Now a full time studio director, Nicole teaches in Hudson NY and at the exclusive boutique studio, West Village Yoga NYC. Certified to teach Classical Pilates through Power Pilates, Nicole continues to study and collaborate with movement professionals such as Kinesthetic Anatomist Irene Dowd, Pilates guru and friend Alycea Ungaro, Pilates education leader Susan Moran, Thai Massage trainer Michael Sitzer, Iyengar teacher Kevin Gardiner, and Iyengar teacher Kofi Busia. Nicole incorporates bodywork similar to Thai Massage, and she’s inspired by Iyengar Yoga. She adheres to a system of Pilates that coordinates mind, body, and spirit—a truly athletic practice of moving meditation and concentration.

A former dancer, Jessica teaches from a deep understanding of movement as art, movement as play, movement as therapy, and especially, movement as a spiritual practice. She is also interested in the stillness within and between the movement; the spaciousness of silence. First and foremost a student of Yoga, she is continually in awe at the vastness of the subject and looks foreword to a lifelong journey in this ancient art. www.jessicabellofattoyoga.com

Growing up in New York City, she has had the opportunity to study many different styles of Yoga and brings to her teaching a stronghold of Yogic principles. Marissa is dedicated to her own practice and continually takes courses and workshops to expand her knowledge, teaching style, and repertoire. She currently has a private practice in her studio and office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where in addition to Yoga, she does nutritional counseling and teaches healthy cooking. She has private Yoga groups at corporate fitness facilities throughout the city. Marissa works in collaboration with the American Heart Association conducting cooking demonstrations to allow people to taste that healthy food does not have to taste boring. Her healthy cooking guide filled with recipes adopted from her travels and cooking classes from around the world is coming soon! Visit www.MarissaJedell.com

“It is my mission to guide my students to a higher level of self awareness and a deeper sense of physical alignment to help them find optimal balance in their lives, on and off the mat.”

Cora has been studying Buddhism since 13 and has been committed to practicing Yoga to develop compassion and joy since 1994. After a stressful Ivy League education and fervent career as Vice President of a bank, she left corporate America finding her passion in yoga, and has been leading workshops and retreats internationally since 1998.

She is an avid and focused practitioner of Hatha yoga, and has been influenced by renowned teachers including Judith Hanson Lasater, Erich Schiffmann, Patricia Walden and Rodney Yee. From 1996–2003, she had a private teaching apprenticeship with Erich Schiffmann, and since 1998 assists Judith Hanson Lasater in teacher training and therapeutic workshops.

She blends the safety of Iyengar alignment, with a flowing practice to enliven your spirit. Cora is certified in therapeutic yoga and consistently helps her students find freedom from injuries and chronic ailments like arthritis, sciatica and fibromyalgia.

Featured in many regional newspapers and magazines, Cora is an Experienced RYT500 with Yoga Alliance and one of the first Advanced Relax and Renew Trainers of Restorative Yoga. Many students have discovered the complimentary path of meditation with yoga through Cora's passionate and enthusiastic guidance.

One day between teaching yoga and performing Thai Body work in the city, Isaac took one of Jude English’s yoga classes. It felt familiar - like his class. Jude and Isaac began to spend time together and Sankalpah Yoga was born. From Jude and Isaac’s persistent inquiry into the practice of yoga and their desire to share more with their students they developed Sankalpah Yoga Teacher Training, which they are most proud of and feel fortunate to share with their growing “family” of yoga students. Isaac believes you are the company you keep and feels blessed to be surrounded by so many who want to live with purpose. www.sankalpah.com

When Scarlett is not in Los Angeles doing private yoga instruction, she is traveling to various retreat getaways or private homes in different parts of the world including Mexico, Hawaii, Panama, Costa Rica, and West Indies, to name a few. She continues to attract clients that are passionate about learning and loving the practice of yoga.

Myrna is the founder of Yoga Dreams yoga studio (www.yogadreams.nl) near Amsterdam and also teaches actors, musicians and dancers to help them to feel and perform better in their work. She also gives workshops at large corporations such as Nike, Unilever, Vichy and Carpe Diem.

Due to her dancing background, Myrna’s lessons have a lot of flow in them. She also provides each student with a lot of personal attention. While in Marrakech and Zihuatanejo she will guide and assist all students with their yoga practice, so that each personal practice can be taken to the next level.

Andrea has a unique, professional Apparel Design background with a focus on Color and Trend, which has afforded her the opportunity to travel the globe to research, photograph and gather inspiration for work and life. She seeks out yoga and spas and immerses herself in the local culture sharing these experiences in her work, teachings and gentle way of being.

Laurinda will be offering 90 minute sessions throughout her stay. Each session is $115.00. Please email us prior to arrival if you are interested in booking a session with her, so we can be sure and accommodate your request. If the response is anything close to what it was in Marrakech, Laurinda will be 'healing' from morning until night!

Leah’s vinyasa style balances body and breath, as she encourages finding your unique edge and cultivating awareness. She brings vitality, openness and playfulness to her classes along with an eclectic mix of music to create a space for lightness and fun. With her background in design, she has an affinity for alignment, but believes yoga is about feeling into your body and deepening into the present moment, rather than searching for the “perfect” pose.

After sustaining a severe neck and back injury and years of stress from working in politics, Leah was drawn back to her practice as a form of physical therapy, balance and stress relief. She was home.

Leah is a student of all yoga, but her main focus is power vinyasa yoga. Her teacher training includes Baron Baptise, Zuda Yoga and Tibetan Heart Yoga Series One.

Leah led a team of nationally recognized teachers who brought yoga to the White House lawn for the 2009 White House Easter Egg Roll. This was the first time yoga had been taught on the White House lawn. Leah had the honor of teaching at the Wanderlust Yoga and Music festival in Lake Tahoe in 2009, which was headlined by yoga legends John Friend and Shiva Rea.

Leah loves the process of exploring and unfolding life through yoga. Leah has found greater peace, happiness and equanimity through her practice, and looks forward to sharing these amazing gifts with you.

Julia is an NYC native and has been an avid student of Yoga for more than 10 years. Her practice has transformed her body, health and view on life. Her love of Yoga and improved health renewed her zest for life. Since then, she has never left the mat, as she realized Yoga is essential in her life for maintaining mental and physical well-being.

After having the secret desire to teach for well over a year she finally admitted her dream to a fellow Yogini that both worked on Wall Street and was a Yoga teacher. Before talking about it out loud she could not let go of the fear that having a serious day job meant she could not go further down the Yogic path. The thought always present in the back of her mind was that through teaching Yoga she could help others with the same issues she had struggled with. The inspiration, warm response and support she received from her friends and teachers, were the important first steps on Julia's teaching path. Part of learning more about Yoga was a lesson in learning how to balance the various aspects of her life.

In her studies, Julia has been primarily focusing on Vinyasa and Anusara Yoga but loves to experiment with taking classes in varying styles. Her classes are a blend of all of the teachings she has enjoyed and benefited from over the years. Julia truly loves sharing the gift of Yoga with her students and helping them on their personal journeys. Her teaching goal is to inspire her students to challenge themselves and she strives to make Yoga accessible to student of all levels.

Julia's practice and teaching help her to work towards attaining a balance between the mind and body, which is a difficult journey every stressed out New Yorker can relate to. Finding the breath, both on and off the mat, has helped her to move through both difficult poses and situations in every day life with greater ease. She is a firm believer in integrating Yoga throughout all aspects of life. As you will hear her say in class, she never did a handstand as a child and really never even imagined that she would. The support and encouragement of her fellow yogis and her teachers helped her to take risks and challenge herself, which led to empowerment and life-changing success. After she finally was able to do a handstand, she realized that was not the nearly the end - it was just the beginning. www.brooklynyogini.com

Her career in fitness started in 1997. In 2002 she became licensed by the American College of Sports Medicine. She worked as a personal trainer in California for six years training one on one, teaching sculpting class and outdoor boot camps. She then spent a couple months in Mexico teaching boot camp on the beach before moving to Boston in 2008. She now works as a Private Trainer for the Sports Club LA in Boston teaching outdoor boot camps, sports conditioning classes and private training. Her experience includes working with special populations, pre/post natal clients and those post injury as well as everyday people who want to look and feel better about themselves. She prides herself in her connection with her clients and the trust they put in her so they can grow both physically and mentally.

Jillian is currently a consulting aesthetician for St Ives and was their celebrity aesthetician for the Sundance Film Festival in 08 and 09. While with Escape To Shape in Marrakech Jillian will be offering her signature facial as an exclusive rate to all guests. Jill has also developed a menu of unique body treatments influenced by the natural ingredients found in the area. Please book treatments directly through Escape To Shape in advance as Jillian's schedule fills up fast!

When your paths cross he will be holding space for acceptance, joy and enthusiasm with a commitment to serving you through presence and his ability to provide you the tools to deepen your asana practice beyond the sympathetic momentary asana rollercoaster ride so many call yoga.

Gary lives for transformational moments and is a willing and gracious guide. Some of his tools to assist others in limiting the hold suffering has on their lives comes from the guidance he had from his amazing parents who adopted him as an infant who demonstrated selfless service to others throughout their lives. Gary was an actor and dancer in college where he attended the University of Minnesota dancing eight hours a day for two years and graduating with a BA in Theatre/Speech and English. Gary studied French in Pau, France and has traveled extensively throughout Europe. He has taught Theatre Speech and English to At Risk Teens in high school. For a season of his life sold his spirit and health for wealth as the Internet Development Manager for a major .com. For many years lived with undiagnosed Crohn’s Disease which has been brought under control through the MIRACLE of modern medicine. It is through his own personal experience with suffering and practicing presence that he has been able to separate that which “is” from that which we “think that is”. Gary has been practicing asana since 2005 and became a 200RYT in 2007 through CorePower Yoga and has had comprehensive Stott Pilates training in Essential, Intermediate and Advanced mat and reformer as well as is a certified Advanced Open Water Diver through PADI and an ANWA certified Nordic Walking Instructor. He also has had 150 hours of Thai Yoga Bodywork instruction and hundreds of hours of Thai Massage practice and healing energy work. Gary’s latest passion is Acro Yoga as a means to deepen his Presence Practice and he will be studying with Jason Nemer for six days in Oct, 2009. “If you are practicing Acro Yoga and you or your partner are not present, somebody is falling or is being fallen on”. Some of his Acro Yoga practice sessions are available on Facebook. http://facebook.com/GaryHeyer

Originally from Alabama, Barbara learned to appreciate strength and flexibility as a gymnast and cheerleader. She began taking yoga classes while in college and knew that she would one day deepen her practice and study to become an instructor. She eventually made her way to California via her service in the Coast Guard. She ended her service at Station Golden Gate, where she was a member of the Motor Lifeboat Rescue Team. Barbara is married, has a daughter and lives in Marin, which she has called home for over a decade now. She brings a deep commitment to yoga along with a light-hearted sense of humor to her classes.

A native New Yorker, JoAnna was in the original cast of Broadway’s “Footloose” and was featured on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show”, “The Today Show”, and “The David Letterman Show”. JoAnna currently works with her list of private clients and instructs small classes at the most reputable fitness centers in Manhattan. JoAnna is the founder of “Yoga by the Dozen”, an online company that promotes her highly - publicized, Yoga DVD for children as well as various yoga specialty products. www.yogabythedozen.com

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