Alana began her yoga journey as a kid, flowing alongside her mother as they did home practices. Her first time stepping into an actual yoga studio was in 2023 at BBYU, and she immediately found her community. She completed her 200 hour teacher training through BBYU in February 2024, under the guidance of Tim Kelleher, Emily Jonas, and Caitlyn Graham Visconte. As she begins her journey as a teacher, she strives to approach the practice through a trauma-informed lens.

She was called to teacher training to deepen her connection with the practice and use it as a tool to build mind-body awareness to help her navigate her mental health. In class you can expect a fun, joyous flow that is accessible to all levels!

Alana is currently in nursing school and is passionate about access to addiction treatment.

Outside of the studio she loves to bike, take care of her plants (that are always giving her a run for her money), hike, and skydive!

My journey with yoga started before I fully knew what "yoga" meant. As a young child growing up in an Indian American household, my grandfather would wake up early in the morning to do his exercises. His routine included what I now know were Sun Salutations, headstands, and savasana. At the time, I thought my grandfather was just being silly! I would mimic his headstands, piling pillows in the corner and attempt to copy him. Or when he was in savasana, assuming he had simply fallen asleep, I would poke and prod him to wake up. My grandfather instilled in me the importance of two core Hindu philosophies: dharma, one's path, and karuna, compassion for all. Only years later, I realized he was my first yoga guru.

I've practiced yoga on and off since 2010. I started my yoga training in Cambridge at the Breathing Room, where I had the opportunity to also learn Kalaripayattu, a martial arts form from Southern India. After college, I returned home to Boston and found a community in Jamaica Plain at Jamaica Plain Centre Yoga. As of May 2024, I completed my 200 RYT with JPCY where I had the opportunity to delve into anatomy, alignment, sequencing, and philosophy.

Outside the studio, I have trained in Bharatanatyam, a style originating from Tamil Nadu in Southern India, for over 20 years and continue to perform around the Boston area. I am also a community organizer where my work focuses on progressive, working class AAPI-solidarity building across the Commonwealth. As an instructor and facilitator, I hope to bring a deeper awareness of body, energy, and the modality of movement. I aspire to create a space with participants which moves beyond the student-teacher dynamic and towards mutual love and acceptance for all.

My passion for yoga stemmed from my teenage years practicing with my family on the weekends. While I did not take to meditation very quickly, I loved the opportunity to embrace this unique aspect of my South Asian heritage. Practicing with my family and community was an integral part of my childhood. The groundedness I felt through yoga, in challenging my mind and body into new dimensions and shapes, planted a seed which has grown with me as I've explored other methods of fitness.

Towards the end of 2020, I was re-introduced to yoga through a digital platform. As an adult returning to yoga, I was able to practice at home and customize my personal approach. This turned into a daily ritual and brought back that familiar sense of grounding and passion for yoga and meditation. In 2022, I completed a 28-day Meditation and Yoga Teacher Training at Samyama Mindfulness Center in Bali, Indonesia. This immersive experience allowed me to dive deeper into different meditation styles and become familiar with the spiritual, energetic aspects of yoga. My eyes were suddenly wide open to the depths of yoga, and I decided I needed to learn more.

After completing the 200 HR Yoga Teacher Training at JPCY as a 2024 BIPOC Fellowship scholarship recipient, I have become reacquainted with my drive and passion for sharing my practice with those around me, particularly those who may not be as familiar with yoga and the numerous benefits a consistent practice can bring to the mind, body and soul. As a proud Tamil-Canadian with Sri Lankan roots, I believe that representation is incredibly important when paying homage to the origins of the practice. I strive to bring diversity and inclusion into my practice in hopes to create a community that can share all experiences on and off the mat.

I began my practice in 2014 when I was an undergraduate initially studying French Horn Performance, working through meditation and asana as a means to lower anxiety and gain focus. I came into asana through ashtanga yoga, and I fell in love with how it made me feel as though I could take things less seriously in the world around me, while still finding a passion for community and self care.

I completed the Breathe For Change 200-hour RYT certification and began teaching in 2024. I have continued to attend workshops and classes led by teachers who lead through inclusivity, accessibility, functional strength, and community care, aspects that you will find in my classes. My aim in my classes is to welcome all bodies and abilities and to foster an environment where everyone can create strength and breath/body connection that is unique to their bodies. I believe that this connection and mindfulness can help to fill your own cup, giving you the strength to fill the cups of others outside of the yoga room.

When I am not teaching yoga, I am working as an educator of incredible neurodivergent students in Boston Public Schools, serving as a union rep through the Boston Teachers Union, and cuddling with my two cats, Julius and Richie.

I began my practice in studios in Boston in 2013 while in search of community. The practice was a soft landing when navigating corporate life and training for long-distance cycling. Since then my practice has evolved right alongside my professional work, spiritual awakening, and healing. Part of yoga, for me, is a way to embody healing in its various forms, so as an educator I naturally gravitated to facilitating this experience for others. To support my instruction, I completed a 200-hr YTT at JP Centre Yoga and more recently completed a certification at Threes Physiyoga.

My instruction is based on the Physiyoga approach, which combines physical therapy principles and yoga. In my classes, I use knowledge of joint mechanics and muscle physiology to teach movements for longevity and injury recovery. Students can expect sessions that prioritize sensory awareness, strength and stability before deep stretching and using props as neuromuscular feedback. In a typical class I will break a pose or movement down by each joint to make it as simple as possible, then gradually build back up adding in more resistance, compound movements, and complexity. My aim is to support students in recognizing that each joint/muscle area can perform a movement with strength and control by starting small, then progressing to more challenging poses where the whole body shares the work.

When I’m not teaching yoga at studios in Boston and privately, I’m working as an Organizational Psychologist, facilitating organizational healing and equal opportunity, and a professor in the Organizational and Leadership Psychology department at William James College where I’m focused on multicultural and inclusive leadership and organizational assessment.

For tRICIA, yoga made everything else in life fall into place — with her well being in order everything started to make sense. It was a first date that brought her into South Boston Yoga where she became connected to the yoga community. After 2020, she joined Boston Yoga Union and became committed to her yoga practice. Encouraged to explore the desire to teach she completed YTT in 2023 at BYU. The feeling of fulfillment tRICIA receives from the practice is spread through her excitement facilitating the enriching parts of yogas physical and thoughtful practices of movement and breathe work. She became a teacher to motivate people to nurture their own vessel, taking all the time needed for themselves and a mindful reminder “I’m not there anymore, I’m here now!”. Her teaching style is purpose driven and she prioritizes self care. She will provide an edgy, feel good class encouraging you to modify and only take what you need through hands on adjustments and words of encouragement. When practicing with tRICIA you will find a safe and accepting space fill with a joy of life.

Cassandre is a certified Yoga Instructor and a Licensed Practical Nurse that has been caring for patients for more than 10 years.

Her studies of the human body and her curiosity about the mind - body - soul connection intrigued her into diving deeper into the practice of yoga. Also, yoga has played a big part in her nursing journey, as it was a practice that provided tailored self-care tools for self-connection.

She completed her 200hr yoga teacher training in 2016 and her 300hr yoga teacher training in 2023. Her studies include vinyasa, restorative yoga, yin yoga, and mindfulness. Cassandre uses her qualities of compassion and strength within her classes to guide students to self-connection through movement and breath.

Cassandre is also very active in her life and has had the blessing of participating in many sports and activities including soccer, basketball, cheerleading, dance, tap + jazz, gymnastics, figure skating, track, rock climbing, pilates, kickboxing, and more! She loves exploring all that her body is capable of and brings all insight to her practices on and off the mat.

In her free time, she likes to spend time with family and friends, connect with nature, and take care of her plant babies.