Under the guidance of our skilled faculty, find the space, strength and resilience you didn’t know you had.
Laurel Adams
Laurel came to yoga through her journey as a dancer, understanding at a young age the power of moving the body in order to move and shift energy, both internally and externally.
She then studied and taught Pilates, studying locally under Diane Thayer and Emily Bogard, heavily influenced by the works of Ida Rolf, Joseph Pilates and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen along with many other leaders in the mind/body realm.
After nearly a decade of teaching Pilates, she ventured into her 200 hour yoga training, wanting to understand more deeply the power of mind/body work to transcend us into a deeper, more connective life, with our Selves and with one another. She recently finished her 300 hour yoga training with Matece, and is deeply excited to share in this journey of understanding the full depth and wisdom yoga has to offer us all.
Laurel shines in her ability to intuitively accommodate students of all ages and abilities, challenging her classes to engage fully and safely in a holistic way.
Her classes offer a nurturing and encouraging environment, through a fluid practice of breath, asana and meditation, while simultaneously bringing an innovative mind/body essence from her Pilates and dance background.
She is a mother, wife, and an ardent lover of nature, who thrives on creating a safe and nurturing space for students to realize their full breadth and potential.
Alex Aiello
Alex Aiello is an educator, yoga teacher, and community organizer from New York City, passionate about healing, justice, and the cultivation of spaces where people feel seen and supported. Alex’s lifelong connection to mindful movement began in childhood elementary school yoga classes and they have practiced ever since. While working in violence prevention and youth education spaces throughout NYC as a Community Educator, they completed their 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2025 at Shambhala Yoga & Dance Center in Brooklyn. They are now completing their 300-hour Training at Nourishing Heart Yoga in Bloomington, Indiana, where they recently relocated to pursue a Ph.D. in Gender Studies at Indiana University. Alex’s classes emphasize accessibility, compassion, and presence, creating welcoming spaces for people of all identities and bodies—including survivors, queer and trans folks, people living with disability, and those new to the practice. Their teaching is gentle, inclusive, and rooted in honoring the lineages of the ancient practice to support people to feel at home in their bodies.
Marci Becker
Marci Becker is a Wellcoaches Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Certified MNDFL Instructor (CMI), experienced yoga teacher (E-RYT 500), & a continuing education provider through Yoga Alliance (YACEP). She has a deep desire to walk alongside YOU on your wellness journey. Always recognizing that you are in the driver’s seat….but sometimes you need someone to ride with you on this roadtrip we call life.
Marci fell in love with the practice of yoga through the Healing Spirit yoga studio in Bloomington, Indiana. While living a hectic life with small children, a full time job, many family responsibilities and other activities, the sanctuary of the yoga studio became more and more important in her life. No matter what else was going on at any given time, going to yoga class always brought her back to a beautiful place within herself: a true sanctuary. Being fascinated with the rejuvenating and healing effects of the practice, she decided to study formally. She completed the 200-hour training program with Marsha Pappas and Nikki Myers at the CITYOGA School of Yoga and Health in Indianapolis in the summer of 2010. The training program was everything she wanted and so much more. She is honored to now share her love of this sacred practice with others.
In 2018, she reached ‘Experienced’ level of certification with Yoga Alliance and in 2021 completed her advanced Yoga Teacher training with the Nourishing Heart Yoga Studio. With her certification of Continuing Education Provider for Yoga Alliance, she also looks forward to sharing her knowledge and experience with other Yoga Teachers as they work to continue to grow and learn as teachers and practitioners.
Tessa Bent
Tessa is a certified JourneyDance® facilitator whose classes combine the powers of movement, music, and the imagination. These dynamic, structured classes invite participants into get into their bodies, release what no longer serves, and call in what they want in their lives. She is honored to share this transformational movement practice to help others feel more confident, express themselves freely, and process emotions in a supportive environment. Tessa also offers restorative sound baths using crystal singing bowls, drums, and other instruments to promote deep relaxation and nervous system balance. Whether through movement or stillness, Tessa’s work centers on creating experiences that are pathways to healing—helping participants return to themselves feeling grounded, joyful, and fully alive.
Heidi Brown
A passionate yoga instructor dedicated to creating mindful and inclusive spaces, Heidi blends movement and breath to guide students toward balance and inner peace. With training in Hatha, Vinyasa, and Prenatal Yoga, she focuses on alignment, body awareness, and self-compassion.
Melissa Burger
Melissa began her yoga journey in college to balance her rock climbing routine. Her yoga practice has deepened over the years into daily self care in order to better serve others off the mat.
She also teaches high school environmental science where she incorporates mindfulness techniques into her students’ routine. She is incredibly passionate about providing a safe space for all students to feel heard and respected. She has worked with high school athletics including cross country and soccer to supplement their training with yoga.
Melissa completed her YTT with Matece in spring of 2022. This training helped grow her personal practice, and she is excited to continue to learn within the Nourishing Heart Yoga community. She hopes to create a safe space in the studio for everyone to explore their own practice.
Elizabeth (Liz) Cobb
Hello! My name is Elizabeth, Liz, Bettie. pronouns: she/her. I am a yoga teacher, licensed massage therapist, and herbalist, among other things. I am a student of yoga for 20 years and gained my teaching certification in 2019. My main style of asana is power vinyasa, which I teach along with meditation and pre and post natal yoga. My yoga teacher training started with Mysore-style yoga made known to the world by Śrī Tirumalai Krishnamacharya through the teachings of T.K.V. Desikachar. I share meditation as illuminated by the Himalayan Masters and Śrī Vidyā via the instruction of my teacher Tracee Stanley. I also received formal Sanskrit education through the Dhar India Studies Program at Indiana University. Ultimately, I foster space and time where people can honor spirit through embodiment. We are material beings and as Desikachar writes, “the world exists to set us free.” Connecting with our bodies can produce positive effects in all aspects of life. Whether we practice yoga, massage, or work with plants together, my goal is to help you flourish in life.
Stephanie DeBoer
Steph is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT). Drawn to how yoga helped her to remain aligned within and open to life’s changes, Steph began a daily yoga practice over twenty years ago and taught yoga in Bloomington from 2009, following her first Yoga Alliance approved 200-hour yoga teachers training. In 2013, she encountered Kelly Sobanski’s Iyengar yoga class and was smitten by Iyengar yoga’s enormous depth and its fostering of alignment and awareness of all bodies and spirits in the room. Characterized by care, precision, and attention, Iyengar yoga is a systematic yoga practice that emphasizes alignment and awareness of the body’s possibilities and limitations, progressively working through poses and using props to build the student toward more profound movement and stasis. As she brings Iyengar yoga to the studio, Steph offers instruction to inspire students of all levels to refine postures and breath; and to cultivate ease and awareness in body, breath, and mind, as well as the learning and wisdom that yoga unveils. In addition to passing assessment as a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT) under Kelly Sobanski’s mentorship in 2023, she has also benefitted from Iyengar coursework and workshops with Abhijata Iyengar (also visiting the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune India in 2022), Prashant Iyengar, Lois Steinberg, Dean and Rebecca Lerner, Stephanie Quirk, and George Dovas. She also remains grateful to the teachers who first fostered her yoga teaching journey, and is ever thankful to the yoga practitioners who attend her classes, with whom she also learns so much.
Anita DeCastro
Anita DeCastro is a movement artist, educator, and creator of embodied experiences that invite people to explore the intelligence, emotion, and artistry of the body. Her work draws on a wide range of influences — from yoga and somatic practice to the expressive, rhythmic traditions of her Brazilian roots — always with an emphasis on play, curiosity, and connection. As a graduate of Nourishing Heart Yoga’s 200-hour teacher training, Anita brings mindfulness and accessibility to every class she teaches. Her workshops are known for blending movement, culture, and creativity in ways that help students feel grounded, alive, and free to express themselves. Anita is also the founder of Wild Orchid Pole Arts, a Bloomington-based studio devoted to embodiment, empowerment, and radical self-acceptance through movement.
Dayana Ferrera
Dayana’s path into yoga unfolded naturally after witnessing firsthand the profound impact that conscious movement, breathwork, and creative expression can have on emotional and psychological well-being. As a mental health therapist for over a decade she found that deepening her own understanding and practice of Yoga allowed her to empower and support others in their wellbeing journeys in more meaningful and intuitive ways.
As a yoga instructor, Dayana roots her practice in the belief that healing is an art—and that everyone holds the innate capacity to return to balance, presence, and joy when met with authenticity, vulnerability, and connection. She invites students to listen closely to their inner landscape and engage with the body as a sacred text—one that carries emotional memory, resilience, and intuitive wisdom.
Blending mindfulness, trauma-informed principles, and gentle flow, Dayana’s classes offer an integrative approach to personal growth, fostering space for self-discovery and nervous system regulation. Her classes emphasize presence, embodiment, and inner balance, honoring each student’s unique journey.
Bill Holmes
My yoga journey began in a studio here in Bloomington, IN in 2008. Early on, however, my practice was irregular and unfocused. In 2016, I stumbled into an Iyengar studio in Nashville, TN and have been a regular practitioner of this style ever since. The slower, more intentional pace and the approach of bringing sharp focus to specific aspects of each posture resonated with me. In addition to the physical benefits of asana practice, this approach also helps me focus my mind, and it can become a form of moving meditation. Little did I know at the time, but this was also the beginning of my journey to being a yoga teacher. Iyengar classes are lessons as much as they are practices. Listening to and watching fantastic teachers during this time helped me not only build an understanding of the asana practice but also how to teach it to a class of varied students. Beyond the mat, I have also been a university Professor for 15 years, and physical fitness has always been an important part of my life (you’ll see my commuting by bike on the hottest and coldest of Bloomington days). These are all influences on my approach to teaching yoga: which is to give each student an opportunity to both practice yoga and learn how to make the most out of each posture for themselves.
Kelly Linz
Kelly discovered yoga during early recovery when a trusted loved one led her to a transformative retreat with Matece. Yoga became a profound pathway to healing, offering her the ability to look inward with compassion and uncover the light within the darkness. Yoga’s mind-body-spirit integration naturally aligned with her 12-step recovery foundation, connecting physical sensations, emotions, and spiritual states.
Kelly completed her RYT-200 training with Matece at Nourishing Heart Yoga. She is certified in Yin, Restorative, Cancer Care, 12-Step Recovery, and Trauma-Informed yoga, and is a licensed health coach. She dedicates her teaching to serving others in recovery through the practice that supported her own transformation. She believes yoga isn’t about becoming something more—it’s about uncovering what has always been there. Kelly creates sacred, trauma-informed spaces where students can explore the mind-body-spirit connection while reinforcing recovery principles, honoring each person’s journey and the recognition that we are already enough.
Outside the studio, Kelly is a mother of two college students who finds joy in intergenerational friendships and the exchange of wisdom and fresh perspectives they bring. She loves gardening, reading, traveling, scuba diving, spending time with her two dogs, and things education.
Arthur Luhur
Arthur Luhur teaches Silat (Indonesian Movement Art) with a clear philosophy: the practice should be beneficial, push you to grow, and fun. As a scientist, Silat instructor, and NASM-certified personal trainer, he blends traditional practice with modern understanding of the body through group classes, private training, and workshops.
Julie Madewell
Julie Ann has practiced yoga for over 20 years, but it was a recent experience with chronic illness that deepened her connection to the practice and inspired her to pursue teacher training as part of her healing journey. With a background in education, she brings a thoughtful and accessible approach to her teaching, focusing on creating inclusive spaces where students of all abilities feel welcome.
Certified in Vinyasa and Accessible Yoga, Julie Ann specializes in trauma-informed and gentle practices. She regularly teaches at The Cancer Support Community South, offering yoga to cancer survivors, and volunteers with the Bloomington Animal Shelter, fostering dogs and cats. Her classes are rooted in compassion, joy, and the belief that yoga can be a powerful tool for healing and connection.
Julie Ann brings a compassionate and inclusive approach to her yoga teaching, with a strong commitment to making yoga accessible for all. She completed her 200-hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training at Nourishing Heart Yoga Studio and is a certified Accessible Yoga Teacher through the Accessible Yoga School.
Julie Ann has experience teaching a variety of classes, including Integrated Accessible Yoga, Gentle Yoga, All Levels Flow, Slow Flow, and Adaptive/Chair Yoga. She specializes in trauma-informed and accessible practices for students of all ability levels, and individuals with limited mobility.
Her classes focus on mindful breathwork, thoughtful sequencing, and offering appropriate adaptations to meet each student’s needs. Julie Ann’s goal is to guide individuals on a transformative journey towards holistic well-being, helping them reduce stress, improve mobility, and cultivate a deep sense of inner peace and delightful joy.
Aaron Nordmeyer
I completed the 200HR YTT at NHY and began teaching classes in 2023, currently enrolled in the 300HR YTT at NHY. My other role is a School bus driver for MCCSC. That role gives me ample opportunity to take my Yoga out into the world, breathing, finding calm in the storm, meeting disturbances of the mind with gentle guidance back to peace and keeping a love first mentality.
I’ve arrived at a point in my life where some things are complete, and some have fallen away, creating space to fully devote myself to learning and practice, for that I am grateful. In free time I’m walking my dog Carly, working around the house, volunteering, gathering with high vibing friends :), or trying my hand at something creative.
The practice of Yoga has, and is transforming me, giving me a clear path to follow since 2012. I teach to deepen my own practice and to share something I feel has such immense value and power with others.
Ashke Papp
Ashke is a mother, educator, clinical herbalist & nutritionist, and birthworker serving the Bloomington community. She became certified as a provider of TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises) in 2021 and has been sharing this incredible practice with people ever since. Her approach to sharing healing practices weaves clinical knowledge with holistic care, and is always grounded in inclusivity, informed consent, and reverence for the sacred.She is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and Nutritionist through the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, and a trained doula and childbirth educator through Birthing from Within.
Aga Ryszkiewicz
Throughout her life Agnieszka had the chance to explore different schools of Yoga with a variety of teachers. Those closest to her heart remain disciples of the Iyengar’s method, Alicia Rowes from Michigan, Adam Bielewicz and Piotr Kunstler from Warsaw, Poland. Having recently moved to Bloomington and meeting Matece has been a revelation. One that has shifted her practice from an individual path of self-development onto that of sharing knowledge and teaching. She is thankful for this deep dive into the Krishnamacharya lineage that is bringing both new challenges and an incredible sense of community.
Coming from a professional dance and performance background, her practice is deeply rooted in the body. Yoga asanas have been part of her life for over twenty years. In her classes she tries to honor the individual needs and intentions while offering an intense physical experience and striving to assist students in connecting with their body and helping them better understand its functioning. As Yoga facilitates quieting her own mind, release tensions, and live each day more fully, that’s what she hopes to be able to pass on as well to those who show up on the mat.
Since she became a mother, Aga is looking for opportunities to bring dance and free movement into the children’s lives. She has been volunteering in local schools helping with musical productions, leading programs for kids just starting education and talking to teachers why movement is as important as mathematics (her dad was a math teacher of course).
Susan Rae
Susan Rae is a Certified Yoga Instructor and Qigong teacher, and she is delighted to share her practice with you!
Being a lifelong seeker, dreamer, creative intuitive, artist and visionary, Susan has been deeply immersed in the healing arts all of her life. She has found inspiration and solace in Nature since she was a young child, and creative play and
movement have been her most favorite healing practices.
My initial introduction to yoga was in the 90’s when I took an elective course in Hatha Yoga during my final semester of college. I practiced privately at home for several years before I decided to deepen my knowledge and understanding of yoga. In 2014, I earned my 200
hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Certificate from Cityoga in Indianapolis.
hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Certificate from Cityoga in Indianapolis.
I like to infuse my classes with invitations and encouragement for self-love, self-acceptance, and self-appreciation. My classes also incorporate the chakras, the five
elements, and awareness of our connection to the Earth and the Heavens as I guide us through the journey of experiencing ourselves as energy. Simply coming to yoga class is an act of self-love. Please join me as we move, breathe, and become more aware of the sweetness of living in the light of loving ourselves.
elements, and awareness of our connection to the Earth and the Heavens as I guide us through the journey of experiencing ourselves as energy. Simply coming to yoga class is an act of self-love. Please join me as we move, breathe, and become more aware of the sweetness of living in the light of loving ourselves.
With a background in landscape design, I love working in my yard and dreaming up new spaces inside and around my home. I love to dance, hike, bike, listen to live music at outdoor venues, and make connections everywhere I go. I love to paint and hope to soon have my pottery studio ready to create again.
My young adult children, Elijah and Emily, whom I love dearly, inspire me continuously and are two of my greatest teachers.
To learn more about Susan Rae and her offerings, please visit: www.SusanRaeofLight.com
Brian Atma Randeva
Brian / Atma Randeva carries a gift of gentleness and shares a comforting and grounding energy to practice the deeply transformative and awakening power of Kundalini Yoga. He teaches from a place of service to humanity and gratitude for his teachers and guides.
Early in life, Atma was exposed to the mantras and practice of Kundalini Yoga through his mother who taught it at a rehab center for addiction. While living in New York City pursuing his violin career, he found mental clarity, and spiritual grounding in the studio of Hari Kaur Khalsa. He learned to teach classes and assist teacher trainings at the studio under her mentorship and guidance. He has completed Kundalini Research Institute Level I Teacher Training, Level II in “Vitality and Stress” & Level II in “Authentic Relationships”. He was given the name Atma Randeva Singh, interpreted as, “Spiritual warrior who conquers life’s challenges through the purity of his angelic soul.”
The musical aspects of the yoga resonate with his approach to the divine that he had always been familiar with as a musician. Rhythmic breath and movements, mantra and sound healing bring one into the body and the divine within. His classes follow the traditional recipe for success in a Kundalini Yoga practice of Pranayama, Kriya, Relaxation and Meditation. Within that framework he allows the class to be guided intuitively and creatively to fit the specific needs of the moment.
Matece Skow
Matece Skow is a distinguished mother, mentor, healer, and the visionary founder and director of Nourishing Heart Yoga School and Studio. Since 1999, she has been a beacon of compassionate growth and healing for her students and clients. Renowned as a global yoga teacher, Matece imparts teachings with heartfelt devotion, wisdom, and presence, fostering transformative experiences in both body and heart within safe and nurturing environments.
Her expertise extends to training both novice and advanced yoga instructors, guiding them to teach yoga from the heart. Her comprehensive 200 and 300-hour programs are meticulously designed to promote physical, spiritual, and emotional expansion among trainees.
Since 2012, Matece has been at the forefront of leading international workshops and retreats focused on yoga, philosophy, and the healing arts. Her online yoga classes, prominently featured on Grokker, connect her with a worldwide community of yogis.
A lifelong learner, Matece has been profoundly influenced by her spiritual teacher, MaDar. This cherished relationship has been the cornerstone of her spiritual insight and embodiment. Matece walks a humble path dedicated to the service of Divine Love, channeling the grace that flows through her heart into her work and community.
Tracy Turner
Tracy Turner
Angela Williams
Angela Williams is a American Council on Exercise certified group fitness instructor, Nia Black Belt and a Size Inclusive Fitness Instructor. She has been leading embodied movement classes and inspiring authenticity for 15 years. With over 500 hours of somatic training and a lifetime of learning and exploration, Angela created a dance class experience based in exercise science and embodied knowledge that is deeply rooted in the desire to create freedom for every body.
“I have a deep heart desire to share the power of connecting and dancing to music with a group of people. I want to guide a beautiful dance where the deep work of self discovery and community building can happen! Music, voice, connections and physical sweat are a magical formula for transformation! I want to see people ignite from within and shine their light! “