Our Teachers – Karmi’s Angels

Kelly Childress
Kelly attended her first yoga class with a friend in 1994 and immediately felt at home.  In the years since then, she has gained extensive experiential knowledge of various styles such as Vinyasa, Hatha, Ashtanga, Power and Flow with a substantial understanding of the philosophy of yoga. Kelly become certified to teach yoga so that she could help people de-stress and find their inner peace in this fast paced, demanding city. She is grateful for the opportunity to deepen her own practice & to enhance her teaching by studying at ISHTA and teaching pranayama and meditation.

An experienced and vibrant yoga teacher, Kelly is at home teaching a range of classes from slow and relaxing to fast and energizing for the different Ayurvedic dosha types. Her love is the world of yoga, and her passion is sharing this practice with students.

Ria Cooper
Ria first began studying yoga and meditation while in high school. She received her children’s yoga teaching certification from Karma Kids Yoga, and completed her Yoga Alliance 200-hour certification at Yoga Vida, where she created and ran the kids’ yoga program from 2011-2013. She completed her Yoga Alliance prenatal yoga certification at the Integral Yoga Institute.  Ria holds an MA in Applied Theatre from the CUNY School of Professional Studies, a certificate from the National Theatre Institute, and a BA in Theatre and Dance from Oberlin College. www.riacooper.com

Sarah Damsky
Sarah is a social worker and yoga teacher whose slow-flow Vinyasa classes are informed by the various styles of yoga she has practiced including the flowing, breath to movement linkage of Vinyasa, the heart-opening playfulness of Anusara, the therapeutic applications of Yoga Tune Up, and the intelligent sequencing and precise alignment instructions of YogaWorks where she completed the 200 Hour Teacher Training with Paula Lynch and Ann Mosca. She has also studied prenatal yoga with Carrie Parker Gastelu.  Sarah completed Adaptive Yoga Teacher training with Matthew Sanford, and believes yoga is accessible to people of all ages, shapes, sizes and ability levels.  Visit www.sarahdamsky.com for more information.

Suzanne Fischer
Suzanne teaches yoga as an important component of a healthy lifestyle and to share her knowledge of how yoga can be a panacea to the bodily aches and pains of sports and of everyday life.  Her classes are geared to help people to strengthen where they are weak and to gradually stretch and release area of tightness enabling everyone to move with increased grace, dignity and fluidity.  Her classes provide a haven in this stressed out city and offer a respite from New York’s frenetic pace, where students learn to breathe fully, focus and move.  Her teaching style emphasizes that the calm, balanced, and blissful state that can be found in a yoga class is a gift that students can take off the mat and into the world. She received her 200-hour yoga teacher certification at YogaWorks and has a Second degree Black belt in Shorin Ryu Karate, which she has taught for 10 years.

Katya Gaynor
Katya is a 500-hour trained and certified yoga and meditation teacher. She completed her advanced yoga teacher training at ISHTA Yoga in NYC with world-renowned yoga master, Alan Finger. Prior to becoming a yoga teacher, Katya attended Vassar College and New York University, where she studied Neuroscience and Clinical Social Work. Katya combines past career experience in Western scientific and clinical disciplines with the ancient yogic wisdom of wellness to provide therapeutic mind-body healing for people from all walks of life. Katya empowers her students to assess and address their own physical, mental, and energetic needs. She teaches students how to heal themselves through the use of physical postures and movement, mediation, deep relaxation, and mindfulness techniques. Her work promotes personal transformation for students by helping them to find balance, reconnect with their innate power, and reach their highest potential.

Donald Johnston
Donald is a 200 Hour ISHTA Trained teacher and is currently pursuing his 500 –Hour training at ISHTA. He enjoys spreading the practice and joy that yoga brings to us and hopes to help people find balance in their life. In addition to being a yogi, he is also a classically trained tenor.

Kim Kavern – bio coming soon

Celia Kerr
Celia began her yoga journey in 2005, gradually delving deeper into her practice until deciding to complete teacher training through YogaWorks in 2012. She believes that yoga is truly for everyone: if you can breath, you can do yoga. Celia’s classes are thoughtfully sequenced to build confidence, strength, and grace in a safe environment.

Celia is a Seattle transplant living in Brooklyn. She also works in education technology and enjoys knitting, trying new recipes, and exploring New York City.

Fern Langham
Fern grew up on a lake in upstate New York, and has always found the water to be a place for finding energy and balance. After leaving the serene countryside and moving to New York City, she finds peace and release from stress through the practice of yoga. Her fitness philosophy is simple: “In order to feel better, we must first be better.”

Inspired by how yoga helped her to become aware of her power and strength as well as find balance in her life, Fern completed the 200-hour teacher training program at Yoga People, becoming a Yoga Alliance-certified Vinyasa Yoga instructor.  She creates classes that challenge the body and the mind, yet are not intimidating, and are accessible to all levels. Fern aims to help others find awareness of their self and help them to overcome challenges they face both on and off the yoga mat. Her approach towards yoga aims to help each and every one of us to be aware of our limitless potential and live the best possible lifestyle.

Nicole Romito
Growing up as a dancer, movement was always a big part of Nicole’s life. Most importantly it led her to Jivamukti Yoga where she has been practicing with masters such as Rima Rabbath and Cassandra Rigney for several years. Jivamukti deepened her understanding of the mind-body relationship by instilling not only a physical practice but also a lifestyle that fosters happiness by showing compassion and kindness toward others. In 2012, she completed her 200-hour certification at Yoga People of Brooklyn Heights. She is blessed to have studied under such inspiring teachers as Donnalynn Civello, Julia Haramis and Katelin Sisson. Through teaching she hopes to bring peace and happiness into her students’ lives both on and off the mat.

Teacher Alumni:
Akasha Absher
Lindsay Carson
Krissy Jones
Kate O’Connor
Francesca Valarez
Maura Dunn
Brittany Kraft
Lauren Donelson
Kelsey Novi
Patty Schneider
Maribel Apuya