Prema Patti Kristiansen has been teaching yoga classes and workshops to all ages and abilities in the mid-coast area since 1998. She is a Nationally Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher, RYT500, Certified Kripalu YogaDance® Instructor, professional member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association. Prema has had certification in both YogaKids(®) & Yoga for the Special Child (®).

In the fall of 2001 while studying at Satchidananda Ashram Patti was honored with meeting Sri Swami Satchidananda, and received her Sanskrit name, Prema which translates as “divine love.” It is truly divine love that guides her in the path of yoga.

Prema encourages students to honor the body’s wisdom in each moment. With a background in the allied health field of Occupational Therapy, Prema brings a holistic knowledge of the body systems enriching her students experience of the body-mind connection.

Prema's teaching is an integration of Viniyoga in the tradition of TVK Desikachar & Restorative yoga originating from the BKS Iyengar tradition. Prema has lead workshops through University, hospital & professional organizations training teachers, therapists, & care providers in using the benefits of yoga across the lifespan.

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS:
Gentle Flows Yoga
Classical Hatha Yoga blends gentle postures (asana), breathing techniques (pranayama),and meditation to enhance overall health and well being. Classes are suitable for every BODY regardless of experience.

Restorative Yoga
Restorative Yoga aids in decreasing chronic stress & illness with the use of props for total relaxation. Props include bolsters, foam blocks, and blankets which help to support the body in each asana (pose). Judith Lasater PhD,PT,RYT, author of Relax & Renew refers to Restorative Yoga as “Active Relaxation” and states that “by supporting the body with props, we alternately stimulate and relax the body to move toward balance."

Kripalu YogaDance is a fusion of chakra/yoga & joyful breath based energizing movements, combining yoga & user-friendly dance with music from all around the world. It is a dance of the multi-dimensional self, bringing tons of fun & healing to the seven energy centers, the chakras, & the entire body.

-Megha Creator of Kripalu YogaDance & Let Your Yoga Dance.

EMILY LAWRY
Phone: 207-691-6029
Email: ontheedgefitness@gmail.com

Emily Lawry is a AFPA Certified Cardio Kickboxing Instructor and has practiced Cardio Kickboxing since 1998. Certified Zumba® Instructor.

Zumba® fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program that will blow you away. Zumba® participants have an absolute blast in one exciting hour of calorie-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements.

She is also creditianed with Level 1 & 2 Certifications as a Pilates Mat Instructor. Emily feels that the two forms of exercise compliment each other and yoga stretches complete the balance.

Emily's business name is On The Edge Fitness. She offers private training and group classes at Thomaston Yoga Studio.

ANNIE HIGBEE
Email: annie@imagewright.com

Annie is RYT yoga teacher certified and practices Iyengar and Vinyasa style Flow Yoga. Mixing the two modalities she helps to build strength and vitality through muscle toning, stretching and breathing. She has been practicing yoga since she was 17. She has taught adults and youth yoga at the PenBay YMCA, the Lincoln Street Center, Thompson Community Center and now the Thomaston Yoga Studio. She loves to travel and try new yoga classes all over the world.

MAYA REESE
Maya Reese email: maya.reese@shivashaktiyogaschool.com

Maya Reese loves the various limbs of Yoga described by Iyengar in The Tree of Yoga and, like most folks, discovered it through doing yogasana (poses) in a class. This first class was decades ago on Ferry Beach in Maine and was taught by a Kripalu-trained octogenarian of great beauty and grace who had not herself begun practicing yoga until she was in her fifties. Maya resolved then to make yoga practice a big part of the second half of her life, and when she turned fifty applied to become a certified teacher through the ShivaShakti School in Rockland, where she completed her training in the summer of 2009.

For Maya, Yoga continues to be a joyful way to quiet an over-active mind, allow the heart to open and feel, and better apprehend and give play to imagination. Her practice consists of about 30 poses, contemplation upon the yogic principles known as yama and niyama (the roots and trunk of the tree in Iyengar's metaphor), breathing exercises and meditation.

A busy school principal (Mary Alice McLean), with two active boys and a large extended family, Maya grew up in Massachusetts and holds degrees from Smith College, Harvard Divinity School, Framingham State College and the University of Maine in Orono. She and her husband Michael are happy to have called Maine home since 1993.

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS:
Maya teaches "Yoga by Daybreak" at Thomaston Yoga Studio and says:

"Early morning is a magical time to practice yoga, before the demands of the day begin to impress. This hour-long class will begin with a five-minute guided meditation, and will include a five-minute breathing exercise (pranayama), forty-five minutes of poses (asana) and a short but important relaxation (svasana). The class is suitable for beginners, who will become equipped with a dozen or more favorite poses and practices that could become the core of a daily routine at home. Well-established yogis and yoginis are also welcome!"

JESSICA DAY
Jess Day/Music Together 207-593-6645 director@midcoastmusictogether.com

Licensed Director, and certified Music Together®® teacher, Jessica, originally from Montreal, Quebec, first came to Music Together® in 2008 through her pursuit to share her love of music with her own children. She then completed her own training with Music Together® in Hingham, MA at the South Shore Conservatory. She believes music is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child and that music creates a strong foundation for all other learning. She received a B.F.A. in Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design and is near complete an M.F.A. in Art Education from Boston University.

Jessica has been involved with music from a young age participating in musical theater and playing guitar and singing in choirs. Over the years, she has recorded and performed with various musicians in Canada.

To be a part of strengthening family bonds and establishing a foundation for a lifetime of music is a great gift and joy. Teaching Music Together® provides her with the opportunity to share her love of singing, dancing, guitar playing, and drumming (pure fun!).
"At home, hardly a day goes by without my kids and I dancing around the house and creating silly lyrics/sounds/movements to a song."

Jessica is passionate about music, teaching and the development of children. She creates a fun, informal, social setting that spurs engagement and supports each child's musical development.

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS:
MIXED AGE FAMILY MUSIC CLASS AT THOMASTON YOGA STUDIO - designed for newborns to 5 years of age.

This is the essential Music Together class, one that a child can attend from birth through age five through all nine song collections. This basic class follows the recommendations of child development researchers—grouping children of a variety of ages because this fosters natural, family-style learning. Younger children enjoy watching and imitating older ones; older children learn by leading younger ones; and adults are happy because the children in the family can go to class together. Each child participates at his or her own level in singing, moving, chanting, listening, watching, or exploring musical instruments. Any caregivers—parents, grandparents, nanny—can bring the children. The whole family is welcome for this important family music experience.