Teachers
Amy Anderson began practicing Yoga in 1997, experiencing both the Hatha and Vinyasa styles of yoga. The many benefits of Yoga quickly came to fruition in Amy's life as they helped her navigate some personal life challenges.
As Amy's practice matured, the philosophical aspects of Yoga began to have a very positive influence on her life. Amy believes Yoga to be a holistic process through which one can live a peaceful and balanced life, with compassion for others. Her love of Yoga prompted Amy to persue becoming a Yoga instructor. Amy received her Yoga training from Omaha Yoga and Bodywork Center and was certified in June 2006.
Karen Bahr has been practicing Yoga since 2001 and completed the teacher training program at the Omaha Yoga & Bodywork Center in 2006.
Karen enjoys practicing and teaching partner yoga, especially with her seven year old son, Gabriel. Having worked as a Spanish Interpreter in the health care setting for almost 10 years, Karen recognizes the importance of yogic practices for maintaining the clarity, focus, presence and cognitive flexibility necessary when interpreting. Currently, Karen works as an trainer for Spanish interpreters. Karen offers students the tools of Yoga to benefit their own interpreting skills and practice good self care.
Mark & Geri Bjorling are the happily married parents of 6 and grand parents of 5. Mark is degreed in accounting from University of Oregon, and is a CPA working in industry. Geri is a degreed sign language interpreter working in deaf education.
"Our Yoga teacher training is from Omaha Yoga and Bodywork. We are eternally grateful to our teachers especially Susi Gillespie Amendola. Our Reiki certification is from Sister Linda Zaner and our Shiatsu teacher is Bob Carr. Yoga is a practice of quieting the mind so as to reconcile multiplicity with divine oneness. We have learned that practicing oneness in our marriage gives us a model for practicing oneness with the divine. If you attend our classes you will receive love, our guidance and encouragement to find your own yogic path to divine oneness."
Heidi Brevik began practicing Yoga in 2000, finding that it helped ground her as she made the transition from high school to college. Originally, she attended mostly Ashtanga classes, attracted to the physical challenge and intensity of the style. However, she has also practiced Anusara, Hatha, and Therapeutic Yoga with a number of wonderful teachers in her home town of Boulder, CO.
After finishing her undergraduate degree in Boulder, Heidi moved to Omaha in 2006 and found herself suddenly alone in a new city. Once again Yoga became the support during a tough time of transition. She was fortunate enough to discover the Omaha Yoga and Bodywork Center, and in it a gifted teacher and welcoming community. Heidi participated in the 2006-2007 teacher training program at OYBC, and is currently finishing her 200 hour Yoga teacher certification. Heidi teaches Hatha and vinyasa Yoga classes in the Omaha area, and is immensely grateful for the opportunity to teach and to be taught by those in her classes.
Dr. Michele Desmarais, Assistant Professor, joined the department in Fall 2002. She was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and is Lakota-Métis-Canadian. Dr. Desmarais has a BA in psychology from Simon Fraser University, an MA in Religious Studies from the University of British Columbia, and a PhD in Asian Studies also from U.B.C. Dr. Desmarais’ specialty is Sanskrit and Indian thought. Her graduate research focused on aspects of mind and consciousness in Hindu and Buddhist texts, and she was the recipient of a national doctoral fellowship for her research on philosophy of mind in Patañjali’s Yoga-sutras. Dr. Desmarais is currently completing a book on the mind/body in the Yoga-sutras and neurophilosophy. Dr. Desmarais teaches courses on Buddhism, Hinduism, Mysticism and to World Religions at UNO.
Terra is a guest teacher for OYBC. Terra Gillespie grew up in a family of Yoga teachers, her mother Susi and her grandmother both teach yoga. Born in a Yoga ashram (The Himalayan Institute), she has taken classes in her adult life from many teachers. She has been a regular student at Jiva Mukti Yoga in New York City. Terra completed her 200 hour teacher training certificate at the Omaha Yoga & Bodywork Center and her love is theater, acting and traveling. She currently resides in New York and is a guest teacher for OYBC.
Barb Harris, Ph.D. joined the Omaha Yoga and Body Works Studio as a student in 2000 and as a teacher in 2004. As a professor in social work at Creighton University for 15 years and experience as a therapist she believes that Yoga is the integration of all the parts of her previous training. Barb teaches about the poverty of women and children, domestic violence, Christian Spirituality and is interested in using Yoga to manage and understand depression and anxiety. She strives to do downward dog as effortlessly as her dog Shammy.
Laurie Hodges has been studying Yoga for over 10 years and has been a certified teacher for 4. Her propensity towards delving into realms unknown has inspired her to research and put together some fun and interesting classes, including a comprehensive on the Chakras and a session combining Yoga and the zodiac signs. Laurie’s natural, down to earth style comes across in her teaching technique. She encourages students to use Yoga as a tool for introspection. She hopes people will delve inside more to discover their personal strengths. But most of all, she hopes to help cultivate joy.
Vidyarani (Lisa Hofmann) Growing up in New Jersey in the '70s, Vidyarani's curiosity about Yoga and meditation originated from her love of the Beatles. Wondering how she would ever find a teacher in the land of malls, it took a move to Nebraska for her to find her inspiration. She started her study at OYBC in 1994 and has been fortunate to have studied under many of the senior teachers there. In 2000 she received her 200 hour certification through Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and began teaching at OYBC. She is currently nearing completion of her 500 hour advanced training through Kripalu. Her interest in Yoga is wide ranging and she has been able to take workshops from Erich Schiffmann, Rodney Yee, Sharon Gannon and Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa. She has taken training programs in Integrative Yoga Therapy and Prenatal Yoga. She has been most inspired by the the teachings of Angela Farmer which encourage a deep inner listening to the wisdom of the body and prana, and then trusting in that source as your greatest teacher. This more internal, intuitive approach is in keeping with the Kripalu methodology which emphasizes Prana - energy - and flow as a means to move into meditation. Like these 2 approaches, Vidyarani's experience and teaching of Yoga emphasizes a fluid, ever evolving and changing exploration of the practices, leading to a deeper understanding and unfolding of oneself. She bows down in gratitude to all the teachers, past & present who have inspired her. She has been blessed to study with senior Kripalu teachers and considers herself a part of that lineage in honoring Swami Kripalu who said "The highest spiritual practice is self observation without judgement." She is deeply indebted to the support and inspiration of Susi Amendola in her life and in her teaching. And she eagerly anticipates study under her newest teacher, her daughter Clara Miaoliang.
Dr Rajesh Kotecha is the chief physician and executive director of Chakrapani Ayurveda & Research Center in Jaipur, India. He graduated from Ayurvedic college in 1985 and received his doctorite in 1991 from Gujarat Ayurveda University, Jamnagar. He contributes to many health publications and research in the area of Ayurveda. Dr Rajesh travels and teaches while maintaining a thriving practice in Jaipur India.
Amy is a guest teacher for OYBC. Amy Matthews, CMA, SME, RYT, RSMT/RSME has been teaching movement since 1994. She is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst and a Body-Mind Centering Practitioner. Amy has been on the faculty of the Year-Long Certificate Program at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies since 2000, and teaches embodied asana classes and workshops at Movements Afoot, the Breathing Project and the Society for Martial Arts Instruction in NYC. Amy works privately as a movement therapist, integrating Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Yoga and Body Mind Centering. She co-teaches Still Moving karate and Yoga workshops with Sensei Michelle Gay for the Society for Martial Arts Instruction, and anatomy workshops for LIMS. Amy's 'Embodied Asana' workshops and anatomy classes are a part of the Breathing Project’s Advanced Studies Program, and she co-teaches with Alison West on Yoga Union's Teacher Training program. Amy is certified as a Yoga teacher by Heart of Yoga and Yoga Union, and as a Motherhand Shiatsu practitioner. She is registered with ISMETA as a Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator, and is registered at the 500-hour level through Yoga Alliance. She studies kinesthetic anatomy with Irene Dowd and BMC with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. Amy also studies Yoga with Kevin Gardiner, Mark Whitwell and Alison West, and karate with Sensei Michelle Gay.
Nischala is a guest teacher for OYBC. Nischala Joy Devi is a masterful and compassionate teacher, internationally renowned since 1974. Educated by masters in India and worldwide, she was a monastic disciple of Swami Satchidanandaji for over 20 years. Her landmark research in pioneering Yoga for life threatening diseases, Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease and Commonweal Cancer Help Program, culminated in the creation of her Yoga of the Heart® certification course for teachers and health professionals. Author of several CDs, The Healing Path of Yoga and The Secret Power of Yoga, A Woman’s Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras. NischalaDevi’s teachings reflect a heart-centered perspective of spirituality and scripture. www.abundantwellbeing.com
Andrea Porter came to the Center in 1998 for her first Yoga class, and has been a student of Yoga ever since. She graduated from the Centers’ teacher training program in 2003, and teaches beginning classes throughout the year. Andrea has also studied Tai Chi and American Tribal Belly dance, and has been a mentor in the Yoga centers teacher training program. She continues her Yoga studies today through classes and workshops and by studying Sanskrit with Dr. Michele Desmarais of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
In the fall of 1989, Deborah Pufall arrived at a time in her life when the door to growth opened wide. She stepped through it into her first Yoga class and knew very quickly that she had found where she needed to be. The gentle yet strengthening physical activity, the moments of quiet reflection and insight, and above all the love & joy that emanated from her first teacher helped her begin to find a better way of living in the world. In the early 1990’s, that first teacher moved away & recommended that Deborah go to the Omaha Yoga & Bodyworks Center and the classes of Susi Gillespie Amendola, Deborah has practiced at the OYBC ever since. There were times when Deborah wondered why she came to class, or when she skipped classes, but something always drew her back to yoga. She says “Ever since I was as a teenager, I had two goals in life: to overcome the physical & emotional challenges that I had suffered for years, and to find wisdom. In Yoga I finally found the tools that helped me to feel I could reach these goals. What I didn‘t expect, and happily accept, is how peaceful and joyful life becomes when I’m using those tools.” When Susi offered a teacher certification program, Deborah joined the class and found a marvelous world of ancient wisdom and practical knowledge opening up to her; she also found a community of friends. She obtained her teacher certification in 2001, and was thrilled and humbled when Susi offered her the opportunity to become a teacher at the center. Of her teaching style, Deborah says “I hope to help others begin to experience the peace and the strength that I have found through yoga.” Life in this day & age can feel relentless; activities and responsibilities and demands on our time accumulate so fast that we find we are always pushing, pushing & being pushed. In her classes, Deborah hopes her students can find an oasis from relentlessness, and a chance to experience how Yoga can help us carry that oasis feeling with us always. Deborah is deeply grateful to her husband for his boundless support, his willingness to try anything (including tofu), his openness to ideas that are different from his own, and especially for his devotion to the ongoing process of personal growth. Thank you!
Suzanne Swang was born in California and was first introduced to Yoga in 1985 by Lilias Folan on PBS television. From there, she dabbled in books and random classes until she moved to Omaha where she studied with Susi Amendola and Mark Watson in 1997. She attended the 200-hour certification program with Kripalu in 2001. Her interest in therapeutic Yoga led her to study with Joseph Le Page and the Integrative Yoga Therapy program. She completed her 500-hour certification with them in 2005 and is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance at this level. She has mentored in the OYBC Teacher Training Program 3 times, attended several Yoga conferences, a Pranayama intensive workshop, a spiritual pilgrimage to India with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait with the Himalayan Institute, and most recently a Vipassana 10-day silent meditation. She considers herself a student in this vast and ever expansive science of Yoga and truly enjoys sharing what she has learned with all others!
Robyn Tait took her first Yoga classes in 1975 as a way to escape the confines of boarding school in Nelson, New Zealand. She incorporated bits of Yoga into her life for many years, but began her "real" practice after moving to Washington D.C. in 1987. It has been a consistent part of her life ever since, providing a link to herself and to the spirit of her homeland, all land, where ever she is. Robyn completed her teacher training with Susi Amendola in 1994, and has taught at OYBC and in the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease at Immanuel Hospital. In 2002 she spent a year in New Zealand where she was privileged to study Iyengar Yoga with Rosie Holland. She is Yoga Alliance Certified at the 200-hour level. Yoga has given her the freedom to hear the voice of the divine. She loves to share this path with others, using asana, meditation, breath and chanting. She gives thanks to her teachers: Susi Amendola, Rosie Holland, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Theresa Murphy, Anna Forest, her parents, her three teenage children, and her husband, John. Namaste
Wuji, Wayfarer Of The Golden Flower, has been studying and practicing the meditative arts since 1984. He is an accredited T'ai Chi Chih teacher, Lic. Massage Therapist, Reiki Master, and ordained minister with the Spiritual Healers and Earth Stewards Convocation of ministers. His commitment to the healing arts and to peace practice became the central focus of his life after a violent near death experience. He sees all sentient beings as radiant flowers blooming in a blooming universe. His sincerity and dedication to the freedom, health and enlightenment of all beings has reached the pinnacle of its expression in the meditative art of, T'ai Chi Chih. He is thrilled to bring T'ai Chi Chih to the Omaha Yoga And Bodywork Center. Wuji and creativity are good friends. He paints, writes poetry, creates masks, loves to dance,tell stories, drum, laugh loud and often, and bow to every need of his four legged girlfriend Blanche. Remember, slow motion cures commotion. Give it a whirl with Wuji and T'ai Chi Chih!
First introduced to Yoga through a video in 2003, Monika Duszynska started Yoga as a way to loose weight. Her practice cost her 40 lbs; 5 years and counting!
The experience of freedom, delivered via video tape, opened a world for Monika that changed her life. Monika built upon the experience by starting regular Bikram and Hatha Yoga classes. In time, her practice brought her balance, and to that she says, "For as long as I could remember I felt like there was something else out there and I found it through yoga." Monika completed the teaching program at the Omaha Yoga and Bodywork Center in 2007.
Marissa (right)
Marissa McMillin was raised in Omaha surrounded by a community of alternative healers. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2003 with a B.A. in Political Science and wrote her senior thesis using feminist theory to explore women's body image issues in our society. After struggling to understand an illness that she endured post-college, Marissa was hugely inspired by Ayurveda. She then decided to attend The Institute for Integrative Nutrition in Manhattan in 2006, graduating in 2007 as a Certified Holistic Health Counselor with continuing education credits from the Teacher's College at Columbia University and a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She is consistently intrigued by the process of uncovering the connection between how we eat and how we feel. She is currently enrolled in the Yoga Teacher Training Program at the OYBC and looks forward to using the tools of yoga, meditation and ayurveda (her three favorite super heroes) in conjunction with holistic health counseling.
Reo (left)
Food is on our minds! It is in the headlines- wrought with socio-economic, political, and scientific controversy. Whether it's biotechnological breakthroughs with genetically modified produce, the diet industry, factory farmed food recalls, or the notion that healthy foods have to be expensive. How are we supposed to know the basics of what to eat?
Helping people find a symbiotic relationship with food is my passion. I grew up on sugar-laden cereals and frozen dinners. I began soothing my emotions with food at an early age. By high school my obsession with food led to an eating disorder. After a breakdown in college I began working with an Ayurvedic doctor who taught me that Food is a holistic lifestyle. I began to cook for myself and others daily. Food became my art. Feeding myself while feeding others nutritionally rich, wholesome, organic meals is my pleasure in life.
I have worked as a cook and baker in numerous restaurants and cafes in Omaha, New York City, and Northern California. I graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City and completed my practical training at Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley, California. I have experience with traditional French cuisine, Ayurvedic cooking, vegan, vegetarian, macrobiotic, and animal-based foods. I specialize in creating meals to fit one's personal nutritional needs that are a pleasure to the senses. I, Reo Jones, would love to cook for and/or with you!
Liz Dolejs received her training from the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has training in Swedish massage, deep tissue, ortho-bionomy, pregnancy massage, comfort touch with a focus on subtle energy techniques. She also incorporates elements of shiatsu, traeger work, aroma therapy and myofacial release. She has studied cranial sacral therapy in Boulder, Colorado.
Liz believes our nervous system is always responding to the external environment perceiving what is safe. When we don’t feel safe, patterns of internal protection emerge and a sense of separation can occur between our mind and our body.
Her way of working is to be gently present with the individual while interfacing wit the nervous system. This invites stillness of the mind in order to make room for the body to tell its story.
The ultimate goal is to allow one to experience the wellness that comes from the integration of body and mind on a deep level.
Jacque Denney graduated from the Universal College of Healing Arts in September of 2007. Her services include: Swedish, corporate chair, myofascial and deep tissue massage. She also uses aromatherapy when requested and mixes her own oils and creams for such things as muscle aches, psoriasis, bug repellent, etc. She is very interested in Eastern and Native American medicine and continues to expand her knowledge of both.
Ramona Miller received her training at the Universal College of Healing Arts in Omaha, Nebraska. She has training in Therapeutic Swedish Massage, deep tissue, pre-natal/pregnancy massage, comfort touch, myofascial release. She also has training to perform bodywork and massage for people with fibromyalgia. Ramona is also Level II Reiki.
Ramona believes that we need to provide awareness and understanding of the mind, body and spirit for the total care of every person through education and services. Her ultimate goal is to provide that service through massage and bodywork.
Ramona is also a registered nurse at the Hospice House in Omaha, Nebraska. She incorporates her comfort touch and Reiki with her patients and their families.
About Patrick Davis, MA, LMT, NCTMB, PCC-"Spirituality Man"
Patrick has over 10 years experience as a Bereavement Specialist and Hospice Chaplain. He is also an independent consultant and the founder of Desired Outcomes a developmental program for finding new direction in life. He has developed a series of inspiring courses, leadership retreats and life coaching tools. Patrick teaches for various cutting-edge programs and shares original music (such as the Caregivers Song©) at conferences. Patrick holds a Masters in Adult Education. He is certified by the International Coaching Federation and he is Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. He has served in various leadership positions in health care, education and in the community. He volunteers as a superhero called, "Spirituality Man" for a children's grief center.
Julie Luzarraga, LCSW, DCSW Julie has been a mental health profession al for over 10 years. She graduated from Boston College with her Masters degree in Clinical Social Work in 1998. In 2004, she earned her Diplomate in Clinical So cial Work. Julie founded The Center for Counseling and Psychotherapy and Emerging Mindful ness, where she works mostly with adults dealing with life’s challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and trauma. Her primary clinical focus is supporting people through infertil ity and working with families participating in Collaborative Divorce. Julie is the chair of the Nebraska Association of Social Workers (NASW) Ethics Committee, is the NASW Liaison for the Association of Private Practice Therapists, and Co-Chair for the Nebraska Association of Collabora tive Professionals. She is also a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. See midtownmind.com.
Cary, "I’m the mother of two young men. My interests include reading, hiking, walking, and water sports, kitchen arts, gardening, health and longevity, and world peace. Yoga is an outgrowth of my interest in sports and fitness. It’s my belief that yoga is a scientifically based method that, with dedication, leads to a healthful and peaceful life-style. The stress reduction techniques available to beginning yoga students inspired me to want to tell others about them, and so begins a new path towards peace for me, through sharing the knowledge and practice of yoga. Namaste."