Amela was first introduced to Yoga as a child and completed Yoga Vermonts teacher training program with Kathy McNames in 2004. Her flowing style incorporates gentle and vigorous elements into practice with an emphasis on breath awareness and aliment. She has taught during both of her pregnancies and enjoys sharing her wealth of experience with students preparing for Birth and Motherhood.

Candice began practicing yoga in 2003 while living in Connecticut. Her practice grew immensely after moving to Vermont in 2008 and practicing with Piper Petrie, whom she extends many thanks and blessings. Yoga has helped Candice clear her busy mind and energize her soul, while allowing her to cultivate physical and mental balance. She has been a runner for nearly 20 years, gravitating to longer distances in recent years and completing many half-marathons and a few full marathons. She also enjoys hiking, biking, and snowboarding. Candice believes that yoga complements every other aspect of her life; strengthening, balancing, aligning, and lengthening her body, while creating calmness and quiet in her mind, and peacefulness in her soul. Candice approaches yoga with fluidity, and a class with her will integrate movement, stillness and peace, based in asana and breath.

Julia has been practicing yoga since 2003. “I would like to extend my gratitude to Piper Petrie for she has greatly influenced my practice to the point where a creative cultivation of my own physical and mental style has ensued”. A class with Julia is a mosaic of energizing and calming forces with the objective to attain clarity of the mind vital for engaging in a deliberate life. In addition to her dedication to yoga, Julia is working on her Ph.D. at UVM and seeking clarity towards an understanding of arctic ecosystems under a changing climate.

Katherine has been a stay-at-home single mother for much of her adult working life, through which she gained invaluable knowledge about how we all started out by truly being present for her children. She has a Masters of Arts in Clinical Psychology Program from Saint Michael’s College, and has worked in the Substance Abuse Field for the past four years. She has also had exposure to substance abuse through her family of origin. She has also trained in Somatic Experiencing, a short-term naturalistic healing approach developed by Peter Levine, PhD. In this three year program she learned cutting edge psychological techniques employing mindful awareness of body sensations, and the latest knowledge about our neurobiology in the release of trauma. Katherine has been practicing yoga for over twenty years and is a Kripalu certified Yoga Instructor. She began meditating around the same time, but began to practice mindfulness in earnest about ten years ago when she went with her children to her first of many Buddhist retreats led by the Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. Her ability and desire to teach yoga, meditation, mindfulness, relaxation, and emotional regulation skills in a group setting as well as individually is based in the benefits she has received from these practices.

Malaika has been practicing yoga in Burlington since 2003. Yoga has helped Malaika find balance within her life, deeply connecting her to mind, body and soul. Focusing on the breath has also taught her to remain in the present and she carries this throughout her practice and in life, on and off of the mat. Malaika is an avid marathon runner and likes hiking, biking, rock climbing etc. and enjoys living a healthy and active lifestyle. When not on the mat, Malaika works as a social worker in the Burlington area and is also a server at a restaurant. Come sweat it out with her during her class and learn new things about your practice. New to yoga?! It took Malaika three tries before she was hooked and she hasn’t stopped practicing since. It is never too late to try something new and see where it takes you…

Mandi started practicing yoga about 12 years ago and instantly feel in love with the practice. Like many beginners she was there to get a physical body workout and the spirituality & mindfulness of yoga wasn’t quite there yet. After about 5 years she decided to take her practice to the next level and began teacher training with Kathy McNames & then with David Swenson. Since then what yoga has become for her grew organically, probably like so many other practitioners, into a whole mind, body, and soul lifestyle. She is working towards her Baptiste certification and Polestar Pilates certification. Alignment and patience on the mat is one thing she strive for in her classes. After many years Mandi says one of her greatest achievements in yoga isn’t a headstand, or some other posture, it was getting her husband and partner, of 10 years, on the mat with her.

Michelle Deslandes began her exploration with yoga 20 years ago. It only took a few years until she developed a “serious” relationship with her yoga practice and in 1998 began teaching. After completing her first teachers training at the Bihar School of Yoga in India, she went on to become a certified Forrest Yoga teacher in both the foundation and advanced level trainings. She has also trained with Tias little, Sarah Powers, Shiva Rae and various other masterful teachers. She continues to pursue education in yoga and the healing arts. This ongoing process of learning is what provides the fresh insights which inspire her teaching. Healthy breathing, alignment and balanced energy flow are consistent points of focus in her classes. Michelle is very intuitive and nourishes the hidden strengths of her students while challenging them to reach beyond their perceived limitations. Her precise hands on adjustments help students to access and awaken the life force in dormant areas of the body. You will leave her classes feeling enlivened and renewed.

Piper Petrie, ERYT 500 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher 500+ hrs) began practicing yoga in 1992 studying the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara styles of yoga. She received her IYT (Integrative Yoga Therapy) in 1996 and has been teaching full-time since 1998. She is guided by her guru Dharmanidhi Sarasvati, in the study of the primordial tantric roots of the yogic tradition. With over 1200 hours of instructor training and 13 years of teaching experience, she brings confidence and a well-rounded knowledge of the practice to her classes. She is particularly invested in the healing capacity of this ancient art/science and its profound transformational effects on the body, mind, and energy. As the manager and owner of Burlington Yoga, she is especially focused on the integration of the Yogic path with daily living.

Priscilla has been practicing yoga since 2002.  She has explored many different styles and studios over the years including a few years of bikram.  However, Burlington Yoga has been the studio where she chooses to explore and expand her practice.  With a bachelors degree in Psychology from UVM and a certification in massage and bodywork from Touchstone Healing Arts, Priscilla greatly appreciates the importance of mind and body connection.  Yoga has had a huge influence on her way of life since she first began her practice to alleviate low back pain due to mild scoliosis.  Through yoga Priscilla has been able to improve her alignment and her mental well being.  Asanas have helped shape her physically and learning to meditate and focus on the breath have helped calm her sometimes busy mind and relieve stress.  Piper has been a major inspiration to her practice, and she plans on deepening her practice and spreading the importance of yoga to others for years to come.  

William Davenport "I randomly walked into the old Burlington Yoga studio in 2004, took my first class, and have never looked back. Since that first experience, yoga practice has been an integral part of my life. Now I am thankful for the opportunity to share what I have learned from several years of study. My days are spent working in the trades as a mason. Yoga provides the perfect "counterpose" to the rigors of labor. I am interested the effects of music on the mind and the inspiration arising from sound vibrations. I would like to offer endless thanks to Piper as an excellent teacher and also as one who has extended the opportunity of teaching to me."