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Linda Lalita Winnick has developed Shakti Yoga, a style based on her extensive teaching experience and over 25 years of practicing yoga. After studying with multiple lineages, teachers and styles of yoga, Linda has extracted what she has found to be a succinct method of teaching based in human movement principles and the energetics of Ayurveda that can be adapted to all levels of ability. As she is not bound to lineage, but embraces all, she works with creative asana sequencing, vinyasa Krama, shat karmas (cleaning techniques) and pranayama (breath work) that is imbued with the wisdom of Hatha Yoga, Tantra, Classical Yoga, and Ayurveda (Indian Medicine).
It is a modern interpretation of Yoga that appeals to students who want a dynamic, creative approach to navigating the body, mind, and spirit. Each class has a specific sequencing principle that is unique to the group dynamic, time of day and season. Classes are spontaneous and rarely are duplicated by Linda. Linda educates you about your body and mind as you deepen your practice and become better acquainted with yourself.
Her teacher of yoga and body work since 2004 is Glenn Black, internationally recognized as a Master Yogi and Body Worker.
Linda has been training teachers (200 Hour and Advanced 500 Hour) locally and in NYC since 2004 years to fill the growing demand. She is committed to the disciple of yoga , focusing on form, alignment , philosophy , and the cultivation of Shakti (Inner Power). She has directed teacher training programs in NYC and has been added to the faculty of an international yoga teacher training program in Zurich Switzerland.
Linda has been a popular workshop instructor with the Omega Institute since 2002 She has also taught at Menla, Ananda Ashram and a variety of local studios. She has trained the therapists at the Emerson Spa on Ayurvedic treatments where she also practiced Ayurveda.
She is a certified yoga teacher, and has a Master of Arts in Ayurvedic Medicine and Yoga Philosophy with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. She is also the Director of of the East Coast Campus Director of the American University of Ayurvedic Medicine's Practictioner's Certification Program.
She is also a Director of Woodstock Yoga with Barbara Boris, since January 2012, making this her fourth studio under her directorship in Upstate New York.
Carolyn Plum LeRoy-
Carolyn walked into a yoga studio in NYC and instantly fell in love after working several years in her family's restaurant business. After being injured as a dancer and a college athlete, and having numerous surgeries, she felt she might never be able to move fluidly and without pain again. Stepping onto the yoga mat changed her body and her life, and she has never looked back. She has a passion for hot yoga and is currently in Shakti Yoga’s 500 hour Teacher Training Program after graduating from the Level I Shakti Teacher Certification Program.
Diane Bethune
Diane Bethune is a certified Shakti Yoga Teacher and a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher. She has been teaching Level I classes at the Shakti Yoga studio in Saugerties for 5 years. Rapidly approaching senior citizen status, Diane favors a slow, steady, gentle approach to teaching, and enjoys working with beginners, especially those “of a certain age.” Her classes focus on honoring these bodies we inhabit through attention to alignment and breath, while developing steady, grounded inner focus and awareness. Diane has a B.F.A. in Art Education and a Master's Degree in Art Therapy and Creativity Development. She is a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor and a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. She is also certified in Detox Acupuncture. Diane is looking forward to pursuing further training and experience in yoga for trauma survivors.
Heidi Sheasby
Heidi fell in love with the movement and culture of yoga and became a Shakti Yoga teacher after the birth of her 1st child. Also a teacher of Pilates, Heidi's classes emphasize strengthening abdominals and lengthening the spine. She works in classes and privately with people of all ages and abilities finding teaching to be an opportunity and a gift. Heidi continues to steadily grow as a student and teacher through regular study of authentic Pilates, Iyengar Yoga and Gyrotonics. Her classes are challenging, educational and inspiring so that you can take what you learn off of the mat and into your life. Heidi acknowledges the uniqueness of each body and encourages students to do their best, always believing that practice is about one’s state of being. She also makes Love Heidi pure healing oils.
Julia Shober
Julia teaches a variety of populations and views Yoga and Pilates as ways to help the body heal, which aligns with her Reiki practice of healing the subtle body. She has recently found that combining her talents of movement and Reiki help her students to come to their full state of oneness, and is looking forward to exploring more ways to create peace and healing from within. Yoga and music continue to help her find her rhythm day to day and she shares this with her students. She enjoys helping people find their own potential in each posture, which envelops the ideas of strength, ease, and openness. Julia has a strong background in Dance and Music studying Vocal Performance in college. Her melodic voice is soothing despite the intensity of her sequencing!
Katie Scott-Childress
Katie specializes in working with people new to yoga, people with limited flexibility, and athletes working on managing and preventing injuries. Her instructional style is highly informative, emphasizing learning about anatomy and the benefits of yoga poses and practices. Her classes focus on developing flexibility, strength, and stability. She is interested in using yoga as a gateway to awareness of the mind/body connection in order to reduce stress and cultivate more balance in our lives.
When not doing yoga Katie is a ceramic artist raising two growing children. She is also a student at Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, NY.
Laurie Heaven
Over the past 30 years, Laurie’s yoga practice has gradually transformed from a largely physical practice to a means of spiritual growth. She undertook Shakti Yoga’s rigorous teacher training program in 2007, and went on to complete the advanced 500 hour certification program in 2009. In addition, she has completed a personal trainer course of studies and is certified as an EMT.
Laurie’s undergraduate degree is in psychology, and her primary career path has been as a writer, both of which are excellent training for communicating with students as she guides them through their yoga practice. She aims to make yoga accessible to any practitioner, bringing a sense of lightheartedness to her teaching, while never losing sight of the importance of practicing safely and within individual abilities.
Leah Katz
In 2010 Leah Katz became the first certified Iyengar Yoga teacher in the Hudson Valley. A student of Iyengar yoga since 1989, Leah studies regularly with senior Iyengar Yoga teachers Joan White and Carrie Owerko. In Spring 2010, she had the honor of studying with Dr. Geeta Iyengar at the first teachers' convention on Iyengar Yoga therapeutics, and is continuing her study of yoga therapeutics.
Leah's background is in Pilates, which she embraced in 1987 under master teacher Romana Kryzanowska.Leah has helped train and certify many Pilates teachers, both in New York City and locally. She has worked with professional dancers, including members of New York City Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Dance Theater of Harlem.
Leah has shared her love of movement and bodywork with hundreds of students over the years. Her knowledge of anatomy and the human body make her a trusted and gifted teacher who creates an environment that promotes and enhances health and healing .While her class is challenging, Leah honors each student's uniqueness. She places strong emphasis on alignment and safety, yet the ultimate aim of her class is meditation through motion. Leah's devotion to the practice of yoga helps people claim their highest potential, with every cell of their being enthusiastically engaged in the powerful process of self discovery.
"My vision is to provide an experience of movement that is healing, challenging and ultimately transformative, allowing each person to know himself or herself more deeply through their physical bodies and to feel freedom from within."
Louise Bonanno
I have been connected to yoga and Buddhist studies (through the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barra, Ma.) for the last twenty years. From this association at the Barre Center and my training at Shakti Yoga I incorporate information about physical movement, the use of asana as a mirror for daily living, and the choices within the practice to incorporate yoga as a lifestyle. I have worked as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for the last thirty years, and in that practice have used many of the things I have studied throughout these years incorporating techniques of compassion, mindfulness, centering, and grounding.
I am a certified Shakti Yoga Level I Instructor and have been working at the Shakti studio in Saugerties since I graduated in 2009. I also provide training and yoga classes for agencies in the community as well as private classes. I am presently in the process of completing my training for Advanced Teacher Certification at Shakti .
Melissa Cowan
Shakti Yoga Training graduate 2006, Melissa has been teaching yoga in Asia for the past year. Melissa has a steady and strong method to her teaching of asana. Her love of movement is evident in how she blends other disciplines into her classes. She is currently pursuing Law School after graduating with a degree in international relations. She is just returning from living abroad in Viet Nam where she was teaching a wide range of yoga classes to a vast array of students. Aside from pursuing yoga, she is a student of Muay Thai and is an avid runner and hiker. She hopes her classes are fun and effective as well as inspiring.
Maggie Estep
Maggie Estep started practicing yoga in 2000, first at Jivamukti Yoga Center and then with Eddie Stern, studying the Ashtanga Yoga System with Eddie and in workshops with the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Through this vigorous practice, Maggie learned to let the breath lead her into all sorts of asanas and yogic concepts she had never imagined possible. Though her heart will always belong to the Ashtanga system, Maggie has explored many other forms of yoga, learning to modify and diversify to accommodate injuries and changes in the body. She moved to the Woodstock area in 2006, began taking classes with Linda Winnick , and completed the Shakti Teacher Training in 2009. Maggie continues to explore all facets of yoga to expand her own practice and her teaching. She is also a novelist and an ardent animal lover.
Moira began her yoga practice 9 years ago thinking she would never be able to sit still long enough to chant OM. She is deeply grateful for the ability to practice and share this grounding, healing practice with others. Her classes are energetic, yet steady and focused on meeting students at their level of ability. She believes in making yoga accessible to all.
Moira is a graduate of Shakti Yoga’s 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2010 and completed her 500 Hour Advanced Teacher Training at Shakti in 2011. She holds a BA in Political Science from Marist College, is an Americorps Alumn and has worked in the human service field for the past 7 years. Moira teaches a $5 Shakti Sanctuary Class in Rosendale and all of the funds raised from this class goes to Queens Galley soup kitchen
When not practicing, reading or talking about yoga, Moira is traveling around NY State as a Regional Manager for the American Red Cross.
Olivia Grimsland
Olivia’s goal ,when it comes to teaching, is to always be interesting and informative. She is fascinated by the capabilities of the human body and consistently challenges herself to learn and reach her body’s fullest potential. Aside from her yoga practice, she has recently begun training in Olympic Lifting...stretchy and strong!
She takes pride in teaching her class as an "all level" class. She feels it is important to have beginners and new comers to the mat feel comfortable and secure. At the same time , she like the ability to challenge more advanced students to take their practice to the next level. She is very dedicated to a holistic approach to well-being. She hopes her classes serve as a valuable tool for improving quality of life, both in the studio and out. Olivia is a Certified Shakti Yoga teacher , a pastry chef assistant , and works in an antique gallery.
Patricia Laufer
Patricia Laufer began practicing yoga 15 years ago in New York City to quiet her mind and find some peace within the chaos. Her anxiety was high and she immediately felt relief in yoga. She practiced yoga as she built a career in the non-profit sector working with men who were formerly incarcerated and homeless. She continued exploring the limbs of yoga and started a meditation practice as well. Her search for peace eventually brought her to the Woodstock area 10 years ago for a weekend get-away and she kept coming back. She fell in love with the Shakti Yoga philosophy and with Linda's dynamic classes! In August of 2011 Patricia completed her year long 200 Hour Shakti Teacher Training and is now in the midst of Shakti's 500 Hour Advanced Course. Patricia loves teaching and feels blessed to be able bring all that yoga has to offer to her students. Patricia now lives in Kingston and teaches yoga full-time.
Roberta received her 200 hour and 500 hour Yoga Teacher Certification at Shakti Yoga in Woodstock, New York. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Dance Movement Therapy and worked as a psychotherapist and counselor for over 25 years.
Roberta feels that Yoga practice is a great gift as a path for personal growth and she loves to share that gift with her students. Her classes focus on helping students to practice with self awareness and proper alignment so that students develop a sense of strength, stability, ease and confidence.
Tara McIndoo
More about Tara TBC...
Tara received her 500 hour Yoga Teacher Certification at Shakti Yoga in Woodstock, New York. She is also owner of Yoga with Tara in Leeds, NY.
Victoria Santa Ana
Beginning a yoga practice in 2004, Victoria knew she would one day become a teacher of the practice. After moving back to the Hudson Valley, she completed the rigorous Shakti Yoga Training in Woodstock, NY and earned her RYT 200 (Registered Yoga Teacher) through the Yoga Alliance in 2012. Victoria's classes are athletic, holistic and designed to develop a stronger and calmer practice. She uses Ayurvedic principles to change the focus of each class depending on the season, climate, time of day or individual student's need.
Victoria is also a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner and a self-proclaimed foodie. She understands the importance of balance in food, fitness, and everyday life.
