Gina Pachkowski
Owner of Alluem Yoga, Gina is an energetic, certified yoga instructor. Her practice embodies a combination of power, ashtanga, bikram and vinyasa flow-yoga. She has tapped into her 15 years of dance training, aerobic instruction and physically active lifestyle to create her own unique yoga style. This wife and mother of three children has incorporated yoga into her daily living and gets pleasure in educating others about the mental, physical and spiritual benefits of yoga. You will love the energy and spirit that Gina brings to her class. Not just because of who she is but because of who she wants the rest of us to be. She believes that only by giving we gain what truly matters. Gina is grateful for stepping into her first meaningful yoga class taught by Mary Roth. She then went on to get her training in Soul Sweat Asana Practice from Wendy Gross-Pinto at The Yoga and Healing Center in Scotch Plains and is certified through the National Yoga Alliance. Gina is forever grateful to her teachers for sharing their voice and knowledge of yoga and for being part of creating a life she loves.
Gina is the founder and owner of Alluem Yoga, where she teaches and oversees the operations of the school. She is a Cranford resident. Gina’s intension is to create a fun, supportive and nurturing environment for all yoga students.
Leigh Rousseau
Leigh found yoga in 2006 and since walking through the doors of her first yoga studio, has embraced the yogic way of life. She is a certified professional educator with 9 years experience in the New Jersey public school system. After leaving the classroom, Leigh embraced her yoga mat and completed her first yoga teacher training with Wendy Gross-Pinto. She became a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT) in 2008.
She then continued her study of yoga by training with Judith Haanson Lasater in 2009 and is a certified Relax and Renew Instructor. Her practice and teaching style is strongly rooted in classical yoga and spirituality and she enjoys teaching a vinyasa flow- style class. Leigh loves being a yoga instructor and encourages her students to use their breath to unite their body, mind and souls one breath at a time! Her passion for learning and incorporating yoga into all aspects of her life, including being a wife and mother of three, creates an inexhaustible enthusiasm to teach from the heart. Leigh would like to thank all of her teachers past, present and future!
Eileen Michie
Eileen's yoga practice which began three years ago transformed her life both emotionally & spiritually. Inspired by the teachings of Mary Roth, Eileen decided to continue her journey and become a yoga teacher. Subsequently, she became certified in Soul Sweat Asana Yoga under the direction of Wendy Gross-Pinto. Upon receiving her certification in 2008, Eileen had an opportunity to teach Chair Yoga to Senior Citizens at the Westfield Senior Housing Center. She discovered the rewards and benefits of teaching yoga to older people. Eileen has made a commitment to continue to teach older people in a nurturing and healing environment. Eileen’s yoga practice has provided her with mental and spiritual clarity and provided her with a balanced lifestyle as a teacher, wife, and mother of two beautiful girls.
Kitty Wilkin
Kitty began her study of yoga in 2006. Her first Ashtanga class ignited a spark within her, and she decided that she wanted to drop everything and become a yogi. While she didn't exactly "drop everything", she embraced a regular yoga practice and has continued to learn as much as she can about the yoga way of life. Her passion led her to become a certified yoga teacher in 2008. She studied under Wendy Gross-Pinto and graduated from the Soul Sweat Teacher Training program, a 200 hour Yoga Alliance accredited program. Her yoga passion lies in Ashtanga, which she has been practicing regularly since 2007 with Ross Marshall. She continues to attend workshops, conferences, and reads diligently about the many yoga philosophies and practices. She attended the Yoga Journal Conference in May, during which she attended an amazing weekend of training sessions with Ashtanga guru David Swenson.
Kitty is inspired by nature and the beauty that is everywhere, and she loves to share her love of life, nature, and yoga with everyone. Kitty is forever grateful to her loving and supportive husband, and to all of her past and present yoga teachers including Ross Marshall and Wendy Gross-Pinto, as well as all of her future teachers. She hopes to inspire others to learn to love the life they live, and to make yoga a way of life.
Karen Gilmour - Children's Yoga Teacher
Upon discovering yoga in 2004, Karen watched her true self shine through every time she practiced. After experiencing the many benefits of yoga first hand, she knew bringing these benefits to children could help shape their awareness, self-esteem, and confidence now and in their future. The most beautiful thing is watching a child come into a better understanding of self - mind, body, and soul.
Karen completed her teacher training with Little Flower Yoga in NYC. She is certified in Children's Yoga and trained to teach grades K-12. She did her student teaching through the Harlem Children's Zone bringing yoga to children who may have never gotten the chance to experience the beauty of the practice.
When Karen is not practicing yoga, she is most likely working on illustrating her next children's book. She has currently illustrated 4 children self help books focusing on health, emotions, imagination, and self-esteem.
Kristin Caccavale, RYT
Kristin began practicing yoga 10 years ago while recovering from surgery. She took her first class looking to regain her physical flexibility, but became quickly inspired by yoga practice and philosophy. In 2007, she studied with Claire Diab at the American Yoga Academy and became a certified yoga instructor. In 2008, she completed a program with Kelli DeFlora, RYT at Starseed Center for Yoga and Healing in Montclair and became certified in pre-natal yoga. She is registered with the Yoga Alliance. Kristin also teaches mixed-level yoga at the Springfield YMCA. Kristin feels incredibly fortunate for the opportunity to share her passions for yoga and learning. She would like to thank all of her teachers and friends who have touched her spirit and encouraged her to move forward on her journey during the past decade.
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Tricia Iannuzzi Tricia began her practice of yoga 7 years ago. As a multi-sport athlete, yoga orinially began for her as a great way to create a stronger and more felxible body, but has since developed into a lifestyle. She has received her certification from Yoga Works NYC in a style that combines aspects of Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Vinyasa flow. During the day you will find Tricia teaching the various aspects of US History, society, and law as a tenured faculty member of Westfield High School. She looks forward to bringing the same passion and energy she exhibits in the classroom into the yoga studio.
Susan Martz
Susan is a certified yoga instructor, with more than 20 years of teaching experience in yoga, dance and exercise. As a scholarship graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts she studied dance extensively, and performed professionally on Broadway. Her desire to deepen her connection to the body-mind-spirit relationship led her to the Kripalu Yoga Center and the Open Center through which she studied with Dr. Jeff Migdow and received her certification in Prana Yoga. She continues to draw her inspiration from many of the masters in the yoga community and shares that inspiration using an eclectic style of her own. Susan offers a playful, supportive and nurturing environment creating a space where students can awaken their full self and healing potential.
Catherine Ferri
Catherine is a graduate from The Boston Conservatory with her BFA in Dance. She began to practice yoga and Pilates when an injury sidelined her for six months in college. After graduating in 2004 she received her 300-hour yoga certification from Yoga Synthesis in Ramsey, NJ. Catherine also completed her 100-hour Pilates mat certification in May 2009 from Experience Regeneration. Catherine loves to see the change that yoga and Pilates can make in people’s lives. Her style is a flowing Vinyasa practice that teaches her students to trust themselves by moving into a continuous flow of meditative movement and bringing awareness to the changes that are happening both on the mat and in everyday life. Catherine also feels that Pilates goes hand in hand with yoga by utilizing the same focus and intensity in strengthening the body from the inside out. She is committed through her teaching to bring happiness and peace to each and every person and encourages all of her students to be present and follow their bliss.
Cindy Fechter
Cindy's passion for yoga began nine years ago when she took her first yoga class. Since that time Cindy has developed a strong connection to Anusara yoga, founded by John Friend. Cindy resonates deeply with Anusara's Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness and believes that Anusara's Universal Principles of Alignment are powerful guidelines for the healing and progression of mind, body and spirit. In 2004, Cindy completed a 200-hour teacher training in Anusara yoga and has since spent hundreds of hours studying with John Friend and various certified Anusara Yoga Teachers. Cindy incorporates yoga into all aspects of life, including a full-time schedule as a pediatric physical therapist and as a mom to three beautiful sons. Cindy enjoys sharing her enthusiasm and love for yoga with others.
