HYP FACULTY

Opal Alves

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Samantha Arak

Samantha found her yoga practice as a necessary balance to competitive distance running. The sweat, rinse and repeat lead to the desire to share this powerful practice with others. Samantha received her 500 hour teacher training from the Baptiste Institute. Her classes are packed with vitality, intensity, community, and the inspiration necessary to discover a new edge of both strength and surrender.

When not throwing down a sweaty vinyasa class, Samantha works as an interior designer in the greater Boston area. As an avid runner, she enjoys short distances chasing after her young children and long runs in the Fells. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Tufts University. 

Jacqui Bonwell

Your dear friend in the flight. 

A footsoul-dier beside you in the trenches of life.

Mother, Author, Motivational Speaker & holy hot mess at times. 

Director of the 200 & 300hr Yoga Alliance Certification programs. 

Owner  & Mother Bird of the Canton Yoga Shala.

I am a teacher of Life. A teacher of self support. A teacher of forgiveness.

For anything else, I don't even have that kind of time.

Diligent student of Rolf Gates, Johnny Gillespie, David Vendetti, Pat Iyer & Sharon Gannon.

Deep bow to all of the great Masters of this practice, including India.

I see that none of them had perfect condition.

Their glory was won through effort. 

I love my Mother & my Father more than life itself.

My children are my greatest teachers. My greatest sources of love & wisdom. My reminder of our natural state.

My brothers have been my wingmen since birth. My ride or dies.

Family means more to me than any professional accomplishment. 

AND my husband. God Bless him.

He's been married to a loving blender with no lid since 2006.  

As far as Yoga or "wellness"~I was humbled into all of this.

Forever a student. 

A true empath, I deeply care for people.

It's a bell I can't unring.

I am a Social Worker by blood & choice.

Initially, I never saw the investment in my own health as the offering.

I never valued the need to be so fine tuned because I never understood that my body & mind (and the care of it) allow for the work & message to become LONG TERM.  

As far as a "Yoga Teacher?" 

I've always feel like an imposter.  

I just dare greatly. 

And..as I age... I'm over it. : ) 

Someone always has a problem with something.

Even Mother Teresa had critics.

I choose to love them anyways.

I choose to care, not carry.

I choose to see others as having a hard time, not giving me a hard time. 

I choose to see all of humanity doing it's best.

And that's the only lens I see through.

I've got a 50/50 shot anyways.

Will Conroy

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Leah Croteau

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Nathan Denison

Nathan Denison (E-RYT200, LMT) is a Massachusetts-based wellness professional, specializing in yoga instruction, yoga teacher training, and massage therapy.

Nathan has been teaching yoga and training yoga teachers since 2013. He’s enjoyed teaching yoga throughout Greater Boston at several studios, including YogaWorks, South Boston Yoga, Open Doors Yoga, and One Powered Yoga.

A 2014 graduate of The Massage School in South Boston, Nathan provides therapeutic treatments to both private and corporate clients, offering modalities such as relaxation/swedish massage, deep tissue, trigger point, foot reflexology, chair massage, and Thai massage.

Prior to transitioning into the world of wellness, Nathan worked extensively with non-profits such as The Doe Fund (NY, NY) and The Pine Street Inn (Boston, MA). There he counseled and coached homeless adults, including formerly incarcerated individuals and others in recovery from substance abuse, in their goals to return to the workforce, land employment and get back on their feet.

Nathan is also passionate about youth leadership and volunteers with The Massachusetts Association of Student Councils (MASC), as a Senior Counselor at their annual Summer Student Leadership Conference. Held at Worcester State University, the conference attracts over 400 high school students from across the state as they seek to learn new leadership skills, connect with one another and grow so they can help make positive impacts back at their own schools and communities.

When not in the studio or spa, Nathan can be found running in Boston along the Charles River or around Castle Island, cooking at home, spending time with family & friends, and soaking up the sun & surf.

Nikki Joyal

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Rachael Lappen

Rachael Lappen is a Boston-based E-RYT 500 certified yoga teacher and certified holistic health coach.

With extensive experience in teaching team management as the former creator and manager of the certification department for a well-known international yoga brand, and in yoga studio management as the former manager of one of the most popular studios in Boston, I’m honored to combine my love for practicing and teaching yoga with my passions for practical wellness, teacher development, team building and empowerment, creating community, and organizing top-notch programming.

I stumbled upon heated power vinyasa yoga on a friend’s recommendation in December 2002. A former competitive swimmer, I was sure that my “high intensity” lifestyle and yoga would not mesh. After one class, I was in awe of the physical and mental breakthroughs I experienced which eventually led me down a fulfilling path to become a full-time teacher and leader in the yoga space. I have been teaching, leading workshops and trainings, and mentoring teachers and studio owners since 2007.

I have also developed corporate wellness and prenatal yoga programs and especially love to lead workshops for runners and cyclists, sharing how yoga can support athletes to love their sport and stay healthy for a lifetime.

I am a graduate of Clark University and most recently the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. With a degree in Biology and a background as a Scientist, I am fascinated by the intersection between science and yoga. As both a yoga teacher and health coach I’m deeply devoted to wellness and making healthy living simple, accessible, and empowering for everybody at every age. 

You’ll always find me teaching with a smile. My classes offer simple and concrete tools that I hope will inspire you to feel good both on and off the mat.

Ray Mucci

Ray began teaching heated power yoga in 2007 and his current power, vinyasa and slow flow classes are based on an evolution of his practice and experience as both a teacher and student.

Years of power and vinyasa yoga practice lead to some amazing personal shifts and a respect for what a mindfulness practice can do for your mind and body.

After more intensive study of alignment, movement and the human body, Ray’s current classes honor the tradition of the practice in a way that will reduce the potential for injuries based on repetitive movement. All while still allowing for space to have fun with yoga, move and engage and feel the strength of your body wherever it is on any day.

In addition to teaching group classes, Ray teaches anatomy to yoga instructors and has been seeing clients for massage in the Boston area for over 10 years.

MJ Nitschke

After years of dedication to athletics as a competitive gymnast and distance runner, MJ knew that her passion for movement and helping others would be her professional focus.

She was certified as a personal trainer & nutrition specialist in 2000. 12 years later, after the births of her 3 children, and 6 years living with constant body pain, MJ was desperately looking for a way to feel better. 3 pregnancies & years of demanding sports training without proper nutrition had left MJ’s body completely depleted. Once a vibrant, energetic young woman, MJ was devastated to find herself nearly bedridden, with young children she desperately wanted to keep up with, yet internally her nerves were firing on overdrive, creating near constant neuropathic pain which fueled her depression and anxiety.

A neighbor suggested she try hot yoga. Desperate for answers, MJ forced herself out of bed and into a hot vinyasa yoga class the next day. After the first class, she knew that the practice would be a key element in her journey back to health! The hope had returned to her heart and she was determined to follow that light.

After years of battling chronic pain and mental illness, MJ chose to place her faith in herself, in her body’s wisdom and the power of holistic living. Empowered by her personal physical outcomes from taking ownership of her own health journey, she was inspired to share her knowledge with others and became a Certified Yoga Instructor through Inner Strength Yoga in 2015. Additionally, she learned all there was to know about plant-based nutrition and ayurveda committed herself fully to a daily practice of yoga, meditation, and breath work.

Masaaki Okamura

Ali Purple

Ali is a longtime, dedicated student of the practice, whose personal journey on the mat eventually navigated her to her teacher’s seat.

From Ali:
“In times of challenge I have sought comfort, strength, clarity, and release in physical exercise. Running and boxing were the most cathartic, until I stepped into my first hot yoga class in 2005. After several years as a trial attorney in an innately adversarial profession, I was screaming for access to more peace for myself and my profession.

After practicing consistently for several years, I tapped into the mind-body-breath connection, beginning to understand and connect with the healing and medicinal powers of the practice.

During a challenging pregnancy and postpartum period, I again found my vigor, comfort, and passion for life reignited through a consistent practice and study of yoga. I delved deep into my body and breath, connecting to parts unrealized until faced with tremendous discomfort and heartache.

As a student, I have seen first hand the transformative value of a consistent practice. My goal as a teacher is to create an atmosphere for release, self-discovery, curiosity, and healing, a space for the student to connect with their body and breath.

I completed my 200 hour teaching training at Inner Strength Studios in Watertown in 2018.”

Foundational. Energetic. Breath-informed. Flow-inspired. Ali’s classes are all that. And more. Much more.

Samantha Rose

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Lisa Schwarz

I took my very first yoga class in 1995. I've been a certified, practicing yoga teacher since 2011.  A five-time marathon finisher, yoga has helped me to be a better runner and a much nicer human. I believe that yoga should be fun, liberating, and pain-free. I believe yoga can help build strength, refocus intentions, and inform choices off the mat. I believe all morning classes should include coffee.

All my classes these days are virtual. Which means, I'm never late. You can literally do yoga anywhere. 

Breathe, sweat, move your ass, clear your head, feel better.

It's that simple.

Shelby Sullivan

Shelby Sullivan, is a professionally trained dancer turned business professional that stumbled upon yoga during the stark transition. Dance was her passion but the chronic injuries and pain forced her to find a new path. Yoga healed her as a mover, continues to teach her, and will forever inspire her to facilitate the profound experience with others.

Her vinyasa style classes explore a necessary balance of strength and ease through breath-based movement. She seeks to guide students toward the synergy between the physical, mental and emotional self. Yoga is a practice, not a performance, designed to create an understanding of one’s true, authentic self

Rachel Tondreault

Rachel's classes will challenge you both physically and mentally, combining traditional asana with out-of-the-box transitions that challenge the practitioner to re-think how their body can move with both safety and JOY. Her style is encouraging and playful. You will feel at ease in her class and in her presence. She completed her 200hr. RYT in 2016 at Create Power Yoga in East Providence, RI.

Laura Villalobos

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Elizabeth Young

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