Jess Meyer has been practicing yoga for ten years. After sustaining severe spinal injuries in 2007, she has happily rediscovered her backbends. She enjoys an upbeat vinyasa flow balanced with restorative stretching sequences. Jess is passionate about the limitless physical, mental, and spiritual healing qualities of yoga.

She holds a 200 hour RYT certification with David Vendetti’s Body Awakening Teacher Training program.

My love affair with food started as a very young child. I would look forward to waking up in the morning just so I could run into the kitchen and eat breakfast. When I think of different places I have travelled and people I have come in contact with, I think of restaurants, kitchens, and recipes. My road to becoming a nutritionist has been winding- making stops in herbal medicine, farming, and midwifery. I have worked with many different practitioners from both traditional and nontraditional medical backgrounds. Their influence has helped me develop a holistic approach to nutrition that incorporates an individual’s physical, psychological, and emotional well being.

I try to help each client develop a positive relationship with food and become more mindful of the food that they choose to eat and how it affects their body and their mind. By creating customized nutrition plans for each client, I try to help people overcome any food or nutritional struggles, including weight challenges, disordered eating, and food allergies.  Through one-on-one counseling I hope to bring my clients confidence, empowerment, and the joy of feeling good.

Lauren Koenig-Plonskier believes in a simple philosophy: Practice your yoga. So often, we do not take the time to replenish our minds and bodies, letting the stresses of life weigh us down. This was certainly true for Lauren and she found both her mind and body were overworked, overstressed and in need of a change. Then she stepped onto her mat and discovered the power of her breath. Now she finds herself continually awed by the ability of her yoga, her practice, to guide her towards peace.

Lauren has studied many different styles of yoga including Vinyasa, Anusara, Iyengar and PranaVayu, all from which she pools in the expression of her own style: a Vinyasa flow that allows students to get in touch with the rhythm of their breath and their movements. She always leaves time for more luscious openings and a sacred, peaceful final rest. Lauren is also a Reiki practitioner, which she feels further puts her in touch with the untouchable yet profoundly affective. Lauren challenges her students to find their own breath, tap into the strength they already possess, and to take both to the next level. She believes that the journey of a yoga practice may include anything from a good sweat to a good cry, and that the more we practice our yoga, the more we discover what we need. Off the mat, Lauren is a pianist and a composer. She loves the outdoors, and can easily be convinced that a road trip is needed

As someone growing up in India, Renu was introduced to yoga since early childhood.  In the later years, it became a practice that she cherishes and holds close to her heart.  The practice of yoga empowers yet humbles her while inter-weaving many different roles and aspects of her life as a mother, a student and a teacher.

Renu’s inspiration to teach Yoga comes from many amazing educators, mentors, family and friends who have guided, nurtured and challenged her over the years. With her determined yet compassionate style, Renu seeks to cultivate a dedicated practice with a shared goal of wellness and  rejuvenation. Building a harmonious community surrounding her classes where all feel integrated and valued is a very meaningful aspect of her teaching.

Renata Loree is the owner of Yogaspot. She holds 200hrRYT through Yoga Amherst Center fo Yoga.

As child growing up in Czechoslovakia dealing with challenges of an oppressive government and parents pushing me to excel to gain freedom it was not easy to learn how to relax. I would find peace and stillness in nature and pushing my body to a limit with various sports and long distance running. I became anorexic and developed a debilitating misalignment in my spine. Several years later finding myself in America it became obvious to me that the pushing and abusing of my body in a struggle to try to get somewhere was no longer an option. Around that time about 20 years ago, yoga was becoming popular and I immersed myself in with deep curiosity. And it seams that I have never decide to float out of it again. It became a way of life for me and every day brings new challenges. What is interesting about yoga that, if you really choose the path, it will always appear to you in a new light over and over again. It’s a beautiful journey and adventure. I used to have to run 10 miles to find my peace, now I can meet it lying on the mat.