| Our Instructors |
| Susan Baldwin has completed the 200 hour teacher training through Sacred Rivers Yoga. She is an occupational therapist by day, with former lives in music, jewelry, and teaching. |
| Ann Marie Bazzano, RYT has completed the 500 hour certification with Kim Valeri of Yoga Spirit. Ann incorporates many styles of yoga practice in her teaching including Iyengar, Kundalini, and Ashtanga. |
| Katherine Crowley has studied Hatha yoga in the Iyengar tradition since 1990. She has studied with Gail Malizia, Yoga Lodge, Whidbey Is, WA, and Wendy Dion, Yogapuram, Hartford , CT |
| Jennifer Errickson completed her 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers. She teaches the mom and baby series classes. |
| Steven Fava studies Pranakriya and Tantric Hatha Yoga. A regular yoga practice has allowed him to experience himself and others on a deeper and more compassionate level. |
Jody Forstmann began practicing yoga in 1999 and received her 200 hour certification at Sacred Rivers Yoga in February 2007
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Beth Griffin has been practicing yoga since 2000, and her love of the practice made her want to share yoga and its many benefits with others.
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Erika Halford "I have discovered that we all already posses all the qualities and divine will that we need to lead happy healthful lives."
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| John Hauser, RYT Chronic back pain from crushed discs, the result of a life of soccer, hockey, martial arts, backpacking and canoe tripping led him to try Yoga. "I was immediately drawn by the body / mind / spirit connection I experienced." John took dozens of Yoga classes over the next four months, gaining inspiration and experience from many teachers and styles, especially Michelle Hall, Jen Brosious, Kitty Moore and Melissa Hall. |
Margo Hennenbach teaches Awareness Through Movement classes and workshops throughout CT, including Sacred Rivers Yoga, and maintains a private Feldenkrias practice in Bloomfield, CT.
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| Keshav Howe "I have been a seeker of truth and freedom my entire life and I have studied with a variety of teachers, some who were very famous, some who were unknown and some who were not even aware that they were my teacher." |
| Wendy Kolanz is certified to teach yoga and meditation. She has been practicing yoga and medititation for 30 years. |
| Gabriel London is a Classic Hatha Yoga instructor, trained in the linage of Swami Sivananda Saraswati and Swami Satyananda Saraswati at the Yoga Vidya Gurukul Ashram in Maharashtra India. |
Jack Lynch received his formal training from renowned teachers Beryl Bender Birch and David Swenson. These accomplished mentors have instilled in Jack a deep understanding of the ancient Ashtanga system (both first and second series), and imparted an abundance of skillful adjustment techniques.
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| Paula Scopino is the Owner/Director of Sacred Rivers. Paula was inspired at a young age by her parents' spiritual explorations and discovered yoga at age 19. She has been a student of yoga since 1976 and has been teaching continuously since 1978 after receiving her first certification with Ruth Bender (pre Kripalu). |
Susan Taff holds a Masters degree in Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University and a Masters degree in Public Health from Yale University.
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| Sarajean Walsh finds herself drawn to Yoga coming from a proficient fitness and martial arts background. She finds that cultivating the skills involved in practicing Yoga has profound physiological effects on the human body and mind. |
| Colleen Zimmer “My personal physical training made me realize how important the body and mind connection is. I became a Personal Trainer and a Children's Yoga Instructor in 2007 and 2008 respectfully...” |
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| Full Instructor Bios |
| Susan Baldwin has completed the 200 hour teacher training through Sacred Rivers Yoga. She is an occupational therapist by day, with former lives in music, jewelry, and teaching. She began practicing yoga while living in Scotland in 2002, and incorporates yogic principles, breathing, and postures into her OT practice. She gives many thanks to this studio for the wonderful classes, workshops, and community programs.
A passionate yoga student since 1998, I completed my 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers Yoga in 2007. I fell in love with yoga because of the peace and acceptance that each practice brings to me. Yoga has taught me to bring breath and energy into everything I do, and provides me with an overall sense of calm and well being.
My class provides careful instruction on alignment and breath, and encourages each student to become aware of their physical and emotional self. Students are encouraged to listen to their bodies as we explore different levels of poses. We will find stillness and by holding poses longer.
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Ann Marie Bazzano, RYT has completed the 500 hour certification with Kim Valeri of Yoga Spirit. Ann incorporates many styles of yoga practice in her teaching including Iyengar, Kundalini, and Ashtanga. Her eclectic background and open heart brings a wonderful nurturing flow to her teaching. She is a certified prenatal yoga teacher and has also studied Meridian yoga, restorative yoga, and yoga therapy.
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| Katherine Crowley has studied Hatha yoga in the Iyengar tradition since 1990. She has studied with Gail Malizia, Yoga Lodge, Whidbey Is, WA, and Wendy Dion, Yogapuram, Hartford , CT. She completed a nine-month teacher-training course while living in Seattle , where she taught beginning and general level yoga classes. She brings to her teaching a passion for the healing power of yoga and year of experience in utilizing this power to create health and unity within the body, mind and spirit.
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 Jennifer Errickson completed her 200 hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers. She teaches the mom and baby series classes. Jennifer's classes provide a supportive environment for mothers to explore yoga as they move, breathe, and connect with their little ones. Her background is in the field of education where she holds a Master's Degree as well as experience as a classroom teacher. Teaching yoga has allowed Jennifer to use these skills and her own experience as a mom while bringing the beautiful gift of yoga into the lives of new mothers.
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| Steven Fava studies Pranakriya and Tantric Hatha Yoga. A regular yoga practice has allowed him to experience himself and others on a deeper and more compassionate level. Yoga and breath have facilitated healing and opening every day in ways that he did not even realize were available to him. His intention is to guide others towards an authentic experience of their true selves in the present moment.
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| Jody Forstmann began practicing yoga in 1999 and received her 200 hour certification at Sacred Rivers Yoga in February 2007 and is presently studying for her 500 hour certification through Sacred Rivers. Jody is inspired by the spiritual and physical benefits of a regular yoga practice and strives to make the practice of Asana accessible to people of all abilities by encouraging her class participants to find the grace, beauty and joy in every breath and movement of their bodies.
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| Beth Griffin has been practicing yoga since 2000, and her love of the practice made her want to share yoga and its many benefits with others. As a mom, Beth saw the opportunity to bring yoga to children and families. She received her 200 hour Yoga Alliance certification from Sacred Rivers Yoga in May 2007, and has completed various children's yoga workshops. Beth teaches Family Yoga with Jennifer Errickson.
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 Erika Halford completed her Yoga Alliance 200 hour certification at Sacred Rivers Yoga. She has completed Yoga Trance Dance teacher training with Shiva Rea and is currently enrolled in a 500 hour program. She is also a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and uses knowledge and skills from both fields to serve private clients. Erika strives to make the yoga practice accessible for all levels of students, helping them find their yoga - a practice that meets them wherever they may be and will inspire them in all aspects of their daily lives. Her practice and teaching is dedicated to the health, happiness and healing of all beings and to the collective consciousness we all share.
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 John Hauser, RYT
Chronic back pain from crushed discs, the result of a life of soccer, hockey, martial arts, backpacking and canoe tripping led him to try Yoga. "I was immediately drawn by the body / mind / spirit connection I experienced." John took dozens of Yoga classes over the next four months, gaining inspiration and experience from many teachers and styles, especially Michelle Hall, Jen Brosious, Kitty Moore and Melissa Hall.
Driven to deepen his personal practice, he was accepted into the Sacred Rivers Yoga teacher training program under the direction of his serene teacher, Paula Scopino, ERYT500. Upon graduation he was invited to teach classes at Sacred Rivers where he also continues to learn from Paula and others. Some of the highlights of his education have been a mass audience with His Holiness, the 16th Dalai Lama and the Yin Yoga / Yoga Anatomy seminar with Paul and Suzie Grilley.
John's uniquely fun, invigorating and spiritually uplifting class style is a reflection of his own humor, athleticism and love of nature. Prepare to be challenged, entertained and coaxed to your edge, physically, mentally and spiritually. The class unfolds at many levels so that everyone from novices to experienced Yogin will find something of value. As John says, "Sometimes it is what we leave on our mat that matters most, and sometimes it is what we take from it that counts more."
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Margo Hennenbach
Margo Hennebach, GCFP, LGSM(MT) teaches Awareness Through Movement classes and workshops throughout CT, including Sacred Rivers Yoga, and maintains a private Feldenkrias practice in Bloomfield, CT. She is a founding member of the international trio, Mad Agnes, and a lifelong movement lover, especially yoga, dance, and Salsa. She holds a BM in Piano and a graduate degree in Music Therapy and has been a Feldenkrais Practitioner since 2003.
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| Keshav Howe I have been a seeker of truth and freedom my entire life and I have studied with a variety of teachers, some who were very famous, some who were unknown and some who were not even aware that they were my teacher. Most notably, I lived at the Zen Center in Cambridge MA and with Michio Kushi; apprenticed with Don Carlos Castaneda and Don Miquel Ruiz; and studied with Gurumayi Chidvilasananda and Master Shaman Michael Harner. I have a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics and completed a three-year program in Chinese Five Element Medicine, and I have practiced a form of Chinese/Shamanic medicine called Plant Spirit Healing for the past twelve years.
The most powerful teaching experiences for me, however, have occurred during a series of Shakti experiences while gazing at a flower, the sky or embracing the energy of a sacred site. In a moment of clarity several years ago at an ancient temple in Teotihuacán Mexico, I was literally struck down and my mind stopped dead in its tracks. In the vast stillness that arose when the mind chatter dissolved I did not know who I was - there was no point of reference, no movement and a sense of coming home.
By standing my ground in that shaky state of being, the identification with the story of "me" broke down, and everything that my mind created was lost. In that place of stillness and peace, in the absence of old patterns or dreams, the Truth of who I really am was revealed. And, it is in that place of Truth that everything ends and all efforts to be someone or to find something cease. Then, and only then, was I able to be fully embraced by the fundamental and vibrant essence of life - spacious and full of unconditional love!
I have learned that surrender to what is in the eternal now is the process of yielding to, rather than opposing the flow of life. If we go to battle with whatever arises in "our" consciousness, we reinforce those old and stale definitions of that which we "believe" we are. However, if we yield and refuse to go to battle, the war is over and peace breaks out. All that we really let go of is a story of "me", an illusion of our true nature.
Eventually we all lose everything that our mind has created and awaken to who we truly are. It is only when our love and desire for Truth outweighs our personality's compulsive need for security that we begin to stop struggling and allow our soul essence to be swept up into the arms of an ever unfolding revelation of the Truth and Freedom of our divinity. I am thrilled that Sacred Rivers Yoga is hosting the Friday evening meditation satsangs that I facilitate. Each Friday evening we sit together in a sacred circle of unity. Initially, we do so in silent reflection. We then engage in an intimate investigation into the nature of spiritual awakening and living an awakened life.
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 Wendy Kolanz has an extensive background in meditation, dance and yoga. She is certified to teach yoga by Yoga Center Amherst, Amherst, MA, and certified to teach meditation and facilitate the Oneness Deeksha by The Oneness Movement, Berkeley, CA and Chennai, India. Wendy's major influences in her yoga practice and teaching are the Iyengar principles of alignment, Embodiment work of the School for Body-Mind Centering as well as her dance and meditation background.
Wendy believes everyone can foster more joy, greater health, enhanced mental clarity, and a more positive outlook on life through the practice of yoga and meditation. She encourages students in her classes to listen to their bodies, and allow the flow of breath to sweep away the obstacles, finding rejuvenation and growth in all areas of their lives.
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Gabriel London is a Classic Hatha Yoga instructor, trained in the linage of Swami Sivananda Saraswati and Swami Satyananda Saraswati at the Yoga Vidya Gurukul Ashram in Maharashtra India. This Ashram is a very traditional Hatha yoga school with teachings directly from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra’s and the Hatha Pradipika. Gabriel has a 200 and 500 hour certification and scored top of his class in practical exams for his 500 hour advanced training. Gabriel regularly travels to India where he has spent almost 2 years in total studying at various ashrams. In July of 2006 Gabriel met his Guru, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), and was initiated as a devotee. Gabriel spends as much of his time as possible under the guiding light of this Spiritual Master who is known throughout the world as a being of perfect love and service to all. While on multiple trips to Amma’s ashram, Amritapuri in Kerala India, on tour with Amma in India, or on yearly retreats in the USA, Gabriel spends his time in Seva (selfless service) and Bhakti (Path of Devotion), learning the teachings of Amma. Gabriel teaches all the eight limbs in yoga tradition, Meditation, Pranayama (breathing techniques), Chanting, Mantra, ect. Asana (Yoga poses) is just the beginning of the yogic journey that can lead all beings into Satcitananda (Mind of Eternal Bliss). “I seek to be a conduit for the divine’s work, leading light and true happiness into the hearts of all beings.”
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 Jack Lynch received his formal training from renowned teachers Beryl Bender Birch and David Swenson. These accomplished mentors have instilled in Jack a deep understanding of the ancient Ashtanga system (both first and second series), and imparted an abundance of skillful adjustment techniques.
Jack has also studied with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Ana Forrest, Nancy Gilgoff and Doug Swenson. Through Continuous study and practice he is able to offer not only primary and second series Ashtanga classes, but also unique classes inspired by these other distinguished teachers.
You will enjoy the way Jack's sense of humor and compassion puts you at ease while fostering a safe environment in which to work the body.
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 Paula Scopino is the Owner/Director of Sacred Rivers. Paula was inspired at a young age by her parents' spiritual explorations and discovered yoga at age 19. She has been a student of yoga since 1976 and has been teaching continuously since 1978 after receiving her first certification with Ruth Bender (pre Kripalu). Ruth Bender studied with Selvarjan Yesudian, who had a medical therapeutic approach to yoga.
Paula has taught in many different settings, including corporations, hospitals, and fitness and rehabilitation centers. She has studied many different yoga styles all over the country and has been inspired and influenced by numerous wonderful teachers. Her love and interest of yoga, movement, and energy led her to study massage therapy, Reiki, Feldenkrais, and Pilates.
Paula is a Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher - 500 hour, and is a certified Cardiac Yoga Teacher, having studied "Yoga of the Heart" with Nischala Joy Devi (the stress management portion of the Dr. Dean Ornish program). Paula does yoga therapy for heart disease and cancer, and yoga therapy for chronic conditions, back problems, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. She teaches prenatal yoga, yoga for children, and yoga for 60, 70 and beyond. She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (www.IAYT.org).
Paula graduated from the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy in 1989 and is a Connecticut licensed massage therapist and member of the American Massage Therapy Association. She also assists her brother, Rick Haesche in teaching the Art of Traditional Thailand Massage in massage therapy schools as a part of their regular and continuing education curriculum. In addition, she is certified in Karuna and Usui Reiki. She has maintained a private practice in massage therapy since 1989.
"May the Yogis of old, and the teachers of all the great spiritual traditions, from whose words we have learned wisdom and knowledge, bless the path you take and look after your wanderings, and may your personal God, even a God unknown to you, shine its light upon you, and bring you safely home to your heart."
Paula would like to acknowledge the following teachers with deep thanks and gratitude:
My Parents, my Son, Richard Hittleman, Clare Matthews, Ruth Bender, Baron Baptiste, Bikram, Viraj, Beryl Bender Berch, John Schumacher, Doug Swenson, Larry Payne, Lilias Folan, Judith Lasater, Rama Berch, Nischala Joy Devi, Dr. Dean Ornish, Ram Dass, the Iyengar Institute of San Francisco, Anya Foos, Patricia Walden, Bo Forbes, Barbara Benagh , Ravi Singh, Kripalu, Seane Corne, Shiva Rea, Paul Grilley, Gary Kraftskow, and so many others too numerous to mention...Paramahansa Yogananda and others in Spirit.
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| Susan Taff holds a Masters degree in Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University and a Masters dgree in Public Health from Yale University. Susan has been practicing massage therapy for 12 years, teaching kinesiology and massage therapy courses. She has also studied and has been teaching yoga in the style of B.K.S. Iyengar since 1989. She brings to her yoga teaching her years of study and interest in anatomy and movement. Susan especially enjoys adapting yoga asanas for students with physical limitations.
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| Sarajean Walsh finds herself drawn to Yoga coming from a proficient fitness and martial arts background. She finds that cultivating the skills involved in practicing Yoga has profound physiological effects on the human body and mind. As a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor, Sarajean has been leading classes and training clients for the past 6 years. Although fitness is paramount in her training and education, Yoga is her true love. Sara’s classes are led from the heart and with integrity and intention. Sarajean was recently educated at Kripalu by Carolyn Lundeen and Steve Hartman and will be continuing her education on the 500 hour level in India this coming fall 2009.
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| Colleen Zimmer “My personal physical training made me realize how important the body and mind connection is. I became a Personal Trainer and a Children's Yoga Instructor in 2007 and 2008 respectfully. A teacher then introduced me to Baron Baptist style yoga...my mind and body were humbled. My love of yoga unfolded. I then started the 200hour teacher training at Sacred Rivers. My personal Journey and love affair with yoga is ongoing. Sharing this love keeps my mind and heart open and learning each time I teach.”
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