Stacy Plaske

E-RYT 500, YACEP

Founder and Co-Director of Balance Yoga • Yoga Educator

Stacy is the founder and owner of Balance Yoga & Healing Arts Center in Huntington, NY since 2002. Stacy is an E-RYT500 (Registered Yoga Teacher) having graduated from The Long Island Yoga Teacher’s Training Institute as well as the Healing Yoga Foundation, and has been teaching yoga full time as well as running Balance Yoga Center for well over a decade. Stacy continues to study the 8 limbs of yoga with passion, trust, and surrender and honors the Traditional Hatha Yoga traditions within The Krishnamacharya Lineage, particularly the Ashtanga Yoga Method as taught by the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Stacy received Pattabhi Jois’ blessing to teach the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga in 2006 and in 2012 received her Level II Authorization from Sharath Jois to teach both the Primary & Intermediate Series of Ashtanga Yoga.

Stacy now continues to study Ashtanga Yoga, meditation, and yoga philosophy in Boulder, CO with Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor at The Yoga Workshop as well as in India with Sharath Jois. In New York she takes self practice on her mat and studies The Yoga Sutra as well as Vedic & Yoga Sutra Chanting with Danielle Tarantola. Stacy is extremely dedicated to the continual study and application of the many transformative tools of yoga for her own personal journey towards a more gracious, easeful existence as well as sharing her experiences with her students. She is a truly devoted, inspirational teacher whose love and application of yogic principles shines through in all aspects of her being.

Danielle Goldstein

MS, NCC, E-RYT 500, YACEP, C-IAYT

Director of Mindful Turtle and Co-Director of Balance Yoga • Yoga Therapist • Yoga Educator

Danielle is the founder and owner of Mindful Turtle Yoga. She has had a dedicated yoga practice for over twenty years and has studied many traditions of classical yoga, particularly the Ashtanga Yoga Method, developing a respect and appreciation for yoga and its life changing possibilities. Her classes are motivating, inspiring and compassionate.

Her training includes both a 200 and 500 hour yoga teacher training from the Yoga Teacher Training Institute under the guidance of Ma Mokshapriya Shakti and Marianne Mitsinikos. She has an additional 500 hour certification in Classical Ashtanga Yoga with Beryl Bender Birch of The Hard & The Soft Yoga Institute. In addition to being a faculty member of Beryl’s teacher training program, she has assisted Beryl at various workshops and trainings around the country. She is forever a student and continues her study of Ashtanga Yoga locally with senior Ashtanga teacher Christine Hoar. Danielle is a compassionate teacher with a skillful eye offering precise adjustments making the Ashtanga Yoga Asana practice fun and accessible to all.

Danielle is also a parent and child counselor with over twenty-five years of experience in the fields of education and counseling. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from CW Post University, is a Nationally Certified Counselor, and is Certified Yoga Therapist. She specializes in developing therapeutic yoga practices for those recovering from trauma, and serves on the board of The Morgan Center, a preschool for children undergoing chemotherapy.

Margo Barbuti

RYT 200

Margo attended her first yoga class in 2000 and never looked back. Her yoga practice has evolved through the years, from classical Hatha and Iyengar to her current practice of Vinyasa and Ashtanga. Margo holds a 200-hour training certification from ISHTA Yoga. Margo is also a NYS-certified ESL teacher and holds a Master’s of Arts Degree in TESOL from Stony Brook University. She also holds an MBA from Fordham University. As a yoga teacher, Margo finds joy in guiding other yogis through their practice. With her background in business and as an educator, Margo understands the varying levels of stress people have in their lives. She enjoys working with people to help them obtain balance and discover their own yogic path. Through her own yoga and meditation practice, Margo lives her daily life with mindfulness, positivity and gratitude.

Kristen Bellomo

RYT 200

Kristen began practicing Vinyasa Yoga and Meditation in 2013 in an effort to find relief from chronic illness and injury. Finding that Yoga significantly improved her health, she became devoted to sharing the practice with others. Kristen received her 200-hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Certification in March of 2018 after having a rare opportunity to study under both Michael Aronoff of Awaken Yoga & Meditation Center and Stacy Plaske of Balance Yoga & Healing Arts. She continues to receive additional training in meditation, trauma-sensitive yoga methods, Pranayama (breath-work), and alignment. Her passion lies in the science of Yoga and its endless benefits. She seeks to teach students how to breathe consciously, align the body in postures, and believes that we all hold within ourselves the ability to heal our own physical, emotional, and energetic bodies.

Laura Binder-Hines

MS, RD, RYT 200

Laura’s yoga journey began in 2004 while she was trying to recover from a sports injury. She quickly fell in love with yoga and eventually earned her 200-hour vinyasa instructor certification in 2010. Since then, Laura has continued her studies in many different styles and has offered her teachings in several studios, libraries, and community centers across Long Island. Laura’s classes are known to be inclusive to people of all abilities and experience levels, allowing for exploration of each person’s individual journey within a safe and supportive space.

She is also a registered dietitian and Young Living™ independent distributor. Laura combines her passion for yoga, nutrition, and essential oils with her LBH Wellness Healthy Happy Hour series, as well as customized programs for individuals and small groups.

Maryanne Cannon

Maryanne Cannon discovered yoga in search of a kinder, gentler way to care for her mind/body after the birth of her daughter in 2000. She was working as a Physical Therapist Assistant and Personal Trainer when she was introduced to Baron Baptiste Power Yoga. Maryanne began a lifelong study and practice of yoga philosophies implementing them into her life and work. After moving to New York in 2007 to raise her daughter she received her 200-hour certification through Suzanne Cardinal’s Into This World Teacher Training. Maryanne ran a small home studio for a diverse group of students for five years. After a year off to practice and study, Maryanne was invited to teach at Balance Yoga and Healing.

Maryanne creates a fun, safe and nurturing space for her students to explore their experience, play their edge and enjoy the practice. She encourages clients to work at their level of comfort with lots of permission to be true to themselves and their yoga practice. Yoga and Meditation are a passion and Maryanne continues to study her many mentors namely Richard Freeman, Dharma Mittra, Cyndi Lee, Pema Chodron, and many more.

Maryanne is a lifelong student eternally grateful for the many gifts she has experienced through her practice and teachings. She attends classes, trainings and workshops whenever possible.

Karen Dubi

E-RYT 500, YACEP

Karen began her career in the health sciences over two decades ago. She always felt there were alternative approaches to feeling better and attaining more balance and wellness. Fitness and nutrition were the basic building blocks that inspired her journey, and ultimately she became a Registered Dietitian. She worked in several settings, both clinical and private practice, and loved to help people feel better and develop tools and practices for improving their health, mindfully and physically.

Soon, yoga entered her path. What started out as a means of exercise ended up becoming the most significant aspect of her personal and professional journey. She has dedicated over 18 years to yoga practice and study, countless hours of formal and continued yoga trainings, from traditional Hatha Yoga, Krishnamacharya Lineage, Healing Yoga Therapy, philosophy study, Vedic chanting, meditation, pranayama and other various styles of yoga.

Karen’s primary focus is Ashtanga Yoga, as originally taught by Sri. K Pattabhi Jois. In this method of practice, she finds ALL the tools of Yoga transforming. She maintains a daily self-practice and teaches Led, Mysore and various workshops/intensives to New and experienced students. Ashtanga Yoga is a physical discipline, and an even stronger mental discipline. Under the guidance of her teachers, David Garrigues, Certified Ashtanga Teacher, and Tim Miller, one of the first Western students and a pioneer in the community of Ashtanga Yoga, Karen continues to reach new depths as a practitioner and as a teacher. An effective teacher must ALWAYS remain a student as well.

Given her dedication to yoga and nutrition, Karen was inspired to learn about the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. It is the sister science to yoga, and it embodies such a cohesive approach to health and optimal wellness. Her career culminated with formal studies at Kerala Ayurveda Academy, wherein she became a Certified Ayurveda Health Practitioner and Certified Plant Based Nutrition. Karen takes pride in being part of the movement and increasing awareness for healing science and optimal wellness.

Karen has been studying, teaching, counseling, practicing and utilizing all she has learned to better serve and educate people in achieving and maintaining health and harmony. Her vision and formal studies have come full circle. Cheers to good health!

Kelly Fitzsimons

Kelly has been practicing yoga for 14 years and received her 200 hour Vinyasa teaching certification in Spring 2014 through Three Sisters Yoga in NYC. Since then she has furthered her training with intensive studies in Yin and Restorative Yoga practices. Kelly loves to incorporate elements of these different practices into her classes, as well as music and essential oils, guiding her students to a state of rest and relaxation. She truly believes in the importance of a regular yoga and meditation practice as a means for dealing with whatever life may throw at us and loves to inspire family, friends and her community to do the same.

Allyson Gelfand

Allyson began her yoga journey 10 years ago when she went to Tulum, Mexico on vacation and ended up taking yoga classes on the beach everyday. She was instantly connected and, after practicing casually for a few more years, decided it was time to delve deeper by taking a 200 hour teacher training with the Long Island Yoga School, focusing on Vinyasa. After completion and over the following years she taught close to a thousand classes at various studios and gyms in the area. While finding her yoga voice as a teacher she also continued her training by taking additional workshops in Yoga Philosophy and Meditation. She received her certification to teach Yin Yoga after taking a 30 hour intensive workshop with Corina Brenner, devoted student of Paul Grilly, founder of Yin. In 2016, Allyson completed her 300 hr advanced yoga training in Classical Ashtanga Yoga with Danielle Goldstein and Beryl Bender Birch of the Hard and Soft Yoga Institute. She is the mother of 3 young, active boys who keep her busy and inspire her everyday to follow the eight-limbed path of Yoga.

Gabriel Hoffman

Gabriel Hoffman is a certified Wisdom Healing Qiong teacher in the lineage of Dr. Pang and trained by Master Mingtong Gu. He has spent months practicing with Mingtong at his healing intensive retreats at the ChiCenter in New Mexico.

Gabriel Hoffman has been passionately involved in health and wellness counseling since his inspiring recovery from cancer in 2000. His extensive research and education in nutrition and lifestyle management has contributed to his development of an innovative approach to healthcare.

Gabe Hoffman co-founded the Evolution of Medicine in 2014. After 10 years as a holistic nutritionist and director of a premiere holistic cleansing center in New York City he shifted his focus to the overall healthcare system. His company unites and educates communities of doctors and health practitioners to effectively build practices that minimize the use of pharmaceutical drugs and focus on community and patient education. Inspired by the medicineless hospital in China and Mingtong Gu’s Chicenter he is working to integrate chi gong as a foundational part of modern medicine.

Qigong is an experience that can be hard to put into words. It is an ancient Chinese art to keep you feeling and looking young, supple and happy. The great thing about it is it also compliments anything else we might do. Its not an “either, or”, do whatever you already do AND practice qigong.

Sophie Lee

Sophie is a 200 hour certified teacher with Yoga Works as well as a Nicholas Technique certified teacher. Her classes are movement, breath and alignment based with roots in the Ashtanga and Iyengar traditions. Sophie inspires students and gives them the opportunity to grow stronger physically and spiritually, developing a greater connection to their inner self.

Emily Loeb

Emily Loeb is a 200 hour Yoga Alliance Certified instructor (currently pursuing an additional 300 hour certification.) In addition to teaching, Emily enjoys a strong personal practice. As a busy mother of three young children, she was initially drawn to yoga for the peaceful escape and spiritual benefits. She continues to find both mental and physical health through this rich and ancient practice.

In addition to being a yoga teacher, Emily is also an editor and writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications.

Tommy Miller

Tom has been practicing yoga since 1998 and began teaching Yoga in 2003. He holds a 500 hour Yoga Teacher Certification and has spent extensive time studying and teaching at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Nassau, Bahamas. He has been a Massage Therapy instructor at the New York College of Health Professions in Syosset, NY since 2000, where he teaches Swedish, Thai and Medical Massage. He currently teaches Yoga privately and at various Yoga studios on Long Island.

Tom considers the individual needs of his students and bases his class on what each individual needs for their unique circumstances regarding their body posture, mind, energy, and injury and/or limitations. His class is easy enough for the beginner but also challenging enough for the advanced student. 
 Tom empowers each student with the tools to make dramatic shifts within themselves. Through his clear and skilled instruction, students discover new depths within their hearts and new heights in their asana practices.

Patricia Morris

Patricia began her journey into Yoga more than three decades ago with Sharon Gannon and David Life at the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York City. Patricia made numerous visits to India, the birthplace of the Ashtanga Lineage, and has had the great honor of studying under the founder of Ashtanga Yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois during his visits to the states. Patricia went on to study under the tutelage of many great teachers, including Richard Freeman, Tim Miller, David Swenson, and numerous others. Patricia is most grateful for the age-old healing methods of yoga and she is guided in her daily life by the 8-limbs of this sacred, ancient tradition.

Allison Roberti

Allison is a 500 hour registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, a Group Fitness Instructor certified through ACE, a long time yoga practitioner and a lifelong athlete.

Her training includes the continuous study of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga System as well as a dedicated daily practice. All aspects of this ancient and healing practice are studied, including benefits, anatomy, modifications, alignment, adjustments and philosophy. She is able to teach in a Mysore style setting, as well as Ashtanga Led classes with full vinyasa Sanskrit counts. Her open level Vinyasa classes include postures taken from the Ashtanga Yoga system and are incorporated into a flow class designed for all practitioners.

Allison works with multiple populations, including but not limited to triathletes, athletes, body builders, military personnel, first responders, senior citizens and those with disabilities. She attends trainings, workshops and continuing education every year with the industries most highly respected teachers, allowing her to share her study of this long tradition with all of her students.

As yoga is a life-time learning experience, she will forever be a student. Growing, learning and laughing with her students is one of her greatest joys, and her classes are designed to keep you safe while being challenged.

Janet Seals

Janet has been practicing yoga for fifteen years. As a runner and cyclist, yoga practice provided the flexibility and strength to compliment her training.
Janet’s passion is Ashtanga yoga because of the meditative qualities Ashtanga provides through the tristana (threefold path) of breath, movement and dristi (gaze point). She sincerely wants every student to experience the journey of yoga and it’s transformative qualities, allowing more peace and ease into your everyday life.

Janet received her YRT 200 hour certificate in 2013. In 2016 Janet completed a 60 hour Ashtanga Yoga Intensive with Stacy Plaske at Balance Yoga and Healing Center. Janet is currently completing her 300 YRT program with Michael Aronoff of Awaken Yoga and Meditation and Stacy Plaske of Balance Yoga and Healing Center.

Erica Settino

E-RYT 500, CYT

Erica Settino holds a BS in Psychology, an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction Writing, and is a certified, experienced, registered yoga teacher (E-RYT, CYT) with seventeen years teaching experience. Her roots lie deep in Hatha, Iyengar, Vinyasa, and Bhakti yoga traditions; each informing her teaching and resulting in a rich and eclectic, full-spectrum experience for all. She has been blessed to study with many wonderful teachers over the years, including: Jackie Morrison, Sri Dharma Mittra, Sharon Gannon and David Life, Rodney Yee, Sara Ivanhoe, Dr. Dean Telano, with whom she earned her 200hr certification, and Cyndi Lee, founder of Om Yoga in NYC, with whom she was fortunate enough to earn her 500hr advanced teacher training certification. As well as with Raghunath, Mike Cohen, and Kelly Kamm, all who have helped in opening her heart and soul to the infinite and divine grace of kirtan and Bhakti yoga. In July of 2014, she had the great pleasure of participating in a children’s yoga teaching training through Next Generation Yoga. Most recently she studied yoga psychology with Ashley Turner, completing her Yoga. Psyche. Soul. 300hr. teacher training. As well as a Yin Yoga Teacher Training program and Yoga Shred with Sadie Nardini. She also completed her Postpartum Doula certification, which she is eager to utilize and include within her Amma Yoga and Postpartum Empowerment Classes/Support Group for Mamas. She offers her deepest and most humble gratitude to all of her teachers, but would be remiss not to mention her students, both past and present, as her most revered.

David Stanley

David has been a dedicated practitioner and student of yoga for past 9 years, studying Ashtanga yoga in the Mysore tradition with Stacy Plaske at Balance Yoga and Healing. David has also been studying Vedic chanting and the Yoga Sutras with Danielle Tarantolla for the past 2 years.

David has recently completed his 200 YTT under the guidance of Danielle Tarantolla at The Yoga Foundation. He has attended a multitude of workshops and intensives taught by Stacy, and recently traveled to Boulder, CO to study with Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor.

Yoga has become an integral part of David’s life, and he is excited to continue learning, practicing, and sharing his experiences with his students.

Nina Triolo

Nina has studied and practiced yoga and meditation for more than 20 years. As a software developer, it became a way of dealing with the stress of a demanding profession. After a life changing illness, it was the healing power of her practice that inspired her to become a teacher and share her love of yoga with others.

Nina received her 500 hour Yoga Alliance certification from Kripalu School of yoga where she specialized in Yoga for Special Populations, Yoga Nidra, Ayurveda and Vinyasa Flow. She received her Hot Vinyasa certification from Jimmy Barkan and is currently enrolled in Kripalu’s 1000 hour program.

Elana Weiss

Elana Weiss is certified in ISHTA Yoga – Integrated Science of Hatha Tantra and Ayurveda – with Alan Finger. In addition, she has training in Pre-natal yoga and yoga for kids, and has completed continuing education in LifePower Vinyasa Yoga. She has had the opportunity to learn from amazing teachers such as Alan Finger, Jean Koerner, Kara Sekuler, Twee Merrigan, Jackie Prete, Isaac Pena (just to name a few) before moving out to Long Island. After moving out, she learned from some of the best Ashtanga and Vinyasa teachers on the island, and her own practice and teaching style flourished. Her practice started over 18 years ago and she is ALWAYS a student. Her LOVE and passion for yoga and her lust for life keeps her inspired on a daily basis. Some of her past work includes implementing yoga programs in NYC private schools, educating P.E teachers in public schools, working privately with clients of all ages and ongoing teaching of classes. When she is not practicing or teaching, she is with her children, who also inspire her on a daily basis! She regularly attends live music, keeping her “young and free spirited” and she loves walking, hiking, enjoying the outdoors, cooking and time with her friends and family.