Deva
Parnell, E-RYT500+,
YACEP, founder and director of
Discovery Yoga Center, is a certified
professional level Kripalu Yoga
teacher and Discovery Yoga Lead
Trainer. She has been a yoga
instructor and teacher-trainer since
the 1970's and has trained more than
2600 yoga teachers. A Kripalu Center resident and
senior program
teacher (1983-1995), she
developed many of Kripalu's core yoga
programs and has been instrumental in the
development of Kripalu Yoga and Kripalu
Yoga Teacher Training. As Sadhana
Acharya, she coordinated daily yoga
practice and yoga education for the
350-member resident staff. After leaving her position as director, coordinator and curriculum developer of Kripalu
Yoga Teacher Training, she began training teachers at
Discovery Yoga
Center through her own RYT200 program. She
also developed the center's RYT300 Master
Yoga Teacher Certification program, which
includes a faculty of world-class
teachers. Deva's
detailed, intuitive teaching style
reflects the depth of her personal
practice and her many years of study and
training in a variety of yoga traditions,
both in the U.S. and in India.
"Deva
is refreshing in her
genuineness. She says it
like it is and keeps the
outlook based in reality...
An amazing teacher! She can
get me into my body like
nobody else."
-Catie Dean, Kripalu Yoga
Teacher
Scott
Farber, Ph.D.,
YACEP/E-RYT500,
is a certified Discovery Yoga Lead
Trainer. He has
a doctorate in
philosophy and holistic education, and
over twenty years experience as a
university professor and educational
trainer. Practicing
yoga, t'ai chi and meditation for nearly 40
years, he is a graduate of
Discovery Yoga's Master
Teacher Training program, having
studied with Amrit Desai as well as Deva
Parnell and other senior
Kripalu teachers. A
longtime apprentice teacher in
the School of T'ai
Chi Ch'uan, he also is trained in various
forms of meditation, including TM,
Kabbalah, Qigong, Buddhist, Arica,
Osho, and African drumming.
Having taught in Hawaii, Asia, Europe and
Central America as well as throughout the
US, he now teaches Kripalu Yoga, Yin
Yoga,
Chakra
Yoga, Dynamic Gentle Yoga,
and Yoga Basics
Training courses, and
leads 200- and 300-hour
Discovery
Yoga Teacher Training
programs. His
integrative healing sessions blend Eastern
and Western bodywork modalities, including
energy work and sound healing. He
founded 5 Waves Learning to
integrate the art of tranformational
learning with the science of
holistic wellness. He is an avid surfer,
paddleboarder and
waterman.
Claudia Saucy aka
"Karuna Pragya"500-CYT,
began practicing yoga and meditation at
age 18, and later in life completed her 500-hour
certification under Don and Amba
Stapleton, renown
teachers in the Kripalu tradition. She studied
Ayurveda with Dr. Vasant Lad and Matthew
Remski, among others, and is an Ayurveduc
Lifestyle coach, a Bach Flower
practitioner, and a private YogaGuide®.
Holding a master’s degree in education,
she moved from teaching academic subjects
to children to teaching yoga in a variety
of settings in Costa Rica, Canada, Italy,
and the USA. Karuna brings to her Discovery Yoga
classes the qualities that she is named
for: karuna
(compassion)
and pragya
(discernment).
Combining breath, focus, and mindful flow,
her movement explorations develop
strength, and offer opportunities for
relaxation and opening. Karuna's classes
are an invitation to hold yourself with
kindness while you explore with awareness
the unique makeup of your
body-mind-spirit.
Micki
“Padma” Higgins,
E-RYT500, is a certified Discovery Yoga
Lead Trainer and owner
of Padma Yoga studio in Palm Coast,
Florida, where she offers 200-hour
Discovery Yoga Teacher Training
programs. She became interested in yoga
at age 56, and what began as a “once in
a while stress relief class” became her
passion. After receiving her
200-hour Discovery Yoga Teacher
certification in the Kripalu tradition,
she continued her professional training,
attending workshops with world-class
teachers and completing her 500-hour
Master Yoga Teacher certification
through Discovery Yoga. Micki is also a
certified Yin Yoga instructor, and a
Yoga Alliance continuing education
provider.
Suzanne Tonkinson,
RYT500, a certified
Kripalu Yoga Teacher and teacher
trainer for over 16 years, serves as
director/trainer on the Discovery Yoga
Teacher Training team. Coming from a background of
physical fitness and aerobics, Suzanne
is a life-long student of yoga with an
ever-increasing appreciation for the
balance and wholeness of the practice.
She embraces yoga as a gift that she
feels passionate about sharing with
others. Believing that our greatest
teacher lies within, Suzanne's
intention is to provide an atmosphere
of self-acceptance and affirmation to
open a path for self-discovery.
Eryn Boudreau,
RYT500, is a physical therapist with
over 20 years experience working
with a variety of patients including
children with cerebral palsy and
downs syndrome, adults with chronic
pain, and stroke patients. A Kripalu
Yoga teacher, certified at Discovery
Yoga Center, she has trained with a
variety of master-teachers, and
utilizes her physical therapy skills
and yoga experience to compassionately
guide students toward improved health
and well-being. Eryn enjoys teaching
yoga to all levels of students from
athletes to students with
neuromuscular difficulties. In
addition to teaching group classes,
she works with students individually
and has served on the Yoga Teacher
Training team.
Beverly Jund,
RYT500, is a certified Kripalu Yoga
teacher, and is continuing her education
to become a Yoga Therapist. When Beverly
moved to Florida 12 years ago, she was
fortunate to practice Yoga with Joan Ryan
and is truly grateful for Joan and Deva
Parnell's mentoring, training and love.
Beverly is also a certified Pilates
instructor and in her spare time enjoys
photography, knitting, and playing with
her dog, Cricket. Beverly also serves on the Yoga
Teacher Training team.
Sarah Baringer Smith,RYT200, a Saint
Augustine native and graduate of
Flagler College, is a Kripalu Yoga
teacher, certified at Discovery
Yoga Center.
She teaches
classes and serves on the teacher
training team. Sarah
believes that yoga is about tuning
into breath and body, exploring limits
and boundaries, and letting go of the
things that do not serve us. By
allowing ourselves to mindfully and
lovingly connect with the physical
self, we release old emotions that
limit us; and we heal ourselves: mind,
body and Spirit. By being truly
present,
we create the space and strength to
nourish ourselves and understand our
connection to
"All That Is".
Stephen Shambach, RYT500,
LMT, is a certified
Kripalu Yoga instructor
trained at Discovery Yoga Center.
His practice focuses on
moving through meditation to find peace in
the present moment. A licensed massage
therapist, Stephen
graduated from the Florida
School of Massage, and is
also certified in Thai Yoga Massage.
Using his knowledge of kinesiology and
bodywork, he helps yoga students and
massage clients find self-appreciation and
body awareness.
LeeAnn Kendall has been a yoga practitioner for
nearly 30 years. She is a certified
Discovery Yoga Teacher and is working on her
500 hour certification. When she first started yoga there
were no yoga studios in St. Augustine. She
was fortunate to meet a yoga teacher and was
taught one-on-one. She lived in California
for 10 years and studied many forms of Hatha
yoga. LeeAnn has a Master’s degree in
Spiritual Psychology, is an ordained
Minister of A Course in Miracles, practices
and teaches Emotional Freedom Technique (aka
Tapping) and does private counseling and
coaching. LeeAnn loves
outdoor photography and is a holistic social
media marketing manager. She currently
teaches multi-level Kripalu yoga classes.
