Teachers at the Center

JESSICA ABELSON (Forrest Yoga) has been practicing and teaching yoga in Boston and Hawaii since 2000. Her journey has spanned studying hatha and vinyasa yoga, to daily ashtanga yoga in Maui with Nancy Gilgoff, to most recently completing the Ana Forrest Foundation and Advanced teacher trainings. In addition to teaching yoga Jessica is a bodyworker offering craniosacral, reiki, and polarity therapy
ARPI AYVAZIAN (Nia) has been performing and teaching Ethnic Dance for the past 15 years. She began her dance training in Armenian Folkloric dance, traveling with a troupe throughout the U.S. Canada, and Armenia. She has studied Flamenco under Ramon de los Reyes and more recently with Omayra Amaya. This summer she presented a flamenco workshop to the young students at the New England School of Dance. In June of 2002 she became certified to teach NIA. Building on her background of dance, she has through her NIA classes combined her passion and love of dance with the movement forms incorporated in the NIA technique. It's a great workout for everyone, dancers and non-dancers alike. We celebrate the joy of movement - no matter what our dance experience
JENNY BRIGGS, MEd, Human Movement (Pilates) is an advanced Pilates instructor and has been involved in exercise and rehabilitation for over 20 years. Jenny is a full-time Master Personal Trainer privately and at the Center, as well as a Pilates mat and reformer instructor who conducts classes & workshops on fitness & wellness in Arlington and Cambridge
TARA RACHEL CAREY (Yoga For Children) is an advanced student of Barbara Benagh and holds teaching certificates in Sivanada yoga and Hatha yoga. She has studied many styles of yoga and also experiential anatomy. She has a special interest in teaching yoga to children and adolescence and is a certified Zen Shiatsu therapist. I began to practice yoga in 1993 and have studied extensively with Tias Little, Donna Farhi, Arthur Kilmurray, John Friend, David Life & Sharon Gannon, Patty Townsend, and Baron Baptiste. I have also founded my own approach to children's yoga

KIM CHILDS (Kripalu Yoga) is a writer, singer, and award-winningÊpublic radio journalist who left the media in 1999 to study and train at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, where she lived and worked for two years. Today, she leadsÊpeople of all ages and ability levels through group classes and private lessons as a certified Kripalu yoga teacher. Her classes are guided by a spirit of self-acceptance, compassion, and playful exploration of the body. Kim also leads a self-discovery/creative recovery course based on The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. Visit her at www.kimchilds.com
LINDA DEL MONTE (Kripalu Yoga) has been practicing yoga for over 30 years and teaching since 1999. A certified Kripalu yoga teacher, Linda has also studied Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara yoga. She is grateful for the many teachers who have inspired her and who continue to offer guidance and inspiration, including Arthur Kilmurray, Jennifer Harvey, John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh, and Chandra Cantor. LindaÔs teaching emphasizes finding alignment in the body, using the breath to balance energy, and remainingÊin the spirit of the heart. Her passion as a teacher is to guide students toward inquiry, love, acceptance, and contentment - to connect with their true self.

MARIE FAVORITO (Tai Chi, Chi Kung) is Director of the Boston Healing Tao. She is a Senior Instructor in the International Healing Tao and was Instructor of the Year in 1991. Marie Co-Chairs the Certification Committee for the Healing Tao Instructors Association. She has 15 years of teaching experience that includes Tai Chi, Chi Kung Yoga and Meditation. MarieÕs private practice also includes Chi Nei Tsang and Chi Kung Healing. She has taught workshops Internationally in Canada, Germany and Australia. Marie holds retreats every summer in the Catskill Mountains of New York
TED GOODMAN SENSEI (Aikido) was introduced to Aikido in San Francisco in 1970, but did most of his training in Japan with 3 years under Bansen Tanaka Sensei and 7 years under Steven Seagal Sensei. Since returning to the States, he has studied under Lou Perriello Sensei and Mitsunari Kanai Sensei. AÊblack belt since 1987, heÊhas been teaching Aikido since 1993. In 2002 he became a certified R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) Systems instructor, and founded First Line of Defense for women's safety awareness and self-defense training
CYNTHIA GRAMER (Yoga For The 2nd Half Of Life) has been joyfully teaching yoga in and around Boston since 2002. For many years she was a single mom of twins and worked as an editor, a free-lance writer and a gardener, but other than parenting, teaching yoga has been the most rewarding work she has ever done. Cynthia has trained in several styles, both rigorous and meditative, and at this point in her practice of teaching she blends elements from Anusara, Yin, Vinyasa, Restorative and Forrest yoga to create classes that serve the needs of students in the moment. Cynthia is a certified Reiki Master and an avid student of the human condition with a special interest in the human energy system and its impact on health and healing. She considers it a privilege to teach and strives to create a space where students feel free, supported and connected to the teacher within

CHIP HARTRANFT, PT (Yoga, Insight Meditation, Yoga-Sutra) bridges the traditions of yoga and buddhism. He is the founding director of The Arlington Center, dedicated to the integration of yoga and dharma practice, and has taught a blend of yoga movement & insight meditation in the Boston area since 1978. Chip leads a weeklong retreat, The Yoga Of Awakening, every February at Pura Vida in Costa Rica. He is the author of The Yoga-Sutra of Pata–jali: a new translation with commentary (Shambhala) and teaches the Yoga-Sutra at teacher trainings and retreats across the country

ANNIE HOFFMAN (Iyengar Yoga) has practiced yoga since 1986. First teacher-trained at Kripalu in 1988, she then studied with Patricia Walden for fourteen years. Annie has taught since 1990 at the B.K.S.Iyengar Center, and was certified in Iyengar yoga in 1994. Annie brings a heartfelt creativity to her work. She feels every class should be a well balanced sequence giving greater clarity, alignment, strength, and ease to the practitioner. All families of postures will be woven into a semester's curriculum, including standing poses, backbends, twists, inversions, balances, forward bends, and relaxation. Yoga practice unveils the jewel of our inner beauty and allows it to shine forth. Each day I intend to make of myself an offering of surrender, transformation, and peace in order to contribute my love and reverence for life into the world. My practice and my teaching harmonize beautifully to create that vehicle. Namaste!
ARTHUR KILMURRAY (Iyengar Yoga) has been practicing the yoga of B.K.S. Iyengar for almost 30 years now and this still serves as the foundation of his teaching. Arthur's interest in exploring and integrating science and spirituality was ignited while a student at MIT in 1970. Beginning in the early 90Õs, he began incorporating into his yoga practice and teaching the wisdom insights awakened in his studies with movement pioneers Bonnie Cohen, Emilie Conrad, and Karen McHose, and during the last decade his maturing meditation practice has added teachings from Buddhism and Vedanta into the asanas. Currently Arthur is digesting the cutting edge studies in the fields of neurobiology and psychotherapy on the role of the emotional energies in ongoing spiritual development, and using these new understandings to further refine his teaching
DEBORAH LOTUS (Bones For Life) Guild Certified Feldenkrais¨ Practitioner/Teacher; Certified "Bones for Life¨" Teacher and 'Pioneer Trainer' began her somatic/movement apprenticeship withÊDr. Moshe Feldenkrais in 1972, at his first USA ATM¨ Training Program at Esalen Institute. Subsequently she trained in the First North American Feldenkrais Professional Training Program under the auspices of the Humanistic Psychology Institute in San Francisco,ÊCA. ÊContinuing her learning withÊFeldenkrais Master Trainer, Ruthy Alon, sheÊÊsubsequently trained in "Bones For Life",ÊÊbased on Feldenkrais somatic learning/teaching principles,Êwhich is designed to stimulate strong bones,Êgood posture and 'biological optimism'. Deborah is one of the first 'Pioneer' "Bones" Teacher/Trainers and is expanding her 'Bones' teaching practice from Cambridge to include Concord and Arlington. She has been a Consultant at Harvard University's WellnessÊand Health Communication Program, is presently Guest Faculty at Lesley UniversityÕs "Bones For Lifeª" accredited Professional Training Program and has herÊprivate "Functional Integration¨" practice at Wellspace Fresh Pond in Cambridge, MA. She is an avid collector of African Art and enjoys travelling the globe. ÊShe is happy to answer queries at deborahelizabeth.lotus@gmail.com
WILLA MILLER (Tibetan Buddhist Yoga) has been practicing and teaching Tibetan yoga and meditation since 1993, and is authorized as a lama and yoga instructor in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Willa currently teaches Tibetan Buddhist practice, yoga and meditation at dharma centers and retreats in the Northeast. She has an MA in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia, and is working towards a PhD at Harvard University. Willa is author of the forthcoming book Everyday Dharma: Eight Weeks to Enlightened Living (2009, Quest Books), a practical guide for getting started on the spiritual path
CAROL NELSON (Yoga, Restorative Yoga) has been captivated by the magic of yoga since 1976 when she first met and studied with Mr. B.K.S. Iyengar. Her 30 yearsÕ journey has taken her around the world studying and teaching. She founded one of BostonÕs first yoga centers, the Creative Yoga Studio, in 1977. Creative describes her method, an approach that embodies the artistry and essence of yoga. You can read about Carol in Dan WakefieldÕs book How Do We Know When ItÕs God? (Little, Brown & Co.) and Roanne WeismanÕs book Own Your Health (Health Connections). She is a featured model in two books published by Rodmell Press: Back Care Basics by Dr. Mary Pullig Schatz and Relax and Renew by Judith Lasater PhD, PT, and contributed the yoga section to Margit Esser PorterÕs book Hope Lives (h.ic. publishing). Carol teaches at the Shambhala Meditation Center of Boston, Brookline TÕai Chi, and The Arlington Center. She is yoga teacher in residence at Windows To Sea on MarthaÕs Vineyard
JULIA NOVINA (Anusara-Inspired Yogaª) became a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher after completing Todd Norian's Anusara Yoga¨ Teacher Training. Julia began practicing yoga in the late 90s as a complement to her dance and legal careers, and was transformed when she discovered Anusara Yoga. She approaches teaching as an honor and a calling, focusing all her attention on the physical and emotional well-being of her students. Her teaching is playful, fun, nurturing and supportive. She encourages students to connect with their bodies and spirits and bring both into optimal alignment with joy. Find out more at www.julianovina.com


LIZ OWEN (Iyengar Yoga) has been studying yoga since 1984 and teaching since 1990. She was drawn first to the Iyengar system because of its systematic exploration of alignment and form of the poses and received Iyengar yoga teacher certification in 1996. In the past few years Liz has become engrossed in yoga as her life's complete path. Her personal practices of asana, pranayama, meditation and devotional chanting deeply inform her teaching as well as her life. She has brought fullness to her understanding of yoga by studying with world-renowned teachers of many differing styles, including B.K.S. Iyengar, with whom she studied in India; Patricia Walden, Erich Schiffman, Judith Lasater, Kali Ray and John Friend. She is greatly inspired by Buddhist meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. In addition, Liz has trained in Feldenkrais Awareness through Movement. Classes are dynamic and challenging, yet always respectful of students' individual abilities and needs. Liz draws inspiration from the deep well of yoga literature to bring mindfulness and broadness into each class experience. See more about Liz's philosophy, classes and workshop offerings at www.lizowenyoga.com
JOSH SCHREIBER (Awareness Through Movement) has been a student of the Feldenkrais Method since 1997, when chronic tendinitis forced him to stop playing the cello. He is a member of the Feldenkrais Guild of North America, having become Certified as a Feldenkrais Practitioner in 2001. His teaching is also informed by studies in the Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, Chi Gung, and Jewish spirituality. He has recently begun playing again, and is currently studying viola da gamba and voice at the Longy school of music

ERICA SIGAL (Creative Movement For Kids) has studied many forms of dance including Jazz, Ballet, Creative, Israeli, Swing, Cajun/Zydeco and more. She has taught Creative Movement to children and families in classrooms, community centers, libraries and outdoors in Greater Boston and Rhode Island. She has trained in teaching childrenÕs movement and dance with Anne Green Gilbert at SeattleÕs Creative Dance Center, at Tufts University and at the University of Utah. Erica has led workshops on bringing Movement and Dance into the classroom and continues to coordinate CambridgeÕs DanceMonth in the Schools program. She has performed with A‘ro, an integrated abilities dance company and in BostonÕs annual Israeli Dance Festival
LAUREN WORSH (Anusara-Inspired Yoga, Yoga For The 2nd Half Of Life) is a licenced Anusara-Inspired Yoga Teacherª. She has been a yoga instructor since 1997, and a yoga student since 1991. She has studied with John Friend, Sarahjoy Marsh, is currently completing an Anusara Teacher Training with Todd Norian, and has completed the Anusara Mini Therapeutic Training and a four-year Teacher Training program with Leslie Temple-Thurston. Her teaching is influenced by her studies of the world's great wisdom traditions particularly systems of tantric and classical yoga, Buddhism, and integral theory. Lauren's teaching style is warm and accessible and is infused with respect for her students and the elegance of yogic practices and philosophy. Her intention is to empower her students to integrate the practices of physical alignment, self-awareness, an attitude of celebration, the cultivation of kindness, and the unfolding and opening of the heart. Her philosophy is that life is a practice on and off the mat