Sun and Moon Teacher Bios

Alex Levin is inspired by many teachers and is certified with Sun&Moon. She aspires, in turn, to inspire her students to discover their essence and play with expressing it in the myriad forms of yoga, on and off the sticky mat.

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Alfia Khaibullina is Sun&Moon certified. She believes that the life challenges can be overcome by positive attitude, which she tries to cultivate in her teaching. Her classes are both challenging and fun.

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Amir Tahami works attentively with students who want an enhanced quality of life through a plain spoken and sensible approach to health and well being. Amir uses innovative techniques in teaching students to help bring mindfulness into their yoga practice and daily life. He holds Yoga Alliance's highest certification level and is also a practitioner of Thai Yoga Therapy.

 

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Anna Mikheeva Anna has been practicing Yoga for fifteen years. She holds a 300-hour Yoga Teacher Certification from Sun and Moon Yoga Studios. She brings experience, sensitivity to individual needs, and fun to every class. Blending together techniques from Yoga and Pilates, her goal is to help her students discover the joy of every movement and breath. Originally from Moscow, Russia, Anna has developed an appreciation for different cultures that come together in Yoga classes across the United States.
 

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Anne Jablonski teaches a playful, openhearted style of yoga, blending what's most appropriate in the moment with what she's learned from her own practice and the eclectic array of teachers with whom she's studied. She views meditation as the soul of yoga and encourages students toward a creative, alignment-savvy practice that erases the tight spots, stills the mind's chatter, cultivates joy, and keeps their own practice fresh and compelling.
 

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Annette Hyde is a Yoga Alliance Experienced Registered Teacher (E-RYT 200) and has been teaching since 2001.  She believes yoga is a continuous journey that opens the mind, strengthens the body, and frees the spirit to take on life’s opportunities and obstacles.

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Annie Moyer is certified at 700 hours through Sun & Moon. She conveys the authenticity and beauty of yoga in an accessible and inviting way, is firmly grounded in alignment principles, and an avid fan of yoga philosophy; classes are moderately paced, light-hearted and friendly -- lessons in yoga, perhaps lessons in life. Always open to questions, she is able to tailor classes to students’ needs, and encourages acceptance of each moment as a necessary step along the path of well-being.

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Asya Haikin enjoys teaching dynamic classes, focusing on clear alignment instructions, and aspires to share the inner balance that yoga brings to her life. She is a graduate of Sun&Moon's advanced teacher training program.

 

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 Beth Ebner, a certified and registered yoga instructor, has been teaching yoga for nearly 10 years and has been studying many types of yoga for over 20 years. She weaves postures, breathing techniques, and mediations into rich classes, which celebrate the joy of every body. Beth specializes in how yoga assists everyone to appreciate themselves at all life stages. She teaches prenatal yoga at Sun & Moon Yoga Studio in Arlington, Virginia, leads yoga workshops for those over 40, and holds a lunch-time class in her beautiful Arlington eco-home. For many years, she has taught a fun-filled and nurturing Kids Yoga Camp at the Sun & Moon, Arlington.

 

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Carol Confino has completed the teacher training program at Sun & Moon and is an RYT-300. Her practice and teaching are about finding a place of peace within and becoming comfortable with yourself. She encourages students to be patient with themselves and practice without self judgment.

 

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Carole Rodero began her practice in the 1970's. She has been teaching since 2007. Her teaching style is nurturing and reflects a belief in the benefits of finding physical, mental and emotional ease in every pose. She teaches with humor and gentleness. She hopes to impart her love of yoga to every student she encounters.

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Carol Stehl aspires to convey to students the treasures of self-awareness, inner balance, and healing she has found through yoga. The body-mind-spirit connection is an integral part of her teaching, with particular emphasis on the breath as the connector. Carol has been practicing and studying yoga under a rich and eclectic variety of teachers since 1999, has completed a 300-hour teacher certification program, and is continuing her studies through Sun & Moon’s 500-hour program.
 

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Charlotte has been blissfully teaching yoga for 6 years and loves to share the joy of yoga with her students. She incorporates the healing and therapeutic qualities of yoga for the body, mind and spirit into her classes through asana, pranayama and relaxation techniques with the intention of nurturing each individual student along their path.  Her desire is that people will leave her classes feeling more settled, calm and perhaps even better than they did when they started. 
 

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Corinne Krill has experienced yoga as a powerful healing and transformational force in her life. Her desire is to share the gift of self-acceptance and love with her students. Through her own journey, yoga has shown her the gift the breath gives each of us, helping us to live in the present moment and finding the voice of our soul.

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Cynthia Lim emphasizes breath awareness as well as improving alignment and posture in one daily life through the practice of yoga.

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Cynthia Maltenfort has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and is ERYT certified through Sun & Moon. She began teaching at Sun & Moon in 2004 and has been the Creative Movement Specialist at the JCCNV for 9 years. Cynthia incorporates many styles and techniques in a fun and loving environment. She believes yoga is a gift for all ages and all abilities, loves the creative challenge of bringing yoga to anyone who is interested, and is honored to share the journey.

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Danielle Ring is a Power Pilates certified instructor in Beginner and Intermediate Mat. She enjoys challenging students with a fun and energetic teaching style. She also holds an M.S. in Exercise Science, a top-tier personal trainer certification and wellness coaching certification. Danielle enjoys assisting students find a holistic approach to health and wellness.

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Diana Erkiletian has been practicing yoga for almost 10 years. With her foundation strongly rooted in Kundalini yoga, Diana brings an ecclectic mix to her classes that makes yoga accessible to all. The overall goal of her classes is to go inside and see the Divinity that resides in us all.

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Enid Kassner is Sun & Moon certified. Her teaching style promotes a sensitive exploration of the inner experience of yoga in a light-hearted encouraging environment in which students can progress at their own pace.

 

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Faith Halter is certified at 500 hours as a yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Laughter Yoga leader. Faith brings humor and a relaxed, friendly approach to her teaching, along with a focus on alignment and inner stability. She welcomes questions and requests as we playfully explore together how to apply our yoga practice “off the mat” so we can move through life with more ease and grace. This issue deeply engages Faith in her personal life and also her professional work as a leadership, life and ADHD coach, as well as in her formal yoga practices.

 

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Frank Wooldridge has a mindfulness-based, active practice that blends the essential elements of Hatha yoga with innovative techniques found in the Anusara, Yin/Yang, and Tibetan Yoga traditions. He encourages students to focus on the energy in each pose and awareness of their bodies as a path to gain insight into their practice. He teaches vipassana meditation. Frank is a Relax & Renew trainer and is studying therapeutic yoga for MS patients.

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Heidi Kline Panetta did her teacher training at Sun & Moon. Heidi believes yoga is both fun and transformative, when we take the chance to stretch our bodies and our minds. She enjoys sharing her love of yoga with her students, especially beginners.

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Helene Hammer credits yoga with helping her find calm, clarity and joy in her hectic life. She has been teaching in public schools since 1978 and practicing yoga since the year 2000. Helene is certified through Kripalu and Radiant Child. Her style is fun and playful, encouraging students to notice sensations without judgement and let go of stress.

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Jackie Shaffer has been practicing hatha yoga and meditation for more than 20 years. She received her teaching certification at Sun & Moon. Jackie’s teaching reflects the influence of her eclectic hatha studies and her interest in watching students refine their energy and self-awareness

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Jane Phelan considers teaching Kripalu-inspired yoga as a deeply joyful shared journey with her students. Drawing from her mindfulness practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, she teaches that each conscious breath brings awareness to our yoga practice to explore connections within ourselves and to the world around us.

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Jon Waterman began practicing yoga and meditation while teaching the martial arts in the early seventies. He has received teacher trainings in Vipassana (insight meditation) from Bhante Gunaratana and in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction . The theme of Jon’s classes and workshops is “Connecting the Moments" by gently cultivating mindfulness both on and off the cushion.

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Judith Lyon is an artist and art historian, formerly on the curatorial staff of the Phillips Collection. She has been a student of eastern philosophy and meditation for over 30 years. Her classes are based on the teachings of classical hatha yoga as expressed by B.K.S. Iyengar and Sri Swami Satchidananda, by whom she is certified. Judith has been teaching in the Washington area for nearly 20 years, having established the yoga program at N.I.H. Judith has dedicated her life's work to the well being and health of others.

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Karin Caffi is grateful to, and continues to be inspired by, her fabulous colleagues and students here at Sun & Moon. She strives to create a welcoming, non-competitive class, where students can expect to enjoy breathing, stretching, and flowing sequences set to great music. Students leave class feeling balanced, energized and peaceful.

 

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Kelly Tynes is a certified recreational therapist, massage therapist and yoga instructor. Kelly's teaching is inspired by the Anusara style. Her teaching style is unique in that she incorporates all knowledge of her past therapies to aid the students in their personal growth. She shares with her students a benefit of learning how to live in the present moment; it truly is a gift.

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Kristin Heinz teaches a vinyasa style class, which helps students find stillness in their minds and playfulness in their bodies by connecting movement with breath. Infusing her class with hands-on assisting, inspiring music, and thoughtful readings, she creates a nurturing environment to explore, to heal, and to grow. She is a graduate of a Yoga Alliance certified program.

 

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Laura McCarty is Sun & Moon certified. Laura promotes "body indifference" - It's not about feeling good about yourself but feeling good within. It's from within that goodness expands. When you find a place of peace in the body, your yoga practice comes alive.

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Madeline Helbraun has been certified in the Feldenkrais Method for over 20 years. She is also a physical therapist and an avid west coast swing dancer. She is especially interested in how shifting our state of awareness affects us physically.

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Mandy empowers individuals to strengthen their mind body connection. As a fitness professional, she teaches a variety of group fitness classes and is a personal trainer. She believes a healthy exercise program can be found for each of us. She wrote an ethnographical research study examining yoga’s global commodity exchange entitled The Yoga Production: Authentic Claims of Mind and Body which was presented at the annual George Mason Undergraduate Research Conference. She hopes to further her knowledge of sport and leisure through a cultural and historic lens while she obtains her MS in Sport and Recreation Studies. She is also an avid runner and hiker.

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Maureen Vasquez has been a student of yoga since 1995. She received her certification  through the Sun&Moon Teacher Training Program; and is continuing her studies in Sun & Moon’s 700 hour and Yoga Therapeutics Programs.  Maureen’s light-hearted style encourages students to enjoy exploration through attention to their bodies and the breath.

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Mike Ricker has been teaching since 2005.  He believes that people know their own truths and invites students to honor and accept whatever stage they are in here and now. Mike enjoys offering challenging asanas in a flowing sequence to promote strength, flexibility, and ease through breath. He believes that yoga is an empowering process occurring both on and off the mat.

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Nirinjan Devi (Zahra) is a certified Power Pilates teacher, 500 hour registered yoga teacher with and joyful student of Life. Her contagious joy and enthusiasm offer a supportive, inclusive environment for self-exploration. Nirinjan brings both playfulness and light-heartedness to her classes. Nirinjan began her love for Yoga and fitness early in life. Nirinjan honors all the radiant teachers that she has had and continues to study with.

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Noralea Dalkin has completed teacher certification programs at The Health Advantage Yoga Center and Satchidananda Ashram. She encourages students to breath and notice the changes and relaxation that yoga brings to their body, mind and spirit.

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Patricia Pao has completed The Health Advantage Yoga Center teacher training program, The Radiant Child TT Program, and she is also a Relax and Renew Trainer. She is a former professional dancer and ballet teacher. She teaches from the heart and emphasizes opening up to the experience of yoga.

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Pauline Howard is a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher, having completed her teacher certification at Sun and Moon’s 300-hour teacher training program. Pauline has an M.A. in counseling and is known for her calm and supportive teaching style. She teaches Gentle and All Levels yoga and plans to add Seniors’ and Pre-Natal yoga to her repertoire in the very near future.

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Phyllis Haney finds special joy in helping students tailor yoga practices to their individual needs. Her classes encourage students to have fun with the poses while achieving beneficial physical and energetic alignment. She has been a student and teacher of yoga since the early 1990s. Phyllis is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher and a member of International Association of Yoga Therapists.

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Rixie Dennison is a Sun & Moon certified yoga instructor, a Holistic Life Coach, and Reflexology and Reiki practitioner. Her gentle, energetic approach to yoga enables students to explore their mind, body, spirit connection in a safe, non-judgmental environment. She blends knowledge of the Chakras and yoga philosophy into her classes. Rixie's unique approach to teaching moves everyone to a more balanced place in their lives.

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Roger Panetta did his teacher training at Sun & Moon. Roger's style is deliberative and focused with an emphasis on students becoming calmer and more aware in their daily life.

 

 

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The roar of laughter is often heard outside Suzanne’s yoga classes. Suzanne works with her students on the qualities of joyfulness, peace, self-acceptance and love. Her style of vinyasa flow yoga is challenging, but she doesn’t ask her students to do well, she asks that they be well. Suzanne has a 700 hr. yoga certification. She also has E-YRT (advanced yoga registered teacher) and RYT certifications from Yoga Alliance. She is the author of the yoga book, Hasta Mudras for Health & Healing. She developed a unique Yoga for Your Dog program that focuses on the energetic connection between a dog and her person. Suzanne is a humanitarian and founder of Save the Clouded Leopards. She lives in Arlington, VA with her Whippet Olivia and rescue kitty Simone.
 

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Tanja Szabo believes that yoga helps to open up spaces in the body and mind to feel lighter, stronger, and more at peace. Her classes are theme-based and are adapted to the levels of the participants, with a strong focus on healthy alignment. Tanja hopes to demonstrate that yoga meets you where you are, and through patience and time, improves flexibility, strength, and mental clarity.

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Vicki Christian is a Sun & Moon certified instructor and is prenatal certified.  She has been on a yoga journey since 1989, is still a yoga student, and has been teaching since 2004.  Her classes are balanced, energizing classes, which allow each student to discover and enjoy yoga within their ability, and encourage connection, alignment, breath, and relaxation within the practice and life.

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