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 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, and so many others too numerous to mention... Paramahansa Yogananda and others in Spirit

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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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Temple Symonds
Yoga found me patiently waiting for her to come in November of 2004, and has not left my grateful side since. I have completed the 200 hour teacher training through Samadhi Yoga under the instruction of Anne and Matthew Falkowski and am currently enrolled in the 500 hour program through Sacred Rivers as well as DanceAwakenings teacher training with Natalie Goff. Through the practice of yoga, I have finally connected with my body. When I am quiet and sit with my breath, the answers come through the voice of my body. It is through asana and pranayama that I have realized that I am beautiful, that I am amazing, that I am free, and that we all are. Every single time that I look to the students before me, I am humbled and filled with gratitude.

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Fran Lopez
Francisco 's ( Fran) latest incarnation comes from South America , arriving in Hartford   in 1969 were he learned and trained in yoga under the guidance of Swami Satchidananda's teachers training staff . He became a teacher in 1971 under IYI , Integral Yoga Institute and then lived a life of yoga community at Yogaville Ashram in Pomfret, CT. He was initiated by his Guru and given the name of Sadhu ( Holy man ).Over the years, Fran has integrated most yoga practices to come up with a fully organic routine that gives you a complete workout , for optimum and sustained  health performance .In addition to his yoga practice, Fran graduated from CCMT (Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy ) in 1992, Muscular Therapy in Cambridge  in 1999 and Traditional Thai Massage at Omega Institute in 2002.

Wendy Kolanz has an extensive background in meditation, dance, and yoga asanas. She is certified to teach yoga by Yoga Center Amherst, Amherst , MA and certified to teach meditation by The Golden Age Foundation, Berkeley , CA and Chennai , India . Wendy's work with the Iyengar principles of allignment, Embodiment work of the School for Body-Mind Centering, and her dance and meditation background help to bring a grace and inner strength to her teaching.

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Wendy Gorfain RYT received her 200 hour training at Sacred Rivers Yoga in May of 2006. She has been practicing yoga asana and principles on the mat and in her life for the past six years.

It is her desire to bring the healing benefits of yoga to every person’s mind, body and spirit. Her classes blend a combination of breath led movements, Iyengar focused asana instruction and relaxation. Principles of yoga philosophy, quotations and poetry bring a focus to each class as she shares her journey with yoga and life with her students.


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Maria LaPorte
Maria received her formal training from esteemed masters Ana Forrest, Jonathan Bowra, and Heather Tiddens. As well she completed her functional anatomy studies with Ellen Heed and Jullian Walker. She's also studied with Rodney Yee, Colleen Saidman, and currently studies with Jivamukti master Peter Rizzo. For thirty years Maria has studied and practiced meditation and breathwork. Her many years of yoga and own personal injury have lent to great compassion and a keen eye for body dyamics for her students. Maria places strong attention on the breath and body alignment, helping students unlock dormant areas of the body allowing them to release tensions and toxins.

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Gia Khalsa

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Jamie Pylkowski's personal practice began in 2002 in Boston to find relief for a lumbar spine disc injury but developed beyond the physical practice and into a journey of the mind, body and spirit. She discovered Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow, and yoga has been her catalyst of growth in discovering herself from the ‘inside out’ ever since. In 2005, she moved backed to Connecticut and in 2007 graduated from Sacred Rivers’ 200 Hour Teacher Training Program. She has been blessed to have practiced with inspirational teachers Seane Corn and Bryan Kest (among others) and intends to pursue her 500 Hour teacher training certificate and travel to India to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Jaime also holds a B.A. in English from Hobart & William Smith Colleges. When not in the yoga studio, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her chocolate lab and skiing. Jaime seeks to bring greater health, compassion and happiness into the lives of her students, to continuously contemplate santosha. The practice of yoga has become a way for her to realize that we are all flawless individuals.

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Gabriel London became a yoga instructor in Timbak India at the Yoga Vidya Gurukul ashram (which is an affiliate of the Bihar School of Yoga) in Nov. 2006 under the supervision of Shri Vishwas Mandlik. Gabriel also studied Vipassana meditation in Igatpuri India, Dehradun India, and Shelborne, Mass USA. Vipassana is believed to be the meditation technique taught by Siddhartha Gatama (Buddha) 2500 years ago. Gabriel teaches a classic hatha yoga style with pranayama, meditation and yoga nidra ( a deep relaxation technique). Gabriel attributes all his skills and abilities to the grace of his Guru, Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma the Hugging Saint).

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Fred Wark is a hiker and former mountain/rock climber with the Appalachian Mountain Club with five years experience in all aspects of yoga. He has completed the 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training program at Sacred Rivers Yoga Studio. I have trained at Kripalu under Aadi Palkhivala (who was initially trained by B.K.S. Iyengar) and other Kripalu teachers. He has also trained and taken workshops, including teacher workshops, under national and international teachers such as Tias Little, Shiva Rea, Ana Forest, Sean Corne, Eric Love, and Beryl Bender Birch. He has trained at Kripalu, Sacred Rivers Yoga, West Hartford Yoga, Samadhi Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Lotus Yoga and Healthtrax. Fred believes that yoga is not just something we do for our body and mind, but it becomes a lifestyle. He also believes that each individual should be free to believe what they want.


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Meghan Donald began practicing Hatha Yoga in 2000 while living and going to school in Santa Cruz, California. The majority of her instruction has come from teachers who have background in the Iyengar tradition. For two years she took classes with a woman who has studied with B.K.S. Iyengar at the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Institute in Pune, Maharashtra. Meghan recently graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a bachelor’s degree in Community Studies. A recent move to the East Coast has brought her closer to her goal of living in New England closer to her family and continuing to integrate Yoga into her life by way of practice, study, and becoming a Yoga instructor. In the winter of 2007 she finished the 200hr Teacher Training Program at Sacred Rivers Yoga, and she is looking forward to sharing and building upon her knowledge and experiences thus far.


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Eric Bernasek has been interested in philosophy and world religions for the last 15 years. Inspired by the beauty, clarity and veracity of the Bhagavad Gita, Eric became attracted to bhakti-yoga several years ago. More recently, the practice of bhakti-yoga has become a more integral part of Eric's daily life. He has traveled to India twice in the last five years, studying Vedic philosophy, meditating and visiting places of pilgrimage. Eric is currently the Provisional Vice President of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Boston, MA. He also hopes to graduate from Trinity College in Hartford, CT with a Master's degree in English/Rhetoric/Media Studies at the end of the spring semester 2008.

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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.


Shelby Bonomo
Art school. Building houses. Yoga. It became a way of life. In 2003, I took my first yoga class. The aches and pains of life were settling in and I needed something. Yoga became the answer. Every class I walked out of, I felt like a new person. Naturally, I wanted more. In December of 2007, I completed the yoga teacher training through Sacred Rivers, under Paula Scopino. It was the right something. I feel I’ve changed for the better in so many ways. Now, I want to share with others what yoga has done for me. Namaste.

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Jennifer Errickson completed her 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers. She teaches the mom and baby series classes. Jennifer’s classes provide a supportive environment for mothers to explore yoga as they move, breathe, and connect with their little ones. Her background is in the field of education where she holds a Master’s Degree as well as experience as a classroom teacher. Teaching yoga has allowed Jennifer to use these skills and her own experience as a mom while bringing the beautiful gift of yoga into the lives of new mothers.

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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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Sylvia Faust completed 200 hr certification from Sacred Rivers. She has a degree in management and spent 17 years in a sales-service career. One weekly yoga class for relaxation turned into many classes each week, igniting a strong passion for yoga. Sylvia sees her role as that of a guide offering modifications at every level and providing support and encouragement along the shared journey. She enjoys biking, hiking and cross-country skiing with her husband and two children.

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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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Dori Sargent received her 200 hour RYT certification on May 2006, and is currently in the 500 hour RYT program, here at Sacred Rivers Yoga, Yoga for Every Body, with Paula Scopino. She has also been trained in Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tykes, Every Kids Yoga for Children with Special Needs, and is a Peaceful Touch Facilitator/Trainer. She is passionate about sharing the gifts of yoga with others, from ages 2 to 102 years old. Dori’s caring spirit and eclectic style will leave you feeling challenged, yet relaxed and rejuvenated!

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Dana Foster has been practicing yoga since 1998, and has studied with teachers in the Svaroopa, Iyengar and Kripalu traditions. She holds a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Certification from the Healing Touch Yoga Center. She is a 200 hour certified yoga instructor and is currently pursuing her 500 hour certification at Sacred Rivers Yoga. Dana's understanding and appreciation of health issues, as well as her open communication style and sense of humor, allow her to bring compassion and caring to her practice, classes and workshops.

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Emily Walker
I began a yoga practice as cross training for competitive running. I used my practice as a way to relieve the physical stress that I felt from running and the mental stress of a demanding legal career. I was drawn to yoga's non-competitive tenet (ahimsa) with running later serving as cross training for my yoga practice. After years of asana practice I became interested in learning more - specifically about alignment and injury prevention as well as therapeutics. I was able to achieve this through my trainings with Mitchel Bleier and Deb Neubauer, both of whom are Senior Certified Anusara™ Yoga instructors.

I am trained in precise biomechanical instruction for in-depth asana instruction with a focus on anatomy & physiology as well as advanced pranayama, contemplation and meditation techniques. My sister, Piper Petrie (Chandra Prabha), was my first and most inspirational teacher. Other notable trainings include Doug Keller, Todd Norian, Ann Green, David Williams (1st & 2nd Series), Tias Little and Ana Forest. I find that a vigorous/heat building asana practice helps me move deeper into a meditative state - using breath as the bridge between body and mind resulting in improved focus and concentration (dharana) coupled with a strong, flexible and balanced body.
Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu ~ May Peace & Happiness Prevail