Staff
Kelly DiNardo discovered yoga when she was procrastinating on a writing assignment. Parked on a yoga mat, she not only cleared her writer’s block but developed a new passion. Trained through YogaFit, she has been teaching yoga at area gyms for over five years. She opened Past Tense with the hope of giving others the same strength, balance and flexibility in a place that is open, lighthearted and welcoming.
Stacey Vaeth Gonzalez knows what it feels like to get lost in the frantic whirl of our Type-A city. As a yoga teacher, photographer, and dedicated student of yoga, she works each day to shift her focus to the present moment, to sit and be still, and to find the inner balance and strength that comes from that practice. As a teacher, she opens that door for her students to walk through, to help them find peace and beauty in the here and now. Stacey has trained in and taught Vinyasa yoga for several years, loves many local and far-away studios, can walk on her hands for a very long time, and is not very funny. Although she tries to be. Expect to sweat, dance, stand on your hands, forearms and head, twist and flow in her classes. Her photographic work can be seen on the walls and website of Past Tense, and at Stacey Vaeth Photography.
Maggie Cunha knew she wanted to be a part of Past Tense as soon as she heard the studio was opening. As a Studio Assistant, Maggie enjoys the community of fun, caring, and creative people. She looks to her yoga practice to help nurture more compassion for herself and others and to keep her lower back in shape. She plans to begin teacher training within the year; in the meantime, look for her big smile as you walk through the door.
Caroline Dobuzinskis first came to yoga as a way to supplement her dance training, but soon embraced it more fully. She’s now been practicing yoga for more than ten years. Caroline completed her training at Yoga District in Washington, DC. She enjoys teaching classes that are creative, challenging and uplifting.
Tori Ellis sought out yoga for flexibility and serenity while training for her rigorous black belt test. While continuing training in martial arts, Tori received her teacher training certification in the vinyasa style at Flow Yoga Center. She is looking forward to to being a positive influence on the past tense community physically, mentally and spiritually.
Ximena Gutiérrez experienced an indescribable sense of peace and happiness after her first yoga class and realized it would stay with her the rest of her life. She is a certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher originally trained in the Sivananda tradition. She holds a master’s degree in communication and education from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Her inspirational teaching style, distilled from more than a decade of practice, combines intense physical energy with compassionate guidance to turn deep postures into even deeper life changes. She is featured on the television series Aire Yoga, shown daily on PBS’s Spanish-language network V-me.
May Hazzah, a Neuromuscular Therapist, Chinese Medicine Practitioner and Nutrition Specialist, found yoga when she was procrastinating studying for her Board exams. During a mini-sabbatical from her studies she visited a friend in Miami who took her to a Bikram class, May’s first yoga class. When she returned to DC she joined a Bikram studio, practicing six days a week under their work-study program. Since then she has also studied Kundalini and power-based Hatha yoga. She has found a practice that strengthens her mind and body and has given her a focus she’s been lacking. As a studio assistant at Past Tense, May is working towards becoming an instructor. She is traveling to Costa Rica for for training in Power Flow Yoga.
John Horan believes yoga is the answer to just about everything. The yoga teacher helps students connect with their own inner guide, or sadhguru — yoga is the outward expression of your inner self. John’s approach to making that connection is light-hearted and energetic, with focus on finding the balance within. John began his yoga journey in 2001, and received teacher training at Tranquil Space. As a teacher, John’s involves fast-flowing vinyasa, aligning mind and body to move forward as one. And, you’ll find that inversions are the perfect antidote to an apparently upside down world, while the music flows from rock to raga to reggae. Overall, he believes it’s a privilege to get together with really cool people to do really cool things — and that’s yoga.
Laura Ivers began her yogic journey as a means to balance a physically active lifestyle as a figure skater, avid skier, and hiking enthusiast. She quickly learned that yoga offered much more than flexible hamstrings and the practice became a way of life. Laura became a Yoga Alliance certified instructor in 2004 and is currently completing an additional 200 hour certification with Sri Dharma Mittra. In her own practice and as a teacher, Laura’s emphasis is on fluidity in movement, freedom through strength, and a quest for self knowledge through using the yoga mat as a mirror for daily life. Off the mat, Laura is committed to helping resolve global environmental and development issues through her work on sustainable development and agriculture. A frequent international traveler, Laura takes her magic yoga mat wherever she goes to maintain her journey within while venturing out in the world.
Simone Jacobson found yoga after tearing her ACL and meniscus during a dance battle in San Francisco. When post-surgery recovery seemed insurmountable, she was grateful for the spiritual and physical rewards of a new practice. Yoga continues to bring quiet to her life in a way that gives her both positive challenges and a safe space for reflection. As a studio assistant, Simone is a regularly welcoming students to Past Tense. Off the mat, Simone is a dancer, poet, student, arts administrator and community organizer.
Sonja Kubota Johansson first encountered yoga and felt as if she were re-united with an old friend who reminded her of the true meaning of life. Since then, a committed practice has helped her work through both emotional and physical pain and has also encouraged her to nurture qualities of compassion, gratefulness, and peace within herself. In the summer of 2009, Sonja traveled to India to study at Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram. She then completed her first 200-hour teacher training in Washington, DC and will complete her second training with Max Strom in August 2010. As a teacher, Sonja hopes to provide students with a safe opportunity to explore themselves, and to support their discoveries. She emphasizes yoga as a physical, emotional and spiritually healing practice in a unifying, non-dogmatic way. Her classes are structured in a vinyasa flow style with emphasis on breath, alignment and breath-movement coordination.
Holly Meyers cried through her first yoga class and knew something inside was changing. Today, she still draws upon the eight limbs of yoga during emotional, physical and spiritual transformation. Holly became certified to teach Integral Hatha Yoga after practicing Anusara-inspired, Vinyasa, Kundalini and Hatha styles for 15 years. She loves working with beginners and those wishing to fine-tune their core poses; and her students have included children, adults and fellow musicians. In each class, asana practice reinforces structural alignment and muscular strength, then nidra, pranayama and meditation cultivate the serenity to face life on life’s terms.
Jeffrey Platts integrates his many years of DJ experience to infuse each class with a mix of funky, soulful and uplifting rhythms. Students can look forward to a fun class designed to stretch, strengthen and balance the body, all while cultivating mindfulness and intention. While it’s great to seek inspiration from others, Jeffrey reminds his students that yoga practice is really about honoring your own path and listening to your own heart and body. Jeffrey is committed to making yoga accessible by blending other philosophies and teachings, sharing the lesson of Swami Satchidananda: “Truth is one. Paths are many.” Off the mat, Jeffrey loves exploring philosophy, writing, DJing, blogging about dating/relationships, and salsa dancing.
Aashumi Shah believes that patience, perseverance and faith are integral to all life experiences. Yoga is her link to keep this equilibrium. Off the mat, Aashumi is a textile designer constantly in search for inspiration. As a studio assistant, she is a regular presence on the mat at Past Tense.
Patrick Smith loves bicycles, cats, television and yoga. By day he is a freelance filmmaker. In 2007 he used a film school How-to video project as his own personal introduction to yoga and hasn’t looked back. He is 200-hour certified by YogaWorks as a yoga teacher, but teaching is not a priority. For Patrick yoga is a source of self-discovery and a sense of community. As a studio assistant he will be a regular presence at Past Tense.
Kelly Tobin believes in the power of yoga to cultivate inspiration and foster community spirit, to support and permit good health, to be one with life and focus on the importance of “being” versus “doing” and much more. An enthusiastic DC yogini for nearly 4 years Kelly is trained in Vinyasa Flow from Tranquil Space. She uses mantras and principal yogic themes such as letting go and being present in her classes. She practices karma yoga by volunteering at St. Elizabeth’s Psychiatric Hospital teaching yoga to women and aspires to become trained in therapeutic yoga.
Caroline Weaver, MA, RYT, first learned sun salutations as a teenager, then took a long detour before she found her way back to yoga as a grown-up. She received her 200-hour teacher training at Flow Yoga Center and completed additional therapeutics training with Doug Keller. Currently working toward certification with Max Strom, Caroline creates classes that draw on his heart-opening approach, with a noncompetitive atmosphere where students feel comfortable exploring breath, alignment, and energy. Classes include breathing, postures and meditation.
