Jala Yoga

Christa, E-RYT500 hour certified through Charm City Yoga in Baltimore, MD, is the owner of Jala Yoga and runs Jala Yoga’s 200 and 300 hour Yoga Alliance certified teacher trainings.
She has studied primarily with Kim Manfredi, as well as Tom Gillette, Shiva Rea, Maria Garre, Desiree Rumbaugh, and other wonderful and enlightening teachers. While her instruction is rooted in an Ashtanga (a physically rigorous practice) based practice, Christa’s teaching has evolved into a more fluid expression of movement and includes a therapeutic understanding of the body and postures. She is interested in what happens to the mind and body when we push past the limitations we create in our mind and allow ourselves to become stronger, healthier, more attuned to life, and more balanced beings. Christa loves to share the gifts that yoga has offered her and to help each person find a unique path to this joyful practice. Since 2006, she has taught women and men of all ages and physical abilities. In her classes you will sweat, gain physical strength, focus on moving with your breath, learn about anatomy and the philosophy of the yoga practice, as well as try something new and hopefully leave feeling renewed and relaxed.

Judy Jenner, E-RYT500, has been a practicing yogi since 1971, a year before she moved to West Virginia. She received her initial certification at Yogaville (Integral Yoga) and has been teaching since 1992. Judy pursued advanced studies at Yogaville, The Kripalu Center, The Himalayan Institute, and in India. Since 1995, she has staffed and taught at numerous teacher-trainings and workshops at Yogaville. She believes strongly in the yoga of service which has included free meditation classes and private sessions for yoga students with special needs. Her passion is anatomy and classical yoga, the yoga of the ancient sages, and she continues her studies in Vendanta, and interpreting ancient texts relevant to the philosophy, psychology, and science of yoga.

Elaine began her yoga journey over 20 years ago, practicing with her husband as part of a “date night”. Together they fell in love with the feeling of well-being offered by yoga. It was a perfect complement to their mixed martial arts training - improving balance and flexibility while building strength.

Elli White is a 200-hour certified Sivananda Yoga instructor, with a deep interest in yoga as a relationship between mind, body, and spirit. She turned to yoga over 10 years ago as a way to rehabilitate her body from the strain and stress of a vigorous dance schedule. Yoga also turned her interest towards India, where she studied abroad in 2009, with a focus on traditional, spiritual yoga practices. Three years later, in 2012, she returned to India to study at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram in Kerala, for a yoga teacher training program. She finds Sivananda yoga to be challenging, nourishing, rejuvenating, as well as very modifiable for all levels. Her classes offer a strong rooting in a traditional, sequenced practice, with lots of room to experiment and grow.

Crystal initially came to yoga for fitness reasons and enjoyed finding balance between strength and flexibility. The additional benefits of mental clarity, anxiety reduction, and the opportunities for constant improvement are what kept her hooked. Crystal completed her 200 hour training at Jala Yoga with Christa Mastrangelo Joyce in 2012, and received her masters degree in counseling psychology in 2016. She is currently a licensed therapist and has a passion for integrating yoga and therapy.

Lucy Pritchett is a Spiritual Life Coach. She connects natural healers back to their souls. She believes in consciously aligning people to their center, the love they naturally have for themselves, and establishing soul-care so their life can become magical. In order to show people they can create a life full of magic, she uses her intuition to combine her training in meditation, energy skills, emotional healing techniques, and life coaching for a purely unique experience. She also sprinkles in yoga since she recently completed the Jala Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training with Christa Mastrangelo Joyce. She does her work one on one in person, over the phone, and small group workshops. When she isn’t meditating or doing yoga, you can find her in another city, state, or country! She is a world traveler, a karaoke singer, a swimmer, and a wife! She is currently creating digital manifesting workshops. You can connect with Lucy and get to know her better by checking out her Better Butterflies Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/betterbutterflies/

Jake White is an Integrative Energy Medicine Practitioner who graduated from White Winds Institute of Energy Medicine in 2010 and is currently studying at the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute to become an SE Practitioner. Jake has been a guest teacher for the 200HR and 300HR teacher training at Jala Yoga and offered classes on meditation and contemplation. Jake has a private practice in Winchester Va. where he works with individuals and groups, in order to resolve the energetic dynamics that keep us from being a consistent loving support system for ourselves. Jake has a passion for creating dynamic healing environments that invite us to live from a place of vulnerability, authenticity, and an open heart.

Facebook: Jake White, Jake White Healing

Lindsay DeGraw is a wife and mother to four beautiful children, and has been practicing yoga since 2003. Residing in Martinsburg WV, she received her RYT-200 certification in 2017 at Jala Yoga Studio in Shepherdstown, WV. The practice of yoga has served Lindsay through many different seasons of her life, and she is honored and excited to be able to share this amazing practice with others. She is passionate about helping people understand the integrity of poses, as well as the many benefits these poses and Pranayama (breath work) have to offer in health, well-being, and state of mind. She believes that the practice of yoga is a beautiful discipline that will meet you exactly where you are in life. She encourages that yoga isn't about being flexible, nor is it restricted to the fit and skilled. She believes that anybody can practice yoga and that the benefits of it are for everyone!

Mandy came to yoga in 2010 when she returned to Virginia. She had taken classes before but was never brave enough to go to the studio alone. After breaking free from dependence on other to accompany her to class, she joined a studio down the street from her home. After several weeks of classes she felt a deep emotional connection with herself and the practice. Mandy completed her 200hr training with Christa Mastrangelo Joyce in September 2017 and is now teaching at and managing the Jala studios. When Mandy is not teaching or working at Jala she is spending time with her dog, Pocket or trying out new recipes for her juice business. Mandy can be contacted at mandyjalayoga@outlook.com If you're interested in juice cleanses or special events, check out the website www.juicejarwinchester.com

Debbie Coulson has always been a fan of life-long learning. She completed her RYT-200 in 2017 and is currently working to earn her Advanced Yoga Certification with Christa Mastrangelo-Joyce. She enjoys practicing several styles of yoga, but particularly likes a grounding or restorative practice. She hopes to help her students find ease and stability in yoga poses and in life. When she is not teaching, practicing, or studying, you might find her singing barbershop.

As we age we lose balance and flexibility. Many things can throw us off balance but flexibility decides our landing. After many years in emergency medicine Ethel wanted a change. Long an Ashtanga practitioner she decided to explore an education in yoga. Completing a 200 hour training brought a desire to teach. In order to better serve her students Ethel enrolled in Jala Yoga’s excellent advanced yoga teacher training and Jala’s aerial teacher training. I have long believed if there is a miracle on this Earth it is the human body. Combining my tools to teach yoga on the ground or in the air, individuals or partners, offers the pure joy of seeing my students create their own balanced, flexible and healthy bodies.

Theresa’s early path in her yoga journey included practice in Iyengar Yoga. From this she brings a focus on alignment and “being in the pose” from the soles of the feet to the tips of the fingers. Currently, she is excited to be completing her RYT-200 hour training with Christa Mastrangelo Joyce at Jala Yoga.

As an avid outdoor adventurer she hopes to bring a sense of exploration to her classes that can help each student gain an understanding of their personal power, both physically and spiritually. “Live each moment completely and the future will take care of itself. Fully enjoy the wonder and beauty of each moment.” - Paramahansa Yogananda

Sherry began practicing yoga in 1996 in hopes of reducing stress and aid health issues she was struggling with at the time. She found a great appreciation and love of yoga in this process of healing. Feeling the benefits of being a consistent

practitioner, wanting to deepen her knowledge of the practice and be able to share this with others, she completed her RYT-200 hour certification through Jala Yoga in Shepherdstown WV under Christa Mastrangelo Joyce.

Sherry began teaching at Jala Yoga in 2016 and is currently enrolled in the 300 hr training program there.

Sherry is also a Certified Laughter Yoga leader (CLYL)

completing her training under Alexa Fong Drubay in 2016, finding this to be another opportunity to bring happiness to others.

“Through gentle kindness, love and embracing the yogic traditions, My hope is to bring this awareness to other, that they can allow themselves to find balance...... through mind, body and spirit, creating their own space for inner peace, healing and authentic self awareness and love, in their lives” ~ Sherry ~

Kimber began her journey with Yoga in 2006 at the Shepherd University Wellness Center and immediately fell in love with the flow of movement and breath, as well as the sense of community involved. In 2012 while living in Austin, Texas she trained under Gioconda Parker and received her RYT 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training certification. Currently Kimber is working toward a 650-hour Ayurvedic Certification at the Kripalu Institute for Yoga and Health. To Kimber, Yoga is a complete lifestyle. In a balance of kindness and strength, whether she is interacting with others, caring for herself, or nourishing her body, Kimber strives to live her practice everyday. That balance can be found at any of the classes Kimber offers as well. She provides students with the opportunity to challenge and strengthen the body as well as increase flexibility and rejuvenate body and mind.

 

Terry Lindsay, E-RYT 500, is a certified Kripalu and Yin Yoga instructor. He started practicing yoga in 2001 and teaching in 2009. His yoga practice has helped him lose weight, reduce stress, improve his flexibility and core strength, and become more accepting of himself and others. He wants these benefits for his students too. He has expanded his understanding of yoga and his personal practice by studying under the guidance of senior yoga teachers like Doug Keller, John Schumacher, Cyndi Lee, Mark Stephens, Biff Mithoefer, and Ray Long, MD, FRCSC. Terry teaches alignment centered Hatha Yoga and Vinyasa Flow, following a holistic practice founded in traditional yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breathe control), and meditation.

“I’d love to do yoga but I’m not flexible enough!” 9 times out of 10, this is how people respond upon learning I am a yoga teacher. And I get it. Instagram is full of joyful yogis celebrating their yoga journeys with spectacular poses. But what if I told you that you do not have to be flexible to do yoga? That there is a place here for you, no matter what your story? That my own “yoga journey” began 25 years ago as a college athlete, long on strength and short on body awareness, who needed at least a C in dance to graduate with a Music Theatre degree, and one very oddball VHS tape of Yoga with Alan Finger from the clearance bin at Borders Books? And that if I can do this, you totally can, too!

What you can expect from one of my classes: Scalable sequences that will challenge you no matter where you are in your practice. Aerobic flows interspersed with the occasional long hold. The reminder that vinyasa is always optional and that I am an enthusiastic advocate of “vinyasa-less vinyasa yoga”. That space and strength are nothing without each other and that the most advanced posture is the one in which you can breath. Room to reconnect with yourself and to remember that you are enough, just as you are. A little live music during savasana when it is not allergy season. Cameo appearances by a yodeling cat eager to sing you the song of his people. Community.

I am blessed beyond words for my training with my seriously amazing teachers. RYT-200 with Christa Mastrangelo of Jala Yoga and advanced RYT-300 training with Brett Larkin of Uplifted Yoga (completion November 2020). Vinyasa practice with Jeremy Falk. Meta Anatomy with Kristin Leal. Chakra and energetic work with Lucy Prichett. And now you! Yes, you. For we are all teachers of yoga in our own right. “Thank you for teaching me yoga!” -- Jeremy Falk

After years of long commutes and overly hectic work schedules, where sitting at a computer became the norm, Paulette discovered yoga to de-stress. Yoga provided her the needed combination of a steady practice and a shift to a healthier mind-set, at just the right time. She hopes to share connectedness and a compassionate outlook with the yoga community. Paulette is 200 Hour Yoga Alliance certified through Jala Yoga with Christa Mastrangelo Joyce and currently teaches classes at the Jala studio in Winchester.

Karen has been practicing and teaching yoga and meditation for 19 years, and stress management since 2008. She discovered the benefits of yoga as a young, stressed-out mother of three and has been a passionate advocate of the practice since! She often taught “in a pinch” for her own yoga teacher and after much prompting from fellow students as well as her own teacher, finally got her certification in 2004 at Yandara Yoga Institute in Baja, Mexico. Karen has also studied and received certifications from Yama studio in Baltimore, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the Les Mills Bodyflow program. Her clientele over the years has included Berkeley and Jefferson county public schools, hospitals and court systems,DHHR and the Girl Scouts.

She is currently in the process of becoming a yoga therapist for cancer patients and their families and is happy to be teaching at Valley Healths Wellspring facility (cancer specialty organization), Wellness Center and Jala Yoga in Winchester.

After resigning from her 9-5 desk job in April, Karen now teaches 10 classes a week in the Winchester area and will be adding more in the fall, and she is EXCITED about it! She describes her classes as a “mutt mix” of all the best she's learned over the years, “a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” with emphasis on Iyengar alignment, a solid grounding in Hatha and Vinyasa with strong burst of Ashtanga (power yoga) thrown in to keep it lively. Each class begins with a tai chi warm up and setting of intention followed by a vigorous practice with modifications for all levels and ends with 15 minutes of progressive muscle relaxation,positive affirmations and meditation.

A personal message from Karen-
Yoga is for EVERYBODY..... there is a place within each of us that is strong,mentally and physically,that place is different from one person to another and within my classes I present to you a canvas to find this place for yourself, as you are ready ,when you are ready. The hardest part can be coming to the mat, once you get there the rest just happens, and its all good from there. Lastly, finding yourself in a yoga class is an amazing experience. You find yourself in a room full of like-minded people all with similar desires for a physical practice that also penetrates the mind and heart, only the kindest souls wander through these doors,come on in.......