As you enter our studio from the Bonnieview entrance, feel the warm inviting atmosphere of our studio. Begin to unwind as you are welcomed into a truly unique space. At Westside Yoga Studio, our intention is to provide a real community environment for you to feel comfortable. We want our home to be your home so that you begin the journey of letting go before you even enter the studio to take class. Sit, relax and have a cup of tea as you enjoy quiet conversation in our lovely tea lounge. Read a book or magazine or browse our yoga and accessories Heaven and Earth boutique.
Get to Know Us
Our instructors are the best, not only in Cleveland but anywhere. Take a look at "Our Studio" online and read the instructors bios. Each instructor has a unique wealth of training and experience providing different areas of expertise. Our combined experience encompasses more than 40 years of practice and study. It is important to us that students are instructed in a safe and conscientious manner to keep them injury free. All instructors participate in ongoing study and training with the most highly respected and internationally recognized yoga masters worldwide. Some of our teachers yoga teachers are:
Patabhi Jois, Doug Swenson,Richard Freeman, John Friend, Sianna Sherman, Johnny Kest, Shiva Rea, Seane Corn, Gregor Singleton, Baron Baptiste just to name a few.
Meditation and yoga philosophy are part of learning on the path for those that are interested in a spiritual connection and spiritual growth. Specialty workshops and practice sessions are offered as part of our ongoing programs.
Meditation Instruction
Following the linage of the Tibetan Master Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche and his student Pema Chodren the Shambhala Path of the Warrior has inspired several of our instructors who teach Shamatha Vipashyana, (Mindfullness Awareness) Meditation. Other meditation practices are influenced by the teachings of Jack Kornfield, Douglas Brooks and Carlos Pomeda.
Make friends with everything about yourself and find new friends here at Westside Yoga Studio.
Many Blessings,
Namaste
Evin Bodell, founder of Heaven and Earth Yoga was born, raised and educated in New York City. Evin graduated college with a bachelor's degree in nursing--she is certified as an RN. She also holds a graduate degree in Public Health Education. Evin worked in the health and hospital system in NYC as a critical care nurse. She later went into pharmaceutical and medical sales and ultimately she became a Director of Health Programs for several health insurance companies including Blue Cross of California.
Evin became interested in Buddhist studies in 1989 and started to practice meditation. Moving to California in 1990 she became a regular student of Tibetan Buddhist studies. Living and working in the Central Coast of California, Evin began her practice of Hatha Yoga in 1997 as a result of her interests in meditation.
In May 2005, Evin was certified as a Yoga Instructor with the OM Yoga Program founded by Cyndi Lee in NYC. OM Yoga is described as a "juicy flowing vinyasa style of yoga that combines Buddhist Meditation Practices with precise attention to breath awareness, precision alignment, Sun Salutations and Asana".
Evin is dedicated to advancing her studies in yoga practice by continuing to study with internationally recognized yoga masters such as Baron Baptiste, Sean Corn, Gregor Singleton, Max Strom and Sianna Sherman to name a few. Evin’s primary teacher is John Friend founder of Anusara Yoga. He has been internationally recognized as one of the top 20 master teachers in the world, appearing in Esquire Magazine in 2007. Evin’s teaching balances powerful sequenced movement with in depth knowledge of physical alignment and body mechanics. The mental focus is one of concentration, focus, mindful awareness and breath.
The Anusara approach to yoga practice blends teachings from ancient yogic philosophy with skillful empowerment of body and mind. Evin strongly believes in and has experienced the healing power of yoga and meditation in her life. It has been her dream to share this healing with others. She began Heaven and Earth Yoga in 2005 and now with much gratitude and appreciation of friends, family and students who have supported her on her journey she opened Westside Yoga Studio which resides on Detroit Ave. in Lakewood in Oct. 2008.
Evin is pursuing a second more extensive certification in Anusara Yoga, which requires a minimum commitment of 5-6 years. Evin has accumulated over 400 hours of study and practice in technique, philosophy, yoga therapy, and instructor training. She is an inspired and devoted practitioner and instructor.
A student of yoga since 1965, Rowan Silverberg draws from the traditions of Anusara, Ashtanga Vinyasa and Kripalu Yoga in her teaching. Rowan creates an asana practice in which physical alignment supports a deeper connection to life's basic goodness, and to the inherent wisdom and freedom of the heart.
A licensed massage therapist, Rowan currently works at Progressive Corporation's Primary Care Center. She started Progressive's Yoga Program in 1991, and Progressive's Massage Therapy Program in 1992. Between 1991 and 2003, Rowan provided yoga instruction to thousands of Progressive employees and their family members.
In her work as a massage therapist, Rowan integrates Swedish, sports massage and counterstrain techniques, neuromuscular therapy, myofascial release, Reiki, craniosacral therapy and PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching. She has studied Reiki with Sister Ann Winters at Ursuline College, and is a certified Reiki trainer. Rowan is a former resident staff member of Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts, and has taken teacher training courses with Ashtanga Vinyasa teachers Richard Freeman and Beryl Bender Birch. She has been inspired by her study of Vipassana meditation with Jack Kornfield, her exploration of Rajanaka Tantra philosophy with Douglas Brooks, and her study of Anusara Yoga and Yoga Therapy with John Friend.
Rowan co-teaches a yoga teacher training, certified by Yoga Alliance, at Namaste Yoga Studio in Sagamore Hills, Ohio, offers a bi-weekly class to the business staff of the Cleveland Indians, and teaches for the Indians' Winter Development Program. In 2009, she will be offering workshops in 2009 at Namaste Studio, Cleveland Yoga in Beachwood, Westside Yoga Studio in Lakewood, and the Yoga Room in Little Italy. Rowan also provides massage and yoga therapy and yoga instruction to her clients in her private practice in Richmond Heights. Rowan finds great joy in supporting students to cultivate their natural capacity for courage, compassion, resilience and playfulness both on and off the yoga mat.
The classes I create accommodate a wide range of levels designed to empower you to do more than you thought possible in a safe, non-threatening environment. The benefits are more than meet the eye. Your reactions and/or responses to the challenges in your physical practice often reflect and carry over to those from the challenges of daily living. With the community developed in my classes, we can work individually on our well being; yet know we are together in enhancing our world around us.
I have been in the fitness community since 1985, teaching group and individual exercise, cycling, and stretching classes throughout the Midwest and internationally. While teaching at Club Med a student approached me and said that what I just taught was yoga. After that I decided to formally study what apparently I had already been teaching. It began with a weekend yoga certification course at a fitness convention, a weeklong Ashtanga course with David Swenson and his wife Shelley, a 200 hour certification with Jan Hauenstein to currently studying with Shiva Rea for the 500 hour yoga teacher training. With combined studies of marketing-management, athletic training and psychology, my education continues to be diverse in dance, martial arts, Pilates, yoga and massage therapy. I like to lead my life with the inspiration of Gandhi’s quote “Live as if you are going to die tomorrow. Learn as if you are going to live forever.”
I have recently become more involved with Passport Project, a non-profit global arts community center. We dance as if no one is watching, teach love regardless of race, religion, or any other difference which may be perceived and spread the wontanara spirit as we are together! And to satisfy my love of travel, I am teaching Unplug! by hosting all inclusive yoga and fitness vacation retreats at various locations around the world.
Nina has been teaching yoga to adults and children for five years. She has a 200 hour level yoga certification through T.R.Y. (Therapy, Reiki, Yoga) 4 Life Yoga School. She practices classical Hatha Yoga with an emphasis in teaching dynamic, fun and challenging Vinyasa style asanas. All poses are connected to pranayama/breathing awareness and insight.
Nina has been studying and practicing the philosophies of Buddhism for many years and likes to incorporate inspirational and uplifting meditations for deeper connection to self and one another. She aspires to the teachings of Shiva Rea and enjoys creating soulful music mixes for her classes.
Professionally, Nina is an Elementary School Counselor (M.Ed., L.P.C), for the Lakewood City School District. She has recently started incorporating children’s yoga into the k-5 guidance curriculum to help children understand and practice loving kindness and respect for one another. She offers an after school yoga club for girls to help foster high self-esteem and healthy lifestyle activities.
She has developed and teaches MOTHER/DAUGHTER YOGA in various settings including schools, wellness centers and recreation departments. She also will do private mother daughter classes upon request. The primary purpose of these classes is to help moms and daughters communicate positively, develop strength and flexibility on and off the mat, practice loving kindness through listening and creative expression activities.
Anyone who can breathe can do yoga so all levels are welcome!!
Nina is an avid exercise enthusiast, loves competing in local running races, biking in the valley and taking long nature walks with her amazing dog “Paris.” Yoga has enhanced her joy and passion for life. She hopes to instill this passion to students that take her classes.
Sarah earned her 200 hour certification in June 2009 through the Jivasara Yoga School, studying with Marni Task. Her vinyasa-based classes are focused on breath, strength, flexibility, balance, motion, and stillness - and are set to an eclectic mix of music. Sarah loves teaching flow classes because it allows the student to freely dictate the intensity.
She has studied with Marni Task, Sianna Sherman, Mitchell Bleier, Max Strom, Desiree Rumbaugh, and studio owner Evin Bodell. She draws inspiration from Anusara Yoga and Jivamukti Yoga, her teachers, her family, friends, and loved ones. She continues to study and practice and she hopes to share her insights along the way, encouraging others on their path to awareness.
Sarah first discovered yoga when a friend invited her to attend a class. From the very first moment, Sarah was in awe of the powerful physical and spiritual benefits of yoga. Between working at a highly stressful and demanding job during the day and attending school at night, she was exhausted and in physical pain. Given the physical and emotional condition in which she found herself at the time, she knew immediately that yoga was the key she needed to unlock the door to balance and to help her ease into a peaceful life. The more she practiced and studied, the more she noticed a shift in the way she viewed herself and the world around her. She found that the more she practiced, the more she felt alive and was able to plug into the essence of the grace that she knows flows through each of us.
The stillness and calmness of mind, the deeper connection to self and exploration of her own true nature are what keep Sarah on her mat. Sarah has experienced firsthand the fact that yoga offers openness and peace in the heart, as well as a way to strengthen and nurture the body. A strong believer that yoga is the perfect complement to our wonderfully busy lifestyles, she pursued it first for what it brings to her life. As she began to experience immeasurable benefits, she made the decision to share it with others…to give others the opportunity to achieve the inner peace that she has come to know. Sarah loves yoga and feels compelled to share its benefits with all who are searching for a more peaceful and rewarding way of life.
Sarah first discovered Yoga in 2001 while living in Portland, Oregon. She was hooked after the first class and quickly began a daily home and studio practice. She was first drawn to Yoga out of curiosity and a hope for a good physical workout. Sarah got so much more! She says “Yoga was one of the best things to happen in my life. It brings meaning, mental calmness, physical fitness, flexibility as well as a feeling of community to my life.” She returned to her home town of Cleveland in 2003 and quickly joined the local Yoga community on the west side of Cleveland. Sarah completed her 200 hour Yoga teacher certification with renowned local instructor Marni Task in June 2009. She has attended workshops by Tiffany Frazier, Mitchel Bleier, and Rowan Silverberg. Sarah also holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and has worked extensively doing therapy and social work with adults, seniors, and people coping with severe mental health problems.
Sarah’s teaching style is greatly influenced by the Jivamukti and Anusara schools of Yoga that she studied in her teacher program. Her style is also influenced by the each of the teachers that she encountered throughout her Yoga journey over the past 8 years and across this country. Sarah is approachable, empathic, lighthearted and very motivating. She enjoys finding each student’s unique gifts and talents and works tirelessly to cultivate their own unique inner Yogi. Sarah teaches from her heart and her love of Yoga illuminates every class!
Kim Geracioti discovered yoga when she became a massage therapist and found that with consistent practice, there is tremendous healing benefits, physically and emotionally. After practicing mostly vinyasa classes, she discovered Bikram yoga while on vacation in California. She fell in love with it, and has been hooked ever since. She loved it so much and wanted to share this yoga and its healing benefits with everyone, that she completed a 250 hour yoga teacher training certification with Evolation Yoga in Buffalo, NY.
Kim is also a licensed massage therapist and is certified in many techniques including LaStone Therapy, Raindrop Technique, Hawaiian LomiLomi massage, Swedish, Deep tissue massage, aromatherapy,reflexology and Healing Touch. She has traveled to Tucson, AZ, Napa, CA, Pittsburgh, PAand throughout Ohio for continued education training in massage therapy. She practices on Cleveland's west side and east side.
Kim feels she has been blessed with the gift of healing, first through massage, and now she is excited to share the healing gift of yoga with everyone.
Kim chose Evolation Yoga training because it offered the same foundation as Bikram yoga with a deeper emphasis on meditation and breathing.
Lizzie is dedicated to the practices of yoga and meditation in order to achieve a sense of inner peace and overall wellness. She is a Certified Yoga Teacher, and is excited to share the knowledge she has learned from her teacher, Marni Task. Lizzie’s training and teaching style is inspired by both the Jivamukti and Anusara schools of yoga. She integrates the Universal Principles of Alignment into her classes and focuses on improving strength, flexibility, balance and focus.
Lizzie believes that yoga is a path to nirvana – she is passionate about the mental, spiritual and physical benefits of yoga, and enjoys sharing these benefits with others.
Theresa Macak is a certified 200 hour level yoga instructor. She is recognized by Yoga Allaince for her training through Namaste’s Yoga Teacher Training Program. Theresa has studied with influences in Sivananda, Anusara, Ashtanga, Shiva Rea, Iyengar, and Yin yoga.
Many years ago, Theresa decided to take a yoga class to see what it was about. Instantly she became hooked. Having a background in the study of health and nutrition, she found yoga to be the missing piece in her life. Yoga has brought Theresa much joy and happiness through her practice. It has been through her passion of life and the body that Theresa hopes to share these qualities with her students.
Theresa owes much love and gratitude to her teachers, Holly Clemens PhD, Mary Pat Murphy, Rowan Silverburg, Todd Norian, and Kate Murch. She continues to take local and national workshops, is enrolled to take continued teacher education, and will be starting her Reiki training in January.
“Yoga unites the heart, body, and mind. Each practice is like a new discovery…..bringing you closer and closer to your true self.”
Leah is a devoted yogini who imparts her passion for life in her teaching. Her style pulls from multiple yogic disciplines, and is both intuitive and steeped in the traditional aspects of yoga. She considers yoga to be an art form that is continually transforming and passes that belief on to her students. She completed her 200 hour certification with Ganga White and Tracey Rich at White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara - the beginning of a lifetime of learning. She is grateful for all of her amazing teachers and continues to be inspired by them, her family and Mother Nature.
Lisa’s love for yoga began in 2008. She was diagnosed with Graves Disease and found herself very ill. Her body and spirit were broken. She felt empty inside and was very depressed. One day at one of her children’s play groups, a friend suggested that Lisa take a yoga class. She went and that was the beginning of what is sure to be a lifelong love affair with her yoga practice. Lisa started out with slow flow Hatha yoga and Kundalini yoga. She also went through some yoga therapy, which included reiki, and her body began feeling stronger. Her mind began to calm. Lisa’s depression started to lift, and she found herself with more energy and a deep hunger for a yoga practice.
Lisa’s love of yoga grew strongly and she wanted to deepen her knowledge by entering a yoga teacher training program. A social worker by trade, Lisa thought yoga would be a wonderful addition to the years of mental health counseling she had done in the past. At that point, she found her wonderful teacher, Marni Task. From the first time she studied with Marni, her life was forever altered. The voice in her heart gave her a very clear message that she had found her place in life and that she needed to start the adventure now. Lisa completed her studies with Marni in February 2010.
Along with her continued love for both Kundalini and Ashtanga styles of yoga, Lisa avidly studies the Jivamukti and Anusara styles she learned in her teacher training and wishes to further her certification in both. She is thankful for all of her teachers especially Marni Task, Evin Bodell, and Tammy Lyons.
Lisa often shares the story of her journey from being frail both mentally and physically to being the confident, strong, motivated person she is now. This inspires and uplifts her students. Yoga is her love and her passion. Lisa’a main goal is to share this beauty with anyone and everyone in the hopes that their lives will improve emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.
Lisa is also currently a Level 2 Reiki practitioner who will have her Master attunement in the spring of 2010. She will further her studies by becoming attuned to Karuna Reiki in June 2010. Lisa hopes to integrate her mental health knowledge together with her knowledge and love for Reiki and yoga to uplift and inspire those who are feeling as she did before discovering her passion for yoga.
Justin Glanville started practicing yoga in 2000 while living in New York City. Following the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, he delved deeper into his practice as a way of dealing with the impermanence and uncertainty of the world. Frustrated and bored with traditional gym workouts, Justin found in yoga a system that exercised the mind as well as the body. He also loved that yoga, unlike most team sports, is typically practiced in a social yet non-striving environment -- allowing a connection with other people without the stress of competition. He practiced at studios all over New York before becoming a regular practitioner at Cyndi Lee's OM Yoga in Lower Manhattan. In 2005, he completed the studio's 200-hour teacher certification program, shortly before moving back to Cleveland to enter a graduate program in urban studies. He has studied Zen meditation at the Zen Center of New York City and his classes, while often physically challenging, emphasize the importance of asana practice as a basis for seated meditation.
Sherry discovered yoga in 2006 when a friend, who is a yoga teacher, convinced her to attend one of her classes explaining to Sherry that it would be a great complement to her workout regimen. Sherry has always been involved in some sort of physical fitness activity and realized she needed something to help maintain her flexibility and core strength. So she gave yoga a try and, after attending her first hot power yoga class, she did not turn back. Sherry said that is it was “love at first breath.” Not only did she love how she felt physically after yoga, she realized it was much more than that. In addition to keeping her flexibility and gaining more core strength, there was a new sense of awareness and peacefulness.
Sherry earned her 200 hour certification in March 2010 through Mitchel Bleier Yoga Teaching Training. She has had the honor to attend workshops taught by Mitchel Bleier, Bryan Kest, Kathryn Budig, Simon Park and Ally Hamilton.
Sherry draws inspiration from the many great local Cleveland area yoga teachers, her family and her friends. She wants to share all the benefits that yoga has to offer with as many people as she can hoping to make their lives more healthful and peaceful.
Sherry follows Hatha yoga philosophy – the idea of purifying the body, maintaining the prana and living a long time. For Sherry, yoga is a meditation in motion, where you are using your breath to connect the body with the mind. She teaches a vinyasa flow class that is energizing, challenging and fun with a great mix of music.
Amy and her husband settled in Cleveland after five years in New York City. Originally moving from Missouri to New York in order to further her work in environmental research, she gravitated toward yoga - a practice that, prior to her move, had been quite sporadic - as a means of helping her adjust to the fast pace of life in the city. This practice had such a positive impact on her life that she decided to become a yoga instructor and share the benefits of yoga and holistic living with others.
Amy completed her Advanced Training with YogaWorks and is registered with Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour level. She is also certified in prenatal, postpartum and parent/child yoga. In addition to her mentors, Jenny Aurthur, Jodie Rufty and Rama Nina Patella, Amy has been blessed to explore numerous facets of her practice with teachers like Alan Finger, Desiree Rumbaugh, Genny Kapuler, Glen Black, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and Srivatsa Ramaswami. She is now enjoying her journey with local teachers including Ginny Nadler and Marni Task. Her classes blend precise alignment and fluid breath to create a strong, spacious body and a peaceful mind.
April sees yoga as a profound mechanism for self-inquiry, as a
dynamic asset in cultivating and enriching authentic personal
experience, and as a way to promote health through movement. Her classes draw on almost a decade of practicing yoga, and are a playful infusion of inspired movement, meditation and sound, designed to optimize the individual experience for students at any level. April trained to teach in 2007 at Yoga Tree in San Francisco, California, where she had the opportunity to practice and workshop with some of the world's foremost yoga teachers. Each of her classes are an infusion of these influences, and she uses her past experience as a certified personal trainer to further support her students while creating a safe space for exploration. April also earned a BA in Philosphy from San Francisco State University, which further informs her teaching. With gratitude to all of her teachers, both on and off the mat, April moves forward with intention, dedicated to bringing a distinctly soulful, powerful optimism and authentic, dynamic focus to each class.
