Lori Bloomberg
Lori has been studying under Scott Harig for the past 15 years. She has completed a 100-hour Ashtanga Yoga teacher training with Scott at Pure Yoga, a 200-hour teacher training with Kay Kay and Yogi Charu at Pure Yoga, and a kids yoga instructor certification with Little Flower Yoga. Lori has studied with Manju Jois in Chicago and Encinitas, CA, and has taken various workshops with David Swenson, Nancy Gilgoff, and John Campbell.
Lori holds a Master’s Degree in Media studies and has worked in Marketing for most of her professional career. She enjoys working on the AOP website, correspondence, and newsletters combining her professional experience with her passion for yoga.
Lori resides on the UWS with her husband, 3 teenage sons, and her Shih-Tzu dog -who all keep her on her toes. Yoga has served as a great way for her to escape the daily craziness, and she can vouch that yoga has taught her patience, devotion, and compassion. Lori remains passionate about sharing her love for yoga and wellness with those around her.
Christina Broccolo
Christina Broccolo’s first career was as a fashion designer for over a decade. After realizing fashion was not her life’s Dharma, she went back to school for Exercise Science. Soon after, Christina started teaching yoga in 2014 and practicing Ashtanga with Scott Harig. She took her first Primary Series training with him in 2015 and her Second Series training with Scott Harig and Jamie Bonelli in 2016.
Currently, Christina continues to assist and work with the AOP program at the AOP Shala. She continues her Ashtanga practice and education with various local and international teachers as well as teaching and assisting at the AOP Shala.
Kate DeCock
Kate has taught yoga since 2004 when she completed her first teacher training at the Bikram College of India in Los Angeles. She also completed Level 1 and 2 Ashtanga teacher training at Pure Yoga NYC and Prenatal training at YogaWorks in NYC. She‘s taught at studios in Chicago, Ithaca, New York, and New Jersey. A former runner, Kate first stepped onto a yoga mat in 2002 in Manhattan in the wake of the September 11th attacks. She was instantly hooked and has never stepped off. She welcomes the physical challenges but is even more passionately drawn to the mind and spiritual connection attained through a consistent yoga practice. Kate is honored to have the opportunity to share her love of yoga with others and hopes students will find a place of peace in class that remains with them off the mat.
Katherine Duncan
Katherine has been practicing yoga for more than 16 years and has training and experience in multiple styles. Having grown up playing competitive sports in the Washington, DC area, Katherine found a new connection to both her body and herself when she began taking yoga classes at the end of high school and has maintained a regular practice ever since.
After having dabbled in Ashtanga during her early years of yoga practice, Katherine became a dedicated Mysore-style Ashtanga practitioner in 2018 at Flow Yoga Center in Washington, DC, seeking a deeper practice.
Katherine completed a 200-hour power vinyasa yoga training in 2013 through Down Dog Yoga in Washington, DC and an additional 200-hour Ashtanga-specific training with Jen René and Cory Bryant in 2019 at Flow Yoga Center in Washington, DC. She also completed an Intermediate Series Intensive with Jen René in 2018. She has studied with many different teachers over the years, having done week- and weekend-long workshops with David Garrigues, Kino McGregor, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, Ana Forrest, Peg Mulqueen, Patty Ivey, Baron Baptiste, Shiva Rea, and Shawn Parell, among others. Like many of her teachers have instilled, Katherine believes in taking her practice seriously without taking herself seriously. Play, humility, and experimentation are what make yoga fun!
Currently a graduate student at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, Katherine is grateful to have found a warm, welcoming, and challenging yoga home and community at AOP. She could not imagine her life in NYC without this special space.
Juan Gamboa
After receiving his 200-hour yoga certification at Sonic Yoga in 2009, Juan Gamboa went on to get a 100-hour certification in Restorative Yoga, a 200-hour certification in MNDFL training for meditation, and a 75-hour certification from Kula Yoga Project. He attended a 2-week pilgrimage to India with his teacher Raghunath in 2015. In June 2020, he launched the P.A.R.C. (Practice And ReCover) initiative in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to serve communities in Harlem, UES, UWS, Tribeca, West Village, and his own backyard. He has also led and co-led retreats all over the world – Dubai, Bangkok, Mexico, Cartagena, Koh Sammi, Goa, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Santa Catalina. However, he is probably most at home in his tiny West Village space, a part of New York City he has called home for the past 10 years.
Ben Ortiz
RYT-500. Ben completed RYT-200 training with the faculty of Pure Yoga NYC, and over 300 hours of Ashtanga teacher training with his mentor Scott Harig, John Campbell and Manju Jois. At the AOP Shala, Ben assists and teaches in the Open Practice and Led Primary classes. For Ben, teaching is part of the practice, and daily practice is the best teacher.
Daria Ralko
Daria Ralko is a committed and dedicated Ashtanga Yoga practitioner and teacher. Following a 20-year career in professional ballroom dancing, she embarked on her yoga journey in 2019, making her base in the sunny locale of Miami, Florida.
In 2020, Daria became a devoted student at the Miami Life Center, where she completed her 200-hour certification. Unwilling to rest on her achievements, she furthered her training the next year, accomplishing 300 hours under the tutelage of Kino MacGregor & Tim Feldmann, alongside a host of notable MLC instructors and guest teachers such as Edwin Bryant, Chase Bossart, Ajay Tokas, and Dr. M.A. Jayashree, to name a few. Since then, Daria has continually enriched her knowledge by learning from globally recognized teachers like David Swenson, Ty Landrum, Greg Nardi, and others, including Scott Harig and Jamie Bonelli. This ongoing educational journey has allowed her to deepen her understanding and practice of yoga, with a particular focus on asana, yoga history, philosophy, meditation, chanting, and pranayama.
Daria began her teaching journey as an assistant, gradually taking on her own classes in parallel. Committed to sharing her expertise and passion, she now conducts both online and in-person classes, traveling around the globe to nurture and inspire communities with varied interests and aspirations.
Eddie Teboul
Eddie Teboul has been a dedicated student of the famous American yogi David Life since 2001. In 2007 Eddie graduated with the residential 300 Hours Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Training certification, followed by a one-year mentorship at the NYC Jivamukti location with advanced senior yoga teacher Nicole Nichols (Narayani). Eddie upgraded to a certified 800 hours Jivamukti method yoga teacher with mention and recognition for his skills leading from the seat of a teacher, blending eclectic music, giving efficient personalized posture assists, and a strong understanding of philosophy. His sequencing of posture flow for specific and beneficial purposes in each class where all students of different abilities find the level of the class adapted to them regardless of injuries or need for modifications.
In addition, he is a 500-hour experienced registered yoga alliance teacher (500 hours E-RYT). Between the years 2007 to 2022, Eddie has been leading daily group classes at PURE YOGA, EQUINOX, THE YOGA ROOM, SACRED SOUND YOGA, ALO YOGA, TELLURIDE YOGA FESTIVAL and leads his own “YOGA from MARS” style training, workshops, and events.
Claire Wang
Claire Wang began practicing yoga in 2008 in Santa Fe, NM. She completed her 200-hr yoga certification, her 100-hr Ashtanga Yoga certification with her mentors, Scott and Jamie Bonelli, and her private yoga teaching certification with Sonja Rzepski, all at Pure Yoga NYC in 2018. Claire has assisted in Ashtanga Open Practice since 2018. She has also studied Ashtanga yoga with Manju Jois, David Swenson, and John Campbell. Claire also teaches meditation and has learned about yoga Nidra from Jamie Bonelli. Claire loves helping students to find peace and joy in their yoga and meditation practices. After recovering from reconstructive foot surgery, Claire became even more passionate about supporting students through physical challenges. Claire is a Mom of two and has been known to catch an extra nap in Savasana when needed. Claire graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in History and French Literature. She was previously a French teacher and a school administrator.
Carol Wong
Carol Wong started Ashtanga yoga in 2011 with John Campbell. Then, she studied Ashtanga and Sanskrit with Zoë Slatoff. She has completed an assisting workshop with Troy Lucero and the Primary Series Intensive with David Robson & Jelenic Vedic. Carol aims to inspire students in Ashtanga with her perseverance and dedication (it took her five years to learn the Primary Series) while encouraging students to go beyond what they think is possible in their own practices.
Carol is also an accomplished, Julliard-trained concert pianist who credits Ashtanga for creating stability and discipline in her life while she has traveled to over 47 countries to perform. When Carol is not teaching at the AOP Shala, she fosters dogs and teaches piano. Sometimes, the AOP Shala is lucky enough to host her French bulldog, Miguel, during open practice.
Julia Zern
Julia is a Somatic Release Breathwork™ practitioner, 500 ERYT, as well as a Vinyasa and Yin yoga teacher living and working in the Hudson Valley.
She has a background of practicing and studying many different styles of yoga, learning from both local and international teachers since the year 2000 and teaching since 2011.
Julia is a Somatic Release Breathwork practitioner certified by founder Steven Jaggers. This modality became an incredible source for healing trauma and grief and creates expansion in her own life.
Julia is honored to share the healing power of breathwork with others through the alchemy of Somatic Release and NLP to truly bring us back to homeostasis and live a more authentic life, to connect back to our intuition, purpose, and creative life force.
You can find Julia leading classes, workshops, and trainings around Hudson Valley and sometimes in her home country Sweden.