big bend yoga center

Instructors:

BBC Partners
Kitty Daly
Lyn Magee

Maria Carella
Mike Elliff
Elizabeth Fryer, LMFT
Carolyn Jenkins
Kim Kaplan
Susan Kissinger
Mary Laffey Adams
Vicki Lander
Nancy Lewis
Jennifer Miller
Rhonda Mills
Teri Nicely
Bridget Rolens, MA, OT
Christy Salmon
Michael Shabsin
Judith Shaw
Debra Simpson
Jon Yaffe

Lyn Magee
Lyn is a seasoned yoga practitioner/teacher who is influenced by her Buddhist meditation practice and the Kripalu, Iyengar and vinyasa styles of Hatha Yoga. She combines energetic practice and a strong focus on breath and alignment with gentle, hands-on support.

Maria Carella
Maria is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Prenatal Yoga Instructor who has been teaching body-mind connections for pregnancy and birth since 1983. She creates a space for pregnant women to get in touch with their breath, their bodies and their babies. She uses yoga, relaxation and breathing to help women develop the resources within to nurture and birth their babies as well as themselves.
Website: www.mariacarella.com
Email: maria@mariacarella.com

Mike Elliff
Mike, a Kripalu yoga instructor, licensed massage therapist and professional Gemini, is a student in the lineage and teachings of the Kripalu tradition. His teaching philosophy emerges from a spirit of WONDER transforming inspiration into practice. Because increasing one’s knowledge and understanding of the path of yoga is such a personal journey, Mike’s approach to teaching allows each student to connect to a form of practice that is right for them at this particular point in their lives. Teaching students to honor what is true for them in their lives, in their bodies and in their practice creates a state of integration that emerges from a path of personal inquiry. His current inspirations include a potters wheel, completing a water garden and 300 varieties of tall-bearded iris. Mike is extremely honored to be a part of the incredible team of teachers at the BBC.
Email: bdywrkr8@aol.com
Phone: 314-412-9867

Elizabeth Fryer, LMFT
Elizabeth founded the St. Louis Insight Meditation Group in 1996. She studied Buddhism in Asia for 10 years and then with Jack Kornfield in CA when she returned to the US in 1983 and until moving to St. Louis in 1995. She is trained by SRC as a Community Dharma Leader. Elizabeth, a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in St. Louis, specializes in applying the principles of mindfulness to depth psychotherapy.
Email: www.insightstlouis.org

Carolyn Jenkins
Carolyn is drawn to yoga as a lifelong practice free from the achievement orientation so prevalent in modern society. With twelve years of study, Carolyn’s teaching is grounded in the Iyengar method of precise alignment, the use of props and intelligent action to develop a mindful awareness of balance, strength and flexibility. Vinyasa and energy flow complement the asana and pranayama practices. With a background in journalism, marketing and public relations, Carolyn ran a small communications business for 17 years while raising her children before turning her passion for yoga into a vocation. She likes to hike, bike, garden, travel and read. The leadership and wisdom of many teachers have contributed to Carolyn’s presentation style and she is grateful for the opportunity to present a new way of life — one heart, one breath at a time — through practice.
Email: cajcom@swbell.net

Kim Kaplan
Kim has had a 12 year yoga practice with over 2000 hours of training in Byron Bay, Australia, intensive trainings with Rod Stryker, Shiva Rea, and Saul David Raye in the styles of Hatha and Vinyasa. She offers a nurturing, safe, alignment based practice which includes the wisdom, guidance and clarity of her personal evolution. Kim brings an articulate crispness to her teaching which is effective for students of all levels.

Susan Kissinger
Susan is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher and Trager® movement education practitioner, is accredited to teach T’ai Chi Chih®, a moving meditation and is a Missouri licensed massage therapist. Susan’s GENTLE YOGA classes are designed with lots of props, support, warmup and awareness exercises, breathwork, modified postures and meditation to help students find a comfortable and steady yoga practice. Her classes invite inner exploration of the moving body, quiet the mind and free the body of tension.

Mary Laffey Adams
Mary offers students her eclectic background as a holistic nurse, a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor and a practitioner of the Trager® approach of movement education. Mary has studied and trained in over 800 hours of a variety of bodywork modalities and holds a certificate in Pastoral Care from Aquinas Institute of Theology. Her yoga classes provide a gentle and mindful opportunity to explore the endless possibilities that the body, mind and spirit offer.
Email: mlaffeyadams@aol.com

Vicki Lander
Vicki brings with her over 17 years of experience in movement and the healing arts. She graduated with honors from the Boulder College of Massage Therapy, completed a two year advanced training in the Hakomi Method of Body Centered Psychotherapy and is a certified Interdisciplinary Yoga Instructor from Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. Her experience also includes extensive study and work in neuromuscular re-education, breath work and postural alignment.
Email: vickilander@yahoo.com
Phone: 314-882-9642

Nancy Lewis
Nancy began her yoga journey at the age of 14, but more recently has studied Kundalini Yoga under Yogi Bhajan’s guidance and is KRI certified. She is also a certified practitioner of Sat Nam Rasayan, a Yogic contemplative healing technique that works through awareness to balance the elements of the body, mind and spirit.
Email: kundaliniyogini@sbcglobal.net

Jennifer Miller
Jennifer is a certified Personal Trainer and Advanced Health and Fitness Specialist who has been giving yoga and fitness instruction to people of all ages and abilities for seven years. She loves to share a strong and playful practice that allows for exploration and personal success. Jennifer is married and has two children. She is also pursuing a degree in Physical Therapy and plays amateur roller derby with the St. Louis Arch Rival Roller Girls.

Rhonda Mills
Rhonda, a Para Yoga Sr. Teacher, brings over a decade of study and practice of body-mind-heart-spirit modalities. Her work facilitates aliveness, fulfilment, and inner freedom. In addition to her group yoga classes, Rhonda designs personal yoga and meditation practice for individuals, and leads holistic, transformational workshops and retreats in St. Louis and around the country. Rhonda lives in St. Louis with her two children, and celebrates connection with her family, community, and Mother Earth. She is a Certified Trainer with the Global Center for Nonviolent Communication, and a Hendricks Institute Life Coach.
Website: www.celebratelifewithrhonda.com
Email: celebratelifewithrhonda@gmail.com

Teri Nicely
Teri has been practicing yoga for over 10 years. She received her teacher training and certification through Kripalu Yoga Center in 2002 and continues her studies through various workshops with renouned teachers. Teri’s teaching style is warm and compassionate. Her classes are easy to follow and designed to teach students the basics of the yoga poses, breathing techniques, and meditation. She encourages students to “self-discover” with awareness and acceptance. “The beauty of yoga is that anyone can do it and feel more alive through it.”

Bridget Rolens, MA, OT
Bridget has practiced Insight Meditation since 1997. She is a co-leader of the St. Louis Insight Meditation Group and Vice-president of the Board of Directors of Mid America Dharma. She brings to her dharma practice many years of experience in the spirituality of the Christian contemplative tradition and of 12-step recovery. Bridget is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leaders program offered by Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and she completed Matthew Flickstein’s 2-week class “Teaching as a Form of Practice.” She is Program Facilitator for the Mind-Body Stress Reduction Programs at Masterpeace Studios in Kirkwood, MO and Meditation Program Coordinator for the Integrative Medicine Program, St. John's Hospital, Springfield, IL.
Email: bridget@pathwaystomindfulness.com
Phone: 314-369-1391

Christy Salmon
Christy began teaching body conditioning and dance in 1980 at the Clayton Fitness Center. She also taught at Modern Fitness and eventually started her own company and cable-TV program entitled, Energetics. Her methodology and experience was influenced from her training in Martha Graham’s method of modern dance. She graduated with a BFA in Dance from Southern Methodist University in 1979. Beginning in 1998 she taught dance, flexibility, the barre class, body conditioning and core training classes in Chicago, Illinois. Then in 2000 she became certified in Pilates and taught group and individual Pilates classes. There she taught Pilates mat classes in levels I, II AND III. She is a certified Pilates instructor from Physical Mind, The Pilates Center and STOTT. She has been actively teaching all ages in Pilates for nine years in Chicago and currently at Wellbridge Town and Country. Her passion is teaching and inspiring her students to do their best, and to “Just Breathe”.
Email: cslmon@ix.netcom.com

Michael Shabsin
Michael has been practicing yoga for more than 7 years and continues to deepen his practice with further teacher training. Michael has received his 200 hour Yoga Alliance Certification through his studies at the Barefoot Studio in Little Rock, Arkansas with Matthew Krepps. He counts Matthew, Kitty Daly, Lama Lobsang Palden, Rod Stryker and others as his teachers, inspirations and guides along the way. Michael tries to live his yoga and embody the teachings in all aspects of his daily life as a husband, father and practicing attorney. He brings to the yoga practice balance and strength with sensitivity to each student’s body, mind and spirit.

Judith Shaw
Judith is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher who also studied extensively in the UK. As her personal practice developed over the last 20 years, she experienced the transformative power of yoga and its profound healing effects. She aspires to embody the essence of yoga in all aspects of her life and is passionate about sharing the benefits with others. Judith’s style blends traditional yogic teachings with an acceptance of the innate wisdom of the body. Her classes foster self-expression and openness through body awareness, inviting students to rediscover a sense of wholeness within themselves and in their lives.

Debra Simpson
Debra brings with her 20 years of wellness and movement experience into her yoga practice and teaching. Debra believes that we approach the divine through these ancient practices, integrating our modern wisdom with balance and harmony, so her classes weave a strong sense of spirit into vinyasa flow emphasizing alignment of body, mind and soul. Debra’s unique style of teaching has grown out of her training with Rod Stryker, Shiva Rea, Thomas Fortel, Kitty Daly, Erich Schiffmann, and Judith Lasater. She is committed to guiding her students toward finding inner peace.
Website: Debra Simpson
Email: dsimpson0611@yahoo.com
Phone: 314-401-1634

Jon Yaffe
Jon has practiced Insight Meditation since 1999. He has served on the Board of Directors of Mid America Dharma since 2005, and he has been a co-leader of the St. Louis Insight Meditation Group since 2006. He completed Matt Flickstein’s seminar/retreat program, “Teaching as a Form of Practice.”