About Us

Nick is a native of Evanston. He began meditating in 1999, but found it very painful to sit cross-legged on the floor. So he started yoga in 2000. He found it to be a beautiful combination of spiritual practice and exercise (and a good way to spend time with Lela when they first started dating!) Nick has a degree in Computer Science from Brown University, but also studied the theory and practice of meditation. In 2002, he spent a month in residency at the Zen Mountain Monastery in New York. Buddhism's emphasis on mindfulness and compassion shows up in his teaching. Other influences include a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, improvisational theater, West African dance, whole food nutrition, and a love of science. He completed his first teacher training at the Kripalu Yoga Center. He has been teaching full-time since 2005. He does small-scale web design and blogging in his spare hours.

Lela began her yoga practice in 2001 as a way to reduce stress, fatigue and chronic back pain. She received her yoga teacher training at the Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA, and completed the Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Program in February 2009. She has been teaching Hatha, Vinyasa and therapeutic yoga to groups and individuals full-time for five years. Lela has led prenatal yoga classes isince 2005, and has co-led Birthing from Within childbirth classes and a yearly Pregnancy Resource Fair for her community. She is a founding member of the Blossoming Birth network, which is dedicated to providing educational events and a trusted referral network of birth experts to Evanston and the surrounding areas. She has also worked as a wilderness instructor for adjudicated youth, an after-school program director, and an English tutor for children ages eight to eighteen here and in Asia. She is a graduate of UMASS Amherst with a BA in Multicultural & Experiential Education, and a native of Port Townsend, Washington.

Nick and Lela are certified Kripalu Yoga instructors at the 200-hour level. Recently, Lela & Nick became certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapists, after a 700 hour yearlong training. They are so excited to share this transformational work with you! They have taken another 100 hours of training in vinyasa yoga with Tom Gillette, and Tantric yoga with Rod Stryker. They teach full-time, and have taught over 5,000 hours of yoga, each. They spent 2004 studying yoga, meditation (and life in general) in India and Southeast Asia. They married in July 2007.