Amy Beth Treciokas
Amy started Yoga in high school with a Sivananda Yoga class at her suburban Boston high school where she also studied the Bhagavad Gita in English class. She ran Varsity track on the state championship team and was Bay State All Conference in cross-country, and figure skated. She was Salutorian of her high school class and studied music from an early age, starting with piano at age 6. She learned piano for 11 years, flute for 6 years, and cello for 3 years.
She studied molecular biology at Princeton University, earning a B.A., where she was a soprano soloist in the Glee Club and on the Varsity Sailing team. She toured Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Austria and France with the Princeton University Glee Club. She won the Alvan T. and Viola D. Fuller – American Cancer Society Research Fellowship for Cancer Research in 1987. She was a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Fellow at Cornell’s Medical campus in Manhattan as a Ph.D. candidate in Immunology. She has also done graduate work in Physiology.
After graduate school, Amy worked as an actuary at Towers Perrin, and at Shand, Morahan, and Company (now Markel Corp.), earning an Associateship in the Society of Actuaries, and becoming a Member of the Academy of Actuaries.
She resumed her yoga studies as an adult in 1993 at the Evanston Athletic Club with Kim Schwartz of the Temple of Kriya Yoga. Amy then studied with Suddha Weixler of Chicago Yoga Center who introduced Amy to Ashtanga Yoga, and told her about the founder of the Ashtanga Yoga system, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (Guruji). Amy went to Mysore, India for the first time in December 1996, for the first of 14 trips to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson, Sharath Rangaswamy at the yoga shala in Mysore. In 1999, she was granted authorization to teach Ashtanga Yoga. She was a direct student of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois from 1996 until 2009. Amy also studied with Manju Jois, Guruji’s son and with Dena Kingsberg in Bali, Tim Miller and Lino Miele, Graeme Northfield, David and Simi Roche, and Radha Warrell in Crete, Greece. She completed Teacher Trainings with Suddha Weixler and Tim Miller. While in India, Amy found kirtan, call-and-response chanting the names of the Divine in Sanskrit.
She received her RYT-500 from the Himalayan Institute and is certified at the highest level through Yoga Alliance (E-RYT500). She is also certified in Hormone Yoga Therapy for Menopause and Yoga for Diabetes by Dinah Rodrigues (IYTA). Amy has also studied Reiki, and is a Reiki Master. She has completed a vision quest with a Native American elder.
On July 8, 2003 Amy founded Yoga Now in Edgewater, then on March 25, 2006 moved Yoga Now downtown to 742 N. LaSalle, a new all eco-friendly studio. She teaches Ashtanga Yoga, Bhakti Vinyasa Flow and Yoga Teacher Trainings. She also leads her band, Amy and the Bliss Tribe in monthly kirtan. She teaches yoga and leads kirtan at Bhaktifest Midwest, Sukhava Bodhe and other festivals.
In 2012, Amy was selected to be part of the first cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program in Chicago, where Warren Buffett was the graduation speaker. In 2013, Amy was selected to join the Inner City Capital Connections program (part of the Initiative for the Competitive Inner City). In 2014, Amy won an award at the Enterprising Women of the Year Conference in Sarasota, FL. Amy is on the Board of Directors of the Princeton Club of Chicago.
Brenna Gordon O’Dea
Brenna was born and raised in Chicago and first discovered yoga during her freshman year at UW-Madison. She completed her 200 hour training with Amy at Yoga Now in 2020. Brenna aims to make yoga and breathwork feel approachable and accessible for all bodies and minds. Her teaching style is calming and caring. From deep neck stretches to deep chair pose holds, come to class ready to feel both relaxed and energized. Brenna is thankful for finding yoga and for her increased levels of self confidence and peace of mind she has developed over the past eight years practicing. She hopes to see your shining face in class one day soon and for you to leave your mat with your head held high and your shoulders at ease!
Britta Eumann
C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, Yoga of the Heart ® – Cardiac and Cancer Certified teacher, iRest® Level 1 Teacher and Yoga For Scoliosis Teacher Trainer.
Britta is a certified yoga therapist C-IAYT, an experienced yoga teacher E-RYT 500, Yoga of the Heart ® – Cardiac and Cancer Certified teacher, iRest® Level 1 Teacher and Yoga For Scoliosis Teacher Trainer.
Since discovering the various benefits of practicing yoga in her own life, Britta has not only deepened her own practice and studied continuously, but as a teacher she is passionate about helping people experience those benefits for themselves. Finding yoga while working in a high stress corporate management job, she immediately noticed the beneficial and transformational impact of the practice on her body and mind. Having been diagnosed with scoliosis as a teenager, she also noticed the importance of having skillful and well-trained teachers who can help develop a save practice for this condition. She is deeply grateful for having been able to study with amazing and experienced teachers from a variety of lineages since embarking on her journey as a yoga teacher giving her an extensive toolbox to draw from. This is reflected in her classes, where she emphasizes creating a safe space for every student, meeting them where they are in their personal yoga journey and guiding them safely to self-exploration and awareness of body, mind and breath and she is especially passionate about teaching yoga to all those who think they are too inflexible, exhausted, old, injured, ill or feel otherwise limited or excluded from the practice of yoga.
Languages: English, German
Website: www.brittaeumann.com
Carly Baroh
Carly received her 200 RYT training in Ashtanga Vinyasa in Mysore, India from Mysore Ashtanga Yoga Kendra in 2019. She attended a second 200 hour RYT in 2020 at the same school to deepen her teaching and practice further.
Carly has been a student for the last 20 years of her life, but it was only when she quit her corporate job to travel that she was able to finally fulfill her dream of going through teacher training. She fell in love with Ashtanga because of its energy, strength and the challenge it invites both mentally and physically.
Carly spent the last 3 years traveling, and living in India, teaching Ashtanga in both Chennai and Auroville in South India.
Originally from Seattle, after returning to the US last year, she moved to Chicago in January to open up a yoga studio in Hyde Park where she lives and teaches as well.
She is excited and honored to be a part of the Yoga Now team and to have the opportunity to share this space and practice with you all.
Outside of yoga Carly loves hiking, running, surfing, and working with animals. She is completing her certification as a Plant Based Nutritionist and just ran her first half marathon!
Corinne Chew
RYT-200
Danielle Zielinski
I came to yoga to heal and focus on my breathing after a lung surgery almost 2 years ago now. I had always practised some yoga in a physical sense for years (“gym yoga”) but had never really given myself fully to the holistic spiritual practice. Yoga is a rich path, in which you gain a deep understanding of yourself – body, mind and soul. I believe in the power of coming to your mat everyday no matter the outcome. By trade I am a Nurse Practitioner and a Whole Food Plant Based Diet Nutritionist. In my spare time I like to volunteer at a local urban farm and ride my bike. Having just finished my YTT-200 training here at Yoga Now under the instruction of Amy, I am a novice teacher, but committed to shaping classes where students feel accepted, guided, challenged and find some joy while working through different asanas, breathing exercises and meditations. I like to find ways to bring back a sense of balance and equilibrium to the body and mind after living in our modern world.
Emma Cameron
Erin Michalowski
Erin Michalowski is a 200 RYT Hatha and Vinyasa certified instructor who received her YTT under Amy Beth Treciokas at Yoga Now in 2019. Erin began ballet dancing when she was five years old, and continued dance in conjunction with pilates throughout college, until injuries required her to find a new outlet for the joy she finds in movement. Erin has been practicing yoga since 2009, and now seeks to create a classroom environment full of empathy, compassion, spiritual engagement, and fun with her students. She also holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management from SIT Graduate Institute (2014) and a Bachelor of Arts from Hope College (2010). Erin is passionate about sustainable development and social justice and is always looking to create wellness in the lives of others. She enjoys organic urban farming and cooking, creating holistic and non-toxic body products, and lives by the beach in Edgewater. Instagram: @yogierinmickel
Eva Yam
RYT-200
Eva started down the path of yoga by accident in 2001, seeking a brief escape from the corporate world with a week-long spa experience. It happened to be ‘Ashtanga Yoga Week’ at the spa; by the end of the week, she had completed the primary series and was hooked on yoga. Since then, Eva has traveled extensively to seek out and to study with senior teachers both in and out of the Ashtanga system, with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath Jois US Tours, teacher training from David Swenson and Tim Miller and in-depth studies with Rolf & Marci Naujokat, Chuck Miller & Maty Ezraty and Tim Feldmann & Kino MacGregor. While her focus is Ashtanga yoga, she recognizes that each body is different, and works with each student based on their respective approach to their practice. Eva firmly believes the yoga practice is therapeutic and healing and transmits this accordingly. She is indebted to all her teachers for their guidance, support and endless patience.
Francelia Serrano Chavez
RYT-200
A native of Texas, Francelia discovered Yoga in 2007 as part of a cross-training exercise and ended up loving how Yoga strengthened her mentally and physically. In 2013, after many years of practice, Francelia received her 200-hour Soul Awakening Yoga Teacher Training certificate from Southtown Yoga Loft in San Antonio, Texas.
After finishing her teacher training, she moved to Oaxaca, Mexico where she practiced Yoga in Spanish, planting the seed to take this practice to her own community. Upon her return in 2016, she moved to Chicago and shortly thereafter found Yoga Now Chicago studio where she received an additional 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training certificate under Amy Beth Treciokas. She also teaches Restorative, Meditation, Yoga for Kids, and Bilingual Yoga. Francelia is a registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance.
Francelia’s classes provide a space where people of all shapes and abilities have the opportunity to discover the truth in transition and the sense of lightness they seek in their practice. All of Francelia’s students from beginners to advanced feel completely comfortable moving at their own pace and ability levels. In her class you will experience creative sequencing, playfulness, and spirituality. She helps students explore meditation by practicing breath work, body movement synchronized with breath and stillness.
Outside of the yoga studio, Francelia works as an accountant for a nonprofit organization in Chicago, IL. She also enjoys traveling and spending time with her dog Chicago
Holly Tu
Holly is an avid yogi who enjoys bringing love, connection, and positive energy to her classes. Her yoga practice began as a complement to her athletic pursuits in high school, and has evolved over the past 10+ years into a deeper spiritual and emotional pursuit. Holly aims to help her students become more in touch with their emotional bodies and, in doing so, create space between one thought and the next.
Holly completed her training under the tutelage of Amy Beth Treciokas at Yoga Now, and is influenced by both vinyasa and ashtanga styles of practice. As a pitta or “fire” personality, she believes in our constant capacity for change but also that each day we show up to our mat in different ways. Although yoga is a fully self-sufficient practice, she enjoys “cross-training” with martial arts and weightlifting, both of which have contributed to her appreciation of alignment, physiology, and self-empowerment.
Jackie Keith
Hello friend, my name is Jackie!
I believe that introducing more people to the deeply healing benefits of yoga has the power to completely transform our world. In my classes, I combine creative sequencing with a focus on safe, sound alignment as well as meditation, pranayama and yoga philosophy for a practice lived both on and off the mat.
When I took my first “offical” yoga class in 2019, I was nervous. I assumed you had to look a certain way or that you had to know everything about the poses. I thought yoga was only a workout-I had no idea how to do ujjayi breath or to align my body in down dog.
Yet, I knew after that first class it was the beginning of my journey to becoming my most authentic self. For me, yoga is an integral part of an everlasting process toward self-acceptance and peace. I hope to bring this authenticity and journey to each one of my classes. That is what I love about a yoga class, it allows you to get into a place physically, mentally, or spiritually that one may have never been before. I love when students find something within themselves to empower them
When you take my class I want you to be able to experience something new; whether it’s finding a new way to align the spine in a down dog or finding the ability to let go of unwanted stress. During our time together, we’re going to have some fun while also giving yourself some much needed time and attention.I find immense joy, satisfaction and inspiration in seeing students discover their own personal yoga journey and I hope to guide and encourage you along the way.
Jamie Granskie
RYT-200
As a dedicated practitioner and teacher, I have a sincere reverence for the power of yoga. My teaching style is marked by freedom in body and mind. I introduce students to a new relationship with their “edge” by inviting play. Compassion and attentiveness characterize my energy and it’s a privilege to hold space for what comes to light during the practice. My hope is that through challenge, students leave class feeling clear and empowered. I facilitate that by focusing on strength, intelligence, and integrity.
Jennifer Strack
Jennifer was first introduced to yoga in a 10th grade health class and quickly grew interested in the practice. It wasn’t until years later that she began to deepen her practice in order to better cope with stress. Inspired by the effects yoga had on her life, Jennifer wanted to share this practice with others. She completed her RYT 200 hr. training at Yoga Now Chicago under the tutelage of Amy Beth Treciokis. Jennifer also received her prenatal yoga teaching certification at Blooma in Minneapolis with Sarah Longacre and Stacy Seebart.
Jennifer seeks to provide a fun, playful and safe yoga practice for her students and hopes they can discover new and wonderful things about themselves in the process.
Joanne Barrett
Julie Melidis
RYT-200
Julie began teaching yoga in 2003 after discovering the therapeutic effects of yoga during a difficult pregnancy and wanted to help others. A few years later she completed her 200 hour RYT certification at Yoga Now and was introduced to Ashtanga by her teacher Amy Beth Treciokas. She expresses her gratitude and love to Amy for allowing her to continue to learn and practice with her over the years. Julie has drawn much inspiration from her teachers Bill Shapleigh and Jessica Aiken who inspire her on a daily basis. She has been fortunate enough to practice with Sharath Jois and Eddie Stern and learns more about this beautiful practice every day. Julie strives to share the tradition of the practice and encourage the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of yoga in her classes.
Kana Manzanares
RYT-200
Kana completed her 200-hour teacher training with Amy Beth Treciokas at Yoga Now in April 2021. She also completed a 95-hour Children’s Yoga Teacher training with a trauma-informed focus from Yoga Ed in October 2021. Whether she’s teaching children, teens, or adults, her class design centers on meeting the students where they are. She inspires to merge her Trauma-Informed Yoga training with her background in Hatha, Vinyasa, and Ashtanga Yoga practices, providing lots of variations for poses, and to draw mindfulness to one’s mind, body, and spirit.
Kana is a Japanese native, raising a Japanese Mexican family. She is also a homeschool teacher and a Japanese language instructor. With a BA in Art History and a Masters in Nonprofit Management, she has worked front-of-house and behind-the-scenes in art museums prior to switching careers to become an educator.
Matthew Berean
MBA, Certified Advanced Rolfer, RYT-500
Matthew Berean integrates long experience with anatomical and cognitive techniques to benefit
his clients and students. His experience in athletics extends over twenty-five years as a
competitive rower and a coach. His study of cultural mental constructs began as a boy with an
intense interest in the myths of multiple cultures. He learned meditation as a teenager and has
been involved in the healing arts of structural bodywork and yoga for over a decade. He draws
on his personal experience and his training in assisting clients and students.
In addition to completing his basic and advanced Rolfing® Structural Integration training,
Matthew has deepened his knowledge through extensive training in Osteopathy-based Visceral,
Vascular, Neural, Cranial and Joint Capsule Manipulation with Jeffrey Burch; SourcePoint
Therapy energy medicine certification; a 500-hour yoga teacher-training certification through
Prajna Yoga with Tias and Surya Little; and a 300-hour certification course with Khenpo
Samdup Rinpoche on The Stages of Meditation.
Matthew has been fortunate to continue his study of Buddhist philosophy, traditional texts, and
practice, in both formal teachings and retreats, primarily under the tutelage of Drupon Ratna
Vajra (Rinchen Dorjee) Rinpoche, Garchen Rinpoche, and other highly accomplished Lamas
primarily from the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
Matthew has accumulated more than 5,000 classroom hours studying the body, the mind, and the
relationship between the two. He uses all of this experience to help clients and students learn
how to fundamentally change the way that they relate to others, to themselves, to their bodies,
and to their world. He teaches Hatha yoga classes which focus on alignment, through the use of
props when needed, to help students feel the grounded space and ease possible in the pose.
Matthew also teaches Restorative yoga classes which draw heavily on slow subtle somatic
movements to help students how to slow down, drop in, and feel the subtle energetic body with
greater acuity. More information about Matthew and his practice can be found at
MandalaAwareness.net
Maureen Yasko
RYT-200
Maureen has been practicing Yoga for about ten years. She discovered Yoga while pursuing a career in Acting and Stage Combat, two other huge passions in her life. Sun Salutations and Asana quickly became an essential part of her process before rehearsals and performances. She found that Yoga not only warmed up her body and aligned her with her breath, but it also brought her a sense of calm and a strongly connected focus. All of these benefits have been integral in her career as a movement oriented performer. Soon, Maureen realized that Yoga brought that same sense of calm and connection into her ever-busy daily life as well, which is a wonderful blessing! She started developing her home practice, studying books on Yoga, and began taking more classes. This journey led her to discover Vinyasa and Ashtanga Yoga, which in turn brought her to completing her 200hr Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga Now Chicago with Amy Beth Treciokas, a long time student of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Maureen is very grateful to be on this path! Yoga continues to teach her about connecting deeper to that peaceful inner soul space where love and acceptance live; about seeking truth and joy in the present moment no matter what judgments there may be; and about cultivating a fierce warrior spirit both on and off the mat. Maureen hopes to share this with her students. “Be Love. Be True. Be Warrior You.”
Molly Callahan
Molly grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she learned gymnastics, ballet, tap, jazz, clog dancing, basketball, swimming, volleyball, softball and track and field. Movement has been a consistent part of her life.
She was first introduced to yoga in the 8th grade. Her basketball coach had all of the team members take a class to decrease stress and anxiety before an upcoming tournament. Given her background in gymnastics and dance, yoga came naturally to Molly and she has loved it ever since.
Molly began practicing yoga on a regular basis in January 2016 in Little Rock, AR. She had recently returned home from Spain where she had lived for one year. Yoga allowed her to reground and stabilize after being away at college and living abroad.
In November 2017, she started her 200 hour teacher training with Sherri Youngblood’s Sage Yoga School, and graduated in April 2018.
Molly practices and teaches Vinyasa Yoga. She hopes you will enjoy her class and learn a little more about yourself through soul-enriching flows.
Saleha Qureshi
Saleha (Sa-lee-ah) is a pharmacist who is dedicated to helping her community grow through asana practice and healthy lifestyle choices. She earned her doctorate in Queens, NY and received her Yoga Teacher Training at Samadhi in Denver, CO. Through her twenties, she has completed 2 courses with Vipassana Meditation, both for 10-days in silence. Saleha brings a grounded, healing energy to her classes, assisting her students glimpse their inner truths and radiance. Her goal is to aid each individual become aware of the primary reality within through postures, breathwork, strengthening, discipline, and ancient wisdom.
Sofia Sorensen
RYT-200
Sofia received her 200 RYT training in Vinyasa at College of Lake County. She started her journey during the pandemic and is beyond grateful that she filled her days during isolation by practicing and learning about yoga philosophy.
Sofia has been a student for over 12 years of her life, but only started her quest on becoming a teacher 2 years ago. She fell in love with the magic of yoga and hopes to share it with you. Sofia has been an athlete her whole life, she is excited to work with other athletes to promote recovery and enhance performance.
Sofia is originally from the suburbs of Chicago, and is now living in River North. She hopes to send you away from the chaos of the city during her practice and join her in a moment of relaxation.
She is honored to be a part of the Yoga Now team and to share her practice with you.
Outside of teaching Vinyasa, Sofia loves to skateboard, dancing, travel to music festivals, camping, and painting.
Taylor Quinn
Tiffany Ketchmark
RYT-500 / Reiki Master
Tiffany began her exploration of Yoga in 2009 as part of a health and wellness challenge at work, and instantly fell in love. She now sees her yoga practice as an essential part of her daily life, as it has aided in both a physical and emotional transformation.
After experiencing all the positive changes in her body, mind, and spirit, she decided to take the next step. This led her to Yoga Now Chicago where she completed her RYT-200H with Amy Beth Treciokas. As her passion for teaching continued to grow, she decided to work toward her advanced teaching certification and completed her RYT-500H with Inner Peace Yoga Therapy based in Durango, CO. Her slow flow classes are therapeutic, inspiring, and accessible to all levels. She encourages students to find their own comfort and inner strength as they grow in their practice to embody their full potential.
Meditation has been one of the most transformative parts of her daily yoga and mindfulness practice. She is passionate about sharing her theme and ceremonial focused meditation workshops and sound baths with students. These workshops express her experience and knowledge gained through yoga therapy, Ayurveda, self study, as well as experiences traveling and studying mindfulness abroad.
As a certified Karuna Reiki Master/Teacher, Tiffany is committed to helping others through this healing energy. Reiki has been an amazing life changing experience that she is thrilled to share with those looking for alternative and complementary therapies to enhance their own health and emotional well-being.
In 2019 Tiffany begane her exploration of the ancient medicinal science of Ayurveda, a sister science of Yoga, and completed her 2000 hour Ayurvedic Practitioner certification with Ananda Ayurveda Academy in December 2021. This knowledge has reshaped her own practice as it has laid the foundation for, and connected all of the holistic modalities she currently works with and offers others. She is beyond thrilled to share this ancient knowledge with her students and clients in group classes, and in private therapeutic settings. This foundational component has strongly influenced her teachings so that she is able to connect with each student individually and offer them the space in which they can find their own unique balance and approach to holistic health.
In her free time, you will likely find her traveling, cooking, or enjoying the outdoors with friends and family. For more info check out her website: www.
Todd Boman
Todd Boman starting practicing yoga regularly in 2000. Shortly after he discovered Ashtanga yoga and began a daily practice.
In 2004, he traveled to Mysore, India, the home of Ashtanga Yoga and practiced at the KPJAYI with Sri K Pattabhi Jois and his teacher Pramagura Sharath Jois.
After annual studies in 2008, Todd received the blessing from Paramaguru Sharath Jois’s to teach the traditional Mysore style Yoga in Chicago.
Todd has had the privilege of assisting Sharathji’s in Mysore. His direct experience with his teacher has grounded and established him firmly as a yoga teacher.
Todd received his Level 2 Authorization which allows’s him to teach the Primary and Intermediate Series.
Todd is honored to share his experience of Ashtanga Yoga with Chicago, contributing to what is a happier and healthier community.
Tomoko Horikawa Morganelli
yogini, dancer, healer and performer
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Tomoko would eventually move to New York City to fulfill a dream of dancing and take the training program at several schools. Inspired as a young girl by Broadway musicals, she would study dance, movement, and voice and perform professionally with a theater troupe. She soon joined aerial dance and performed off Broadway with “Fly By Night” and “Aloft” later in Chicago.
Tomoko has pursued her love of Yoga for more than twenty five years. She became certified as a teacher, taking training from 2002-2003 for 200 hours in NY. She has taught yoga across Japan, Chicago and the Midwest, the New York metro area, and as far away as London, England. She has also taught yoga teacher training in Japan and for ten years taught both Yoga and dance to the deaf both in Japan and America.
Tomoko has also studied Oriental medicine and healing from a Japanese teacher and mentor and became certified in Makko Ho, a Japanese stretching art, and bodywork. She has continued teaching Makko Ho for more than twenty five years.
Tomoko loves to challenge herself and discover her potential. She encourages students to dive into their own inner journey with joy and discover something new about themselves through yoga practice.