Only you can find your own path. Just as our ancestors laid the path before us through self-exploration, we now search for shelter in the haven of fellow seekers.

A practitioner of the Atmananda sequence under direction of owner Jhon T. for over six years, John Barboni draws on a diverse background of yoga and professional experience. From years of athletic training focused on strength and muscular development, John turned to yoga to open his body, protect his joints, and balance the stress of his professional careers in New York City.

John compliments his work at Atmananda with a dedicated practice of Mysore Ashtanga. His knowledge is predicated on a balance of his personal experiences with Jhon T. and workshop study under both Manju Pattabhi Jois (son of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois) and Ashtanga master, Matthew Sweeney. John’s classes focus on balancing external strength, flexibility and alignment with internal self-study, pranayama breath control, yoga philosophy, meditation, and vedic chanting.

As co-founder of elemental (www.elementalnyc.com), an environmentally-conscious green architecture and branding agency, and founder of art collective NYCART.org, John’s diverse background spans architecture, art, and fashion. With his experience including work with Ford Models, New York and Best One, Paris, John maintains a commitment to the support of emerging artists and an active involvement in fashion, art, and media events around the world. John holds a degree in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and further studied architecture, economics, art history and Italian in Venice, Italy and New York University.

I have been practicing yoga steadily since 1993, and teaching since training with Atmananda in 2004.  I have significant exposure to many schools of yoga, including anusara, iyengar, bikram, jivamukti, yin/restorative, astanga, jivamukti, and of course the Atmananda sequence. 

Yoga and yoga philosophy are two of Tatiana’s greatest passions.  Aside from teaching Intermediate and Advanced level classes at Atmananda, Tatiana is a philosopher and writer by trade and holds degrees in Philosophy, Comparative Religion and English from Stanford University and New York University. She has taught philosophy in a variety of contexts including courses at NYU and Atmananda’s own Yoga Teacher Training program.

Tatiana is also a Holistic Health Practitioner, board certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and Integrative Nutrition at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College. Tatiana leads classes and workshops on holistic and intuitive eating.  Through her Holistic Health practice, OmWellness (OmWellness.org), Tatiana teaches clients to self-heal through diet, yoga and meditation.

She can be contacted at Tatiana@OmWellness.org

I am an actor by trade, but have a deep passion for yoga, as well.
I am originally from sunny San Diego, California, where I began practicing yoga at the age of 16. I began with Hatha style classes, moving on to Astanga and Vinyasa styles as I deepened my practice. I picked up and left the west coast in 2002 to study acting at Boston University.

Emily Bielagus, RYT, has been teaching yoga in the New York City area since 2008 and is certified at the 200-hour level by Atmananda Yoga Sequence in New York City. 

Christina came to New York and went to school at AMDA (American Musical Dramatic Academy) for musical theatre. She grew up and studied ballet with the Milwaukee

Ballet School in WI, along with all forms of dance. She was introduced to yoga in high school and practiced on and off. She decided to take her discipline to the next step and become a certified teacher. Having dance as a background she has become really interested in Yoga Therapy/Restorative Yoga. She puts her emphasis on gaining flexibility while building strength from the inside core. She welcomes you to visit her website and contact her through it: www.yoga.vpweb.com. She is excited and ready to share the unity of yoga with as many as she can. 

Zev came to Yoga after many years training in martial arts, earning blackbelts in Judo, Jujitsu, Iwama Aikido, and Yoshinkan Aikido.  He has been practicing at Atmananda with Jhon T for the past 6 years.  Zev teaches the Atmananda sequence, as he learned it during teacher training with Jhon T.  His classes are energetically influenced by his martial arts training.

Karen Lee is a Certified Yoga teacher who has practiced for over a decade and studied with foremost instructors David Williams, David Swenson, and Eddie Stern of the Ashtanga System and presently Jhon Tomayo founder of The Atmananda Yoga Sequence. Karen teaches Yoga privately, at workshops around the country, and at the Atmanda Yoga Center in Manhattan! She hopes to bring heath, wellness and empowerment to her Yoga students, something she loves to do and has been doing for years!

Born in beautiful Pennsylvania, Karen Lee attained a B.S. in Health and Physical Education and a Master’s Degree in Administration. She taught High School for several years while modeling part-time on a local level. Expanding her horizons, she relocated to New York City to pursue a career in the modeling industry. After modeling in New York’s Top Showrooms, Karen chose to use her experience to help other young hopefuls. She was then offered a position as head scout and has worked for three major agencies over her 20 years in the business: Wilhelmina, Pauline’ s, and most recently, Elite Model Management, as its Director of Scouting where she traveled the globe searching for that great new face! Karen was also a major collaborator in the production of Elite Model Look, a premier international model search that launched the careers of Cindy Crawford, Alesandra Ambrosio, and Giselle Bundchen to name a few.

Karen’s expertise with these agencies gave her the opportunity to discover great talent, but most importantly to empower young women by helping them develop a sense of health, wellness, style and confidence. Karen has also been a guest judge on Tyra Bank’s “America’s Next Top Model.”

In 2008, Karen decided to pursue her career independently from an agency environment and formulated Karen Lee Group, a consulting firm where she continues to scout and develop talent as well as teach Yoga, a passion of hers for many years. She also supervises and manages the elite model house in Manhattan where she offers Yoga to the models that live there.

Jodi Young, NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Spinning® Instructor and Certified Yoga Teacher, came to practice yoga partly for rehab and partly for the stretch. Instead, she has gotten so much more! After receiving certification through the Atmananda Yoga 200-hour Teacher Training Weekend Program, Jodi was asked to join Atmananda’s teaching staff. She enjoys the opportunity to guide others through their practice. Namaste. 

Maritza is a yoga enthusiast and fitness buff who was born and raised in New York City. In 1998, Maritza first started practicing yoga when she was looking for something to compliment the high impact aerobics workouts she was doing at the time. For this city girl, yoga became a steadfast way of creating balance in her life. Soon after she incorporated a regular meditation practice in her daily routine, life was never the same! 

When she’s not exploring midtown, the open road in Sante Fe, or clear air in Bannff National Park Maritza is focused on all things behind the scenes in news. She is a working journalist who has labored in television production, digital media and television broadcast news. To counteract the effects off today’s fast pace environment on the human form; Maritza strives to fully encompass the principals of yoga in both her daily life and her work in the corporate world. 

She recently completed the Atmananda 200 hour yoga teaching training program in January 2009 and is thrilled to be teaching at the Atmananda studio. She looks forward to helping people find and experience the benefits of yoga.

Over 14 years of practice and study have brought Victoria to where she is today, a Certified Yoga Instructor through Atmananda Center Point Studio under the tutelage of JhonT and Sabina Stahl.  Dedicated to her students, Victoria respects the importance of helping each one in their practice.  With thoughtful purpose she guides them to achieve their goals and a state of bliss on the mat.  “My students provide me with the unique privilege to teach and learn the delicate balance of pushing one’s limits while respecting and adhering to one’s true self.”

Shining through her Yoga practice and teachings is the symbiotic relationship between strong body, mind, and spirit.  The balance of physical strength and recognition of one’s state of being along with an aim toward finding the infinite reaches of each is what she endeavors to impart upon her students.  Her success comes from sincerity, sound practice, and light-hearted good nature in keeping classes focused while creating a secure and open environment inspiring students along their personal journey. 

Her athletic accomplishments afford her a wide range of experience and knowledge that provides students with meaningful instruction rooted in the sound principles of yoga, muscular and overall physical development, and healthful living.  Yoga has been her release, meditation, and inspiration: a respite from the demands of a career as an attorney and a means toward the revitalization of mind and body from the exertions of a lifestyle of training for marathons, triathlons and road races.  Victoria has competed in three Ironman races, 13 marathons, and numerous Olympic and Half-Ironman triathlons and road races.

Ivy Kaminer’s roots rest under the Manhattan Bridge overpass in Brooklyn, New York. She practiced athletics and weight training growing up and was found by yoga in her late teens. Love at first asana, she began a daily practice from the beginning and migrated to teaching in her early 20s. Initially, she was unable to touch her toes but now relaxes in seated compass with ease. She derives her practice from her own yogic development and strives to help her students attain their personal goals using the same spiritual and full-living approach that she found successful.

She has studied extensively with Jhon T. and blends his style and the atmananda sequence with yogic elements from her experience with jivamukti, ashtanga, and unconventional sources such as weight training. Although all classes at the studio carry out the same sequence, Ivy adds her style by anatomically breaking down individual poses and paying constant attention to personal limits, strengths, and goals. She interacts with her students through music, individualized adjustments and focus on pranayama that creates a fun, playful and energetic class that will help you play with your edge.

I first came to yoga as a supplement to my dance training 12 years ago, concerned at first with gaining flexibility and strength.  As my body began to absorb the physical discpline of asana and pranayama, the other aspects, or limbs, of yoga began to draw me in.  My further study of meditation and yogic texts deepened my understanding of yoga as a complete system of physical, mental and spiritual health. 

The peace and tranquility I have experienced through studying yoga inspired me to become a teacher.  I use this approach in my teaching.  I teach the body discipline in preparation for meditation and insight.  As a professional dancer, I also bring years of practical knowledge of the body to my teaching.  My teaching has a strong background in alignment and body awareness, and I have helped students recover from back injuries and post-surgery.  For info on my private practice, please visit www.yogiromi.com

In 2006, I received my 200 Hour Certification at the beautiful Centerpoint Yoga Studios.  Since then, I have taught group, children’s and private classes all over Manhattan and Brooklyn. 

In 2008 I helped open Third Root Community Health Center (www.thirdroot.org) in Flatbush, Brooklyn along with seven other health practitioners.  Third Root strives to provide affordable, accessible and empowering holistic health care to all people.  We offer yoga, acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage therapy and health workshops. 

In addition to my work as a yoga teacher, I am a company member of Roxanne Lola Movement Machine and Neville Dance Theatre as well as a freelance performer with various companies and performance projects. 

I look forward to seeing you in class!

Lauren completed her 200-hour teacher certification at Atmananda in 2009. She also obtained a certification in chair yoga in 2008 which adapts poses for seniors, injuries, disabilities and stress reduction. Lauren started practicing Iyengar and Hatha yoga in 1998 and has had a steady practice since then. She received her degree in journalism and religion from the University of Florida. Lauren currently works as a residential real estate agent with Stribling & Associates in Manhattan. Previously, she worked in player development for the New York Football Giants.
Lauren enjoys the Atmananda yoga sequence as both a teacher and a student. Her Level 1-2-3 class Mondays at 6 pm is the perfect way to start the week. She is also available for private, semi-private and corporate sessions.  Lauren is out to inspire others that this yoga thing really works…

A dancer for most of my life, I began practicing yoga 9 years ago and received my teacher certification from Atmananda Yoga in New York City.  I am a distance runner and have completed many half and full marathons and find yoga to be the perfect compliment by keeping me flexible, relaxed and strong and helping to prevent injury. I hope to help students understand that their practice can be fun, vigorous, and safe, and a healthy life-long habit that will bring energy and mental calmness along with physical results. I have a BA in Psychology and Dance and am a graduate student specializing in Forensic Psychology. I have a pug named Ollie and I love to paint.

A dedicated practitioner of Atmananda Yoga Sequence since 2004, I completed the 200 hours certification in 2007 and served as an assistant to JohnT in the winter teacher training of 2008. In the summer 2007 I traveled to north of India following the Vedanta master Paramanandji and practiced Hatha yoga and pooja every morning and evening. I am currently enrolled in the Yoga Education Program at Paramanand University in Indore, India. In September 2009, I will be attending the Prenatal Teacher Training at Prenatal Yoga Center in New York City.

I teach yoga to deepen my own practice and channel my best energy to students.
During class, I check with myself, observe the students and connect to them as much as possible. My teaching aims to be fluid, organic, in harmony with the cycle of seasons, the time of the day and location of practice, the male and female presence in the class, essentially in accordance to Ayurvedic principles.

Originally from Italy, I work as a curator and organizer of exhibition and performance projects between NY and Rome.

Dana Yeminy began practicing yoga as a method of relieving stress, and it quickly became an integral part of her life. She found that it not only served as a wonderful means of calming the mind and body, but also brought an unparalleled sense of centeredness to her life.

Looking to deepen her practice and learn how to teach others, she traveled to Bali to complete her first 200 hour certification course in the Ashtanga Style of yoga. She enjoyed this physically demanding style, but found that many people (including herself) injured themselves through the rigorous practice.

She came to Atmananda Yoga to take classes, and found that the sequence consisted of a Vinyasa style that is the perfect blend of both Ashtanga and Iyengar styles, and is designed especially to protect the joints while still maintaining the challenging level of practice. After taking the 200 hour teacher training here, she is able to use her knowledge of both Ashtanga and the Atmananda sequence to cultivate safe, challenging, and engaging classes for all levels.

Dana’s yoga practice and study of yoga philosophy and Ayurveda has enhanced all aspects of her life, and she truly enjoys sharing her knowledge and love of yoga with all who wish to learn!

I am very excited to have the opportunity to teach at Atmananda.  I have been practicing for two years and teaching for one.  Yoga has brought a great balance to my life.  I have always been active doing everything from ultimate frisbee to biking across the country.  Once I started traveling more on a more spiritual path I became less drawn to competitive sports.  That’s when I gave yoga a shot.  I learned how to turn my focus inward so I could make my body a more efficient instrument.  Yoga has not only made my body feel amazing, but has also made me more aware of the important connection between my mind and body.  It has taught me how to bring a present moment awareness into my daily life that I am truly grateful for.  Yoga is one of the few things that I see myself practicing for as long as I can.

Practicing yoga has been a long and challenging road but it has also been very rewarding seeing the fruits of my labor as my body has opened and strengthened.  Through our practice, we can see how our intention can materialize our own reality whether it’s in the studio or in our personal life.  My classes are designed to accommodate the absolute beginner and at the same time, provide a challenge for the seasoned yogi veteran.  I also enjoy creating an atmosphere where people can learn to tune in to what their body is already telling them so they can go deeper into their own practice.  My goal is to help people open their bodies and their hearts through yoga and hopefully have fun while doing it.