Liz Bernstein
Instructor
Liz has been practicing yoga since June of 2005 and Pilates since 2010. It has helped teach her how to create space and cultivate compassion for herself and others. Although she loves to practice, yoga is more than physical shapes to her. She draws on her knowledge of functional movement biomechanics, Ashtanga, Pilates and Prana Flow for her classes. She is also an active volunteer in the D.C. community; especially through N Street Village and loves to travel.
Monica Brinn
Instructor
Monica discovered Pilates over 15 years ago to help her deal with the back and neck pain she experienced from scoliosis. Later, she began practicing yoga and found that she loved what it did for her back, the rest of her body and her mind. She is 500-hour certified in yoga and certified in mat Pilates. As an instructor, she recognizes we all must work with the body we have, and she strives to guide practices that keep students of all ages and abilities safe, healthy and coming back for more!
Chantelle Britton
Instructor
Chantelle began her yoga journey from a desire for spiritual transformation, healing and mind-body balance. Chantelle, an E-RYT, teaches energetic, stimulating and motivational class that give people the opportunity to have both a learning and healing experience. While not on the mat, she commits to service and travels every chance she gets.
Talia Calnek-Sugin
Studio Assistant
Dan Carter
Studio Manager, Instructor
Dan's friends call him Danimal and he hopes you do too! Danimal teaches a power and rocket inspired sequence that incorporates the breath, movement and noise of a specific animal each week to create a playful and primal flow. Expect fun music and space to workshop poses in his classes.
Mary Champeny
Studio Assistant
Mary is a West coast transplant who started practicing yoga after moving to DC and discovering that mid-Atlantic winters make outdoor exercise very uncomfortable. Since then she has come to rely on yoga as a way to find ease in both body and mind. Mary works for a public health NGO as an infant nutrition researcher and feels lucky to call Mt. Pleasant home.
Sara Curtin
Instructor
Sara began practicing yoga in order to explore the ever-growing relationship between mind and body, and deepen the bond with her breath. As a professional singer and musician she searched for ways to strengthen (and relax) a body often challenged by physical fatigue. She quickly discovered the healing properties of the breath that yoga facilitates through movement and strength. In Sara’s class, you will increase strength, flexibility, and have fun!
Margot Conover
Studio Assistant
After dabbling in yoga, Margot started practicing regularly while living in an Ecuadorian village. Physical and emotional balance from a consistent practice have since carried her through life’s challenges, on and off the mat. Off the mat, she works at a public health NGO, loves exploring DC on her bike, and cross-stitches cats wearing Star Trek uniforms.
Katie Davey
Studio Assistant
Kelly DiNardo
Owner, Instructor
Kelly 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 in the area for over ten years. She opened Past Tense with the hope of giving others the same strength, balance and flexibility in a place that is open and welcoming.
Meagan Estep
Instructor
Meagan wandered into a lunchtime yoga class in 2007 after spending many years as a classical ballet dancer. She immediately fell in love with the freedom she felt in both her body and her mind. Meagan completed her 200-hour teacher training at Past Tense in 2017. In her classes, expect an unhurried investigation of movement, breath, and full body presence.
Renana Fox
Instructor
Renana started practicing yoga because it balanced her hectic schedule and the physical stress of distance running. In 2015 she completed her RYT-200 hour training at the Studio DC and has since trained in Foam Rolling and Yoga for Kids. Off the mat, Renana works in theater and education, and thoroughly enjoys cuddling with her cat, Fiona Tuesday.
Christine Gallagher
Studio Assistant
Christine turned to yoga after low-back pain began impeding her running and biking. On the mat, she discovered the practice not only helped strengthen her back but also provided a respite from busy city life. Beyond yoga, Christine helps manage scientific programs that support communities’ efforts to prepare for and recover from impacts of weather events.
Jenna Grubman
Assistant Studio Manager, Instructor
Jenna has played multiple sports all her life, but it wasn’t until moving to DC from Indiana that she realized yoga was the perfect balance for her active lifestyle. Jenna was introduced to Past Tense by her sister, Sunny, a student assistant. Beyond yoga, Jenna works for Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. and loves a good dinner party.
Jennifer Hopkins
Pilates Manager, Instructor
Jennifer believes in the core power found in Pilates, but also in its life-changing, full-body benefits. Jennifer sought out the classical method of Joe Pilates by studying directly with the Power Pilates studio in New York City. She strives to make Pilates accessible, to see individual needs of students and to work the core with laughter.
Sonja Kubota Johansson
Instructor
Sonja 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, it has helped her work through pain and encouraged her to nurture compassion, gratitude, and peace. She emphasizes yoga as a physical, emotional and spiritually healing practice in a unifying, non-dogmatic way. Sonja is currently pursuing her doctorate in clinical psychology.
Jeanette Lee
Instructor
Jeanette turned to yoga after dancing for many years. Yoga inspired her to find freedom and release in more subtle and deeper ways than she could before. Jeanette received her initial teacher training in 2007 and a 500-hour certification in Prana Flow. Jeanette enjoys creating yoga practices to connect us with the natural cycles of life – to the seasons, the weather, and the basic elements.
Reana Kovalcik
Studio Assistant
They say all real New Yorkers are in therapy, but this one has always preferred the mat to the couch. For Reana the mental and emotional practice of yoga is just as important as the physical, and she is grateful to have had truly inspirational teachers over the years who have helped her to stretch and expand all three. Reana works for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a DC-based policy organization that elevates the voices of diverse, sustainable, and organic farmers across the country and translates their wisdom and needs into meaningful, federal policies.
Alicia Moyer
Director of Teacher Training, Instructor
Alicia has been practicing yoga since 1998 and teaching since 2009. She has studied in various traditions, and strives to bring them all together in her alignment-focused vinyasa classes and teacher training. Alicia is a native to Mt. Pleasant and still lives in her childhood home with her husband, daughter and rather large dog.
Rachel Morrison
Instructor
Rachel is a dancer, yogi and personal trainer and completed her 200 hour teacher training with Eric Schwarz at The Studio DC in 2016. She views yoga as a life practice that continues to inspire deeper connection to ourselves and our world.
Mallory Newall
Assistant Studio Manager, Instructor
Mallory first joined the Past Tense community as a studio assistant, then later as a member of the studio's first Living Yoga Teacher Training class. Mallory teaches a power-inspired class set to upbeat music to give students the opportunity to find their edge in a lighthearted way. Off the mat, Mallory works in public opinion research and communications and loves to travel and explore D.C.'s many new restaurants.
Michael Peterson
Director of Mentorship, Instructor
Michael was dragged into his first yoga class against his will, but soon learned he had found a new home. It was the first time he had experienced quiet in the midst of spinning, hectic, New York City. Michael received his 200-hr certification from Yoga to the People and is a 500-hr Kripalu Yoga Teacher.
Lucy Plaugher
Instructor
Lucy found yoga in 2006 when a friend brought her to a free Saturday morning class. With the intention of sharing the gifts of yoga with others she completed her 200-Hour Teacher Training with Kori Strobl of YogaWorks in 2014, 50 hour Yin Yoga training with Yael Flusburg in 2016, and is also Reiki level 1 certified. Lucy has taught people of all levels and abilities, and creates a safe space that encourages her students to be mindful in both movement and stillness, and honor their own body and journey with courage and compassion.
Bethany Shaffer
Instructor
Bethany came to the mat after years of Buddhist study and meditation. She became serious about the practice at the Lotus Buddhist Center in Prague and was certified through Yoga District in 2010. She teaches a creative, alignment-based flow that emphasizes presence. Bethany is also a high school English teacher and believes in language, learning, and leaping off the well-worn road.
Mirtha Soto
Studio Assistant
After living in France for graduate school, where "too many baguettes, too little time" could have been her mantra, Mirtha re-discovered yoga as a complement to running. Mirtha's yoga practice has ebbed and flowed for nearly 10 years but since moving to D.C. in 2014 it's been a constant presence and grounding force. Outside the studio, Mirtha enjoys learning languages and playing with other people's dogs.
Emily Stock
Studio Assistant
After a lifetime struggle with being overweight Emily’s life changed when she moved to DC in 2011 and had numerous opportunities to create an active lifestyle. After losing over 100 pounds she still struggled with a weak core, a loud mind and back issues. She was urged to give yoga a try by a friend and regular Past Tense student. After her first class at Past Tense she was hooked and sore. Emily loves the welcoming community that Past Tense offers to everyone.
Sasa Tang
Studio Assistant
Sasa unexpectedly took her first yoga class in the high Atlas Mountains of Morocco during her Peace Corps service when she invited a lost yogi and her daughter to her village to stay for the night. Now in a Ph.D. program studying Middle Eastern politics, yoga gives Sasa time to find rest and to be fully present in her body on the mat.
Jennryn Wetzler
Instructor
Sunny Widmann
Studio Assistant
Sunny fell in love with yoga while practicing on a beach in Thailand, after completing her Peace Corps service in Togo, West Africa. She realized yoga was exactly what she needed to help her transition into the next phase of her life with ease and intention. When not practicing, Sunny can be found working as an arts administrator, planning world travels, or baking cookies.
Karen Vargas
Studio Assistant
For Karen, coming to the mat represents an opportunity to check in with the internal self as well as the way to manifest the work (and growth) that the soul is craving. When she’s not at Past Tense, she can be found enjoying the outdoors, searching for the best cappuccinos and croissants, spending time with friends and family or adventuring to foreign lands.