Ben Crosky
Founder, Guide

Ben has led groups in Spain, UK, Iceland, Panama, Nicaragua and Belize. Working as a tour guide in the streets of Barcelona while simultaneously working for a yoga studio was the inspiration that eventually led him to merge the world of yoga and travel into what is now a collection of some of the most unique adventures on earth.

From the Founder: Most people rarely get a chance to pack their bags and set out on an epic adventure. The way I see it, you can either visit a place, be happy and come away with average tales of a far away land, or you can explore more deeply than average. You can be blown away on a daily basis, fill your time with breathtaking moments and authentic adventures. You can come away knowing you’ve just tasted magic. You can leave feeling more alive at the very core of your being. Curating these moments is what makes me feel more alive. The opportunity to do so over and over again with SolYoga is a gift that I do not take for granted, seeing every trip as if it truly were each participant’s once in a lifetime chance to have an epic journey.

Katie Silcox
Teacher

Katie Silcox, recently named one of San Franciscoʼs Best Yoga Teachers Under 30 by Common Ground Magazine, has studied with the world’s pre-eminent teachers, scholars and visionaries in the world of mind-body health. She is a senior student and assistant to Yogarupa Rod Stryker, one of the worldʼs most well-respected yoga and meditation teachers today. This style of practice, known as Para Yoga, blends the three rivers of Tantra Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda and the Yoga Sutras into one comprehensive study.Katie was also taught yoga in south India, in the home of the yogis A.G. and Indra Mohan, authors of Yoga for Body Breath and Mind, and two of Krishnamacharyaʼs last students. She is a certified Ayurvedic Wellness Educator and Bliss Therapist from the country’s most recognized school of Ayurveda, and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Hindu Religion and Philosophy. Her Ayurvedic studies includes personal mentorship with Devi Mueller, President of the Ayurvedic Medical Association. Katie currently teaches local classes, workshops in the San Francisco Bay area, and periodically teaches on a national and international scale (www.yoginiwarrior.com).
Check out her website for more information and insight: www.parayogini.com.

Jenn Pici
Teacher

Jenn is a Yoga Alliance certified Power Vinyasa instructor with 10 years of practice and close to 5 years of teaching under her belt. A former collegiate distance runner, Jenn turned to yoga for guidance and balance. She believes in the healing power of yoga and welcomes people of all levels to be challenged and inspired by it. She creates her “flow” series for the day depending on the students’ energy, the moon cycles, and her own creative inspiration. Jenn uses music to guide the flow of each class and says teaching yoga is her favorite and most fulfilling part of each day.

Check out her blog for more information or insight: jpiciyogini.blogspot.com.

Jorja Rivero
Teacher, Mexico, Blast Your Heart

Jorja Rivero, LMSW, is an Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga Teacher, has a Masters from NYU, and formally trained at the Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy. She completed her teacher training with Zhenja la Rosa, extensively studies with Elena Brower, and has engaged in formal mentorship with Ross Rayburn – all Certified Anusara® Yoga Teachers. She is endlessly fascinated and inspired in facilitating people in their self-discovery process with an intention that always honors the universal and personal. When you acknowledge, engage, and align your physical, mental, and emotional life: you become your ultimate expansion. For more information please visit Jorja’s website at http://www.mindbodyexpansion.com.

Michelle Pfennighaus
Teacher

Michelle Pfennighaus is continuously amazed how yoga has changed her life. Yoga guided her away from a stressful, anxiety-ridden lifestyle and career in advertising and slowly but surely towards a more authentic way of living. She is now registered through Yoga Alliance and has studied with David Vendetti, David Swenson and Josh Summers among other amazing teachers. She teaches group and private classes in the Boston area. Michelle is also certified by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as a holistic health and nutrition counselor. Michelle’s life reinvention is documented in the movie “Lemonade” and she has appeared on CBS, ABC and NPR with her inspiring story. To learn more, visit http://FindYourBalanceHealth.com.

Skylor Powell
Teacher/Guide
Panama: Yoga and Jungle Ecology

Skylor began practicing yoga 4 years ago in Colorado Springs during her pursuit to understand the human mind through psychology at Colorado College. After only a year of practicing at Corepower, Skylor came to a new understanding about her path in life: why only study the mind in psychology, when she can learn how the mind works in conjunction with the body through yoga? Shortly after, Skylor completed her teacher training and began teaching right away. Since then, Skylor left the beautiful mountains and snow in Colorado to pursue her work in one of the more community based cities in the country, not to mention the yoga capital of the States. Skylor is dedicated to helping her students develop a strong foundational practice so that they have the freedom to build onto their own practice in a way that suits their individuality. When Skylor is not at the studio, she is a holistic health counselor, helping individuals to alleviate stress in their lives, remodel their diet and increase exercise in their daily routine. In the words of Harold Kushner, “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.” Skylor is honored to be part of a community that is so strongly dedicated to taking care of the individual so that we are more capable of making the world a more peaceful place to be! Contact Skylor for more information about yoga or health counseling or visit her website at http://myyoganutrition.com/.

Heather Lilleston
Teacher
Panama: Yoga and Surfing

Originally from Northern California, Heather has been living and teaching Jivamukti Yoga in New York City since 2003. She completed the Jivamukti teacher training with Sharon Gannon and David Life while finishing her bachelors at New York University. She then completed her 800-hour Advanced Certification in 2008.

Her classes integrate creative vinyasa sequences with meditation, chanting, good music and spiritual philosophy. Weaving scripture from both the Yoga and Tibetan Buddhist traditions into the asana practice, her goal is to create a space for practitioners to realign themselves with conscious intention, leading to both an inner and outer transformational experience. She is known for her sweetness, passion and authenticity.

She has studied with a myriad of teachers: Sharon Gannon, David Life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Gurumayi, Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally, Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman.Contact Heather for more at http://www.heatherlilleston.com.

Ellen Waylonis May
Teacher
Costa Rica: Yoga and Fire Dancing

Ellen Waylonis May credits yoga with helping her to create a life nourished by healthy relationships, positive choices, and self respect. She completed the 500 hour Body Awakening Structural Yoga teacher training with David Vendetti, and has been teaching vinyasa yoga since 2007. Ellen’s teaching is informed by an understanding of anatomy and posture, which translates into intelligent alignment and smart sequencing. She firmly believes that yoga is for everyone, whether you can put your foot behind your head or barely touch your toes, and she encourages students to smile, laugh, and celebrate their bodies and lives through their practice.

When she’s not on the mat, you can find her six feet above it – Ellen finds endless fun in studying and teaching partner acrobatics, and she loves sharing the sense of freedom and community that comes from working with others to open new doors of possibility. She is enrolled in the 2010-2011 Pro Track Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts – an intensive training program in acrobatics, aerials, and other disciplines. Ellen also enjoys playing with fire. She has performed fire eating and contact fire routines across the United States, and is featured in the upcoming documentary, Life on Fire.Contact Ellen

Aarona Pichinson
Teacher
Iceland: Yoga in the Midnight Sun

A lover of movement, a designer of lifestyle, and a believer in the power of collective awareness – Aarona is a dedicated teacher and guide.

Born in Los Angeles and relocating at least 10 times while growing up, her perspective was shaped by an array of people, places, and practices. This laid the groundwork for her unique and hybrid style of teaching and her understanding of living today. Aarona shares what inspires her and believes that a commitment to our own personal development is all it takes to make dynamic shifts in our wellbeing and happiness.

On the mat, Aarona offers a dynamic and unique yoga practice full of vigor and grace. Through playful and challenging sequences combined with thoughtfully selected music she guides students to dive deep into the body to utilize the brilliance of their focus and breath and build confidence in perhaps uncomfortable places. Connecting breath to movement, feet to core, and head to heart, Aarona’s classes cultivate personal power and awareness so that one can apply this in their individual and personal life. Her ongoing practice and shared teaching techniques help to build strength, a steady flow, a calm mind, and a fierce presence – both on and off the mat.Contact Aarona

Stephanie Sandleben
Teacher, Founder of Sama Yoga
Nicaragua: Yoga, Service, Adventure

Stephanie Sandleben was first hooked by yoga in her teens through her mother, a Kripalu style Hatha yogini, along with inclusive spirituality and awareness of breath from her father, a Sufi Sheikh. After several years of exploring different styles and teachers, and a mind-blowing trip to India, she completed her 200-hr teacher training with Alison West at Yoga Union in NYC. Stephanie is currently inspired by the precision of Iyengar yoga, the freedom and creativity of Vinyasa, the poetry of Anusara, and continues her studies with Tias and Surya Little.

She teaches a slow, steady, and intelligent vinyasa class. Her aim in the practice is to build heat to open the body, along with balancing the nervous system, so that each student can begin to observe their own internal dialogue. Each class is sequenced with care and attention to alignment.

Stephanie is also a certified Reiki Master by her teacher Vanessa Gonzalez. She started on this path three years ago as a way to understand the subtle play of energy in the practice and the communication of touch. Her experience with both Reiki and Yoga instilled the importance of Seva (self-less service) as part of her practice and she’s excited to share the gift of giving with others.

For more info visit samayoga.com

Daysha Hampton
Teacher, Director of Asia and Africa, Director of NGO Relationships

Daysha has been a student of yoga for over 9 years. She has lived in a spread of countries around the world (New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, Ghana, India) and traveled to well over thirty other countries. In her near year-long trip to India, she stayed in an array of ashrams, studied with many gifted teachers, and completed her full yoga teacher certification at Yoga Vidya Gurukul through the Bihar School of Yoga tradition (along with exploring her way around India from the deep south, to the Rajasthani desert, to the heart of yoga in India, Rishikesh, and up into the Tibetan Himalayas). She also went trekking in Nepal along the Annapurna mountain range that converges with Everest.

Daysha has been teaching yoga for over three years, initially in Idaho, then in Boston, and now in Washington, DC (though she still returns to teach in previous cities). She teaches kids to seniors, privately and in masses, in schools, studios, gyms, corporate classes, government agencies, and in nature. Daysha teaches classes ranging from meditation and traditional yoga to a creative advanced Vinyasa and Hip Hop yoga. She also studied Ayurveda in India, Yoga Therapy in Idaho, and took her Bodhisattva vows at the 14th Dalai Lama’s Spring Teachings in 2007 in Dharamsala, India. In 2005, Daysha began her study of Buddhism in Thailand with her primary teacher, Dr. Chatree. In 2007, after a two week silent meditation retreat in southern Thailand with the Abbot of Chatree’s home monastery, Suan Mokkh, she was told she should teach meditation. Daysha is grateful for her many teachers in meditation and in yoga. Daysha teaches meditation through multiple traditions including Yogic, Theravada (Vipassana), Tibetan, & some Zen. Daysha also incorporates Iyengar style yoga into her teaching, as she studied with Master Iyengar yoga teacher Patricia Walden while in Boston. She puts on a number of workshops each year, sometimes traveling to do so.

In teaching yoga full-time for the past few years, Daysha has taught more than the required number of classes to qualify her for an E-500 RYT certification through Yoga Alliance. And with degrees in International Business (B.S.) and International Development (M.A.), Daysha is combining the best of the best in travel knowledge, international studies, and yoga instruction for her part in SolYoga.

To find out more please visit Daysha’s Website

Dagmar Spremberg
Teacher, Founder Montezuma Yoga
Tulum, Mexico: Yoga, Music and Full Moon Retreat

Dagmar Spremberg moved from Germany to Los Angeles in 1996 and began practicing and studying yoga. After moving to New York, she intensified her studies and trained with certified Anusara teacher Elena Brower at Virayoga. She moved to Montezuma, Costa Rica in 2001 and founded Montezuma Yoga, where she began teaching yoga and organizing yoga retreats with international renowned teachers of all styles.. In addition to teaching Vinyasa flow yoga classes, she continues training and completed an Anusara Teacher Training with Lois Nesbitt from NY. Dagmar is a 500-hour certified E-RYT with the Yoga Alliance and an Anusara inspired teacher. As a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC she compliments yoga with her work as a certified Holistic Health Counselor and teaches lifestyle immersion programs within the Montezuma Yoga 200 Hr Yoga Teacher Trainings.

Dagmar believes that yoga is more than just bringing the foot behind the head. It is about re-connecting and feeling good about ourselves. It allows us to remember our own strength and beauty and re-align ourselves with something that is bigger than us. Through yoga we can get out of the mind and into the body and heart. We learn that we are free to make choices, so instead of turning away from the world, we engage with it in a conscious way with a new set of tools and new awareness and clarity. Our goal is to create balance and remove any blockages that keep us from living with joy. When we are living our truth and free from fear, we will inspire others to do the same.

Please visit Montezuma Yoga for more information:http://www.montezumayoga.com/.

Diane Hudock
Teacher, Owner Ahmanda Flow Yoga®, spokesperson for the Hamsa Children’s Fund
India: Yoga and Service Adventure

Diane Hudock is a leading and recognized yoga instructor known for her inspirational style of teaching, humor, and hands-on approach bringing together the expansive and healing principles of yoga within a dynamic and spontaneous Vinyasa flow. She has developed her own unique philosophy: “do a consciously challenging and heart-centered practice, that shifts you out of your comfort zone, in order to remove fear, expand the mind, and create the greatest freedom in the physical body.” Ahmanda Flow Yoga® is a ‘bliss movement in action’ — a creative vinyasa focusing on the three C’s: concentration, connectedness, and completeness. “I teach what I want to cultivate for myself and pass on to others. I want people to feel like they have taken a complete journey from when they arrive on the matt to when they end their practice. It that sense, it is a perfect mandala. They have made a complete circle from the inside out.”

Diane first discovered yoga in the mid nineties when it was offered as an extra-curricular class at Sarah Lawrence College. She left with a sense of well-being and mind-body connectedness she had never quite experienced before. From then on, she was drawn to this path for healing and self-inquiry. She continued her yoga studies in NYC, as well as, learning intensively in mind-body medicine, Reiki mastery, and bioenergetics. She moved to Los Angeles in 1999 and trained with some of the most renowned teachers including Mark Blanchard, Steven Earth, Frank White, Anna Forrest, Guru Singh, Chris Chavez, Anthony Benedetti, Noah White, and John Friend.

Her work has evolved with great appreciation and respect towards her greatest “teacher”, Himalayan Yoga Master – YogiRaj Gurunath who has served as her most prominent and influential guide along the path. She has travelled to his ashram in India learning the ancient techniques of meditation and self-mastery more deeply and remains a fervent speaker on his behalf, spreading his message of ‘Earth Peace through Self Peace’. In loving gratitude, she received the honorable accreditation of Hamsacharya by her master in 2008 and is a passionate spokesperson for the Hamsa Children’s Fund in Pune, India.

Jess Lewis-Peltier
Teacher, Founder Holistic Yogini
Peru: Yoga and Maca Root Adventure

Jess Lewis-Peltier is a traditional naturopath, Master Herbalist and yoga/meditation teacher who blends ancient healing practices with modern-day science to create a practical approach to holistic health. Her background in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and extensive training in holistic medicine gives her a unique perspective on how alternative healing works to aid the body’s innate self-healing capabilities. She has given lectures, taught classes, workshops and private consultations on herbal and holistic healing and living food nutrition around the country. Jess is a contributing expert for Yogamint and also writes for several online publications including Ecomii. She is also an ambassador for Manduka, one of her favorite brands of yoga products.

Jess lives and practices in Los Angeles where she gives lectures, workshops and classes on herbal/naturopathic healing, breathing exercises, energy work, meditation and yoga. She specializes in PTSD, body image issues and helping people connect with the divine within them. She’s currently working on her new book which will focus on teaching a practical approach of holistic health through energy, nutrition and science.
Her main studio/office is located in Studio City, CA; appointments are also available in Burbank & Pasadena. To schedule an appointment, call 310-751-0416 or click on contact on the left or bottom of the page.

Please visit Holistic Yogini for more information:http://www.holisticyogini.com/.

Carrie Tyler
Teacher, Founder of Rasamaya
Chile: Yoga and Wine Retreat – Morocco: Yoga and Bellydancing – Spain: Yoga and Flamenco – Paris: Yoga and Burlesque

Carrie Tyler has been teaching movement and seeing private clients for structural issues for the last 20 years. It is Carrie’s personal mission to teach adults to play and specializes in women’s health and sexuality in her private practice. As the creator of Rasamaya® Method she is known for her playful style of teaching, her strong knowledge of anatomy and alignment and her deep understanding of yogic philosophy and subtle energetics. Rasamaya is often tagged “intelligent movement” and offers classes and teacher trainings in the modalities of yoga, Pilates, aerial arts, barre, and structural therapy.

Carrie owns several studios and regularly presents movement, anatomy and women’s empowerment workshops, teacher trainings and retreats both in the US and abroad. She is honored to have been a Boston Yoga Journal presenter and to most recently have Rasamaya featured in the July/August 2011 Pilates Style Magazine.

In her spare time she is a visual and performing artist and co-owns Iron Heart Circus – a cabaret & burlesque circus troupe that challenges conceptions of human sexuality and gender and donates part of its proceeds from each event they host to Breast Cancer Research through the Save-the-Tatas Foundation.

Carrie considers all forms of movement & complimentary healing therapies to be preventative medicine, and that self-care and regular practice can reconcile many imbalances and dis”eases” of the body. Visit her website at Visit her website www.rasamaya.com

Robyn Parets
Teacher, Founder Breathe Joy Yoga in Sharon, MA
Belize: Jungle to Island Yoga Adventure

Robyn, a Reiki II practitioner, is also certified in Meridian Yoga and is an Ambassador for Off the Mat, Into the World. Her own practice consists of many yoga styles but is grounded in vinyasa yoga, a flowing creative yoga style rooted in breath awareness. Robyn is inspired by many yoga and meditation teachers, including David Vendetti, Diane Lagadec, Seane Corn and Daniel Brown. But she is most grateful to all those who have taught her to follow her intuition to live a life fulfilled. These teachers include her children, her husband, her parents, her students and her own heart. For Robyn, yoga is a life-changing, joyful practice and she aims to instill a sense of well-being and happiness in her students of all ages.

Her classes are taught flow style and are both uplifting and joyful. Often taught to rhythmic world music — and sometimes pop & soul! — classes with Robyn inspire students to open their hearts and deepen their yoga practices.

In 2004, Robyn launched Pretzel Kids, which incorporates Hatha yoga postures with fun, imaginative games and relaxation techniques for children and teens (www.pretzelkids.com). Robyn also runs the 200-hour registered Yoga Alliance teacher training program at Breathe Joy Yoga and is a featured guest teacher at New Age Health Spa in New York, one of the nation’s top destination spa resorts.

Please visit Breathe Joy Yoga for more information:http://www.breathejoyyoga.com.

Daniella Rosales-Friedman
Teacher
Buenos Aires: Yoga and Tango Retreat for Women

As a life long learner, bookworm and science nerd, Daniella never thought of herself as the athletic type. In fact, her introduction to yoga coincided with her introduction to her very own body. Daniella arrived at her mat over 10 years ago with her curiosity and her not yet discovered flexibility. There she found a playfulness, an inner focus, and a strength that came when she wasn’t even looking. Many exhales later, she continues to swoon over yoga’s charms.

Daniella has trained with Sadie Nardini, founder of Core Strength Vinyasa, and Schuyler Grant, Director of Kula Yoga Project. In the sacred space of Kula, her practice has evolved profoundly. She has the deepest gratitude for teachers of all kinds, and for the students that inspire her every day.

For more information about Daniella, visit her website: Daniellaviva Yoga.

Nina Hayes
Teacher
Santa Fe: Yoga Retreat

Nina is passionate about yoga as a vehicle for living with courage and equanimity. Describing her yoga mat as a magic carpet, Nina experienced a transformative ride through physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges. She credits her yoga practice with providing her the tools to consciously navigate life’s obstacles.

Having practiced for over ten years, Nina’s unique style is a synthesis of her extensive dance training and draws deep influence from the Jivamukti School. She has studied multiple traditions including Ashtanga, Iyengar, Baptiste, and Restorative. Incorporating creative and flowing Vinyasa sequences, uplifting music, healing breathing techniques, and ancient spiritual themes relevant to modern life, Nina welcomes students of all levels. Yoga is less about what you do and more about how you do it.

Certified with Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level, Nina received her teacher training at Samadhi Yoga in Sydney, Australia and with the Jivamukti School in New York. She has worked with an array of renowned centers including Canyon Ranch and Boston Ballet. Nina has collaborated with Children’s Hospital Boston and Dana Faber Cancer Center researching exercise and nutrition initiatives benefiting Boston’s underserved populations. Off the mat, Nina works as a professional dancer and vegan educator/baker. Nina earned her Bachelors of Science in Health Science and Dance, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Please visit Nina’s website for more information:www.ninahayesyoga.com.

Raia Kogan
Teacher, Healer
Panama – Yoga and Jungle Ecology

Raia’s passion for yoga and holistic health emerged while working with environmental activist groups in wilderness areas twelve years ago. She learned about natural remedies and self-care tools to support the activists’ ongoing well-being. Raia became inspired to connect the work she had been doing to protect and heal ecosystems with the work of inner transformation. Raia went on to live in yoga communities and immerse into spiritual practice and study for several years. Her teaching evolved out of a deep devotion to the practice and is an active expression of love.

Raia’s Vinyasa Flow Yoga classes combine fluid movement with mindfulness and breath awareness, set to devotional music to cultivate heart opening. She has been practicing and teaching yoga in the tradition of Baba Hari Dass for nine years and apprenticed and taught for the Yoga Teacher Training program at Mount Madonna Center for four years. Raia has also studied Vinyasa Flow Yoga with Shiva Rea, Mark Whitwell, David Life and Sharon Gannon and Tantric Hatha Yoga with Scott Blossom and Sofia Diaz. Raia is presently immersed in a 200 hour certification in Classical Shiva-Sakti Tantra with Sanskrit scholar Christopher Harish Wallis. Informed by years of experience as a bodyworker and training as a somatic therapist, Raia brings a deep intention to yoga practice as a path for healing, transformation, and awakening, while meeting students where they are. By inhabiting our bodies more fully, our breath and heart can expand into an experience of embodied liberation. Joining the ancient tradition of Yoga with knowledge of anatomy and yoga therapeutics, her intention is to offer a practice that is in alignment with the wisdom of the sages and the needs of our modern lifestyle, that is simultaneously joyful and profound.

Please visit Raia’s website for more information:http://devihealingarts.com/.

Georgie Abel
SolYoga Intern, Contributing Writer, Yoga Teacher

Georgie is a writer, rock climber, teacher and student of yoga, music nerd, adventurous soul, creative mind, curious world traveler, and lover of the outdoors.

Competitive gymnastics and rock climbing left Georgie’s body needing some healing, so she turned to yoga six years ago and has practiced almost every day since. She started teaching a few years later with the intent of sharing yoga’s transformative powers with as many people as possible. While Georgie’s love of travel has taken her many places, she says that the most life-changing adventures happen on her yoga mat.

To contact or learn more about Georgie, visit her website at www.georgieabel.com/.

Naseem Badiey
SolYoga Contributing Writer and Guide

A longtime student of beginning yoga, and a passionate world traveler, Naseem teaches at California State University Monterey Bay. When not researching academic papers, she contributes musings about her surroundings, her friends and family, and the ways in which yoga and travel continue to change her life.

“When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagine, either beforehand, or at the time when they are taking place, or afterwards when we look back on them.” – Karen Blixen, Out of Africa, 1937

John Babbott
Travel Writer Extraordinaire

John Babbott is a freelance writer. He tells stories that spring from an eclectic range of experience. His work includes travel writing on experiences in rural Sierra Leone, essays on American urban public education, reports and dispatches for the Minneapolis-based NGO OneVillage, articles on adventure travel and yoga, a collection of original short stories, and a 3rd grade level children’s novel.

To find out more, visit John’s website John Babbott Adventures