Our Teachers

JULIE SCHLEMMER

Why did you start yoga?

My dad always talked about yoga and I was curious to learn what it was.

Why do you practice yoga?

It’s my reminder to take care of myself and treat myself with kindness, love, and respect. When I remember that for myself, I remember to treat others the same way.

What grounds you?

Gardening, leaning against a tree, lying on the earth, slipping a rock in my pocket (or my suitcase). I often bring home rocks from places where I travel and put them in my home. My favorite is a basalt sphere I picked up from the Hood River in Oregon.

What brings gratitude?

Simple things that aren’t so easy to remember…a roof over my head, food on the table, and people who love me no matter what. Every day, I am grateful for the breath in my lungs, the challenges of owning a business, and the joys of the changing seasons.

Words you live by?

“Breathing in I calm my body, Breathing out I smile.” (Thich Nhat Hahn) And, be kind.

Best advice you have received?

“Be your own boss.” (Dad); “Everything in moderation… including moderation.” (Dad), “Tomorrow’s another day.” (Mom)

Favorite book?

Peace is Every Step (TNH) It’s packed with practical advice on how to live in the present moment and remember that joy and happiness are available right now. I read it all the time and learn something new each time.

Describe your teaching style?

My classes are alignment-focused, watchful, kind-hearted, and playful. I bring in a theme, a poem, a yogic teaching, and build a class through a thoughtful progression of pranayama (breath awareness), asana (body and mind alignment through physical postures), and awareness of the present moment. While we walk in as individuals, we leave feeling more connected to ourselves and those we’ve spent time with in community. Whether it’s a challenging, strength-building class; or a gentle, quiet class, they are designed to keep you present on your mat and in union with all.

Julie Schlemmer, B.S., E-500 RYT

SWAMI ATMARUPA SARASWATI

Atmarupa means “Form of the true Self”

Swami Atmarupa is the Founder of the Atma Center that opened in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in 1997.

Swami Atmarupa has taught internationally in Australia, Colombia, Mexico, and India as well as presenting programs at the Omega Institute, at Yoga Alliance conferences and presented at the first International Yoga Nidra Conference in June. She is honored to be one of the founding Yogacharyas of the Yoga Vidya Council at the Bihar School of Yoga in India in 2015. She is the Education Director of the Yoga Academy of North America.

During her 25-year career as an anesthetist, Atmarupa spent years providing anesthesia for open heart surgery and other major procedures. She feels that both anesthesia and yoga involve the study of varying levels of consciousness and the ability to control them. Both studies also require the development of intense levels of awareness.

“I teach yoga to help students discover how to find a better way to be in their minds, bodies and the world around them, whole.”

SALI RYAN

Why did you start yoga?

I tried yoga in an attempt to alleviate musculoskeletal tension in my chest…I worked a very stressful career. The doctor assured me I was not having a heart attack. I’d never tried yoga, and so I did, with excellent result!!

Why do you practice yoga?

Yoga has changed my life in many ways. Practicing yoga keeps me healthy, on all levels. It is a tool box that has helped me understand myself, others, and the connection we all share.

What grounds you?

Sitting in stillness. I also spend a great deal of time in nature and try to maintain a balanced lifestyle of connecting to the world and spending time within.

What brings gratitude?

Remembering that God is in everyone/everything, and thereby seeing the beauty in everyone/everything.

Words you live by?
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Julian of Norwich

What is the best advice you have received?

Put on your own oxygen mask first, then attend to others. 

Favorite book?

Currently, The Direct Path by Andrew Harvey.

Describe your teaching style?

I present asana, pranayama, and meditation practices in an accessible manner, sprinkled with yogic philosophy and yogic anatomy, which hopefully provide opportunity for each student to learn about themself. The goal of the yoga toolbox is to realize our True Self and live in a way consistent with our True Nature.

Sali Ryan, BA, 500 RYT

KATARINA CERNY

Why did you start yoga?

I worked as a museum curator and educator when I discovered yoga. I started practicing yoga in 1986, when my father’s cardiologist recommended yoga to him and he to me. When I first stepped into the yoga space, I was transported to such an atmosphere of calm and peace as I had never experienced. The room and the practice became my refuge during a turbulent and chaotic time.

Why do you practice yoga?

I practice to experience a sense wholeness, and to settle my mind so I can more deeply connect with myself, my fellow beings, and the world. Yoga has helped me take the attitude of wanting to benefit others in all I do. 

What brings gratitude?

I am so grateful for my yoga practice, for my students, and for the privilege of teaching yoga. I feel so honored to share the teachings with them. And of course I am thankful for my teachers, my family and friends, and the beauty of the world.

What grounds you?

Nature and music. Being in nature is my grounding and my meditation. I bird watch, hike, and camp. 

Words you live by? 

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

~Viktor Frankl

“Our true nature is like a precious jewel: although it may be temporarily buried in mud, it remains completely brilliant and unaffected. We simply have to uncover it.”

~Pema Chodron

Favorite book?

It changes all the time. Today it’s the Bhagavad Gita.

What is the best advice you have received?

Advice from the Bhagavad Gita that no effort is ever wasted:

“On this path no effort is wasted,

no gain is ever reversed;

even a little of this practice

will shelter you from great sorrow.”

Bhagavad Gita 2.40 (Stephen Mitchell translation)

Describe your teaching style

In my classes I aspire to create a space where students can experience a harmonious relationship within their body, mind, and spirit through the flow of breath, energy, and  movement. Posture becomes a springboard to discovery; what an asana looks like is less important than how it feels in the body, and students can adapt, vary, change and evolve practices over time. I seek to meet students where they are with kindness, and without judgment, competition, pressure or expectation. I encourage everyone to explore their yoga practice with a sense of creativity, openness, delight, and playfulness. I also hope that yoga can be a bridge between class and everyday life.

Katarina Cerny. MA, E-500 RYT

DEVADHYANAM (DEB DREW)

“Devadhyanam” means “concentration on a being of light.”
Deb Drew’s 30 years of instructing high school English serves her well when she leads yoga classes at the Atma Center. Deb has experienced great physical benefits from yoga, especially after an auto accident that left her in with serious back pain.

She developed a more spiritual side to her practice through Yogic Studies and Teacher Training at the Yoga Academy of North America. She has found that awareness is the basis of yoga. Deb particularly enjoys teaching the foundation levels because she has witnessed the benefits all of her students – even those with very limited physical ability and other health issues – receive from yoga.

Fun Fact: Deb won tenth place in a WCLV love poetry contest in 2000.

“I teach yoga so my students can feel self-awareness, calm, relaxed and ultimately empowered.”

LINDA KABAT

Why did you start yoga?

To connect with a sense of equanimity.

Why do you practice yoga?

To bring forth balance strength and flexibility in body; energy that flows; and a calm clear mind.

What grounds you? 

Maintaining connection with my body and breath

What brings gratitude?

Love

Favorite book?

There are so many. The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupery

What is the best advice you have received?

Be a good listener.

Describe your teaching style

Sharing the practices.

Linda Kabat, RN, MA, 200 RYT

RISHI (MARK JOHNSON)

Mark is a long-time student of the Atma Center and is an Accredited Level 1 Satyananda Yoga Teacher. He has been teaching yoga since 2016 and has studied in other traditions including the Temple of Kriya Yoga. He teaches yoga to blind students at the Cleveland Sight Center and traveled to India with his daughter, first in 2017, then returning in 2018 to do the Raja Yoga course with her at the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger.

Fun Fact: Mark’s nickname as a child was “Curly.”

“I teach yoga because I want my students to learn tools for joyful living and feel relaxed yet energized when they leave.”

DEB KLEIN

Why did you start yoga?

I dabbled in yoga as a 20-something (mid 1970s!!) seeking relief from

depression and hoping to find more meaning in life. Fast forward to circa

1999, in my mid 40s, I returned to yoga in earnest, still looking for answers

to depression, but now needing healing and relief from chronic back and

hip pain. It took a long time and intensive yoga trainings to learn

how to listen to my own body to develop my own practice.

Why do you practice yoga?

I practice yoga as a form of holistic self-care that keeps me healthy and

strong. I continue to use yoga, combined with my physical therapy training

to heal debilitating back and hip pain and slow the progression of arthritis.

But the most profound benefits continue to be a blossoming of mental and

emotional strength, less depression, more self-acceptance, more vitality

and a greater ability to tackle the challenges of life.

What grounds you?

As Pema Chodron teaches, I hope to eventually be OK with

groundlessness, uncertainty, and change. I am not there (yet!), so I continue on the path. I find grounding in my morning coffee meditation, breathing and meditation

practices, alone time, reading, bicycling, nature, and time with my

best friend.

What brings gratitude?

So many things. What comes to mind in this moment is sunshine, hot

showers, cool breezes, walking barefoot in the surf, babies’ smiles, and did I

mention coffee? juicy grapefruit, music, trees, birds, squirrels, sea shells,

fresh air, and the list goes on.

Words you live by? 

Honor your limitations; find your edge, stay on the soft side of it; less is more; there is no one-size-fits-all; and find what works for you.

What is the best advice you have received?

Embrace your demons, but don’t let them take over.

Favorite book?

My favorite yoga book is “Practical Yoga Psychology”by Dr. Rishi

Vivekananda

Describe your teaching style?

I am on a journey to evolve and improve body, heart, and mind, and to find peace and acceptance of what is. Learning to embrace this paradox.  As a teacher I hope to provide the tools to empower students to find that balance for themselves. I teach gentle yoga with attention to balance and healthy alignment. I integrate my yoga

training with my career as a physical therapy assistant. My classes

can range from focusing on physical safety, body mechanics and

principles of care, to strength training, to safe stretching, to yoga

philosophy.

Deb Klein, BA, 500 RYT

JUDY EVANS

Why did you start yoga?

To continue recovery and optimize health after an illness.

Why do you practice yoga?

Wholeness, equanimity, joy, and health.

What grounds you?

Remembering to caress the earth with every step when walking (as Thich Nhat Han said); and a regular home yoga practice.

What brings gratitude?

The chorus of robin song in the springtime before sunrise; the wisdom and generosity of my teachers.

Words you live by?

My sankalpa.

What is the best advice you have received?

” Firm in yoga, Arjuna, act without attachment. Be the same in success and in failure. This inner balance is called yoga.” Bhagavad Gita 2.48 (tr. Laura Atmadarshan Santoro, publication pending)

Favorite book?

Bhagavad Gita

Describe your teaching style?

Friendly, knowledgeable, responsive

Judy Evans, MD, 200 RYT

LINDA WRIGHT

Why did you start yoga?

I started practicing yoga when I turned 40 and my body decided to start falling apart!

Why do you practice yoga?

I continue to practice yoga because it makes me feel better — more flexible, stronger, taller, and the breathing!

What grounds you?

My children ground me and keep me humble.

What brings gratitude?

Knowing I am blessed. No doubt about it.

Words you live by?

Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

What is the best advice you have received?

Shi* happens. Get over it and work to make things better.

Favorite book?

You want a list?! I read all of the time.

Describe your teaching style?

I hope my teaching style is simple, accessible, strong and fun.

Linda Wright, MS, 200 RYT

LILLIE BURKINS – APPRENTICE

Lillie is thrilled to be teaching yoga! She is a 2019 graduate of the Citizen Yoga teacher training program. In 2018, she received a kids yoga training certificate from the Go Yoga Initiative. Lillie believes that yoga heals by strengthening bodies and calming minds. She practices yoga for the peace it brings her and teaches yoga so others may find their peace.

DEANNA-BLACK

Deanna has been teaching fitness classes since 1985, After teaching a “stretching” class at Club Med in 1990, a student came up to her and said, “That was yoga.” And then began Deanna’s journey into yoga. She had come to realize what she had been doing and thinking not only were scientific approaches but also yoga philosophies. From all her studies, schools in the States and courses in India, Deanna brings together these eastern and western influences connecting the mind, body and spirit. Deanna’s greatest influence was her grandfather who lived to be 104, who’s last words were “I want to stand up” and he did. Gramps was the epitome of a joyFULL life. Discovering how your body moves best with what you are feeling in that exact moment, empowers you both on and off the mat. Understanding and trusting your intuition to navigate not only a yoga class but life. Going from “doing” yoga to “being” yoga and with this living a vibrant life.

Deanna’s influences in yoga are the late Shri K Pattabhi Jois, David Swenson and his wife Shelly, Twee Merrigan and locally Jan Hauenstein and Atmarupa. Currently, Deanna’s primary teacher is Shiva Rea, studying with her since 2004.

JULIE KONRAD

Julie Konrad is a certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor (AHC) through the Himalayan Institute. She works with individuals using the wisdom and practices of Ayurveda to lead her clients towards healing and better health. Julie leads workshops, retreats and talks on Ayurveda throughout the region. She has been a speaker for the Rheumatology Nurses Society annual conferences, and has worked with The Cleveland Indians, Case Western Reserve Medical School and The Cleveland Clinic. Julie also teaches hatha yoga at The Cleveland Racquet Club along with classes on meditation and mindfulness in Cleveland and online. You can find out more about Julie by visiting clevelandayurveda.com

MARY LAURA BOWERS

Why did you start yoga?

Originally, I started practicing yoga to stretch and enhance mobility for long distance running, cycling, and weight lifting. I had no idea the world it would open up to me in body, mind, and spirit.

Why do you practice yoga?

It centers my world so that I can embrace uncertainty and change.

What grounds you?

My yoga practice. Nature. Running, cycling, and walking with my steady bird dog companion. And coffee.

What brings gratitude?

Breathing.

Words you live by? 

We are not the same; we are not different. Sebene Selassi and There is no individual in the forest. Robert Powers in the Overstory

What is the best advice you have received?

Just be here and experience the moment.

Favorite book?

No favorite one, but a good one is Atomic Habits by James Cleary

Describe your teaching style?

Challenging and fun, with attention to alignment, and infused with ancient wisdom.

Mary Laura Bowers, LSW, E-500 RYT

STEPHANIE STAPLER

Why did you start yoga?

A former coworker kept suggesting I try it.

Why do you practice yoga?

Because I enjoy the results, all of them, not just physical.

What grounds you?

Creative outlets, a space where I can release the excess-projections and constructs.

What brings gratitude?

Consciously being in a state of unconditionalness for what is or was.

What is the best advice you have received?

A wise man once said, nothing.

Favorite book?

The Celestine Prophecy

Describe your teaching style?

Authentic, with traditional training, anatomical undertones & sprinkles of wisdom.

Stephanie Stapler, MA, 200 RYT

MARY BETH REZEK

Why did you start yoga?

I began my yoga journey as ateenager in the 1970s watching Lilias Yoga & You on PBS daily. It made me feel so good to move my body in yoga poses. I’ve been practicing j(ust about daily,) ever since, at least sun salutations in the morning.

Why do you practice yoga?

Yoga helps me be my best self: to get rid of aches and pains, reduce stress, for mental clarity, for strength and flexibility, to access a peaceful state, for a feeling of well being.

What grounds you?

I feel grounded when I practice standing poses, working in my garden, and cooking for my family.

What brings gratitude?

My reiki teacher taught me to start every day thinking of, or writing down five things I am grateful for. It is a good way to be in my heart space instead of my busy mind. I am grateful for my grandson, Miles, who I have had the privilege of helping raise for a year and a half. I love his little voice when he calls my name and his wonder of our world keeps life fresh for me. I am grateful for all of my family, especially my husband, my rock in this life, three healthy children and their wonderful partners, my six sisters, two brothers, and extended family. I am grateful for yoga, which keeps me healthy in my body, mind, and soul. I am grateful for the natural world, and all its beauty. I am grateful for all the teachers I have had: my parents, school teachers, yoga teachers, reiki teachers, massage teachers, crystal teachers, singing teachers, harmonium teachers, astrology teachers, shamans. I am grateful for breathing deeply. The universe reminded of that when I had pneumonia for a month.

Words you live by or daily affirmation?

Life is interesting!

What is the best advice you have received?

Listen to your heart.

Favorite book?

Oh, way too many to choose one! Human Tuning, any Jodi Piccoult book. My husband reminds me there is a library with free books as I continually buy and keep books.

Describe your teaching style?

I have trained under three masters and learn tips in every class I take. I would describe my class as gentle with deep releases. I love to offer mini sound baths during shavasana with metal singing bowls.

MICHAEL T. GREEN

Michael Green grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and started meditation when he joined the Center for Spiritual Awareness when Roy Davis was the Spiritual Director. Minister Davis was a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. (Link to https://yogananda.org/) Michael has been practicing meditation for 40 years and teaching in the inner-city communities of Cleveland for 18! He says he practices “For my spiritual growth and health benefits.”

He welcomes anyone who is sincere, committed and wanting to experience the benefits of super consciousness meditation to join him in his spring workshops.

“My type of nonsense is well–adjusted and happy!”