Shannon Brandt is the owner & founder of Shambhala Yoga Center and Director of Shambhala Beacon.

She has been a student of yoga for over ten years, studying in Brooklyn, Hawaii and North Carolina. She believes that everyone has the capacity for growth of spirit through the practice of movement with breath facilitated by the study of yoga. She loves to teach in any capacity, encouraging her students to have faith in themselves and their breath to move through their practice and their daily life. When not teaching yoga, Shannon is a therapist who works with children on the autism spectrum. Shannon would like to thank her teachers- the various yogis and yoginis she has had the honor of practicing with, her husband, son, and the beautiful, wise children she works with.

Megan is the Assistant Director of Shambhala Beacon.

Megan Spencer King is a certified yoga teacher, body motivator, and movement instructor. Her down-to-earth attitude and accessible personality welcomes participants to feel comfortable in their skin and confident in their movements. She received training through YogaWorks and the American Counsel on Exercise. She teaches dance, yoga and movement throughout the Hudson Valley and Northern California.

A native Beaconite, Ishia originally studied modern dance and earned a B.F.A. in Dance from SUNY Buffalo. She began practicing yoga to supplement her career and training, and it soon grew into a great passion & priority to help others carve their bodies and souls with the yogic teachings. She completed her teacher training in NYC at Joschi Yoga Institute, and is also prenatal certified studying at Kripalu with Janice Clairfield. Ishia firmly believes that the principles of Vinyasa yoga can help us improve all aspects of our lives, both on the mat and beyond...

Julian Paik is a RYT since 1999. His trainings include YogaWorks of Santa Monica, CA (Annie Carpenter), Satsang Yoga of Garrison, NY (Charles and Lisa Matkin), and Piedmont Yoga of Oakland, CA (Rodney Yee). Julian is flattered to have had the opportunity to teach for several years, but he will always consider himself a student of the practice. He teaches a playful, uplifting, motivational, and heatbuilding class with much attention to alignment and isolating moments of dharana (concentration).

Elizabeth Castagna received her Alexander Technique Master Class training with Chloe Wing in NYC. Where Elizabeth taught private classes for several years before moving to the Hudson Valley in 2007. As a part of her training she did extensive study in Trauma Release Therapy, Body Mapping, The Infinity Walk and Bioenergetics.
Elizabeth's approach to teaching is deeply rooted in her value of understanding, and her wonder of what is in the natural intelligence of the body. She dedicates her teaching to seeing clearly her students and to hearing them. To support the unfolding of their body and mind together and to respect the pace of this movement. Elizabeth loves that the Alexander Technique is a teacher/student relationship empowering the student with tools to create change in their lives. In her 3rd year of training she gave birth to her son, Rubio. With an increased awareness of her body and knowledge of how it is designed, she enjoyed a healthy, pain-free pregnancy and natural childbirth.
Elizabeth has the deepest gratitude for her amazing teachers and students who never stop supporting her growth. “How much movement do I need to stay clear?” Is a question that has guided Elizabeth forever.

Warm, good-humored, rounded yoga teacher with a decade of teaching experience and more than 1000 hours of training. Rhonda has both training and experience in vinyasa, Iyengar and therapeutic yoga, so expect the unexpected when you come to class! She also teaches prospective yoga teachers in philosophy and anatomy.

Joelle Van Sickle is a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor who also holds both BFA and MFA degrees in Dance. Informed by her love of movement, her teaching style emphasizes dynamic body alignment, breath awareness, and energy flow. In addition to her Kripalu studies, Joelle completed an in-depth mentorship program in the Iyengar style with Vickie Aldridge in Boise, Idaho. Through this program, she gained detailed knowledge of postural alignment and of utilizing props to facilitate asanas for all levels of students. Joelle has been teaching Yoga since receiving her certification in 2000, and has been a professional dance educator since 1991. She is also an experienced pre-natal Yoga instructor with a firm belief in the power of Yoga to create a mindful and healthy pregnancy, continuing through birth and beyond.

Phoebe Kelly comes from a strong movement background. She received her BFA in modern dance from University of the Arts in Philadelphia. There she studied technique, anatomy, kinesiology, and pedagogy. Her studies in movement brought her to Pilates in New York where she trained with well known instructor, Linda Farrell. She then went on to earn her certification in 2002 from the Kane School of Core Integration. A few years later, Phoebe discovered yoga and all its endless benefits. She studied with many of the excellent senior teachers at Yogaworks, mainly with her mentor Jeanmarie Paolillo since 2006. She finished her 500 hour Yoga Certification from Yogaworks in June 2010.
Phoebe has been teaching yoga and Pilates around NYC since 2002. She moved to the Hudson Valley area in June 2010. Phoebe is happy to be making a new life and being a part of the yoga community.
With her broad movement background, Phoebe’s classes focus on the importance of alignment. She encourages students to take their practice to the next level in a playful manner. Phoebe’s greatest joy of teaching is having the opportunity to watch her students break through barriers they never knew they could conquer.

Arabella Champaq has been studying for over 30 years with various teachers. She was a mureed (student) of the Sufi Master, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, and has also studied extensively with Alan Lowen and with Rudy Ballentine. She has taught meditation, and has led workshops and Circles since 1982.

Tribal Fusion Artist Sarah "Jezebel" Wood is a new arrival to New York Bellydance scene. She moved to the Hudson River Valley from Boston to follow her heart and work for visionary artist Alex Grey/ CoSM. Upon arriving she was welcomed into the Solstice Studio community by artistic director Sera Solstice and worked with Solstice Dance Ensemble fastidiously her first year in New York. She has also appeared in three of Sera's instructional videos; The Foundations of Bellydance, Lunar Bellydance and Solar Bellydance. Sarah teaches weekly at Solstice Studio and in the Hudson Valley at CoSM.

Sarah loves to nurture and cultivate the deep creative beauty and strength that we each hold as dancers and envisions dance as fluid meditation where our bodies are the catalyst to experience higher levels of consciousness.

Sarah's teachers include Naraya of Vadalna, Shakti Rowan and Sera Solstice.

Vivian Walter is a 500 hour certified Kripalu Yoga instructor who has been practicing yoga for 20 years and teaching it for 12 years. Before moving to Beacon in 2010, she owned and operated Down Dogwood Yoga, a Kripalu Affiliated Studio, for 5 years. A retired elementary and middle school teacher with an M.S. in Education, Vivian now devotes herself to her passion for yoga and the positive effects it can have on a person's life. Her goal is to help each of her students use the practice of yoga to feel physically and emotionally healthier, happier and more peaceful.

Caitlyn Patch is a dynamic yogi and enjoys a sense of humor. Finding yoga as a path to creative expression and balance in life; things so crucial to vitality and happiness, and she believes yoga helps you become receptive, allowing you to experience happiness, balance and serenity, and she is inspired to express these principles into her classes. She has practiced yoga since a young child and approaching the study and practice in the last 3 years. The study and practice of yoga remain an integral part of her every day life. Her yogic studies and daily practice encourage her to share with others the teachings and insights she has learned. What she learns through her trainings and meditation is of vital importance to how she lives her life, her practice, and her teachings. She currently holds a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher Certificate through Karma Yoga Center of Denver and recently an Anusara® Immersion I with Ami Hirschstein and she will continue on her path with the teaching of Anusara® in the fall.