Prana Yoga and Healing Center
941.928.2137
Instructors at Prana Yoga and Healing Center
Regina DeWitt - RYT, RN, Pranic Healer Practitioner,
Owner: Prana Yoga and Healing Center
Regina began practicing yoga in 1995. Early on Regina participated in different styles of yoga, until discovering the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar. Iyengar's alignment yoga is the foundation of her teaching today. "Many people look to yoga to reduce stress, gain flexibility and find peace of mind. Following the death of my remaining parent, I turned to yoga to find emotional healing."
Regina utilizes her nursing background in combination with her training in alignment-based yoga to provide each student with a deeper understanding of the yoga practice. Regina is a mother of two and a Grandmother. Although Regina studies with the 'senior teachers', she'll tell you that the one she learns the most from is her 6 year old grandson.
Bryan Reichenbach - RYT 200
Bryan began his study of yoga in 2001 and has been teaching since July 2003. He has participated in various Teacher Trainings, studying in the Anusara, Iyengar & Viniyoga systems, and is RYT certified at the 200-hour level. The therapeutic, alignment-based style of yoga he teaches enhances strength and flexibility, and increases focus and concentration. Students of all levels, from beginners to seasoned practitioners, find Bryan’s classes to be invigorating and inspiring. Bryan is an avid outdoor enthusiast, a Dental Technician by trade, and a father to a young yogini. Namaste
Elena de Lalla, RYT
Elena teaches Atma Yoga, (a word meaning "Spirit" in Sanskrit) a holistic healing style created by Saul David Raye, an internationally acclaimed teacher, healer, and mystic known for his empowering and transformational approach to yoga, healing, and spirituality (www.sauldavidraye.com). Elena's classes, open to all levels of students, include a dynamic flow of asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), and meditation. Eclectic energy work together with teachings from Bhakti, Tantra, Shamanism, and up to date audio mixes are at the core of each of her classes.
Elena has completed a 200+ hour Holistic Yoga Immersion and Teacher Training with Saul David Raye at the Exhale Center for Sacred Movement in Venice, California. She continues her studies with Professor Douglas Brooks - one of the world's foremost scholars of Hindu Tantra - to deepen her knowledge of Shrividya Shakta Tantrism. Elena has travelled extensively studying Eastern Religions and Philosophy throughout Bali, Java, Bhutan, and Thailand. In addition, she furthers her experiences with regular pilgrimages to India and takes part giving workshops at various venues in the United States.
Gillian Whatmore, RYT 200
Gillian was introduced to yoga while completing high school in England. She was drawn to the transformative, therapeutic nature of the practice and continually sought classes through many moves and jobs, Landing in Miami in 1992 she attended classes in Iyengar's alignment based yoga while attending massage therapy school. Enthralled by the ability of the body to revitalize and realign itsself through the yoga practice she began teaching and attended workshops with Manuso Manas, Patricia Walden, Kevin Gardner, John Schumacher and other senior instructors.
Gillian moved to Sarasota in 2001 with her husband, Cliff and took a hiatus from teaching to raise their two children, Sarsen and Reece. She has more recently embraced the heartfelt Anusara Yoga style and enjoys how this complements her alignment based training, bringing a fun expansive nature to her teaching. Gillian's classes combine safe, therapeutic alignment based instruction appropriate for all levels, simple breathwork and a subtle intention to celebrate and express our spirit from inside out.
Gillian holds a 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training Certificate and is soon to complete her Aunsara Teacher Training. She is Licensed Massage Therapist, Neuromuscular Therapist and qualified in Thai Massage. Gillian is also an avid swimmer and enjoys big boat and dinghy sailing.
Randall Buskirk, RYT 200
As a Anusara-Inspired™ instructor, Randall grew up in Kentucky, where he took a T'ai Chi class at the age of 14. He forgot most of what he'd learned except for the phrase "embrace the tiger and return to the mountain," not really knowing what it meant. When he discovered yoga in 2003, he felt as if he were again back on the mountain. Randall has taken workshops with John Friend, Todd Norian and Ann Green, Sianna Sherman, Desiree Rumbaugh, and Douglas Brooks. Randall has completed the GOH Teacher Training Program. Despite a degree in English, he still enjoys reading, and despite no trace of a southern accent, still hopes to write a hit country song someday.
Andy Sicking, RYT 200
Andy has over 30 years of personal and professional experience in the health and fitness field. Prior to teaching, she was a journalist, specializing in wellness and medical writing. She owned an exercise studio in New York before moving to Florida in 1980.
Andy’s personal fitness journey has included cycling, ballet, running, tennis, and bodybuilding. She has studied yoga for many years, focusing on Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Anusara teachings. She is a certified Peak Pilates instructor and yoga teacher. Andy’s classes combine her knowledge of a variety of movement patterns with a commitment to the mind-body-spirit connection. “The more you allow your body to open up and share with you the connection it has with your deeper self, the better able you will be to truly access the knowledge you hold so deeply within.”
Dev Atma John LaPlante, RYT
Dev Atma John La Plante began his practice of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation in 1985. After seven years of study, with Kundalini and Tantric master Yogi Bhajan, and other Kundalini instructors, Dev Atma began to teach at the Sat Tirath Ashram in Kansas City. He has continued teaching Kundalini Yoga the past 19 years, the last two in Sarasota, Florida. He is a certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher by International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association, and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) thru Yoga Alliance.
Dev Atma continues to expand his knowledge and experience of yoga and other related modalities by attending workshops and classes throughout the year. While his classes are centered around the kriyas and meditations taught by Yogi Bhajan, he includes the experience of his own personal practice and yogic lifestyle for the benefit of his students.
Becky Holahan
The first time I stepped into Nia I knew I found my click!
A very dear friend, who knew my spirit like I was her own daughter, suggested I research Nia. I found a free class and took it. The space was filled with fifty- plus people all moving, dancing, and kicking. To me, it was electric! Leaving the class, I felt great inside and out.
One year later, I became a certified Nia White Belt Instructor. Since then I am now a Blue Belt and teach in Venice and Sarasota Florida.
I am Becky Holahan. I am an actor, choreographer and a director. One of my passions is directing a yearly stage production with developmentally challenged adults from the Loveland Center in Venice Florida. I also teach tap dance!
It is my intention to share Nia, with people to feel pleasure when moving in their bodies. I want to help fill their spirits with personal joy, guide them to personalize their fitness, and to motivate them to move freely.
Cheryl Kaiser, RYT
Cheryl Kaiser, RYT is a Certified and Registered Yoga teacher. Cheryl was drawn to yoga for spiritual development and healing in her early teens. She connected to a rich tradition and lineage that offered study in both areas and began co-teaching and then solo teaching years later. She eventually became interested in developing healing retreats, workshops, specialized series for groups and individualized yoga programs. She supported her passionate interest with trainings beginning in the late 90’s in Integrative Yoga Therapy, Ayur-Yoga (Ayurveda Yoga) and Spanda Yoga. In addition she competed teacher training intensives with teachers that created a fusion with alignment and “embodied” anatomy based yoga with Tias Little and Donna Fhari. Cheryl also has training and experience in the areas of Women’s Yoga, Pregnancy Yoga, Somatic Movement/Awareness, and Spiritual Development. Cheryl has also received extensive training in the healing arts of somatic therapy/massage therapy, ayurvedic healing., sufi elemental and spiritual healing and external qi gong healing. Cheryl often integrates self healing into her classes which range from restorative to mixed level.
Stephanie Heidemann, LMT
Stephanie Heidemann, Licensed Massage Therapist since 2001 and singer/performer integrates the healing and arts together in her unique modality, “Authentic Voicework”. Stephanie attained her B.A. in Expressive Arts Therapy from Indiana University (1999); interned with Developmental Movement Analyst Fanchon Shur (Growth in Motion Cntr) and later studied classical voice technique with the notable Mezzo-Soprano Brenda Boozer (NY Metropolitan Opera).
Matt Dudonis
Matt has been a devoted student and practitioner of yoga since 1997. His primary influences are the alignment based styles of Iyengar and Anusara Yoga. Matt brings his experience of the artful and precise expression of poses to the practice of power yoga, where we flow through invigorating sequences that strengthen the body and center the mind.
For more information about Matt please visit www.mattdudonisyoga.com
Joy Yackley - B.A., CH, LMT
As an active mother of five, Joy began her yoga journey in 2000 to heal injuries sustained in an auto accident. This journey blossomed and gained transformative momentum over the years. The former middle school teacher left the classroom to pursue studies in yoga, healing, and spirituality. Joy practiced Bikram, Anusara, and various other forms of hatha yoga before finding her true passion in Kundalini. She received her certification from the Baba Siri Chand Ashram in Altamone Springs, Florida and is honored to share this blissful and transformative practice with others. Kundalini class is suitable for students of all levels and beginners are always welcome.
Joy is a Hypnotist, Reiki Master, NLP practitioner, Licensed Massage Therapist, and Theta Healer. She is a certified Kundalini Yoga, Qi Gong, and Live Foods instructor. Joy volunteers for Hospice, the Women’s Resource Center, and extends her healing services at local functions with the Sarasota Spiritual Healers Network. She enjoys traveling to the Ashville area with her husband, Lee, and continues to be an active participant in yoga and spiritual workshops throughout the state.
Steven Weiss, MS, DC, RYT
Steven Weiss, MS, DC, RYT has over 30 years of experience as a holistic chiropractor, nutritionist, yoga student and teacher. He has participated in competitive sports and athletics for most of his life and taught classes in long distance running.
For the past 17 years Dr. Weiss has been the resident chiropractor and nutritionist at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, NY. He is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Besides teaching anatomy and alignment for yoga, Dr. Weiss is a post-graduate instructor with New York Chiropractic College, offering the ChiroYoga™ Seminars series, a continuing education program for chiropractors that explores yoga-based biomechanics and therapeutics. His yoga training has been in various traditions with an extensive background in Anusara and Iyengar yoga, studying with teachers in Pune, India and throughout the United States.
Presently, Steven practices an innovative approach to alignment-based yoga therapy that uses traditional yoga therapy methods that are strongly influenced by his skills and experience with the hands-on application of body mechanics.
Rev. Anthony Cowan, M.Div., L.M.T., C.P.H.
Anthony has been practicing Yoga and studying the Vedas since 1977. After obtaining a B.A. in Philosophy and a Master's degree in Theology, he studied under Ayurvedic physician Dr. Vasant Lad and the founder of Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui, specializing in esoteric healing and spiritual development. Anthony has lived, worked, and taught in London, New York City, San Francisco, Rome, and has lived in Florida since 2003. An ordained priest, he has operated independently of organized religion since 2002. A clasically trained concert pianist, Anthony has published original music and articles on ethics, healing, Yoga education, spirituality, and co-authored a book on storytelling traditions around the world.
Ed Dailey, RN, RYT
Ed Dailey RN, RYT, is an independent yoga teacher aligned with the teachings of BKS Iyengar and Rodney Yee. He is one of a handful of teachers who is certified through Yoga Alliance at the 500 level by Rodney. Ed in known for his eclectic and inspirational style of teaching and has a tremendous ability in working with props to help guide students in the classroom. Ed assists Rodney at several workshops each year around the US and has been active in the implementation of the pilot program at Beth Israel Hospital in NY, in collaboration with the Urban Zen Initiative. He continues to work as an RN at the operating room at Upon Health Center in Connecticut. Ed’s interest in yoga began 13 years ago as a result of his search to relieve the physical pain that he had been enduring for several years. His yoga began as a lesson in learning to deal with difficulty, but gradually, with the help of teachers who were caring and compassionate his practice became full of surrender, ease and devotion. He now has been teaching for 8 years and finds that his teaching comes from his experience and understanding of his own body and mind, and it continues to change and unfold at every level.
