Teaching Team

My yoga journey began in 2002 at the gym of York College, my alma mater, and had a great pleasure of learning Hatha yoga with Jean Aronoff. I was on and off my mat for a few years but I still applied the teachings of yoga in my daily life. My practice has been consistent since 2011 mostly vinyasa and restorative styles of yoga. I enjoy and love the practice so much that I have decided to take on the 200 Hour teacher training so that I would be able to share this beautiful practice knowledgably and safely. I trained with Laurie Ahlemann of the Long Island Yoga School and learned teaching vinyasa. I also completed a 100 Hour mentorship with Rei Farid and Miles Borrero of Living Yoga and they helped me take my foundational training to the next level. I am so honored and grateful to be guided by the great Sondra Loring of Satya Yoga Center for my 500 hour teacher training. I am actively participating in workshops to broaden my knowledge and enhance my teaching skills. I received my Restorative Yoga certification from Laughing Lotus NYC and Yin Yoga certification from Integral Yoga Center NYC.
My goal as yoga teacher is to guide students discover the love, light, truth and peace within each of us through asana, pranayama, meditation and yogic philosophies. I also want to create a safe, comfortable and neutral environment for students to experience the benefits of a balanced yoga practice. 

I received my 200 Hour Teacher Certification from Long Island Yoga School with Laurie Ahlemann and Jennie Wilson in May 2014. I am currently working on completing my 500 Hour Certification with Long Island Yoga School. I earned a YogaKids Foundations Certification from Gail Grossman in October 2014. I received my Restorative Teacher Certification from Gail Grossman in January 2015. And in September 2015 I earned my Reiki Initiation Certification from Reiki Master Laurie Ahlemann.

My Asana practice is an amalgam of old world India, where I first learned Yoga to the studio style teachings as practiced in the United States, my current home.
I’m a registered teacher with Yoga alliance and did my teacher training certification at the Long Island Yoga School under Laurie Ahlemann and Jennie Wilson. I then did a 6 month work study program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute, Brooklyn.
If you’d like to be in a class that focuses on breath awareness and posture, come join me. It would be my honor to lead you through my techniques.
I start my classes by diffusing aromatherapy oils and end them with a guided meditation in savasana. You will leave my class having worked your muscles, gained flexibility, and hopefully an awareness of the mind, body, breath connection.
Hari Ohm 

Maria was introduced to yoga in 2002, and has been practicing consistently ever since. She immediately felt the physical benefits, but more importantly she quickly understood on a very deep level the healing power of yoga, both emotionally and spiritually. It was Maria’s dream to obtain her certification to teach yoga, and this dream was finally realized in June 2019. She completed her 200 hour teacher training at Long Island Yoga School with Laurie Ahlemann and is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance. She is currently working on becoming certified in Restorative Yoga, and feels that yoga is a practice that is accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ability, or life circumstance. Maria is a music teacher, leading family classes where music making is a joyful, non-competitive group experience. She also teaches private guitar lessons to students of all ages, and regularly enjoys playing music with family and friends. In the same way that Maria loves teaching and sharing her passion for music, she has found teaching yoga to be just as rewarding. She often ends her yoga class with this quote: “Yoga is like music: the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.” — B.K.S. Iyengar 

  I first began practicing yoga when I was a stressed-out college student. By practicing yoga on the mat, I was able to incorporate yogic principles which helped me cope with the anxiety and stress I was experiencing. I was grateful for how yoga helped me, so I wanted to become a yoga teacher to help others experience the benefits of yoga too. In July 2021, I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training in NYC. My training focused on vinyasa style yoga. 

Besides teaching yoga, I am also a chemistry teacher at a public high school in Queens. I incorporate mindfulness practices I learned in my yoga teacher training into my chemistry classroom.  As an educator, I know the importance of self-care when it comes to professions which involve taking care of others. Therefore, it is my goal to help others feel grounded and steady as they move through the craziness of the day to day.