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Naomi Camilleri (she/her) Founder and owner of PYS

Naomi began practicing yoga in 2001, and immediately fell in love. Focusing exclusively on Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga at first, her practice gradually broadened to incorporate elements of other yogic traditions. From her very first class she knew that yoga was more than just a practice on the mat, but a way of life, an opening and awakening of the mind, and a vehicle to self-realization of the spirit. 

With over 700 hours of training in Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa Flow, Hot Vinyasa, Hot 26, Yin, Restorative and Aerial Yoga, Naomi is also a certified instructor in Animal Flow®, an innovative quadrupedal and ground-based movement technique that emphasizes multi-planar, fluid movement. Naomi’s passion for combining movement with breath to create a moving meditation comes through in her playful yet challenging classes that interweave together the Yang and the Yin while focusing on maintaining the breath throughout and listening to the body, the teacher within. 

E-RYT-500, YACEP

Kenny Frisby (he/him)

After many years of dancing professionally, Kenny discovered Yoga in 2008. He was immediately drawn to the way Yoga approaches movement as medicine. In 2010, he fell in love with Laughing Lotus' signature "move like you" Lotus Flow and completed his 200hr teacher training. Since then he's studied, participated in, and taught many different modalities of Yoga all over the world. His passions include Chakra-informed classes, Chinese medicine and meridians, and playful/purposeful sequencing.

Kenny’s caring and intelligent teaching style makes yoga relatable, fun and transformative for all levels of modern-day practitioners. His classes are a thoughtful mix of movement, spiritual nourishment, good music and great vibes.

Kenny is eternally grateful for all of the teachers, scientists and sages (past and present) that have shared their knowledge and imparted upon us their wisdom. Thank you for lighting the way.

Erina Naemit (she/her)

Erina discovered her passion and love for yoga in 2003 as a student. Feeling the serenity, strength and sweet bliss yoga provided her, she eventually came to realize that she wanted to aspire and share this passion with others. In 2012 she began her teacher training journey completing a 200-hour certification with Joyful Yoga and soon after went on to obtain her 500-hour teacher training and Yoga Therapy certification with Yoga Mountain. Erina’s desire for knowledge kept growing and she went on to complete a 100-hour teacher training with High Energy Fusion Yoga. 

With her passion to help and heal people she completed her training and received a Health Coach and Nutrition Certification through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Yoga has given her the tools to find a home within herself while opening up the window to the magnificence the world has to offer. Her experience in multiple styles of Yoga provides a space for awareness and transformations, physically, mentally and emotionally. Erina offers a vibrant, fun and energetic class in a supportive environment focusing on tapping into that everlasting potential to expand the soul.

Antonia Noonan (she/her)

In the late 90s, while working in corporate America, Antonia’s mother sent her a Rodney Yee video with a note gently suggesting she try yoga. It didn’t take long before she was hooked. Her enthusiasm for her own yoga practice and her desire to share that with others led her to the teacher training program with Betsy Kase at Yoga Haven, where she received her 200-hour certification. She then went on to complete her 500-hour Advanced Certification with Shri Dharma Mittra. In addition to teaching, Antonia loves to learn, so she continues to study, and has earned additional certifications from Shiva Rea, Karma Kids yoga, Janice Caulfied in Prenatal Yoga and Aerial Yoga with Chris Loebsack. Antonia is a firm believer in following one’s heart and embracing the fun and joy in life, both on and off the mat. 

Suzie Diano (she/her)

An elementary school teacher, Suzie first discovered yoga in search of solace after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City and was blessed to meet her lifelong teacher, Sri Dharma Mittra. In 2008, Suzie enrolled in her first 200-Hour Teacher Training at the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City.  After completing the training, she began her service as a karma yogi, and eventually began working and teaching at the Dharma Yoga Center, where she developed the Dharma Kids program and taught everything from basic courses to advanced asana classes.  For years, she traveled with Sri Dharma, assisting him at workshops and retreats around the country.   

A lifelong student, Suzie has completed the 200, 500, & 800-hour Life of a Yogi teacher trainings with Sri Dharma Mittra. In 2014 she completed another 200-hour teacher training with Jared McCann, world asana champion and creator of JMY Vinyasa.  Suzie is certified to teach Dharma Yoga levels I, II, III & IV, Yoga Nidra, Psychic Development and Jared McCann Yoga. Her experience spans numerous styles and lineages and she teaches all levels of practice. 

Suzie is enduringly grateful to all of the gifted teachers in her life, most especially Sri Dharma Mittra, for his compassion, for teaching her the meaning of devotion and for guiding her to see the light in all beings. 

Lynne Aubrey (she/her)

After obtaining a BA in Theater and Dance from Bennington College Lynne went off to Paris to study Mime with Etienne Decroux, and as her daughter likes to say, “dance in the streets.” Coming home to NY she ran a self-owned floral design business and helped to raise 3 children. There was always Yoga.

She was certified in a 500hr yoga teacher training in 2001 and has been grateful to teach yoga both privately and in studios since then. She went on to additional trainings over the past years, in Vinyasa with Shiva Rea, Ashtanga with Doug Swenson, Assists with David Life/ Jivamukti, Restorative with Judith Lassiter, and Wisdom of the Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita with Stephen Cope, many in far off places like Goa, India and Wichita Kansas. The woman loves to travel, on the mat or out into the world.

Her classes are deeply rooted in philosophy. She loves playing with mudras and weaving in storytelling while moving students around the mat. She delights in the transformational spaces in between the poses. Expect the unexpected with creative sequencing, poses moving organically one into the other whether it be a gentle flow or one that is more physically challenging.

Always there is the joy of discovery, the possibility through yoga of deepening our connection to our true nature.

Jodi Daly (she/her)

Jodi has always been drawn to a good physical challenge, but it was not until she started practicing yoga that she started to experience her physicality in ways that went beyond the surface. Through years of practice and the completion of 200+ hours of training, she has discovered that yoga exists not only on the mat but in every movement and each breath. Yoga brought to light the idea that the movement of energy is essential in order to experience the richness of life and to truly access the inner self.

Jodi’s classes focus on safe alignment and breath.  She encourages students to explore all layers of themselves – from the physical to the subtle aspects of breath, energy and spirit. Her classes are challenging and supportive, offering a balance between freedom to move and time for stillness and contemplation. She finds joy in the exploration of all aspects of yoga and commits herself to being a perpetual student and enthusiastic teacher. Jodi completed an Aerial Yoga teacher training in 2021 with Chris Loebsack, and is excited to add aerial skills to her class offerings.

Jamie Shields (she/her)

When the COVID-19 pandemic put a nearly 5-month pause on Jamie’s photography career, she picked up a daily home yoga practice to cope with the sudden loss of work and to find a little peace of mind during the shutdown with her husband and two children (3 and 4 years old, at the time). She fell in love with the practice.

Trained as a dancer, Jamie has always found joy and comfort in movement, and after a year of consistent practice she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training at Juluka in Hillsdale, NJ, in August 2021 under the guidance of Mandy Grant and Soo Yoon. Soon after Jamie completed a 20hr Yin Yoga certification with Kate Lombardo and a 15hr Restorative Yoga Certification with Susan Barber.

Jamie’s vinyasa classes are fun, creative and challenging, designed to get you out of your head and into your body. Her Yin and restorative classes are suitable for all levels and offer the perfect opportunity to slow down and reconnect through pranayama practice and passive floor poses, aimed at opening up and relaxing the whole body.

Laura Zaino (she/her)

Laura Zaino, RYT-500, started practicing yoga in 2010 and she was immediately enamored with both the physical and spiritual benefits. Years passed before she decided to take the dive into teacher training, but once she did she fell madly in love and completed her 200 and 300 hour certifications within two years.

Laura loves helping people connect, both with themselves and with the world outside of them, and has experience teaching everything from restorative through advanced vinyasa. She teaches with a sense of joy and lightness, encouraging students to enjoy every moment. Her classes tend towards a slower flow, focusing on alignment and strength. She has training in restorative yoga and recently completed an Aerial Yoga teacher training with Chris Loebsack, to add to her knowledge and offerings. Laura also has an MFA in poetry and enjoys sharing her love of the written word by reading poems in class.

Gina Turner (she/her)

Gina is the ultimate multi-hyphenate. She is the mother of a beautiful daughter as well as the mother of many multi-faceted passion projects. Raised in New York, Gina Turner is a yoga teaching, internationally touring, multi-label releasing DJ, producer, radio host and label boss. She is the co-founder of The Divine Movement and caretaker of The Third Thing Network. 

Gina is Yoga Alliance certified with her 200hr YTT through Frog Lotus International in Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga. In her teachings, she draws inspiration from the Ashtanga and Iyengar lineages. Gina is also a certified Prenatal Yoga Instructor and advocate for breastfeeding and menstrual health. Gina reveres the practice of Restorative Yoga as a ritual for returning to wholeness. 

Most recently, Gina has developed a strong practice in yoga therapy, and has started practicing with A Society of Souls in Impersonal Movement and Nondual Shamanic Voyaging. Whether you’re listening to her releases on Spotify, taking her yoga class or vibing to her live DJ set, you can feel the fiery pulse of life flow through, illuminating all of you. The message is clear: “include it all.”

Rachel Stark (she/her)

Rachel found the magic of yoga six years ago and immediately developed a deep practice. She did her 200-Hour Teacher Training at Mind Body Soul Yoga in Manhattan, which is also where she discovered the warmth and connection a yoga family can provide. For her, community spirit is just as important as awakening our own internal light.

Yoga has become the lens through which she lives her life. Whether it is daily asana, setting intentions, noticing her breath, or moving through the world with curiosity, the practice of yoga continues to be a gift. Even in her day job, teaching high school English, she practices patience, gratitude, and helps her students work toward self-discovery.

This past year, Rachel completed her Prenatal Yoga Certification and will be introducing a Prenatal Yoga program at PYS for all our future mamas, starting in January 2022. In her free time, Rachel can be found gardening, curled up with a good book, or spending time in the great outdoors.

Olivia Rivera (she/her)

Olivia began practicing in 2013. What started out in the hot room as a workout quickly blossomed into a dedicated practice, beyond just the asanas. After just two classes with Naomi, she knew there was so much more to learn about yoga and its philosophies, which she continues to explore.

Olivia is a Level 1/2 Reiki practitioner, a licensed esthetician with her own brand, Goddess by Liv, and our Studio Angel. With her recent training in aerial yoga, Olivia is looking forward to adding to her teacher certifications in the near future. Meanwhile she loves being a part of the PYS studio community, greeting the students, making new members feel welcome and at home, and helping with the many many things that keep our studio running and our community growing. Make sure to say hi to Liv if you see her at the studio, and if you look closely, you just might get a glimpse of her halo.

Krystina Drasher (she/her)

Krystina found yoga in 2010 seeking guided movement while in the midst of navigating chronic hip pain from cheerleading injuries. While initially Krystina kept coming back to class purely for the physical benefits, she began to notice that as the pain from her injuries subsided, so did some of the tension she carried in her heart and mind. Wanting to get a deeper understanding of her own practice, Krystina completed her 200-hour teacher training with Lyons Den Power Yoga in 2018, and her 500-hour certification in January 2020 after deciding she wanted to share the benefits of practicing yoga with others.

Krystina's background is in heated vinyasa flow, and she has taught in studios, large outdoor events, private clients and small groups. Krystina has worked with yogis of all ages, body types and experience levels including at-risk youth, elderly and those recovering from injuries. Krystina's classes are both challenging and supportive, focusing on alignment and breath work, and exploring the ease and intensity of each pose.

When Krystina is not on the mat, she is with her 4 fur babies, in her garden, reading a book, or using her law and mental health degrees to help those in need.