Justin Riley - Bikram
Teaching Credentials: Bikram's Yoga College of India Teacher Training, Spring 2013
Awards: The prestigious Yogi Award, given to one of the hundreds of teachers in training
Quote: “Not getting it is getting it.”
As soon as Justin realized that you can actually make a career out of teaching yoga, he knew without a doubt it was exactly what he wanted to be doing. Being a bass player for 27 years, Justin loves the simplicity and the foundations cultivated in a therapeutic hot yoga class. His background in music instruction and animal rescue work showed him just how rewarding facilitating the learning and rehabilitation process can be, and he finds that same process in the hot yoga rooms when he teaches. “To see real positive change and to be a catalyst of it,” fuels his motivation for teaching. Justin’s biggest inspiration and role models in the yoga room are our own Leo Eisenstein, Joel Pier and too many more to mention. His teaching style, some might call, “South Philly” with a side…Justin is a true hot yoga rock star and one of the best teachers we’ve ever known.
Erin Cook - Bikram
Erin is a former division one athlete, a current high school coach, and most impressively [to us] the former owner of Bikram Main Line which she ran for over fifteen years. She has taught just about every hot yoga TEACHER in the tri-state area and her classes are the product of her thousands and thousands of hours teaching. Simply the best is the way we like to describe Erin — and we are very very fortunate to have her here amongst us — a real hot yoga hero.
Diane Roberts - Bikram
A pioneer in the Main Line Hot Yoga scene, the first to open a licensed Bikram studio in our area outside of Berwyn, and one of the best Hot Yoga instructors on the planet, there’s not much to say. Sunshine pours out of her heart and is mixed with the power and strength of her soul when she teaches. It is a real honor and privilege to have Diane with us — life is crazy like that — seems like just yesterday when we were all her little ducklings over at Bikram Wynnewood.
Her credentials are:
- 200 hour yoga training at Verge in 2010
- Vinyasa tteacher at Focus Fitness 2010-2012
- 800 hour Bikram training in 2012
- Bikram Yoga Wynnewood Owner and Teacher 2012-2017
Remy Grenier - Bikram
Remy has been at Focus from the beginning - behind the desk and in front of her classes — she was always a fan favorite because of her humility, simplicity and grace.
The silver lining to her terrible ski accident that left her with a torn ACL [amongst other things] last winter has perfectly positioned her to teach Beginners Yoga. “I feel like I have to begin again every day ... I’ve learned more about myself and my practice this year than in all of my time combined…..beginners mind is where it’s at”.
In her own words: i am a yogi, plant lover, music obsessed, fun having soul. i am an observer, love to watch things, see them change and grow. I teach hot yoga because i see it as a door, one that reaches to self. i believe in community and the strength of others. i see the good in things and do my best to give back. i welcome all from a place of love.
We are super happy we found her again.
Claire Din - Bikram
Clare Din has advanced training with Tony Sanchez, Ida Ripley, Susan Wyler, Maria Filippone, Scott and Ida Jo Lamps, and Esak Garcia. Trained by 3-time Dutch gold medalist Zefea Samson and senior teachers Sandy Robin, Joel Pier, and Noelle Burgoyne in Bikram yoga, Clare also holds advanced teacher training certificates in therapeutic yoga from the Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts and yin yoga from Corina Benner. She has used yoga to defeat cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and more. Clare is an internationally recognized yogasana athlete ranked number 7 in the world. She is also an archery instructor, brown belt in aikido, remixer, author, and mother of two awesome boys
Chalise Sanders - Bikram
Chalise Saunders comes to us from the heavens after teaching and training across the Philly region and is certified in Bikram, Vinyasa, Power and Love.
Her unique style and vibrations will get you through most anything. Come on down and here here sing.
Leo Eisentein - Bikram
Leo started his yoga 16 years ago when he accompanied a friend to Bikram Yoga. At the time, Leo was 408 lbs. Although it was difficult, he never felt as rejuvenated as he did after Bikram Yoga. With a regular practice and improved eating habits, Leo lost more than 220 lbs and healed several injuries. He decided to attend the Fall 2005 Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Los Angeles. Although Leo wanted to improve his practice, he wanted to become a teacher first - not a yoga athlete. Since Leo believes yoga facilitates life, he strives to make everyone's practice in the hot room easer, so life can become a little easier too.
Olga Zografakis - Hot HIIT
NASM Certified Personal trainer, HOT HIIT®️ instructor, HIIT Instructor (15+), Coach and Conditioning Specialist. Olga is an absolute power-house who will give you one of the best workouts of your life and leave you with a huge smile to boot. She is also a wonderful teacher [of children] here in the Lower Merion School District and a super human whose energy inspires
Ammie Ferguson
Ammie Moralez Ferguson has been teaching yoga on the east coast sinAmmiece 2011. Since 1999 she trained and studied in depth macrobiotic and raw nutrition and many styles of yoga including Traditional Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa, Yn, Bikram, Prenatal and Yoga Nidra. Ammie also has a deep understanding of anatomy. Since 2014 she continues to study Meridian Science and is Meridian Yoga Therapist. Other integrated methods such as Intuitive Thai Yoga Bodywork, Chinese Medicine and other alternative healing methods can be found in her tool box as well. Ammie is a homeschool mom practicing a full yogic life
Kate Winton - All Levels Yoga
Katie offers a personal and individualized approach to her classes, with inspiration from her fellow teachers and students, her passion for lifelong learning and growth, and by her own experience as a practitioner. The basis of her teaching philosophy is that yoga can benefit everyone, and can be a healing and fresh new start no matter what you may be facing that day. The sequence and intensity of her classes vary in accordance with students’ experience, and energy. Katie’s classes are accessible to beginners, while also challenging for experienced students. Katie looks forward to seeing you on the mat and practicing together soon.
Shannon Stevens - Gentle Energy Flow
Shannon is known for her connected and energy focused teaching style, as well as her spiritually centered philosophy. She lives her passions outside the studio in nature through backpacking, camping, paddle boarding and hiking.
An explorer, a laugher, a writer, a teacher, a forever mother and an in the middle mother for foster babies, Shannon also works as a Corporate Communications Executive. So yes, she's an over-doer, an over-giver and an over-perfectionist self-pusher. As such, she's on the lifelong journey of learning to balance the complication that is living life in full techno-color.
Shannon believes yoga is a pathway to the connection between our mind, breath, physical and energetic bodies and our spiritual/inner selves. In her practice she seeks to make space for the inner self to emerge as healer and guide, because within is the answer to every question.
Sara Burns - Yin + Gentle + Restorative
Sara began practicing yoga around 2014 and discovered that the breathing, balancing, and stretching was very centering and empowering. Noticing that body image acceptance and limitations are often a barrier for some women accessing yoga she wanted to somehow make it more accessible for curvy bodies of all shapes.
A new awareness of life force energy led Sara to receive training and attunements for Reiki I and II energy work in 2017. In 2018, Sara enrolled in Yoga Teacher Training at Hummingbird Yoga Studio and upon graduation (YTT 200), began teaching Restorative Yoga and offering Reiki energy work. In 2020, Sara participated in additional Yin Yoga trainings.
Yin and Restorative Yoga styles remain as Sara’s forte but gentle flow is also a style that speaks to her. Body acceptance and accommodating all body shapes is still important to Sara, as is her passion for sharing of the healing energy work of Reiki.
Noelle Hammerbacher - MS, RYT
All Levels Yoga + Gentle + Restorative
MS, RYT
At the urging of a friend, Noelle took her first yoga class about 25 years ago and was totally captivated. She was fascinated with the fact that by simply focusing on her breath, she could empty her mind of the myriad of thoughts and just be present in the moment.
Noelle began yoga teacher training to learn more about the philosophy of yoga and to understand why her yoga practice had such a profound effect. She learned so much during the training and was surprised to find that she truly enjoyed sharing her yoga practice with others.
Since 2009, when she became a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), Noelle has taught at various studios and spaces in the area, including Hummingbird Yoga and Massage, the Haverford Recreational Department, East Eagle Yoga, Neumann University Athletics Department, Main Line Unitarian Church, Haverford YMCA, Delco Phit, and IKEA. For the past two years, Noelle has offered her own online yoga classes and has taught online yoga to IKEA staff, for Delco Phit, and with other Hummingbird teachers for the Friends of Linwood Park.
Specializing in All Levels Yoga and Gentle Flow Yoga with an emphasis on care and compassion toward one’s self without judgment, Noelle is so pleased to be offering in-person yoga again with the Hummingbird teachers and sharing her practice with the folk s at FOCUS!!!
Maureen Berry - Gentle Yoga
Hummingbird has been Maureen’s teaching home since Linda Geraghty first opened the studio doors on County Line Road in Ardmore. Prior to landing at Hummingbird, Maureen practiced at East Eagle Yoga in Havertown where she completed the 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training. She has taken NECTAR yoga training and mindfulness training. Maureen practices TaiChi at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. Over the years, Maureen has gravitated towards a gentle, slow flow style of Hatha Yoga. Beginners, and those looking for a mindful practice, or thinking about adding a stretch to a more intense training routine may want to join Mo to decompress and breathe.
Jenny Joyce - All Levels + Yin
As a former Division I athlete, Jenny imagined yoga would be a breeze. Yet the invitation to sit still and breathe, to hold poses, and to just “be” proved to be a much more challenging task. With 200 hour YTT certification from Hummingbird Yoga, Bryn Mawr, PA, and Yin Yoga training through the Heart of Yin with Kitty Maguire Yoga in Dublin, Ireland, she brings a gentle, compassionate, and grounded presence to each and every class. For Jenny, yoga is a way of honoring oneself by using the body and the breath to remember one’s divine light. Yoga balances out her other offerings as a college professor, certified spinning instructor, and fastpitch softball pitching coach.
Linda Geraghty - Restorative, Beginners, All Levels
Linda Geraghty, E-RYT, LMT, Owner of Hummingbird Yoga and Massage
Linda found yoga at a challenging time in her life. She was searching for a way to release stress through exercise and discovered that yoga offered more than physical benefits. It also opened her to a depth of calm not experienced before. In 2008, after a few years of practice, she was eager to share the inner peace she was gaining through her practice with others; so, she became a yoga instructor.
In 2013, Linda opened Hummingbird Yoga and Massage, and immediately a beautiful community emerged. Linda has personal experience with addiction and trauma and wanted to dedicate herself to helping this underserved population. Naturally, instructors interested in accessing a trauma informed way of teaching gravitated towards Hummingbird. The result was a caring, loving, and supportive yoga community.
In 2014, Linda developed the NECTAR Program (Nurturing Energy Cultivates Trauma/Addiction Recovery) with the help of the Hummingbird instructors. Her trainings inform a more inclusive, gentler, yet empowering approach to Yoga.
Linda teaches with an open, loving approach, allowing the energy in the room to reveal the direction and pace of the practice. This element of surprise keeps her students engaged and the class fresh, lighthearted, and fun.
She begins her classes with a grounding practice of intention in mind, body awareness and breath. A sequence of postures designed to build strength, flexibility in body and mind is what she gently transitions to. She offers her students the tools to access their own ability to respond to life with intention and an even mind.
Aparna Kumar - Gentle + All Levels
I have been a lifelong student of yoga and teaching since 2019, when I had the honor to train at Hummingbird. I enjoy sharing yoga with children and adults of all ages. Yoga has provided me with an opportunity to be present with myself and with others. And through regular practice, yoga has allowed me to bring laughter and joy into my life and to others’ lives, even in the darkest moments. Yoga for me is a way to bring out that light that is within each one of us, even when we feel that it is not possible.
The classes I share have an emphasis on mental wellness and are reflective, gentle, and strengthening while suitable for all levels of yoga practice. Laughter, lightness, and silliness are invited!
Rena Potok - Gentle + Meditation + Pranayama
Teaching since 2010! Rena teaches Hatha yoga, Gentle yoga, meditation, and pranayama (yoga breath). She completed the Whole Self Yoga Teacher Training in the Kripalu tradition with Ed Harrold and Rudy Peirce at Comfort Zone Center for Whole Self Healing in Lewes, Delaware. She is working towards her RYT-500 with the Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts. She studies and practices Tibetan Bön meditation with master teachers Gabriel Rocco and Marcy Vaughn, in the tradition of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. For Rena, yoga is a pathway to build strength, agility, and release of body and mind. Her classes offer a deep physical and spiritual practice with sustained posture holds, safe and gentle hands-on adjustments, and guided meditation.
