Deb Lister, Owner and Director, has been practicing yoga for twelve years and teaching for eight. She has worked in the health and wellness field for over 15 years and has practiced as a personal trainer and nutritionist.  Her yoga training includes advanced studies with Beryl Bender Birch (Astanga), Shiva Rea (Vinyasa), and Ana Forrest (Forrest Method). She encourages her students to explore and experience the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of themselves through their yoga practice.  Deb holds a Masters degree in Music Education, is a Thai Yoga Massage Therapist, professional musician, and an avid cyclist and runner. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy.

Bev Hertle is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher and she has practiced yoga on and off the mat since 1994. She has taught at the Living Yoga Center for 5 years, and prior to that, had her own yoga studio in Kalamazoo, MI.  Bev provides a compassionate and supportive environment for her students, encouraging self-acceptance, self-awareness and mind/body/spirit connections. Bev also works as an academic advisor at the University of Illinois.

bev@livingyogacenter.net

Mary Wolters started practicing yoga in 1996. Originally from Rantoul, Illinois, she has studied with top yoga instructors in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. She has completed teacher training workshops with Deb Lister, Shiva Rea, Rodney Yee, Sean Corn, Eddie Modestini, and Nicki Doane. Mary has been teaching yoga since 2001.  She has found that combining the breath and flowing movement of vinyasa yoga with mindful alignment cues to be the foundation of her mind-body work. Mary is a licensed and nationally-certified massage therapist and has studied a wide range of massage therapy techniques with emphasis on Swedish and Thai Yoga massage therapies.

mary@livingygoacenter.net

Hayli Dorsey has been practicing yoga for 6 years and teaching for 3. She has trained with Shiva Rea and teaches in the Vinyasa style, a stimulating and invigorating practice that focuses on moving the body with the breath while allowing students to work at their own ability level. She also studied and is trained in traditional Ashtanga and Hatha yoga by Yoga Vidya Gurukul in Nasik, India. She teaches her classes with the emphasis on maintaining comfortable and steady postures. Currently, she is working on her MBA through the University of Massachusetts - Amherst and is a certified Massage Therapist. She has a beautiful daughter that is the center of her life and works full-time with her father at Financial Synergy, Inc.

hayli@livingyogacenter.net

Jennifer Allen recently moved to Champaign after living in New York City for 17 years. Certified at Integral Yoga in NY, she has been teaching Hatha yoga for the past 3 years with a special emphasis on the more restorative practices of Pranayama (breathing
exercises) and Meditation. She brings 30 years of experience as a dancer and choreographer to her yoga teaching. Currently, Jennifer is finishing up massage school at the New School for Massage in Chicago. Her practice will focus on Zero Balancing - which is an energetic modality.

jennifer@livingyogacenter.net

Steven (Steve) Willette has been practicing yoga for six years and is in his second year of teaching. Steve believes breath is primary in yoga.  Every movement into and out of a pose as well as the pose itself is an expression of one’s breath. No style of yoga practice is appropriate for every body; however, the practice of yoga is appropriate for everyone.  Every practice begins by assessing the needs and abilities of each student, striving to create a group session that is accessible, inspiring, and an inner adventure of self-discovery. The journey on the mat offers us the opportunity to move the practice into everyday life incorporating openness, grace, beauty and passion. Steve is a business owner and manager in Champaign currently providing financial services for individuals and privately owned businesses.

steve@livingyogacenter.net

Addie Gross has been a student of yoga for the past 12 years and has been teaching for almost 2 years. She is registered with Yoga Alliance and was certified through the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, Arizona. She is forever grateful to her main teacher, Mary Bruce, a certified Anusara teacher and a senior student of Para Yoga. Before moving to Champaign, Addie worked at the Southwest Institute of Healing Art as the Yoga Teacher Training Coordinator. There, she assisted Mary Bruce in teaching new students how to be yoga teachers.  She has also studied with Rod Stryker and Eric Schiffmann. Addie’s goal is to teach a class that allows each student to tap into his or her greatest potential and let their inner light shine out.