April Evans , Director – The yoga practice has been fundamental in helping this recovering perfectionist come to prioritize dynamic progress over a static ideal. In joining fellow students and teachers on this path of constant and radical transformation, my goal is to create an atmosphere where we can bravely investigate, seek, and uncover the many ways there are to awaken. I incorporate my love of study into class by weaving philosophy, meditation, mantra, and humor throughout an intelligently designed sequence that blends the various asana techniques I've studied since 2005. I am an E-RYT 500, having completed trainings at New York Yoga (200 hr in 2011), Sonic Yoga (300 hr in 2016), MetaAnatomy at ISHTA Yoga (100 hr in 2016) and numerous continuing education hours with master teachers Shiva Rea, Sally Kempton, and Alan Finger. I work publicly, privately, and in corporate environments with adults of all ages and abilities and have been a director of 200 hour Teacher Trainings since 2016. I graduated with honors from LIU Post with a degree in acting, and while I'm no longer an actor I occasionally appease the performance bug by singing with the Brooklyn based rock band After School Special.
Dana Tarasavage, Director – Dana Tarasavage is an Authorized Level II Ashtanga Yoga Instructor and studies yearly with Sharath Jois at the KPJAYI in Mysore, India. She is continuously fascinated with challenges and rewards the practice and study of yoga yields and was initially drawn to Hatha yoga in 2004 while living at home in Florida. Eventually life called her to New York City where she attended NYU and FIT. In 2009, while on a break from pursuing a bachelor's degree in Communications, she completed a 200-Hour RYT Training at Urban Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Orlando, Florida. Beginning in 2011, she has made annual month-long trips to Mysore, India, to study Ashtanga Yoga at the KPJAYI and to further her connection to the roots of this practice. She is also a student of Yogic Philosophy, Sanskrit and chanting, a Pilates instructor, and a published poet featured in The Poetry of Yoga. She teaches both Vinyasa and traditional Ashtanga classes with an emphasis on the breath and awareness of bandhas, dristi and alignment in each asana.
Jessica Chazen, Faculty– Jessica has been teaching Vinyasa and Therapeutic Yoga privately and in groups for five years and has earned additional certifications in Restorative and Prenatal Yoga. She feels blessed to do what she loves every day. Five years ago, she listened to her heart and enrolled in the 200 HR Teacher Training at New York Yoga, and she's so glad she did. Today Jessica assists these very trainings, and it feels surreal. Jessica is grateful for the opportunity to be creative in her work, share her discoveries (both on and off the mat), and help people feel good! She love traveling, making dinner for her husband, swimming in the ocean, and standing on her forearms. It is her intention to help her students feel positive, relaxed, motivated, and awake.
David Hollander, Faculty – David Michael Hollander is a heart centered teacher with over 22 years of experience with students at all levels from beginner to advanced. He is excited to be back at New York Yoga where he was part of the team that opened the studio in 2000 and directed the first teacher Training Program E-RYT-500 certified through the Yoga alliance, on Manju Jois’s list of recommended Ashtanga Yoga Teachers, certified by David Williams and having taught hundreds to become instructors themselves, David is also a devoted student of yoga for over 30 years with a dedicated personal practice of Ashtanga Yoga and having studied with some of the world’s most gifted yogi's, including Pathabhi Jois, Manju Jois, David Williams, Nancy Gilgoff, David Swenson, BNS Iyengar, Srivatsa Ramaswami, Dr. Vasant Lad, Roop Verma, Shyamdas, Radha Gaines, Joan Suval. David's classes are vigorous,therapeutic and include detailed information about the anatomical, structural and philosophical aspects of yoga practice. His goal is to create a safe yet challenging atmosphere to cultivate a lifelong practice.
Michael Gilbert, Faculty – Michael Gilbert has been involved with Structural Integration (rolfing) and Iyengar Yoga for over 20 years. Trained in Iyengar Yoga in India and San Francisco, his mentors include Manuso Manos, Mary Dunn, Patricia Walden and B.K.S. Iyengar. With an educational background and practical experience in pre-med anatomy, Michael also teaches anatomy and physiology, with a private practice in Structural Integration, specializing in medical conditions.
Dana Miller, Faculty – Dana's love affair with yoga started on the last day of a free week-long pass at a ritzy gym on the Upper West Side in 1998. Five minutes in, she knew somehow that this balance of mindfulness and movement lived somewhere in her cells, and probably had long before she'd stepped on any mat. After seven years practicing with Beryl Bender Birch at the NYRRC, Dana earned her 200-hr Yoga Certification at New York Yoga, followed by a Hot Yoga Certification a few years later. For the past decade, she's taught yoga to cancer patients, screenwriters in Belize, diplomats at the UN, seniors, teens, writers and lovers of the written word, in addition to weekly private clients of all ages, some of whom have been working with her for as long as she's been teaching. Dana teaches a vinyasa class that aims to create the kind of safe space where every body can feel good about trying new things, celebrate what's possible, let the struggle go and the smiles come. She believes that what's cultivated on the mat can and should be lived off the mat, all towards moving through this life with more energy, ease, and grace. She's gobsmacked to be coming home to the studio that made this teaching thing happen. Yay yoga!
Danielle Kipnis, Faculty – Dani Kipnis is a certified yoga teacher and professional dancer and choreographer. She received a BS in Dance and English from Northwestern University and completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training with Paul Toliuszis in Miami Beach. In Miami, she taught classes and private lessons at Green Monkey, The Fountainbleau Hotel, The Mondrian Hotel and New World Symphony where she started the yoga program for fellows. In her yoga classes, Dani combines her love of teaching with a keen understanding of movement and body awareness to create a class that powers through an artistic flow. Class begins with breathing and relaxation exercises before moving into a strong sequence of strengthening and stretching poses, leaving students feeling centered, calmed, and energized.
Jen Parker, Faculty – Jennifer Parker is a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 teacher, certified through New York Yoga. She teaches a vinyasa flow style of yoga with creative, thoughtful, and alignment-based sequences that build toward one or more peak poses, yet offer modifications and variations that are suitable for all levels. Jennifer's classes are influenced by the poetry of moving meditations and emphasize connection to the breath, awareness of the energetic body, and always end in a soothing and healing savasana. Jennifer is a dedicated yoga devotee and believes that yoga is for everybody! She finds challenge, comfort, and joy in her own practice and aims to share that experience with her students.
Alex Montefalco, Faculty – Originally from Indiana, Alex played volleyball in college, but moved to New York upon graduation to pursue a career in Fashion. A friend introduced her to yoga in 2012. She resisted initially, as the thought of touching her toes seemed too daunting. Alex encourages her students to be present and enjoy their time on the mat. New York is full of people with busy lives and she invites her students to be themselves, play and breathe in a lighthearted environment. She approaches her class with humor and invites students to always choose options that feel good in their bodies. Alex received her 200 hour certification at New York Yoga.
Maddie Warriner, Faculty – Madeline Warriner became serious about her yoga practice after it helped her recover from an injury and was the reason she was able to complete her B.F.A. in dance at Rutgers University. She was then inspired to teach and completed her Yoga Training at Younique Yoga in New Jersey, while finishing her M.Ed. in Dance Education at Rutgers. Maddie's classes focus on drawing out a mindful awareness of self, by connecting breath to movement and bringing attention to the body's constant processing of sensory information. Through flowing sequences that explore length, strength, and sustainment, her classes builds on a foundation of safe alignment throughout asanas and challenges students to test their limits while learning to listen to the body. She centers her classes around themes of self love, gratitude, and encouragement to help students better understand their own bodies and find contentment in each moment.
Danielle Storm, Faculty – Danielle is a 200-hour, registered yoga teacher trained at New York Yoga. She began her yoga journey in a prenatal class when she was expecting her first son. In her busy life as a new mother and then mom of two, yoga was a place she could always return to, both for grounding and for growth. Her classes focus on alignment and putting poses together in a way that makes sense for the physical and energetic body. She strives to bring to her students the positive benefits an asana practice can offer for the mind and the mood, as well as for the body. Danielle is also certified to teach children’s yoga and you can find her down-dogging with little ones in the park this summer.
