Teachers

 

Leslie Pearlman

Leslie Pearlman, founder and director of Good Ground Yoga, is a certified Forrest Yoga teacher  with more than 20 years teaching experience and is registered with Yoga Alliance at the highest level (E-RYT 500).  She is widely known for her radiant energy as well as her compassion, support, humor and warmth.  Leslie has the unique ability to help her students reach their personal best and go deep without compromising form and integrity. She has taught thousands of students in New York City and the Hamptons and conducts workshops nationally and internationally.  She is a well-known assistant to Ana Forrest, the founder of Forrest Yoga, and assists her with workshops across the country.   Leslie is currently training to become a Forrest Yoga Mentor Teacher and Guardian.  There are less than 20 teachers world-wide who have been given this honor of guarding the legacy of Forrest Yoga. 

Prior to teaching yoga full-time, Leslie was an attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services where she provided legal assistance to domestic violence survivors.  It was through this work that Leslie saw the connection between personal empowerment and self-healing.   This link is at the heart of Leslie’s teaching.  She has a deep conviction that yoga can help you observe how you’re treating yourself and those around you. 

Leslie understands how to use yoga therapeutically and is creative in developing modifications for all her students.  Her classes move people deeply.  Leslie has the uncanny ability to see where students are blocked and help them move forward and heal.

Laura Ahrens

Laura Ahrens took her first class reluctantly but soon became a devoted practitioner.  Yoga changed her life so much that she wanted to become a teacher.  She completed her training at  Bamboomoves Yoga in Forrest Hills, New York and is registered Yoga Alliance.  She completed her prenatal yoga teacher training at Karma Kids in Manhattan under Juliana Secches.  She practices 1st and 2nd degree Reiki as taught by Reiki Master Pamela Miles and regularly incorporates it into her teaching.  Laura also holds a BFA from the University of the Arts in musical theater and is currently working on her first album as a singer/songwriter. 

Laura's classes blend traditional yogic philosphy-- texts, pranayama, meditation-- with the modern teachings of masters such as Darma Mittra, Ana Forerst and Shiva Rea (among others), to create a practice that is evolutionary and alive.  With attention to each individual's particular body and spirit, this practice is creative and exists within a singular moment with the breath.  Laura places particular emphasis on alignment, development of muscular strength, physical and mental flexibility, and buoyancy of the spirit and the heart. www.ahrensyoga.com.

Lauren E. Bell

Lauren E. Bell began practicing yoga over 8 years ago. As an avid student Lauren explored several styles of yoga including Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Bikram, and Forrest.  It was in her first Forrest Yoga class that she discovered a passion and connection to this style of yoga.  She quickly realized she could share her passion for yoga through teaching. In March of  2012, Lauren completed her Forrest Yoga Teacher Training and is a 200 hour RYT. Lauren has taught classes of all levels and has an extremely high level of trust, making the class a safe and fun environment to practice in.  She teaches with passion and enthusiasm, encouraging her students to respect their edges and go deeper with their breath.  An exciting element in her practice is how she ties in her life long love of surfing to Forrest Yoga. She equates riding the waves of intensity in big surf to riding the waves of intensity in a challenging pose.  Lauren states that, “if you can breathe through it and calmly ground yourself, there is nothing you can’t get through on or off the mat.”  With intelligent sequencing and an understanding of what the body and soul needs to build strength and radiate beauty, Lauren takes you on an exhilarating journey.  You will leave her class feeling light-hearted and full of energy. Lauren is also a surf instructor, surfer, horseback rider, elementary school substitute teacher with an education in Sociology and Psychology. She has her hands in many pots and loves to share her life's passions with others.




Mary Broidy

Mary is a Certified Yoga Instructor and NASM Personal Trainer and has been teaching locally for nearly a decade. She teaches all levels from beginner to advanced. Modifications are taught in her classes. Mary received certification from Beryl Bender Birch’s Institute of Hard and Soft Yoga as well as from the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center of Neyyar Dam, India. She has also trained with the late Sri K. Pattabi Jois, who dedicated his life to developing and teaching the Ashtanga yoga system, and with his descendents, Sharath and Saraswati Ragaswamy in both New York and India, and internationally known teachers Lino Miele and Richard Freeman. Mary’s love of the practice stems from a desire to “steady the mind” and “experience the Oneness” and to be strong and flexible in mind, body, and spirit.




Nick Chappell

Nick has always had an inquisitive nature about life and the spirit within. After moving to California and practicing yoga for the physical benefits he began to realize the true meaning of the mind, body and spiritual connection that yoga provided. His inquisitive spark was lit and his spiritual flame began to grow brighter than ever before. His thirst for knowledge about the yogi philosophy and the life guiding principles it provides has not stopped since. Over the years Nick has practiced many styles of yoga. Certified by the Always-At-Aum yoga school; he blends a mix of Vinyasa-flow, power, and other yoga styles together to bring a revitalizing, mind and body strengthening yet relaxing practice to the mat.

Isabelle Cote-Cohen

Isabelle Cote-Cohen began practicing yoga as a way to divert the stress of opening a new restaurant.  Yoga became her new "drug" and she became so addicted to the benefits that she decided to become a teacher so she could share the gifts that yoga brings to the body, mind, emotions and spirit.

In 2001, Isabelle became a certified Kripalu teacher and has since earned her 500-hour Professional Level Certification. She is certified in Prenatal Yoga and Children's Yoga.  Her son Tristan is one of her great inspirations, and as such, Isabelle introduces yoga to children and adults in a creative and playful way.  Her classes are influenced by many different yoga traditions and she takes great inspiration from her background as a dancer as well as her Vinyasa studies with Shiva Rea.  Her intention is to deliver the true essence of yoga by bringing joy, power, exuberance, caring, healing and love to her students so they can discover the teacher within themselves.

In 2009, Isabelle earned her Thai Yoga Bodywork Certification from Jonas Westring.  These one-on-one sessions bring extraordinary benefits and healing properties through hands on techniques, yoga postures, pranayama, meditation and deep relaxation.  When the receiver can completely let go, each session brings a magical quality of transformational healing that unfolds within you as you constantly discover other dimensions of your true self. www.isabellepeaceandlove.com


Ann Harmon

Ann was working on Wall Street and a runner and read how yoga with Beryl Bender  would make her a faster runner.  When she walked into class she began a love affair with Yoga that has lasted for 22 years.  When she moved out to the east end, she began taking other Astanga Yoga classes and found Yoga Shanti.  Ann trained in their first teacher training in 2004 has taken workshops with many teachers who have touched her heart, from Rodney Yee to Anna Forest.  Ann’s classes are slow, deep and exploratory, about listening carefully to the body, connecting with mind and spirit.  

Ann Harmon is certified at the 500 hour level at Yoga Shanti.  She is also certified in Thai Soma Veda Body Work Level 1 and works with Young Living essential oils.  Come to class and have fun!



Stephen Masciopinto

Stephen Maciopinto fell in love with yoga during his first class and has never looked back.  He became a regular student of Angela Caruso at Inner Light Yoga in Sayville, New York and became her apprentice in 2007.   In 2009, Stephen graduated from Yoga Yama's 200 hour teacher training and is a Registered Yoga Alliance teacher.  Stephen's classes are greatly influenced by Ashtanga, Forrest, Iyengar and Anusara.  His classes are sweaty, fun and challenging.  In describing his class, Stephen says "add a pinch of asana, a lot of core, a life full of breath, a little holding back, a bunch of letting go and a lot of love."

Lilia Mead

Lilia Mead is the owner and director of Go Yoga, a vibrant and thriving studio in Brooklyn, New York.  In 1997, Lilia completed her Jivamukti training with her first and most profound teachers Sharon Gannon and David Life.  Since then, Lilia has had the opportunity to study with many great masters including T.K.V Desikachar, Mary Dunn, Genny Kapular, Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally.  In 1999, Lilia traveled to India to study with the esteemed Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and in 2002 returned to study with meditation master Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.  Lila's spiritual practice grew exponentially with the birth of her daughter in 2006 and her son three years later.  Becoming a mother has proved to be the most challenging, yet fulfilling spiritual practice to date. www.goyoga.ws