Teacher Bios
Yoga is an exploration of the ongoing relationship with the life force (prana) as it is expressed through the layers (koshas) of our being. Through self study (svadyaya) in a yoga practice we may begin to cultivate awareness that brings the physical, emotional and energetic experiences of who we are to a place of stability and clarity. Our effort towards steadiness supports our health and well being as individuals, and on a larger scale, as a global community. We are all connected.
Hari om tat sat,
Basil
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Basil's interest in yoga began when he worked as a chiropractic assistant in NYC in 1995. After seeing hundreds of patients per month, he began to feel that wellness stretched beyond the body. Basil questioned whether energetic patterns unintentionally held by people such as, “clinging to tension,” “shallow breathing,” and, “dis-ease,” could be replaced with time tested techniques from the practices of varied traditions of yoga that allowed the individual to rebuild patterns of wellness. He went on to pursue studies in yoga philosophy, postures, and energetics.
In 2005 Basil co-created the Aer Yoga Studio and Wellness Center in Upper Westchester NY. The studio expanded quickly to include holistic massage and acupressure and added an organic café and juice bar selling products that supported sustainable agriculture, bio-dynamic farming and locally grown fresh foods. Recognizing the need to bring the benefits of yoga to include the community of people that favored health clubs over yoga studios, Basil additionally created and directed a yoga program for the Saw Mill Club from 2005-2009.
In mid 2008 Basil went on to pursue an independent teaching career and created Basil Yoga, where he continues to teach and bring the yoga community of the area together at the historic Union Hall in North Salem NY. He is an advocate for the non-for profit group Green Chimneys which supports the nurturing and development of children, animals and wildlife, and organic farming.
Inspirations: Through his personal journey exploring all facets of yoga, Basil has been awakened by the teachings and gives thanks to Patanjali, Swami Satchidananda, Osho, Sharon Gannon, David Life, BKS Iyengar, David Swenson, Seane Corn, and Dharma Mittra. His clients include celebrity TV talk show hosts, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actors, international fitness gurus, carpenters, and everyday people. Basil has appeared on the Martha Stewart Show and is featured in her publications. Since beginning his teaching career in 1999, Basil's path has brought him through certifications, close studies and alignments with Integral Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, David Swenson and Seane Corn.
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To fuel her appetite for life, Bryn Page Northshield has combined her love of art in her own design business and her passion for happiness and health in yoga instruction. Having always been a dancer, Bryn transferred that love of movement into beginning a personal yoga practice in 1998.
Inspired by a desire to share with others Bryn became certified through YogaFit and has been teaching yoga, with Janet Muller in Rye, NY, since 2004. She also holds teaching certifications through MAMAsutra and Karma Kids Yoga.
She has been teaching yoga to children since 2007. And Bryn’s most recent source of inspiration, especially for her pre-natal teaching, is her and her husband Andrew’s little yogis, Mirabelle and Hazel.
She is constantly inspired by the knowledge and creativity of her mentors, teachers and students and the love and support of her friends and family.
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Alicia Gibson is a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher certified through Mitchel Bleier of Yogapata in Wilton, Connecticut. She offers a spirited and fun Vinyasa-style yoga class that is open to all levels and promises to strengthen body and mind. Alicia has been practicing yoga for 10 years and draws from her many life experiences both on and off the mat to inspire and challenge her students. By weaving in music, philosophy, and humor, she keeps her classes interesting.
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Rosa believes in the service of teaching yoga. As a veteran teacher of teens for more than two decades, Rosa is a recent graduate of Basil Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training. She has studied the Chakra system with Anodea Judith at Kripalu and the Open Center in NYC. Additionally, she has training in several schools of meditation: Centering Prayer and Mindfulness & Vipassana Insight Meditation.
Holding ‘sacred space’ is the focus of her teaching: "You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope."
- T. Merton
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Bre's initial training was with Mitchel & Tracy Bleier. The last two years Basil Jones and others in the BYC community continue to inspire me as a teacher as I open up to greater realms of philosophy, energetics, and the chakras. In my classes, I hope to inspire others to open their hearts to the great possibilities within all of us when we practice Yoga together.
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Melissa began exploring yoga 10 years ago, hoping to find calm amidst the storm of being home all day with 3 kids age 5 and under. Alas, the storm has since passed, but having drunk the Kool-Aid on this journey of growing mind, body and spirit, she is now more deeply committed to practicing and teaching yoga than ever. Melissa believes in authenticity, laughter, and living in integrity. Her Vinyasa style classes are infused with wit and wisdom and taught from the heart with love, compassion, a sense of humor, and with respect for what each individual can accomplish both on and off their mat. Her dream is to inspire and enable people to improve their lives and the world around them.
Melissa graduated from a 200 hour Power Yoga teacher training lead by Lyn Kehoe in 2011 and has since completed workshops with Baron Baptiste, Sean Corne, Bryan Kest, Debbie Williamson, Philip Urso, and Elena Brower. Melissa is also a Certified Teachers Assistant and has trained in and teaches restorative yoga.
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Anne's love for yoga began 15 years ago and has been a great source of strength and comfort throughout life's transitions. She loves that the practice of yoga never ends, that she can continue to learn and grow each time she's on her mat. She sees her role as a teacher to support and guide her students as they experience yoga in their own way and in their own time. Her classes infuse music, strength, flow and humor with an emphasis on connecting the breath to movement. She is a 200-hour RYT trained under Basil Jones. She is in the process of completing her 500-hour teacher training under Gina Norman at Kaia Yoga. She teacher all levels of vinyasa yoga and has an additional certification in Prenatal Yoga.
Yoga is an exploration of the ongoing relationship with the life force (prana) as it is expressed through the layers (koshas) of our being. Through self study (svadyaya) in a yoga practice we may begin to cultivate awareness that brings the physical, emotional and energetic experiences of who we are to a place of stability and clarity. Our effort towards steadiness supports our health and well being as individuals, and on a larger scale, as a global community. We are all connected.
Hari om tat sat,
Basil
______________________________________________________
Basil Jones
yoga teacher, spiritual activistBasil's interest in yoga began when he worked as a chiropractic assistant in NYC in 1995. After seeing hundreds of patients per month, he began to feel that wellness stretched beyond the body. Basil questioned whether energetic patterns unintentionally held by people such as, “clinging to tension,” “shallow breathing,” and, “dis-ease,” could be replaced with time tested techniques from the practices of varied traditions of yoga that allowed the individual to rebuild patterns of wellness. He went on to pursue studies in yoga philosophy, postures, and energetics.In 2005 Basil co-created the Aer Yoga Studio and Wellness Center in Upper Westchester NY. The studio expanded quickly to include holistic massage and acupressure and added an organic café and juice bar selling products that supported sustainable agriculture, bio-dynamic farming and locally grown fresh foods. Recognizing the need to bring the benefits of yoga to include the community of people that favored health clubs over yoga studios, Basil additionally created and directed a yoga program for the Saw Mill Club from 2005-2009.
In mid 2008 Basil went on to pursue an independent teaching career and created Basil Yoga, where he continues to teach and bring the yoga community of the area together at the historic Union Hall in North Salem NY. He is an advocate for the non-for profit group Green Chimneys which supports the nurturing and development of children, animals and wildlife, and organic farming.
Inspirations: Through his personal journey exploring all facets of yoga, Basil has been awakened by the teachings and gives thanks to Patanjali, Swami Satchidananda, Osho, Sharon Gannon, David Life, BKS Iyengar, David Swenson, Seane Corn, and Dharma Mittra. His clients include celebrity TV talk show hosts, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actors, international fitness gurus, carpenters, and everyday people. Basil has appeared on the Martha Stewart Show and is featured in her publications. Since beginning his teaching career in 1999, Basil's path has brought him through certifications, close studies and alignments with Integral Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, David Swenson and Seane Corn.
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Bryn Northshield
yoga teacherTo fuel her appetite for life, Bryn Page Northshield has combined her love of art in her own design business and her passion for happiness and health in yoga instruction. Having always been a dancer, Bryn transferred that love of movement into beginning a personal yoga practice in 1998.Inspired by a desire to share with others Bryn became certified through YogaFit and has been teaching yoga, with Janet Muller in Rye, NY, since 2004. She also holds teaching certifications through MAMAsutra and Karma Kids Yoga.
She has been teaching yoga to children since 2007. And Bryn’s most recent source of inspiration, especially for her pre-natal teaching, is her and her husband Andrew’s little yogis, Mirabelle and Hazel.
She is constantly inspired by the knowledge and creativity of her mentors, teachers and students and the love and support of her friends and family.
______________________________________________________
Alicia Gibson
yoga teacher, Lululemon AmbassadorAlicia Gibson is a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher certified through Mitchel Bleier of Yogapata in Wilton, Connecticut. She offers a spirited and fun Vinyasa-style yoga class that is open to all levels and promises to strengthen body and mind. Alicia has been practicing yoga for 10 years and draws from her many life experiences both on and off the mat to inspire and challenge her students. By weaving in music, philosophy, and humor, she keeps her classes interesting.______________________________________________________
Rosa Esposito
yoga teacherRosa believes in the service of teaching yoga. As a veteran teacher of teens for more than two decades, Rosa is a recent graduate of Basil Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training. She has studied the Chakra system with Anodea Judith at Kripalu and the Open Center in NYC. Additionally, she has training in several schools of meditation: Centering Prayer and Mindfulness & Vipassana Insight Meditation.Holding ‘sacred space’ is the focus of her teaching: "You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope."
- T. Merton
______________________________________________________
Bre Ferguson
yoga teacherBre's initial training was with Mitchel & Tracy Bleier. The last two years Basil Jones and others in the BYC community continue to inspire me as a teacher as I open up to greater realms of philosophy, energetics, and the chakras. In my classes, I hope to inspire others to open their hearts to the great possibilities within all of us when we practice Yoga together.______________________________________________________
Melissa Rodgers
yoga teacherMelissa began exploring yoga 10 years ago, hoping to find calm amidst the storm of being home all day with 3 kids age 5 and under. Alas, the storm has since passed, but having drunk the Kool-Aid on this journey of growing mind, body and spirit, she is now more deeply committed to practicing and teaching yoga than ever. Melissa believes in authenticity, laughter, and living in integrity. Her Vinyasa style classes are infused with wit and wisdom and taught from the heart with love, compassion, a sense of humor, and with respect for what each individual can accomplish both on and off their mat. Her dream is to inspire and enable people to improve their lives and the world around them.Melissa graduated from a 200 hour Power Yoga teacher training lead by Lyn Kehoe in 2011 and has since completed workshops with Baron Baptiste, Sean Corne, Bryan Kest, Debbie Williamson, Philip Urso, and Elena Brower. Melissa is also a Certified Teachers Assistant and has trained in and teaches restorative yoga.
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Anne Edmonds
yoga teacherAnne's love for yoga began 15 years ago and has been a great source of strength and comfort throughout life's transitions. She loves that the practice of yoga never ends, that she can continue to learn and grow each time she's on her mat. She sees her role as a teacher to support and guide her students as they experience yoga in their own way and in their own time. Her classes infuse music, strength, flow and humor with an emphasis on connecting the breath to movement. She is a 200-hour RYT trained under Basil Jones. She is in the process of completing her 500-hour teacher training under Gina Norman at Kaia Yoga. She teacher all levels of vinyasa yoga and has an additional certification in Prenatal Yoga.