Emily Burian -500eRYT
Emily is a Certified Functional Nutritionist and Ashtanga Yoga Instructor with more than 12 years of personal practice and 10 years of teaching experience.You can expect her classes to be challenging in both mind and body as she incorporates the fun, effortless feel of dancing while maintaining the eastern integrity of the yoga method. In 2014, she traveled to India and Bali to receive her 200 hour teaching certification, studying under many inspirational teachers along the way. She has taken workshops from renowned yogis such as Tiffany Cruikshank, Kino MacGregor, David Garrigues, David Williams, David Keil, Govinda Kai, Jörgen Christianson and many more. In 2019 she received her 300 hour teaching certification from her home studio Maya Yoga and now holds an eRYT 500. Emilys’ training has allowed her to combine sequencing that is creative, playful and empowering. Bringing to light awareness and mindfulness, she seeks to help others find a nurturing balance in their lives through the unionization of breath and body.
Chris Bridges -500RYT
Chris received her 200-hour yoga teacher certification from the Living Yoga Program at the Radha Madhav Dham ashram and her 300-hour yoga teacher certification from InBliss Yoga. Chris is also certified in Yin Yoga and Khundalini Yoga modalities. She has been an exercise enthusiast for decades and has a background in many forms of exercise. Having tried yoga from time to time during those years, it was just another form of exercise until she met her mentors and realized all yoga has to offer: the mind, body, and spirit connection. It was then she discovered grace for self and much more. She began teaching in 2014, currently teaching a variety of classes ranging from restorative to powerful. She believes in the benefit of every kind of yoga and that this practice is for everyone. As a teacher, her passion is to help others find self-acceptance, grace, and inner peace. Her school of thought is there is no “one pose fits all” yoga. Yoga is for every “body” and each person must find his or her pose within a given pose. With her guidance, Chris’s students find the pose variation that fits their need in the moment. This allows the true essence of yoga to come through, staying present, easing fluctuations of the mind, and a journey inward. This is where self-discovery and acceptance occur. She believes if you can breathe, you can do yoga. Her students will often hear her say, “Your breath is your guide, and your awareness is the key.”
Andrea Martin -500eRYT
Dre is a 200 RYT & 300 Hr Ashtanga Yoga Practitioner and has her 50 Hr in Thai Bodywork. She fell in love with yoga when her family moved here from Texas. Dre loves practicing yoga, Vipassana mediation, and also strives to incorporate a vegan, holistic, lifestyle. Her passion lies in sharing her self-taught knowledge on how to live holistically and eco-friendly. When she’s not on her mat, you can find her in her garden, in the kitchen creating incredible meals or perhaps exploring the trails or creek bed with her 3 beautiful sons! Join Dre as she guides you to living a healthier lifestyle while finding mindfulness and balance through her yoga experiences.
Stephanie Tholl -500RYT
Stephanie is an Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga instructor and certified holistic health coach. She has been a practitioner of a multitude of yoga styles for over 10 years. Since she first stepped onto a mat, yoga has remained a constant source of peace and a tool for inner transformation. She completed her 200hr teaching certification through All Yoga Thailand in 2019. It was this in depth experience that opened her eyes to the true healing power her personal yoga practice possessed. In 2024 Stephanie began her 300hr teacher training through Kansas City’s renowned Ashtanga studio Maya Yoga. It is her deep rooted belief in the power of yogas healing benefits to the mind, body, and spirit that lends to Stephanie’s teachings. In her classes you can expect an emphasis on breath work and an effort to spark the belief that you can transcend the limitations of your mind. She is here to support you on your own journey of discovery and transformation.
Maria Cuevas- 500RYT
Maria began her yoga practice in 2006 and has been a devoted student since she stepped on her mat. In January of 2015, she obtained her 200 RYT while studying with Anna Laurita at Davannayoga in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After several years of teaching, Maria began exploring other types of movement to incorporate into her classes, including Pilates, HIIT, and resistance training. Coming from a musical background, Kirtan is also one of Maria’s favorite yogic practices and coincides with her knowledge of guitar, piano, and traditional Mariachi folk music. Maria fronts the band Maria The Mexican and enjoys combining yoga and live music. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in Communication Studies. Maria recently completed a 2-year lululemon Ambassadorship and currently resides in Lawrence, KS.
Erin Conyers -500RYT
Erin’s yoga journey began when she was 24 and about to graduate from the Kansas City Art Institute. This newfound practice showed her how to slow down and gave her the tools to live a life of purpose and intention. Yoga has profoundly impacted her life on and off the mat: from learning how to develop self trust, move through uncomfortable situations, and most importantly, how to deeply enjoy this time spent in her mind and body. Erin completed her 200 Hour Teacher Training in 2022 at True Love Yoga in Kansas City, MO with Lauren Leduc and her 300 Hour Teacher Training in 2023 with Kayla Nielson and Jess Mackinzie in El Viejo, Nicaragua. In her classes you can expect a fun and lively Vinyasa flow with a balance of challenge and release. Her drive as a teacher is to encourage students to find joy, play and inspiration in their practice through creative movements and sequencing while creating a safe space for students to feel at home in their bodies
Joy Monzon-200eRYT
Joy (she/her) is a grower, herbalist, seed saver and yoga educator who builds space for people to explore, connect and wonder. She is the proud daughter of immigrant parents who practiced daily meditation, pranayama and yoga asana primarily within hatha and vedic traditions. From an early age Joy learned that yoga is a deeply spiritual tradition which offers us the opportunity to participate in life with compassion and curiosity - a path that gently and intelligently navigates us back to our true nature. Joy has dedicated 7 years of service to the yoga community and walks with a strong commitment to co-liberation, collective healing and alchemizing into life-affirming patterns of being. Joy’s immersions and education have earned her accreditations in a variety of lineages. Since 2012 her studies have been profoundly impacted by her teacher Laura Frank, founder of Inner Space Yoga. Her formal trainings include a 200 RYT from Suddha Anand Yogshala in Kerala, India(2017), as well as a foundational training of yoga through the lens of trauma and incarceration with the Prison Yoga Project in San Diego, California(2018). Joy’s shared practices regularly detail the foundations and essential elements of the path of yoga. Her praxis centers on an intersection of vedic theory/history, classical tantric teachings, modern yoga techniques, trauma-informed logic, poetic methods, earth/land connection, and conceptual frameworks of self & value. One can expect a supportive environment that focuses on the expression of care & vulnerability - honoring individual agency, intuition and intelligence of body, mind, and spirit.
Tina Rojas -200RYT
Tina is an artistic director and production professional with an extensive background in commercial dance styles teaching, producing, directing and choreographing throughout her professional career from 2013 to present. She has her Masters in Nutrition Science Research and bachelors in Theatre & Dance Performance. In 2013 she started exploring yoga at OmTree in Lawrence, Kansas beginning with Vinyasa and Hatha styles. She continued practicing through her move to Kansas City in 2016 where she found Maya, her first introduction to Ashtanga. From 2016 to 2023 she continued her practice in various forms of yoga (hatha, vinyasa, hot yoga, ashtanga) under many instructors in Costa Rica, Chicago, New York, LA, Kansas City, Arizona, etc. She graduated this August in Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Pranayama and looks forward to expanding her teaching abilities into the realm of yoga and healing arts.”
Montana Michels
Montanna Michels has been practicing Pilates since age 12. Day-to-day she is a professional dancer locally in Kansas City, performing mainly with Quixotic. She graduated from the University of Missouri - Kansas City Conservatory in 2021 with her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography. Montanna has always used Pilates as a supplement to her dancing, and decided to enter the Classical Pilates Education teacher training program to share her love of Pilates with others. On top of her performing and teaching duties, she is the marketing coordinator for Quixotic, and the marketing assistant for DanceAspen in Aspen, CO. Montanna can’t wait to share her love of Pilates with the Eastbrook community!
Maggie Coomer -200RYT
Maggie first experienced yoga when she was 13 and her father brought home a turquoise blue yoga mat and Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Athletes DVD. In the twenty years since, she has continued to develop her practice in studios all over the Midwest with teachers of various styles and backgrounds. Students who take Maggie’s classes can expect an atmosphere of exploration where all are welcome to unearth new experiences within their practice. Her classes include an interesting blend of foundational poses and challenging asanas where students can play with self-discovery while connecting to their breath.
Olivia Haston-200RYT
Olivia began her yoga journey during her studies at the Kansas City Art Institute where she received a BFA in Fiber and Textiles. Her practice felt like a “welcome home” not only to herself but to the interconnectedness of life. Olivia quickly recognized yogas teaching of union~ like a tapestry, we are an integration of many colors bound together by one continuous thread, life. In love with the innate healing qualities and liberation of the practice, Olivia immersed herself into the philosophical teachings of yoga. Her practice offered her the means to create an intentional and intuitive lifestyle, one rooted in health and wellness. In 2022 Olivia completed her 200hr teacher training and has been teaching Hot Yoga and Vinyasa ever since. Olivia’s class seeks to provide a space that honors our inward journeys. Where we utilize movement to create a balance of effort and ease, play and discipline, strength and softness. Together through mindful movement, intentional breath, and fierce belief in the power of Yoga, we are welcomed home.
Madison Sha 200RYT
Madison Sha is a local professional in Pilates, Yoga, Fitness, and Dance. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Dance, Early Childhood Special Education, and Autism Movement Therapy. In 2015, Madison interned for Cliff Bar's non-profit organization, Luna Dance Institute, in Oakland, California. During her internship, she facilitated yoga, dance movement, and meditation therapy for children transitioning out of foster care. In 2016, she relocated to Los Angeles to teach and perform professionally with Diavolo Architecture in Motion. The Diavolo Institute provided services to 91 Elementary schools in LAUSD and 25 veteran communities. Madison's instruction with the institute included breath work, meditation, energetic release, somatic dance. Emphasizing trust, physical awareness, movement exploration, and emotional regulation. Madison joined the LA Music Center education board, representing LA's best in school programs for dance and yoga therapy. Before the pandemic, the LA Music Center sponsored conferences for yoga and movement therapy in schools settings across the country. Madison is delighted to be back in Kansas City, sharing her passions with the KCPS students, local dance studios, fitness clubs, and yoga communities.