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About Us
Donna Criscuolo, CSYT, RYT500, LMT
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A Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher, Registered Yoga Therapist, Certified Embodyment® Therapist, Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 hour level, Certified Svaroopa® Meditation Teacher, Vichara Therapist and Licensed Massage Therapist, Donna is one of the founding partners of Niantic Yoga Center. She was formerly co-owner of Blissworks Yoga & Healing Arts in New London, CT.
Donna completed over 1000 hours of professional training with Master Yoga Teacher Institute and continues her advanced teacher training there working towards certification as a Yoga Therapist. She has a strong foundation in working with people in pain and in need of rehabilitation from injury or illness as well as working with youth ages 13+. Most of her teacher training was under the guidance of Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati (formerly Rama Berch) the founder of Master Yoga Foundation and Svaroopa® yoga. She continues to study under Swamiji as well as the other premier teacher trainers.
A “recovering” dancer and runner, Donna put her own body to the test over and over again. Svaroopa® yoga facilitated her healing process and transformed her state of mind. She chooses to practice and teach Svaroopa® yoga because of its innate ability to heal, transform and illuminate. “The practice is so subtle and deceptively simple. It creates deep healing on every level, physical, emotional and spiritual. It will lead you out of pain and back to your own true form.”
A 2006 graduate of the CT Center for Massage Therapy, Donna credits the program with giving her a strong foundation in Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology and Kinesiology. It is with this background and training that Donna approaches teaching yoga classes and yoga therapy. “Combining my knowledge of the body with my experience of the yoga creates a unique approach to guiding people out of pain and towards wellness.”
Donnas’ journey into the Healing Arts has been one of both great loss and growth. She cared for both parents while in the final stages of terminal cancer. That experience led her to the realization that her life's purpose was to serve others. “The body’s natural ability to heal itself never ceases to amaze me. I liken my role as a Yoga Teacher to that of a tour guide. I simply guide my students into their experience of their own true form."
She is a past member of the Board of Directors for Master Yoga Foundation and is currently the Executive Director for the non profit. She is a member of the Svaroopa® Association of Teachers (SATYA), Yoga Alliance, International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and the International Association of Integrative Medicine (IAIM).
.jpg) Kathy Monte RYT, LMT
A Registered Yoga Teacher, Embodyment® Therapist and Licensed Massage Therapist, Kathy did her initial 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in the Kripalu style in 2005. As she puts it, "My initial training left me fully on fire and eager to teach." As time went by her yoga practice took a back burner to other life/work endeavors and consequently the flames became embers.
Since then, Kathy discovered Svaroopa® yoga and r-ignited those embers within. She has found Svaroopa® yoga to be more sustainable in her life, and gives her the ability to accommodate and support students fully as a teacher.
"Yoga is life sustaining, a sanctuary and resource to draw on when I need clarity and reassurance - helping me to reunite with my higher Self and purpose." Kathy brings this deep devotion to her daily practice and classes. Her teaching provides the experience which allows others to go deep within and find peace, sense of Self and higher consciousness.
Kathy is a 2006 graduate of CT Center for Massage Therapy and is currently working on completing her 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training with Master Yoga Foundation in the Svaroopa® style. She is also a member of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) and practices Auryvedic bodywork - a nice compliment to yoga.
Karen is a Certified Introductory Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher who brings a deep passion, personal commitment, and fervent dedication to her students.
Having experienced several years of chronic pain, Karen's Hatha Yoga instructor recommended Svaroopa® Yoga to her. It wasn't long after establishing her own practice that Karen found tremendous relief provided by the deep and reliable openings. The clear, easily accessible poses brought a remarkable transformation not only to her body but her mind as well. |
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