Our Instructors Forest Park/Oak Park

“I want yoga to be healing for my students as it was for me,” says Alethya.  After enjoying years of the physical benefits, in 2012 she decided to dive in deep.  Her mentor was an Ashtanga yoga guru who helped Alethya see the path to self-love and confidence. Alethya decided to channel her devotion of yoga into teaching.  She completed her RYT 200 hour certification in 2016 and is currently working on her 500 hour certification. She has taken extensive workshops and is certified to teach Vinyasa, Yin and Hot Yoga.  She continues to study under phenomenal teachers who inspire her and motivate her to be the best, to reach her highest potential. 

As a teacher, she wants to empower and encourage students to fulfill their highest potential.  She’ll believe in you, whether you’re striving for a pose or want to start teaching your own classes, because she sees the spark within you that has the potential to do it. Alethya believes that one finds strength through letting go and living in the present moment which leads to inner peace and joy.  She believes that Yoga is a journey and changes as your commitment to the practice gets stronger.

Her children Gianna and Eric James share the same values as she does and they inspire and motivate her every day. By following the 8 fold path her practice continues to grow.  Her dream is to share her knowledge, her experience and her passion with as many people as possible. 

Candyce began her yoga journey as a counter balance to strength training. The mindbody connection, attention to breathing techniques and meditation kept her coming back for more. This in turn lead her to pursue yoga teacher training (completed in Dec 2018) to share this love of the practice with friends, family and community in addition to encouraging bodies of every size and shape to join or begin their yoga journey. She enjoys creating intuitive, all level flows and puts just as much effort in her musical selection for her class offerings. Her style is very much Ashtanga vinyasa influenced. 

Jessica Tulbure is a passionate yoga teacher who has turned her hobby of yoga practice into a life style. She is aware how yoga simplifies and impacts her life in a positive way. She teaches yoga to offer up the opportunity for yoga practitioners to find their own bliss. She loves to create new playlists and sequences regularly to keep things fresh!

Karina believes yoga is not about the poses, it’s the journey and what you learn about yourself while getting there. She teaches a variety of fitness formats; spin, strength training and yoga. She has a background in Crossfit, where her fitness journey began but once she stepped foot into a yoga studio for the first time, she new this was her calling and immerse herself in teaching and her practice. She received her first certification in Yoga Sculpt, soon after received her 200-Hour certification, and currently working on her 500-Hour certification. She believes yoga  has many benefits for us, it helps with depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and so much more. During her class you will often hear her speak to these benefits during poses and learn what they are doing for our mind, body, and soul.

Karina believes yoga is a journey on and off your mat, she allows space during her class so that the journey is authentic to you; She believes this is your space, your progress, your practice and through her gentle guidance, sequencing, and cues, she helps you journey through your practice with ease.

Bio/Pic Coming Soon

Bio/Pic Coming Soon

Although Meghan felt drawn to practice yoga in her late teens, it was not until she was completing her studies in physical therapy that she dived more seriously into her practice. It was during her final rounds of student rotations that she was able to truly discover both the physical and mental benefits of a committed practice. It was a time full of challenges and new adventures as she was transitioning away from my life as a student. She found that through the breath work, meditation and asana practice, yoga provided her with a sense of grounding and strength that helped to ease this transition. Since committing to her practice she went on to study yoga more seriously, and has been through many more transitions! She completed her Yoga Teacher Training in 2008 at Yogaview in Chicago and is still very highly influenced by the many great instructors she had the honor to work with during that time. Her classes to this day honor the moving meditative practice that drew her to her mat initially. She enjoys playful sequences, moving music and getting upside down! She tries to create challenging practices that offer options to help each student find their yoga practice. Her favorite quote to kick off practice is, “the body benefits from movement, the mind benefits from quiet”.Meghan currently lives in Oak Park with her husband and three daughters. She continues to practice Physical therapy locally and is an ongoing student of yoga and life! In early 2018 she decided to dive more seriously into studying and teaching yoga to children and families and has loved every step of this new journey! Through her studies with Global Family Yoga she has been able to take on the fun and challenging roles of teaching yoga to practitioners of every age. Her family classes have become some of her favorites, especially when she gets to bring along her sweet, mostly behaved, little side kicks.

Merril Doty is a trauma-informed Yoga practitioner, Reiki master, dancing artist and sex and consent educator, with over 15 years of teaching experience. She received her 200-hour RYT Yoga training in 2015 through Yoga Loft with Jill Jerome and Liza McCormick, kids yoga training with OM Slice Yoga’s Cassi Stuckman, and trauma-informed training in 2016 with Molly Boeder Harris. In 2019, she began her Reiki training, and completed certification through the Master level with Nicole Perez. Merril is also a trained volunteer sex-educator through the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program. Merril has an eclectic background that includes teaching modern dance to various ages, performing at Renaissance Faires, and leading sexual health workshops at conferences, which fuels her belief that yoga, creative movement, and social/political engagement are not irreconcilable entities, but are actually deeply entwined.

Mia is a yogini and artist settled in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. 'Divine Healing Arts' is her healing arts alias in which she's maintained a Facebook page and YouTube channel for her audience interested in self-improvement, healing and all things yoga. Her professional, healing arts journey began when she received her 200-hour yoga certification in multi-style yoga during a journey of a lifetime in Rishikesh, India in 2018. She teaches various styles such as Yin, Restorative and "Mindful Flows." Her main passion on the yogic path is Kundalini Yoga and Vipassana Meditation. She discovered Kundalini Yoga in January 2017 and her life rapidly transformed before her eyes since then. She attended her first 10-day Vipassana course in October 2018 and has since been back for a 3-day course as well multiple times to serve/help in between courses at the center. She has come to understand how yoga and meditation help to cultivate inner peace in the individual and can then have a ripple effect and transform a larger world. Her chosen tagline is "yoga teacher.. teachin' peace." Follow Mia's journey- @mia_yoga

Sylvie began practicing Ashtanga yoga at the age of fourteen after a childhood in classical ballet and then modern and contemporary dance. While studying at McGill University, she deepened her practice at the Ashtanga Yoga Montreal studio. She feels grateful to have been able to learn from the AYM teachers on a weekly basis for four years and complete her foundational teacher training under the studio founder, Allison Ulan, in the summer of 2017 as well as an apprenticeship in Restorative Yoga with the studio director, Jeanne Mudie, the following winter. Since moving back to Chicago, she has continued to challenge her practice through a more dedicated study of Iyengar yoga and has further pursued her interests in functional anatomy and movement by completing a comprehensive training in the Pilates method. She appreciates the compassionate, intelligent and exploratory qualities of the yoga practice and seeks to provide her students with a working understanding of their bodies in addition to a healthy, balanced and joyful approach to their personal practice.

Tracy was drawn to yoga over a decade ago while looking for a way to counter balance the bodily impacts of running and ultimate frisbee. Beyond the positive physical effects of yoga, she discovered how powerful the mindful and meditative aspects are and gained a greater appreciation for the mental benefits of yogic practice. After completing her 200hr teacher training, Tracy decided to teach to share the transformative and limitless potential she feels each time she steps on the mat. Tracy completed the 85hr prenatal teacher training while pregnant with her third child, and also enjoys leading expectant and new mothers into an accessible experience of yoga. Tracy currently lives in Oak Park with her husband, daughter, and two sons. Tracy believes that yoga can be valuable for anyone who brings the practice into their lives, and she wants to help others find their path in an uplifting and approachable environment.

As a nurse working in an ever-evolving stressful environment, I was taking care of others but often not taking the time to take care of myself.. After experiencing the death of two family members, I decided it was time to take care of myself and enrolled in a two month Bikram based training.The training was an intense experience that brought about a metamorphis. I had a deep peacefulness and awareness enter in my life through the practice of Bikram yoga.

Being able to practice and teach is a gift to myself and is also one that I get to share with others. Sharing yoga as a nurse, a mother, a woman, and human being, is one of the greatest gifts I have the ability to share.

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Jill has been a practitioner of yoga for over 12 years, teaching since 2009, and is co-owner of Yoga Loft Chicago. As CEO of a corporate recruiting firm, she desperately needed some balance in her life. A running injury and the advice of a close friend brought her to her first yoga class which happened to be an Ashtanga, 2 hour practice. She immediately gravitated towards the athleticism required, felt a sense of mental clarity and relaxation that lasted long after class...and has been a dedicated student ever since.

She is a Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher (E-RYT) and has received additional in depth training in the Full Primary Series of Ashtanga, Power Vinyasa Yoga, and Hatha. She teaches a powerful, athletic and vigorous flow as well as some open level classes inspired by the Ashtanga -Vinyasa system of Yoga. Expect to be challenged! 

Jill does not believe there is only one approach to yoga; we are all different and will be touched by the amazing and life changing benefits when it is right time for each of us. As eternal students we are constantly adapting... but once we do find yoga it will likely become an integral part of our existence and overall well being.

Jill practices Mysore and meditation daily. Outside of the studio she spends as much time as possible experiencing life through the eyes and mind of her 9 year old daughter who is her ultimate teacher and inspiration!

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon

Bio/Pic coming soon