Tasha Judson, M.Ed., E-RYT500,
Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher
Since 1999, Tasha has offered Hatha Yoga in the Berkshires, Massachusetts. Her classes combine breath based movement, mindful alignment within poses, and intelligent sequencing to support the optimal unfolding of each individual. Through heartfelt expression and finely tuned alignment she guides her students to ground themselves in felt sensations and balanced energetic expression, encouraging each one to enter into their own independent, revelatory relationship with life. Her classes create a positive community context, simultaneously fun and serious.
Tasha began her yoga asana practice while in high school, cycling the hills of Pittsburgh to get to class. She reconnected with Hatha Yoga after college, and found relief from pain in the alignment oriented approaches grounded in the higher purposes of yoga. In 1999 she began teaching yoga based on her formal teacher training in Iyengar Yoga, and went full time in 2003. She sat multiple retreats at Insight Meditation Society and taught asana at the IMS Teen Retreat for many years. Continuing her trainings in Anusara Yoga, she earned certification in 2006. In 2016 she became an Authorized Teacher of Neelakantha Meditation as taught in Blue Throat Yoga, where in addition to meditation she also co-teaches study courses. She has travelled to India and led trips on multiple occasions since 2013. Tasha became certified with the International Association of Yoga Therapists in 2017. As the Founder/Director of Tasha Yoga studio in Williamstown, MA Tasha offers weekly classes as well as private sessions, including training teachers of Anusara Yoga through a mentorship program.
Seeking always to inspire her practice and teaching of yoga through love and a practical grounding in the ecstatic reality of being, she is deeply grateful for the influential guidance of her teachers, and also for the presence of nature and animals in her life. In her free time she is likely curled up with a cat or riding at the horse farm.
Anne O’Connor, Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher:
Anne completed her teacher training with Patricia Walden in Boston and earned her certification as an Intro I/II Iyengar Yoga teacher in 2016. She has been practicing yoga in the tradition of B.K.S. Iyengar since 1995. She has studied with Kevin Gardiner and Lara Warren at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York, as well as with Elizabeth Brass at the Iyengar Yoga Zentrum Berlin. A Williamstown native, Anne spent years living in Europe before returning to the U.S. in 2013. Anne has deep appreciation for the transformative impact of Iyengar yoga on her life, and is eager to share the gift of Iyengar yoga with beginning and practicing students. Iyengar yoga is alignment-based and makes extensive use of props to help students reach a fuller expression of each pose through attentive adjustments
Ingrid Van Niekerk:
Trained as a Kripalu Yoga teacher, her teaching focuses on building a healthier life both in mind and body on and off the mat. Her style and approach focuses on the synchronization of breath and movement which encourages an inward focus and compassionate self-acceptance, observing the activity of the mind without judgement. She will guide you to a deeper connection with your body through a practice that is intense yet playful. Ingrid is currently completing her iRest Yoga Nidra training Level 2. Her personal practice is Anusara Yoga and Shadow Yoga, along with Neelakantha Meditation as practiced in Blue Throat Yoga.
Sylvia Logan, RYT:
Sylvia has brought her love of movement to the yoga mat. A life-long dancer, she is interested in exploring the different ways one can combine alignment-based asanas into a fluid sequence that pushes the boundaries of functional mobility. Ever since her first dive into Ashtanga yoga with David Swenson almost 20 years ago, Sylvia has been hooked by this meditative yet demanding practice. A week long workshop with Shiva Rea introduced her to the possibilities of dynamic vinyasa flow. The importance of precise alignment became apparent when Sylvia expanded her studies into with Tasha Judson and then an intensive week-long Iyengar Yoga course with Patricia Walden during the summer of 2019. Sylvia completed her 200 hour Teaching Training at Down Under Yoga in Boston this past February, 2021.
Watch the conversation with Sylvia about her yoga journey and teaching!
Deborah Crabbs MacDonald, M.S., RYT:
Come share in Deborah’s love of movement! Her asana classes combine mindful alignment with a dash of playful spirit. Deborah has been practicing and teaching yoga since the late 1990’s. She completed her first 200-hour teacher training at Kripalu in 2000, and her second 200-hour training with Todd Norian, founder of Ashaya Yoga, in 2020. As a teacher, Deborah’s intention is for her students to deepen their self awareness and align body, mind and heart. In addition to mixed-level asana classes, Deborah’s experience has included teaching yoga for groups such as brain injured adults, stroke survivors, breast cancer survivors and seniors.
Shanti Pillai:
Shanti began practicing Hatha Yoga at the age of eleven when her father taught her a sequence from the lineage of Swami Sivananda. Since that time, she has received instruction in various schools, including in the lineages of Sri BKS Iyengar, Sri Patabi Jois, Sri Krishnamacharya, and Swami Paramahansa Yogananda. When she moved to Williamstown in 2019, where she works as a faculty member in the Department of Theatre at Williams College, Shanti began studying with Natasha Judson. She qualified as an Anusara Elements teacher in 2022 and is currently working towards her 300-hours advanced teacher training at the Tasha Yoga Studio. She decided to become a teacher so that she could move more deeply into her own studentship and more systematically share her experience with others. She loves Hatha Yoga because it creates a stable physical and psychological base for everyday activities and meditation. Through willing and regular practice, it moves one towards the full potential of being human.