Down Dog Yoga Center

LMT, E-RYT 500, AYS

Cynthia is a master bodyworker of 25+ years with specialized training in Therapeutic Massage, Myofascial Release, Touch for Health, and Abhyanga.  She also holds certifications in Advanced Kripalu Yoga, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and is an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist trained by the Kripalu School of Ayurveda.  Cynthia has been studying and teaching yoga for over 15 years and is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 hour level with Yoga Alliance.  She also founded and co-owned Awake and Aware, a yoga and bodywork studio in Kalamazoo from 2004 to 2014, before merging with Down Dog Yoga Center in 2014.

Cynthia's teaching style and bodywork practices focus on taking you to your inner wisdom by opening the flow of energy to enhance health, vitality, and balance.  Cynthia's intuition and strong multidisciplinary background in holistic health add a rich flavor to all of her offerings.  She is an inspired student of these masterful teachers: Swami Kripalu, Yoganand Michael Carroll, Sarah Powers, Paul Grilley, Angela Farmer, Melissa Spamer and Scott Blossom.

E-RYT 500, C. AYUR, AYS

Kara Aubin is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, ParaYoga teacher, Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, and Holistic Health Coach with 20 years of experience and training in the sciences of Yoga & Ayurveda. Kara weaves the teachings of Yoga, Ayurveda, and holistic living into her clinical practice, group classes, workshops, and private sessions to share radical wellness with you.  Her mission is to guide students toward their bright inherent potential, as well as their right to radical wellness and balance. She finds the practices of Yoga & Ayurveda harness our capacity for self-healing, empower us to do our dharmic work in the world, and help us experience the beauty and bliss that is essential in each of our lives. 

Kara completed her Ayurvedic Practitioner certification, with over 1500 hours of training, under Dr. Vasant Lad at the renowned Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. She currently travels to Pune, India annually to continue her studies and support the clinical programs at the Vasanta Institute of Ayurveda. She is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500-hour level with Yoga Alliance, and has completed the rigorous ParaYoga Level I Certification under Yogarupa Rod Stryker. Kara continues her studies today with Dr. Vasant Lad, Rod Stryker, Sonia Masocco, Amruta Athale, and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. She is also an Initiate of the Sri Vidya tradition, and an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist trained via the Himalayan Institute.

E-RYT 500

Indira Kate has been practicing yoga since childhood and was first certified to teach in 2004 through the Nosara Yoga Institute under the expert guidance of her teachers Don and Amba Stapleton. She went on to work as faculty with Don and Amba for their Interdisciplinary yoga teacher training programs for many years before founding Pavones Yoga Center for Mindfulness in Costa Rica, where she is the director of all 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher trainings. Indira is registered with Yoga Alliance at the distinguished E-RYT-500 level and to date has undertaken thousands of hours in yoga training with Elise Browning Miller (Yoga For Scoliosis), Colleen Gallagher of the Iyengar Tradition, Neurokinetic Therapy, Restorative Yoga Therapeutics with Jillian Pransky, and Bandha Yoga Anatomy with Ray Long, MD, to name a few. She is greatly influenced by her time studying metta meditation with Stephen Cope, open awareness practice with Ram Dass, and contemplative studies through the lens of Zen Buddhism with Roshi Joan Halifax.

Indira brings her background in Philosophy and English Literature and a love for poetry and writing into her classes. Through a seamless weaving of physical alignment, emotional attuning, and a deep understanding of the human psyche, Indira creates inspiring yoga classes that invite students to practice radical self-acceptance and leave class feeling present, grounded, and awakened. She is also passionate about teaching yoga one-on-one yoga and offers private sessions for teenagers and adults with scoliosis using a sequence, based on the Scroth method, for S-curve scoliosis that she developed with professional surfer Leilani McGonagle. Indira is currently residing in Kalamazoo, MI and offers weekly classes, workshops, and private yoga sessions out of Down Dog Yoga Center.

E-RYT 200, RYT 500

Jeremy has been practicing yoga for ten years.  His somatic path began in college and developed in tandem with his dance career in Chicago.  He completed his 200-hour teacher training in 2008 at Global Yoga Center in Chicago, under the guidance of Rhonda Kantor and Rita Knorr.  Their philosophy, deeply rooted in the sutras, took an interdisciplinary approach to teacher training which Jeremy draws upon to this day.  

While in Chicago, Jeremy taught yoga while working as a professional dancer, choreographer and dance instructor.  In 2014, he completed an M.F.A. in Dance at the University of Iowa.  Between his first and second year of graduate school he traveled to India to meditate, practice, and develop a better understanding of the ancient texts and lead by Krishna, Roshan and Fraaz, he completed his 500 hour certification at Rishikesh Yog Peeth.  Jeremy caters his class to the needs of the students and follows the Hatha tradition by fluidly integrating physical and mental yoga practices in a creative, invigorating, yet restorative flow.  In addition to teaching yoga in Kalamazoo, he currently teaches yoga philosophy and asana workshops for the Hothouse Yoga teacher training in Iowa City and is on faculty in the Department of Dance at Western Michigan University. 

RYT 200

Stephanie began practicing yoga as a teenager, first learning out of a book and developing a home practice of movement and meditation. Because of the joy and steadiness this practice brought her, Stephanie decided to pursue additional studies and in 2017-2018 completed the 200 hour RYT program at PeaceLab Yoga in Grand Rapids. This gave her a chance to learn and focus on an alignment-based Hatha yoga system. Since then, Stephanie has been teaching a yoga practice that combines physical alignment with emotional wellness. Stephanie is also our Office Manager at Down Dog Yoga Center.

DC, RYT

E-RYT 200, RYT 500

Christine began studying yoga in 1999 and completed her 200 hour teacher training in 2008 and her 300 hour training in 2016 under the guidance of Melissa Spamer.  Christine is a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance.  She has taught multiple weekly classes since her accreditation and continues to take workshops and trainings to keep her skills fresh and advance her knowledge.  She has worked with cancer and stroke patients and believes that yoga is a great tool to keep us healthy.  Her classes offer gentle yet powerful insight into the infinite nuances of the body, mind, and breath with opportunities to explore a personal experience of joyfulness, peace and balance.  Christine loves to work with everybody and modifies poses to fit any ability.

RYT 500

At the age of 12, Aubrey began a dedicated exploration of yoga as a way to attune to her body and develop a more compassionate relationship with herself and the world. Throughout the fluctuations of adolescence, her yoga mat became a saving grace. At the age of 21, Aubrey completed her 200 hour and 300 hour yoga teacher trainings through the well-known, Yoga Alliance certified program at Kripalu. Using a nurturing and humorous approach, Aubrey loves to share yoga, especially with those who may not normally find themselves in a yoga studio for a multitude of reasons. Her fun and uplifting classes help students connect to the breath, develop more awareness in the body, and experience peace of mind.

E-RYT 200

E-RYT 200

Shelby began practicing yoga at age 17 and completed her 200 hour Vinyasa Teacher Training in East Lansing in 2014. After teaching a short time in Michigan, Shelby moved to Peru for four years where she worked for a non-profit organization focused on women’s empowerment, as well as leading yoga retreats to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu and performing as a singer and songwriter. Shelby uses her bilingual abilities to connect with a wider range of students and bring yoga to communities that have limited access to yoga.

Shelby sees each practice as an opportunity to connect more intimately with our truest form. She often incorporates the voice, guitar, singing bowls, drums, and other healing sounds into her classes and uses the practice of vulnerability, breath, movement, and focus to sweetly challenge her students and provide deep release. Working towards a strong body and a still, radiant mind, her classes explore loving yourself and others fully.

RYT 200

Meryl experienced yoga for the first time nearly two decades ago and has been cultivating her practice ever since. With a part-time career as a Nurse Anesthetist and a family of five to care for, she never thought she would become a yoga teacher, but in 2017 the desire to practice Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga and support local nonprofit organizations led her to seek out and complete her 200 hour yoga teacher training in Benton Harbor, MI. Meryl's studio classes focus on achieving an alignment-based foundation with mindful intention and challenge. She also teaches SUP Yoga and gives back through her organization, Just This SUP Yoga.

RYT 500