Innerlight

Kim Chandler: Kim is the founder and director of Innerlight. A former resident of Kripalu Center, Kim directed Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training and was Associate Director of the Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association. She has since been influenced by a variety of traditions; for several years her interest has been focused on the practice of Anusara Yoga. She continues at Kripalu as an adjunct faculty member and returns to direct programs there several times a year.

Kim is also a certified Proprioceptive Writing (PW) teacher. PW is a method for deepening attention and heightening awareness through writing. The practive of PW fosters integration of emotional and intellectual experience, builds self trust and frees creativity and intuition. Kim's experiences with the highly synergistic and complimentary practices of PW and yoga have culminated in her program, Mind in Motion.

Kim's teaching style combines structural alignment principles with contemplative aspects of yoga. She finds the power of yoga is the practice in the middle: a fully engaged participation that celebrates integration. When all parts of ourselves are breathed into we soften and strengthen. Through this devotional effort, we find our most empowered expression. In service to this adventure, Kim methodically guides each student to fully embody their unique whole and radiant being.
Janne Sahady: Janne (pronounced Yanna) is a senior teacher at Innerlight Center for Yoga, co-director and co-developer of the Innerlight Yoga Teacher Training program, and a yoga teacher for the Newport Hospital Enough Is Enough program. She is a Yoga Alliance E-RYT 200 with 1000 hours of teaching experience. Her training includes a 500-hour course at Innerlight (1998) and a 400-hour Anusara-based course with Todd Norian (2003). She has assisted in many programs at Kripalu and elsewhere, including Introduction to Yoga and Meditation, Rebalancing Body, Mind and Spirit, Ashtanga Yoga, Anusara Yoga, Chakra Yoga, Partner Yoga, and Snow Shoe and Yoga.

"My experience with yoga is that it is a life changing force. Yoga develops strength and flexibility, focus and confidence and a sense of connection with a spirit greater than just me. Yoga grounds me and at the same time opens possibilities. My intention in teaching is to pass that on, that sense of living life to the fullest, vibrant, strong, and open."

Janne is currently working on getting her leg behind her head, and expects that in about five lifetimes from now, she may be close.
Maggie Martin: Maggie began her regular practice of yoga in her fifties. She received her yoga teacher training at Innerlight Yoga and Meditation Center. She has been privileged to attend workshops with Donna Farhi and with Jack Kornfield. Recently Maggie has received her facilitator certification in "Creating Culture of Peace" workshops with Janet Chisholm. Maggie invites her yoga students to "breathe with her." She encourages asana practice as a moving meditation, quieting the disturbances within. She works with her students on the development of open-hearted compassion for self. Maggie brings humor and life experience to her instruction. of life.
Keri McIntosh: Keri McIntosh is a certified hatha and prenatal yoga instructor and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance. Keri was introduced to yoga in 2000 and has been captivated by its transformational effects ever since. In 2003 she began studying with Debbie Cohen of Core Yoga and completed her 200-hour Registered Yoga Certification in 2004. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Rome, Italy and started teaching. More recently she has taught in Boston, MA at Charlestown Yoga, the Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs and for individual and corporate clients.

Influenced by a variety of styles — from vinyasa yoga to more alignment-based approaches — Keri creates a welcoming environment for all to participate. Her classes help students find harmony between movement and stillness, strength and flexibility, resilience and surrender as she guides them through poses in a safe and heartfelt way. She emphasizes the joy of being alive within the body and creating a deeper sense of awareness to the true Self.

Keri has completed further trainings with David Magone of PranaVayu Yoga and Janice Clarfield of Urban Yoga and is grateful to many other inspiring teachers along the way.
Pat Salzillo: Pat has been practicing various forms of hatha yoga since 2000, but was especially drawn to the element of "meditation in motion"; inherent in Vinyasa. In 2007, she began practicing Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga and immediately fell in love with the rhythmic, graceful intensity of the flow and the detoxifying effects of the heat.

Her passion for the Baptiste practice inspired Pat to attend intensive workshops with Baron Baptiste, including an 8-day Personal Revolution Bootcamp in Tulum, Mexico in 2008. Pat has also been a participant and an assistant in several Baptiste bootcamps with Master Baptiste Teacher Philip Urso.

A student of A Course in Miracles and The Way of Mastery, Pat has found the power of these teachings a perfect complement to her yoga practice. Through this combination she has experienced a profound shift in her ability to extend her practice of yoga into her daily life, resulting in an increased sense of peace, joy, and simple appreciation for life. She hopes to share this gift with others through her teaching.

Pat earned her 200-hour certification from Salt Pond Yoga in Charlestown, Rhode Island in March 2009, and is trained in the Baptiste tradition.
Priscilla Szneke: Priscilla is a certified yoga teacher (RYT-200) who integrates her 30 years experience in the health care field as an oncology nurse, nurse anesthetist, medical editor and most recently, epidemiologist with her commitment to meditation and yoga. She received her teacher-training at the Innerlight Yoga and Meditation studio and has studied with a variety of yoga teachers, including Tias Little, Sara Powers, Judith Lasater, and Jill Satterfield. She has completed the 18-month Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. She has also completed training with Jon Kabat-Zinn in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and completed courses with Herb Benson, MD at the MindBody Institute affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

The culmination of these studies has led her to promote mindfulness, the act of interacting fully and intentionally with the present moment, as a central part of her practice and teachings. In her classes, she incorporates aspects of Buddhist philosophy with a variety of yoga disciplines and techniques to nurture mindfulness and develop metta or loving-kindness, an innate characteristic we all possess. By learning mindfulness, we learn to heal our bodies and minds, each other, and in turn, we heal the earth.
Sarah Mermin: Sarah Mermin, LICSW, has been teaching yoga since 1997, with 200 hour certifications from Kripalu Center and Integrative Yoga Therapy. Emphasizing yoga as a tool for cultivating mindfulness of mental and emotional states, Sarah brings her experience as a body-oriented psychotherapist to her teaching.

In her classes, there is an exploration of different yogic themes, integrating theory with physical practice. We practice yoga through asana, pranayama, meditation, and occasionally chanting. Inspirational readings, intention creation, and/or visualization are a part of each class. Students are encouraged to participate exactly as they are, to make the class their own. We leave practice feeling connected to our essential natures, more able to fully experience the richness and wonder of life.

For Sarah, yoga is a tool for cultivating a sense of peaceful vibrancy and contentment in our individual lives and in the world. Through practice on the mat, we can strengthen our ability to pay attention to the details of physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts. As we become more experienced at cultivating awareness through practice on the mat, we become more skillful in being mindful of experiences off the mat. As we notice how things are, rather than how we want them to be, we become more peaceful and content. This isn't always easy. Sometimes, we will notice that we haven't been practicing at all, just spending a lot of time suffering and/or judging. These moments can be challenging to notice, watch, and allow compassion. But if we choose to stick with it, we can improve not only the quality of our own lives, but also contribute to a more compassionate world.
Dina Abbondante: Dina Abbondante is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance (ERYT 200), with 1800 hours of teaching experience. Dina’s background in modern dance and choreography brought her to yoga 13 years ago. It was then, that she began to study and explore the consistent benefits of yoga and meditation.

Her initial teacher training started in the winter of 2003 at Soma Yoga. She became inspired by the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar and eventually studied with some of his protégés. In 2005 Dina attended an Iyengar intensive with Master teacher Patricia Walden and was captivated by the attention to detailed alignment, anatomical understanding and approachability that Mr. Iyengar’s method brings to all levels of experience. Senior Iyengar teacher, Elise Browning Miller was the next person to offer Dina insight towards this dedication of intentional practicing and teaching. Ms. Miller’s program focused on therapeutic techniques for back care and Scoliosis, emphasizing the use of props, supportive posturing and meticulous alignment to open the spine and elongate areas of compression.

To support her passion for anatomy and alignment, Dina explored an anatomical training with Paul Grilley (Yin Yoga) and completed over 200 hours of Human Anatomy and Physiology coursework. She also fuses mat Pilates training into her classes to support and strengthen the central focus of the spine and to cool the nervous system. In 2005 Dina began her studies at the New England School of Acupuncture for Japanese Acupuncture and has since moved into a leave of absence to be with her son, Jadon. During the two years that she was studying at NESA, Dina gathered a palette of energetic understanding that relates to balancing the meridians and supporting seasonal practices. She is also a Reiki Master of the Usui Method and believes in the art of hands-on assisting to support the fullness of the practice. Dina lives in Newport with her husband Miles and son Jadon.
Elizabeth Bessette: Elizabeth has a 35 year yoga and meditation practice, many of those years teaching. Certified in Sivananda Yoga, she has studied many other limbs of yoga over the years. Her experience in the healing arts as a massage therapist and a shiatsu practitioner enhances her teachings as she weaves her knowledge of meridians and Chinese Medicine with humor, insight and inspiration. Elizabeth completed an 18-month course in Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation at Spirit Rock Center in California. This program was designed to bridge the historic gap between yoga and Buddhism and bring mindfulness onto the mat and teach students how to take it off the mat into their lives. Elizabeth helps her students find peace and liberation within themselves. She has studied with such renown teachers as Jack Kornfield, Philip Moffit, Sarah Powers, Jill Satterfield and others. Elizabeth is also a sculptor, a sailor, a writer, and a nature lover.
Jane Maguire: Jane is an adjunct teacher who has lead several recent workshops at Innerlight including, "The Yoga of Compassion" and "Awakening in this lifetime -- Another look at Patanjali's Sutras."

Jane has spent most of her adult life balancing her careers as psychotherapist, hospice director and yoga teacher with the daily lessons of parenting a multitude of children. She says that learning compassion for herself and others has been a necessity, but also a path to joy.

Jane has been a student and teacher of Patanjali's Sutras for more than 30 years. She is eager to share her knowledge and fresh perspectives on Patanjali's teachings.
Kathleen McKeough: Kathy is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and has her 200 Hour Certification from Innerlight in Middletown, Rhode Island. She teaches Restorative, Beginner, and Moderate Yoga classes at Innerlight Yoga Studio and Curves as well as a private class. She combines a gentle style of teaching with visualization and pranayama to create a learning experience that teaches and relaxes her students to optimize their health and practice. Her focus on alignment, combined with gentle assists guides her students to deepen their asana experience and practice. Kathy loves teaching and finds energy and learning from working with her students. Her background and training is in Sivananda and Kripalu Yoga and she has studied most recently at Innerlight Yoga Studio in Middletown, RI. Kathy has practiced yoga for over 20 years.
Patti Doyle: Patti became a certified yoga instructor in 2002 and is now a registered e-RYT 200 with the Yoga Alliance. She continues to enjoy the privilege of growing and furthering her practice with other local and national teachers. Patti's classes are challenging but their spontaneous nature allows exploration of various modifications to allow the practice to resonate on a deeply personal level. Her hope is to provide students with the opportunity to come up against their own growing edges, physically and energetically, as a means to mirror those experiences in every day life off the mat. Emphasis is placed on intention and devotion to guide the practitioner through a uniquely personal yoga experience.
Barbara Van Sciver: Barbara is a 200 Hour Certified Yoga Teacher and registered with Yoga Alliance. Her certification is from The Nosara Institute in Costa Rica in Interdisciplinary Hatha Yoga. Currently she is co owner of YOGA@WORK,LLC and designs and delivers customized wellness programs based on yogic practices for companies in New England. She has practiced yoga for over 20 years and is a private yoga teacher in Rhode Island and the Bahamas. Most recently she was a Senior Vice President at Right Management Consultants in Rhode Island where she coached and consulted on career management, leadership and performance for 30 years. She has a BA is in Psychology from Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA. Barbara brings her focus on breathing, meditation and movement to her teaching and combines it with her Reiki 1 certification in gentle assists and conditioning self-awakening yoga postures.
Liz Lindh: Liz is an Experienced Registered Yoga Instructor (ERYT 200) affiliated with the Yoga Alliance and the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She has attended teacher trainings at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras, India, the Omega Institute in New York, the Nosara Institute in Costa Rica, and Soma Yoga in Newport. She is also a board certified doctor of Oriental Medicine, a diplomat of Chinese herbology, and a licensed medical aesthetician. Liz’s classes blend movement with stillness to develop breath and body awareness, strength, flexibility and balance for the body, mind and spirit. She teaches with the intention of spreading love, healing and beauty.
Patti Confort: Patti came to yoga in 2001. The practice cultivated an awakening that she was destined to share with others. She earned her 200 hour certification with the Yoga Alliance in spring, 2008.

Her yoga classes are designed to provide students with a full physical and energetic experience. Her presentation emphasizes the union of breath with movement, using clarity of instruction that allows students to get the most of their time on the mat. Offering a wide range of modifications to the asana practice, she strives to meet all bodies where they are, so as to allow each practitioner to have a uniquely personal experience. She creates an atmosphere in her classes that enables students to let the yoga help them on their own journeys towards lives of compassion and love on and off the mat.

While new to teaching yoga, she has been a math teacher for more than 30 years. Her yoga students have made her a better math teacher and this is a gift that she honors deeply.
Anne Marie Herndon: Anne Marie is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance, receiving her 200 hour certification in 2005. Her teaching is influenced by many teachers both locally and nationally, including Rusty Wells, Baron Baptiste, Seane Corn, Max Strom and Tias Little. Yoga brings her infinite learning opportunities and she loves sharing her knowledge with her students. Her classes are both instructional and fun, with a focus on guided movement and breath. Anne Marie lives in Portsmouth with her husband Charles, who is her most avid supporter. When Anne Marie is not managing a fitness center in Middletown, she loves to garden, can vegetables and bake bread.

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fall 2009

Teachers