Instructors

Rachel Dewan, E-RYT 500 Anusara Certified™ Yoga Teacher

Rachel Dewan is a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher and E-RYT500, but more importantly, she is a seeker. For as long as she can remember, she has read, studied, journaled, listened, practiced, and prayed. Naturally in her adult life this led her to yoga where, from her first class in college in 1995, she experienced a feeling of connection, support and ease. Yoga became a path of learning and lifelong practice that has helped to shape her life in all aspects, reminding her that when we open to the power of grace in every moment, we can choose the life we desire to live. She has had the blessing of studying and practicing many different styles of yoga, including numerous teacher trainings with some of the world’s most renowned teachers all of whom were transformative figures in her life personally and professionally. She has been teaching since 2004 and in addition to classes she also teaches Anusara Immersions and Teacher Trainings, private sessions, yoga retreats, a wide variety of workshops, as well as writing a regular yoga blog. Rachel also completed an 18-month Training incorporating Yoga and Jewish Spirituality in 2012 and regularly teaches yoga in Jewish settings.

It is her ultimate goal as a teacher to inspire her students to expand to their highest possible potential both on and off the mat, and help them to strengthen their connection to their own unique and divine nature. Rachel’s classes infuse dynamic asana and skillful pranayama and meditation, interwoven with deep teachings of the heart and spirit, designed to awaken the deepest longing of the soul to connect with its Source. Contact Rachel at: [email protected] or visit her website: http://www.yogatova.com

Chaya is an Experienced Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher, Teacher Trainer and the founding director of Shree Yoga. Born and raised in New York City, Chaya has been meditating since the age of 6 and first traveled to India to study meditation and yoga when she was 14. For the next three years, she traveled all over the world with her meditation and yoga teacher, studying Eastern philosophy, Sanskrit, hatha yoga, Indian music and Indian cooking. These were in addition to her high school schoolwork, which she did through correspondence. She attended Sarah Lawrence College, which accepted her on the basis of an essay she wrote detailing her extraordinary life experience. Over the years, Chaya regularly returned to India for extended periods to continue her studies. She received her first yoga teacher certification there in 1990 and her Anusara Certification in 2002. Chaya thus brings to her classes the fruits of her deep and long immersion in the Indian yogic tradition, including a felt knowledge of the yogic texts and the philosophies supporting yoga.

A gifted teacher steeped in the wisdom of yoga, her classes offer something for all. Even the newest and stiffest students report life-changing benefits from her gentle beginner classes, while more advanced students find their lives, minds, and bodies coming back into balance, even during difficult life transitions. Students frequently report that a class was so beneficial, it must have been designed specifically for them. “I think people say that because they come with a certain expectation,” says Chaya. “It might be a physical or emotional problem, but whatever it is, they’re ready to receive what they need, and that’s what happens. Practicing yoga means spending time with yourself and connecting with yourself. If you go to yoga with that intention, it’s only natural that you’ll draw to yourself whatever you need.”

Valerie is a lifelong practitioner of yoga and a practicing psychotherapist. She finds that blending yoga with therapy can be a most natural approach, as yoga is a form of therapy that is transformational. Valerie has studied with many wonderful teachers: Sheryl Edsall, Chaya Spencer, Todd Norian, just to name a few. She has tremendous gratitude for each one of her teachers, for they have and continue to change her life. In 2005 Valerie became a member of the Yoga Teachers Alliance. She teaches aligned Vinyasa, and Anusara yoga with creative funky flows and inspiring themes.

Emi is a traveler and a citizen of Bulgaria, France, USA, as well a lover of people and story-telling. Her first passion, the art of architecture, reflects her love of beauty and structure by combining function and aesthetics with the idea of enhancing the life of others .

She has been practicing yoga for the last 20 years, finding her home in the community of Shree Yoga Studios in 2009 when she met her teacher Chaya for the first time. Her yoga practice deepened with her regular classes, but also through Trainings, Immersions, workshops, retreats, talks, and stories. Emi earned her 200 hour Anusara yoga teaching certificate under Chaya Spencer, and 300 hour advanced Anusara teacher training, which opened a new doorway to sharing the transformative power that yoga brings to the world.

Emi’s intention as a teacher is to lead her students to a deeper understanding and connection with themselves and to help them bring what they experience on the mat to their everyday lives.

Teaching yoga brings joy to her life.

Certified Romana Pilates and the GYROKINESIS^® Method Instructor

Whitney has been a “student” of movement for decades. She was a professional dancer and in 1991 found Pilates, doing it through two pregnancies and recovery from surgeries. She was certified by Romana Kryzanowksa, and has been teaching Pilates since 2000. In 2021, Whitney added to her certifications and is now teaching the GYROKINESIS^® method at Shree Yoga. She understands that Pilates and the GYROKINESIS^® method are tools that can increase any athlete’s performance and longevity. The clients benefit from her focus on how you do an activity, not on what you are doing. She continues to study Pilates, Yoga, the GYROTONIC^® method, and Alexander Technique; in her spare time she Roller Blades, and Hikes. Whitney has received special training from: Westside Dance Physical Therapy’s (Marika Molnar) Certificate in Dance Rehabilitation Training and Pink Ribbon Program’s Post Operative Workout Recovery Certificate.  More about Whitney here: https://essentialmovement.life/

Ronnie has been practicing yoga for more than 25 years and became a yoga teacher in 2015 after completing Yoga Teacher Training with Chaya Spencer at Shree Yoga. She is currently nearing completion of a 300-hour Anusara Advanced Teacher Training. Now retired from her job with the City University of New York, Ronnie’s specialty is teaching gentle yoga, focusing on making yoga accessible for everyone through modifications, props and encouragement. Her goal is for her students to feel rejuvenated, both physically and emotionally, after practicing yoga.

Soo Yoon: Yoga Teacher E-RYT 500, YACEP, Yoga Teacher Trainer
Soo is an alignment-based vinyasa teacher and yoga teacher trainer dedicated to sharing yogic wisdom through a modern lens. Her classes encourage students to balance discipline with discernment, prioritizing inquiry over dogma, and stay curious through the process.  

After trying yoga in her twenties, it wasn’t until her thirties that Soo learned how to practice and apply yoga truly into her life, which then led her down the path to teachafter completing her first teaching certification in 2013. Now in her forties, she remains a dedicated student, focused on re-contextualizing her studies to the ever-changing needs of body, life, and the world. 

Grateful to be guided by remarkable mentors, Soo credits the incomparable Mandy Grant with igniting her true passion for yoga. Her path as a yoga educator was further shaped by training with Anusara veteran, Amy Ippoliti. Soo’s yoga studies include multiple 200hr and 300hr trainings with focuses on kinesiology and yoga therapeutics. Soo also trains yoga teachers and runs a 200-hour certification program under Abundant Path School of Yoga.

Alison was first introduced to yoga after a move from her home country of Scotland to Australia. She immediately felt the great benefits of the practice and a sense of connection with others in her new surroundings.

It wasn’t until she walked through the doors of Shree Yoga, after moving to the United States, that she fell in love with the alignment principles and heart centered themes offered in Anusara yoga.

Jumping in, Alison completed 3 Anusara immersions before taking her yoga teacher training in 2013-14 with Chaya Spencer and Rachel Dewan.

Alison has been teaching yoga to patients undergoing treatment for Cancer through Kula for Karma for over 2 years and through this experience and increased her knowledge of the therapeutic benefits of yoga and meditation.

In her teaching Alison aims to encourage her students to find a sense of connection with their body, mind and spirit by incorporating asana practice with meditation to gain a deeper awareness of the light within each one of us and a sense of our wholeness.

Nancy has been practicing yoga since 2005. She first became a certified teacher at Yoga Mountain in New City, NY in 2011, then took the Anusara training at Shree Yoga in Saddle River, NJ in 2014.  She loves that yoga supports the body, mind and spirit and believes the heart oriented, alignment based Anusara practice is the perfect medium. She teaches uplifting, inspiring, fun classes and enjoys connecting with her students.

Gina completed her RYT-200 certification in 2016 and has been teaching ever since. While she has experience teaching Yin, Restorative, and Vinyasa yoga, she feels a strong connection to Anusara yoga. She admires Anusara’s philosophy - which celebrates the sum of all our parts in mind, body, and spirit - and emphasis on the Universal Principles of Alignment that guide every yogi safely into each pose. Gina views the practice of yoga as an opportunity to slow down, be present, and move mindfully.

When she is not instructing or practicing yoga, Gina is teaching at Fair Lawn High School, coaching, running, reading a good book, or watching a good movie. She is also the founder of Run Yoga Run, which serves the local running community by offering yoga inspired recovery/mobility/strength-building sessions and workshops designed specifically for runners and athletes.

Jan Jeremias E-RYT 200,YACEP

Jan has been practicing yoga since 2006 and teaching since 2010. She feels that Yoga continues to provide her with the tools to handle the “Rollercoaster” of life and is passionate about sharing the teachings of yoga with her students. Jan completed the Ayurveda Yoga Teacher Training with Sara Tomlinson, her yoga teacher training at Naturally Yoga, and a certification in Restorative Yoga from Masala Yoga. She began practicing Anusara Yoga and finds that the combination of alignment and spirituality are perfect for her mind and body. Jan has studied with many wonderful teachers, Sheryl Edsall, Chaya Spencer, Elizabeth Doberneck, Todd Norian and Desiree Rumbaugh and has completed two Anusara Immersions.