 
Russell
Comstock, Co-Director of Metta Earth Institute, has given
his life to living, learning, and loving. As a stepfather for
over twenty years to three sons Russell
is dedicated to fathering, family, and community life. Always
moved by the soul of earth, he holds an MA in Contemplative and
Ecological Leadership and a BA in Human Ecology. A practitioner
of yoga for more than twenty years, he is certified in both Interdisciplinary
and Jivamukti Yoga, and brings to all his teaching a spirit of
embodied devotion. With extensive experience directing programs
in wilderness, adventure, and experiential education, Russell
integrates a steady intention to help humans connect more compassionately
with earth and with each other. He has trained as a quest and
wilderness guide with Earth Rise Foundation, School of Lost Borders,
and Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars. He is a licensed New
York State Guide and is a nationally certified Wilderness Emergency
Medical Technician (WEMT). Currently Russell is authoring a book
called Metta Earth Yoga - Contemplative Ecological Practices
for a Sustainable Future.
russell@mettaearth.org
 
Mary
Claire DeHaven has been a Certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor
since 1996. Respect and compassion are key elements of her
yoga teaching, She invites her students to find the tension
in their bodies and minds. Then, through movement and holding
postures for sustained periods, her students naturally move through
this tension, gaining flexibility and strength along the way.
"Some students appreciate a challenge; others need a gentle
practice." Students are free to work at their own pace in
her classes.
Mary
Claire draws from both her background as a meditator and her practice
as a psychotherapist to make yoga a meditation in motion in which
students are encouraged to be centered and relaxed in their bodies.
Mary
Claire has taught yoga classes in Huntington, Vermont for the
last 10 years. In addition to her teacher training in 1996 at
Kripalu, she has been influenced by the renowned yoga teacher
Donna Fahri who focuses on the experience of breath throughout
the body, Rudy Pierce from Kripalu and Martha Whitney from Burlington,
VT. Mary Claire has also studied Thai Yoga Massage at the Lotus
Palm school in Montreal. She is a licensed Psychotherapist currently
practicing in Middlebury, where she has practiced for 13 years.
mcdehaven@gmail.com
 
Sansea
Sparling loves yoga. She delights in helping students
of all ages to gently open their bodies with yoga postures, breathing
exercises, and generous amounts of humor and compassion. A long-time
student of Deborah Felmeth, and registered Yoga Alliance teacher,
Sansea is certified by Don and Amba Stapleton at Nosara in hatha
yoga instruction and Pranassage©. Her influences include
Anusara yoga, Donna Farhi, and the study of dance and anatomy.
ssparling@gmavt.net
 
Olga Pschorr strives to give all levels of students a safe, yet vigorous practice that emphasizes inner somatic awareness, whole body alignment in order to increase the movement of energy and prana through the physical body and yoga nidra. Her classes are fluid, calming and energizing with an inward focus.
Olga loves the grace and wisdom of the body in movement and in stillness, at all ages of life and ability. Her early influences include ballet and modern dance, and she was first introduced to the importance of the breath by a childhood friend who became a professional opera singer. A long-time student of Joanna Colwell's and deeply inspired by her teachings, Olga became a certified teacher in 2010 at Yoga Center Amherst where she studied yoga, embodiment, and experiential anatomy with primary teacher, Patty Townsend and visiting teachers Andrea Olsen and Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen.
Olga offers an ongoing yoga class to her neighbors in Salisbury village, assists in Amherst teacher trainings and will continue yoga studies with Tias Little in New Mexico in 2012. Off the mat, Olga provided state leadership in service to Vermonters with disabilities for 18 years, and she is now the director of New Leaf Montessori in Leicester, where she plays, tumbles, teaches, and practices yoga with 20 children under age five, each year. Many people know her by her childhood nickname, Gigi.
Olga loves the unique simplicity of working through practice towards experienced knowledge. She is happy and grateful to dedicate her time to Otter Creek Yoga!
newleafmontessori@pshift.com
 
A Colorado native, Jen Neil has studied and practiced Iyengar Yoga since 2001. In 2009 she completed a two-year Iyengar teacher training course with Janice Vien in Grantham, NH. Jen is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, having passed her Introductory 2 assessment in 2015, under the guidance of her teachers, Rebecca Weisman (Iyengar Center of Vermont) and Janice Vien. In addition to teaching yoga, Jen is an artist and a farmer. She and her husband, Eric, are building their home and creating a permaculture farm in New Haven, VT. Jen is inspired every day by the connections between all of these parts of her life, and she's grateful for the opportunity to share her love of yoga with others.
jennifer.neil77@gmail.com
 
Linda McCuen initially explored dance education as a high school student. Since then, dance has continually pulsed through her life as a means of expression and rejuvenation. Linda completed her Nia certification in April of 2007 and has taught Nia courses ever since. She’s a regular faculty member at Cobra Gymnastic and Dance Center, where she teaches weekly classes (www.cobravt.com) and has monthly and bi-monthly offerings at the Open Sky studio in Bristol, Vermont. She is excited to become part of the Otter Creek Yoga studio and offer classes in our studio.
lcallnan@gmail.com
 
Chessy Kelley has been practicing yoga for over 12 years. She has experience with various styles including Ashtanga, Iyengar, Sivananda and Anusara. Chessy was certified by Yogavermont in Burlington in 2012. Passionate about meditation from an early age, she traveled to India in 1988 to study and practice Tibetan Buddhist meditation and philosophy with many high Lamas, including His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama. Her commitment to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism is an integral part of her life. Since 2000, Chessy has led meditation classes to individuals and groups throughout Vermont for people of all ages and faiths. This practice of meditation is an underlying presence in Chessy’s yoga classes. By using the breath to connect the body and mind, one can go deeper into each posture.
chessy@gmavt.net |
