I came to the mat 9 years ago after years of endurance athletics left me worn out and no longer inspired. I was in search of a sweeter physical expression, craving a spiritual ground and a need to make peace with my body. I found a warm home for my spirit and an overwhelming physical strength on my yoga mat.

After receiving my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Certification at Silver Lotus Yoga Institute in the fall of 2001 with Susan Hamadock in Rehoboth Beach, DE, I opened Inner Bliss Yoga January 2, 2002. The intention of Inner Bliss has always been to encourage a vibrant yoga community on the Westside of Cleveland that supports a safe, nurturing environment for the exploration of the self through the practices of yoga.

I am grateful to Susan for showing the way and to all of my teachers, past & present. I am currently inspired by: Mitchell Bleier, Marni Task, Naime Jezzeny, Max Strom, Rowan Silverberg, Tim Miller, and Laurel Hodory. My greatest teachers however, are my students who fill me with inspiration and gratitude even during my most difficult moments.

I have extensive background in anatomy, physiology and fitness training, bringing over 20 years of teaching experience to my students. My classes are offered from the truth of my heart, my studies and personal struggles and insights. As a teacher, I assume the role of guide and encourage students to cultivate a dialog with their own, inner wisdom. My compassion & commitment to my students creates a joyful environment at Inner Bliss Yoga. You will feel the tender acceptance as you step inside the space.

Ginny has practiced the art of Yoga since 1992 and is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. In spring of 1997 she began teaching her first classes at the Lakewood Y. Her home practice is Ashtanga yoga.

Her students range from beginners to advanced. She has proudly taught the elderly who begin yoga in chairs and has run classes for high school girls. Ginny's "Yoga in the Park" summer series, held on the shores of Lake Erie at Rocky River Park, was voted by Cleveland Magazine in 2004 to be one of the top activities to do in the summer in an area park.

Ginny has trained with numerous nationally-known teachers and has taken advanced training in Ashtanga with Tim Miller, David Swenson, and Pattabhi Jois, the father of Ashtanga yoga. She lectured with her husband on "Health Benefits of Yoga for the Modern Woman" for Cleveland Clinic for three years. Since 2003 she and her husband have held an annual conference for Ob/Gyn doctors and nurses at Pura Vida Yoga Resort in Costa Rica.

"Yoga has become the backbone of my life. It has weaved its threads into all aspects of my daily living. My dealings with family and friends are colored by my practice. My athletic endeavors are helped tremendously by yoga, especially as I grow older. After two injuries over a few years from windsurfing adventures I have had to start fresh as a beginning yoga student. I learned the value of keeping the integrity of the posture and keeping my ego out of the way. My yoga practices helped tremendously by giving me insight into the value of small increments of progress; it helped me stop feeling the helplessness that can occur during recovery from injury and surgery."

"My passion is watching my students expand their personal vision. Many times I watch as they show surprise and amazement in their abilities to master a posture. First we must believe in ourselves even through the (seemingly) impossible, then all will fall into place from there." (Thank you to my students who have taught me everything!)

I discovered yoga for the first time with my teacher and mentor Tammy Lyons at Inner Bliss Yoga.  From that first moment, I  was hooked!  I have a long history of running and  yoga compliments the sport very well.  

I earned my 200 hour certification through the OM teacher training program.   My classes are fluid with breath, strength, flexibility, balance, motion and stillness and are set to upbeat music with lots of great energy.  I  try to take the energy of the group and move towards a higher level, melting limits and bringing awareness to all parts of the body and mind.   My classes are funky and challenging, but taught from a place of safety so that students can shine in their space on the mat.   Yoga is the “ultimate in living” and I hope to bring all the joy, peace and unity of spirit, mind and body yoga has given to me back into  the world starting with the classes I teach at Inner Bliss.

I am inspired by my teachers here in Cleveland and the wonderful support and energy of friends, family and my very sweet dog.

Angela comes to Inner Bliss from Charleston, South Carolina where she was stationed with her husband who is in the Coast Guard, which is also what brought her to Cleveland. She has a background in fitness (competitive swimming and running) and is a certified personal trainer.

Angela first began her practice in 2000 seeking some to add some yin to her running, swimming, and weight training regimen. She began practicing Iyengar yoga at Sun and Moon Yoga in Arlington, VA. Then in 2003, after moving back to Charleston, SC she began to practice vinyasa yoga and fell in love with the flow which was much different from her Iyengar beginning. After a running injury in 2004, she began to practice daily and realized how her body began to heal, her mind became calm, and she left her mat with a lighthearted spirit. Yoga brought balance into every aspect of her life and convinced by the powerful physical and spiritual benefits of yoga, she completed her 200 Hour Teacher Training at Holy Cow, Charleston, SC in Integral Yoga.

Angela has studied with K. Pattabhi Jois and is inspired by Erich Shiffman, Sharon Gannon and David Life, Judith Lasater, Doug Swensen, T.K.V Desikachar and Sri Swami Satchidananda who influenced Integral Yoga. Angela loves teaching flow classes with a balance between effort and surrender and gives modifications for every level. She favors flow classes because of the freedom it allows the student to dictate the intensity…some days we come to our mat and may need a little more yin after training hard. She also loves the many benefits of Restorative Yoga and has seen them in her own practice. Angela is delighted to be a part of the Inner Bliss Community.

I am a registered, 500 hour certified, Hatha Yoga teacher who has been teaching at Inner Bliss Yoga Studio since June 2005.  I started my yoga journey with meditation in 1975 when I became an initiate of Surat Shabd Yoga (meditation on light and sound.)  Meditation became the “rock”, the grounding foundation of my life. 

Seeking relief from chronic low back pain, I came to appreciate Hatha yoga many years later.  Initially, I practiced Anusara Yoga for approximately 2 years, and then Iyengar Yoga for an additional two years.  Both of these styles greatly influenced my teaching methods.  Due to my success at relieving my own back pain through yoga, I desired to share the benefits of yoga with others by teaching. 

In June 2005, I earned my 200 hour yoga teaching certification through T.R.Y. 4 Life, guided by directors Jan Hauenstein and Judi Bar.  Because I loved the yoga text books used in teacher training, which were published by the Himalayan Institute Press, Honesdale, PA, I pursued further yoga studies at the Himalayan Institute.  I was able to take classes from some of the authors, Sandra Anderson, Rolf Sovik, Psy.D., and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PH.D.  I also completed 75 hours of Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training, taught by Mary Cardinal.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from each of these wise, experienced, compassionate teachers at the Himalayan Institute, where I completed my 500 hour teacher training in April 2008.            

As described in the Yoga Sutras, Chapter 2, 46, Asanas, or yoga postures should embody steadiness/firmness and ease.  This is core to my teaching.  As I verbally describe the basics of alignment, I guide students to seek the comfort in the posture by focusing on the rhythm of their breathing.   Then we move into a slow flow of postures.  I feel passionate about teaching beginners, and students needing gentle or therapeutic classes.  

Dawn came to yoga in the mid-1980s when she had a physically demanding and stressful job as a Bond Futures Broker at the Chicago Board of Trade. Yoga was invaluable during her 10 years at the CBOT and before, during and after the birth of her 3 children. Yoga has been a constant if her life for many years and she has enjoyed witnessing her yoga move off of her mat and into all aspects of her life.

Dawn received her Hatha yoga certification in 1986 to deepen her personal practice. She began teaching yoga at the Beck Center in Lakewood in 1997 after her family made a conscious decision to move to the Cleveland area to be closer to family. Since then, she has actively continued studying many styles of yoga with nationally-prominent teachers by attending teacher trainings, conferences and workshops. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level and is a Thai Yoga Massage practitioner.  She is also one of the few teachers of Kundalini yoga in the Cleveland area.  Dawn brings a mature and eclectic style to her classes from her broad background of yogic studies and over two decades of practice.  Dawn is an adjunct professor at Baldwin-Wallace College where she teaches beginning and continuing yoga, techniques in relaxation and yoga for educators.  She also brings yoga and stress reduction techniques on-site to professionals and corporations through classes and seminars.  

Dawn is grateful she found yoga and the balance it brings to her life.  She came to the mat seeking ease in the body but found so much more! The stillness and calmness in the mind, a deeper connection and exploration with our true nature, openness and peace in the heart, and a healthy awareness of strengthening and nurturing the body keep her on her mat.  Dawn believes yoga is the perfect compliment to our wonderfully hectic and stressful lifestyles.  She loves all yoga and appreciates how different styles resonate with different people at different times in their lives.  ~ Yoga is the journey.

Kimberly Payne has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and was certified by Bhumi’s Yoga in 2003.  Kimberly truly enjoys community and people.  Like so many others she feels that yoga brings many gifts.  It has changed her, inspired her and has helped her to see her life more clearly.
 
Kimberly has studied with Yogi Amrit Desai, Dean Learner, Mitchell Bleier, Max Strom and many local yoga teachers.  She has taught many classes for children, has gained inspiration from spiritual retreats and enjoys Kirtan (the art of chanting) .    The spiritual depth of her teacher training has opened doors into many areas of yoga.  Bhakti yoga or 'selfless love' is a part of daily life.  “It brings wonderful experiences, large and small.” 
   
Close to her heart is her beautiful family, empowering friends, the natural world and the peace that a long breath can bring. 
“Om Namo Bagavate Vasudevaya”
          Thy will be done, not mine

Borrowing from the inspired and timeless words of Krishnamacharya, "Yoga is a life discipline, it is a means to improved health; to restored well-being in the face of illness; and to emotional balance and enhanced mental clarity. It is also the accessible path of progression toward union with the Absolute---whether conceived as a named God or a Nameless Truth." Robert believes that each person is unique and has a different starting point, and progresses in different ways but ultimately through Yoga, everyone is able attain balance, harmony, purification and strength in the body, mind and soul. Robert has studied with Tim Miller, Dean Learner, Doug Swenson, Johnny Kest and Sri Swami Srinivasananda to name a few...His classes are a fusion of many different Yogic styles but are primarily Astanga based and include Vinyasa (a method of flowing movement connected with controlled breathing) which create an inner heat and challenges the physical as well as astral body to break through our set boundaries. Come join Robert as he leads you through an energetic, and meditative Yoga class.

Yoga has completely changed my life.  I love it!   This sacred practice has allowed me to heal wounds that I struggled with for many years.  I discovered yoga six years ago and found it right away to awaken my spiritual, emotional and physical bodies.  

I am a certified and registered yoga teacher (R.Y.T.) through the National Yoga Alliance. I received my teaching certification through Bhumi’s Yoga and Wellness Center in the spring of 2006.   I enjoy sharing yoga with a wide arrangement of students.  

My first opportunity to teach yoga was to women in shelter at the Domestic Violence Center where I also coordinate their Volunteer Program.  Freedom comes when we empower ourselves to make change or stay in the present moment.  This is what I encourage for women to do at the Domestic Violence Center and also hope to help my students discover for themselves.  I think yoga should be available to and shared with as many people as possible: in yoga studios, schools, churches, jails, outside, anywhere and to anyone with an open mind.

I am so thankful to the wonderful teachers that have inspired me in my life and my teaching.  I teach to all levels a flowing class that is filled with continuous awareness brought to the body and mind through the breath.  I am inspired by the practice of Jivamukti and Ashtanga yoga.

Janice found yoga about ten years ago.  In some ways it would be more accurate to say yoga found her!  She did not even really like her first class, but some unknown force kept her coming back to the mat and the practice.  Little did she know at the time that she was about to embark upon a journey that would transform her life!
 
She discovered that the practice offered so much more than just physical benefits.  She began to see a shift in the way she viewed herself and the world surrounding her.  She found that the more she practiced, the more she felt alive, and a connection to that incredible life force that flows through us all! (hence the meaning of the word yoga - to unite; yoke).
 
Today as she moves from posture to posture she is trying to be in the moment, with her breath, with awareness.  She is working on rewiring her mind.  It is very challenging at times, just as life is challenging at times.  But, rather than trying to avoid that difficulty, she chooses to challenge herself with yoga in order to grow.
 
Her passion for this endeavor had taken her all over the country to study with a variety of soulful teachers, all of which she is deeply grateful to.  Locally, her dear friends and fellow teachers are Marni Task & Tammy Lyons who have been and continue to be a source of information and inspiration.
 
Out of the Cleveland area she has had the privilege to attend teacher training with Erich Schiffmann, as well as studying with: John Friend, Bryan Kest, Shiva Rea, Judith Lasater, Angela Farmer, Sean Corn, Paul Grilley and many others!
  
Her aim is to continue to study, practice, and share her insights along the way.  She hopes to encourage and guide others on a journey into awareness that is uniquely their own.

Fabienne obtained her teacher certification from Cyndi Lee’s OM yoga training at Evolution Yoga and is also registered with Yoga Alliance.

She teaches a powerful vinyasa flow class with a strong focus on alignment, inspired by the OM yoga and Ashtanga traditions. Her classes are open to every body and all levels of experience, so that all students may explore and challenge their limits, and reap the benefits of yoga in a fun and safe environment.

She practices yoga as a tool to thrive in her everyday life, and considers yoga her life philosophy as well as her way to reach toward a higher consciousness. She believes in simple and mindful living, and that we can’t go wrong if we keep giving it our best.

Fabienne holds a master’s degree in English and has also been licensed both as a private pilot and skydiver. While the first part of her life has been rather nomadic, taking her from France (where she grew up), to Germany, San Francisco, Boston, and Los Angeles, she has settled in Cleveland for over three years now and loves it! A random mix of her favorite Cleveland staples includes Agni Shakthi, The Gathering Place, Ty Fun, Nature’s Bin, the West Side Market, Balanced Living Magazine, Lincoln and Rocky River Parks…   Look them up if you’re new – or not so new – to Cleveland…

Kathy fell into yoga when a chronic running injury made all other forms of movement painful. Within a few weeks of dedicated practice the pain dissolved and yoga became an integral part of her life. What unfolded over the next 8 years of practice is what Kathy offers to you in her class, a combination of physical movement, combined with greater self awareness and possibility.

During 8 years of practice, Kathy has studied with Bikram, David Swenson, and Shiva Rae and has learned from many other talented teachers to become a certified yoga instructor. She loves to share what she has learned on her journey: incorporating mind, body and spirit together to create harmony and balance for your life.

Tom was certified to teach yoga by Bhumi in 2000 and has had a personal yoga practice that goes back over 25 years. His style has been labeled by others as "like Kripalu flow" but he avoids trade names and brands so he just calls it "yoga". It is permitted to enjoy yourself while practicing yoga with Tom. In his class you play with the range of motion in each of us because within our limitations there are infinite possibilities. There a sense of exploration and curiosity within asana practice with Tom. We go to the shape of the poses and fall in and out of alignment as we listen and respond to what our bodies tell us, a constant dialogue in finding our center. When we synchronize the breath and the mind with our practice we find a unity that might otherwise remain unconscious. This makes lifes challenges less threatening.