To be truly healthy, we must take care of our body, mind, and heart. A great yoga class should leave you feeling cleansed and energized, clear-headed, warm-hearted, and deliciously relaxed. Joanna Colwell has a gift for helping students of every age and ability to grow stronger and calmer, relax the body and mind, and have fun. With warmth, humor, and deep compassion, Joanna rejoices in sharing the treasures she has received from her practice.

A yoga instructor since 1996, Joanna completed teacher training with some of North America's finest teachers, including Rodney Yee, Judith Lasater, Tony Briggs, and Gayna Uransky. She is the founder and director of Otter Creek Yoga.

joanna@ottercreekyoga.com

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, ages 23, 26, and 30, 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

An architect and craftsman by trade, David Mentzer has been practicing yoga since 2002. David teaches with precision and deep respect, and thoroughly enjoys watching his students increase their strength, flexibility, and peace of mind through yoga. A Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), David teaches in the tradition of BKS Iyengar.

dsmentzer@hotmail.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