Jen Ryan
Originally from Wilmington, Jen began practicing yoga in the early 1990s while attending graduate school in California. She was immediately hooked and, after returning to Wilmington, opened The Yoga Loft in October of 2005 creating a fun, friendly place for people to come and practice.
Jen believes that one must continue to study, learn and practice on their own to be a better teacher. Accordingly, she continues to train and study in multiple disciplines with local and national master teachers; including Shiva Rea, Manju Jois, David Swenson, Nicole Bacon and Mimi Louriero.
When she isn't at her full time job teaching high school Spanish or teaching yoga at the Wilmington and Middleton studios, Jen runs workshops and specialty classes, supports local and national charity fund raisers, and conducts teacher training programs certifying new instructors at the RYT 200 level. Jen worked as a teacher liaison for the Global Mala in September 2007, 2008 and 2009 , and hopes that everyone can participate in the worldwide peace effort.
Jen recently started The Yoga Amistad of Massachusetts www.ya-mas.com to help bring yoga teachers and students together at the local level and work on bringing even better yoga instruction to the community.
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Kurt Mann
Athletics has always played an important role in Kurt's life - golf, tennis, martial arts and marathon running - resulting in the usual sports injuries, aches and pains including chronic lower back pain. Upon a friend's recommendation he began practicing yoga in 1998 and the back pain eased without traditional injections or surgery; he is now pain free.
Initially, Kurt began classes in the Bikram-style of yoga, expanded to power, vinyasa and traditional Ashtanga yoga and has become a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200). A believer in life-long learning and education, Kurt continues to study and hone his skills and incorporates facets from each of these styles in his instruction.
A native of Wisconsin, Kurt came to the Boston area to attend Boston University School of Law, graduated in 1988, began his practice of law in New York City and eventually returned to Massachusetts with his wife Jill and their two children.
While he continues to practice law, Kurt finds his time teaching and practicing yoga to be uniquely relaxing and rewarding both mentally and physically.
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Greg McGowan
Greg McGowan is relatively new to yoga, having taken his first class "on a dare" just 3 years ago. He is continually surprised and motivated by the intense physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of practicing yoga. Sharing these benefits with beginners and experienced yogis alike fuels his passion for teaching.
Since his first yoga encounter, Greg has filled his time with classes from more than a dozen local studios. He continues to soak up as much instruction as time permits, and recently earned his registered yoga trainer (RYT) certificate.
Greg has studied with David Swenson and leans toward Ashtanga, but continues to pursue interest in many forms of yoga including Iyengar and Anusara. A variety of styles influence his instruction, keeping his classes fresh and challenging.
Greg graduated with a BS in psychology and sociology. He also has a background in martial arts and is a certified CPR Instructor. His calm demeanor and sense of humor can be found in all of his classes.
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Bill Drury
A long time practitioner of Hatha yoga, Bill began practicing at the age of 17 learning a variety of poses from yoga manuals. This self taught approach allowed him to develop a disciplined
connection to his practice, enabling him to explore the boundaries of his physical abilities. But the desire to deepen his practice led him to seek out formal training. Within the first two classes he knew he'd found the right teacher in Jen Ryan. Her basis in Ashtanga yoga and her creative
style were a perfect match for Bill's unique blend of strength and flexibility.
Bill continues to work to integrate this combination into his teaching, which includes power, vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga. To expand his understanding of the mental and physical aspects of yoga he adheres to a rigorous daily practice.
Bill graduated with a BS in Computer Science and currently is a Software Product Manager in North Andover.
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Michelle Powers
With her first yoga class in 2008, Michelle was instantly hooked. Not only did yoga provide amazing physical benefits, but Michelle also started to experience a sense of inner peace and self-awareness making a positve impact in her daily life. "Yoga provides a needed balance in my busy life as a single mom working full-time and raising two boys."
Michelle took her love of yoga to the next level and completed her 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification in September 2010. She believes that everyone should and can practice yoga. Michelle's classes are creative, fun and challenging. Through her teaching Michelle hopes to help students discover the same joy she finds in yoga, and to make their practice their personal gift to themselves.
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Natalie Griswold
A lifelong health and wellness enthusiast, Natalie's fitness background includes pilates, aerobics, running, modern dance and ballet. Trying to find free time from her busy schedule of teaching at the high school and college level she pursued many fitness classes, but fell in love with vinyasa yoga. Natalie decided to expand her academic teaching experience to include her love of yoga by completing a 200 hour RYT program with Jen Ryan.
Natalie believes that a focus on developing core strength is a key element to building a strong yoga practice. Her dance background is evident in her graceful, fluid flows designed to facilitate movement with breath. Natalie strives for a balance between fluid movement and structured alignment to build a sense of confidence and well being in the practitioner. Her classes are fun and flowing, emphasizing flexibility and strength.
Natalie holds a BS and MS in applied mathematics and currently teaches math at Weston High School.
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Kristin Olson
Kristin began a committed yoga practice in 2002 in New York City at Cyndi Lee's studio, OM Yoga. As Kristen deepened her practice she found that the physical and mental challenges of yoga led to a more balanced and centered lifestyle, and that the varied benefits of her yoga practice have steadily increased over time.
After completing her 200 hour registered yoga teacher training with international master teacher Natasha Rizopoulos in the fall of 2007, Kristin immediately began teaching. Kristen continues to study with and assist Natasha on a regular basis, and credits her ongoing yoga inspiration to Natasha and Jen Ryan.
In line with the YogaWorks methodology, her studio instruction is influenced by Ashtanga's focus on connecting the breath with movement and Iyengar's emphasis on proper alignment. She also believes in honoring wherever one is in his or her own practice.
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Anthony Tomasi
 Anthony has been practicing Ashtanga and Vinyasa since The Yoga Loft opened and his love and enthusiasm for the practice continue to grow. A natural yoga teacher, he enrolled in the RYT program last Fall and has been teaching consistently since then. His classes are a challenging and creative- sequenced logically to work into specific poses or to open particular areas of the body. When he isn't practicing, he can be found playing ice hockey archery hunting, hanging with his friends and family, listening to Country music or watching his nephew Julien.
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