Blanca Alcaraz
Founder, Co-Owner & Co-Director
Raised as a migrant worker, I learned about the boundless power, beauty and energy of the land. My unwavering respect for our soil was literally cultivated in our family’s daily dependence on it for survival.
From the work fields I migrated into an adolescence filled with violence, anger and rage, so much so that an educator told me that I would be dead by the age of 16. Fortunately for me, another educator was able to recognize and hone my true potential. Simply put, he believed in me.
One of the first places that I learned to listen to my body and to find in it an expressive path was sports. My years as a competitive athlete in the US and abroad made me entirely dismiss the idea of yoga.
My first experience with yoga was shortly after 9/11. As a firefighter, my sense of loss for everyone that day grew tremendously. Words became insufficient and my body became a receptacle for that silence and stress. For me, exercise has always had a meditative quality that unites my body, mind and soul. Increasingly, however, going to the gym was not enough, and injury and overuse had made many other sports impossible. With yoga, I found that I no longer was trying to prove anything to anyone, especially to myself, that simply being is enough.
As I deepened my exploration of yoga training, I also rediscovered many of the mind-body healing traditions that surrounded my youth—the heat work of Temazcal, the energy work of Curanderos; my yoga practice today blends not only East and West but also North and South.
My life is an example of the power of unconditional love and a testament to giving kids a second chance. I am forever grateful.
Jaclyn Kryzak
Co-Owner, Co-Director
As a competitive athlete, I played women’s ice hockey for Boston College where I received my bachelors and masters degree. I later graduated from the evening division of Suffolk University’s Law School. Today, I continue to work as a solo practitioner attempting to get people to actively participate in the resolution of their legal problems and to address all of the other issues that come with them. People often comment that I am a lawyer who also teaches yoga, but I think it quite the opposite. I am also a real estate agent, certified spinning instructor, and have passed the exams to become a firefighter. Did I mention that I have a true passion for teaching yoga?
I found myself on my yoga mat for the first time, having had multiple surgeries as a result of sports related injuries and a lifetime of ignoring what my body was attempting to communicate to me, all in the name of competition. I was looking for a way to move again without pain. What I found was so much more.
Our practice is a metaphor for our lives. It is about creating space for ourselves–beginning to breathe in whatever it is that we need in the moment and breathing out what no longer serves us. As we empower ourselves through this process on our mats, the more we are able to create the same space, strength, breath, or whatever it is that we are seeking, in our everyday lives.
My own personal practice has empowered me to create a path which challenges me at every bend, and which constantly reminds me that I am most definitely alive and human. In my teaching, I try to create similar challenges (or opportunities if you will) through creative and varied sequencing which incorporates many balancing poses and focuses on transitions—the small spaces and details which we, on and off our mats, tend to pass over. But more than anything I invite students to simply give themselves what they need, however that shows up, and to really own what they have created for themselves in their practice. So come enjoy!
Norman Brzycki
norm@beinunion.com
I started practicing yoga over 8 years ago. The impact it has had on my life has been profound and from my very first class knew I had to share it with others. My purpose in life is to empower and inspire people to transform themselves and their lives. For close to 15 years I have had the pleasure of helping thousands of people pursue their passion, goals and dreams, to discover their true purpose, and to experience the true power and freedom of “being.” I have worked with artists, athletes, college students, entrepreneurs, CEO’s and corporate executives. All of these individuals have had different circumstances, dreams, wants, and hopes. All have a unique voice, a purpose, and a want to live a motivated and passionate life. All of these people I have helped. I bring this unique experience, understanding, and compassion to all of my yoga classes.
I have had the great honor and pleasure of being trained to teach by Coeli Marsh of Teachers Study Project as the as well with Claire Estes McDonald and Gregor Singleton through the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute.
Steven Darwin
steve@beinunion.com
Steve Darwin
I was originally drawn to yoga in 1998 as a way to integrate my body’s opening while receiving extensive structural body work as well as homeopathy, and nutrition counseling. In a way I had reached bottom. My business was overwhelming me, I was a new father, and my health was suffering. I started my practice with Baron Baptiste and I will never forget when he said “if you practice yoga a couple times a week you will get a good workout, but if you practice 4 or 5 times a week your life will change” I told my wife that my life needed to change and that I was going to be practicing yoga. After a couple of months my life did change. My business became easier to operate in comparison to what it was. My relationship with my wife changed much for the better. I became a compassionate father for my growing daughter. My health issues began to resolve.
My structural therapist began to teach me how the asanas worked with the physical body and how to explore that on a personal level. I have been inspired by and have taken intensives with Baron Baptiste, Ana Forest, Shandor Remeti, and T. S Little as well as many teachers in and around the Boston area. All of these teachers are a part of my practice. Through this guidance I began to develop a keen awareness of how yoga affected my mind and body. Yoga literally began to follow me out of my home or studio and out into life. The mind of yoga was something I had to share.
In 2008 after some soul searching I decided that it was time to teach. I became a part of the “Yoga Teachers Study Project” led by Coeli Marsh in Cambridge, MA. The “Project” is still ongoing helping me to develop authenticity in my teaching. I am constantly trying to learn as a teacher wanting to share with others the life transformation that yoga has to offer.
Tegan Hughes
tegan@beinunion.com
For Tegan, the journey into yoga began as a fitness goal. The practice soon opened her heart, swept her away to Thailand, and is now a daily presence in all aspects of her life.
As a massage therapist and culinary artist, Tegan’s philosophies have always been based in active creation. Inspired by the teachings of Kriya Yoga, she encourages her students to simply “get up and do”, and the rest will follow—commitment to action, surrender to the mystery.
Tegan’s classes while based in the Ashtanga tradition provide space for all body types and levels of flexibility. She strives to help students embrace their own path by listening to and honoring their unique body. “Life should be fun, and so should yoga, do what you can, its good enough!”
Tegan is grateful for the wisdom of all her teachers including Paul Dallaghan, her family, friends and all those who have rested on or sat at her table.
Jen Fitzpatrick
jen@beinunion.com
I went to my first yoga class about 10 years ago looking for an alternative to my daily gym habit. I kept going, and keep coming because the practice makes me feel so good. Yoga has graced me with physical strength that no gym ever delivered and a contentment I never found in my accomplishments, books, or my refrigerator (and trust me friends, I have looked).
I am grateful to all of my teachers, especially David Vendetti and Todd Skoglund, for encouraging me to carry the practice off my mat. Through challenging but accessible sequences, mindfulness, and a wee bit of humor, I aim to help my students lean in to their present experience one breath at a time.
Monica Delgado Chaffee
monica@beinunion.com
I began practicing yoga as a means of complimenting my running routine about 10 years ago. I had no clue that this ancient practice could completely change my outlook on myself, change my self destructive habits, and uplift my spirit. I thought that finding yoga would improve my running time—I never expected to find myself or improve my relationships with family, friends and myself. What a wonderful thing!
I received my yoga certification from South Boston Yoga with David Vendetti and Todd Skoglund. Through their guidance, I truly learned what it means to feel within my body and mind, and how to sequence classes with healthy and integrative intention. My hope is for my students to discover new ways to connect with their bodies and their minds.
In my classes expect sequencing that emphasizes alignment and integrates as well as strengthens your muscles from your core to the tips of your fingers and toes. I welcome all levels of students and am thrilled to be a part of such a vibrant, enthusiastic yoga community.
Sarah Tivoli
sarah@beinunion.com
Yoga has been at the core of my life both a physical and mental outlet. As I progress as a practitioner my life continues to evolve—I am happier, healthier, and more in tune with myself and others. Yoga has given me the confidence to follow my passions and ignore the pessimists. I hold a BS in Health Studies from Boston University, am a licensed massage therapist, yoga instructor, and yoga therapist. I have also studied around the world, including a month long residence yoga therapy program in India, a residence course in acupressure massage in Thailand, and an apprenticeship with a Naturopath in Ecuador.
Yoga is a life journey that ebbs and flows. Anyone can practice yoga and benefit from it. As written by Swami Satyananda Saraswati: “Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritance of the present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow.”
I am passionate about the field of wellness and it is my goal to inspire health on a physical, mental, and energetic level.
Emily Owens
emily@beinunion.com
I came to my mat as part of my own mental health journey. I have found yoga to be one of the most important spaces of physical, mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual healing in my life. My physical practice has helped me tap into something strong in myself and something much bigger than me or my experience. Through my practice, I’ve begun to break through the greatest boundary in my own life, on or off my mat: fear. Through yoga, I have become more mindful, more compassionate toward myself and others, more energized, and a whole lot less afraid. My yoga follows me far off the mat, energizing me in my other passions as a student, a gardener, a cyclist, and a lover of all things related to growing and cooking nourishing foods.
On and off the mat, I see yoga as a doorway to go through again and again on our way to clarity. I think of the physical asana practice as an entry point into exploring and being curious about our bodies and all other aspects of ourselves. Sometimes our practice is quiet and peaceful, sometimes it’s silly and fun and sometimes it’s focused and powerful. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to share what I’ve learned…and to keep learning and exploring with each of you.
Jenna Obelsky
My introduction to yoga came at an early age when my grandmother would gush about the wonders of her evening classes held at the local bathhouse in Southie. I would smile and nod, assuming she was doing some kind of old lady aerobics. True to form, my grandmother was ahead of her time. It wasn’t until almost ten years later that I would discover yoga for myself. My practice is inspired and enriched by her memory.
The beauty of yoga for me is in its ability to teach self-care and self-compassion. By connecting body and mind through breath, we bridge a gap between our internal and external worlds. They work in unison, perhaps for the first time, and we are able to give ourselves what we need, not what we think we need, or what we think we should need.
As a recovering perfectionist and a former college athlete with a touch of endurance junkie, yoga has taught me to slow down. It has taught me that sometimes less is more and “perfect” is subject to change. We can make decisions for today in this moment, with this body, and with this mind, and they might be different than yesterday’s conclusions or the paths we choose tomorrow.
It is with compassion and an open heart that I share this practice that has grown to mean so much to me. It is my greatest hope, both for me and my students that the lessons learned on the mat will be carried through to all aspects of life.
Jill O’Toole
The ways in which yoga has changed and enhanced my life are immeasurable. Prior to yoga, maintaining any type of regular physical activity was always a struggle. In practicing yoga I realized that I was capable of actually doing anything, including something physical. I saw and felt changes in my body and abilities, which kept me coming back. Along with positive changes in the body, came positive changes in my thinking, perception and attitude.
As the former wardrobe/makeup artist for Blue Man Group, I spent many long hours working in an extremely physical and fast-paced environment. Only after I moved on to a career in public relations, did I realize how much physical damage I’d done to my body. As I settled into corporate life, I found myself becoming increasingly lethargic and generally unhappy. I knew that something had to change, but it seemed hopeless. Yoga was and is the catalyst, the tool that helps me to make changes in my life.
In my teaching I strive to provide a safe and fun environment to practice in. It is my goal to encourage students to challenge themselves, to take risks, but most importantly…to modify their practice to meet their needs—or in other words to use their practice as a tool to support their body and to create the life they want for themselves.
Liane D’Alessandro
I went to my first yoga class when an old college track teammate asked me if I wanted to join her. “Sure I’ll go. I heard that’s good for you.” Little did I know the profound effect it would have on me in years to come. After the first class, I noticed how loose I felt and how much more I was able to concentrate the rest of the day. I noticed how much it calmed my racing, anxious, frustrated mind. I felt like I was finally breathing for the first time in my life!
In an effort to recreate my life in my early thirties after witnessing the toll that stress had taken on my mind and body, I committed to practicing yoga each morning before work. I became a more joyful, dedicated, and effective high school biology teacher. And I began to experience the thrill and ease of living in the present moment.
Through child’s pose, up dog, down dog, half moon, and headstand, I have learned that the breath can heal most problems, that life is manageable one moment at a time, and that the body can do infinitely more than was once thought possible. It is this feeling I get each time I practice that I want to bring to my students both on and off the mat.
Christine Resnikoff
When I was twenty four I was unhappy, unhealthy and overweight. I began my quest for overall well-being by joining the local gym and losing sixty pounds but something was still missing. I enrolled in the Holistic Nutrition Certificate Program at The Integrative Institute of Nutrition. I began to explore the mysterious world of “caring about yourself” and “listening to your body”. Wow! My body had been, quite literally, dying for me to listen. Oh, the things I discovered about myself!
Over the years I have become closely tied into the local food movement in our community. I have owned a small food business, and interned at a local farm. I am passionate about connecting people to their food and guiding them towards a healthier more natural way of eating and living. I have since established myself as a Holistic Nutritionist/Natural living mentor.
I can remember a feeling of great elation and a need to tell the world about my first experience with yoga. That is how I feel now, all the time. Yoga makes me feel better—it forces me to ask questions, to soothe and cleanse my body and soul. At the end of my practice I am completely and utterly rejuvenated, strong, empowered, and most of all HAPPY.
And it is this elation, this sensation I have to teach, I have to share. So come explore your practice in a relaxed and playful atmosphere.
Irene Lanois
I began practicing yoga because it played off my natural flexibility and used it as a way to stay in shape. What I ended up finding was time to find myself.
I have dedicated my life helping others through a career in social work. And one of many important things this work has taught me is the importance of taking care of myself. However, long hours and hard work left little energy to spend on my own needs. Interestingly, as opposed to taking energy, yoga gave me energy. It gave me 90 minutes to spend doing whatever it was that I needed to do for me. Yoga empowered me to find and follow my passions and reminded me of the importance of listening to my body and my heart.
I believe that anyone can benefit from the power of yoga, especially the disbelievers like myself, and want provide a space and means for that empowerment of self to happen. From the people who think that you need to be super flexible to the ones that think that yoga is some kind of new age fad, I want to show that yoga is what you make of it. Yoga will be different for each person and will be different to the same person on different days. So come make what you will and let’s see what happens.
Zoe Kelly-Nacht
I came to yoga as a dancer. Over time, I began to experience yoga as a quiet artistic practice unto itself; all the pleasure and richness of moving meditation, without performance, expectations, competition or drama. A pretty classic neurotic New Yorker, yoga has become an integral means of embracing the messiness of my internal and external worlds. On the other hand, exploring different physical and mental states within the practice often feels like a natural extension of growing up within a dynamic city. As a doctoral student in religion and literature I get to spend a lot of time with ancient Yogic and Buddhist texts that only deepen, inform and challenge my practice on the mat.
Alison Hook
I began my relationship with yoga relatively late in life, after the birth of my two children. Though I came from a background in gymnastics and dance, fitness played no part in my everyday life as a mom. Urged by a friend looking for an exercise partner, I very reluctantly came to the mat and immediately found that the practice of yoga not only strengthened my body, but also cleared and focused my mind.
I now consider that first class the greatest gift that I have ever given myself. With regular practice, I’ve learned that yoga gives the gifts of clarity and kindness in all areas of life and brings us a unified awareness of our bodies, hearts, and minds. When these things work together, we can begin to do things we never thought possible, and find a new strength, wisdom and joy both on and off the mat.
I became a teacher with the hope of sharing this gift with others. I hope to inspire students to use their yoga practice in all aspects of their life, encouraging them to focus in on the truest parts of themselves and to find their own practice that will help guide them to a more balanced and fulfilling life.
Diane Wong
Diane’s route to practicing and teaching yoga was circuitous. As a child it was clear to Diane that race and race relations was a significant area of concern for many Americans. After high school, she put those concerns aside, married and became a mother. When her kids started school, she went to college where she started to think again about justice. A move from Cleveland, OH to Cambridge, MA for Law School followed, and then a move to Oregon where she found a large international community of psycho-therapists teaching the practice of “Sitting in the Fire” of heated conflict and emotion. For five years this dynamic practice played a central role in Diane’s quest for justice and self-awareness.
Back in Boston after years of aerobic exercise for body strengthening and stress relief, Diane found Hot Yoga and realized the end of a long search for conscious, spirit-related body work. Yoga provided a soothing holistic way to heal and strengthen her body while intensely deepening her spiritual practice. Hot Yoga coupled with meditation and spiritual consciousness provided a path for her to uncover her own internal guidance systems, her own systems of understanding justice.
Since completing her yoga teacher training, Diane is looking to apply her invaluable skills in conflict resolution (even within one’s own self), by helping to illicit within her students their own physical and emotional healing and spiritual consciousness, while finding their heart’s desire, in their yoga practice. Posing perplexing questions of our lives within her teaching such as “what do I want to offer the world?” and, “what do I desire to create in my life and in the lives of those I love?”, Diane hopes to aid each of you in your quests for healthier, fuller, more abundant lives.
Elizabeth Kellogg
My first experience with meditation and yoga was in the sixth grade when my teacher, Mr. Williams, tried so very hard to impart the essential truth that we are our own best teachers. As much as I loved his life lessons in stillness (not that I was such an enlightened child, what ten year old wouldn’t prefer laying on the gym floor to integers?), it took several years (dare I say decades?) to find my way to a consistent practice.
I had an on-again off-again relationship with yoga my entire adult life, until I discovered power vinyasa yoga. I described it to anyone who asked as yoga that doesn’t make you feel like you still need to go for a run afterward. Chronic back pain disappeared and I could move my body in ways that I hadn’t been able to since I sat in Mr. Williams’ classroom. More than that, for me yoga is the calm, patience, equanimity, and ability to be still enough to hear my own wisdom that I had laying on the gym floor when I was ten.
Since I am an educator, it seemed inevitable that I teach yoga eventually, but it wasn’t until I began practicing with Jaci Kryzak and Blanca Alcaraz that I realized what I waiting for. It took thirty years, but I finally found the right mentors for me, whose philosophy is rooted in Mr. Williams’ life lessons, including the silliness of sixth graders trying to master crow pose. No matter what classroom I am in or what lingo I use to describe it, my role as a teacher is to empower students with that same essential truth: you are your own best teacher.