Erin Schuster has been teaching Kripalu yoga and meditation since 2012. She offers wellness workshops, corporate + teen yoga programs, and retreats. Erin is grateful to do what she loves for a living to best support the community in healing and connection. She has a deep love for horseback riding, her dachshund Cusco, and time with friends + family.
Thea Bourke Martin, JD 500 E-YRT is deeply influenced by Kripalu Yoga. Thea sees Yoga as a meditation-in-motion. By connecting movement to breath, her classes are gentle and soothing. Thea endeavors to create a healing, supportive environment where students can listen to their bodies. She calls on students to observe themselves without judgment, so that over time, students can come to love their bodies, quiet their minds, and engage in deep self-study. Thea has been practicing yoga for over 15 years.
E-RYT 500, founder of CENTER Yoga + Wellness (formerly pradipikaYOGA), Jennifer trained with Alan Finger in ISHTA yoga and trained with Baron Baptiste in Power Vinyasa Yoga. Jennifer teaches a breath-centered practice in an inspired vinyasa flow that is adaptable for various levels of practice. Her classes are fun and light, yet strong and challenging. She aims to inspire and enliven her students in energetic classes that work the physical body, and awaken and balance the emotional and spiritual bodies. Her extensive study of alignment and injury prevention provides a safe environment to encourage students to play their edge. Jennifer also earned a Master's Degree in Human Nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian.
Jill is passionate about self discovery through movement, introspection and the breath. She completed her 500hr teacher training through YogaWorks in June of 2019 and her 200hr from Kripalu School of Yoga + Ayurveda in 2014. With a longtime interest in healthy living, Jill originally came to yoga with purely physical goals. While exploring posture and movement, Jill soon began to draw connections between her experiences on the mat and in her daily life. Jill guides core-focused classes full of structured movement and creative flow that highlight the mindfulness, vitality and joy that yoga can bring to our lives. She refrains from hands-on assists and adjustments based on the principal that yoga is a self-guided practice of feeling and intuition. Jill looks forward to moving through a class with you!
E-RYT 500, Haily’s mission is to offer access to both confidence and creativity through sustainable wellness, alignment and movement. She aims to inspire the celebration of the fullness of life with humor and relatability so that you can feel your most vibrant and in turn share your gifts with the world.
Haily will help you flourish in your yoga practice using alignment based direction, Ayurveda, movement and deep rest. She uses her artistic background to plan fun, fresh classes that will challenge, inspire, and help you to spark your own creative flame. Her teaching is meant to resonate as an experience beyond the edges of your mat and encourage you to find your own unique balance.
Lauren is a 500 RYT trained in India and New York City. Before journeying back to the shoreline, Lauren spent time training and teaching with a variety of renowned instructors in New York City, India, Hawaii, and the Berkshires. Before settling back near her hometown of Guilford, Lauren worked at Kripalu Center in the Berkshires which is one of the largest non-profits for yoga and holistic health in the country. Lauren now teaches 7th & 8th grade at a local middle school while still offering yoga classes and other workshops to youth and adults across the shoreline. Lauren believes the yoga classroom is an intimate space where we commit to exploring the many sides of ourselves and learn to accept all feedback with the deepest compassion. With an approachable and calming presence, Lauren strives to make her classes relatable and inspiring, relaxing while still strengthening. Her classes are very breath focused and weave in aspects of mindful meditation. As she continues to deepen her own personal practice, she takes what she learns back into the classroom with a sense of curiosity, playfulness, and a deep desire to make a difference. Lauren is also certified in Reiki and Ayurveda.
It was through the desire to ground and center that RYT200, Marcy felt the call to begin practicing yoga. She completed her 200hr teacher training at Greenhouse Holistic Yoga in Brooklyn NY in 2012, then continued her study through yogic adventures throughout India. During her travels, Marcy enjoys learning from skilled yogis of various backgrounds, styles, and lineages.
Marcy’s passion about sharing her knowledge and joy of the practice is undeniable. In her classes you will learn to link breath to movement, to focus, stretch, harmonize and to explore your body in a welcoming, alignment based, creatively sequenced vinyasa flow that encourages balance and grace, strength and form.
Meghan has been practicing yoga for twenty years. What started as a physical practice quickly transformed into something much deeper both on and off the mat. Through this practice she has gained a deep reverence for the present moment which directly inspires her teaching. Meghan completed her 200 hour with Laughing Lotus in NYC in 2015. She recently completed a two year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield in 2024. A favorite training that heavily influences her classes was The Art of Embodied Teaching (40 hours) with Mary Beth Larue in 2021.
Meghan combines both her yoga and meditation training into her classes; teaching an inclusive, embodied flow. Her classes are thoughtfully sequenced with an attention to the breath. She welcomes all levels in her classes, providing necessary adaptations to ensure all are safe and appropriately challenged. She believes everyone belongs, just as they are.
Petra's journey with yoga began as a solution to her struggles with maintaining good health. Through regular practice, she discovered that yoga had the power to quiet her autoimmune system and put it into long term remission. Drawing inspiration from variety of teaching methods, she emphasizes precise instructions, detailed alignment, breath, and fluid movement. Petra's teaching style is centered around creating a balanced Vinyasa-based flow. She incorporates longer holds to strengthen and improve flexibility, while carefully selecting themes to deepen her students' yoga experience.
Understanding that every student is unique, Petra offers a variety of modifications to tailor the practice to individual needs. Her passion lies in working with private clients, guiding them to enhance their practice, recover from injuries, and develop a personal yoga routine that honors and celebrates their individual abilities.
Petra's dedication to teaching is evident through her extensive training. In 2020, she completed a 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training with The Container Collective, an esteemed Baptiste affiliated studio in Denver, CO, under the skilled leadership of Brittany Hopkins. Building on her knowledge, Petra pursued additional advanced teacher training with YogaWorks in February of the following year, mentored by Jodie Rufty. She continued her growth as a teacher by undertaking advanced studies with Amy Ippoliti and the Vesselify School of Yoga in November 2021, earning an additional 300 hours of training to better support CENTER teachers and students.
Katie, RYT 200, moved back to the shoreline in 2017 after nine years in Charleston, South Carolina. Her Ashtanga-inspired personal practice informs a passion for sharing the union of breath, movement, and stillness. Katie received her 200-hr training from EcoFitness and has additional training in Ashtanga, restorative and vinyasa yoga. Katie's yoga classes are designed to clear the path inward to our own peace and power. Off the mat, Katie loves to cook, read, hike, and learn.
RYT 200, Alex attended her first group yoga class in 2012 and was instantaneously hooked on the physical benefits of the practice. She noticed that not only was she getting stronger physically, but also mentally. Yoga had helped her work through her anxiety, and with the meditative quality of the breath, yoga offered her the opportunity to be present. Alex completed her yoga teacher training with her teacher Annie Simard at The Yoga Shop in 2016. Ever since she completing her training, she has taught at studios across the state. She practices what she preaches, with powerful classes that move with intention and grace. Her passion is in sharing her love of the practice, because she knows how transforming yoga can be. Alex hopes to see you on moving on your mat soon, either in her class or practicing next to her!
Deb, RYT-500, started her yoga journey over 20 years ago when she began taking yoga classes to tap into stillness. Inspired by her teachers, she enrolled in Kripalu School of Yoga in 2019, where she completed her 200 hour teacher training. She has dedicated herself to teaching others to tap into stillness, create awareness of body mind connection and manage energy both on and off the mat. Deb teaches hatha and vinyasa style flow with the specific intention to connect breath with movement. Her focus is listening to the body lead, guiding opportunities to create intuitive flow to restore balance and to celebrate the joy of being. Her classes are fun, warm and inviting. In April 2024, she completed her 500 hour teacher training at Kripalu School of Yoga, a registered Yoga Alliance School. She is trained in adaptive yoga, vinyasa, pranayama, and guides workshops in mindfulness and meditation. Deb works full time as a psychotherapist and lives in New Haven with her partner, rescue lab and two cats. She loves being outdoors, hiking with her family and listening to all styles of music.
Jessica completed her 200 hour YogaWorks teacher training at Center Yoga + Wellness in 2019. Her passion for fitness and her profession as a Certified Exercise Physiologist led her to begin taking yoga classes in 2012 as an aid in recovery and to promote flexibility. She quickly realized the expansive benefits of yoga and it became her safe space. She found joy and understanding in quieting the mind and coming back to the present moment through asana, meditation and breath. Her challenging flows focus first on alignment as a reminder of a strong anatomy and physiology background. Her passion lies in feel good flows that lead you towards your truest Self, invigorated and empowered.
Maris, RYT-500, started her exploration of yoga more than three decades ago. Her deep desire for furthering her learning sparked her mission to begin teaching. Maris completed her 200- and 300-hour teacher trainings in 2018 and 2019 with The Yoga Shop. She has also completed a 50-hour Yin teacher training course under the expert leadership of Bernie Clark. Maris values soaking up as much knowledge as possible to better her students, her friends, her family and herself. As such, she has taken numerous continuing education courses where she has studied anatomy and theories of yoga. Maris teaches a flow class with an emphasis on joy, alignment, and body awareness. She is focused on injury prevention and helping students find authenticity in themselves on the mat. Maris believes that the mind-body connection on the mat truly extends beyond the mat. Her classes are fun, informative, and centering.
RYT 200, Katie is a recent YTT graduate. She completed her yoga training in December of 2019 through YogaWorks with Jenny Aurthur at CENTER. Over a decade ago, Katie started yoga as a way to support her love for running. In 2017, Katie had hip surgery due to a serious running injury. After the surgery, running became a thing of the past and she turned to yoga. She found that yoga provided her a safe place to build strength and stability, but also found that it brought her life into balance -- and with that came inner happiness. Katie knows that yoga has positively changed her life. Yoga has strengthened both her body and mind. She maintains a regular practice and has found refuge in the community at CENTER. Katie looks forward to sharing her love for yoga with others in a kind and welcoming environment. Katie has 2 teenage kids who she adores, she works full time in marketing and loves to travel to off the beaten path locations around the world.
RYT 200, Anna has completed her training in the Spring of 2019 at The Connecticut Yoga Center in Middletown. Anna’s passion for yoga began in 2013 when she started practicing using Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman videos. She quickly pursued a studio practice and learned from many teachers in central CT. Anna’s classes emphasize the importance of strengthening the core, increasing awareness of the breath, and challenging balance. Each of these benefits of yoga have greatly impacted her mental and physical health since she first started practicing and she enjoys sharing them with her students.
Anna has a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition Science from Kaplan University and received her Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is also a Certified International Health Coach.
After moving off of Martha’s Vineyard to Connecticut in 2012 Francesca blindly walked into a local yoga studio knowing absolutely nothing about the practice but hoping to gain a healthy new past time. After just one Yoga class she knew she could highly benefit from the spiritual and physical offerings of the practice. Fast forward 10 years and she has been deepening her practice ever since.
She received her 200hr RYT from West Hartford Yoga class of 2015 and has been teaching around CT ever since. Francesca brings a creative aspect to the vinyasa and power practice with a love for graceful transitions in her sequencing. She emphasizes on connecting breath to each movement along with attention to alignment. Her hope is for students that take her class to deepen their learning on how to nurture themselves on their mat, whether that be challenging themselves or allowing themselves to soften mind, body and soul. One of her favorite sayings is “The breath is one of the greatest tools to climb out of the mind and into the divine within”
Meredith has been teaching yoga, meditation, spinning, and wellness on the Connecticut shoreline for almost a decade now. She is a Kripalu certified teacher at heart, but is a continuous student of many! Meredith has trained under Sudha Carolyn Lundeen in Restorative Yoga and completed Tari Prinster's Yoga4Cancer training. You will find the masterful teachings of those she has studied with-- Elena Brower, Beryl Bender Birch, Kia Miller, and Tiffany Cruikshank, just to name a few, woven into Meredith's classes. One of her dearest teachers, Elena Brower, has said, “Whatever you’re doubting or fearing is pointing you to your highest work. So what’s your highest work? Show yourself how worthy and delicious you are with small acts. Dissolve habits, soften stances, and don’t wait for someone else to do it.” My highest work has always been serving others and helping people reach their wellness goals through new found confidence, personal reverence, creating rituals, mindful exercise and balanced eating.
Alina’s passion for yoga started at the age of 14 when she recognized how breath and movement created a centeredness that could be carried with her both on and off the mat. Recently completed 200hr yoga teacher training with Yogaworks, under skillfull leadership of Ashley Rideaux and John Gaydos, solidified Alina's view of yoga as both a physical and subtle body practice. While allowing experiences to be as they are in the present, Alina creates space for her students to find their own unique path forward, and individual expression in their bodies. Outside of the studio, you can find Alina with her three teenagers out in nature, or training for her next marathon, grateful for both her practice and for being the witness to many others.
Victoria completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training through YogaWorks in 2013. She has her E-RYT 200 credentials through Yoga Alliance, having put in over 1000 teaching hours, as well as her YACEP (Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider). Victoria has had the honor of teaching at some wonderful studios across the country over the past nine years and is thrilled to join the CENTER tribe and honored to hold space with everyone once again. Victoria is also a local Chiropractor; she and her husband own Back to Balance Chiropractic & Family Wellness in Guilford. As a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.), Victoria has extensive training in anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and biomechanics as well as pre/peri/postnatal populations. An avid supporter of props, Victoria is passionate about guiding a practice that is accessible to everyone. Each day is different from the next; whether it is your fifth or five hundredth yoga class, Victoria strives to offer guidance and hold space that meets you where you are in the present moment. Victoria’s philosophy is simple: she believes in and subscribes to healing and wellness from the inside out!
RYT 200, Kat believes in yoga. She completed her yoga teacher training Crossroad’s Soul Space in Southington, CT under the supervision of her teachers Crystal Sullivan and Shelley Nyren. Kat has been studying and practicing yoga for six years with foundations in hatha and vinyasa yoga. Kat is a graduate of Emmanuel College and holds BA’s in Sociology and Global Studies & International Relations with specific attention to population and ethnicity studies. She has backgrounds in eastern ideology and spirituality and strives to bring this knowledge to western classrooms. Kat began her yoga journey in college when she wanted to reconnect the light inside her with her physical body. The motivation to teach yoga stems from seeing lives and attitudes change and move forward as a result of practice. With a friendly and encouraging presence, Kat hopes to bring wellness and relatability to her classes, setting an example that yoga is attainable for everyone. She is an amateur gardener, freelance writer and avid traveler, hoping to empower and bring awareness to those struggling to find a balance. She fundamentally believes in finding what feels good on the mat and living mindfully and authentically.
Laura is a 20-year student of yoga and completed her 200 RYT at the CENTER Yoga + Wellness in December 2022 with the lead trainer Petra Haynes. Laura found yoga as an alternative to years of hard core running and quickly became devoted to the grace, strength and focus it offers. Her passion is finding the flow of energy in her practice that translates into an inner calm and peace. Laura is honored to be able to bring her love, passion and exploration of yoga to the CENTER yoga community.
Erin is a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher, certified through Yoga & Ayurveda Center in eastern Pennsylvania. She has always loved practicing yoga, but it was really during the pandemic that she solidified this lifelong commitment to herself and her practice. Erin took her newly found time from being out of work as a sign to embark on her yoga journey. In times of uncertainty, yoga has always been there for her.
Erin comes to yoga with a psychology background, enjoying the merger between mental, physical, and spiritual health that yoga brings about. She loves helping people see the healing benefits of a continued practice. She has anxiety and depression herself and encourages people to find healing on the mat, that they can carry with them off the mat. When she is not on her mat, you will find Erin hiking with her family and her dog Theo or working with 11 year olds on proper grammar!