BAY RIDGE
9016 4TH AVENUE
JULIE RAIMONDO (YOGA ROCKS KIDS )
Julie Raimondo is a Certified Yoga Rocks Kids Teacher. After earning a Master’s degree in education through Fordham University, she worked with young children for over ten years. While working as a preschool teacher, Julie began practicing yoga and realized that her students would benefit greatly from such an experience. She embraced the opportunity to study under Jeannine Smolinsky, a well known expert in the field of science, yoga, and stress management for children and adults. Julie now offers the Yoga Rocks Kids Program at afterschool programs for K through 6th graders. Since the birth of her daughter, Julie has also offered Family Yoga, regarding it is a dynamic and playful way for families to bond. She is also available for private sessions and birthday parties. She loves seeing kids get just as excited about yoga as she does and wishes that more children would be introduced to yoga at a young age. The mission of the YRK Program is to empower kids with a great resource in becoming “powerful, peaceful, and productive” in all that they do. Julie feels fortunate to be a part of that.
LEAH THOMAS
Leah Thomas came to NYC in 2000 after completing her B.F.A. in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was immediately drawn to a breath- centered, therapeutic approach to yoga, which she discovered in classes with her first teacher, J.Brown. Leah completed her first teacher training at The Breathing Project, studying with Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews, in 2007. She continued studies through the professional training program at Abhyasa Yoga Center in Brooklyn with J. Brown (2008). In June 2010 Leah became certified through Integral Yoga Institute to teach pre-natal yoga, where she studied with Beth Donnelly Caban and Lara Kohn Thompson. She is grateful to have been immersed in the breath-centered, therapeutic approach to yoga, passed along from her teachers, stemming from the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar, whose focus has been on tailoring yoga practice to the special needs of each student. In her classes, Leah hopes to guide students to finding intimacy with their body, breath, and practice .
NYOTA NAYO
Nyota Nayo has been a long-time student of various yoga traditions and came to the yogic lineage via her journey as a dancer. She is a graduate of Integral Yoga Institute and is certified in Hatha Yoga andPrenatal Yoga. She is also certified to teach basic Core
Vinyasa Yoga through training
under Sadie Nardini, and is also pending her certification in Egyptian Yoga in the US and in Egypt under the Temple of Aset. She is also a professional performer and teacher of Egyptian/Middle Eastern Belly Dance and Afro Brazilian Samba Dance. Nyota is joyously pleased to teach at Yoga In Bay Ridge and to serve as one of a myriad of channels in the healing art of yoga and believes this moving prayer is a blessing for everyone - Namaste and Tua Ntr
BOBBY BALARAMA BOLES
I have has been practicing Yoga since 1998. I was led to Yoga when I was training for the NYC Marathon and was developing tightness throughout my body. My first experience was a very intense and physical class called Power Yoga. Later I was introduced to Hatha Yoga which included a focus on the breath, and body awareness. This practice was not as physical but it allowed me to work towards the concept of "ease and effort". I was immediately drawn to this type of Yoga. I received my teacher training at Integral Yoga in NYC. I have studied anatomy with Leslie Kaminoff at the Breathing Project in Manhattan. In addition to these classes I teach at various Yoga centers and gyms acround the 5 boros, including the 14th Street Y, the Brooklyn Sports Club and Integral Yoga Institute.
Karina is happy to have found a home in Anusara yoga after many years of enjoying the blessings of different yoga traditions. She completed Anusara Teacher Training with Tara Glazier and is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance. Anusara resonates with Karina deeply because of its emphasis on aligning with principles found in Nature and the inevitable healing that results from the practice. She strives to empower her students with the tools they need to master their own yoga practice. She combines physical asanas (postures) with Bhakti (heart-inspired devotional) themes and breathwork. She is grateful to also have studied at/with: the Himalayan Institute (Nishit Patel), Dharma Mittra , Sivananda Institute, Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (Practical Yoga Instructor Training), Kundalini Yoga, Self-Realization Fellowship, Nada Yoga (Amit Chatterjee), Aruveda workshop (Dr. S. K. Kamlesh) and various Indian Dance forms with Rimli Roy/Surati. She is also a dancer / composer and enjoys all creative expressions (artistic or otherwise) as a form of yoga (union with the divine).
Member of: Yoga Offering: JACQUELINE BOYLE
Is a Registered Yoga Teacher and Reiki Master/Teacher who has practiced yoga and meditation for 35 years.
Teacher Certifications:
I began taking yoga 8 years ago. The moment I finished my first class I knew it was something I would do for the rest of my life. Yoga relaxed my mind, strengthened my body and helped me live in better harmony with myself and the world around me. Living in New York I felt so lucky to have found the gift of yoga.
