Nick is a native of Evanston. He started practicing yoga in 2000 as an antidote to the stress of college. 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.  In 2010 he became a certified Phoenix Rising Group Facilitator.  See his full resume here.

Lela began her yoga practice in 2001 as a way to reduce stress, fatigue and chronic back pain. She has been teaching Hatha, Vinyasa and therapeutic yoga to groups and individuals full-time for eight years. Lela has led prenatal yoga classes since 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 Birth & Beyond Educational Network, which is dedicated to providing free educational events and a trusted referral network of birth experts to Evanston and the surrounding areas. Lela is the director for the therapeutic yoga program at the Rice Child + Family Center in Evanston, a residential foster care center for at-risk 6-14 year olds. 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 and a native of Port Townsend, Washington.  View here full resume here.

Nick and Lela are certified Kripalu Yoga instructors at the 200-hour level. Lela & Nick are also certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapists. They are excited to share this transformational work with you! They have also trained extensively in vinyasa yoga with Tom Gillette, and Tantric* Hatha 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.

*The word "Tantra" is often misunderstood as referring to sexual practices, but this is not the path we take. We use postures, meditation and pranayama to engage all the senses and all aspects of Self to deepen our connection to nature and inner truth. To learn more about our training and the way we define the term Tantra, click here.