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Our Teachers

• Morgan Andrews jumped into practicing yoga more than a decade ago as part of a regimen for visual rehabilitation and eliminating chronic pain. Maintaining a self-led daily practice changed his life and Morgan began studying various forms of yoga with numerous instructors, and eventually completed a yoga teacher training with Ana Forrest in 2009. Morgan also has extensive experience with vegan nutrition and natural vision therapy (particularly the Bates method), and trained as a Theater of the Oppressed facilitator under Augusto Boal at TOPLAB and with Jana Sanskriti in West Bengal. Morgan’s work at Studio 34 is a mixture of all these disciplines, rooted in a commitment to community and a vibrant sense of humor.
• Nicole Bindler has an extensive somatic education, including a BA in dance from Hampshire College and a degree in Muscular Therapy from the Muscular Therapy Institute. Nicole also has many years of study and practice in Yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais, Body-Mind Centering, Contact Improvisation and Martial Arts. She is an internationally touring choreographer and dance improviser and has taught Experiential Anatomy, Contact Improvisation and Contemporary Dance throughout the U.S. and Argentina. She is a member of Mascher Dance Cooperative and curates the StudioSeries at Studio 34. She has a private bodywork practice in South Philly and is currently studying Embodied Anatomy Yoga at the School for Body-Mind Centering in NYC. www.nicolebindler.com.
• Ruchama Bilenky is a Certified Yoga Instructor who specializes in bringing the spiritual and physical benefits of Yoga to diverse individuals and populations . She is currently doing Yoga Therapy training in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. She is also an actress and musician. She is inspired by Pema Chodron, travel, meditation and chocolate! Think Yoga isn’t for you? Try a class with Ruchama and have your misconceptions dispelled!
• Corita Brown, certified Anusara yoga teacher, has been a student of yoga for the last fifteen years. Corita’s classes, enriched by her humor, warmth, and detailed attention to students of all levels, are dynamic, challenging and fun. Corita offers a framework of accessible alignment principles and biomechanical precision from which students can explore their creative potential, heal and transform (both on and off the mat!) Her teaching style has emerged from a strong personal practice developed with the loving support of her teachers: John Friend, Bridget Woods-Kramer, Dana Flynn, Amy Ippoliti, and Sarah Mitchelson. Corita moved to Philadelphia in June 2009, and is delighted to be making her new home in West Philly.
• Kristina Clair spent most of her early childhood as a competitive gymnast, then put that aside to nurture her mind and spirit by studying philosophy in college. It all came together the first time she stepped into a yoga class; she thought: Aha! This is what it was all for. Kristina believes that yoga is a vehicle for self-inquiry and for experiencing the union of mind-body-spirit. She encourages her students to develop complementary internal and external practices. Kristina also studies Thai Massage (Nuad Boran) and meditation.
• Jessica Eagan has been studying Vinyasa and Kundalini yoga and meditation for three years. She is ecstatic to be sharing this beautiful science with University City. She completed her first 200-hour teacher training course at Dhyana Yoga in Center City Philadelphia and is grateful to her teachers for guiding her along this journey. Her personal practice includes asana, mantra and meditation directed at a surrender to the divine energy within herself, others, and the world. In her class, you can expect to “tune in” with chanting, then move into a relaxing asana flow to open and relax your body and mind. She will also share and discuss bits of Yogic philosophy.
• Julia Horn is not quite sure when it all began. From the time she was just a squirt, she was swinging from the arms of an om’ing mother. Next, it was the limbs of the towering oak in the backyard. The rest is history. What ensued was a lifetime of study and exploration of movement, breath and the interior of the self. Her study of dance continued at North Carolina School of the Arts and then Tisch School of the Arts in New York City. Julia grew up in the hills of Cakilaki (translation: Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina) which she stills considers one of the most magical places on earth. She is a member of Tripsichore Yoga Theatre, with whom she trots the globe for performances of yogic dance and workshops.
• Vicki Mehl, has been a resident of Philadelphia since 1987. She began studying tai chi in 1995 and was given permission to teach in 1999. She has studied with several master teachers in the Cheng Man Ch’ing lineage and continues her study with Maggie Newman, of New York City, one of Prof. Cheng’s most senior students. Ms. Mehl has four grown children and is a special education teacher in a high school in Philadelphia.
• Julia Naftulin is certified to teach classical Pilates through the Pilates Studio of New York and Bryn Mawr, and has been teaching in the Philadelphia area since 2003. She also practices Thai Yoga Massage and has a master’s degree in Dance/Movement Therapy. A dancer since childhood, Julia took up the Pilates method in college to ease chronic back pain. She is certified in the more athletic style of classical Pilates, and has studied Physical Mind Pilates under Michael Miller and others. Julia believes Pilates is a wonderful mind/body work-out for practitioners of any age and fitness level, and emphasizes its rehabilitative potential for those with physical illness or injury.
• Grace Perkins developed and has taught this class in the Philadelphia Area for over 20 years. Her yoga classes seek to embrace both the seasonal changes in our lives as reflected in nature and the beautiful metaphors reflected in the asanas as they are practice. Her other classes are known as Yoga With Attitude.
• Brittany Policastro completed her first 50-hour teacher training six years ago, less than one year after her first experience with yoga. In 2006, she discovered Anusara Yoga and since then has completed the 200-hour Anusara Teacher Training, two 20-hour Yoga Therapeutics Trainings, a Prenatal Yoga Training and the Level 2 Anusara Teacher Training. Brittany has also received training in kids yoga through Yoga Child. She has over 5,000 hours of experience teaching and was recently featured on NBC’s The 10! Show demonstrating poses for healthy backs. Brittany brings an enthusiastic and energetic approach to her classes while focusing on proper alignment, cultivating awareness and opening others up to their own magnificent potential. In 2008, Brittany created the One World Many Hearts Project in which she raised $20,000 for the Cambodia Children’s Fund and in 2009 traveled to Cambodia with Seane Corn and the Off the Mat into the World Team to experience Sacred Activism first hand.
• Jason Schoen took his first yoga class at Studio 34 during its grand opening week of free classes. Initially attracted to the enormous potential that the studio had for galvanizing community, he started doing work exchange. It was after he started taking Forrest Yoga classes with Angie and Stephen that his interest in yoga intensified. This led to the Forrest Foundation Teacher Training which he completed in August 2009. He also helps coordinate the work exchange program at Studio 34 and along with friends Rob, Ross, and Morgan organizes the monthly events Feet Active and Vegan Bruncheonette.
• Anssumane Sillá began his dancing career at the tender age of 11. He has since danced professionally for over 18 years with the National Ballet of Guinea Bissau. He career has lead him to perform for Dignitaries, Ambassadors and Presidents from around the world. Anssumane has performed in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, South Africa and Libya. He has garnered numerous awards for excellence in dance performance and teaching. He is very excited to teach the traditional and contemporary dance style(Bijagos, Balanta, Fula, and Manjaco) from Guinea Bissau and for people to enjoy themselves while having an amazing workout and learning a facet of culture from his county.
• Campbell States used to drink 13 Diet Pepsis a day. One fateful day four years ago, she jitterred into a yoga studio. With the help of teachers Steve Gold and Bill Raup, Campbell has practiced power vinyasa, hatha, and Forrest yoga. After graduating from Smith College, she went to the Yanadara Yoga Institute in Todos Santos Mexico,  where she received her yoga teacher certification and gave up Diet Pepsi forever.
• Nicole T. Taylor, has practiced yoga and meditation for seven years. Her love of yoga began on retreat at Omega Institute, when yoga became a practice that linked her physical and spiritual well-being. From there it became an integral part of her life, culminating in the completion of a 200-hour Vinyasa yoga certification in an intimate class setting in Northern Liberties. Nicole’s classes provide a playful, connected experience with an emphasis on listening to the body and honoring the present moment. A strong Vinyasa yoga and Vipassana meditation practice helps Nicole balance a career as a Master’s prepared Managing Editor.
• Mara Wai, in addition to managing the PENN Program for Stress Management, is a life time student of yoga, and has taught hatha yoga in her spare time since 1998. Mara has taught public yoga classes for groups and individuals, as well as targeted programs for: mental health and substance abuse issues, eating disorders, cardiac health, cancer survivorship and diabetes. For more info about Mara’s movement teaching go to: www.marawai.com.
• Jen Web, is a dedicated artist that has been busy making her mark in the exciting world of hoop dance. After teaming up with Funtown Productions in late 2007, she has redefined her playful hooping hobby into a serious lifestyle. Whether she’s performing on stage, making hand-made hoops, or teaching her hoop dance class, Jen Web doesn’t seem to have trouble finding new avenues to explore her passion. Jen has Philadelphia’s thriving music scene to thank for her impressive resume of performances. Some of her highlights include performances in venues such as the Tweeter Center, the Franklin Institute, World Cafe Live, the Theatre of Living Arts, and the National Constitution Center.
• Brenda Williams, has been practicing and studying Kundalini Yoga and meditation and the teachings of Yogi Bhajan for about two years now. She completed a 50-hour Immersion Course with Dhyana Yoga in 2008 and recently completed her 400-hour Kundalini Yoga and Meditation teacher training course with Dr. Mahan Rishi Singh Khalsa and Nirbhe Kaur Singh Khalsa of the Khalsa Healing Arts and Yoga Center in Yardley, PA. She operates her own microfinance consulting company and considers her daily work an extension of her service to the community. In her Kundalini class, you will explore kriyas, asanas and the metaphysical anatomy; the science of breath and its use in healing the body and mind; practical and experiential teachings of the chakras and the ten bodies; mantras, mudras, and an approach to meditation.