Blue Banyan Yoga

Sophie Simpson, director of Blue Banyan, is certified by the National Yoga Alliance and trained at Laughing Lotus Yoga Studio in New York City. She has an extensive dance background which is brought to the mat in a flowing yet vigorous way. Sophie teaches a Vinyasa (flow) style yoga class that focuses on connecting breath and movement, chakra opening, organ and endocrine stimulation, and proper body alignment. Sophie embraces overall wellness in body, mind and spirit for each of her students. She and her husband, Chris, live in East Mount Airy with their three girls, Ruby, Stella and Tuco (the family dog).

Meredith Jacoby completed a 200 hour yoga teacher certification in 2000. Blending various yoga styles (including Ashtanga, Anusara and Iyengar), her classes encourage exploration of the immense healing capacity of yoga in a safe and nurturing environment. Certified in prenatal yoga in 2001, Meredith is the Co-Director of The Maternal Wellness Center in Mount Airy, and is passionate about supporting women in all stages of pregnancy and motherhood. Combining mindfulness meditation, breath work, and yoga postures she helps students experience their innate ability to live healthy, peaceful lives. Meredith's constant sunshine is her beautiful son, Jacob.

Patricia Cornelius has been a student of yoga for 25 years and a certified Classical yoga teacher since 1990. Director of the Classical Yoga Teacher Training Program at The Yoga Lifestyle Center in Paoli, PA (2001-2005), she has taught basic, prenatal, post-natal, gentle and children's yoga classes at hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, corporations and colleges, as well as a number of well-known yoga centers in the suburban Philadelphia area.

Sara Lomax-Reese - Yoga is a journey of continuous transformation. And teaching yoga is a defining element of Sara’s journey. An avid yoga practitioner for many years, Sara completed a 250-hour yoga teacher training program through Wake Up Yoga in Philadelphia. Breath work, yoga philosophy and meditation are integrated into her vinyasa flow classes creating an opportunity to awaken mind, body and spirit. Sara is also a certified holistic nutrition counselor. She endeavors to put yoga into action every day through the spiritual practice of raising three boys ­ Langston, Elijah and Julian.

Caroline Holt-Casey is a certified Astanga yoga teacher and practitioner living and working in and around the Philadelphia area. Her philosophy for her own teaching is that "we cannot teach what we do not practice". When Caroline is not teaching yoga classes, she uses her background in sports medicine diagnosing and rehabilitating various injuries using the Astanga system of yoga. Her classes are a beautiful expression of mindfulness practice with Astanga yoga as the vehicle to elevate your spirit. Currently, she is completing a 500 hour Advanced Astanga Yoga Teacher Training with Beryl Bender Birch and believes that this work must be ongoing. Caroline leads a busy life raising two young girls and running a business and knows that it is her daily Astanga practice that keeps her living fully.

Jake Miller first encountered the practice of yoga as a student of theatre and dance in 1997. After several years of 'dabbling' and few of serious study, he began teaching in the Vinyasa-style in 2004. In 2007 Jake completed a 250-hour Teacher Certification at Wake Up Yoga in Philadelphia under his beloved teachers Corina Benner and Jill Manning. Now, Jake has the honor of teaching and translating this transformative practice and philosophy in communities throughout the region. A practitioner of Thai Yoga Massage as well as an arts educator of children, Jake brings a diverse and playful sensibility to his classroom approach and 'mat-side' manner. Off the mat and out of the studio, he helps to run a local non-profit called Yes! And..., an organization working to provide under-served kids in Philadelphia with opportunities in the arts and collaboration.

Lynn Smith Klein is a registered Yoga Alliance teacher and a member of the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association. In 2003, Lynn earned a 100-hour certification to teach Vinyasa Yoga with Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia. It was through Dhyana that Lynn was introduced to the practice of Kundalini Yoga and in 2005, Lynn traveled to Espanola, New Mexico for a 200-hour Kundalini teacher training with the 3HO Foundation. Lynn especially loves teaching yoga to beginners. Lynn lives in Mount Airy with her husband Luke and beautiful daughter Gisela.

Katy Hawkins is a National Yoga Alliance certified teacher trained at Wake Up Yoga in Philadelphia. She teaches a Vinyasa flow style, colored by a background in dance and a love of poetry. Also central to her teaching is the study of "Eastern" philosophy, which began as a dissertation on the role of Eastern frameworks in American ideas about illness, and, after completing the Ph.D, came to life on the mat. But the two real keys to her soul and sanity are her partner Dan and a daily meditation practice that has guided her through the wild and rugged wilderness of motherhood.

Erin Owen, RYT- For Erin, yoga practice is a spiritual practice that quiets the mind so that the True Self can deeply and fully connect with the divine universal energy that unites us all. As a teacher, she enjoys sharing with students what she herself is learning in her own personal practice, and especially gets juiced about making connections between what happens on the mat with what transformations happen in daily life off the mat. While Erin’s primary practice has been based in Vinyasa flow, she has also more recently dipped her toes into the world of Mysore Ashtanga yoga. Erin completed the 250 hour teacher training program at Wake Up Yoga in Philadelphia. Off the mat, Erin is mother to a toddler who helps remind her that each moment is the destination. She enjoys traveling, cooking and eating delicious and healthy foods, and spends the rest of her “work time” as a holistic nutrition and wellness educator helping others learn to nourish themselves inside and out.

Jennifer McLaughlin was introduced to yoga with the Kripala technique in 1991. In 2000 Jennifer began studying Astanga yoga with Dee Silvers and Manju Jois. Silvers and Jois mentored Jennifer until 2004 when she met David Williams, the first American to learn the full Astanga series from Pattabi Jois, the creator of Astanga. Jennifer’s classes focus on connecting breath with movement. She emphasizes in each class that no two practices look or feel the same. Jennifer stresses the need for modification so that every students practice works for them. Each class will offer modifications, and will allow the practitioner through the regularity of the practice to track their own improvement.