Teachers
Stacey DeGrasse
Stacey DeGrasse (RYT) is an Anusara-Inspired™ yoga teacher and CHY co-owner. Stacey brings a sense of compassion and open-heartedness to her classes as she seeks to empower her students to recognize their full potential, both on and off the mat. She began practicing yoga in 1997 and did her teacher training in 2005 at Willow Street Yoga Center in Silver Spring, MD. Stacey thanks the numerous teachers that she has had along her path, particularly her teachers Suzie Hurley and John Friend. She is grateful to be able to share these teachings with others and especially enjoys teaching yoga to beginners. For Stacey, playing a role in introducing this transformative practice to so many people is the most rewarding part of being a yoga teacher. Stacey and her budding-yogi husband Jeff live on Capitol Hill and love being a part of such an inspiring and invigorating kula. Learn more about Stacey at www.oceansofgraceyoga.com.
Betsy Poos
Betsy Poos, E-RYT-200, is an Anusara-Inspired™ yoga teacher, and keeps the good vibes flowing at Capitol Hill Yoga as co-owner and teacher. Her playful classes share Anusara Yoga's heart celebrating approach through a joyful exploration of breath, alignment and compassion. Betsy took her first yoga class shortly after moving to Capitol Hill in 1999 and immediately fell in love with the strong movement on the mat and the peaceful spirit of yoga that leaks off the mat. She completed the Living Yoga Program in 2005, Willow Street Yoga Center teacher training in 2009 and furthered her prenatal teacher training with Mary Barnes in 2010. Betsy thanks her many teachers along the path including John Friend and Suzie Hurley, as well as her students, her beloved husband Jason, daughter Stella, family and friends for their support and upliftment along the journey. Learn more about Betsy at www.yogawithbetsy.com.
Kate Miller
Kate Miller has been teaching yoga for over twelve years and is a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher. With a gift for teaching to all levels and physical conditions, Kate encourages her students to affirm and honor all that they embody. She feels that if we can learn to live from a place of acceptance and awareness, change and development are truly possible. Kate’s teaching style is playful and well suited for any level of student. She holds a gift for weaving words of inspiration and spirit into her clear, direct instruction. Kate also works as a professional birth assistant (doula) and offers retreats and trainings throughout the world. Kate recently received a Masters in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica. Learn more about Kate at www.redmoonyoga.com.
Naomi Gottlieb-Miller
Naomi Gottlieb-Miller is a Certified Anusara yoga teacher, RYT. She began her practice of yoga to take the edge off of living in New York City, upon moving there over 10 years ago. It was once again yoga that chose her path, taking her from NYC back to Washington, D.C., her hometown, to study how to teach yoga to others. After graduating from Willow Street Yoga's Anusara Teacher Training in 2005, Naomi has come to the conclusion that choosing yoga was the best choice she ever made. She continues her yoga study with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, Amy Ippoliti and Sianna Sherman, focusing specifically on the Therapeutic benefits of yoga, as well using yoga to help an already healthy body even more fit. Naomi brings lightness and play to all her classes, encouraging students to invite a healthy dose of laughter into their practice. She is inspired by the joy her students bring to their mats and considers teaching yoga the best gig ever. Learn more about Naomi at www.tothestickymatandbeyond.com.
Kelly Fisher
Kelly Fisher of Wildflower Yoga is a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher with over 20 years of yoga and meditation practice and experience. Her teaching is influenced by everyone she meets, and special thanks go to John Friend and Douglas Brooks for their generosity of spirit in sharing their wisdom. Within each class she strives to bring compassion, thoughtfulness, and joy to her students' lives. Learn more about Kelly at www.wildfloweryoga.com.
Tara Lemerise
Tara Lemerise, E-RYT-200, is an Anusara-Inspired™ yoga teacher who fell in love with yoga after her first class in 1999. Since completing teaching training at Willow Street Yoga in 2005, Tara continues to study Anusara Yoga and is know for teaching fun and rejuvenating classes with clear, patient and encouraging instructions. She has a deeply calming way of teaching restorative yoga and brings a strong understanding of anatomy to all of her classes, which helps her students understand and appreciate their bodies in new ways. She especially enjoys introducing beginning yoga students and seniors to the joys of yoga. For more info about Tara, check out her website: www.yogataraonline.com.
Katie Myer
Katie Myer, RYT-200, is an Anusara-Inspired™ yoga teacher committed to helping you create the life you love. Katie approaches yoga from both an intellectual and creative perspective, infusing her classes with mindfulness, a playful spirit, and a connection to the heart. Anusara yoga has helped Katie uncover her most joyful, most authentic version of herself; her classes inspire others to consciously reveal their most authentic selves, while having a blast on the mat. Katie's teaching is informed by her recovery from a back injury using the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment™, and she delights in empowering students to free themselves from pain. Katie's thirst for knowledge drives her to advance her understanding of yoga through regular studies with senior Anusara teachers. She is thankful for their unbounded generosity in sharing the gift of yoga. Learn more about Katie at www.yogakatie.com.
Jennifer Mueller
Like so many, Jen Mueller, RYT-200, first came to the yoga mat because of an injury, seeking nothing more than to feel better and balance her body for running. She comes back to the mat because yoga invites her to embrace her body and mind with all its imperfections and then to look beyond them to the greater Self. Jen brings a sense of joy and playfulness to her classes - both the adult and kids classes (certified Itsy Bitsy Yoga instructor)- and hopes to offer her students the sense of freedom she finds in yoga. Jen completed her yoga teacher training in the Anusara yoga style at Willow Street Yoga Center in October 2010. Off the mat, Jen has been living on Capitol Hill for more than a decade and is honored to be the mother of a 3 year old.
Noelle Callahan
Noelle Callahan, RYT, is grateful to her first teacher, Stacey Rosenberg, for introducing her to Anusara in 2003 in San Francisco. The practice of yoga has changed her life and she is convinced it can change yours. A graduate of Willow Street Yoga Center, she infuses humor and fun with the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment™ to inspire and empower her students to transform their bodies, hearts and minds, both on and off the mat. Noelle is thrilled to be part of the CHY kula. To learn more about Noelle visit: HalfMoonFullLife.com
Rebecca Gitter
Rebecca Gitter, RYT-200, is delighted to share the wonders of yoga with the littlest yogis and their caregivers. After training with Itsy Bitsy Yoga founder Helen Garabedian, Rebecca became a certified instructor for Babies, Tots and Tykes. She continued her studies in children’s yoga – completing trainings with Radiant Child, Budding Yogis and Yoga for the Special Child programs. Rebecca holds additional certifications in pre & post- natal yoga. Her classes are a playful environment where babies, kids and the grown-ups who love them can safely discover yoga through age appropriate poses, songs and play. As the mother of a teen & a tween, her first yoga students, Rebecca understands the challenges of parenting and knows yoga can bring balance and support in raising healthy and joyful kids.
Denise Alston
Denise Alston, RYT-200, received her Kripalu yoga teacher certification in 2003 and has practiced yoga consistently since 1999. These years of practice have brought her health, peace, and joy and through her teaching, she seeks to open the way for her students to find the same. She continues to grow her practice and teaching skills by pursuing a second 200-hour certification in ParaYoga. A long-time resident of Capitol Hill, Denise has also taught her neighbors at the Sherwood Recreation Center.
Kahlil Kuykendall
Kahlil Kuykendall, RYT-200, is a joyful and encouraging teacher whose daily yoga practice includes Kundalini and Hatha yoga. Kahlil is a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher, certified in 2007 through KRI (Kundalini Research Institute). She is also certified as a Hatha yoga teacher having trained in 2001 with the Indian Institute of Yoga. She believes that yoga is for everyone and her goal is to provide students with a well-balanced and grounded practice. Inspired by the birth of her four children, Kahlil is a certified prenatal yoga teacher who creates an environment where pregnant women gather safely in an ancient circle of belonging. By opening the heart and trusting our intuitive powers as women, her classes are graceful experiences of sharing the dance of life. She also enjoys teaching yoga to children and is a certified Yoga for Youth, Yoga Ed. and Radiant Child yoga teacher.
Erin Carnahan
Erin Carnahan received her Pilates mat certification from the Physical Mind Institute/Body College in Washington, DC. She also received certification in Pre and Postnatal Pilates from the Center for Women's Fitness. She enjoys teaching because she loves to see her students grow stronger, develop better body awareness, enjoy greater ease in movement, and enhance their lives through their practice.
Christina Popescu
Christina began practicing yoga and pilates 10 years ago to compliment her usual running and gym workouts. She was immediately hooked by both its physical and mental benefits. Shortly after relocating to the DC metro area, she had her "aha" moment and began working towards her yoga teaching certification and eventually her Pilates certification. Christina is certified through Power Pilates of New York and is a student of various forms of yoga, especially vinyasa flow. Her classes are challenging yet accessible for students of all levels.
