Kim Butash began her yoga practice in 2009, immediately after her second week of yoga. She was put under Yoga’s spell! As she advanced her practice, Kim began to see the real effects of yoga and felt the need to share what she felt with others. As a result, she trained for six months with Porsche Fischer at Lifesource Yoga and attended workshops on Ashtanga Yoga, backbends, and inversions. Kim is currently continuing her education and training in North Canton at the Yoga Place with Mike Curtis, Margot Milcetich, and other teacher trainers. She looks forward to receiving her 200 RYT in 2012.

Amy was introduced to yoga 7 years ago when her best friend invited her to a mediation retreat. It was one of the best decisions of her life. Amy has experienced such a beautiful change in her outlook on life. “Recognizing that you have the ability to create your own reality is such a wonderful gift. You have the ability to not only see the beauty around you, but truly experience it. Knowing that you are a part of everything and everyone around you. That is yoga”.

Recognizing what a wonderful gift my friend gave to her, Amy decided she wanted to share that gift with others. Along with meditation, she trained for six months with Porsche Fischer at Lifesource Yoga and attended workshops on Ashtanga Yoga, backbends, and inversions. Amy is currently continuing her education and training in North Canton at the Yoga Place with Mike Curtis, Margot Milcetich, and other teacher trainers. She looks forward to receiving her 200 RYT in 2012.

“My favorite yoga pose is Tree (Vrksasana). I associate with Tree Pose because like trees, we weather the storm and still stand strong. We are firmly grounded to the earth and always reaching for the sun”.
- Of all trees, I am the tree of life ~Krishna.

Terence Cranendonk earned his B.A. in Theater Studies from Yale University, and his M.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Akron. As an actor, director, and playwright, he has performed and has had his work performed extensively Off Broadway in New York, regionally, and throughout Europe and South America. It was through his work as a performer and workshop leader in physical training that Terence first discovered the Feldenkrais Method. He started his Feldenkrais Practitioner Training at the Feldenkrais Institute in New York in 2009, and is now Akron’s only authorized Awareness Through Movement Teacher.

Terence is currently on leave from Lifesource while he is directing a play in South America.

Melissa began studying yoga at age 16 and took her first formal yoga class during college. In 1999 she received her teacher’s certification at Sivananda Yoga Vendanta Centre, in Canada. Melissa continues her studies with various senior-level teachers and her peers. She also practices massage and is a certified herbalist. Having studied yoga both through books and with teachers, she is a great believer in the idea that a student can advance much further with a qualified instructor.  Join Melissa at Lifesource Yoga and allow her knowledge and experience to advance your yoga practice. Schedule a massage, too.

Mandy is passionate about Yoga. She embraces yoga and the love that flows through this wild journey. She is currently a certified (CYT) and registered teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance. She has been practicing yoga since 2003; and received her 200 hour certification in 2007 with Marni Task. More than a teacher, Mandy is a student who has had the privilege of studying directly with Sharon Gannon, David Life, Kathryn Budig, Desiree Rumbaugh, Sianna Sherman, Jonny Kest, Brian Kest, Seane Corn, and Simon Park. Her local favs are Parker Bean, Amy BG and of course, her favorite teacher, Marni.

“As a student, I’m beyond grateful for yoga and what it has done for my life. As a teacher, I love helping people do things they never dreamed were possible. I wish everyone knew about the unlimited possibilities of yoga.”

Words to describe me: Loyal, Giving and Playful

Favorite poses: Standing forward fold and Handstand!

Elaine got her first taste of yoga ten years ago as a teenager whose best friend’s mother taught yoga in her backyard.  Through many great local teachers since then, she has been introduced to the lifelong journey of yoga.  Earning her 200-hour teacher license through Brahmrishi Yoga, inspired by Brahrishi Vishvatma Bawraji and her teachers Margot and Bill Milcetich, Elaine studied Samkhya philosophy by Kapil and the Yoga Sutras by Pantajali.  Currently, Elaine is working toward her 500-hour certification through Brahmrishi Yoga. Asanas and meditation are tools to develop an awareness of the body that through practice blossoms into personal discovery, growth, and strength.  Elaine combines this knowledge with her personal practice to develop a teaching style that encourages her students to grow from within- finding their own breath, light, and life in yoga.

Lisamarie started practicing yoga over 15 years ago and discovered that the physical rewards far exceeded her fondest imagination. Seeking relief and rehabilitation from a variety of physical ailments, Lisamarie began practicing Bikram Yoga. Since graduating from Bikram’s Yoga College of India with a certificate in Bikram and Iyengar Yoga, Lisamarie has been teaching Hatha Yoga classes as a synergistic combination of all of her learning. Lisamarie is a talented and compassionate teacher who uses a down-to-earth approach in teaching, yet powers up her practice with the desired result of physical wellness, emotional cleansing, and spiritual centering.

Tracey has over 30 years experience leading various styles of group exercise. Her objective as a Yoga teacher is to guide students in keeping mentally focused, mentally present, aware of their breath and proper alignment though out the class no matter how challenging. Believing that “Where the mind goes the breathe will follow” the student will increase awareness of his or her body and gain more physical discipline and to a state of oneness!

Tracey trained for six months with Porsche Fisher VanBrocklin. She is currently continuing her education toward her 200 RYT hours from Brahmrishi Yoga with Mike Curtis and Margot Milcetich in North Canton at The Yoga Place.

In high school Jessica found Buddhism and became entranced with yoga philosophy. Studying and learning how to handle life’s challenges, she has found yoga to be her companion. Jessica firmly believes that all situations can be positive and we have the opportunity to mold even negative situations into positive life lessons. Jessica found her yoga asana practice her Freshmen Year in college in 2006. Her body was ravaged from years of track, cross country, and swimming. She was slowly introduced to the world of yoga, as the most unlikely yogi. Going and attending classes became easy as she learned about meditation techniques, yoga philosophy, and the asanas. The benefits were not just subtle but astounding and life changing. Her lung capacity increased as she became more centered, she could lie in savasana without fidgeting, she started viewing situations positively, and lastly, she could finally touch her toes. She was hooked.

In 2009 she came to Lifesource Yoga as a yoga practitioner and pole fitness instructor, noticing the similarities between yoga postures and pole dance flow. It was during training with Porsche Fischer, Lifesource Yoga’s then owner, that she was introduced to yin yoga and began a self-study.  Jessica has been teaching yoga since August of 2010 and in in training to obtain her 200-hour RYT license. She is also currently studying for her American Council on Exercise (A.C.E) group instructor certification.

Jessica has this to say about yoga, “Yoga has always found its way into my life in the hardest times, the times I needed it most. Though I do not have the prettiest practice or the strongest daily practice, I firmly believe that an hour a day is not a yoga practice. Yoga has become so much more to me than postures. It has become an outlook, a religion, a way of life. Yoga has been a catalyst for my growth and development and now I want to help my students find themselves as yogis.”

Debbie started practicing yoga in the 70′s with the formerly prominent Light of Yoga Society in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  Putting her practice aside for many years, her passion for yoga was rekindled six years ago.  Yoga has been central to her life since then as witnessed by practicing with numerous teachers, completing a 15-month 200-hour RYT training, increasing her knowledge of yoga philosophy and meditation, working toward her 500-hour certification, and teaching free and studio classes in the Akron area.

If asked the emphasis of Debbie’s practice, she would say it is in helping students achieve proper alignment and balance while learning the mechanics of traditional and modified asanas.  She focuses on the breath as an essential compliment to practice, using the breath to initiate and sustain movements to oxygenate and cleanse the tissues and organs, while allowing muscles to release and extend in a healthy manner.

According to Debbie, “Yoga is not an exercise program that one performs for weight loss or strength training, even though these results may occur for some students.  It is a way of achieving harmony in life, maybe initially away from home in a structured environment with a teacher, and ultimately, transferring what is learned on the mat into everyday life situations.”

During a class at the Los Angeles Center for Yoga, Kedric was kicking-up into arm balances when all of the sudden, “OUCH!” His ankle bone came in contact with an “eye bolt” for a conventional Rope Wall system; it was in that painful moment that The Great Yoga Wall concept was born.   But long before that:

One day early on in Kedric’s thespian career in Los Angeles he was driving down Santa Monica Blvd. and saw a large sign announcing “Yoga Classes.” He began yoga shortly thereafter and did my first teacher training there with Cheryl Harmond. That was more than 30 years ago, and, “My how time flies when you are having fun.” Kedric has been practicing, studying,  and teaching yoga since then. Principal teachers have been Aadil Palkhivala who is Iyengar-based, and Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty, founders of the original Yoga Works, who were principal Ashtanga teachers in LA. When he returned to Ohio from LA, Kedric brought the Ashtanga series back and began teaching that style of class at The Yoga Place in North Canton. Kedric feels his style of practice and teaching reflects an aggregate of numerous influences and exposures presented in a light, and sometimes humorous, manner. As Ramanand Patel has often said, “If you do the posture incorrectly one day you will die, if you do the posture correctly, one day you will also die.”  So lighten up, breathe, notice when your ego is driving the chariot, and hand the reins back to your heart.

Jessica began practicing yoga during her first year of college to relieve stress and depression, as suggested by her mother, a practitioner since age 9. In her yoga practice she found everything that she had been looking for. She used yoga to completely transform her life, and has never been happier. Jessica really enjoys the physical practice, but treasures the philosophical and meditative aspects even more. A pivotal moment in her life was when she read about unwavering happiness that cannot be taken away by anything external, and she would like to help as many people as possible find that same unconditional happiness. She is in the process of completing her 200 hour teacher certification with Jennifer Langsdale of Awaken Yoga School, and is also getting a B.S. in Biochemistry from The University of Akron. She enjoys teaching basics and flow classes, and would like to bring the therapeutic benefits of yoga to people of all ages. Her professional goals are to go to physical therapy school and to complete a yoga therapy certification, and combine the two rehabilitation methods into a more comprehensive holistic approach. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and cats, and loves cooking, reading, and hooping (besides practicing and teaching yoga of course!). She is very excited to join the wonderful community at Lifesource.