Eka Jyothi Yoga Collective
Hatha yoga for emotional regulation and spiritual connection.
Donation based, online classes, pay-what-you-can pricing ($1-$15).
Net proceeds go to a different humanitarian organization every month.
The study of yoga (asana, pranayama, meditation, philosophy) is a means to connect with our highest, truest, most compassionate selves, and prepares us to make better decisions, relate to others more authentically, and show up to serve the causes that mean the most to us.
Self-care includes being committed to social change and societal healing.
Being in community heals.
Everyone is welcome.
("Eka jyothi" translates roughly from Sanskrit to English as "the one light" or "the only light")
Teachers
YJB
Yogeśwarī Jessica Bertin trained to teach Hatha Yoga at the Integral Yoga Institute NY, and is certified in Meditation, Raja Yoga philosophy, and Intermediate Hatha. Her classes are interactive and have been described as "joyful," "spacious," and "methodical." During a 15-year NYC coffee career, YJB discovered yoga and was profoundly impacted by its mental health benefits. She now teaches Hatha theory for teacher trainings and classes across all levels, and consults and develops for Spiro Collective, an Āyurvedic wellness company.
Lynn Lidonnici (she/her)
Lynn believes yoga is for everyone, regardless of physical condition, cultural background, trauma history, or spiritual orientation. Her teaching balances body, mind, and spirit: focusing on how a pose feels and what it does for the student rather than what it looks like. Her training includes a 200-hour foundation, with further study in Gentle & Adaptive, Accessible Yoga, Yoga for Arthritis and Chronic Pain, and a year-long Yoga Anatomy course with Jason Ray Brown. At home she is the only member of her household without a tail — a situation she considers both unjust and bad for her balance.
Paula Carino
Paula Carino holds certifications from Integral Yoga Institute and Exhale to Inhale (trauma-informed yoga). She has joyfully taught hatha yoga, pranayama, meditation, stress management, and deep relaxation to classes and private students since 1999. She is also a psychotherapist and songwriter, and wrote the book Yoga to Go (Sterling Publishing/Union Square & Co).
Melissa Ann
Melissa Anne trained in Hatha Yoga at the Integral Yoga Ashram (Yogaville, Virginia) and holds certifications in Level 1, Raja Yoga, Neuroscience and Yoga, and Yoga Nidra through both Integral Yoga and the Total Yoga Nidra Network. She came to yoga through a 15+ year career in Crisis and Disaster Management and a Traumatic Brain Injury — yoga proved transformative in her recovery and in healing the trauma and burnout of first responder work. She currently teaches Hatha and Yoga Nidra in person on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and is also a fine art photographer whose Art of Wellness videos blend movement and visual art.
Michelle "Meesh" Brandt
Michelle Brandt, or Meesh for short, is a Hatha Yoga, pranayama & meditation teacher with over 900 hours of teaching experience. She has worked with a wide variety of populations, teaching for a number of organizations, from city-funded programming for senior citizens, to workplace wellness at some of New York City’s most reputable cultural institutions. Drawing inspiration and knowledge from a multidisciplinary background in dance, physical theatre and somatic healing, she is a life-long movement practitioner who aspires to cultivate freedom in physical and collective bodies.
Malka Percal (she/her)
Malka Percal is certified to teach Intermediate Yoga (Integral Yoga) as well as Yoga for Osteoporosis (Ellen Saltonstall), Accessible Yoga (Jivana Heyman), Therapeutic Yoga (Cheri Clampett Borda and Arturo Peele) and Yin Yoga (Corinna Benner). A practitioner of yoga since the 1960s, Malka has been teaching since 2017. Her focus, through her practice and teaching, is on helping students find pathways toward awareness and well-being. "With yoga, anything is possible."