teachers
Amy Hopkins, RN, LMT, E-RYT200
Amy brings a vast array of professional experience along with her calm nurturing spirit to her yoga teaching. Her deep-rooted belief in the healing arts and her strong desire to "live well" are what inspire Amy to lead by example both on and off the yoga mat. Combining both practical and spiritual themes in her classes, Amy's teaching encourages students to apply their yoga to their everyday life. Her classes have been described as feeling "...safe, calming, sensual, and grounding...".
Over the last 15 years, she has worked as a registered labor and delivery nurse, licensed massage therapist, doula, and childbirth educator. Amy has been teaching a variety of classes and styles of yoga at Yoga On York since its' opening in 2002. Amy is the founder of GLOW Bodywork, located right next door to the yoga studio. For more information, contact Amy at www.glowbodywork.com | amy@glowbodywork.com | 207-641-7353
Some of Amy's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
Motherwell Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, www.bonnieberk.com
40 hour training, Ashtanga Primary Series with David Swenson, www.ashtanga.net
60 hour Thai Yoga Massage Training, www.integraltravel.com
Barbara Dailey, E-RYT200
Barbara has enjoyed a long career as a financial executive within the managed healthcare industry. While working in this extremely stressful environment, Barbara began a very basic lunch time yoga program, and was immediately struck by the favorable impact it had on the rest of her day – feeling more calm, less overwhelmed, and capable of taking on the rest of the day's challenges. Her commitment to yoga and desire to bring those benefits to others was formed.
Barbara's goal as a teacher is to help students realize possibilities that may at first seem out of reach, and help them discover their own path to achieving them. With conscientious focus on breathing and clearing the cluttered mind, Barbara feels that a yoga practice can create meditation in motion and help students cross their own physical and emotional barriers.
Some of Barbara's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training, www.O2yoga.com
100 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Bootcamp, www.baronbaptiste.com
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
hour training with Beryl Bender Birch, www.power-yoga.com
Candy Blaxter, E-RYT200, RCYT (Registered Childrens Yoga Teacher)
In tandem with raising three boys, Candy has enjoyed a long first career as a owner of children's clothing stores in Connecticut and New York. After attending a family yoga retreat in Costa Rica, she immediately knew she wanted her next career to involve teaching yoga to children. The transformation she saw in children, especially those with learning disabilities, was absolutely inspiring. Candy embarked on 400+ hours of YogaKids training. She then went on to a Street Yoga training learning how to bring yoga to homeless and at risk youth. Eager to expand her personal practice and education she attended in the inaugural Yoga On York RYT 200 training.
Candy's involvement with YogaKids has continued to grow. She is now a YogaKids mentor, a workshop presenter and an assistant Foundations Trainer. She co-chaired the YogaKids Bridge of Diamonds Haiti Relief Effort raising over $10,000 to bring yoga to the children of Haiti as a stress relief tool. Candy was part of the first team to go down to Haiti and says it was one of the most rewarding experiences of her life. Candy yoga instruction to both children and adults is passionate and heart-centered. For more information on Candy please visit www.candykidsyoga.com
Some of Candy's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
400+ hour Yogakids® training, www.yogakids.com
Cherise Fegan, LMT, E-RYT200
When Cherise’s oldest son was 7 years old, he had trouble falling asleep at night due to a “busy” mind, which led her to sign him up for a kid’s yoga class. When she saw the positive changes happening in him, she decided to also try a yoga class for herself and has been hooked ever since!
After having a personal practice for 7 years, Cherise decided to train for her two loves; Yoga and Massage. Graduating from Yoga On York’s first teacher training and Hesser College with her massage therapy diploma in 2010, Cherise feels that the combination of yoga and massage work well together to cultivate a mindful, holistic approach to health and wellness. Cherise brings a unique energy and enthusiasm to her yoga classes using humor and lightheartedness in her teaching.
Some of Cherise’s trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga on York
840 hour massage therapy program at Hesser College
30 hour Prenatal Yoga training at Yoga on York
20 hour Thai Yoga massage with Sunny Kabler www.integraltravel.com
28 hour Yoga Teacher Mentorship with Julie Tirabassi
14 hour Prenatal Massage at Glow
Certified Childlight Yoga instructor
Dora Gough, PT, RYT200
Dora’s love of running lead her to a yoga mat years ago when she and her running friends were looking for a way to work on stretching. She fell in love with the yoga as well, and came to immensely appreciate all of the many wonderful benefits it brings to an athlete – strengthening, stretching, and focusing not only the body, but the mind and spirit as well. In recent years, she has been enjoying incorporating fun yoga activities into her work as a licensed pediatric physical therapist. She is very grateful to have had the experience of taking the 200 hour yoga teacher training at Yoga On York in 2012. She is excited to share her enthusiasm for yoga with other runners, children, and anyone else who is interested in experiencing the awesome wonders of yoga!
Some of Dora's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
Jeff Peltz, E-RYT500
Back in 1998, Jeff was effectively coaxed (okay, nagged) into his first yoga class by wife, Rae Lynn. Experiencing complete relief from recurring back pain, increased flexibility and weight loss quickly turned him into a dedicated practitioner of yoga.
Always athletic, Jeff excelled as a competitive swimmer in high school and college and later as a swim coach. Naturally, Jeff's yoga instruction embodies the spirit of the quintessential favorite coach. With his easy-going manner, Jeff leads classes that are an enjoyable blend of common sense, motivation, encouragement, coach-like athletic challenge and relaxed humor.
Some of Jeff's yoga trainings include:
200 Hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at the U.S. Yoga Association, www.tonysanchezyoga.com
40 Hour training, Ashtanga Primary Series with David Swenson, www.ashtanga.net
40 Hour Certified Yoga For Golfers Instructor, www.yogaforgolfers.com
500 Hour Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher Training, www.yogaspiritstudios.com
Jennifer Duffy
Practicing yoga for over five years, Jen is an avid runner, bicyclist and exercise enthusiast.
She came to yoga to help her body work out the kinks that lingered from excessive
use and soon discovered several other benefits and qualities that impacted her on a deeper level. Yoga
and meditation has helped her effectively address her stress, anxiety and has improved her overall
outlook on life. Jen knows firsthand the profound benefits of yoga and she is driven to share this healing
practice with others.
Jen first began sharing these benefits with students she worked with as a guidance counselor. It was
shortly after she began to witness the impact of yoga on her students that she decided to enroll in a
yoga teacher training course, earning her 200 hour RYT in June 2012.
Jen’s classes incorporate both her athletic energy and the healing aspects of yoga. She draws on many
styles of yoga in her classes including hatha, vinyasa and astanga. While the physical asana is the main
content of her classes, she encourages others to dive deeper into their practice by utilizing breath,
thinking less, listening more and taking their practice off the mat.
Some of Jen’s yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Well Heart Yoga
300 Hour Comprehensive Yoga Therapist at YogaLife Institute NH will be completed June 2013
Joanna Chipi, RYT200
Joanna was introduced to Bikram Yoga in 2007 after suffering a fractured back and other injuries due to gymnastics. A year later she moved to Huntington Beach, California and was introduced to Vinyasa Flow Yoga. After moving back to Maine, she completed her 200hour Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York. Yoga has forever changed Joanna's life and she is happy to share the magic of yoga with others. Joanna is currently continuing her yoga studes with a focus on Prenatal Yoga and Yoga for Kids.
Some of Joanna's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
Julie McKay, RYT200
Julie grew up dancing, and went on to earn a degree in Dance and Psychology from Skidmore College. She enjoyed teaching dance to children for 18 years at Brixham Danceworks in South Berwick, Maine. With an intention to bring some balance to her busy life raising three children, she tried yoga, and never looked back! After completing teacher training at Yoga On York in 2012, Julie is excited to share her passion. Her goal is to offer classes that inspire, energize, and create peace of mind in a way that is accessible to all students.
Some of Julie's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On YorK
27 hours of study with Beryl Bender Birch
Maureen Byrne, RYT200
Maureen began the study and practice of yoga in 1998 and added a mindfulness meditation practice in 2002. She cultivates a beginners mind in both yoga and meditation. She received her 200- hour yoga teacher training at Yoga on York in 2012. She became certified in trauma sensitive yoga in November 2012.
Maureen owns a psychotherapy practice in York Harbor where she works with adult individuals and couples. She works with persons in areas of mental health and addictions. For information: mnbyrne@maine.rr.com or 207-363-9678
Some of Maureen's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
40 hour Certificate Program in Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Melissa Harrington
Ask Melissa if she'd rather be doing yoga or ...nah, just skip it. The answer will always be yoga. But that was not always the case! Near the end of Melissa's first-ever yoga class some twenty years ago, the teacher instructed everyone to lay down and do nothing. Nothing! Thinking the teacher was out of material or lazy, she complied, but managed to write a complaint letter in her head during the ten minutes while others nothing-ed in Savasana. Melissa shares this story often because it's a reminder of how patient this practice is with us...how sweetly it meets us where we are.
Fast forward twenty years and you'll find Melissa happiest on her mat sharing a practice with other like-hearted souls. She believes that yoga is a way to come home to ourselves (again and again) and that our practice is a mirror for the way we are living our lives. As a teacher, Melissa favors vigorous vinyasa classes with a strong emphasis on proper alignment. Students of any level are welcome if they bring an open mind, a willingness to play and take risks, and promise to laugh at at least one of her jokes! Melissa is crazy about her husband, and stepdaughter, and big, goofy dog. When not on the mat, you will find her with a book, on a bike, or paking to travel.
Some of Melissa's trainings include:
Melissa has completed numerous yoga teacher trainings, workshops and master classes and her teaching style reflects a synthesis of various traditions. She is also a STOTT Pilates Lead Instructor Trainer and national conference presenter, a NSCA certified personal trainer, TRX trainer, Holistic Health Counselor, and former elementary school teacher.
Rae Lynn Stackpoole, OTR/L, E-RYT500
Rae Lynn's teaching style is a natural manifestation of her love for the study of anatomy and human function. With a masters degree in occupational therapy, Rae Lynn first dedicated herself to a decade-long career as an Occupational Therapist working with adults in a large physical rehabilitation hospital and with children in private outpatient clinics, homes and schools. With her passion for all things anatomical, Rae Lynn also spent her evenings as an adjunct professor of Kinesiology (the study of the muscles and movement).
Embracing a consistent yoga practice since 1998, Rae Lynn (a very Type A personality) has experienced a powerful evolutionary journey through yoga. Her journery is one of continued learning "be with what is", to release anxiety over imperfections, and to keep coming back to the present moment. Yoga has enabled her to live a more peaceful approach to life. Rae Lynn teaches from this perspective, guiding student's to "tune-in" to the many metaphors, the "ah-ha's", the real-life wisdom that is revealed on the mat when we choose to drop our EGO and open our minds and hearts. Rae Lynn emphasizes the powerful tool of the breath and proper anatomical alignment, creating intensely mindful and dynamic classes.
Some of Rae's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at It's Yoga, San Francisco, www.itsyoga.net
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at the U. S. Yoga Association, www.tonysanchezyoga.com
Motherwell Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, www.momwell.com
40 hour Advanced Postures Training, www.o2yoga.com
Yoga Therapy for the Child with Developmental Disabilities
500 Hour Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher Training, www.yogaspiritstudios.com
Sage Clarke, CM, MS, E-RYT200
Sage is a Certified Midwife with additional experience in childbirth education, postpartum doula care and lactation support. Prior to becoming a midwife, Sage worked in various women's health, family practice and internal medicine practices. Sage began yoga in 2001 while pregnant with her first child. She continued on from prenatal yoga to mom/baby yoga and mom/toddler yoga classes, and into an ongoing and evolving personal practice. Sage has been lucky enough to practice multiple styles of yoga in a number of cities on two different continents. After a number of years on the mat as a student at Yoga On York, Sage stepped into the role of instructor after attending Yoga On York's inaugural 200 hour teacher training in 2010.
Sage loves yoga because the practice grows and nurtures us in all stages of life. It affords all of us a means to be truly connected to our authentic selves. In our practice, whatever the level, we can use the postures and breath as a way to be fully present in the moment, united physically, mentally and spiritually. Sage combines her professional and personal experiences to deliver a compassionate approach to yoga based on the belief that we are all connected, surrounded by infinite joy and compassion and here to support one another.
Some of Sage's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
30 hour Yoga Alliance Prenatal Teacher Training at Yoga On York
10 hour Yoga for Movement Disorders, Massachusetts Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association
Sarah Bell, RYT200
Sarah is an outdoor enthusiast. She loves the natural world and spends her summers exploring the coast in a sea kayak, hiking mountains, growing vegetables, and practicing yoga. Sarah began doing yoga in 2001. In the beginning, doing yoga was all about getting some exercise and remembering to breath. Now Yoga is a mind-body connection that calms her spirit and sooths her soul. Realizing that yoga brought peace to her life, Sarah decided that sharing her love of yoga was the next step. She received her 200-hour teacher training certification from Yoga On York in 2012. Sarah teaches a powerful Level I yoga class that connects breath-to-movement and helps you free your mind as you pay attention to your bodies sensations one breath at a time.
Some of Sarah's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
Teri Martin, RYT200
Teri, an avid swimmer, former dancer, and yoga practitioner since 1998, is passionate about yoga practice and its inherent benefits of increased strength, flexibility and balance both on and off the yoga mat. Teri encourages, leads, and empowers students to tune in and connect with themselves, creating increased physical and personal awareness through the practice of yoga. Teri, who has a Harvard MBA, is a former executive at HBO, Cinemax and Citicorp. In addition to teaching yoga, Teri is an Artist, Art Consultant, and founder of TheArtNetwork.
Some of Teri's yoga trainings include:
200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training at Yoga On York
