Our Teachers

Abigail recently completed The Yoga Common’s 200 hour teacher training program, after practicing for about 7 years. Her practice is influenced by her dance background and she aims to create a positive environment that facilitates her students growth and connection to the practice.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland Alicia moved to New York City in 2002. She has practiced yoga for 20 years and began a more vigorous practice in the last ten years. Finding the right instructors made all the difference, once she found the right instructors, her love for her yoga practice deepened. In 2019, with encouragement from her favorite yoga instructor and her yogi classmates, she decided to become an instructor herself. She completed her 200-hour teacher training at Laughing Lotus NYC (LLstudio) simply because all her favorite teachers came from Lotus. She learned a great deal from her training and continues her education with workshops. She recently completed a 25-hour Flow and Fly training at LL studio.

Alicia has taught at Mang'Oh yoga, New York Sports Club, LL studio (formerly Laughing Lotus studio), and Westbeth Artists Residence.

Andrea Lodico is a New York-based yoga teacher. She found yoga through dance, beginning a new journey of movement and discovery. Since 2004, yoga has been a source of joy and calm within the hustle of life in NYC. In her teaching, she hopes to share the passion and peace she feels on the mat and provide students with an environment in which they uncover new insight, vibrant presence, and strength. Andrea infuses her classes with playfulness and dynamic sequencing in which students move through asana from a strong foundation of alignment. A vigorous and lighthearted practice works to encourage mindfulness of breathing and somatic awareness. Andrea is filled with gratitude for her teachers and the community that yoga has brought into her life, having completed a 200-hour certification at mang’Oh yoga in 2014 with Erica Whalen and her 500-hour training in 2017 at Boston Yoga School in Boston, MA under the mentorship of Ame Wren and Kevin Courtney. She received a 75-hour certification through Kula Yoga Project & The Sacred Fig with Nikki Vilella and Anton Brandt in September 2019.

In addition to teaching yoga, Andrea is an arts administrator, working with choreographers and dance companies to bolster infrastructure and guide change and strategic planning. Over the last decade, Andrea’s creative and strategic vision, along with her commitment to collaboration and innovation, has distinguished her as a leader in the dance field.

Instagram

Annie (she/they) has over 10 years of experience teaching yoga, Pilates, and various movement modalities. She worked for several years as a yoga therapist at a neurology practice, where she helped patients re-pattern neural pathways for muscle movement, rebuild their strength, and address chronic pain via meditation, breath techniques, yoga, and other physical and alignment-based work. She has extensive experience teaching pre and postnatal yoga and Pilates, and considers it an honor to work with women during this incredibly special time in their lives. She is passionate about her work with veterans and those suffering from PTSD, and has volunteered at veteran centers and domestic violence shelters across the five boroughs. Annie has taught movement, wellness, and yoga workshops in many corporate and hospitality environments including Condé Nast, Misha Nonoo, the Shimano Bikes, the Park Avenue Hyatt, Lloyd's Banking Group, the United Nations, and many more.

Annie has a private practice in Manhattan, and offers in-home yoga, yoga therapy, Pilates, rehabilitative movement, and healing sessions. These one-on-one sessions are extremely focused on whatever the individual needs, and she takes great joy in helping clients discover their ability to heal themselves. Her clients range in experience levels and profession -- everyone from students to marathon runners to CEO's to Grammy Award winners.

Annie is also a professional actor and director and studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, where she now directs and is on faculty in the movement department. Her creative spirit informs her eclectic, inspired teaching style and permeates everything she does. www.practicewithannie.com // @anniefeelsthings

Asherve Andre Walker began his professional career as a professional dancer. Trained in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and West African Dance, I toured domestically and internationally with Alvin Ailey II and Lula Washington Dance Theater. His desire to expose the world to dance, has extended beyond the stage, leading to my tenure at Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, where he taught ballet, modern, and hip hop to youth ranging from ages six to seventeen. Upon transitioning out of dance, he spent over ten years in corporate, where I supported teams in finance, real estate, communication, and entertainment. In continuance of his purpose to empower others, I applied my skillset to a number of other areas. Certified with 300+ hours of training, I served as Operations Manager and Yoga Instructor for Laughing Lotus Yoga Center, where he empowered others through Vinyasa Yoga, Power Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Chakra healing, meditation, and mind-body proficiency. I have continued to support individuals as an independent yoga instructor.

Chintamani (she/her/hers) discovered yoga on a whim and quickly realized how powerful, yet simple, yoga can be to help bring balance and healing. Yoga helped Chintamani overcome trauma and redirect her life towards health and wellbeing. She quickly realized yoga was a gift that needed to be shared with everyone.

Chintamani teaches classic and specialty yoga, and is a longtime Teacher Trainer in the mang’Oh 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Program. She continues to study yoga, yoga for injuries and other healing modalities, including Anatomy, Pilates and Mindfulness Meditation.

Chintamani’s classes blend mindfulness, alignment and joyful movement; encouraging safety and skillfulness, as well as freedom and expression. Chintamani’s mission is to get us all to move, breathe, find our joy, and feel connected and smart.

www.yogawithc.com
Facebook | Instagram

David’s journey in yoga started over 20 years ago. Being a former gymnast and of Japanese descent, he was immediately attracted by yoga’s vigorous yet meditative approach. During his decade long work as a relief worker for the Red Cross and the UN in Africa, Middle East, and South Asia he worked in terrible conditions, war, and natural disasters. Many elements of yoga – breath work, meditation and asana- helped him towards managing emotional and physical hardship.

However, such working conditions came with a price – PTSD, malaria, anemia, and Degenerative Disc Disease. His back pain was so bad he could not get out of bed in the morning. Eventually David decided it was time to recover and heal. That’s when a solid yoga practice and the will to become a yoga teacher emerged.

David is now a yoga teacher, a healer (Reiki Master) and certified in Thai Massage. In class, he focuses on balancing body and mind and strongly cues for proper alignment and safety.

David wishes to share his passion for yoga with his students and to encourage them to expand yoga practice beyond asana and help set a path towards healing and strengthening body, mind and spirit.

Gloria infuses artistry and musicality into her classes with creative choreography and uplifting playlists that range from traditionally classical to cutting edge hip-hop; inspired by years of formal dance and music training. Her classes are non-intimidating, challenging and fun!

She credits the Mang'Oh Community for providing the solid foundation upon which her personal practice is based, and for inspiring her to become a certified instructor.

She is trained in the Hatha/Vinyasa style of yoga for adults, children and teens, having also studied at the Karma Kids Yoga School in New York City. She also has a certification in Mindful, Trauma-Informed Yoga from the Yoga Medicine Teacher Training Program.

She has studied the practice of yoga in studios all over the country, and was a devoted Jivamukti Yoga practitioner for over a decade.

She is currently pursuing a 500-hour certification through MangOh Yoga’s 300- hour advanced teacher training program, and is proud to call Mang’Oh Yoga Studio her home.

Ilana comes from a dance background that has taken her through college, overseas, and across the states. Movement has always been a pillar in Ilana’s life, however it was pursuing her 200-hr in 2020 that opened the gates to her greatest passion: teaching others how to reframe the understanding around their own bodies. Since then, she has pursued her 85-hr Prenatal Yoga certification and 30-hr Katonah Restorative Yoga training.

Along with the knowledge of kinesiology that has come from her extensive dance background, Ilana uses metaphor as the other driving force behind her teachings; the mat as your mirror, the body as your house, the breath as your partner. She believes that what shows up on the mat shows up in life, and the realization of this very notion is what makes yoga so transformational. In Ilana’s classes, you can expect a merging of mind and body that will leave you with an acute awareness of your patterns and potential. She’ll see you on your mat.

A performer from a young age, Josh has always had an interest in movement as a form of expression. While receiving his BFA in Musical Theatre, he was exposed to multiple forms of dance but was never really a ‘dancer’. He arrived in NYC in 2005, attended his first yoga class, and found that it was the right speed for a ‘mover’ while being just as expressive and beautiful as classical dance.

Adding in the deep intellectual and emotional connections had him immediately hooked. Following years of exposure to awe-inspiring instructors, he found himself full to the brim, and the only option was to start putting it back in the world. He received his certification in 2014 and has been upwardly expanding since. His goal in teaching and practice is to cultivate multiple levels of awareness while aligning the physical body with the heart’s intention.

By creating a safe, healthy environment for the exploration and play of dynamic asana, he aims to weave the depths of ancient philosophy with the demands of modern life, allowing for a yogic approach to any situation the every day might present.

Black. Womanist. Storyteller. Healer. My yoga journey began in 2013. Then, I thought of yoga as just a good stretch and I practiced rather inconstantly. It wasn’t until 2015 that I started to appreciate the ways yoga was positively affecting every aspect of my life. My mind and body were more settled and present. The sense of compassion, curiosity and consistency yoga brought into my life is what I want to share with others while we learn from each other and build our community.

I am a certified yoga teacher (CYT 350 hrs), originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. I passionately specialize in Vinyasa, Yin and Meditation. My classes are an invitation to breath, to pause, to release, to re-align and re-energize.

Li practices a challenging and energetic vinyasa to strengthen and stretch the body. He is passionate in living an active and mindful life, and draws inspiration when guiding students to unlock and discover potential in their practice.

He came to New York City from Nashville, TN in 2020 at the height of the pandemic to support his wife’s work as an infectious disease scientist. Living and working from home through the pandemic, Li relied on yoga to maintain a strong body, persevere through the isolation and find gratitude in every breath.

In addition to his work in studios, Li is proud to have been a volunteer yoga instructor teaching in underserved communities in community centers, parks and events to encourage active and healthy lives.

Li received his yoga teacher training from the Baptiste Institute.

Maggie has been teaching yoga since 2012, but her fascination with movement and body awareness began long ago when she trained as a ballet dancer and started teaching dance during college. She then went on to enjoy running a successful recruiting business in New York City, M. Luca & Associates.

She reconnected to her dancing past and started practicing yoga on a regular basis in 2010. Two years later, she completed her Yoga Teacher Training at Mang'Oh. Since then, she has plunged into teaching a wide range of students.

She obtained an advanced teaching certification in Yoga for Arthritis in 2013 and certifications in Yin Yoga, Chair Yoga, Restorative Yoga and Yoga Therapy in 2014 from Integral Yoga Institute. Most recently, after several years of study, she has been accepted as a Yoga Therapist by the International Association of Yoga Therapy.

Maggie also studied the roots of Yogic philosophy in Haridwar, India. In addition to teaching at Mang’Oh, Integral Yoga Institute and other New York studios, Maggie has a private Yoga Therapy practice for students with movement disorders, arthritis and other health issues. Maggie hopes to share her enthusiasm for the benefits of yoga with the Mang'Oh community.

Masako stumbled into a yoga class after having a particularly hard day in February 2001. The rest, as they say, is history. She practices yoga not only for its physical, mental, and emotional benefits, but because it is just so much fun! Sharing what she has learned and experienced with her students has brought her joy and happiness beyond all measure.

Originating from Japan and having gone to an all-girls Buddhist school has prepared her to infuse Buddhist teachings with yogic philosophy, and weaving them into the class. She is known for her mindful, caring, kind, and light-hearted approach to yoga and to her students. Masako is a certified Integral Yoga and OM Yoga teacher, with additional training in restorative, yin, pre-and-post natal, and chair yoga.

Stephie (she/her/hers) is a mind-body enthusiast. Throughout all of her life, she's championed human connection, movement, and community. Stephie received her certification through the mang’Oh 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Program and continues to study yoga and mindfulness when she's not riding her bike in the city or soaking up the sun at a park.

Stephie teaches classic and restorative yoga and her classes blend alignment, mindfulness, breath, and joyful movement. Stephie encourages safety and skillfulness, as well as creativity and individual expression. Stephie's mission is to promote inclusion in the search for wellness and wellbeing. She's humbled to pay forward the wisdom of her teachers and mentors.

Stephie can be found on Instagram @stephiesyoga and on Facebook at facebook.com/stephiesyoga.

When Erica found The Yoga Common, she was running around New York City teaching at various studios, gyms, and living rooms. At the time, the studio had a tiny community and was in need of some love and inspiration. In 2007, she, along with her business savvy sister and dearest friend Cynthia, purchased and reinvented the studio.

Today, The Yoga Common has become the place they always dreamed it could be: a sweet yoga sanctuary full of heart and soul. Erica is in love with the practice of yoga. She profoundly believes in its healing effects for the individual body and spirit, as well as the collective whole. She delights in teaching beautiful and expressive asana classes in the hatha vinyasa style. Every day, she is inspired by and grateful for all of the students and teachers that call The Yoga Common their yoga home. Erica has a BFA in Ballet and Modern Dance from Texas Christian University, and she received her yoga certification through Laughing Lotus Yoga School. She lives in Austin with her husband, Evan and her two children, Charlie and Lila.

Erica Santiago received her BFA in Ballet and Modern Dance from Texas Christian University in 2003. After graduation, Erica continued her training at intensive workshops with great artists such as Alonzo King and Doug Varone. 20 years ago, Erica became a mother to her incredible daughter, Crea, which completely changed the trajectory of her life path. Through the birthing process and early childhood years with her daughter, Erica became a seeker of truth. Not knowing where to begin, in 2005 she came home to Austin seeking soul healing. She enrolled in Dharma Yoga of Austin's yoga teacher training under the direction of Keith Kacthik and continued to work as a dance teacher and dancer. She became a member of Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company where she stayed for 6 years and had the honor of being nominated “Best Dancer” by Austin Critics Table. As her dancing life continued, she was gifted with the opportunity to perform with Contemporary Dance Fort Worth, Contemporary Ballet Dallas, Ballet East Dance Theater, Wild Goose Chase, and Lisa Nicks and her Wild Band of Ponies.

In 2011 Erica took a sabbatical from the dance world to pursue her love of yogic philosophy. By the grace of Mother Divine, she was introduced to Vedic rituals and the study of the scriptures of ancient India. Over the last 10 years, she has had the good fortune to study with authentic teachers from Chinnmaya Mission and Sri Rajarajeshwari Peetham while being held in sacred space to journey through her own rebirth and deep healing. She is a devotee of our Mother Divine, a student of Advaita Vedanta and is receiving ongoing tutelage in the philosophical applications of yoga and evolutionary astrology which she integrates into her movement practices and choreographic explorations to round out her teaching style as a universal approach to conscious living through artistic expression.

Trained as a massage therapist at Lauterstein & Conway and mentored by Dr. Arthur Peterson, D.C. and Jeff Johnson, LMT she learned (and continues to explore) ways to harness that energy and focus it for the well being of others. Erica has learned that dance, yoga, massage, and meditation are all different tools in her toolbox of healing modalities through the years. Her deepest passion addresses the whole being, body, mind, emotion, and consciousness in an intuitive and creative way that affirms one with his/her most profound knowing of truth for their greatest benefit. The cornerstones of Erica’s work are willingness, conscious consent, faith, and curiosity. From this foundation, Erica co-creates actively with her clients to bring them into a profoundly transformative space where they have the choice to bring into conscious awareness that which no longer serves and therefore release at the cellular level.

Erica founded Shakti Moves Dance Company seven years ago to provide a sacred place to explore spiritual philosophy, the human condition, and artistic expression.

Erica is currently self employed through Elemental Therapy where she uses movement, meditation and massage to support people on their healing journey.

Paulina’s yoga practice started when she was in middle school at a Barnes & Noble in the suburbs of Salt Lake City with the book Ashtanga Yoga by Juliet Pegrum. As a dancer Paulina was drawn to asana, and as someone with a non stop monkey mind Paulina NEEDED the practice of mental stillness yoga teaches. Paulina received her 200 RYT certification at Practice Yoga in Austin in 2017 and immediately began teaching kids. Since then she has taught first graders through adults: incorporating creative flows with strong alignment cues to create a practice that is fun, detail focused, and grounded. Paulina loves to mix up her yoga playlists and is particularly fond of classic rock. She is so excited to join the wonderful team at Yoga Common.

Jess has been practicing yoga for over a decade and is happily furthering her practice through teaching yoga to others. She aims to introduce her students to movement that they can carry with them in their daily lives. Jess tends to emphasize graceful and fluid movement in her classes and is always striving to influence students to connect with their breath and body.

Lauren was born in Canada and moved to Dallas, TX in her childhood. She has lived in Austin on and off since 2007 and loves the city for its great food, live music, and friendly people. Lauren has been practicing yoga for 20+ years and teaching for nearly 10.

Lauren’s background is steeped in martial and internal arts, primarily Praying Mantis Kung Fu, as well as jiu-jitsu, tai chi, and qigong. Her classes are infused with the strength and mindfulness practices of these traditions.

When taking Lauren’s classes, you can expect to learn something new before melting into savasana. Her classes are both informative and nourishing. Lauren’s teaching focuses on self-inquiry, embodiment, and alignment.

Lauren has a BA in Developmental Psychology and an MA in Community Development. When she is not teaching yoga, you’ll find her practicing martial arts, paddle-boarding Lake Travis, or cooking with her husband.

Yoga has been an integral practice in my life for nearly ten years. I received my 200 hour YTT in Austin, TX, and studied meditation and yoga in India in 2020. In my personal life, this practice serves me in quieting the chitta vritti, or mental chatter, so that I can cultivate inner peace, and return to self. I am not concerned with being a "perfect" yogi, instead I find that this practice continues to remind me to not take myself too seriously, and to release and allow the only constant in life: change.

In class, my hope is to create a safe space for students to return to themselves, and feel held by communal breath and movement. Further, I hope in my class you can find balance between ease (Sukha) and strength (Sthira); allowing yourself to create the space you need to thrive. I believe that a yoga class full of warmth and fellowship can be the best balm to soothe any aches. We are humans, doing our very best at any given time - I hope to nurture compassion (especially towards self), kindness and support in every session. As Ram Dass said, and I firmly believe, "We are all just walking each other home".

I look forward to practicing with you!

Nathan was first introduced to yoga asana as a warmup before high school theatre productions, but the philosophy and embodiment practices quickly became foundational to his everyday life. Difficult life transitions, injury, and both physical and mental illness kept luring him back to the mat for years to come.

Having completed his 200-hour power yoga teacher training in 2016, Nathan has since grown his practice through such programs as a 300-hour training; a “Yoga For All” certification to guide students of all body sizes and abilities; and “Embodied Social Justice,” an exploration of how the body responds to unjust social conditions and how a disciplined embodiment practice can sustainably fuel one’s own social justice work.

In class, Nathan invites students not to escape the world around them, but to orient themselves within it. He encourages curiosity and compassion, using a physical challenge as a mechanism through which to accept, embrace, and marvel at one’s own limitations and abilities alike—all while leaving room for the occasional pun and a please-don’t-take-me-too-seriously demeanor.