Katie Affigato

Katie was introduced to hatha yoga through a PBS television program that aired in the late seventies. She was immediately enthusiastic and tried to not miss an opportunity to follow along with Lilias Folan's beautiful practice. Lilias's demeanor intrigued her and she benefited from using yoga postures to enhance her meditation practice. Many years later it was Katie's great pleasure to have discovered the Prancing Peacock Yoga Studio. After a year of uninterrupted practice, she felt drawn to enroll in the autumn 2009 Teacher Training Program. During this training she received a Reiki 1 attunement. Of course, after receiving that first magical attunement from Liz, it seemed necessary to her to continue and become a Reiki Master.

What Katie loves most about yoga is how practically everyone can enjoy and benefit from it. It is her pleasure to share yoga with others. She particularly enjoys teaching a senior group at a local nursing home as a volunteer. What a wonderful group! It demonstrates that yoga is reachable to all.

Hillary Bardwell

"Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances." - Maya Angleou

Hillary was a synchronized swimmer who also loves yoga, biking, travelling, reading, swimming, running (anything to do with exercising and health), has her Masters and is a Career Management Specialist at Rutgers University. Whew! She's a powerhouse. Don't be fooled though. Hillary is a compassionate and aware instructor who always guides her students from mountain pose to handstand. She would rather be upside down than anywhere else! As an AFAA certified personal trainer and Mat Pilates instructor, Hillary incorporates core awareness, strength building, endurance, and flexibility into her personal practice and teaching.

Nicole Branka

"No worries"

Nicole, or "Nic" is one of our very own Prancing Peacock teacher graduates! She earned her certificate in 2010 after attending our very first summer intensive. Nic doesn't own a cat or a dog. Instead she prefers to keep company with her turtle, Titalee. If she was a vegetable, she would be a tomato and she dances badly - on purpose. Is it possible to not love her?

Nichole says that she is thankful that yoga is a never-ending topic and journey into one's self. As a teacher, she wants to guide others to find their own unique expression through yoga. Join her class that blends confident, loving guidance and hands on adjustments.

Karen Caggia

"At the center of your being you have the answers; you know who you are and you know what you want." - Buddha

Karen Caggia knew she wanted to share the healing attributes of Yoga soon after her first class. She wanted everyone to experience the same sense of well-being, balance and awareness that Yoga brought to her life.

Karen's love of dance and movement supports her passion for the joyful flow of the Vinyasa Style Yoga. She is certified through Yoga Alliance and completed her Teacher Training at the Prancing Peacock Yoga Studio. She hopes to inspire others to find the powerful connection of mind, body and spirit that continues to enrich her own personal journey.

Her yoga classes emphasize a gentle, fun-loving spirit with instruction on how to increase balance, energy, flexibility and happiness for students of all ages.

Karen is a loving mother to 3 grown boys, and in a perpetual state of love with her fabulous husband Greg. Her favorite thing to do is laugh out loud, and you can hear her joyful voice and great sense of humor at every studio event. She does have a few strange likes though; Karen actually likes the smell of skunks - feel free to call her when your dog gets skunked. Her pet peeve is cheap silverware in restaurants! We wonder if she should bring her own when she goes out, just in case! If she were a vegetable, she would be a sweet potato- they are sweet, and she loves the color! Pigeon pose is her favorite yoga pose, mainly for getting the creativity out to fuel her never ending pet projects! She is a realtor by day, or night, whenever you want to see a house. Karen is loving, kind, and always there for you in times of need. Random acts of kindness should be her middle name. We wish there were more Karens in the world!

Linda Carl

"Life is a journey, not a destination."

Linda is a tennis, ski and travel enthusiast and our resident retired synchronized swimmer. She lives with her darling daughters, her wonderful husband, her dog Sophie and her cats Ziggy and Vanilla. When she's not teaching yoga, you can find her on a roller coaster with her girls, talking a sunset walk or indulging in happy hour with her hubby. When asked what vegetable she would be (we often ask our teachers that) she said, "omg!" We have searched long and hard to find this elusive vegetable, but to no avail. When asked what her pet peeve is, she said "nasty people - that's why I do yoga, no nasty people." When asked what super power she would have if she were a super hero, she said, "to make everyone in the world happy and slow it down so people can really appreciate all their blessings." Do you see why she's one of our teachers?!

Kathy Carter

"The days are long but the years are short."

To all outward appearances, Kathy seems like your typical mom. Dig a little deeper, and you'll find a fanatical sci fi enthusiast lurking under her cool exterior. Kathy can go head to head with any comic book-crazed, teenage boy out there. She just looks awesome doing it. AND she can do it while sustaining standing leg raises.

In addition to her sci fi prowess, Kathy has 14 years experience in Spinning, Kickboxing, Step Aerobics, Pilates, and Yoga. Kathy definitely isn't your typical mom.

Kathy lives with her adoring children, loving husband, and two Schipperkes, Widget and Salem (apparently Schipperkes are a breed of dog). Check out our schedule to find out when you can arrange your discussion of the evolution of cat woman's outfit over the decades - whilst doing pilates teasers.

Lynn Cohen

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

Lynn graduated from our very first summer intensive teacher training program in 2010. Her enthusiasm and love of her practice are demonstrated during the lunchtime yoga class she teaches every Monday. It's well worth missing lunch! During the day, she is an executive coach and trainer. She loves to travel with her handsome husband and two sons, walking outside in every kind of weather, reading and especially juicing. She will put anything not nailed down into the juicer and enjoy the heck out of it, and convince you to as well! This could be why she wanted to describe herself as an apple, rather than a vegetable!

Her greatest gift in her classes is to let you know that she deeply, passionately cares about your experience, and will work tirelessly to help you on your journey.

Katie Conner

"Be who you are, and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

Katie, aka Bobby, K-bomb or our personal favorite, Katie-kins, of the Conner clan became a certified yoga teacher in 2008. She teaches kids yoga, beginners and gentle classes. Katie is also a Reiki master. She loves using this healing energy on others, especially all of her animals. She has a BA in English from Temple University and is a certified Red Cross Instructor teaching CPR/AED/First Aid courses at the studio and other locations.

She also loves to cook, and is always whipping up delightful treats for studio functions or just whenever she feels like it! She walks, especially with Sophie, her German Shepard, and writes and paints. She plans on writing a book someday. Among her other duties are studio manager (she can fix anything,) boutique buyer, and keeping Liz focused doing what she is supposed to do! Her pet peeve is anyone else using her mat (our advice- don't try it!) Her favorite pose is child's pose.

Liz Conner

"One day, to our astonishment, we will find that the true self we have been searching for has also been searching for us." - Stephen Cope

Liz is our resident yoga guru and "Chief Peacock." Her light and breezy air inspires all around her to practice with compassion, humor and always with joy. She leads her classes with enthusiasm, and feels this practice is magical- bringing joy, sweat, peace and life to you each time you step onto the mat Liz is an E-RYT 500 Yoga Alliance teacher and has studied with Shiva Rea, Baron Baptiste and many others.

She received her Reiki Master training in 2001, and uses this healing energy everyday. If she's not leading a yoga class or teaching future teachers, you can find her running behind her flock of guinea hens and chickens, herding the goats or leading a pack of dogs around the pond. She has been known to spontaneously break into song and dance and is always laughing.

She envisioned her own yoga studio on a serene, farmhouse setting many years before it became a reality. It is a labor of love that she works tirelessly to perfect. making sure each student is greeted with a smile and feels right at home. She is humbled by what life has provided her (family, a menagerie of pets, homestead, yoga community) and is constantly reminded that life is good. Join her- it will change your life!

Kelly Corbitt

"Live the life you've imagined." - Henry David Thoreau

Kelly first started practicing yoga in 2000 after moving to New York City to pursue an acting career, but quickly realized that she loved yoga more than auditioning. And boy are we glad that she did! We love having her at the Prancing Peacock. Did you know she used to be a bartender in New York? She claims that she was "very clumsy" and "spilled more things than she'd care to admit." We find that tough to believe coming from some one whose grace on the mat is inspiring! Kelly says that the pregnancy and birth of her daughter, Willa Rose, in March 2010, greatly enhanced her yoga practice in magical and unexpected ways, and reconfirmed her passion and dedication to working with pregnant women and babies in yoga.

Kelly now continues her yoga teaching and study, as well as her work as a therapist for children, teens and their families. Yoga helps her find clarity, courage and compassion, and Kelly hopes that she can help her students discover these beautiful gifts as well.

Cristina Grummon

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -Gandhi

Cristina became a certified yoga teacher in 2009 through the Prancing Peacock. She particularly enjoys Vinyasa Flow and likes to give her mixed-level students a challenging but fun class. She works hard to give a consistent feel to her classes without letting them become repetitious or overly familiar.

While this is an admirable biography, we have some insider information you should know! After filling out an extensive teacher questionnaire, we learned the following: Cristina is also known as "Stinky" to her friends! When asked what funny thing we should know, (as if Stinky as a nickname wasn't enough) she told us she arranges her M&M's in in piles by color before she eats them but that might be more weird than funny. We think it is both! Her favorite pose is side plank, and she is an interior designer by day, and a runner in the wee hours of the morning, as well as runs marathons.

Seriously though, Cristina is one of the most loved teachers at the studio, and will create an experience well worth coming back for week after week. She says, "Yoga has helped me with all of my athletic pursuits but where it has the most profound impact was in my understanding of self." Cristina has found that yoga has helped her to learn about her true self better than anything she has ever tried.

Cristina has really made a place for yoga in her life and has also studied Reiki and Ayurveda. She hopes that she can give her students that same positive, empowered feeling she has every time she steps on her mat. She has been an assistant in the teacher training program for the last 2 years and assists and teaches with Liz on retreats. We love you Cristina!

Sherry Hanck

"Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right." -- The Grateful Dead (from Scarlet Begonias)

When you enter the studio, you can always find Sherry by looking for her bright smile and infectious laugh. Once you start practicing with her, you will not want to stop!

Sherry's journey to yoga may not have been clear from the start, but it is no surprise her path led her to the mat. Navigating NYC and a life in the arts to living in Bucks County as a wife and mother of three, the one unchanging (yet always changing) thread was yoga.

Sherry emerged from her first yoga class in 1999 confused and sore yet certain that something special had happened and knew she wanted to be part of it. Her greatest wish is to share the magic of that feeling with as many people as possible. Sherry completed the 200 hour teacher training from the Prancing Peacock in 2011. Her favorite yoga pose is Tadasana - "Not only is it the asana foundation, it is a simple and potent reminder to be present. From there, anything's possible!"

Jackie Jackson

"Our thoughts of yesterday created our life of today. Our thoughts of today create our life of tomorrow. Our life is therefore the creation of our mind." -- The Buddha

Yoga became Jackie's passion upon practicing with Iyengar master Dean Lerner at the Center for Well Being in college. She received her certification with Shari Simon in 2001 with additional 200 hours as a registered teacher with the Yoga Alliance. She feels blessed to have studied with Sean Corne, Shiva Rea, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Sharon Gannon. Kirin Mishra and meditation guru Sally Kempton, among others.

Jackie is fascinated with yoga as a process of self and societal evolution drawing from the styles of Yoga Therapy, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Bikram and mindful vinyasa in her practice/ classes. She loves to use pranayama, meditation, mantra and mudra with a focus on anatomy. Her specialities are pregnancy and chair yoga.

Alison Levine

"We show up, burn brightly in the moment. Live passionately; hold nothing back. And when the moment is over and our work is done we step back, and let go." - Rolf Gates

Alison, known as Al to her friends and family, is a recent Prancing Peacock graduate. Alison loves to teach kids, babies, dogs, adults, everyone! The more contact you have with Alison, the more you will find that she has a heart of gold! This beautiful mother of two loves to sing and dance, (it seems to be a requirement here), write, and secretly sees herself as a DJ-hmm, could be a new position at the studio!

She loves Led Zepplin, and her favorite pose is half moon, because it connects her to heaven and earth. If she had superhero powers, it would be to heal hearts. We already know she does this through her work teaching yoga in a women's shelter!

Theresa Macy

Theresa is an LMT and RYT, and joins us in the Healing Cottage after practicing in both the fitness center and chiropractic office settings. Her personality and style of corrective massage therapy match the energy of the property - calm and peaceful. She brings a soft, yet effective, touch to "deep tissue" massage working to help her clients to regain pain-free ease in motion. Her pet peeve is the misconception that deep tissue therapies are painful. As a cross fiber deep muscle and myofascial release therapist, she believes that a specific and a comprehensive approach to releasing soft tissue restriction facilitates the body's natural ability to repair and restore itself.

Like the ever-present sounds of the rooster crowing and the peacock singing, Theresa's love and knowledge for anatomy resonates throughout her conversation with her clients and students alike. She believes that the best gift you can give your body, mind and spirit is your attention. The thought helping her clients feel ease and vitality at every age lightens her heart.

When Theresa is not next to her massage table, teaching in front of a class, or on her mat in the studio, she may be enjoying a day in her garden where weeding and bird watching are the days exciting events. On weekends watch for the convertible MG Midget in town and you are likely to see Theresa navigating a rallye with her husband Larry. They hold the record for the most first prize wins in their club. Her most treasured days are when her children, granddaughters, and 7 brothers and sisters with families in tow gather in a backyard for a barbecue and a swim.

June Miller

"Just breathe" and "Let it go"

Once upon a time, many moons ago, June was known as "June Bug". Now we know her as "that teacher who will work muscles you never knew you had". But that's only if you're fortunate enough to wind up in one of her popular classes. This teacher has a huge heart and will take very good care of you in class. By day, she is an air traffic controller! This powerful yogini literally has people's lives in her hands.

June is certified in Power Yoga through Yoga for Life, and has studied Ashtanga Yoga with David Swenson and many other teachers. She believes that it has given her personal knowledge of the value of yoga and pilates for relieving stress and stress related physical ailments. She is eager to share her joy of yoga and believes the class should be both fun and challenging. When jokingly asked what were the reasons for the Civil War, in our teacher survey, she replied, "because no one was doing yoga!"

Gisèle Mogan

"Do not be afraid of change, be afraid of not changing."

In 2010, Gisele moved to Long Island with her loving husband to explore new opportunities. Prior to that, she was an elementary school French teacher in Canada for 14 years. Gisele has been practicing yoga since 1997. She was initially drawn to yoga for the physical benefits but soon discovered yoga's ability to deeply nourish and heal the mind, body and spirit. In 2007, she began teaching yoga to children and teens.

Since coming to the United States, Gisele has continued her training, becoming a 200-hour certified yoga teacher through Yoga Works in New York. Since then, she has expanded her knowledge and deepened her practice through multiple in-depth teacher trainings: Yoga Ed (elementary and high school), Radiant Child Yoga Program, Yoga4Kids and Yoga Monde. She has also completed more advanced training in teaching Restorative Yoga. Gisele found deep healing in Yoga's restorative practices and continues to help and guide students learn to listen to their body's own natural wisdom. She is always inspired by her students and teachers that she is privileged to teach and meet regularly.

Gisele's students describe her as being a warm, nurturing and compassionate presence. Her healing gift of gentle touch has guided many students to create a heart-centered and supported practice. She will often remind her students to "Give themselves permission to do less instead of more". According to Gisele, it is impossible to outgrow yoga because it reveals more to you every time you practice and if you're lucky, you'll even have the opportunity to learn a little French in her class!

Crystal Widmann

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

Crystal is another one of our very own Prancing Peacock graduates. Long before she blossomed into the beautiful and accomplished yogini you see before you today, she tells of the first time she practiced yoga:

"I ran out of the house to make it to class on time and grabbed a sweatshirt out of the dryer. As I was moving through the sun salutations, there was a surprise article of clothing that fell out of my hood and onto the mat for everyone in the class to see! I was SO embarrassed!"

Today, Crystal is a School Counselor and a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher. Crystal teaches each class from a space of joy and intention and tries to create a class atmosphere where students feel empowered to grow in their own personal practice - even if their unmentionables end up in the middle of the floor for everyone to see.

Amanda Calisti

"Love conquers all; let us, too, surrender to love."

Amanda was introduced to yoga through her Grandmother and role model, Mimi. Known to her friends and family as Mandy, she is an extremely passionate and upbeat person! If she had super hero powers, you would find her flying in the clouds. When she is not on the mat, you will find her engaged in movie watching, dancing, and interior design and organizing her drawers! When she steps onto her mat, the world around her stops and gathers in her soul. To her, Yoga is more than an exercise; it is a lifestyle that brings happiness and love to those she shares it with.

Mandy loves her cat Patches, who terrorizes her regularly with his favorite activity, catching mice! Her favorite pose is dancer- which suits her perfectly, as she is always dancing about. As a graduate of the Prancing Peacock Teacher Training program, and a Reiki 2 practitioner, she seeks to continuously better herself and her practice. Join Amanda and let her lead you down that path on a beautiful spiritual journey.

Helene Goldberg

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Helene has also been known as Helene the Bean in her first incarnation! She is a much loved teacher and guider of souls along this yoga journey, with her smile and confident style of teaching. Just don't ask her to chant in class as she is totally tone deaf! Her day job is an accountant, but her true loves are hanging out with her wonderful husband, two amazing children, watching movies and laughing! She has a beautiful Goldendoodle named Lacy, and if she was a vegetable she would be a broccoli because of the curly top!

Helene loves all yoga poses, but her favorite is triangle. Helene began practicing yoga to heal a pulled hamstring that she injured from running. She instantly fell in love with yoga and the way she felt at the end of the yoga class. When the opportunity to participate in Prancing Peacock's teacher training program arose, she knew this was meant to be. In 2009 Helene completed the 200 hour Vinyasa teacher training program at Prancing Peacock.

Helene's teacher style is energetic with attention to alignment and breath. She believes you should feel yoga from the inside out and enjoy your practice. Her classes weave breath work and flowing asanas. Helene loves experiencing all the gifts that yoga has to offer, and enjoys passing those gifts on to her students. You will find Helene guest-teaching many of our classes, as well as mentoring many of the future teachers in our teacher training program.