Instructors

Jessica Burton: Jessica is from Southern California where she began her yoga journey. After studying psychology and anthropology at the University of South Florida, she soon fell in love with CrossFit and managed a local gym up until having her daughter in 2016. She is a believer in the healing power of sweat and movement. With a goal to share her love of yoga, she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training from The Yoga Shack, The Yoga Professional and then furthered her studies by completing a Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training. She will guide you through both athletic and meditative classes. Jessica is also passionate about postpartum care and the nuances of teaching individuals from all walks of life. Teaching both prenatal and postnatal classes, she will share ways to prepare your body for birth and assist with healing after. Her hope is to help guide you to a place where you leave class feeling clear, energized, and centered.

Kym Coco: Kym is an ocean-loving yogi who is passionate about writing, travel, and great food (among a long list of other things). She found yoga 15 years ago, in college, as a way to offset her training as an athlete. The incredible shift that occurred as a result on her body, mind, and spirit, led her to a 200-hour training in integral vinyasa. This alignment-based style blended perfectly with her master’s degree in sports kinesiology. Since then, she has taught in South Africa, Brazil, Barbados, and all over California (the state where she resides half of the year). Kym weaves her creativity and passion for the practice into each class she teaches. Whether leading a fast-paced flow for college students, or a seated chair practice for seniors, she leaves each student feeling
refreshed, uplifted, and more connected to the best version of themselves. Kym is currently undergoing her 500-hour training, with a final completion date at the end of 2018.

Jamie Coffey: Jamie Coffey’s yoga is truly inspired by the word itself – yoga translates to yoke, unite, or connect—and she is dedicated to connecting both the body and breath with the mind and spirit. Further, her mission is to reconnect people with their truest nature and bliss through the practice, and to connect human beings with one another in amazing places around the globe. Bringing decades of experience to the mat, Jamie’s integrated technique infuses humor and spirituality with alignment and flow in a very unique and light-hearted way. Steeped in the lineages of Hatha and Vinyasa, she simply strives to instill compassion for all as we share this human experience as spiritual beings – or what she calls “making space for grace”.

You can connect with Jamie and learn more about her retreats and workshops at www.behummingbird.com.

~Ohm Shanti~

Stephanie Cole: Formerly a certified personal trainer and nutritional consultant, Stephanie has been in the fitness industry since 1993. Her yoga journey, which began in 2001, has included Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Yin, and Bikram traditions. Her dedicated practice and further studies led her to become a certified yoga teacher, registered with the Yoga Alliance, in 2005. She expanded her certifications to include Aerial Yoga in 2011. Her teaching is most influenced by Kino McGregor, Govinda Kai, and Sarah Powers. She takes these teachings, and others, and blends them with her own caring style for a wonderful yoga experience. The joy and lightness she creates in the room is her beautiful parting gift to take with you out into the world.

Jess DiLorenzo: Jess offers yoga with a bright open heart and playful spirit. Her mission is to empower students of all ages, drawing out the unique gifts and luminosity that already exist in each of our hearts. Her journey as a yoga teacher began in her elementary classroom, where she discovered the power of three part breath and sun salutations as tools to ground and settle students’ anxiety. When she discovered adults, like children, also thrive when they feel empowered and free to take risks in a safe and loving environment, she answered the calling to teach them too!

Jessica was trained in alignment based, therapeutic, heart centered Hatha yoga at Dig Yoga, Lambertville. Her beloved teachers, Sue Elkind, Naime Jezzeny, Mariel Freeman, and Kilkenny Tremblay provided a plethora of experiences that landed Jess right smack in the center of her heart. Yoga has taught her that you already have everything you need to manifest anything you have ever dreamed of! She is honored to share her joy and enthusiasm for this practice with the Rosemary Court community and beyond.

Arlena Dominick: Arlena Dominick found her way to Bikram yoga 22 years ago in an effort to heal from a traumatic spine injury sustained when a car hit her on her bike. Through yoga she found immediate relief from daily physical pain and gained mental and emotional clarity. She began teaching in 1995 as co-owner of a St Petersburg, Florida Yoga studio. She trained in several traditions, but resonated most with Kundalini. She concentrated her studies in this discipline and completed her first certification in 2009. She also specializes in prenatal yoga, having completed the Kundalini Pregnancy Teacher Training. Arlena honors the teachings by honoring her students. Her goal is to uplift and inspire.

Stacy Fradkin: Stacy's introduction to yoga was in the blazing heat of a Bikram Studio in 2010. After four immersive years of gaining flexibility Stacy was diagnosed with Thyroid Disease and Adrenal Fatigue. Taking a break from the hot room, Stacy discovered Thyroid Yoga® and ventured to Venice California to become teacher certified. The training took place in a Kundalini studio and the rest is history! The mind-body-spirit balance offered by the Kundalini experience has healed and changed Stacy from the inside out. Having completed her 200 hour Kundalini teacher certification in June of 2018, Stacy is thrilled to be a conduit of these powerful teachings. In addition to teaching Thyroid Yoga®, Stacy is also an Eating Psychology Coach.

Tara Garland: Inspired by the variety of life, Tara strives to offer an array of yoga routines, enhanced by essential oils, in a safe and inviting environment, for every type of student. Tara encourages you to allow your body to express each pose, without any self-judgment, according to your individual design. As with everything in life, our personal challenges differ from day to day. By learning to observe and then work through them, we become stronger, mentally & physically. Through the holistic practices of yoga & essential oils, Tara aims to help everyone find balance throughout their life- body, mind, & spirit.After practicing yoga for over 10 years, Tara realized that it was her life purpose to help people attain their personal goals through yoga. She attended Ananda Seva Mission in Santa Rosa, Ca, received her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Certification, & became a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. In 2011, she completed the Relax & Renew© Restorative Training with Judith Hansen-Lasater, PhD, PT in San Francisco. Additionally, she was a Yoga Teacher Assistant at Sonoma State University in 2005 for Nancy Bonner-Benson, MA, CET, CYT, & continued working with her, team-teaching, substitute teaching, and receiving one-on-one training until 2015. In 2015, Tara was introduced to & fell in love with DoTerra Essential Oils & the amazing benefits they provide. She became a Wellness Consultant so she could educate & empower others with the natural healing properties of these pure & potent oils. Then she attained her AromaTouch Technique Certification so she could help alleviate pain & strain through oils combined with touch. As Tara continues on her journey, she hopes to see you there, so we can learn, heal, & grow together!
Tara is also a Red Cross Certified Lifeguard/First Aid/CPR/AED & Ocean Risk Management Certified & Offers Private or Group: Yoga, SUP, Kayak, Wellness Consultations, Essential Oil Classes, Swim Lessons, Lifeguarding - or combine!

Rebecca Harp: Rebecca has completed 200 hours through Garden of the Heart Yoga Teacher Training Course and is 200 RYT through Yoga Alliance. She is also a Certified NeuroMuscular Massage Therapist and a Certified Reflexologist. She has had her own practice for 10 years and has been practicing as a Massage Therapist locally in Sarasota for 16 years. Her passion for yoga began her first day in the massage therapy program at Florida College of Natural Health, where she experienced her first Surya Namaskar, salute to the sun. Since then, she has practiced with a wide range of yoga instructors here locally and became inspired to go through an intense alignment based training at Garden of the Heart using principles of alignment from the style of Anusara Yoga. She very much values these principles and hopes to create a wonderful yoga experience for her students.

Rachael Kalin: Born and raised in Sarasota Florida, Rachael’s passion for teaching yoga began with teaching yoga to kids. Soon after her training with Kidding Around Yoga (KAY), she continued on to get her 200 hour certification from Satchidananda Ashram Yogaville. Rachael spent a year at Yogaville, where she gained invaluable experience teaching Integral Yoga and learning about the eight limbs of yoga defined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Rachael’s teaching style reflects her practice as well as her training from the ashram and various teachers along the way. She strives to incorporate all aspects of yoga into each practice, including chanting, pranayama and meditation.

Meredith Kaplan: Meredith’s style of yoga has been strongly influenced by John Friend and Anusara. Classes weave physical alignment with uplifting themes, bringing each student a greater experience of joy and peace in body, mind, and spirit. Restorative classes focus on calming the mind and nervous system using very gentle passive poses that nurture and restore balance.

Laura Mahoney: Laura has been teaching yoga since 2000 and teaches several styles of yoga. Her classes are on the gentle side of effort and complexity. She is a healer, a channel, and an Angel Therapist. She loves sharing healing energy and angel messages and their Light with her students during class.

Victoria Ochoa: Victoria Ochoa teaches yoga to adults and children throughout Sarasota. Her yoga journey began early in college. Since then she has maintained an intentional practice of daily self-devotion and healthy life choices. She discovered Kundalini yoga five years ago and pursued it looking for a way to enhance her breath and authentic feeling of happiness. It was an instant click which led to a KRI certification as a Kundalini yoga instructor at Prana Yoga and Healing Center – according to the teachings of Yogi Bhajan.
Kundalini is the yoga of awareness. It is a technology that works on the total energy of our body through breath, postures, meditation, and mantra. The most important part of it is our self-discovery.
Her own self-discovery resulted in a complete life shift from a marketing professional at large multinationals to a health advocate and yoga teacher. Victoria focuses on inspiring people to reclaim their right to the highest feeling of wellness and the happiness that comes with it- which is her own life’s principle. She is soon to get certified as a health coach from The Health Coach Institute of San Francisco. Victoria also holds a specialized masters in marketing from EAFIT and a bachelors in business from the Catholic University of Pereira, Colombia. She is a proud mother of two amazing children, which are her infinite fountain of love.
“Everyone is a house with four rooms; a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual, we tend to stay mostly in one. Every day we must visit each room to be complete.” Indian proverb.
That is what the practice of Kundalini yoga does for us.

Barbara O'Toole: Barbara completed the International Teacher Training Certification in Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, in 2013 through Yoga Village in Clearwater. She had practiced Hatha and Anusara style yoga for many years, but when she discovered Kundalini eight years ago, she knew she had found a home. Kundalini has it all; the physical and mental challenge along with the calming and spiritual side of breath and meditation. Each class is a new journey to open up and allow your true potential to shine through. Sharing these teachings so that others can benefit and find their potential is her goal. She lives in Bradenton with her husband, two Labradors and three cats.

Angela Rauter: Since the age of 4 Angela has expressed herself through movement. Dance was her first love, growing through her adulthood to a career as a professional contemporary dancer. Throughout her career she incorporated yoga and Pilates as a form of cross training, mental focus, and relaxation. Angela became certified as a Pilates instructor in 2003. This was her first step toward her dream of becoming a holistic healer. She has since become a Licensed Massage Therapist, Acupuncture Physician, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Educator, and certified Arvigo Practitioner. Through all of her life journeys, Pilates and yoga have been a way of returning home. The mat is her place of solitude and sangha, introspection and expansion, strength and santosha. She enjoys sharing the power of our body, mind and spirit through movement and healing to create balance in ourselves and the world.

Michelle J. Roy: Michelle Roy is an RYT-certified yoga instructor with more than 15 years experience. Her system is alignment-based, teaching each student how to safely move and arrange the body for each pose. Michelle’s yoga instruction is heart-felt, empowering and introspective, providing an atmosphere in which each student can explore the practice free of competition and judgment. Her extensive anatomical and therapeutics training, combined with her skills in other healing modalities, offer a more holistic approach to the yoga practice.

Kat Samai: Kat is an Ashtangi, a certified yoga teacher registered with Yoga Alliance, and a Doctor of Pharmacy specializing in Trauma/Emergency Medicine. She has been committed to health and wellness her entire life. She is passionate about the healing and health benefits that yoga provides as well as learning to live a yogic life through self-reflection, contentment, and authenticity. Her yoga classes incorporate strength, movement, and the breath so that students of all levels can find empowerment, passion, and peace. She is a disciple of Edwin and Catarina Lacayo from the It's Yoga and Ashtanga tradition and a certified Level I Reiki Healer. Her practice and teaching is also influenced by Kino McGregor, Laruga Glaser, Kerri Verna and our very own Rosemary Court Yoga instructors that inspire her continually. She believes that every day is a chance to practice yoga on and off of our mats. Only then, can we begin the transformation into our happiest and truest self. Her yoga philosophy is #bethelight, spread light, because you are luminous. Namaste.

Valerie Schneiderman: Valerie Schneiderman (ERYT - 500) has studied and practiced ashtanga yoga for the past 25 years. Under the guidance of many exceptional teachers, including Tim Miller, Beryl Bender Birch, members of the Jois family and many others, her individual teaching style has been nourished and developed over time. Valerie believes that yoga practice is open to all, and she actively seeks to dispel the misconception that a student need be physically flexible in order to practice yoga. The traditional yogic teaching of mindful movement, breathing technique and meditation are of benefit to all interested practitioners, regardless of age, technical ability and/or level of experience. At its heart, Yoga is about getting to know ones true nature...a place of joy, stillness, abundance and well-being. Valerie's goal as a teacher is to share with others, the traditional teachings that have been transformational in her own life...those practices which enhance and support mental, physical and spiritual growth and well-being. It is with a deep sense of gratitude and commitment to the teachings, that she shares this practice with interested students.

Liana Sheintal Bryant: Liana truly lives her yoga both on and off the mat. Joyfully dedicated to her practice and her students, Liana empowers all who come to yoga to live it as fully and as happily as she does, whatever their level of fitness or experience. Known for her bright smile and infectious warmth, Liana infuses her classes with the same spirit of nurturing care. With a background in gymnastics and college cheerleading, Liana soon discovered her passion for yoga after graduating from the George Washington University in 2002. After four enjoyable years working at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, she has now made yoga her full time career. Previously a YogaWorks Studio Manager in New York City, Liana has now returned to her hometown of Sarasota, FL and in addition to teaching her beloved classes, she is also the Rosemary Court Yoga Director. She is an active part of the yoga community, and after helping to launch the lululemon athletica store openings in the Washington, DC area by serving as one of their first Ambassadors, she was honored to return to Sarasota and be invited to serve as an Ambassador there as well. She is also a Product Ambassador for Manduka. She has completed the YogaWorks Teacher Training Program and is a 500-hour Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500) through Yoga Alliance. Liana has drawn inspiration from all her teachers, including Jenny Aurthur, Erika Hildebrandt, and Kino MacGregor. For more information about Liana, visit her website at www.lianayoga.com.

Stacey Steig: “My mat is my magic carpet; when I step on it the possibilities are endless.” Stacey Steig is a “dabbler and a dreamer” who finds her heart and inspiration on the yoga mat. She has a B.A. in Psychology and M.S. from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and left a career in Public Television (WPBT) to raise her children and pursue her creativity as an artist and writer. At the turn of the millennium, Stacey found herself with a serious illness that zapped her of all balance and motor coordination, and after three months in the hospital, she came to yoga for recovery and grounding. She has been devoted ever since. Stacey became a certified Vinyasa teacher (RYT-200) in 2013 studying at CorpoYoga in Miami, FL. There she was schooled in Raja Yoga, training under disciples of Kino McGregor and Pattabhi Jois. Stacey has found her joy as an artist and a teacher, and has dedicated her life to inspiring her students to maximize their full physical, creative and spiritual potential. “Yoga helps guide us through the obstacle course of life, and puts us in our happy place.”