Meet Our Instructors
Jacqui |
After suffering the sudden and tragic loss of her father, Jacqui found herself in search of a way to calm her nerves and heal her pain. A friend took her to her first yoga class and an immediate shift occurred. There was life before her first yoga experience and life after. That was in the fall of 1996 and the instructor was Debra Monaco. Jacqui continued to study on her own and with Debra until coming to a point in her life when she felt the need to deepen her knowledge of the philosophy of yoga and to surround herself with like-minded beings. This decision led to a life altering experience at the Yoga Room in Patchogue, LI. There she studied with ten amazing women and received her yoga certification deeply rooted in the Iyengar tradition. During this period of time, studying with Lucia Tucci-DiPalo and Rosemarie Schiavone, Jacqui experienced amazing life lessons and awakenings. These experiences led her to dreams of teaching and perhaps being able to create a space where people would come and search out that place of peace and serenity that is our divine right while residing on this planet. Through the support of her husband, family and friends, her dream has been realized. During a recent public teaching with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a prayer was given in the spirit of Green Tara. Jacqui was present at this teaching and has been moved to present Green Tara, the Buddhist deity represented by a beautiful woman perched on her lotus pad ready to leap at a moments notice to offer compassion and nurturing with love greater than that of a mother for their child, to the community. She has done so in the form of a sanctuary known as Om Tara Yoga Studio. May all come in peace, may all find peace, may all share peace with those that surround them. Namaste.
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Debra Monaco |
Debra has been teaching yoga for 18 years, but she’s been practicing yoga for most of her life. She was introduced to yoga at a very early age; it was part ofthe household. After a back injury at 12 years old, her sense of discipline, and consistency increased concerning her yoga practice. Throughout her life, Debra’s attention and work has always turned toward the fine arts, the healing arts and mysticism, and as a student of different philosophies, and spiritual practices, yoga is the natural contributor to all of these. Though her earliest exposure to yoga was Sivananda and Kundalini based, she has studied a wide range of styles with an even broader variety of teachers. She’s a certified teacher through YTTI and nationally registered with Yoga Alliance –E-RYT. Debra’s philosophy is simple. Yoga is already within each of us, shedding the superfluous, surrendering the blocks that keep us from the natural wisdom within, that is the consistent, rather relentless, practice that we all-yogi or not-undertake everyday. A conscious yoga practice means opening your heart to it, embracing it all lovingly, with awareness, and that is a helpful edge.
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Maria Yakkey |
Maria Yakkey is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher, who has been practicing yoga for 12 years. She received her 200 hour certification from Into This World Teacher Training. Maria has also acquired additional training with YogaKids©, Yoga for the Special Child©, Breast Cancer Survivors, Pre-natal Yoga and Restorative Yoga. Maria credits her yoga teacher Jean Aronoff for guiding her on her yogic path and continues to study the practice of yoga both on and off the mat with her teacher. In addition to being a yoga teacher Maria believes in holistic healing methods and explored the healing art of Reiki. Currently Maria has been Reiki Attuned to the Second Degree and has been invited to receive her Master Level attunement in February 2011. Maria believes that yoga is for everybody.
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Barbara Beatus |
Barbara Beatus is a registered yoga teacher certified at the 200 hour level through Linda Cucurullo at Basic Moves Yoga. She has been practicing yoga, meditation, and energy healing since 2003 and started teaching in 2005. She began her yogic journey after looking for ways to relieve severe anxiety about studying abroad during college. Thankful for relief and excited by the spiritual, emotional, and physical comfort yoga gave her, Barbara knew immediately that she wanted to share this gift with others. She is dedicated to bringing yoga to diverse populations such as adults with developmental disabilities and seniors with dementia. She also uses her degree in nonprofit management to help Bent On Learning, a nonprofit that provides yoga and meditation to inner city school children. She is always taking classes and workshops to further her studies and is forever grateful to her teachers Linda Cucurullo and Nicki Spatacco. Barbara believes yoga is everywhere and within everyone.
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