Kristen Barfield, RN-BSN
Owner of Blooming Life Yoga + Pilates
200 E-RYT
Yoga Alliance Certified Educational Professional (YACEP)
BASI PILATES COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING 500HR
I knew even before attending my first Yoga class that there was something special about it. It was something that kept calling to me as I raised my family and worked nights as a Labor and Delivery Nurse. I kept thinking that there had to be something more than the traditional fitness paradigm. After attending my first Hatha class, I knew I was home.
My Pilates journey started years ago with Pilates Mat classes and then additional classes with a variety of Pilates Equipment. Just like my Yoga training, I new I would add a Comprehensive 500 Hr Pilates Training to my toolbox. Just another way for me to share that the connection of the physical body and the mental body is our path to optimal health and wellness.
My goal as a teacher, whether it be Yoga or Pilates, is to help students find their “balance” physically and mentally.
Love-Practice-Growth-Community are the cornerstones of my teaching and what I offer to my students everyday!
Favorite Quote: "Do Your Practice and All is Coming." ~ Sri K. Patthabi Jois
Ahna Hoke
500 E-RYT
Yoga Alliance Certified Educational Professional (YACEP)
Director/Lead Trainer BLY 200-Hr YTT
Lead Trainer Exalt 300-HR YTT
Ahna first stepped onto her yoga mat in 1992 in central Pennsylvania and has been immersed in the practice ever since. She has been teaching since 2001 and is a registered teacher with Yoga Alliance at the E-RYT 500 hour professional level. Ahna studied extensively for ten years at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts, and 8 years in the style of Anusara Yoga. Most recently, she has been practicing the comprehensive path of functional yoga, teaching with an inspiringly new and fresh perspective that acknowledges that every body’s yoga is different. She has also studied with multiple leading world-renowned teachers receiving over 1500 hours of training in different styles of Hatha Yoga, and over 160 hours of training in meditation and pranayama. Ahna’s primary philosophical foundation is Tantra. This life-affirming lineage has had a powerful impact on Ahna’s life and teaching, influencing her personal practice to expand from a foundation of grace and love.
Ahna’s passion and enthusiasm for yoga offers students an opportunity to explore the many joys and benefits of yoga in a safe and friendly space. With a down to earth demeanor, her classes are lighthearted and playful, creating a fun and focused arena for growth, both physically and spiritually. Ahna skillfully infuses the elegance of bioenergetic principles with slow-flowing vinyasa. She incorporates themes and philosophical teachings into dynamic sequencing to enhance the students' experience on and off the mat.
In addition, she is devoted to daily practices of pranayama (yogic breathing) and meditation and recognizes that the breath is the link that brings the mind, body, and spirit together. She has a deep passion for anatomy & physiology, meditation and pranayama and is the director and primary teacher of Ahna Hoke Yoga’s accredited 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program, and 100-Hour In-Depth Studies Course. Additionally, Ahna is partnered with Michelle Finch of Exalt Yoga. They co-lead a 300-Hour Advanced Functional Yoga Teacher Training, which infuses all the limbs of yoga in an integrated and empowering path.
When not on her mat, Ahna can be found walking and climbing around in nature, doodling and digging in her backyard, singing with her husband Chuck, visiting her family in Pa, or most likely at the farmer’s market, or in the kitchen.
Sally Bassett, Ph.D.
500 E-RYT Instructor
FOUNDER, PEACE THROUGH YOGA FOUNDATION
Sally has been teaching yoga for over two decades. As well as being a yoga instructor, Sally is a humanitarian, world traveler, seeker, and founder of Peace through Yoga Foundation. Sally has led groups to over 120 countries as a result of her 40+ year career in the travel industry where she went from flight attendant to CEO. Sally’s yoga journey has included a 12-year ownership of two yoga studios before selling in 2014, teaching yoga and philosophy as an adjunct professor at Butler University for seven years and co-founding the Yoga and Spirituality program at Christian Theological Center in Indianapolis, IN. Sally teaches at Blooming Life Yoga in the village of Zionsville, IN and leads retreats around the world.
Sally Bassett, Ph.D. | President/Chief Passion Officer | Peace through Yoga Foundation
Darya Bowskill
200 E-RYT
500hr in progress with Yoga Medicine®
Darya began practicing yoga twenty years ago while at college. Initially drawn to the physical practice, it was during her masters program in art history that Darya started to delve deeper and began to truly appreciate the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of the yoga practice.
Since completing her 200hr teacher training in 2003, Darya has had opportunities to study with many different yoga teachers, including Shiva Rea, David Regelin and Tiffany Cruikshank. She is currently completing her 500hr teacher training with the Yoga Medicine school.
While Darya's classes are centered around vinyasa flow, she draws on her Yoga Medicine training to adapt the practice to suit all students and create greater stability and health within the body.
Darya has lived in Indianapolis for the past twelve years with her husband and cats. They enjoy traveling and exploring the world. Darya is also an artist, specializing in oils and watercolors and taking inspiration from the natural world.
Carolyn Pool
200 RYT
Carolyn completed her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training through Ahna Hoke Yoga in partnership with Blooming Life Yoga + Pilates Studio. She enjoys teaching functional vinyasa classes, encouraging students to focus on how a pose feels rather than comparing themselves to the yogi beside them. The functional approach is an acknowledgement that just as our bodies look different, so will each individual’s yoga poses. Carolyn’s goal is that students leave class feeling grounded and empowered; and that through this practice, they gain more compassion for themselves and each other.
Lover of brunch, tea lattes, and all things gluten free, Carolyn enjoys visiting local restaurants anywhere she travels. Outside of the studio, you can usually find her chasing sunsets, buying houseplants or adventuring with her son.
Olga Keegan
200 E-RYT
Olga’s youngest son, Ian, introduced her to yoga in 2013, the year before he left for college and emptied her nest. After 15 years of teaching Jazzercise fitness classes, she longed for something else to share with others. She was drawn to yoga philosophy, the fluidity of vinyasa class, the connection of movement to the breath, and the serenity she felt after yoga practice.
Olga has taken ballet from age preschool to adulthood, was a gymnast in high school and a runner since college. All these disciplines helped her learn to teach the intricacies of yoga asanas and the art of yoga flows with the added dimension of cueing proper alignment and placement of the body for a safe, comfortable practice. Her classes include creative sun salutations and offer fluid movements that integrate the breath and mind while challenging the muscles and body. She hopes students leave class with feelings of calmness and centering. Olga’s classes are infused with yoga philosophy so one can carry lessons from the mat to life off the mat.
When not teaching yoga, Olga enjoys traveling internationally and stateside, biking, hiking, boating, photography, interior design, and reading. Olga is also a full time Realtor. She’s happiest spending time with family and friends
Nicole Cross
200 RYT
My personal yoga journey began over 10 years ago while working long hours as a corporate lawyer. I was initially drawn to yoga for its physical aspects - I thought it would be a great low-impact exercise and stress reliever. It was all that and so much more, and it wasn’t long before I was hooked. Yoga has taught me so many things, including self-awareness, self-compassion, and how to quiet my mind and connect with my body and the present moment. My yoga practice continues to grow and evolve as I grow and evolve.
I enjoy teaching vinyasa style classes that emphasize functional alignment - how a yoga asana or posture feels in your body is more important than making sure the “right shape” is achieved. My goal is to create an inviting atmosphere in which my students feel welcome, supported, and empowered in their yoga journeys.
I completed my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training through Ahna Hoke Yoga in partnership with Blooming Life Yoga & Pilates Studio, and I am so grateful and excited for this teaching opportunity!
When I am off my mat, I enjoy traveling, reading and playing board and card games with my husband and 2 kids.
Audrey McCann
500 E-RYT
Audrey began her yoga journey in the 1970’s watching Lilias Folan on a black and white TV. Lilias was on a public television station and her set looked like a living room. Yoga was comfortable and accessible. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that she experienced an actual class in person. It was a meditation class that assisted her through a difficult period of time. She started teaching in 2009. She has practiced and studied with Power, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Yin teachers. To Audrey the ability to encounter challenging postures is a metaphor for life. Audrey’s classes are accessible, grounding, and rejuvenating. Come as you are and leave ready for life.
Laurie Miller
500 E-RYT
Yoga Alliance Certified Educational Professional (YACEP)
CYT
Laurie has been taking and teaching yoga for 39 years and is still as passionate today as she has always been.
Laurie is trained in yoga therapy and has worked with athletes and clients with injuries and disabilities privately. Laurie’s blended background, along with her many years of experience and her passion for yoga makes classes fun and engaging, as well as transformative.
Although she takes her yoga very seriously, Laurie believes that a sense of humor with a sprinkling of yogic wisdom helps her students relax and enjoy the practice more. She is delighted and honored to share the gift of yoga with anyone who even has a spark of interest in yoga and the many benefits it offers.
Laurie has taught in multiple teacher trainings and loves sharing with new teachers who are on the same path!
Mariah Rachelle
200 RYT
Mariah grew up exposed to yoga, practicing Baptiste DVDs with her mother and went on to develop a deeper and more personal practice in college. She was experiencing high amounts of anxiety and stress and turned to yoga to alleviate the physical symptoms she was experiencing. She noticed the physical and emotional benefits of yoga and breath-work almost immediately. After watching her grandmother complete her 200 hour teacher training, she was inspired by what her grandmother was learning and practicing and wanted to learn for herself. She decided to take the opportunity between undergraduate and graduate school to pursue her 200-hour and completed training in December 2021.
Mariah appreciates the overwhelming benefits yoga offers to any who desire, especially the profound positive impact it has on those who have experienced trauma. She sees and values yoga as a practice that offers individuals to explore what they are feeling and connect the mind and body through breath and movement. She is honored to have the gift of practicing and sharing that practice with others.
Karla Becker (Sat Bachan Kaur)
M.S., 200 E-RYT
Yoga Alliance Certified Educational Professional (YACEP)
Hatha and Kundalini Yoga Certifications
Karla has been a yoga teacher for over 20 years. She is a life-long yoga student, practicing and teaching Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga, and then Kundalini Yoga when she was introduced to it in 2001.
Karla felt she had returned to her youth when practicing Kundalini Yoga due to its intensive breath practice, energy work and dynamic movement that reminded her of being a kid again. She’s trained with internationally renowned Kundalini Yoga teacher, Gurmukh, and has been traveling back and forth to California over the years for advanced training. Karla is a board member of the Peace through Yoga Foundation and has been involved since its inception in 2005. She enjoys traveling and has led yoga trips with Sally Bassett and Peace through Yoga. Karla has a Master of Science degree from Indiana University in Education and has a life-long love of teaching.
Mike Markus
200 RYT
Thai Massage Level 1
Mike teaches from the Heart, encouraging each student to discover yoga’s ancient practices within his or her own Heart. His classes are balanced with effort and ease, flow and breath, and allow space to be one’s self with feelings of gratitude and generosity. You will be challenged, and yet find peace and healing.
Mike completed his 200 Hour Yoga Training at Flourish Yoga in Fishers in February 2013, then Thai Massage Level 1 in August 2014. He credits his yoga practice to the quick and easy healing of his body after suffering major injuries in an accident in 2013. The gift of that experience opened greater sensitivity for him to help others in need of their own healing.
His inspirations include Kristin Lowenberg Olsen, Amy Blankenship Thomas, Jenn Will, Marsha Pappas, Susannah Sahoo, Felix Lopez, and especially ALL who he has ever shared struggles, joys, presence, and ONEness. It’s Mike’s desire to teach the Joy that he found… the yoga that lives within all of us, to each person practicing in class and traveling along on this amazing journey.
Jill Bassett
200 RYT
ASFA - Personal Training/Group Fitness, ACE - Personal Training
Jill has been teaching yoga for 3 years, after completing her 200-HR Vinyasa and Restorative Yoga Teacher Training at Body, Mind, and Core, in Carmel, IN. Jill is also a Certified Personal Trainer with over 20 years of experience and winner of the 2015 Snap Fitness Personal Trainer of the Year.
Jill enjoys Vinyasa classes, connecting breath with movement, and also believes in the importance of weight training and incorporating her experience as a personal trainer into her yoga classes by working on functional fitness. She feels this style of practice transports her students to a deeper place of awareness, and loves putting together unique flows with creative transitions. Jill believes asanas should challenge us, both physically and mentally, in order to break through barriers that block the discovery of one’s inner strength and light.
Kristina Huff, Ph.D.
200 RYT
Kristina began exploring yoga around 2005, practicing along with videos as a break from her graduate studies in English. When she moved to Indiana in 2013, she was eager to try an in-person class. She saw a sign for a new-student special at a Zionsville studio and decided to take the plunge. Walking through the door of the studio was intimidating. (Do I need my own mat? Where should I put my shoes? What are all those props for?). The teachers and students inside were so warm and welcoming, however, that by the end of the class, she was at home. Over the years, the kindness, wisdom, and grace of many teachers and fellow students have allowed her to deepen her own yoga practice. Continuing on this journey, Kristina completed her 200-hour teacher training in 2020.
Compassion and balance of the body, mind, and spirit are central to Kristina’s yoga practice and teaching. Kristina invites her students to move at their own pace and enjoy their own practice knowing that each day presents different opportunities and needs. Joining movement, breath, and meditation, her classes celebrate the way yoga can open the door to joy, flexibility, and a sense of calm.
Lauren Julian
Peak Pilates - Level 1 Comprehensive
Lauren first discovered Pilates during its boom and is certified through Peak Pilates (Level 1 comprehensive). Trained as a scientist, she approaches Pilates instruction and practice both methodically and experimentally, with an eye for small details that have an outsized effect. She has experience with Pilates as a pre- and postnatal student and instructor. As a stay at home parent for the last several years, she has found it the ideal mind-body complement to the inherent chaos in rearing young children.
Terri Popielarz
500 RYT
Silver Sneakers Yoga, NAFTA Power Stretch & NAFTA Mat Pilates, NAFTA HIIT, Yoga Barre
“My life is full throttle! Practicing yoga has allowed me to still my mind, and enjoy the ride.”
Terri loves to focus on body awareness, strength, flexibility and mobility. Her classes are very welcoming, fun and accessible. You will feel well cared for by this eclectic teacher! Off the mat Terri loves playing with her dogs, traveling and auto racing.
Nancy Trapp
500 RYT
Chopra Ayurvedic Health Teacher | Chopra Mediation Instructor
Nancy first stepped on her mat over 15 years ago; drawn initially to the physicality of the vinyasa practice, she stayed once she realized the residual meditative effects remained long after the practice ended. The mat was the one place where her mind could become quiet and through the breath connect with the body. Since 2016, she has enjoyed helping to guide her students to tap into the mind body connection while teaching vinyasa, slow flow, gentle, restorative, chair or yin classes. Rooted in the firm belief that the world needs more yogis, Nancy is committed to making her classes accessible to her students and applies a functional approach to her teaching.
During her 200 and 300 hour yoga teacher trainings, Nancy became fascinated with learning more about the 8-limb path of yoga and yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda, a 5,000 year-old medicinal health system. She is a certified Chopra Ayurvedic Health Teacher and Chopra Meditation Teacher. As continual life learner, Nancy values her many teachers and all that she learns from the students she serves.