amy quinn suplina
Amy (she/her) has been teaching yoga since 2001 and founded Bend + Bloom in 2008 and our online platform, Brooklyn Flow in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. She teaches a breath-based, contemplative Vinyasa that challenges us to find space in our bodies so that we can find room in our lives to live well and more fully. She completed her first yoga teacher training with Kimberly Wilson, Simon Park, and Darren Main at Tranquil Space in Washington, DC in 2002 and with Cyndi Lee of Om Yoga in 2005. Amy is trained in teaching Trauma Sensitive Yoga by the Trauma Center of Boston and completed the two year Embodied Anatomy and Physiology course at the Breathing Project with Amy Matthews. She is also a certified Physioyoga Global practitioner. Amy integrates explorations of anatomy and physiology into her class by designing purposeful sequences that weave asana, pranayama, bhanda work and focused inquiry.
Her early days of teaching were balanced by her career in public policy and social justice organizing. Amy believes contemplative practices, like yoga and meditation, are essential components to transform our habits so we can build and embody new skills to manifest what we care about in our lives and the world.
addie tacadena
Addie (she/her) was initially drawn to yoga as a way to physically challenge herself, although she soon discovered that there was so much more to it than a good sweat.
She aims to hold a space where yogis of all walks of life can connect to creativity, movement and self-discovery with a strong focus on the breath, and what an open heart can conjure. Expect a class that’s physical, fun, and down to earth with many moments to drop into the stillness of our practice-- and a great playlist.
aditi dhruv
Aditi (she/her) first came to yoga through her study of classical Indian dance forms, and has been practicing for over 25 years and teaching for 15 years. She is Yoga Alliance certified at the 200-hour level, and completed her yoga teacher training with Alison West/Yoga Union in New York City. She has also completed Prenatal and Therapeutics training at Integral Yoga Institute in New York City.
Aditi has studied with respected New York-based teachers including Alison West, Deborah Wolk, and Jonathan Fitz-Gordon as well as teachers in Mumbai and Bangalore. Her light-hearted classes are informed by her extensive ongoing dance training and practice in the Vinyasa and Iyengar traditions; and focus on teaching students a series of poses while integrating the physical, subtle, and spiritual bodies, through precise alignment and breath-focused movement.
ahmed soliman
As a yoga teacher, Ahmed (he/him) is deeply influenced by the personal journey that brought him to the yoga practice. He began his professional life as a wildlife biologist and environmental scientist. Serving the natural environment and helping to recover endangered species was his way of giving to a greater good. This is a concept that he carries daily into his yogic lifestyle, both in teaching and in practice, seeking to serve his communities in a way that supports strength, healing, and sustainability. He also brings his science background to his students through yoga retreats in locations that provide the incomparable forces of nature as a backdrop to our yoga journeys. His retreats incorporate hikes through nature, identifications of rare species, and meditations on the privileges and responsibilities of living in a world that will go on for millennia past our natural lives.
He is equally influenced by a key life event that brought him most directly to the practice of yoga. After a serious car accident requiring multiple knee surgeries demanded that he transition away from a lifetime passion of participating in contact sports like soccer, he found himself drawn to the safer, deeper, and more sustainable practice of yoga. From this experience, he developed a keen interest in human anatomy as a guide to offer a safe and grounded space for my students, endeavoring to help them explore their physical boundaries with a focus on intelligent alignment, awareness of breath, and a steadying relaxation of the mind. Rather than merely sequence asanas, he seeks for every student to emerge from practice with me with a deeper understanding of their own body. In class, he often says "as you are." He says it in a wide variety of contexts, but at its core, it means that whatever physical or emotional energy you bring to practice on any given day, let's work with that together. With this gentle, self-acceptance, an awareness of breath, an understanding of the body, and some mental focus, we can find harmony both on and off the mat.
He is a continuing student of Iyengar yoga, vinyasa, and meditation. He is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (ERYT-200) and a Registered Yoga School (RYS-200) yoga alliance certified teacher with additional specialized trainings in anatomy, meditation, and yoga nidra.
amanda gloria valdes
Amanda (she/her) arrives in space with the mission to utilize the practice of Yoga, Meditation, and the Arts as a catalyst for social change and social equity. Community building has been a passion for her for as long as she can remember. She strives to support her community as a Yoga and Meditation guide, teacher training program manager/curator, and mentor. She takes pride in creating non-traditional spaces to practice yoga, meditation, and arts enrichment by building programs centering BIPOC, LGTBQ+, and birthing folx. Her offerings are informed by History & Philosophy, Bhakti Yoga (studied in Rishikesh, India), Energy, Subtle Body, Ayurveda, Inversions, Meditation, Katonah Yoga and more. Her offerings are informed as a career educator from theater nonprofits , Rutgers University, and City University at Creative Arts Team.
amy baumgarten
Amy (she/her) is the creator of HomeBody, a movement approach that offers sustainable strength coaching to bodies in various stages of healing.
With her background in contemporary dance, pilates, yoga, and Body Mind Centering™, Amy guides alignment-based classes meant to nourish and heal.
Amy specializes in holistic movement practices for prenatal & postpartum populations, directing her focus to the needs of a mother’s changing body and the demands placed on it.
Amy's virtual course for postpartum bodies helps them restore their deep core strength, reconnect to the power of their bodies, and celebrate their new identities as mother, parent, or caretaker.
ashley hutchinson
Ashley is a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher local to Brooklyn. Her journey along the Yoga path started around ten years ago, having first been drawn to the practice as a way to find peace through movement. Through the practice Ashley also found an opportunity to look at the world through a new lens, and apply the practice of Yoga to life off the mat. To Ashley, yoga is breath, presence, and movement combined to create a meditative exploration of the body and mind. In a class with Ashley, expect to find strong flows threaded through with thematic principles derived from Yoga philosophy. A Columbus, OH native, Ashley now resides in Brooklyn and when off the mat can be found reading a book in the park, riding her bike around town, or at the nearest Italian restaurant diving into some pasta and a good Cabernet.
cari friedman
For twenty years, Cari Friedman O’Connor (she/her) has been teaching yoga in New York City. She has also taught many international retreats. She is a dedicated and gifted teacher who combines exceptional technical knowledge with an ability to recognize and respond to each student’s individual needs. Cari’s classes are inspiring, challenging and nurturing. In order to have a transformative yoga practice, she helps students become aware of their personal habits by organizing and finding center through the body, mind and breath.
After studying and teaching Anusara Yoga for over ten years, Cari has studied many different techniques that she brings to her teachings. In 2012 she began working under Nevine Michaan, founder of Katonah Yoga and Cari’s teaching was transformed. She is certified in the Katonah yoga method. In addition, she has completed many teacher trainings with Max Strom, John Friend, Ellen Saltonstall and Jimmy and Ruthie Bernaert, among others; she also incorporates the Melt Method and physical therapy techniques into her teaching.
Her meditation practice includes studies from the Vipassana traditions. She has also studied women’s sacred rituals and completed a two-year lecture program with Dr. Shefali Tsabury on mindfulness. She is a partner and mother of two children who daily inspire her practice and teaching. Cari also holds a BA from the Boston Conservatory of music.
carleen shankle
Carleen Shankle (she/her) began studying and practicing in 2008 and has been certified since 2009 with Yoga Sutra, currently known as The Yoga School of New York.
Her style of teaching is rooted in a traditional Vinyasa style of practice that focuses on self/ hands on alignment. She also incorporates her own element of movement called “Pulse”, a dance-like style that invites the joints and ligaments to awaken gradually while offering a dynamic approach to the overall practice. Her other offerings include guided meditations that are rooted in visualization through nature/the human senses along with individual and group Vedic Chanting channeling healing through the frequency of sanskrit and sound.
She has continued education in workshops such as an advanced yoga training seminar in philosophy, methodology, and asana led by Donna Farhi and Vedic Chanting with Guta Hedewig.
chris stanley
Christopher Stanley (he/him) is a 200-HR certified yoga teacher and professional musician. As a yoga practitioner of over 15 years, he started his teaching journey in 2018 as an apprentice, completing his certification at the beginning of 2019. Chris’ classes use foundational poses and alignment to explore the creative possibilities of sequencing, inviting in challenges as a way to empower all.
His musical background guides the flow through his attentively crafted playlists. Currently, he is on pace to build toward a 500-HR certification by Spring/Summer 2023
He combines Yoga, Art, and Philosophy to offer accessible yet challenging practices that invite introspection of the self.
cristina tarantola
Cristina (she/her) sees the practice of yoga as an offering of the heart, where movement and breath are the tools to connect deeper with the truest sense of Self and to attain a higher sense of consciousness. In 2009 she decided to deepen her practice and enrolled in her first 200-hour training. There, at Yoga Union for Back Care & Scoliosis, Alison West taught her how to balance impeccable instruction in alignment and Pranayama. Her rigorous Iyengar inspired program included a certification in teaching on an Iyengar-style Rope Wall, as well as training in teaching yoga for back care, which she often offers during her private sessions. Right after Alison's West 200-hour, Cristina dove in and completed a 75-hour advanced intensive training for experienced teachers with Schuyler Grant on The Art of Teaching Kula Style Yoga: Or Deconstructing Creative Alignment-Based Flow with Intelligence and Precision. She continues to deepen her knowledge of anatomy.
In 2011, she completed a year long course with Leslie Kaminoff at the Breathing Project and has attended many continuing education workshops with Amy Matthews, among others. After a year and a half as part of the teaching faculty of Katonah Yoga, opened by Nevine Michaan, she decided to further her knowledge and understanding of "Body Reading" and enrolled in a 6 month long course with Zach Dacuk, where the focus is a deeper understanding of the human anatomy and dynamic of body movement to create intelligent sequences in a yoga flow class.
Interruption of patterns to re-construct rebuilt a conscious way of moving. By seeing posture and patterns, we set the stage toward bringing the body into alignment.
Cristinas goal is to teach from her practice, share what she has learned and continue learning and to offer what moves her.
She seeks to create space and strength in the body and in the mind in order to create space in life through a grounding, challenging, expansive and uplifting Vinyasa practice.
Her dedication to yoga is deeply fueled by the great inspiration and gratitude she has for her teachers, Alison West, Schuyler Grant, the Kula community and many others that have deeply touched her heart. Yoga is her life long journey.
denise hopkins
Denise (she/her) began her yoga journey after working for 13 years in the NYC fashion industry. Yoga became her saving grace to the competitive nature of the business. After searching for a teacher training in the city, she decided to take the Forrest Yoga training based on gut instinct. It was life changing. She completed her training with founder Ana Forrest in 2005 and currently assists Ana nationally at workshops and teacher trainings. Denise Is a Forrest Yoga Guardian teacher. Guardians are selected by Ana Forrest to help carry on the lineage.
Through Forrest Yoga, Denise learned the skills she needed to let go of old behavior patterns which set her up for being “walked on." She found an inner strength which birthed new confidence, passion, and lots of feeling.
Denise draws from her strong sense of intuition and passion for hands-on healing. She has a knack for reading the energy of students and responding to what they need. It is her desire that every student feels seen and understood.
She also incorporates her work with Cranial Sacral Therapy into her hands-on assists and private sessions. She is currently studying CST through the Milne Institute. For more information on Denise, please visit www.denisehopkinsyoga.com.
eduardo martinez diaz
Eduardo (he/him) was born and raised in Panama. After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1997 with a degree in Chemical Engineering, he worked in the chemical industry for 10 + years before dedicating his energy to the field of lifestyle optimization. He has been studying with international master yoga teachers for over 20 years and has been teaching yoga for over a decade now. Eduardo draws from various yoga traditions, his engineering background and his sense of humor to craft yoga classes that are precise in instruction and colorful in narrative. He currently offers health and wellness direction via lifestyle and health coaching programs. You can learn more about him via eduarolife.com
B.Ch.E., E-RYT 500, YHC
emily giovine
Throughout her life as a dancer and performer, Emily (she/her) has been exposed to the gamut of styles of movement study, and finds all of them fascinating. She first experienced yoga as a relief from several challenging years as a college student in New York City, and loved the ways in which it balanced creative movement with discipline and compassion. Yoga opened Emily to a more expansive investigation of asana, anatomy, and mindfulness. Her foundational training with Alison West gave Emily an understanding of intelligent alignment and sequencing. She learned to seamlessly link movement with breath in a steady, metronomic flow under the guidance of Schuyler Grant. Also deeply curious about physical patterning and therapeutic asana, Emily has studied Yoga for Backcare and Scoliosis with Elise Browning Miller and holistic anatomy and postural assessment with Zachery Dacuk. Most recently, she studied with Alexandra Auder in Philly, who passed on a wealth of knowledge pertaining to intelligent alignment, Vedanta, and joint preservation. Emily's classes draw on her experiences as a dancer as well as the perspectives of her teachers. Above all, she believes that movement is deeply empowering; she hopes to provide students an integrated, embodied experience.
eric lawrence
Eric Lawrence (he/him) has been teaching various movement practices to groups and individuals for over 15 years. He completed his yoga teacher training at the former OM Yoga Center in New York City. Since then he has continued to maintain a fresh teaching practice through the advanced study of anatomy, kinesiology, and injury prevention. Eric's teaching philosophy centers around the belief that an appropriately strong body having satisfactory range of motion will help to limit distraction and benefit others.
jason orrell
Jason has been teaching yoga since 2009 and has over 1000 hours of training, specializing in yoga for back health, strength and mobility training, anatomy and biomechanics. With clear instruction, humor and innovation, he aims to make yoga fun and accessible to students of all ages and abilities while imparting a sense of wonder about the body and mind. He believes that in teaching us to strengthen and align our bodies, yoga helps us also to strengthen and align our relationship to the social and natural world.
Jason holds certifications from Kula Yoga with Schuyler Grant, David Regelin Yoga, Yoga Union with Alison West, Functional Range Conditioning, Kinstretch, and Animal Flow among others. He leads the anatomy intensive for the ShaktiYoga/Brooklyn Flow teacher training and teaches Mindful Strength, Align and Vinyasa classes.
jess cambronero ravindra
Jess (she/her) views movement as a tool for deepening the connection to our mind, body, spirit and community. Her classes guide students of all levels through an exploration of their unique internal landscapes to create space for self reflection and inquiry. Helping folks connect to their strength through active range of motion is core to her movement philosophy as well as prioritizing deep relaxation through restorative practices.
Vinyasa yoga found its way into her in 2009 and she quickly discovered that consistent practice resulted in a totally new relationship to her body and mind. After exploring a range of yoga styles she completed a 200hr yoga teacher training at Kula Yoga Project in 2017. Inspired by her initial training she has continued to study integrative anatomy, pain science and biomechanics, Self Myofascial Release, Functional Range Conditioning, Prenatal yoga and is currently studying to become a Massage Therapist. Outside of massage school and yoga spaces, you can find her rock climbing, weight lifting and working with her hands.
julie dohrman
Julie (she/her) has been teaching locally and internationally for over 20 years and is one of New York’s most sought after teachers. Widely known for her inspiring and practical approach to yoga, Julie conveys sage teachings in a useful way, makes the difficult accessible, and creates an environment for everyone to connect the practice of yoga to the path of collective awareness and personal growth. Her classes are a living mix of a continuous wonder of yoga, extensive training in yoga therapeutics, deep meditation, philosophy, and understanding that yoga needs a practical approach to take root. Classes with Julie offer clear instruction and smart sequencing for students to feel integrated, strong, balanced, inspired about life, and remembering of Spirit.
Julie is Certified in Anusara Yoga®, Yoga for All, and ERYT-500/YACEP. She leads the registered Shaktiyoga New York 200 hour Teacher Training programs at Brooklyn Flow, as well as teaching Yoga Immersions, meditation, Yoga Therapeutics, and international retreats. Find Julie at www.shaktiyogany.com.
kaitlin paul
Kaitlin (she/her) has been an avid student of anatomy and movement for over 15 years and began a consistent yoga practice while dancing professionally as a means to balance the demands of that career. Her teaching style is strongly influenced by years as a dancer, leading to well-balanced classes with a focus on alignment and breath-centered movement, coupled with clear instruction and sequencing. Kaitlin's goal is to empower students to discover and deepen connections to themselves and their communities at large through the teachings of yoga.
Kaitlin is 500 RYT certified, receiving her 300hr certification from Vesselify with Amy Ippoliti and her 200hr from ShaktiyogaNY with Julie Dohrman.
kate reil
Kate (she/her) first came to yoga as a curious teenager, and had no clue how deeply she would fall in love.
Kate believes yoga is a practice of profound, refined listening—to our physical bodies, our mental state, our emotional trips, and how the breath is the central thread—elegantly weaving our internal experience with the external. Together we have an incredible set of tools for self-care to harness our inherent power within. From here, we create a more compassionate community, and a more engaged planet.
Kate’s classes are a sweet, challenging blend of fluid grace and steady stillness, all set to an amazing playlist.
She completed her first training in 2006 and dove into teaching all over NYC. Kate completed an advanced intensive training in 2009 with Schuyler Grant, founder of Kula Yoga Project. She learned to precisely sequence anatomical themes throughout classes, including thoughtful breathwork, bandha practice, and creative transitions. In 2013/14, Kate was part of Elena Brower’s first Art of Attention teacher training, which continues to be an adventure of integration and clarity.
Kate studied Chinese Medicine at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, and is an Acupuncturist and Herbalist.