Meet Our Expert Yoga Instructors

Susan (she/her), (E-RYT500, YACEP, Certified Sound Healer; Certified Integrative Reflexologist, and Founder of Thrive) has been teaching integrated methods for human change and transformation for 20 years. Susan studies, practices, and teaches from her more than 20 various yoga styles and physical healing modalities.

With Susan, you will receive personal attention to enhance your practice through anatomy cueing and self-awareness. Susan weaves her class sequences with instructional tips, ancient, science-backed techniques, and humor. As a curious student, you can expect to be challenged to learn foundational and advanced yoga methodologies that will rock your world. 

As a Longevity Specialist, Susan advises and teaches students the target practices and modalities that improve life today and can enhance healthspan and lifespan. 

Daniele (she/her), (RYT500) walked out of her first yoga class 14 years ago feeling elated. She knew the practice was meant to stay.

Daniele comes from a home steeped in the visual arts. At 15, she went to a conservatory for classical voice and later opera. As a singer, Daniele used her body and voice as tools to create bonds between people and to move listeners through music. After many years of rigorous preparation, regimentation, and riding the emotional roller coaster of a performing artist, she finds solace, clarity, and acceptance on the mat.

In Daniele’s classes, you can expect to move, build strength, get to know yourself, and smile. Daniele honors her students’ inner wisdom by fostering a space that is physically and emotionally safe. Her philosophy is that yoga is an instrument by which we may help one another to realize a kinder world.

Felicia (she/her), (RYT500; E-RYT 200) took her first yoga class in 2006 and immediately found what she was looking for—a physical challenge, a spiritual comfort, and relaxing aftereffects. She knew she had to share this with others, and subsequently completed her 200 and 300 hour teacher trainings at Thrive. As a life-long teacher, Felicia’s passion and expertise shines through in all of her offerings at Thrive. Felicia is also highly involved in development and mentoring of teacher trainees. 

Felicia teaches hot vinyasa, core vinyasa classes and excels at breaking things down for beginners. She has a popular following in various workshops. 

Felicia is passionate about the co-minglings of balance, inner peace, and revitalization, and has even gotten many students at the studio knitting — discovering the meditative properties of her other favorite passion! She has been teaching exclusively at Thrive since 2009.

Mary (she/her), (RYT500) signed up for her first in-studio yoga class 5 years ago to help relieve prenatal issues during pregnancy and was immediately hooked. Mary loves coming into the studio for class, especially now that her 3 children are a bit older, but she never misses a chance to open her mat up at home. She says that the time spent playing on her mat at home helps bring inspiration to her fun vinyasa sequencing.

Her vinyasa classes have been influenced by former years of ballet and a natural love for being upside down. Expect a strong dynamic flow with some advanced posture play. Mary aims to bring body awareness and empowerment to all students ranging from a curious beginner to a seasoned yogi.

Jane (she/her), (E-RYT500) was introduced to yoga and meditation as a child by her mother, and that in and of itself is special for her, but it wasn’t until she found Thrive that she really integrated yoga into her life. 

Jane trained at Duke University’s Integrative Yoga for Seniors, the Brain Longevity® Therapy Training offered by the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation, and is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). In 2012 she founded Sarasvate, Yoga Designed for the Brain, whose mission is to help prevent Alzheimer’s. Jane is also a Teacher Trainer at Thrive. 

Jane enjoys giving students the ability to align in a pose and connect it to their bodily experience through breath. Her teaching style is challenging but accessible to all, encouraging students to come as they are. Her classes are experiential, incorporating music, gongs, singing bowls, writings, yogic concepts, and themes, and include hands-on assists.

Katie (she/her), (RYT500; Reiki I & II certified; Thai Massage certified) is a Health Education Specialist and gives health education seminars and webinars on various health topics and implements wellness and fitness programs for employees in offices. She also teaches chair yoga and meditation sessions for the employees and has been teaching yoga for over 6 years at multiple locations. She has a passion for teaching hatha, vinyasa, yin, and restorative yoga. When she is not doing yoga, one of her other favorite activities is lifting weights. Her favorite poses are hip openers and heart openers.

Alyson (she/her), (C-IAYT, E-RYT500) began practicing yoga in her early 20s to ease the stress of work and running. It wasn’t until she became a mom, though, that she really started to connect with yoga and its capacity for self-care. In her classes, Alyson aspires to empower students to be strong, centered, and resilient. She hopes to inspire curiosity, self-reflection, and maybe a little humor when things get challenging.

Alyson has dedicated the last 12 years to consistent yoga study and teaching. She completed her first 200-hour yoga teacher training at Inner Strength Studios in Boston and subsequently completed a 500-hour yoga teacher training with David Vendetti and the Yoga Liberation Front training program and an additional 300-hour teacher training with Thrive Yoga. Alyson has also completed additional training in yoga sequencing, hands-on-assists, prenatal yoga, and yin yoga. Alyson holds a B.S. in Mass Communication from Boston University, an M.S. in Health Promotion Management from American University, and, most recently, an M.S. in Yoga Therapy from the Maryland University of Integrative Health.

Alyson is a mom to two beautiful, active boys that keep her very busy. When she has time to herself, she loves to be outside. The beach and local hiking trails are her favorite places to explore.

Lalita (she/her), (RYT200) was introduced to yoga by her older brother in 2008. Her enthusiasm for sharing yoga with others is influenced by the magic that happens on the mat that transfers to an authentically harmonious life off the mat.

Lalita’s certifications include Yoga Therapy Rx Level 1, Sound Healing Practitioner, Professional Thai Massage Therapy Level 5, Pre and Postnatal Yoga, Perinatal Education and Feng Shui. 

Lalita is a full-spectrum birth worker and has experience as a labor coach in assisting births, supporting loss, and providing volunteer doula services for vulnerable populations. She is a Senior Crisis Hotline Counselor for a non-profit mental health organization and has two bright and lovely young children who take up all her time. She enjoys being in beautiful spaces, exploring nature, learning, tapping into creativity, partaking in new experiences, and resting.

Ashira (she/her), (RYT-500, Licensed Massage Therapist, Professional Breathworker, Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapist, and certified in: Reiki I & II, Meditation, and Alchemical Alignment for Trauma Resolution)) is a holistic healer, mindfulness teacher, and coach with extensive trauma training. She is passionate about supporting people with emotional, physical, and spiritual transformation. Her favorite methods for change are breath and bodywork and she loves teaching mindful movement and meditation. Ashira is a representative for the United Nations on behalf of the International Breathwork Foundation.

Ashira has made a career based on her intuition—reading bodies, voices, and energy for 25 years, as a Special Agent/Criminal Investigator and Deputy Director for the Federal Government, a world champion poker player, and a competitive fighter. She now lives a heart-centered life and has been told loving-kindness is one of her greatest superpowers. She adores animals and spending time at her family farm in West Virginia. 

Alexis (she/her), (RYT200) started taking yoga in 2003. Yoga, breathing and meditation became her refuge in 2016 when she had to give up teaching ballet to fulfill her responsibilities as a sandwich generation caregiver. After her parents passed away, she decided to deepen her yoga practice in the Thrive Teacher Training.

Alexis’s yoga classes benefit from her decades of dance training and teaching experience. Her dance education in alignment is enhanced by her understanding of the body’s energy centers (chakras) from yoga. Her creative sequences help students of all levels increase strength, balance and range of motion. Alexis is a playful and supportive teacher who lives for those “ah” moments when everything clicks and students find their power.

Liz has advanced training in Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga, and practices Reiki and Sound Healing.  Liz also regularly swims with US Master’s Swim Club. Liz enjoys time with her two college-age daughters when they are in town, and with her husband, their Labrador, and three cats.

Meg (she/her), (RYT 500) is an eclectic Yogini who began meditation as an adolescent to manage chronic illness. If she’s not in the studio or home spoiling her pets, you may catch her on a hike or at a local venue attending a concert like AJR, Trevor Hall or Imagine Dragons! After diving deeper into the Yama & Niyamas in college, realization hit hard and fast that Yoga was the path she was meant to follow. She truly believes Yoga is for all bodies and holds a deep passion for Trauma Informed work, helping students stabilize their Central Nervous Systems. As a teacher, she is honored to help students piece together their unique practice. Asana with Meg tends to be on the gentler side most days, allowing students to explore their limits while inviting deep emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual release. Expect to integrate complementary practices such as Pranayama, Meditation Techniques, Crystal Healing & Aromatherapy for a well-rounded practice.

Willow (she/her), (RYT-200, LMT, Reiki Master-Teacher) offers more than just a physical practice. Through a rich blend of presence, embodiment, and heartfelt joy, Willow’s classes are an invitation for you to connect deeply with yourself. Expect an invigorating flow with ample options to suit your level, balanced with breathwork and meditative practices that will leave you feeling revitalized from the inside out.

With over 10 years of yoga and meditation experience, Willow has experienced firsthand the inspiring benefits that these practices bring to our lives. She completed her 200-Hour Vinyasa Yoga Training in 2020, and continued her education through advanced study in Alignment-Based Yoga with Annie Carpenter and Tantric Hatha Yoga with Rod Stryker, in addition to frequent silent meditation retreats up to 4 weeks in length. As a Licensed Massage Therapist and a full-time student pursuing her Bachelors of Science in Nursing, Willow brings a refreshing and holistic approach to her teaching that aims to support health, vitality, and vibrancy on every level.

As a teacher, Angelina strives to provide a grounded practice that helps students tune into the sensations of their body and their present moment experience. She feels passionate about blending Yoga Nidra with art-making – look out for some workshop opportunities. Angelina also weaves yoga nidra into her other forms of teaching when the opportunity presents itself.

Off the mat, Angelina works in Crisis and Suicide Prevention for a local non-profit organization. She loves spending time in nature, with her family, with her pets and with animals. Angelina believes in art and “the need to make special” as a primal human need and focuses this as a daily practice.

Gi (she/her), (RYT 200) found yoga at a dark time in her life and it became the start of an eye opening and healing journey. She’s now made it her mission to help people find their way, learn to love themselves, and show them they can do things they didn’t think possible.

When it comes to yoga, Gi specializes in beginner and plus size friendly sequences, to help people on their journey and show them that all bodies can do yoga. You can expect to have slower paced classes that honor our body, and to leave class feeling more uplifted than when you walked in.

If she’s not doing yoga, she’s playing video games or making content for TikTok like ASMR, which is another one of her passions.

Kris Harris (they/them) (RYT200, Reiki Master and Certified Sound Healer) is a dance artist, educator, and yogi. They began practicing yoga over ten years ago while dancing in New York, to help care for their body and release chronic anxiety. Kris completed their 200hr YTT at Thrive, and through Conscious Connected Breathwork at Thrive they are training to become a professional breathworker. Breathwork and yoga have been Kris’ best partners in healing around their Trans/Queer identity and recovering from different traumas.

Kris has an MFA in Dance from the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies and a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University. As a dancer, Kris choreographs and teaches throughout the DMV and teaches at George Washington University and American University.

Inspired by their dance journey, Kris’ yoga classes focus on the healing power of movement, self-discovery and community building. They love to incorporate inversions and stability/mobility play into their sequences. Kris’ experience in teaching trauma-informed Contact Dance Improvisation sparkles through in their assists and partner yoga practices.