YATHA YOGA INSTRUCTORS

Sydney is a passionate and experienced yoga teacher with a diverse and comprehensive training background. With a foundation rooted in the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training through the Kaivalya Yoga Method, Sydney deepened her practice and understanding of yoga through an additional 200, 500, and 800-hour Life of a Yogi Teacher Training under the guidance of Sri Dharma Mittra at Dharma Yoga Center in New York City. Her commitment to dynamic and accessible yoga led her to further specialization, completing an additional 120 hours of Rocket Yoga Teacher Training under the guidance of Pat McCleaf and Andre Harris.

Through her lived experience of breath as a bridge between mind and body, Sydney is especially drawn to the subtle power of pranayama and yoga nidra. In a world that rarely pauses, she offers these practices as invitations to return—back to balance, clarity, and a sense of self that isn't rushed or reduced. Her teaching weaves classical breathwork with conscious rest, creating space for students to explore inner stillness and self-inquiry. With reverence for tradition and sensitivity to modern life, Sydney holds space for practitioners to walk their own path: one breath, one moment at a time. 

Mary Ann's yoga journey began with a focus on physical mastery but soon blossomed into a holistic and spiritual exploration. Her foundational training includes a Hatha Raja Yoga 200-hour certification (2017), a 100-hour meditation teacher training (2018), and a Dharma Yoga 200-hour certification (2020), all completed under the expert guidance of Yogini Kali Om. Following this, she immersed herself in the renowned Dharma Yoga lineage, successfully completing both the 500-hour and advanced 800-hour Life of a Yogi Teacher Trainings in NYC.

As a dedicated teacher, Mary Ann shares the complete, classical practices of yoga. She guides students of all levels through balanced sequences, utilizing traditional wisdom and time-tested techniques to foster deep transformation and balance in their lives.

Jess began her yoga journey in 2015, originally turning to the practice to support her love of outdoor activities like hiking, climbing, and triathlons. Over the years, her practice gradually became a grounding force in every aspect of her life physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

While living in Iwakuni, Japan, she completed her 200-hour Trauma-Informed teacher training with the Pointe of Grace Institute, earning her RYT-200 certification in April 2025. Her training emphasized creating safe, inclusive spaces for all bodies and backgrounds.

Jess teaches Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, Restorative, and Yoga Nidra. She believes yoga is for everyone and strives to create a supportive environment where students feel empowered to explore the connection between mind and body, and encourage self-awareness, presence, and the integration of yoga, both on and off the mat.

Student of Sri Dharma Mittra
@dharmayoganyc “all is within.”

Dharma Yoga • Vegan Nutrition • Meridian Bodywork

based in Berlin, Germany 

Hi! I’m Ang and I am a Yoga student and instructor (RYT 200).

My personal yoga and meditation practice began in 2004 and has become such an important part of my daily practice in life and on the mat. In 2024 I enrolled in the 200 hour teacher training of my dreams and am so beyond grateful to the wonderful teachers and fellow students and the community we have built and continue to build. 

I am committed to continuing education and have received certifications in Trauma Informed Yoga, Adaptive Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga, and Yin Yoga.

The styles of asana that I feel most drawn to teaching are slow flow and restorative, adding adaptive and trauma informed elements to each practice. I am passionate about yoga in all of its eight limbs.

My goal is to create a safe and inclusive space where people can build community and feel welcome, autonomous, and accommodated. 

Sylvia discovered her love of yoga by chance after the yoga teacher at her job left for a new endeavor. When asked to get certified in yoga, she initially hesitated but quickly realized the tremendous release that yoga has. While Sylvia has been a certified personal trainer for over 30 years and has worked with various age groups in many gyms, it was yoga that made her pause, it was love at first asana. 

As a US Army combat veteran who served in two deployments, she discovered quickly how healing and how empowering yoga can be. After getting her RYT200 through Yogafit, she decided to pursue her RYT500, and she also completed the 140 hour Warriors program through Yogafit. This program was designed to help military members and their families recover from trauma through yoga. 

Sylvia continued to pursue her love of yoga achieving her ERYT200 then her ERYT500 with over 2300 hours of teaching. 

 While her primary teaching has been with seniors of various fitness levels, she is eager for a new challenge and looks forward to teaching at Yatha Yoga.

Komal’s yoga journey began in 2020 with curiosity and an open heart. Walking into her first class, she had no idea what to expect, only noticing how energized, calm, and grounded she felt afterward. That feeling stayed with her and became the beginning of a steady, meaningful practice. Over time, yoga evolved into a grounding force that supported her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It encouraged her to slow down, tune into breath, and move with greater awareness both on and off the mat.

In December 2025, Komal completed her 200-hour vinyasa yoga teacher training and soon began teaching. Her classes focus on slow, intentional sequencing that builds strength, balance, and flexibility while remaining accessible to students of all levels. Breath guides every movement, offering space to explore presence and ease. As a teacher, Komal approaches yoga as a shared exchange of learning. She is dedicated to creating a supportive, inclusive environment where students feel empowered to listen inward, move with intention, and carry the practice into everyday life confidently.

Carmen is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher (Yoga Alliance) based in the Washington, DC area. She stated practicing yoga in 2014, but she fell in love with yoga and began her dedicated yoga journey in 2015. Carmen fell in love with the practice because it allowed her a new outlet to connect with God. Her goal is to introduce the practice of yoga to others so that others have the opportunity to create a mind, body, and soul connection through yoga by calming the nervous system and finding stillness. Carmen specializes in vinyasa flow yoga, yin yoga, meditation, and pranayama. 

Iman Akhtar Smith, RYT500, has been practicing yoga for 10 years and is passionate about continuing her yoga education to deepen her understanding and better support her students. As a yoga teacher, Iman strives to offer a grounded and thoughtful approach, one that honors the tradition of the practice while making space for personal exploration. Her classes are intended to be welcoming to all, regardless of experience or background, and to hold space for students to show up fully as themselves. Iman is committed to sharing yoga in a way that encourages meaningful self-inquiry and supports each student’s ongoing evolution while practicing authentically.

Arnaldo Andrade is a Baltimore-based yoga teacher whose approach is breath-centered, alignment-focused, and rooted in Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition. Trained in Bali at All Yoga (RYT-200), his teaching blends steady pacing, clear verbal cueing, and intentional holds that help students build strength, awareness, and confidence in their bodies. 

Washington DC, and its environs the DMV, have a rare chance and opportunity to study with this accomplished and masterful yogi. James was pulled into the practice of yoga years ago, to help from an injury while playing soccer at the University of Maryland.

In the course of his studies, he found inspiration from Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Rama Tirtha Pratsithan, Swami Sivananda, and many other masters, several of whom he has met in person, and absorbed the teachings from.

Desiring more, James searched for the TRUTH, a Guru, and delved deep into the science, and practice of yoga, and its associated metaphysics. James is a graduate of the Willow Street Yoga Center teacher training program, class of 2005, a Hatha yoga program in the Anusara style, or tradition, and has been teaching and continually studying since.

James has also completed several Master Teacher Training intensives in; the Koshas, the Sutras, Tantra, Kundalini, and more. James is initiated into the Kriya lineage of meditation, popularized in the west by Paramahansa Yogananda.

As a yogi, James is a highly inspirational, and devoted teacher, through whom the Masters reckon the teachings flow. He has taught yoga and meditation on different continents to a wide variety of students of different levels, cultures, and backgrounds.

His ability to take his students deep into the essential experience of yoga is awe-inspiring. James teaches in the Anusara style, because he says, “Yoga is a spiritual tradition, and the most powerful perceived experience of change, growth, health, and wellbeing starts in, or with the heart.” In James’s classes, one is in the presence of and learning from a Master.

Janelle began practicing yoga in 2008 and holds a bachelors in Exercise Physiology. What started as a solely physical practice, slowly transformed into a therapeutic experience with a focus on mindfulness, grounding, and mental health that coalesced with the pursuit of 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Grace YPS in Silver Spring, completed in Spring 2025. Her training and experiences blend mind-body wellness, inclusivity, community, and conscientious living off the mat. She brings levity, authenticity, and creativity to her shared practices, and strives to create a welcoming environment for all levels across all life stages, and to provide space for resetting the body and mind from modern life. 

Alexandra Pallas is a transformational facilitator and entrepreneur working at the intersection of ritual, leadership, and inner development. She co-founded one of the world’s most renowned legal psychedelic retreat companies in partnership with the Beckley Foundation. She holds an M.A. in Mindful Leadership, has studied with various wisdom schools for nearly 3 decades, and has facilitated hundreds of meditation sessions, women’s circles, workshops, and transformational retreats across corporate, educational, and ceremonial settings. Her work blends ancient ritual traditions, neuroscience, and modern leadership practice to support deep personal and collective transformation. 

Leah began her yoga journey in 2016 as part of her self-care, and eventually deepened her knowledge, earning a 200-hour RYT in Tucson, AZ, in 2019. She continued to expand her training through Children and Teen Yoga in Montréal, Quebec, and Sound Healing through The Alchemy of Sound in Maryland, integrating movement, mindfulness, and sound healing into her offerings.

Leah has experience teaching heated vinyasa, restorative, and classes for children and teens, creating supportive and engaging spaces for students of all ages. Leah offers sound baths as a gentle, intentional space where others can slow down, find rest, and reconnect with themselves through reflection and stillness. Her approach is both grounding and accessible, encouraging each individual to move at their own pace while building strength, confidence, and awareness.

Her teaching style blends energy and ease, offering students the opportunity to challenge themselves while also finding moments of stillness. Through both yoga and sound, Leah aims to help others reconnect, restore balance, and cultivate a deeper sense of well-being.