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.
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.
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.
Molly Niemczyk — 200RYT
Molly started yoga in college at the University of Kansas. She was inspired by her yoga teacher and began teaching yoga at the college. Yoga got her through many moves, including Connecticut, Hawaii, and most recently, Missouri. She got her 200hr RYT in Hawaii and began focusing on advanced Vinyasa. The intricacy and variability of Vinyasa inspires her. She moved to Kansas City and began teaching donation based park yoga. It is her passion to share yoga with an invitation to connect with nature. She has been teaching for 4+ years in the KC metro area at various studios specializing in Vinyasa and Yin Yoga. She enjoys cross training with HIIT classes & Pilates. She balances yoga with being a full time real estate agent and spends her spare time with her husband, baby girl, and german shepherds
Jesse Shroyer — 200 eRYT
Jesse Shroyer is a joyful, beam of light who believes in magic, being barefoot as often as possible, and the healing power of puppies. Creating connections with people through her authentic, vulnerable and playful spirit is where her heart thrives.
“Helping others see the value of their unique gifts and in turn using those gifts to flourish professionally and personally is my goal. I want everyone I work with to know they have everything it takes to succeed.”
She is a 200HR E-RYT through the Kansas City Yoga Teacher Training program (2014), is certified in Chair Yoga as well as a certified Level 2 Reiki practitioner. She has a passion for sharing yoga, speaking and presenting workshops on site throughout communities at events, festivals, international and local retreats.
Jesse studied Political Science/Communications at William Jewell College where she began teaching cheerleading camps and continues to do so to this day as part of the SpiritWorks team. You can often find her with her pup Rosa Jean spreading the love outdoors, listening to live music or enjoying a good dance party in their kitchen in Kansas City, MO.
Steph Sexton — 200 RYT
Steph took her first yoga class in college but fell in love with the practice while living in New York City. Yoga kept her grounded as she navigated her 20s, teaching her to quiet the mind’s chatter, live in the present, and find ease. She was in awe of what her body could do with just a little breath—and now, she’s passionate about helping others discover the same.
In Steph’s classes, expect to smile, sweat and ohm through seamless transitions and a playful yet intentional flow. You’ll link breath with movement, align with your intentions and have some fun.
Steph completed her 200-Hour Teacher Training at Laughing Lotus in New York City, specializing in Lotus Flow—a vinyasa style built on the chakra system, creative sequencing, and a deep reverence for yogic tradition. With more than 15 years of practice, she brings a heartfelt commitment to every class.
Lauren Kirby — 200RYT
Lauren is a Hot Hatha Yoga teacher with over 10 years of experience, having studied under Bikram Choudhury, Mary Jarvis, Esak Garcia, and Gabi Walters, with her most recent certification in Inferno Hot Pilates. She has taught in studios across the U.S. and globally and is deeply committed to building functional strength through heat and movement. Her Inferno Hot Pilates class blends Pilates principles and interval training to create a high-energy workout that not only boosts strength and flexibility but also improves circulation, endurance, and mental clarity—all without unduly taxing the body. The class is set to an upbeat playlist (90s and millenium hip-hop almost always make an appearance) and is designed to be an intense workout that builds up the major muscle groups and creates results. Lauren does wellness consulting and face yoga workshops, utilizing somatic principles to encourage her clients to return to their bodies in a practice of mindfulness. She has a Master of Science in Entrepreneurial Real Estate from the UMKC Bloch School and occasionally, when not involved with yoga or Pilates, works with Real Estate investors in the purchase of commercial property in the Kansas City area.