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Teachers
Al came to yoga in 1999. Over 10 years of practice, what started as a way to deal with physical ailments became a way of life. In April 2004, wanting to immerse himself in an uninterrupted practice, Al spent a month in the Sivananda Ashram at Paradise Island and earned his teaching certificate. His experience teaching during that month made him realize his desire to share Yoga. Al sees yoga as a pathway to a strong, flexible body; a content, peaceful mind and a life in balance. He would especially like to introduce yoga to men as an outlet for stress. In his class, Al he emphasizes deep relaxation in the postures and a calm uncluttered focus (Simple Yoga), and often discusses the “Yoga Sutras” during class. Additionally Al has experience teaching students with neurological issues and recently attended a professional training session called “Strategies for Yoga Teachers” sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Anna Winkler, Director of Shakti Yoga & living arts,
Anna has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga since 1997, teaching it since 2002. She has been taking the extensive Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training Program since 2007, at Studio Yoga in Madison (it never ends) and teaches an Alignment Based Hatha class. Her Ashtanga classes are also heavily Alignment Influenced. Anna has been teaching in the Maplewood area since 2001, and is the founder and director of Shakti Yoga & living arts since June 2005 (formerly the Yoga Room in Millburn from 2001). Anna's teaching style is both challenging and nurturing. With a dash of humor, a focus on relaxed alignmnent and sometimes just going with the flow, her classes will leave you feeling worked, yet tranquil, and energized.
Christina has practiced yoga on and off for 15 years but became a true devotee three years ago after leaving the publishing world to be a full-time stay-at-home Mom. She credits yoga with keeping her centered, healthy and sane while raising two active little kids. She recently completed her 200-hour YTT with SHAKTIBODY's Anna Winkler and Debbie Kurilla. Christina's classes are fun and challenging with a focus on breath and alignment.
Deb Kurilla, Director of SHAKTIBODY
Elizabeth started practicing yoga in college, but rededicated herself to her practice when she was pregnant with her first child. An experienced classroom teacher of English, creative writing and music, Elizabeth’s style is nurturing and fun, making yoga accessible to all. She is a graduate of the Shakti Body Yoga Teacher Training Program and completed her prenatal certification with Kelli DeFlora of MotherBirth Yoga, in Montclair. Elizabeth lives in Maplewood with her husband and two daughters.
A former NYC school teacher, Emily loves the art of teaching as much as she loves the practice of yoga. She infuses her classes with energy and enthusiasm and humor. She looks forward to sharing how the practice of yoga is the practice of being kind, being courageous, being confident, being happy, and being patient.
Evelyn discovered yoga after suffering a back injury in 1993. As her interest in yoga and her practice deepened, Evelyn found herself seeking to share yoga with friends and family by providing community classes for several years. In 2001, she completed her Teacher Training and Certification in Prana Yoga with Robyn Ross and Dr. Jeffrey Migdow at the Open Center in NYC. Evelyn’s interest in working with individuals with health challenges and her desire to bring wellness into her own practice brought her to study Restorative Yoga with Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal at Integral Yoga Center in NYC. In 2006, she completed 650 hours of training at Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Center and received certification as a Yoga Therapist and Practitioner. Evelyn has been practicing yoga in a variety of styles during the last 16 years and she recently began teaching yoga in Maplewood. Ires teaches hatha, prenatal and yoga for labor and delivery. She received her certifications from New York's Integral Yoga Institute, where she also has taught. Ires is passionate about the many aspects of yoga and how it can transform people's lives. A former television news producer, she began studying and practicing yoga in 2000 to help relieve stress and started teaching in 2005.
Jane began practicing yoga in 2006 in a Korean style that combined stretching, Tai Chi, energy work and meditation. She had been an instructor there for 2 years when she joined the SHAKTIBODY Teacher Training Program in the fall of 2011 (which she graduated from in March 2012). Her love of movement and viewing the body as an art form began as a child with dance training. Initially Jane was attracted to the yoga asanas because they reminded her of her favorite form of dance – ballet. The transition was effortless and Jane became a faithful practitioner. As a bonus, she found deep comfort in the spiritual aspect and meditation practice. Jane has degrees in art and has been a working artist most of her life. She is currently focused on jewelry design, drawing, water colors and collage. She has been an art instructor as well. She also worked as a weight loss consultant for 5 years and holds a certification in Massage Therapy. Jane believes that she has been called to help people feel great about themselves, just exactly the way they are. This was her motivation to become a yoga teacher and her intention in her classes.
Introduced to yoga as a child, Kathleen rediscovered yoga 13 years ago after a serious challenge to her health. In 2008 she gave up the legal world to dedicate herself to the study and practice of Kundalini Yoga. Kathleen trained and received her certification from Kundalini Yoga East in New York City in 2010. She is committed to sharing the gift of yoga to maintain physical health and peace of mind. Karen Bokert is an 81 year old grandmother of three who began her yoga practice in l975. Due to her many years of yoga practice, Karen is in excellent health and has retained her youthful vitality. Karen completed SHAKTIBODY's Chair Yoga Teacher Training in January 2012.
Lori has taken weekend studies at Kripalu with Kofi Busia and Schyler Grant as well as a variety of other one-day workshops. She recently completed her 200-hour YTT at Shakti Body under the tutelage of Deb Kurilla and Anna Winkler. A dedicated Ashtangi, Lori enjoys a vigorous vinyasa class as well as a calming restorative. She enjoys challenging her students to go beyond what their minds believe impossible, keeping it light and playful at the same time. Lori feels honored to be able to help others grow in their life practice, on and off the mat. Lori is extremely excited to have been certified in July 2010 with Karma Kids to teach yoga to young people!
Terri is a proud graduate of the ShaktiBody Yoga Teacher Training program, where she completed her 200 hour certification in March of 2011. Terri teaches in a comfortable and accessible way for all and strives to connect with each of her students. Her goal is to help people find peace both on and off the mat and to help them achieve something that perhaps they didn’t expect.
As his interest in yoga and his practice deepened, Tom found himself seeking to share yoga with friends and family. In January 2006, Tom attended the Sivananda Teacher Training Course in Garopaba, Brazil and obtained his teaching certificate. Through teaching yoga to beginners, emphasizing proper breathing and relaxation along with physical exercise, Tom hopes to share with others the benefits that he has enjoyed.
Trish is a teacher of Kundalini Yoga, the yoga of awareness. Trish’s husband David first found Kundalini and introduced it to an unwilling Trish, but after that first class she was hooked on the freedom and inner peace it gave her. Trish trained as a teacher in New York at Kundalini Yoga East and considers the training to be one of the most profound experiences of her life. It was a journey of self discovery and self mastery. As an RN, Trish is greatly interested in health and wellness and the effects of Kundalini Yoga on the physical body, the mind and the soul body/spirit. In Kundalini Yoga the most important thing is experience. Joanie Schhwarz Photography
Virginia started practicing yoga in the early ‘80s, she attended pre and post natal yoga classes when she had her children. She began studying meditation to foster creativity in her visual art in 2002. Her personal yoga practice became more intense after moving to the USA in 2004. She completed a yoga immersion with Debbie Kurilla at Body of Light in 2007. Yoga helped her through serious health issues in 2009. Upon regaining full health she trained as a yoga teacher wtih ShaktiBody with Anna and Debbie, graduating in March 2011. Virginia creates a calm, meditative practice without losing the enthusiasm and energy of the more challenging poses. As an artist Virginia incorporates creativity and her vision of beauty into her classes. Substitute Teachers
Aimee's classes combine a focus on breath and alignment with a dynamic and rigorous flow to create a Vinyasa style yoga that challenges and heals. It is with great joy and gratitude that Aimee shares the light of yoga with others.
Gena has been a Thai Yoga Bodywork Practitioner since 2005. She learned the art of Thai Bodywork from Jonas Westring and has assisted him in training others. In February, she traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand to study Anusara Yoga with Jonas. Gena enjoys the moving meditation inherent in a vinyasa practice, rigorous alignment principles and riding the energy wave of yoga and Thai Yoga Bodywork.
Judie has been practicing various styles of yoga for over 13 years. She has been studying with many teachers, including Jennifer Kohl at Lotus Yoga in Montclair, where she is completing her 300-hour yoga teacher training program. She is also receiving her Kids Yoga Certification through Karma Kids. Ms. Judie feels honored to introduce the ancient practice of yoga to children. She loves to bring her yoga practice on and off the mat and has even introduced yoga to her own young daughters, Sofia and Alessandra. Her other passions include providing Reiki sessions and writing about health, wellness and fitness. Namaste!
In Spring 2011, Susan completed her first 200 hours of teacher training with ShaktiBody, something she had wanted to do for some time. She is very grateful to her teachers, Debbie and Anna, to her family, and to her fellow student teachers at Shakti for their support in this accomplishment.
In her classes, Susan strives to create a calm and loving atmosphere that encourages self-discovery of the multi-faceted connections of mind, body, and spirit through Hatha yoga.
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Anna has been practicing and teaching yoga since 1989. She is certified through the 
Bjorn grew up focused primarily on dancing, and earned a Musical Theatre Certificate and a Bachelor of Science in Communications at Northwestern University. Post-college he spent 1 season with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago II and then 3 seasons with the River North Chicago Dance Company. Thereafter Bjorn performed for several years at sea around the world with Royal Caribbean. Last summer Bjorn had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with BeMoved®. Before his first experience of this class was even over, he knew he wanted to share this wonderful dance experience with others. Less than a month later, Bjorn became a Licensed BeMoved Instructor. A lover of yoga and an avid fan of the healing arts, Bjorn is thrilled for the opportunity to begin sharing this class at Shakti. 
Emily came to her mat six years ago to add variety to her workout routine and ease the aches and pains caused by a decade of avid running. After leaving her first yoga classes feeling renewed, calm and truly happy, what began as a physical practice soon blossomed into so much more. During her pregnancy (which was an easy, beautiful experience because of 
Erica Schwarz Furman was first introduced to yoga at Sarah Lawrence College while studying Studio Arts and Art History. Yoga resurfaced in her life at a local gym after the birth of her second child and she has been practicing ever since. 
Laura San Fillipo began doing yoga as a business student at the University of Miami, seeking an activity in her life that could help bring peace & balance to her stressful schedule. Upon graduation, she decided that she wanted to embark upon a career that she felt passionate about, one that could bring joy to her life and hopefully to the lives of others. She quit her job in Real Estate to enroll in a month long immersion program at an ashram in Nevada City, California. There she was able not only to become certified in Hatha yoga, but to learn the lifestyle and philosophies of a true yogi. She now lives in Morristown, NJ and is pursuing both her career in photography and yoga. Laura still considers herself a work in progress, continually working on her own practice and constantly seeking to pass the joy of yoga on to others. She can be found teaching at Shakti as well as assisting Debbie Kaminsky in Newark Yoga Movement for children. 
Lori has flirted with yoga on and off for the past 17 years while competing in running and triathlons. Immediately after retiring from 20 years as an elementary school teacher, she decided it was time to hunker down and take her practice more seriously. 
Shira has been practicing Yoga since 1999. She started her journey into Yoga as part of her training as a dancer while living in San Fransisco. She still remembers how she came out of her first class feeling like she was floating on air.
Terri has been practicing yoga on and off for over 10 years; however, her love for yoga intensified during her pre- and post-natal yoga experience at Shakti in 2008 and has continued to grow ever since. What started as a way to relax, turned into a way to manage high blood pressure and connect with her baby during her prenatal experience, and developed into a regular part of her life. 
Tom started his yoga practice after suffering a back injury skiing in 2002. Within months, he began to receive not only the physical benefits of yoga practice, but the mental and spiritual benefits as well. An avid cyclist, skier and physical training enthusiast, Tom is particularly drawn to yoga because of how different it is from ordinary athletics and physical culture.
Gena began practicing yoga in 1998 after a performing with the Trisha Brown Dance Company. She studied Ashtanga yoga with Raji Thron and completed his Yoga Synthesis teacher training. 
After briefly dipping into yoga once or twice but not quite "getting it," Susan started taking yoga classes regularly about 12 years ago. She was hooked when she realized that yoga was relieving her chronic neck and back pain. For years, it was purely a satisfying physical practice for pain and stress management. Classes at Shakti awakened her interest in the mental and spiritual aspects of yoga and a thirst for a deeper experience.