Leta Koontz
Leta Koontz, RYT, has been studying yoga since 1998. Her first instructor was Lori Brungard. Leta has trained at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India, and has been certified to teach yoga by the Himalayan Institute. Leta has also completed Ashtanga Yoga teacher training with Tim Miller. She is the founder of Schoolhouse Yoga.
Richard Gartner
A good yoga teacher doesn't point out what's wrong with you - they help you find the truth about yourself. Richard Gartner cultivates an exciting independent spirit in yoga, inspired by teachers like Tias Little, Max Strom and Paul Grilley. His teaching fuses traditional asana and breathwork with contemporary anatomy and bodywork. Going beyond a single yoga system, Richard builds on svadyaya or "self-study" to help students fully embody their anatomy, energy, and mind.
He is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance.
Monique Richards
Monique was introduced to yoga as a child and has practiced off and on throughout her life. She completed a year-long teacher training program in the Iyengar method of yoga and has studied with Rodney Yee. Monique is drawn to the intricacies of body alignment that the Iyengar method focuses on, particularly due to her own experience with scoliosis. In her classes, she combines the methodology of the Iyengar system with vinyasa to link the breath to the flow that the body and mind are creating.
Jennifer Clark
Jen Clark, RYT, began her study of Ashtanga yoga in Denver, Colorado in 1998 and afterwards has gone on to study many styles of yoga. Since giving birth to two baby girls, she realized the immeasurable benefits that yoga has on the body and soul. Jen is grateful to have studied with Max Strom, David Swenson, Doug Swenson, Desiree Rumbaugh and others all of whom have influenced her teaching style. She loves to incorporate different yoga styles that come together in a vinyasa (flow) style class. Jen hopes that all of her students gain both a sense of peacefulness and strength with their yoga practice. Jen completed her 200 hour teacher training program through 3rd Street Yoga School.
Laurie Held
Laurie has a strong background in gymnastics and has competed in triathlons. In 2003, she discovered Schoolhouse Yoga and became inspired to study yoga. She has studied with Manju Jois, Angelique Sneeden, Tim Miller, and Doug Swenson. Laurie completed teacher trainings in Ashtanga yoga with both David Swenson and Tim Miller.
Linda Meacci
Linda immersed herself in yoga in 1996 after extensive work in experimental theatre. She completed her teacher's training with Ana Forrest and has since assisted Ana in a national workshop. Linda continues her studies in various styles: Anusara with John Friend and Desiree Rumbaugh; Ashtanga with Tim Miller, Richard Freeman and Edward Clark; and Iyengar with Roger Cole and Judith Lasater. She is also a student of Surat Shabda Yoga (Inner Sound Yoga). Linda enjoys an expansive,
heart-opening practice while emphasizing core strength and self-exploration through the universal principles of alignment. In addition to teaching group classes, she also offers private instruction in therapeutic yoga.
Dr. Anjali Paranjpe
Anjali Paranjpe is a certified Ayurvedic practitioner. She is a graduate of Pune University, where she is also a professor and dean. Dr. Anjali has been helping people use Ayurvedic principles to live healthy lives for 18 years.
Becky Mingo
Becky Mingo has been practicing Ashtanga yoga since 1995. She traveled to India in 1999 to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Becky has studied locally with Lori Brungard and Angelique Sneeden. In her travels, she has studied and taken workshops with Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty, Doug Swenson, Sharon Gannon and David Life. Before discovering yoga, Becky spend years studying dance, primarily ballet. She has been teaching yoga since 2001, her focus is a traditional Ashtanga practice.
Kendell Romanelli
Kendell began her practice of yoga in 1993 during her graduate studies in Cinncinati. She found that the practice gave her peace of mind and focus during the stress of her MFA program. Kendell discovered Kundalini yoga while living in Los Angeles and fell in love with the invigorating and meditative healing aspects of the practice. She practiced Kundalini yoga for the four years she lived in LA and established a personal practice when she moved back home to Pittsburgh in 2001. At the request of a dear friend, Kendell began to teach Kundalini yoga in 2005 and has been teaching both Kundalini yoga and Chakra yoga classes in several
Pittsburgh yoga studios. Kendell's approach is light-hearted and healing as she follows the energy of the chakras to become open and balanced.
Joni Sturgill
Joni Sturgill, RYT, has been studying yoga and meditation since 1999 and earned her 200 hour teacher certification through 3rd Street Yoga in 2006. Joni’s continued studies with Max Strom, Judith Lasater, Doug Keller, and Pema Chodron have inspired her to help students transform through breathwork, meditation, alignment and movement. Joni teaches monthly meditation workshops and restorative yoga workshops at Schoolhouse. Joni is also a certified holistic health counselor.
Joanne VandenHengel
Joanne VandenHengel, ERYT, has practiced yoga and meditation for over twenty years and has been teaching yoga in and around the Pittsburgh area for the past 15 years. She has studied with a variety of teachers including Susi Aldous, Donna Farhi and Cyndi Lee. Currently she continues to study therapeutic yoga primarily with Susi Aldous as she develops her interest in Yoga for all the phases of menopause, aging gracefully and pain free.
Joanne is grateful for the opportunity to use her previous career knowledge as public school teacher of 30 years to run a Yoga Alliance certified 200 hours yoga teacher training program. She is certified to teach pre and post natal and senior yoga classes. She enjoys teaching all populations of yogis. Teaching is her vocation.
Mary Beth Kelly
Mary Beth Kelly, RYT, has been sharing her wealth of knowledge as a yoga instructor at Schoolhouse Yoga since 2002. Studying and practicing Kundalini and Hatha Yoga since 1995, attending intensives at Hacienda De Guru Ram Das Ashram in New Mexico, and training with Shakta Kaur Khalsa and Gurmukh have been the backbone of her practice. She developed the original prenatal program at Schoolhouse when pregnant with her son, Lucas, who is now 6 years old. All of her classes, including Prenatal, Yoga for Kids, and beginning Kundalini are based on the principles and teachings of Yogi Bhajan, PhD. Kundalini Yoga combines meditation, prayer, physical practices and breathing exercises. Her classes are strengthened by the gentle music of Snatam Kaur.
Anna Gilbert
Anna Gilbert, RYT, was introduced to yoga in 2005 by Chrissy Carter. She completed her 500 hour training through YogaWorks and taught in New York and Los Angeles before life brought her to Pittsburgh. She is grateful to have studied with Natasha Rizopoulos, Lisa Walford, Julie Kleinman, and Annie Carpenter, among others, and finds constant inspiration seeing the strength, steadiness, and compassion we learn on the mat become tools that we can access off the mat as well. Her classes are influenced by the precision and alignment of Iyengar, the dynamic flow of Ashtanga and a personal commitment to infuse playfulness and joy into the practice.
Natalie Rusko
Natalie Rusko, RYT, is a graduate of the Schoolhouse Yoga Teacher Trainee Program and has been a yoga practitioner for ten years. She has experienced both the physical and emotional benefits of yoga and is grateful to be able to share them with others. She has been fortunate to have studied with Joanne VanDenHengel, Kundalini with Mary Beth Kelly and has attended workshops with Max Strom and Doug Keller. Her classes focus on teaching a strong and varied practice with emphasis on accessibility, challenge and fun.
Diane Dice
Diane Dice, RYT, began practicing yoga in 1999 with Ruth Rittenhouse of the Himalayan Institute of Pittsburgh in both the Sivananda and Himalayan Traditions. The strength, flexibility and peace she found through her personal practice inspired her to pursue a 200-hour teacher training certificate with Joanne VandenHengel at Schoolhouse Yoga. Diane's background in engineering and business management contribute to her analytical style and her ability to craft effective classes and techniques for the busy lives we all lead. Her goal in every class is to create a safe environment with clear instruction so that her students are empowered to make the most of every moment.
Brenda Maser
Brenda Maser enjoys sharing her love of yoga with her students, encouraging them to challenge their bodies, quiet their minds, open their hearts and take the practice of yoga off the mat and into their lives. Brenda, RYT, completed the Schoolhouse Yoga Teacher Training Program and has been an enthusiastic yoga practitioner since 2001. Her hope is that each student will experience the joy and amazing benefits of yoga.
Janice Shanko, RYT, LMT
Janice became a regular student at Schoolhouse Yoga in 2007. She completed her 200-hour teacher training program in March
2009 in the Kripalu tradition under the direction of Deva Parnell at Discovery Yoga in St. Augustine, Florida. She is also a 2010 graduate
of the Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy. Janice believes fun and lightheartedness are essental elements when undertaking yoga, for the
beginner or the advanced. She feels fortunate to have had influences in many different styles of yoga and has studied with Doug Keller,
David Swenson, Max Strom, Lori Brungard and Kino MacGregor.
Laura Herrmann
Laura has been practicing yoga for nearly a decade and is certified to teach at the 200 hour level. She began practicing when allergies and asthma helped her decide to end her on again, off again relationship with running. When her regular yoga practice not only alleviated her asthma symptoms, but later carried her through life’s more difficult twists and turns by helping to reduce stress and anxiety, she became a devotee and decided to share her practice with others. Her classes are playful and exploratory with an emphasis on stress reduction through awareness of the body and breath.
Sophia Levine
Sophia is a Pittsburgh native and has been practicing yoga since high school. In 2008, she began teaching yoga at Middlebury College after assisting Professor Andrea Olsen's yoga labs. Her background in dance as well as her interest in anatomy have made pure movement and breath awareness the foundation of her yoga practice and teaching. Class begins by gently warming the joints, builds up to more vigorous sequences that challenge physical and mental endurance and then ends with stretching and relaxation. A balanced mix of moving and static postures, classes encourage presence in the moment, healthy alignment and deepening of the body/mind/spirit connection. Sophia is a certified SilverSneakers yoga instructor, dance teacher and independent dancer/choreographer/improviser. She will become an RYT upon completion of her teacher training with Joanne VandenHengel this winter.