maureen priest

maureen priest, eryt, founder of breathe yoga center teaches yoga to help students connect to their breath, allowing the student to use self discovery to meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. maureen encourages playfulness and wants her students to ignite their passion for life! her yoga is inspired by forrest yoga and her own healing process.

maureen has studied yoga with nationally and internationally recognized yoga instructors and studios, including: baron baptiste, rodney yee, the jivamukti studio, doug swenson and ana forrest. she is nationally certified in forrest yoga. in addition, she has studied at thomas jefferson university and holds ce credits in yoga therapy.

she has traveled to philadelphia, pa to conduct workshops and classes.

maureen has a ba in anthropology from rutgers university and ce credits in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, developmental psychology and nutrition.

maureen's ethics:

• practice what i preach
• remain a student for life
• will not be controlled by others
• create a safe environment for my students (sexually, spiritually and emotionally).
• set healthy boundaries
• care for myself as well as I care for my students
• demand more from myself than anyone could ever expect
• be truthful
• do not impose my views on others
• strengthening my spirit by choosing to heal my mind and body

Email: maureen@breatheyogacenter.net

Kris Hanvey

As a mind body practitioner my role is to assist you in your own venture into health and wellness. When we explore the body through energy work, be it with,yoga therapy, reiki or any other energetic healing modality, we open ourselves up to holistic healing.

Kris Hanvey, R.N. teaches yoga with a passion for holistic health and wellness that is evident in her teaching. Her classes have a foundation in kripalu and astanga yoga. Kris brings an eclectic style to her teaching incorporating a mind/body connection into her classes. she trained through yogafit for her level 1 and 2 certification. Also, she has completed her yin certification with corina benner at wake-up yoga.

kris further rounds out her role as a healer with a certification in phoenix rising yoga therapy www.pryt.com (a kripalu affliliated program). Additionally she is a reiki master. she does-one-on one private sessions with clients to assist them in mind-body healing that is used for stress reduction and self-help issues.

Carmen Molina

carmen molina is a certified yogakids facilitator. she resigned from corporate america to become a nanny to her niece and granddaughters. carmen knew she wanted to share with them more than just her love. being a grandmother and a lifelong practitioner of yoga, carmen began to think about the benefits yoga could bring to children--an activity that could be fun and educational but not strenuous or competitive.

inspired by the work of the internationally and nationally known marsha wenig, found of yogakids, carmen dedicated the next two years to completing her certification as a yoga instructor for children. in 2001, carmen was certified and she knew her insights into the benefits of yoga for children needed to be shared not only with her granddaughters and niece but with others as well.

the yogakids program blends topics and techniques including nutrition, anatomy, art, music, story telling, exercise, breathing techniques, games and relaxation to create a fun experience for children.

carmen has taught yoga to children for five years, in classrooms as well as in studio settings. the experience has been thoroughly rewarding and she is committed to helping children develop life long tools for healthier living.

Email: carmen@breatheyogacenter.net

Kelly Whalen

Who knew that yoga would have found Kelly Whalen in the basement fitness center of a very corporate office?? Well, it did...and it’s been her greatest challenge and blessing ever since.

Her mission is that through their yoga practice, each and every child (and their families!) will:

> See themselves as the powerful, beautiful, special human beings that they are.

> Get the chance to have their voice heard.

> Be acknowledged for their unique contribution to the world.

> Strengthen and know their bodies and treat it with respect and love.

I promise to:

> Create a sacred, safe space of non-judgement, freedom and honor.

> Respect my own body and give it the gift of a daily yoga practice.

> Maintain a business practice that is fair and just.

While Kelly’s enjoyed a successful athletic “career”, through her 6 years of yoga practice, she’s found the strength to feed her body and the courage to listen to what it has to say — instead of sculpting perfect biceps and obsessing over a tight six-pack.

Kelly is currently working towards her 200 hour certification through Breathe Yoga Center. Again, another fabulous blessing!! Once completed, she will be a RYT through the Yoga Alliance.

Kelly teaches so that everyone gets a chance —a chance to know themselves, enjoy their bodies, experience yoga with a light energy, and to be truly connected to one another.

Kelly is also currently a YogaKids® Associate, working towards becoming a certified YogaKids facilitator (alongside the wonderful Carmen Molina).

Kristin Paulson

My philosphy behind my teaching is based on an ego free environment. I love to see my students play in their practice, take their postures to a deeper place, leave with an open heart and peaceful state of mind. I believe that there is a place for yoga in everyones life and I hope that I can share that all those who enter my space. Namaste

kristin paulson comes from a background of teaching power yoga for two years. kristin's yoga philosophy encompasses her psychological background and love of yoga to encourage her students to go deeper in their practice both mentally and physically.

kristin's formal education includes a msw in social work and a ph.d in psychology from temple university. She is nationally certified in baptiste power yoga, levels 1&2. Recently Kristin was honored with her red belt and is now a certified Budokon Conditioning Teacher.

kristin's beliefs:

• leave our ego's at the door
• never stop learning
• combine body and mind in practice
• keep in check with her students and listen to their needs
• share my love of yoga with those around me

Lisa Fields

lisa fields comes to breathe with 10 years of experience in management, choreography and teaching in the fitness industry. for 8 years she specialized in the senior population and and currently hold 19 certifications. after a diagnosis of colon cancer in 2001, she set out to affect change in her life. her body seemed to instinctively know what it needed to heal, and so lisa began her plan to de stress every aspect of her life with the daily practice of yoga. lisa has studied with ana forest completing the ana forest teacher training in 2003, and is certified with im=x pilates for mat work (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) as well as the exerciser. lisa's goal is to improve her own teaching ability as well as help others achieve the healthful benefits she has personally experienced.

lisa's mission : "i am committed to guiding others to seek and affect the change they desire within themselves. i believe in working on our inner selves to change for the better. i believe yoga is the foundation and foothold, a wonderful starting point, to be the change we desire to see in the world."

Tom Sharp

tom sharp, searching for a means to positively affect change in his life. tom sharp turned to yoga at the start of this millennium. within the yoga practice tom found the strength, focus, and conviction needed to manifest a life in earnest.

tom enrolled in the teacher training program at kripalu yoga center where he became a kripalu certified yoga instructor. he combines kripalu methodology with ashtanga and vinyasa yoga physicality into his flow style of teaching. his teaching emphasizes self-observation and breath control at the heart of each practice.

Ron Burkle

We can look at Yoga as a series of "tools" for daily life: proper exercise, proper breathing, proper nutrition, proper rest and relaxation, allowing time for meditation or reflection. It's not just about how far you can stretch, how you look in the posture, or how good of a physical workout this will be; but ultimately how unified can you be, in mind, body, and breath in all areas of daily life.

The posture or "asana" piece of the practice, with which everyone is probably most familiar, will help to transform the body in the following ways:

• By lengthening, strengthening, and toning, the muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
• By allowing additional, movement and space to occur, within the joints, spine and skeletal system.
• By restoring balance back to the respiratory system, nervous system, glands, and internal organs.

Ron Burkle has been practicing Yoga for fifteen years. First being introduced and initiated into Kriya yoga, as a complement to his martial arts practice. He has also received teaching certification in Classical Hatha Yoga, through the Yoga Life Institute, which has direct ties to the Yoga Institute, Mumbai India . Ron also brings to the table, 30 years experience of practice, and teaching the Japanese martial arts, beginning with Karate, Kenpo, and Judo. The past 17 years have been focused exclusively on the instruction, and teaching of Aikido. Ron is a senior instructor with the Kinokawa school of Aikido.

Aikido is a way to train, study, and understand a method of mental and physical coordination. Aikido believes that mind is the master. Every follower of Aikido must train his mind, letting the body follow and find a way to coordinate with the mind, and breath. Constant practice soon enables you without conscious effort to get the habit of relaxing at all times, able to use the potential of your mind and body at a moment's notice.

In Aikido, every art was designed in obedience to the law of nature, so that there is no strain in its execution. Obey the laws of nature in all your movements. Let your opponent go where he wants to go; let him return when he wants to return and bend in the direction he wants to bend as you lead him, and then let him fall where he wants to fall. In Aikido there is no practice in the use of brute force. But there is a lot of training, in learning how to use an opponent's own strength in leading him. This is why women, children and older men may practice the Aikido arts easily and develop amazing strength.

Kinokawa is a form of Aikido that emphasizes the unconditional acceptance and blending of energy (Ki). Its focus is to achieve the unification of mind, body and spirit into one movement with total concentration and purpose. Kinokawa means "River of ki" or " River of spirit". Kinokawa, unlike some other forms of Aikido, believes in the realistic application of Aikido as a martial art, and as a path for self-development. Three main principals of the school are:

• Practice every moment
• Don't hesitate to use the principles and techniques of Aikido in the defense of family and friends, country, or strangers in need, if this is what you are called upon to do.
• Live each moment with a relaxed mind and body, neither clinging to, nor avoiding, whatever arises.
Ron has also been trained in several modalities of holistic bodywork, with an emphasis on Cranio-sacral therapy, of which he has been a practitioner for the past ten years.

Sarah Reilly

Sarah explains, "My yoga practice has allowed me to build confidence and it is that confidence and self-assurance that has allowed me to step in front of a class room and give my students everything I have. Yoga changes lives and there is nothing more satisfying than sharing that gift with others."

Power Vinyasa yoga found Sarah unexpectedly. After she rushed to the gym for a spin class, only to arrive too late to take spin but right on time for yoga, she began her journey on her mat. She found muscles she never new she had and she learned that she was both physically and mentally stronger than she thought she was. Power Vinyasa Yoga became a way for Sarah's confidence to grow. "Before this style of yoga, I was holding onto the labels that I thought I was," Sarah explained, "Labels like shy and introverted. I was trying to please everyone and make everyone happy, but I never focused on what made me happy. This yoga really helped me work out my issues with myself and become . . . it's hard to explain. Let's just keep it at more. I'm more now. More whole."

Sarah then found Power Yoga Works and enrolled in the Teacher Training Program with Master Teacher, Bill Raup. At first the idea of teaching yoga to a large group of people who didn't want anything more but to be pushed to their edge and to sweat like crazy was daunting to her. She knew that the only way to do something is by doing it—so she put herself out there and has been teaching ever since. In the spring of 2005, Sarah completed her training and she is certified by Power Yoga Works, which is recognized by Yoga Alliance.

Jim Scully

I teach yoga to help students connect to a physical and spiritual experience. I use breath work and self-discovery to meet student's physical, emotional and spiritual needs. I try to keep a light and joyful atmosphere for my students! I want everyone who comes to one of my classes to explore their abilities and to enjoy the whole experience of yoga. I became interested in yoga via an injury. I was so inspired by Breathe Yoga and Maureen Priest's yoga studio that I became a teacher. Yoga develops the spirit and allows us to become closer to God. I wanted to teach yoga in the hope that everyone that attends will experience the wonder and joy that I have experienced from practicing yoga.

Recently certified yoga instructor from Breathe Yoga Center. I currently hold a 1st black belt in Tae Kwan Do.

Jim's ethics:

• Honor everyone with respect and kindness.
• Remain teachable and listen to your body.
• Breath like your life depends on it.
• Develop your spirit and the mind and body will follow.
• Don't take life to seriously, laugh at yourself.
• Life is not a dress rehearsal.
• God doesn't make junk.

Pat Setley

After many years of multiple facets in group exercise ranging from aerobics to body pump, program manager, choreographer and mentor the appeal of yoga as stress reduction and inner peace became inviting. It was at that time I began my yoga journey to becoming a certified yoga level II and pilates instructor with AAAI/ISMA. Since that time I have continued to enhance the practice of yoga by studying with many yogis, David Swenson, Baron Baptiste and Rodney Yee.

Over the past twelve years, I’ve had the pleasure to watch many students grow in their practice, seeing change occurring in their physical and mental well being, while practicing in both the corporate environment and the studio setting. Many parents having seen the benefits of yoga and wanting to share this experience have encouraged their children to begin participating. With this in mind, I began teaching youth yoga and Mommy’s and Me yoga.

My belief is that learning is ongoing as we share and help each other to understand and grow.

Diane Kistler

Diane's philosophy on life which translates to her yoga teachings and practice, can be summed up best by stating "Be Present". There is a certain positive energy created in digesting every moment, feeling the sensations of that point in time and allowing those feelings to carry on in the DNA of your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual selves.

Diane's yoga journey began 9 years ago when she was pregnant with her first daughter. Seeing, feeling, and believing in the benefits of yoga, she continued this practice in Southern California and was introduced to many different forms of yoga. Without a doubt, yoga has helped Diane through many a trial and tribulation. Besides enjoying all things yoga, she enjoys partaking in the lives of her children, cooking, cultural activities and being outdoors. She resides in Lansdale with her two daughters and one bunny. Diane has worked in the corporate world for many a year with export/international trade. But is now happy to teach yoga part time and dedicate herself to her children's lives full time. She has her MBA in International Marketing. Diane has completed her 200-hour teacher training at Breathe Yoga Center and is a Yoga Alliance certified teacher (RYT). By using yoga as a conduit, Diane hopes to make a difference in just one person's life to make this world a better place. Thank you for letting her be part of your journey.

Rachael Noble

Rachael Noble found yoga while working full time as a manager for an insurance customer service department. In an attempt to escape the daily stress of management, she became a long distance runner in 2000, competing in a marathon and a half marathon. It was during this time when she discovered that the same mind/body connection that is reached after 3 hours of running could be found in 1 hour of yoga, with the added benefit of feeling great from head to toe. She became hooked on the physical benefits of yoga including breathing, flexibility, balance, and stress reduction and incorporates those principals in her practice. Driven to share her love of yoga with others, Rachael became an instructor in 2003, teaching in the Montgomery County area and certified though AAAI/ISMA Phase I & II Yoga program.

Rachael is currently a full time yoga instructor and a stay-at-home mom. She is very excited to be a part of the wonderful space created and maintained at Breathe Yoga Center.