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy and Traditional Thai Massage at Body Mind with Rick Haeshe. My intention is to combine everything I have learned about yoga, ayurveda, massage, motherhood and life to help others pause and remember what’s really important in life: that we love one another, that we care for one another and that we live in a way that allows the divine current to be expressed beautifully through us in all we create. Please join me on the mat for letting go, calling in and sharing the precious moments of yoga that bring us together.”
For more information on classes, workshops, and private sessions you can visit her website at www.erikahalford.com or send her an email at
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Loren Hardy, RYT 200 took her first yoga class at the age of 16. Loren found yoga to be a balanced activity, offering a strong physical workout while helping her to maintain  flexibility. Her practice began as an exploration of the physical body, but over the years she began to appreciate the more spiritual and meditative aspects of yoga as well. Loren does her best to live her yoga on and off the mat: through awareness of healthy eating, mindfulness of the world around her, and by sharing kindness and compassion with all beings.
In 2010, Loren obtained her Yoga Alliance 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Certification. Always with a “beginner’s mind,” Loren continues to learn more about her own practice through the guidance of amazing teachers and hopes to share the abundance of gifts that yoga has to offer with her fellow practitioners.
Join Loren in the blissful experience of linking breath with fluid movement while playfully challenging yourself, building strength, and improving your balance and flexibility. Loren strives to help you to cultivate your own practice to meet your own needs with patience, understanding, and confidence.
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 John Hauser, RYT
Chronic back pain from crushed discs, the result of a life of soccer, hockey, martial arts, backpacking and canoe tripping led him to try Yoga. "I was immediately drawn by the body / mind / spirit connection I experienced." John took dozens of Yoga classes over the next four months, gaining inspiration and experience from many teachers and styles, especially Michelle Hall, Jen Brosious, Kitty Moore and Melissa Hall.
Driven to deepen his personal practice, he was accepted into the Sacred Rivers Yoga teacher training program under the direction of his serene teacher, Paula Scopino, ERYT500. Upon graduation he was invited to teach classes at Sacred Rivers where he also continues to learn from Paula and others. Some of the highlights of his education have been a mass audience with His Holiness, the 16th Dalai Lama and the Yin Yoga / Yoga Anatomy seminar with Paul and Suzie Grilley.
John's uniquely fun, invigorating and spiritually uplifting class style is a reflection of his own humor, athleticism and love of nature. Prepare to be challenged, entertained and coaxed to your edge, physically, mentally and spiritually. The class unfolds at many levels so that everyone from novices to experienced Yogin will find something of value. As John says, "Sometimes it is what we leave on our mat that matters most, and sometimes it is what we take from it that counts more."
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Margo Hennenbach
Margo Hennebach, GCFP, LGSM(MT) teaches Awareness Through Movement classes and workshops throughout CT, including Sacred Rivers Yoga, and maintains a private Feldenkrias practice in Bloomfield, CT. She is a founding member of the international trio, Mad Agnes, and a lifelong movement lover, especially yoga, dance, and Salsa. She holds a BM in Piano and a graduate degree in Music Therapy and has been a Feldenkrais Practitioner since 2003.
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Kristin Hotchkiss 
Kristin began practicing yoga in 2003 when she started taking classes several times a week
at intimate yoga studios in and around the Hartford area. She immediately felt a personal connection to her asana practice and was drawn in by the spiritual and physical benefits of yoga. "My yoga practice changed my life and created a new compassion that I now have towards others and myself. I knew that I wanted to share this personal, spiritual and physical journey with others.” Upon graduating from Kim Valeri’s YOGAspirit Studios in 2004, where she gained a deep knowledge and awareness of the eight limbs of yoga, Kristin became a private yoga instructor and began teaching yoga regularly. Kristin uses the teachings she has gained from yoga—such as controlled breathing, spiritual awareness and physical strength—and applies those aptitudes towards long distance running, cycling and triathlons. She is currently training for her third marathon; the Niagara Falls International Marathon on October 23, 2011.
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| Keshav Howe I have been a seeker of truth and freedom my entire life and I have studied with a variety of teachers, some who were very famous, some who were unknown and some who were not even aware that they were my teacher. Most notably, I lived at the Zen Center in Cambridge MA and with Michio Kushi; apprenticed with Don Carlos Castaneda and Don Miquel Ruiz; and studied with Gurumayi Chidvilasananda and Master Shaman Michael Harner. I have a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics and completed a three-year program in Chinese Five Element Medicine, and I have practiced a form of Chinese/Shamanic medicine called Plant Spirit Healing for the past twelve years.
The most powerful teaching experiences for me, however, have occurred during a series of Shakti experiences while gazing at a flower, the sky or embracing the energy of a sacred site. In a moment of clarity several years ago at an ancient temple in Teotihuacán Mexico, I was literally struck down and my mind stopped dead in its tracks. In the vast stillness that arose when the mind chatter dissolved I did not know who I was - there was no point of reference, no movement and a sense of coming home.
By standing my ground in that shaky state of being, the identification with the story of "me" broke down, and everything that my mind created was lost. In that place of stillness and peace, in the absence of old patterns or dreams, the Truth of who I really am was revealed. And, it is in that place of Truth that everything ends and all efforts to be someone or to find something cease. Then, and only then, was I able to be fully embraced by the fundamental and vibrant essence of life - spacious and full of unconditional love!
I have learned that surrender to what is in the eternal now is the process of yielding to, rather than opposing the flow of life. If we go to battle with whatever arises in "our" consciousness, we reinforce those old and stale definitions of that which we "believe" we are. However, if we yield and refuse to go to battle, the war is over and peace breaks out. All that we really let go of is a story of "me", an illusion of our true nature.
Eventually we all lose everything that our mind has created and awaken to who we truly are. It is only when our love and desire for Truth outweighs our personality's compulsive need for security that we begin to stop struggling and allow our soul essence to be swept up into the arms of an ever unfolding revelation of the Truth and Freedom of our divinity. I am thrilled that Sacred Rivers Yoga is hosting the Friday evening meditation satsangs that I facilitate. Each Friday evening we sit together in a sacred circle of unity. Initially, we do so in silent reflection. We then engage in an intimate investigation into the nature of spiritual awakening and living an awakened life.
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Karla Kress-Boyle has been teaching dance and children’s fitness classes for the past ten years. She started dance at the age of 3 and has been dancing ever since, dancing through college and taking many master classes in CT and NYC. Additionally she has furthered her training and becoming a licensed Betty Hoops Dance Therapy Instructor, a certified Full of Joy Yoga Instructor and Musical Yoga Adventures for Kids training. Currently she is also enrolled in the 200 hr Registered Yoga Teacher Training at Sacred Rivers Yoga. She continues to use her dance training in combination with yoga and hoop dance to create fun fitness programs for kids. Her mission is to use these art forms to teach children how to respect and love themselves, their bodies and others. She has been an instructor for many local dance studios in the area, and co-owner of her own dance studio for 4 years. She has experience teaching tap, ballet, jazz, pointe, lyrical, and many creative movement and preschool dance development classes. Currently she teaches dance and yoga classes for kids at Elmwood Community Center, in West Hartford and at The Little Green Tambourine, in Canton. She lives in West Hartford with her husband and their son.
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 Wendy Kolanz has an extensive background in meditation, dance and yoga. She is certified to teach yoga by Yoga Center Amherst, Amherst, MA, and certified to teach meditation and facilitate the Oneness Deeksha by The Oneness Movement, Berkeley, CA and Chennai, India. Wendy's major influences in her yoga practice and teaching are the Iyengar principles of alignment, Embodiment work of the School for Body-Mind Centering as well as her dance and meditation background.
Wendy believes everyone can foster more joy, greater health, enhanced mental clarity, and a more positive outlook on life through the practice of yoga and meditation. She encourages students in her classes to listen to their bodies, and allow the flow of breath to sweep away the obstacles, finding rejuvenation and growth in all areas of their lives.
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Hemali Lala is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics & Statistics and Psychology. She is planning to go back to school in 2012 to study Nursing at Drexel University. Fortunately enough, Hemali found her journey in life leading her to the 200-Hour Teacher Training Program at Sacred Rivers Yoga in 2009.
“I have immense gratitude that my journey brought me to Sacred Rivers, for that is where I developed my true understanding of Hatha Yoga. Even though the practice of yoga has been part of my life for so many years, I feel as though I’ve just begun to really understand its essence. I strive to continue learning more about yoga and it’s impact on a person’s life. I recently realized that I want to spread my yoga teachings onto children. I want to teach children because they inspire me and I truly enjoy being around them. In my life, I hope to offer knowledge to others so they may see the many benefits that yoga has to offer and inspire them to use yoga to better their lives. I hope to inspire others to seek peace and joy everyday.”
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 Jack Lynch received his formal training from renowned teachers Beryl Bender Birch and David Swenson. These accomplished mentors have instilled in Jack a deep understanding of the ancient Ashtanga system (both first and second series), and imparted an abundance of skillful adjustment techniques.
Jack has also studied with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Ana Forrest, Nancy Gilgoff and Doug Swenson. Through Continuous study and practice he is able to offer not only primary and second series Ashtanga classes, but also unique classes inspired by these other distinguished teachers.
You will enjoy the way Jack's sense of humor and compassion puts you at ease while fostering a safe environment in which to work the body.
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Jo-Ann Miller has been practicing yoga for 20 years and completed her teacher training at Sacred Rivers. Jo-Ann likes to blend different styles of yoga in her gentle flow class with an emphasis on alignment and breath, with the ultimate goal of creating a strong, healthy and peaceful body.
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 Lani Dove Roth "When I began yoga in 2005, it was simply another class at the gym. Within a few weeks, it became the highlight of my day. I was eager to come to my mat, the same excitement and eagerness that I feel every time I get to pause and find that still small voice of truth inside of me. Feeling myself become stronger and more flexible was addicting, and I wanted to learn more. November 2006 I began taking classes at a yoga studio and it completely changed my practice. I found a community and family that I had been missing for a long time. I became dedicated to a vigorous power practice, which allowed me to free my body and mind in ways that I didn't know were possible. I graduated from Samadhi's 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program in 2009. I am also a massage therapist, graduated from the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy in 2010. I found massage through my yoga practice and for that I am immensely grateful. I plan to incorporate yoga into my massage practice, to treat people from a full wellness model."
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Maeve Ryan has been practicing yoga for over 11 years. Maeve began taking yoga as a way to strengthen and tone the body. In 2008, she had her first "yoga epipany," which prompted her to make a life-long dedication to the practice of meditation and yoga. In turn, she was able to lower her blood pressure and relieve the symptoms of Lyme disease.
 Maeve has studied various forms of yoga including: Hatha, Vinyasa, Power, and Kundalini Yoga. She completed 200 hours of yoga teacher training at West Hartford Yoga in West Hartford, CT in 2009 and has taught yoga at Lady of America (Windsor), UConn (Storrs), and lululemon athletica (West Hartford), where she currently works as an educator part-time. Maeve’s teachers have included: Ellen Heed, Jill Miller, Sharon Salzberg, Judith Orloff, Kathryn Budig, Seane Corn, Sarah Powers, Shiva Rea, David Swenson, and MC Yogi.
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 Paula Scopino is the Owner/Director of Sacred Rivers. Paula was inspired at a young age by her parents' spiritual explorations and discovered yoga at age 19. She has been a student of yoga since 1976 and has been teaching continuously since 1978 after receiving her first certification with Ruth Bender (pre Kripalu). Ruth Bender studied with Selvarjan Yesudian, who had a medical therapeutic approach to yoga.
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. She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (www.IAYT.org).
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 in massage therapy since 1989.
"May the Yogis of old, and the teachers of all the great spiritual traditions, from whose words we have learned wisdom and knowledge, bless the path you take and look after your wanderings, and may your personal God, even a God unknown to you, shine its light upon you, and bring you safely home to your heart."
Paula would like to acknowledge the following teachers with deep thanks and gratitude:
My Parents, my Son, Richard Hittleman, Clare Matthews, Ruth Bender, Baron Baptiste, Bikram, Viraj, Beryl Bender Berch, John Schumacher, Doug Swenson, Larry Payne, Lilias Folan, Judith Lasater, Rama Berch, Nischala Joy Devi, Dr. Dean Ornish, Ram Dass, the Iyengar Institute of San Francisco, Anya Foos, Patricia Walden, Bo Forbes, Barbara Benagh , Ravi Singh, Kripalu, Seane Corne, Shiva Rea, Paul Grilley, Gary Kraftskow, and so many others too numerous to mention...Paramahansa Yogananda and others in Spirit.
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Suzan Sirois, RYT is a 200 Hour Certified Yoga Instructor, Insured and Registered with Yoga-Alliance. In 2004 Suzan was introduced to yoga through a friend and was instantly in love with the way it made her feel both physically and mentally. As a result of the time she spent on her mat, she not only developed strength and increased her energy, she also learned how to channel life's stresses and has achieved an overall sense of peace and balance.
After years of practice and noticing positive changes in her life, Suzan decided to follow her passion and became a certified yoga instructor. By studying multiple styles, she has built a strong mental and physical foundation for appreciating many styles of yoga and has developed a style of teaching that is a mixed level movement class of challenging and engaging postures. Her focus is on alignment but believes that yoga is never forceful or competitive. She encourages her students into postures while guiding them to connect their movement with their breath.
Her teaching approach and goal for her students is to help them develop strength, reduce stress, build self-confidence and self-acceptance, leading to inner peace and self-awareness. In becoming an instructor, she has been able to share with others the great pleasure that yoga has brought into her world.
Breathe, Relax and Smile Your Way Through Your Yoga Practice.
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| Jean Skeels "I believe in the power of yoga to create deep healing and transformation on many levels and to reconnect us with our true and complete selves. Yoga practice built on the foundations of compassion and non-grasping allows us to be playful and joyful in this great inquiry, the pathway to liberation."
 Jean’s certifications include 500 hour Kripalu yoga teacher, 200 hour Kripalu yoga teacher, Kripalu Yoga Dance teacher, and prenatal yoga with Janice Clarfield. Jean is also registered as an ERYT 200 and RYT 500 with Yoga Alliance. She is Co-creator of Whole Running, a unique program of running and yoga.
Jean is currently participating in a yearlong training called The Acharya Intensive, directed by senior Kripalu yoga teachers and focusing on the teachings and practices of yoga as Swami Kripalu taught them. Within this Intensive Jean is exploring yoga as a pathway to evolve consciousness and connect to spirit and to bring those into teaching. She has also presented workshops to the 200 hour YTT at Sacred Rivers Yoga.
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Laurel Soper, a 200-hour Yoga Alliance certified teacher, has been practicing yoga since 1999. She has studied under Kripalu, Iyengar, Anusara and Ashtanga trained teachers. "In the past, yoga has helped me recover from a meiscus and ACL surgery, and recently to navigate the shift as an empty nester. It has given me the tools to be happy and comfortable in my body as it ages, realizing that the old standard of failing health and attitude of resignation of decline is not inevitable."
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 Susan Taff holds a Masters degree in Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University and a Masters dgree 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.
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Sonia Tulyani comes from a family of yoga instructors—her father and grandfather were both yoga instructors in India. She has been practicing yoga for eleven years and recently completed her 200 hour certification with Paula at Sacred Rivers. The ability of yoga to calm the body and mind is what initially attracted her to yoga, but through her studies she has learned so much more. Sonia is a research scientist by day and brings her inquisitive nature into her yoga practice. She hopes to share the wonder of self-discovery with her students.
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