Heartwood

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Appointments are made by contacting practitioners directly at the numbers or email addresses listed.

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Leslie Contreras Schwartz

I am a certified yoga instructor and creative writing teacher with a background in trauma-informed practice. I received my training from YogaView, have a MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College, and am a published multigenre writer.

Yoga and writing are both healing practices that have the potential to improve your quality of life—physically, mentally, and emotionally. As an instructor, I bring twenty years of yoga practice and study of mindfulness, combined with my own experience as a practicing writer. My classes focus on cultivating self-empowerment, building confidence, and embracing your own voice.

I understand the incredible healing power of both yoga and writing and am excited to share what I know with students who want to feel better through thoughtful movement and who are eager to cultivate a writing practice. My writing centers on issues of social justice, women’s experiences, and my own experience with trauma.

Credentials:

RYT-200, MFA

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Anu Dewan

Born in India, raised in the US, I am an RYT-300 certified yoga instructor. My passion lies in practicing and teaching how to live yoga as a lifestyle. My classes provide a unique offering of incorporating yogic philosophy with asana practice, meditation and breathwork. Classes allow students to build physical strength, mobility, and flexibility and apply these as character building skills in their daily lives. I believe in continuous learning, being a forever student of yoga.

847-242-1483
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Dana Podell

Since my first yoga class while studying Dance at The Ohio State University, I’ve been fortunate enough to complete over 500 hours of therapeutic yoga teacher trainings and continue to study for my 800-hour yoga therapy certification with the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Following my exposure to yoga, I completed my doctorate in physical therapy from Northwestern University. As a licensed physical therapist, I apply yoga therapeutically in my practice every day. The goal of yoga therapy is not to create a beautiful aesthetic or simply follow along in a class. Yoga Therapy is a specialized form of yoga that applies yoga-based movement, breath practices, and meditations to address specific medical needs. This empowering therapeutic approach can transform a person’s physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I offer individual and small group yoga therapy sessions to help you discover pain-free movement patterns and promote a positive relationship with your body.

Credentials:
  • Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
  • Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT)
847-544-9571
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Sarah Westbrook, C-IAYT

Yoga poses and breath practices are usually uniformly taught, as though we all have the same bodies and needs. Since 2009, I have deeply studied how to adapt Yoga so that it is available to persons of all sizes, shapes and conditions. I teach a modern yoga practice informed by exercise science and tailored to each student’s anatomy.

In class you will use props to gain entry into otherwise inaccessible poses and feeling states. We’ll move slowly enough to explore which cues are relevant to your anatomy. You will learn good alignment to break bad movement habits, and you’ll learn how to listen to your body to avoid injury.

Classes are small so you can ask questions. I will emphasize stability and balance within a healthy range of motion. With good alignment, the body and mind find enough support to open up, relax and let go.

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