Get to Know Our Teachers...

Shefali Thapa

My friends refer to me as the Monk who sold her Ferrari. In all honesty, I never had Ferrari and I am not any close to be a monk. But in all fairness to my friends, they have seen me evolving from an aspiring girl with big dreams in her eyes to make a difference in this world.

After having a good 18+ years of run in the IT world of bringing visions into reality, the urge of making a difference outside of binary world got strong enough for me to make a decision – decision to open a Holistic Yoga Center (Dhyana Yoga Center), a platform for bringing focus to the well-being in a natural way. Living in the industry, day in and day out – I understand the deadline/peer pressure, long work hours, stress, anxiety and its ripple effects - physically, mentally and emotionally. Practicing Yoga since my childhood and as a certified Yoga Teacher, I have learnt that yoga not only leaves a positive impact on the body, but it also positively transforms our perspective towards life situations.

Whether it is theme-oriented group yoga classes, private sessions, corporate sessions or teaching kids – my goal is to bring awareness, and help my student(s) to unify the breath while practicing alignment based physical asanas. I love to combine sequences with a spirit of playfulness and a dose of self-contemplation, healing body and mind – essence of yoga.

Namaste

Shefali Thapa | Director, Dhyana Yoga Center | M.Sc. IT | Electrical Engg.

Peggy Breeze

The last time I was in India, we went out on the Ganges River early one morning to watch the sunrise. The fire ascended and seared the silent blue horizon to blazing crimson, then deepest amber. A balance of elements creating a sky both glorious and humbling. I was reminded that there is balance in everything.

The balance of spiritual being and physical action. Health that emanates from the interconnectedness of body, mind, and soul. Yoga and Ayurveda.

Who knew when left the corporate world more than twenty years ago that my passion for balance would bring me to this glorious place of self-fulfillment and love for sharing through teaching? And with that, blessings I could have never anticipated.

Passion for study is one such blessing, and I have had the good fortune to study many aspects of balance including Yoga Asana, Yoga Therapy, Meditation, Ayurveda, Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition, Pilates, and Exercise Science. But more importantly, I have been able to share this knowledge through years of teaching, gaining more than 10,000-hours of hands-on experience.

Another blessing has been to travel and teach internationally and to work with the world's most revered teachers including B.K.S. Iyengar, Saraswati Jois, T.K.V. Desikachar, Dharma Mittra, and Vasant Lad to name just a few.

I’m blessed to be teaching here at Dhyana and look forward to meeting you in my classes soon. Namaste

Peggy Breeze | ERYT-500 | Ayurvedic Practitioner

Prakash Parameswaran

Prakash is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher and a dedicated practitioner for over 10 years. He continues to study under the guidance of Randy Just and other Senior and Advanced level Iyengar yoga teachers including Eddy Marks, Mary Obendorfer, H.S Arun and Lois Steinberg. Classes are taught with focus on proper alignment, correct use of props to accommodate student’s range of motion and sequencing. Health issues brought Prakash to Yoga over a decade ago and with regular practice he continues to be inspired by the healing and transformative power of Yoga.

Prakash Parameswaran | Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher

Anju Kaimal

Anju has been practicing yoga since her childhood days while growing up in India. While working for corporates, her passion for yoga re-kindled and she felt the strong desire to delve deeper. She undertook trainings to be a yoga teacher following the traditional path to spread the awareness and associated benefits for the well-being of community.

She is a certified ERYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher), and has been teaching since 2003. She is a cofounder of Yoga Dynamics in Florida and has been conducting Yoga Teacher Training since 2009.

Anju loves growing in her practice and continue her own education with masters of different traditions like Sivananda, Iyengar and Ashtanga. Focusing on the healing aspects of yoga and integrating a variety of disciplines from many traditions, she offers various styles of yoga like Hatha yoga, Vinyasa flow, Gentle/restorative, Yin, Yoga Nidra and meditation workshops. Being well-conversant with Sanskrit, she helps students understand the basics of yoga scriptures, asanas and mantras.

She believes everybody deserves to have an access to this time proven practice, and actively runs community volunteer classes fulfilling her Karma yoga practice.

Anju Kaimal | ERYT