Prana Yoga Instructors

Regina DeWitt
Prana Yoga and Healing : Owner

 After 30 years working in the hospital as an RN, Regina decided to take health care into a different arena.  She began the study of yoga in 1995 due to depression following the death of her remaining parent. She studied yoga in the tradition of B.K.S. Iyengar with Rodney Yee, and Richard Rosen learning and discovering alignment principles of the practice. Yoga and the vast wisdom of the body and breath showed an inclusive approach to overall health, wellness and spirituality.

In 2009, Regina left the hospital to open Prana Yoga and Healing Center offering classes, workshops, and teacher training.  In 2011, she began to study Kundalini Yoga through the teachings of Yogi Bhajan.  A deeper transformation began to happen as the teachings of kriyas, breath, meditation, and chants enveloped her practice and life.  Kundalini Teacher Training was offered at Prana Yoga in 2015 for the first time because she wanted to share these teachings and she was a part of the graduating class.  She still maintains her RN license, in addition to E-RYT 500, and a Certified Kundalini teacher.  She is currently working on getting certified as an International Yoga Therapist.

 

Dev Atma John LaPlante

Dev Atma John La Plante began his practice of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation in 1985. After several years of study at the Sat Tirath Ashram in Kansas City, he began teaching there in 1990. Continuing to learn from the master, Yogi Bhajan, and other internationally recognized Kundalini teachers, Dev Atma expanded his personal practice and adopted a more yogic lifestyle. Today, in the Age of Aquarius, Dev Atma continues to share the teachings of Yogi Bhajan with weekly classes in Yoga and Meditation. He brings more than 25 years of teaching experience into each class to make that special connection with his students, from beginners to the more advanced yogis.

He is a certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher by the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) thru Yoga Alliance. Dev Atma continues to expand his knowledge and experience of yoga and other related modalities by attending workshops and classes throughout the year. While his classes are centered around the kriyas and meditations taught by Yogi Bhajan, he includes the experience of his own personal practice and yogic lifestyle for the benefit of his students.

Eva Saunders

I was very fortunate to be introduced to yoga early in life and learned to practice on my own.  Before the popularity we see today.  I took my first training in Vienna, Austria.  Coming to Sarasota I took Anusara training with Jaye Marten and  Betsy Downing  where the principals are based on alignment and always have a central focus for class. This helped to renew and deepen my skills.   I trust the intelligence of my body to constantly try to maintain homeostasis, our most aligned self.  I do daily meditation on the magnificent body and its functions of maintaining good health that I am Grateful for. This is what I teach and live.  I have been teaching for 57 years and make it My Lifestyle.

Harmony Ananda, RYT 500

Harmony Ananda is one of the first and most beloved yoga teachers in Sarasota. She received her 500-hour Yoga Certification from Yoga Alliance in 2000. Harmony now specializes in Gentle Meditative Yoga which combines traditional Hatha Yoga postures, Pranayama (breathing practices), Yoga Nidra (conscious relaxation), Mudra & Meditation. You will experience and learn about the 8 limbs of Yoga, as well as traditional yoga alignments & meditation techniques. This is a slow-paced class which integrates all of the above, as well as restorative postures using props to assist student’s ease in developing good posture, flexibility and strength. Open to all ages and levels.

Harmony was one of the original teachers at Body & Soul Yoga Cooperative, Sarasota’s first yoga center and helped create and teach in that Yoga Teacher Training Program. She also started the yoga program at the Ayurvedic Center, and Mandala Yoga Sanctuary. She most recently taught for 7 years at Garden of the Heart Yoga Center .

Harmony has been blessed to study with great Yoga Masters since the age of 20 when she became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation, as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. She is also certified in Kripalu Yoga, founded by Yoga Amrit Desai and TriYoga, founded by American Yogini, Kali Ray. Harmony is certified to teach yoga to Veterans and is also certified in Laughter Yoga as taught by Madon Katira. Harmony has also offered Yoga on Cruise Ships and teaches Couples Yoga Retreats and workshops with her husband, Rick Joyce. Her life-long study and practice of yoga has blended into the style she teaches & offers today. Harmony honors the ancient practice of yoga as a tool for health, healing, longevity, and self-awareness.

Deborah

A recent Sarasota transplant, Deborah trained in modern & classical dance while studying anatomy, kinesiology and exercise physiology through college. In 2001 she established East Village Wellness in San Diego, Ca. an elegant private studio offering “pilates method” training, ashtanga, vinyasa & wall yoga instruction, massage therapy, advanced clinical and anti-aging skin care solutions. She has worked with and apprenticed under inspirational teachers whose influence has given her an outstanding ability to observe the behavior of the body and apply her knowledge in a practical fashion. She is a dedicated teacher/student and believes everyone could benefit immensely from a process that enables you to think more clearly, breathe more effortlessly and move more efficiently.

Joanna Jackowska
I became a KRI certified kundalini yoga teacher in 2014. Then completed level 2 training in kundalini yoga. I am also certified as a Radiant Child yoga instructor. I have taken various trainings including Beyond Addiction, Gong and sound healing with Mike Tamburo, crystal bowl and sound healing with Jay Schwed.
Yoga has always been a part of my life, even without me knowing it. I grew up in Poland, and as a child had health issues, including scoliosis. In addition to chiropractic care I was thought to use yogic exercises to help correct my spine and body.
Kundalini yoga along with meditation, chanting, breath and community has been a life saving raft for me. The practice has played a huge part in helping me heal from anxiety, trauma, co-dependency, addictive family members and lack of self worth.
I feel that I have become a refined version of myself and I continue growing on the path of my truth. I truly enjoy uplifting people so they too can find their way through the darkness into light.
Anya Castellano, MA, RYT
Anya has earned a Masters Degree in Counseling and is a Registered Yoga Teacher.
She studied Anusara Yoga with John Friend and Kundalini Yoga at the Khalsa Healing Arts and Yoga Center in Yardley, Penn. She taught Yoga full time in New Jersey, her home state for 15 years and then continued teaching on the East Coast of Florida. After taking time off from teaching classes, Anya moved to Sarasota and created Quantam Face Healing and a Balancing Yogic Practice, which she implements with private clients. Anya has felt a calling to once again teach and serve. She is so grateful to have found Prana Yoga Studio a place she can call home.
Anya is also a Crystal Bowl Sound Therapist, Collage Artist and Fairy Hair Stylist.