Danielle E. Alvarez

Danielle is a foodie with an insatiable appetite for wellness and travel. Having studied abroad in South America and Europe, road-tripped around the United States, and freelanced in Central America, she is now content to put her magazine journalism degree to use in the cultured city of New York. Danielle has has been published in Fitness Magazine as well as online at Go Backpacking, Quirky, Well+Good NYC, and The Lost Girls. When she isn't crafting the most honest, up-to-date, handpicked travel information for The Purple Passport, she can be found indulging in the arts, trying new restaurants, channeling her inner-yogi, and blogging at Danielle Abroad.

Michelle Barge

Michelle has been practicing yoga since 1996 following a life dedicated to classical ballet. Her style fuses her training in traditional Hatha yoga schools – Iyengar and Ashtanga – with her studies in dance and Pilates. She has trained in some of the top yoga studios in New York City and continues to train under some of the leaders in the field:  Dharma Mittra, Paula Tursi, Schuyler Grant, Sadie Nardini, Alison West and Tao Porchon-Lynch.  She is a graduate of Sadie Nardini's Core Strength Vinyasa Flow program and a 200-hour level RYT through the Yoga Alliance of America. Michelle’s commitment to wellness also extends off the mat to her charity work as an advisory board member for the Urban Yoga Foundation - a Harlem-based, non-profit organization that brings yoga to the city's underserved, as well as her teaching through Bent on Learning which brings yoga into the New York City public school system.  Michelle currently teaches at some of the top studios in New York including Golden Bridge in Soho and Reflections Yoga in the heart of Times Square.

Rona Berg

Rona Berg is a beauty and wellness expert, journalist, and author of the best-selling books Beauty:The New Basics and Fast Beauty:1000 Quick Fixes. The former Beauty Editor and Deputy Lifestyle Editor of The New York Times Magazine, Editorial Director of ELLE, and Contributing Editor to SELF, she is currently an AOL Wellness Coach, a Columnist/Contributing Editor to SPA magazine and Beauty Expert/Columnist for Lifescript.com. Rona is also the Green Beauty Expert for beautypress.com, a global resource for beauty and fashion editors worldwide. In addition, she is Advisory Chair to the Green Spa Network, a nonprofit that educates spas and personal-care companies on greening and sustainability practices. Rona has appeared on radio and TV on shows including Martha Stewart Living and The Today Show. A sought-after speak, Ms. Berg has been featured at the Health & Beauty Expo, The Global Green Expo, Lake Austin Spa and more.

Kevin Courtney

Kevin started practicing yoga 12 years ago in Santa Monica, CA. Reluctant, doubtful and skeptical, but the night after his first class, he slept better than he had in years. Slowly Kevin started doing more yoga and partying less, read more books and watched less T.V., became more aware of his reactions to external events, and experienced more patience and less anger. Kevin's logged over 500 hours of study of the art of Thai Massage in Thailand with master teacher Pichest Boonthume. He considers each session an opportunity to go deeper into the ever evolving art. Yoga and bodywork has created an opportunity for Kevin to tap into a tremendous source of creative energy whether expressed through surfing, music, yoga or photography.

Julie Dohrman

One of the most sought after certified Anusara yoga teachers in New York for her spirited and positive teaching style, Julie is a native New Yorker who teaches classes with clear instruction of Anusara's Universal Principles of Alignment and the therapeutic aspects of the practice. Known for her ability to make everyone feel welcome and encouraged, she creates a space for students to use yoga as a pathway to personal growth. Julie weaves ancient texts, mythology, storytelling and personal tales into the physical practice, creating classes with a practical and real approach to living a yogic life. Julie's study and practice continue with Anusara founder John Friend and Amy Ippoliti, from  who she took her first teacher training in 2002. She has been deeply immersed in the South Indian Sri Vidya and Shaivaite traditions of Tantric philosophy with world renowned scholars Paul Muller-Ortega, Douglas Brooks, and Bill Mahony. Julie has previously has taught yoga for NYU and Lululemon and is currently teaching at studios in both Manhattan and Brooklyn and traveling nationwide to teach Anusara workshops and Immersions.

Jennifer Daly

Co-owner and director of Kinespirit in Manhattan, Jennifer is a Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis, Gyrotonic Level 2, Gyrotonic Archway, & Gyrotonic Jumping-Stretching Board Master Trainer. In addition to Gyrotonic, Jennifer is also an accomplished teacher in the dance community, having authored and implemented one of the only New York State Board of Education approved middle and high school Dance programs. Jennifer's movement heritage includes being a professional modern dancer, Ashtanga Yoga teacher (trained by David Swenson), competitive gymnast, and recreational runner. She has received both her BS and MA in Dance and Dance Education from New York University. She has been active as a performer, a choreographer, an administrator, and a producer in the New York City dance community. When not spending time with her newborn, you can find Jennifer training private clients, leading group classes or conducting Gyrotonic & Gyrokinesis teacher training at Kinespirt. 

Chantal Deeble

One of the few Master Trainers worldwide for Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis, Gyrotonic Level 2, Gyrotonic Archway, & Gyrotonic Jumping-Stretching Board, Chantal is also an accomplished Pilates Master Trainer. Fully certified through PMA and Stott Pilates, as well as an ACE-certified Personal Trainer (American Council of Exercise), Chantal co-owns and directs Kinespirit, a Gyrotonic and Pilates studio in Manhattan. As a foundation to her Gyrotonic and Pilates career, Chantal was a well-established dance artist. She studied dance at Simon Fraser University, the Merce Cunningham School, and the Limon Studio. Chantal performed and taught in South America, Asia, Canada, the United States and Europe with numerous choreographers and companies including The Holy Body Tattoo (Vancouver, Canada), and Elizabeth Streb's NY based extreme action-invention dance company STREB. When she's not conducting Gyrotonic or Pilates teacher training, you can find Chantal at Kinespirit working with people with a wide range of needs: from professional dancers and athletes, the elderly, to those rehabbing from injury.

Laura Erdman-Luntz

Experienced Yoga Educator, inspiring Life Coach and Business Entrepreneur, Laura Erdman-Luntz has over 20 years experience in the fitness and wellness industries. She uniquely blends her Life Coaching knowledge and vast experience with yoga to create programs, classes and workshops that truly do bring mind and body together for positive change, inspiring people to live their most authentic life. She incorporates New Thought ideas into classes and programs on positive living, manifesting and changing subconscious beliefs. Laura's yoga training began in 1988 and she began teaching in 1992. To date, she has taught over 500 workshops, over 10,000 hours of yoga classes, coached hundreds of clients and has trained 100 yoga teachers at the beginner and advanced level. She has studied with Judith Hansen Lasater, Jo Zucovitch, Ramanand Patel, Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, Barbara Benaugh, Donna Farhi, John Friend and many others.

Tracey Gardner

An ex- smoker, ex-partier, who never worked out for the first 20 years of her life; Tracey started to change all that with a 1/4 mile run that was so painful she couldn't breathe. Gradually, through sheer will, she turned walking into running into going to the gym. Craving a lean, long and defined look that she wasn’t getting from the machines, Tracey turned to yoga to build her core and learned to enjoy her workout. After 10 years of practice, she created the Tracey Gardner Method™ that is loosely based on a combination of power yoga and Pilates. Building endurance gradually and slowly is key. TGM is nowhere near relaxing, yet it is so invigorating and detoxifying you leave class experiencing a "runners high". Tracey loves to challenge her students minds and bodies  in her own studio located in New Albany, Ohio. 


Anita Goa

Anita Goa is a yoga teacher in NYC as well as the author of Your Best Body Ever. She started her career in the fitness world and was drawn to yoga in 1997 where she studied with her teacher Beryl Bender Birch. Soon after, Anita headed to India to study asana, pranayama and meditation at the Bihar School of Yoga. Having been feature on The View as well as in The New York Times, Yoga Journal, Cosmopolitan and numerous Norwegian newspapers and magazines, Anita now teaches group classes in NYC at YogaWorks and to private clients. You can find her yoga and fitness philosophy on YouTube, at Anita Goa TV, where she also hosts her show called Let's GOA, which features recognized yoga and fitness instructors.