Angela Meyer
Angela Meyer began practicing Bikram yoga, when a friend dragged her into a Denver studio 11 years ago. As a collegiate soccer player, she was not interested in wasting time “stretching.” Ninety minutes of heated yoga proved to be more physically challenging than a ninety minute soccer game, and so the relationship with yoga began. Over the years, she has found not just her body changing, but the way she relates to the world around her. She is trained in Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yog, Budokon (a blend of yoga and martial arts), and several other styles of vinyasa yoga. In her classes, you can expect to be physically challenged, to sweat, and hopefully have fun at the same time. You can trust you will feel welcomed, connected and cared for in her class. Angela is the Yoga Director of STROGA and the Director of the Teacher Training Program. She has created a strong BUDOKON Program at STROGA that continues to grow and evolve.

In addition to her passion with the Movement Arts, Angela works as a Chaplain at Joseph’s House AIDS hospice, where she has served in different capacities for eight years. She received her Masters of Theological Studies from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO. She is a certified End of Life Care Counselor through The Metta Institute in San Fransiciso. She is currently completing her Clinical Pastoral Education through the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

Coeli Marsh
Coeli Marsh was born in Boston and lived in Canada and Chile before returning to her roots in Massachusetts. It was here that she began to bring together her love for yoga with her lifelong commitment to serving people in learning and healing. After studying the Iyengar system, Coeli found Baptiste yoga in 1998. From Baron Baptiste she learned the craft of training teachers and classroom assistants and fell in love with the profound commitment required in order to teach Vinyasa yoga. Coeli is the founder of the Teachers Study Project, a professional training and mentoring school for yoga teachers. The workshops and intensives offered in teaching technique, feedback and anatomy have been recognized in the yoga community as vital for impactful teacher development. Coeli is certified as a Master Baptiste teacher, and by Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour and E-RYT 500 level. She received her EdM from Harvard Graduate School of Education and has also been trained by Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School.

Doug Jefferies, Owner of STROGA and Results Gyms
Doug Jefferies, owner of Results Gym, was inspired by his own yoga practice and his experiences in personal training and strength conditioning. His desire to combine the two philosophies resulted in the creation of STROGA. Both Functional Training and Yoga help people gain mobility and flexibility, increasing their performance in sports and making them more agile in everyday life.

HawaH Everlutionary
Hawah is an artist, author, educator, and community organizer who founded and directs One Common Unity, a non-profit organization located in Washington, DC. He has dedicated his life to teaching about solutions to violence and ways to peace, and has traveled to over 28 countries in the past 10 years to facilitate interactive workshops, perform poetry, and teach yoga. Hawah was trained and certified in Sivananda Yoga at the Yoga Vidya Gurukul, a teacher training college in India. He has spent the past 11 years also learning from other yoga traditions including studying Ashtanga Yoga with Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, Anusara Yoga, Vinyasa, & Iyengar Yoga. He maintains a consistent Vipassana Meditation practice & also practices Kung Fu, specifically training in Shaolin, Tai Chi & Baguazhang styles, with Sifu Liu Xiao Ling. HawaH's classes are dynamic and shamic; a journey integrating his knowledge of ancient yoga forms with parallel modalities found in other cultures & traditions. Through his playful nature and compassionate heart, students are challenged to stretch out of the physical envelope and into the spiritual freedom of awakening. He has sold over 7,000 copies of his three independently published books and is currently finishing his 4th book titled, “The Poetry of Yoga.”

Mimi Rieger, RYT, Regional Director of Budokon International, DC, VA & MD

Mimi Rieger is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance (2003) and is the Regional Director of Budokon International, DC, VA & MD and the proprietor of PureFitnessDC, LLC. Mimi began her fitness journey as a ballet dancer in her youth and discovered the yogic and martial arts in her 20s. Mimi has been teaching yoga since 2003 and brought the practice and art of Budokon (a blend of yoga and martial arts) to the DC area in 2005 and was the first certified teacher in the area who now trains teachers and students and travels throughout the country holding workshops and master classes.

Mimi believes in encouraging and inviting students push past their existing physical barriers to explore new fitness paths. Her yoga classes are based on both Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga where the breath is synchronized with the movement. Attaining full body connectivity is paramount in Mimi’s philosophy of teaching where the student is linking the breath, the movement and the mind for an overall sense of strength, energetic power and wellbeing. Mimi is also trained in the Rocket Ashtanga Yoga system, a vibrant yoga series to renew energy and vitality in the body, Mimi is among a very few Rocket certified teachers in the U.S. She continues to train with notable teachers and travel to expand her teaching capabilities to share her love of the movement arts with her beloved students.

Mimi teaches mind body fitness full time and trains privates/semi-private clients in yoga, martial arts and Budokon.

For more information on Mimi and her classes, please visit. www.purefitnessdc.com

Gregory Stuart
It was the sheer love of feeling vibrantly alive in his body that drew Gregory to practice yoga and which still continues to motivate him on the mat. Having had dance, gymnastics & stage combat in his background, Gregory has always loved making art where movement is involved as it yields a concentrated mental clarity. In making the shift to the yoga mat, the physical, mental and emotional challenge of Power Vinyasa Yoga in particular has provided him the stimulus for so much personal development. The discovery of yoga's transformative potential and its powerful philosophy led him to realize that he had found a vehicle for personal growth to last a lifetime.

Gregory earned his Yoga Alliance 200-hour certification through Down Dog Yoga and has completed Baron Baptiste's Level One and Level Two Teacher Training Bootcamps. He has been fortunate to study not only with Baron Baptiste but also with Coeli Marsh and Elizabeth Huntsman, Baptiste master teachers. Recently, he has been finding considerable inspiration in the teachings of Dharma Mittra in New York City. Gregory certified to teach Pilates mat classes through PhysicalMind Institute, and to teach Pilates Ring through Washington Sports Clubs.

Teaching style: Gregory leads a challenging, alignment-based Power Vinyasa practice, emphasizing self exploration, both for its own sake and to perceive and move towards what is possible, and the combination of breath and drishti (focus) to develop concentration and to allow in awareness and insight. Taking the role of a friendly guide on the yoga journey, his words are simple, direct, essential. He is very real and very present in the yoga room for his students with an eye towards helping each individual progress, teaching through verbal cues and skillful hands-on adjustments.

Andres Meneses
I received my training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition®. Based in New York City, Integrative Nutrition® is the largest nutrition school in the world. The school offers the world’s leading Health Coach Training Program™ and teaches over 100 dietary theories, practical lifestyle management techniques, and cutting-edge coaching methods.

Integrative Nutrition is the only nutrition school to integrate all the different dietary theories and provide comprehensive coaching and business training. Health Coaches from Integrative Nutrition’s world-class training program learn from top experts in the field of health and wellness including Dr. Andrew Weil, Geneen Roth, Dr. David Katz, Dr. John Douillard, Dr. Mark Hyman, and David Wolfe among many others.

My education has equipped me with extensive knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and the importance of preventive care. Drawing on my education and experience, I work with clients to help them make the dietary and lifestyle changes that produce real and lasting results.

To learn more about the education that shapes my approach to health coaching, attend a free educational webinar given by Integrative Nutrition’s renowned experts in nutrition and health.

Meditation has been part of my life ever since I took my first meditation course soon after graduating from college. I am very grateful for my daily meditation practice and the deep sense of renewal it provides. By practicing mindfulness meditation, I started to notice what a miracle it is to be alive. Being more aware allows me to live my life more fully.

My main meditation teachers are Tara Brach and Hugh Byrne from the Mindfulness/Vipassana tradition.

Many times we find ourselves in a trance and let life slip through our fingers. By inviting mindfulness into our lives we can gradually awaken and open our minds to our true potential. Sharing this practice with others, making it simple and accessible, are what keep me motivated to teach it.

I am also an experienced (500-hour) yoga teacher from the Dharma Yoga tradition of Sri Dharma Mittra. I am very grateful I have the opportunity to study with such a kind, humble and experienced teacher. My daily practice involves asana (postures), pranayama (breathwork) and meditation.

I combine these approaches to wellness in my work as a Holistic Health Coach. This allows me to help people lead happy and healthy lives.

When not working with my health coaching clients, you will catch me going for a run by the DC monuments and trails, or cross-training with my boot camp group at the Georgetown Waterfront Park and Roosevelt Island. Feel free to join us sometime!

Kate Vickers Deriso 
Education, Certifications, Trainings + Professional Affiliations:

BOWEN THERAPY ACADEMY OF AUSTRALIA via Bowenwork Academy USA Certified Professional Bowenwork Practitioner, April 2010
CERTIFIED WELLNESS INVENTORY COACH December, 2007
INSTITUTE FOR THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EATING 5 month training in Dynamic Eating Psychology + Body Mind Nutrition with Marc David, PhD. February, 2007
EXPERIENCED YOGA TEACHER REGISTRATION 200 HOURS WITH YOGA ALLIANCE September 26, 2006
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF DRUGLESS PRACTITIONERS Member June, 2005
INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION New York, NY Certified Holistic Nutrition and Health Counseling, June 2005
APPLIED KINESTHETIC STUDIES Herndon, VA Massage Therapy, April 2003
NATIONAL CERTIFICATION BOARD FOR THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE AND BODYWORK Certified Massage Therapist, September 2003
APOLLO COLLEGE Tucson, AZ Associates of Applied Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant, April 1998
HOPE COLLEGE Holland, MI Bachelor of Arts, Dance and Movement Therapy, May 1994