Trina Altman, BS, PMA-CPT, received her training through STOTT PILATES® and is an E-RYT 500. She’s the creator of Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed®, which take an interdisciplinary approach to foster an embodied understanding of yoga and Pilates and their relationship to modern movement science.

Trina has presented at Kripalu, the Yoga Alliance Leadership Conference and Yogaworks, among others. She also created and taught a Pilates continuing-education course for physical therapists and was part of the faculty for the Brain Longevity conference at UCLA.

Trina was a finalist in the Next Pilates Anytime Instructor competition in 2017. Her work has been published in both Yoga Journal and Yoga International. Her book, Yoga Deconstructed®: Transitioning From Rehabilitation Back Into The Yoga Studio is slated to be published by Handspring Publishing in December 2019.

She works out of Los Angeles at Equinox and The Moving Joint. For more information on Trina and her online classes and courses, visit trinaaltman.com. Follow her on Instagram at: @trinaaltman and on Facebook at Trina Altman Yoga and Pilates.

Dianne Bondy is a celebrated yoga teacher, social justice activist and leading voice of the Yoga For All movement. Her inclusive view of yoga asana and philosophy inspires and empowers thousands of followers around the world – regardless of their shape, size, ethnicity, or level of ability.

She applies over 1000 hours of training to help her students find freedom, self-expression and radical self-love in their yoga practice. She shares her message and provides millions of followers with affordable access to online yoga classes, workshops and tutorials at her virtual studio, Yogasteya.com. Dianne contributes to Yoga International, Do You Yoga, and Elephant Journal. She is featured and profiled in international media outlets, including: The Guardian, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, and People. She is a spokesperson for diversity in yoga and yoga for larger bodies, as seen in her work with Pennington’s, Gaiam, and the Yoga & Body Image Coalition. Her work is published in the books Yoga and Body Image and Yes Yoga Has Curves. Visit diannebondyyoga.com for more information.

Donalee Campbell, E-RYT 200, is a Certified Senior Teacher (800hrs+) with the Yoga Association of Alberta (YAA) and is well known throughout Alberta in her role as Coordinator for the YAA Teacher Training and Equivalency Certification Programs.  An umbrella organization, the YAA Teacher Training Program is recognized as having some of the highest training standards in North America, with a core curriculum common to most recognized yoga disciplines.  As part of her role with the YAA, Donalee regularly assesses the training of yoga teachers, both from the local area and from around the globe, for YAA Equivalency Certification. 

 Donalee is a passionate yoga teacher and trainer, and a strong advocate for high-quality yoga teacher training.  She believes that teaching yoga requires much more than minimal effort, agreeing with B.K.S. Iyengar’s view that a teacher’s role is to remove darkness and bring enlightenment, inspiring “confidence, devotion, discipline, deep understanding and illumination through love.”  Resonating deeply with the philosophies of yoga, she also leads the yoga philosophy component of teacher training at Yoga for Today in Sherwood Park, and aspires to embody truth, consciousness and bliss in yoga and in life.  

Originally trained with the YAA’s 300-Hour apprenticeship-style program, Donalee completed most of her training with Iyengar and Anusara teachers, and has taken several other yoga certifications as well as university studies in dance, psychology, philosophy, and religious studies.  She leads heart-oriented, accessible classes and workshops for adults, kids, seniors and families in her community.

www.trueblissyoga.com

Ryan Cunningham, E-RYT 500, YACEP, believes that yoga is a path towards cultivating wellness — which for them involves a daily practice of breathing, meditation, and movement. They spent many years attending Barbara Benagh’s weekly teachers’ class as well as Barbara’s course entitled “The Art of Teaching.” Over the past four years, Ryan’s studies have primarily been focused on dharma, biomechanics, and yoga therapy with Tom Alden. They also studied with Judith Lasater, Leslie Kaminoff, and Ethan Nichtern.

In 2008, Ryan began leading group and private yoga classes, teaching students the skills that enable them to practice for themselves. In 2016, they became the owner of Bow Street Yoga in Somerville, Massachusetts, teaching group classes and conducting a year-long yoga studies course and mentorship program. Ryan is on faculty at Berklee College of Music and hosts/produces two yoga podcasts: Unrolled with co-host Kate Robinson; and Just Yoga.

David Emerson, YACEP, TCTSY-F, is the founder and Director of Yoga Services for the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he coined the term “trauma-sensitive yoga.” He was responsible for curriculum development, supervision and oversight of the yoga intervention component of the first-of-its-kind, NIH-funded study to assess the utility and feasibility of yoga for adults with treatment-resistant PTSD. Mr. Emerson has developed, conducted, and supervised TSY groups for rape crisis centers, domestic violence programs, residential programs for youth, military bases, survivors of terrorism, and Veterans Administration centers and clinics. In addition to coauthoring several articles on the subject of yoga and trauma, Mr. Emerson is the co-author of Overcoming Trauma through Yoga, released in 2011 by North Atlantic Books and is the author of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy (Norton, 2015). He leads trainings for yoga teachers and mental health clinicians in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Maty Ezraty, E-RYT 500, is a uniquely inspiring teacher known for her dynamic style of teaching, a keen eye for observation and a depth of knowledge that is steeped in years of practice. Maty discovered yoga in her early 20’s after years of dance. Seeking meaning in her life and a sense of freedom from daily suffering, she found in yoga calmness of mind, confidence, and a strong feeling of being centered. While living in Los Angeles, Maty had the opportunity to meet and study with many of the world’s most renowned yoga teachers, including the three who would have the greatest influence on her teaching: Dona Holleman, Gabriella Giubilaro and Pattabhi Jois.

Maty met Pattabhi Jois in 1985 when he visited the Center for Yoga in Los Angeles where she was a teacher and director. This encounter initiated a long journey of study and practice including many trips to Mysore. She was one of a handful of women to complete some of the advanced sequences. In recent years, Maty has frequently studied at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India where she has had the privilege of attending Geeta Iyengar’s classes. The Iyengar system is a rock in her practice and teaching. Maty began teaching yoga in 1985. In 1987 she opened Yoga Works. The first school of its kind, Yoga Works offered different styles of yoga including Iyengar and Ashtanga as well as workshops with many of the world’s best-known teachers. This created a diverse and engaging dialogue within the yoga community. Maty created the Yoga Works classes out of a desire to create consistency in the curriculum while integrating elements from the different traditions. These classes were divided into levels and drew from the Ashtanga concept of Vinyasa and the precise instructions taught by the Iyengar system. Classes were safe, made use of props and centered around a theme. Yoga Works grew to offer more than 120 classes per week, serving more than 700 students per day.

Maty directed and shaped the Teacher Training Program for over 16 years. She has trained some of the leading teachers in the US. In 2004, Maty sold Yoga Works, which continues as a leading school today. A prominent figure in the evolution of yoga in the United States, Maty has been called an “innovator” by Yoga Journal for which she wrote the Asana Column in 2001 and in 2009. Maty’s viewpoint is unique and holistic, gleaned from her years of study in the Ashtanga and Iyengar traditions. She is known for her joyful, engaging and determined approach and is revered as a teacher’s teacher.

Today, Maty holds workshops, retreats and teacher trainings internationally. She is a student of Vipassana meditation and has studied with Joseph Goldstein at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and at Spirit Rock in California. She continues to be inspired by her many years of practice and is devoted to bringing the spirit of yoga and her love of meditation to all her students.

Leslie Glickman teaches a broad spectrum of yoga, including Vinyasa, yin, and meditation. Her “Pause, Breathe, Notice, Feel” ideology is the foundation to her teaching approach. She believes there is a yoga for “every body” and strives to be mindful of the student’s experience so she can meet them exactly where they are. Leslie’s passion is growing the community; she works to create opportunities that make yoga accessible to all with weekly and annual events that connect thousands of people worldwide.  Part of her mission is to also elevate education for yoga teachers, and Leslie believes they deserve to be taught with the highest level of integrity that honors the traditions of this life-changing practice. Leslie is always seeking to elevate herself, the community, and the collective energy of the world through the practice of yoga.

An Ambassador for Lululemon Athletica, Leslie’s relationship with them comes from a shared passion for building community and common core values. Partnering with Lululemon and other companies that share her values is important, and she collaborates with them for her annual MEGA class, Something BIG in South Florida, that has 2,000 attendees yearly. Her family inspires her to live every day by example and be the best she can be, and through yoga Leslie sees that lessons on the mat open up all life’s possibilities.

Sandy Hicks, E-RYT, RCYT, RPYT, Y12SR received Transcendental Meditation instruction from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1973, and went on to further study at the Omega Institute with various teachers. Sandy had a strong desire to convert what was internally felt into external words, as a small stroke at age 16 created difficulty to connect inner thoughts with the spoken word. Her recent studies include Brahmanand Stapleton at Kripalu as well as Nosara Institute, mostly from 2008-2013.

Sandy focuses on sharing wisdom in Satsang settings, and these sessions consist mainly Jnana and Raja paths and whatever the attendees bring to it. In public classes, she integrates pranayama and bandha practices to control inner energies. Currently studying with Biff Mithoeffer (Yin Yoga), she binds the yin practice with self inquiry. Through self inquiry she feels  we can merge the fragmented human and prepare it to meet the inner spirit or self. Sandy’s yoga teacher trainings are unique in her area as they create a safe space to transform andgrow internally so that students may teach from a clear heart and energy rather than sequenced script. Key philosophy at her studio is simple: yoga is for healing. Visit her website www.GroundedByYoga.com for more information.

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Amy is a yoga teacher, author, and earth activist. Her caring approach brings ancient wisdom to modern yogis, both on and off the mat. She is known for her genuine style of teaching, intelligent sequencing, compelling and clear instruction, and engaging sense of humor. She shares her passion for yoga, health, earth conservation, through her writings for Yoga Journal, Organic Life, Prevention, Mantra, Origin, Mind Body Green, prAna Stories, and Elephant Journal. She has appeared on the covers of Yoga Journal and Fit Yoga Magazine and has been featured in Self Magazine, New York Magazine, Allure (Korea), and Newsweek and on the front page of Yahoo.com.

She is a featured teacher on YogaGlo.com and a pioneer for advanced yoga education, serving both students as well as fellow yoga teachers. Amy worked as the chair of the Curriculum Committee and served on the Certification Committee for Anusara yoga for nearly a decade. In 2012 she co-founded 90Monkeys, an online and in person professional development school that has enhanced the skills of yoga teachers and studios in 65+ countries internationally. In 2016 she co-authored the book, The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga, which has become a staple in yoga teacher trainings around the globe.

Amy is a faculty member at the 1440 Multi University, Omega Institute, Esalen and Kripalu and is a regular presenter at Yoga Journal LIVE, Asia Yoga Conference, Telluride Yoga Festival, Wanderlust Festivals, and The Hanuman Festival. Learn more at amyippoliti.com.

Val Spies, E-RYT500 is the owner/director of the Lotus Pond Center for Yoga established in 2003. The Lotus Pond 200/300hr. Teacher Training programs originated in 2006 and graduate an average of 60 teachers per year.  Val is the lead teacher of the local and destination retreat programs, working with 6 additional co-teachers and assistants. The Lotus Pond Center supports 5 administrative staff members and 26 teachers, and now offers an onsite retreat house, hosting international students as well as students from all over the U.S.

After 14 years as an international airline corporate manager of training, Val decided to transform her professional skills into the service of communicating the life-changing studies of yoga to her community and beyond.  As a financially independent and sole proprietor of the Lotus Pond Center, she has met many challenges and successes that shape her profile of strength, confidence and compassion.

www.lotuspondyoga.com