Be True Yoga -

IRIS COHEN

Iris discovered yoga 12 years ago when a friend recommended yoga as an antidote to the challenges of mothering three boys and deadline journalism. Now she aims to be that friend to everyone she encounters. Cultivating yoga’s capacity to open the body and uplift the spirit, inspired her to share her passion through teaching and opening Be True Yoga, a green studio in Scarsdale, New York.
Iris infuses her classes with her love of language and music celebrating each individual's ability to discover alignment on and off the mat. She honors her teachers, Anusara founder John Friend, Elena Brower, Lois Nesbitt and Ellen Saltonstall for their devotion to the elegant, heart-opening alignment system of Anusara yoga and the generous spirit of her East End teachers Jessica Bellofatto, Colleen Saidman and Rodney Yee. It is her students and family, however, who are her most powerful teachers, encouraging her to journey through life with joy and focused awareness.

Osi Mizrahi-Herstik

Osi is a certified Anusara teacher and a Shambhala meditation guide. She settled in New York from her native Israel 20 years ago and shortly thereafter began her journey into the world of yoga studying Iyengar yoga in New York City. She continued her studies with Katonah Yoga Center founder Nevine Michaan where she developed a clear and powerful understanding of the mechanics of the body and an increased awareness of the self. But it was in 2001, after an intensive seminar with John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga, an uplifting practice that unifies a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness and the celebration of heart with Universal Principles of Alignment, where Osi felt a foundation in her practice that was deeper and flowed with a sense of grace. She teaches Anusara yoga in workshops and retreats using her Middle Eastern roots to enhance her classes with spirituality and music.

Nancy Kardon

Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher Nancy Kardon has a background in dance and masters degrees in both Dance Therapy and Psychology. She has been teaching yoga since 1995 and began a meditation practice with a Tibetan Buddhist lama in the 1970s. Nancy has spent three summers studying in Pune, India with the Iyengars and continues study with senior Iyengar teachers in the U.S. She teaches adults and kids locally (www.yogascarsdale.com) and has been assisting in the specific needs therapeutics class at the Iyengar Institute in New York City.

May Kuckro

May Kuckro is an Anusara-inspired yoga teacher and certified Thai Bodyworker. She discovered yoga in New York City in 1997, and fell in love with the way moving with breath made her feel: strong, free, and happy. In 2001, she completed her Vinyasa yoga teacher training with Peter Rizzo, a Jivamukti-trained teacher. She’s furthered her studies with John Friend, Lois Nesbitt, Ellen Saltonstall, Julie Dohrman, and other gifted teachers. May strives to offer her students that same spark that hooked her: a chance to fall in love with the best part of themselves each time they roll out the mat. Her classes combine the flowing energy of Vinyasa with the intelligent alignment and heart-opening of Anusara yoga. She brings to her teaching the therapeutic benefits of Thai Bodywork, a combination of energy line work and assisted stretching. A student of Tibetan Buddhism for five years, May is currently working towards becoming a Shambhala meditation guide.

JENNIFER LANG

After her first foray into yoga during the summer of 1995 in her native Oakland, California, Jennifer was hooked. There she studied classical yoga with Rodney Yee, who guided her practice through two pregnancies over the following four years. When her family moved to White Plains in 2001, she knew it was time to deepen her practice. Longing to teach the more dance-like flow called vinyasa, she completed her teacher training certification with Betsy Kase at Yoga Haven in Tuckahoe, NY in 2003. Jennifer enjoys teaching all levels of classes for adults, including pre- and post-natal. She aims to help students gain strength and centeredness through the practice of yoga.

Susan Malcolm

Susan Malcolm began her Yoga practice 26 years ago under the loving guidance of Alan Bateman in New York City. In the years since she has studied with many gifted teachers and feels especically guided in her teaching by Nevine Michaan (who certified her in 2002) of Katonah Yoga Center and Georgia Ballinger of Bikram NYC. Susan teaches an alignment-orientated vinyasa class and strives to bring humor and light into each students practice experience.

Eduardo Martinez

Eduardo was introduced to yoga a decade ago. Realizing the powerful and transformative potential of yoga, Eduardo decided to teach and share this discipline, completing his Anusara® teacher training at New York City's Virayoga with Zhenja La Rosa. He has a deep connection with Anusara's Universal Principles of Alignment ™ and its Shiva-Shakti Tantra Philosophy, believing that true bliss can be found in connecting with one's true-self and sharing with others. He draws from this philosophy, his engineering background and a sense of humor to craft classes that are precise in instruction and colorful in narrative. Eduardo lives in Dobbs Ferry, where he continues his studies of yoga, therapeutics and philosophy. He is currently writing his first collection of short stories.

Karen Teller

Karen wandered into a small yoga studio in Sag Harbor when her second child was born with colic. Depleted and frustrated, yoga gave her the energy and patience to get through the endless hours of crying and allowed her to access a deep spiritual connection that she was not aware existed. After several years of this deep practice, Karen decided she wanted to be a teacher and joined Yoga Haven's 200-hour vinyasa certification program in 2005. She continues her studies with Rodney Yee, Jessica Bellofatto, Elena Brower, Leslie Kaminoff and her mentor in Westchester, Susan Malcolm. Karen's teaching style is a vinyasa flow with attention to alignment. Playful yet mindful is her mantra. She is inspired and humbled by the sacred practice and enjoys sharing the bounty and blessings of yoga with others. She is grateful to all her teachers especially her children Sam, Alexis, Riley
and husband, Cliff.

Melanie Hyman Tilles

Melanie spent her childhood and young adult life studying movement and dance. After completing a masters from NYU in dance and movement therapy, she pursued yoga as a way of transcending her love for movement into meditation. She completed her Bikram Yoga training in 2001 in California, and soon after opened a studio in Westchester, NY. She continued to educate herself in many forms of yoga, finding a mentor in Nevine Michaan at Katonah Yoga Center, where she has taught and been studying for the past six years. She sold her yoga studio so she could incorporate her own creative yoga style into teaching and share the knowledge of all that have and continue to inspire her. With a strong focus on breath consciousness and alignment, Melanie's classes flow with creativity and playfulness, most of which is inspired from watching her daughter Simone.

Cynthia Zimet

Cynthia has been studying yoga for over ten years teaching yoga to adults and children in San Francisco before relocating to New York. She received her teaching certification in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in 2004. She teaches with skill, confidence and a sense of humor emphasizing structural alignment. She creates a safe environment for her students where their focus is brought from their minds into their bodies. Cynthia is profoundly grateful to combine her love of yoga and teaching. She is inspired by the teaching of Nevine Michaan of Katonah Yoga Center and enjoys helping others develop a practice that empowers them to live a healthy life.