Susan Renda
Susan began practicing yoga in 1996 and has been teaching since earning her certification from Yogi Hari in 2000. Her first Ashtanga teacher was Angelique Sneeden. A deepening interest in Ashtanga took her to India in 1999 to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. She has continued to study the Ashtanga Series through workshops and retreats with Richard Freeman, Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty. Susan had also attened Anusara workshops with John Friend. Susan's classes are designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop and deepen their yoga practice. Her teaching style combines her interests in vinyasa (the linkage of breath and movement) and yoga philosophy.
Leta Koontz
Leta has been studying yoga since 1998. Her first instructor was Lori Brungard. In 1999, a trip to India really focused her interest in Ashtanga yoga. Leta has trained for many years under Angelique Sneeden and has attended workshops with Manju Jois, David Swenson, Tim Miller, John Friend, Judith Hanson Lasater, Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. She has been certified to teach yoga through the Himalayan Institute. Leta is the Principal of Schoolhouse Yoga.
Holly King
Holly has been practicing yoga since she moved to Pittsburgh in 1993. She began her studies of Ashtanga and Hatha Vinyasa yoga with Angelique Sneeden. Holly has also studied Ashtanga yoga with Richard Freeman. She began teaching in the year 2000, taking a brief hiatus after the birth of her daughter Eliza. In her classes, Holly focuses on using vinyasa (the connection of breath and movement) to unite body, mind, and spirit.
Richard Gartner
Richard Gartner, RYT, has been practicing yoga since 2001. He completed his teacher training with Tias Little in Santa Fe in 2005 and has continued to study with him, most recently in London. He has attended Iyengar workshops with Joan White, Anusara workshops with Ann Greene and Todd Norian, and has studied with Max Strom in Pittsburgh, Portland and Ashland. His teaching is grounded in self-study and introspection, and combines traditional asana practice and breath work with contemporary anatomy and bodywork. Students will empower themselves through right action and knowledge.
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 began her study of Ashtanga Yoga in Denver, Colorado in 1998 and afterwards has gone on to study many different styles of yoga. Since giving birth to two baby girls, she realized the immeasurable benefits that yoga has on the body and soul. In her prenatal yoga classes, Jen hopes the moms-to-be will gain the physical and mental endurance needed for labor. Jen wishes to help all moms connect with their babies through the peaceful practice of yoga.
Laurie Held
Laurie has a strong background in gymnasics 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 her teacher training in Ashtanga yoga with David Swenson.
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.
Leah Giovengo
Leah was first introduced to yoga as a small child by her mother. In 2002 she began a regular practice at Schoolhouse Yoga and has been a devoted student (and now teacher) ever since. Leah holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology and is a certified child and adolescent yoga instructor. Her interest lies in the development, implementation and outcome of exercise-based treatments for children and adolescents with mood and anxiety disorders. She is currently heading a research project, Yoga for Anxious Children, at the University of Pittsburgh.
Kendell Romanelli
Kendell began practicing yoga in 1993 during her graduate studies in Cincinnati, Ohio. She discovered Kundalini yoga in 1997 while living in Los Angeles and fell in love with the practice. Kendell studied at Yoga West in Beverly Hills, CA and Studio City Yoga in Studio City, CA. "I have never felt better than I do after taking a Kundalini Yoga class!". Kendell moved back to Pittsburgh four years ago and at the request of friends began teaching yoga. She is a professional singer and voice teacher in the North Hills area.
Tara Hofkens
Tara found yoga 8 years ago looking for a way to heal a knee and foot injury. She is thankful for her yoga practice and says that "finding meditation is one of the most important things that has ever happened to me." Tara has completed teacher trainings in Viniyoga and alignment-based yoga and has taken up extensive study with Aadil Palkhivala and Tias Little. Her personal practice is rooted in developing physical and energetic body awareness. Her classes emphasize principles of alignment that are healing and energetically freeing to the body and serve to quiet the mind and connect the practitioner with his/her breath.
Tara works in research at Pitt and UPMC investigating the relationship between modd, stress, and health.
Joni Sturgill
Joni Sturgill, R.Y.T, has been studying yoga and meditation since 1999. She completed a 200-hour yoga training program through 3rd Street Yoga School and has attended workshops with Rodney Yee, Judith Lasater, Desiree Rumbaugh, and other respected yoga teachers. Through vinyasa sequences and the exploration of body alignment, Joni encourages students to deepen their practice by staying focused in the present moment. Joni enjoys incorporating pranayama (breathwork) into each class, and ending with a guided relaxation. In addition to yoga classes, Joni teaches monthly meditation workshops.
Dorothy Roosevelt
Dorothy has been a student of yoga for the past 8 years. She completed her teacher training at The Yoga Center in Amherst, Massachusetts and has studied with Tias Little, Aadil Palkhivavala, Eric Schiffman, Baron Baptiste, Ana Forrest, and Patricia Walden. Her classes are a dynamic, breath-centered practice where poses are progressively sequenced to develop strength, flexibility, and relaxation. Classes are grounded in principles of anatomy and alignment and are taught with an attitude of exploration and inquiry.
Jennifer Chaparro
Jennifer began practicing yoga in 1998. Over the years, her practice and study of yoga philosophy has grown into a way of life, including the adoption of a vegetarian lifestyle. She began teaching in 2006 after completing two levels of certification through YogaFit. Jennifer considers herself fortunate to have studied with Dharma Mittra, John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh, David Swenson, and Sharon Gannon, who have all influenced her teaching. Her vinyasa (flow) style classes focus on the linking of breath and movement, while paying close attention to alignment principles. She also includes music in her classes as a way to help clear the mind, tune into the body, and flow with the breath. In her free time, she enjoys ethnic food, wine, camping, walking, and taking advantage of all that Pittsburgh has to offer with her husband and their dog.
Joanne VandenHengel
Joanne VandenHengel, ERYT, has practiced yoga and meditation for over twenty years and has been teaching yoga for ten years in and around the Pittsburgh area, receiving her teaching certification from the Himalayan Institute.
She has studied with a variety of teachers including Judith Lasater, Sandra Anderson, Jaimie Stover Schmidtt, Barbara Benaugh, Cyndi Lee and Rodney Yee.
Joanne runs a Yoga Alliance certified 200 hours yoga teacher training program and is certified to teach pre and post natal and senior yoga classes.