Elaine Hansen is director and founder of Yoga Shunya. Elaine has been a teacher for more than 30 years. She began teaching English as a second language in Paris in 1978, then painting and drawing at universities and colleges. In 1997, she started offering yoga classes in her painting studio at 111 First Street in Jersey City. Elaine believes learning is a creative act and that the study of yoga, in all its forms, offers a deep awareness of the connection between body and spirit and between the individual and the community. She practices and teaches yoga with a dose of precision, leaving space for intuition. Elaine is thankful for all her teachers: John Friend, Rodney Yee, and the staff at the Integral Yoga Institute in NYC. Her students are also her teachers.

Marc Dennison began practicing yoga in 1999 and completed Anusara teacher training with Vishali Varga and Jonas Westrig in 2004. Marc has since accumulated over 650 hours of teacher training while studying with John Friend, Mitchel Bleier, Siana Sherman, Naime Jezzeny, Sue Elkind and Douglas Brooks. He is passionate about using the yoga practice as a gateway into the heart and vehicle for expressing the heart's intrinsically good intentions. He loves the physical aspects of yoga, its deeper philosophic aspects, and its practical uses off the mat as a metaphoric teaching tool for life. Marc is extremely grateful to all of his teachers.

Shoko Dubiski is an Anusara-Inspired® Teacher. Initially arriving in New York to study and practice dance, it wasn't long before Shoko discovered the freedom and joy yoga can bring to one's daily busy life. She has been practicing different styles of yoga for 10 years. Since 2006, she has studied Anusara Yoga® extensively and completed over one thousand hours of classes with her gifted teachers. Her class is an informative, respectful, and flowing practice for all levels. It is an exploration and amalgamation of the body, mind, and heart through a thematic approach. By engaging playful and introspective themes, one will learn not only how to more deeply trust and believe in one self, but also how to celebrate the ever-deepening possibilities of yoga while always enjoying the moment. This empowering class will cultivate your inner beauty and strength, as well as invite you to ponder deeper meanings long after it is over. Shoko is deeply grateful to all of her teachers and students.

Michelle Goitia was an avid equestrian while growing up in Albuquerque. She equates the calmness she found riding horses in the open spaces of New Mexico with the tranquility on her yoga mat. Inspired by the free-flowing direction of teachers Jillian Pransky, Suzanne Taylor and John Friend, Michelle pursued teaching as a way to help others tap into their own inner peace and strength. A graduate of the Bright Spirit program, Michelle holds additional certifications in Prenatal Yoga from Integral Yoga Institute, Itsy Bitsy Yoga® from Spirit Into Life, Inc., Restorative Yoga from Yoga Works and Children's Yoga: Ages 2-13 years from Next Generation Yoga. Students often say Michelle's soft-spoken manner and gentle guidance allow them to feel welcome in her classes.

Kevin Lamb began practicing yoga with the dawn of the new millennium and has been deeply in love ever since. He completed his first Hatha Yoga teacher training in '05 at Yoga on Main in Philadelphia under the guidance of David Newman, Shiva Das & Dr.Ed Zadlo. From Philadelphia to Hawaii to NYC, Kevin has expanded his practice and teaching and is now blissfully aligned with a passionate Anusara practice. Kevin completed the first level of Anusara study in August of 2009 studying under Zhenja LaRosa, Eric Stoneberg & Dr. Douglas Brooks at Virayoga. He is now working towards a full Anusara certification. He offers immense gratitude to his family for all their support and love, Elena Brower for her generous spirit, and his friends and teachers who allow him to see himself more clearly everyday. Much, much love!

Kim Larkin earned her yoga teaching certification from OM Yoga Center in NYC and her prenatal yoga teaching certification from Janice Clarfield. After 10 years in the corporate world, she took a leap of faith and turned her love of yoga into a full time job. She is eternally grateful to Elaine Hansen for providing her with her first steady yoga teaching gig in 2006. On a daily basis Kim is amazed by the benefits provided by a regular yoga practice including a greater sense of mindfulness and clarity, an improved sense of well-being, and increased strength and flexibility. It is a joy to assist the lovely students at Yoga Shunya in discovering these and other countless benefits which bubble to the surface when yoga is present in our lives. Her teaching style is primarily vinyasa flow with an emphasis on proper alignment and breath awareness, infused with a little bit of fun. She is guided along the path by the thoughtful teachings of Margi Young, Genny Kapuler and Edward Jones.

Michelle Karem first found yoga 9 years ago as a complement to her work as a dancer. It wasn't long before she retired from the dance world and plunged wholeheartedly into yoga practice. In 2006, she completed OM Yoga's Teacher Training. As a teacher Michelle creates an environment for her students where they feel safe to explore their physical and mental habits. Her classes include creative sequences practiced at a comfortable pace so that they may be informed by mindful alignment and breath. With clear instruction, she encourages students to journey to the edges of their mental and physical boundaries with curiosity and confidence.

Jessica Van Itallie began practicing yoga 10 years ago and her love for the many facets of the practice only increases with time. She received her yoga teacher training at the 200-hour level through Yoga Union in 2003 and is currently completing a 200-hour training in Anusara yoga. Jessica encourages her students to expand their individual practice through connection with the breath and finding the beauty of alignment in each pose. Her belief that yoga is beneficial for everyone has led her to teach adults, prenatal and children's yoga. Jessica is grateful to her teachers who include Ellen Saltonstall, Mark Whitwell, Julie Dohrman, Lois Nesbitt and Alison West. Jessica is also a mom. Her son Caetano is 3.

Ola Widera's classes combine the knowledge of yoga, science and human anatomy to explore the power of the body on all levels. Her students learn how to use their inner resources, breath and internal awareness, to discover their full potential. Her first training was in Vinyasa at Sonic Yoga Studio, NYC. This led to studying Ashtanga Yoga under the eye of Pathabi Jois in India. Finally, it was the elegant arrangement of the principles of Anusara Yoga that became her foundation and passion. She continues to deepen her study of Anusara Yoga under the guidance of a great community of teachers: John Friend, Elena Brower, Zhenja Larosa, and philosophy teacher, Douglas Brooks.