Susan Young has been practicing yoga for more than 20 years, and completed her teacher training (RYT 200) in 2009 at the Yoga Center of Columbia. Susan holds a master’s degree in wellness management and has studied yoga and anatomy with Martin Kirk, Douglas Keller, Leslie Kaminoff, Tom Myers, and Baxter Bell, among many others. Susan brings a light-hearted approach to her classes, believing strongly that it’s fine to take yoga seriously, as long as we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Off the mat, she enjoys hiking, swimming, boot-camp fitness classes and spending time with her husband and three children. You can learn more about Susan’s experience and training at susanyoungyoga.com.

Melanie Psaltakis, E-RYT 500, is a Viniyoga-inspired teacher with a background in Vinyasa and therapeutic yoga. Teaching since 2008, her classes are breath-centric and taught in a slow-flow format, not in pursuit of textbook alignment, but with the intention of helping you identify your unique structural challenges, shed dysfunctional patterns, and activate your untapped potential.

This can manifest as awakening to the process of how to strengthen your low back, release tension in your neck and shoulders, or even surface and release patterns in the subtle body. Coupled with Melanie’s insightfulness and spirited lifeforce, her classes embody The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali “to practice with steadiness and ease,” so that the body and mind flow like water, and meditation becomes the natural result both on and off the mat.

Off the mat, Melanie is an avid runner, cyclist, hiker, adventurist and wellness travel specialist. She owns her own travel business, Wayfinders Travel, and leads yoga retreats both domestically and internationally.

Rachel Scheck is probably the most enthusiastic yogi you will ever meet. She loves Yoga and loves sharing Yoga. Everyone can do it. Her Yoga journey began in 1997. Over the years she practiced Hatha, Anusara, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Aerial, Wall, and SUP Yoga. Finding inspiration in all styles, her practice and teaching style can be called alignment based yoga fusion. Rachel has certifications from Lighthouse Yoga Center, Flow & Fly aerial yoga levels 1, 2, and restorative, YoFit, YoKid, and the Great Yoga Wall. Her classes are infused with mindfulness, laughter, creative sequencing, effective movements, and a playful spirit.

Gabriella Behzadi brings enthusiasm to the mat, with a curiosity to discover small movements that make big impacts. In class she shares the knowledge she's gained from her 200-hour hatha yoga teacher training under Naomi Gottlieb-Miller, 40-hour Trauma Informed Yoga training, and teaching gentle to advanced classes since 2014.

Gaby has always found an immediate connection with herself through physical movement as a former gymnast, dance enthusiast, and yoga instructor and has used this connection to counter years of sitting at desk. She's passionate about creating an encouraging space for students to explore options that fit their personal needs. She expresses a depth of joy in being with others and is a ready fellow traveler on their personal journeys on and off the mat, however challenging. Gaby hopes to grow these grounding spaces as she completes her master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Kirsten Schrader, RYT200, began her yoga and meditation journey in 2002 at a little studio called “Follow Your Heart Yoga”. She has been following her heart ever since and she went on to receive her Certification from Body Balance Yoga in 2014. She is also a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher after completing a two-year Professional Training Program for Teaching Awareness and Compassion-Based Practices with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.

Kirsten’s intention in teaching is to bring students together and share the gifts and joys that yoga and meditation have brought to her. She believe everyone can do yoga and walk the journey to awakening through mindfulness. Come join her for fun, relaxation, and a safe place to remember yourself.

Shannon Phelan is certified by Yoga Alliance as an Experienced 200 Hour Yoga Teacher, with additional certifications in Yin, Aerial and Children’s yoga. She has been practicing yoga for over a decade and teaching since 2017. Her passion lies in helping people practice yoga safely, particularly being mindful of alignment and breath. Shannon believes that if you can breathe, you can do yoga! Her enthusiasm and energy are contagious and her classes are challenging and fun!

Claire Danaceau has been teaching Yoga, Pilates and Yamuna Body Rolling in the Washington area for 15 years.

She is a KRI-certified 200RYT Kundalini Yoga Instructor and also a Gong Master and Singing Bowl Sound Therapist. She completed her Gong Resonance Therapy training with Mike and Gallina Tamburo with Crown of Eternity, and her Vibrational Sound Therapy training with Manan Sharma and Elaine Mackle of Tibetan Tones Vibrational Sound Therapy.

She teaches both Hatha and Kundalini Yoga, as well as Pilates Mat and Machine, and is also a Reiki Master, Gong Master and certified Sound Therapist. Claire has been working with Yamuna Zake, a master body therapist, in NY since 2003, and is certified in many of her modalities, including Body Rolling, Foot Fitness, Face Massage (including TMJ Release), and Table Treatment.

Deb Bowes Deb Bowes is an E-RYT-500 instructor with specific certifications in Y4A (Yoga for Amputees), Low Back Pain and Ayurveda. She offers students an alignment- based yoga practice designed to create spaciousness in the mind, body and spirit with adaptations and modifications to allow each student to express their unique capacities.  Deb has been practicing yoga since 2000 and teaching yoga since 2010.

Inspiring and teaching students about the physical and mental benefits of yoga is Deb’s joy. She is also a full-time Life Science Executive who has had a love of science, biology and anatomy since she was young. She sees yoga’s therapeutic benefits is a natural extension of her passion for the science of the human body.

Rachel Simmons recently completed her YTT 200 here at Opus Yoga with Sharon Neubauer, Rachel Scheck and Gabriella Behzadi. She began her Yoga practice in 2020, and is also an avid practitioner of Aerial Yoga.

Rachel gave up a 20 year career in Medicine to reclaim her mental and physical health, and today believes that movement is a wonderful form of medicine. She practices meditation and breath work daily and includes both in her classes which are infused with a focus on breathing, moving, mindfulness and joy. Through her creative sequencing and enthusiastic teaching style she aims to build strength, flexibility and mobility while nurturing the spirit and community that she has found to be so strong at Opus.

Rachel is a big fan of music, sports and dance. She was an avid runner before her knees conspired against her. She is married, has two almost adult children and loves her animal squad very much. She is very grateful to the entire Opus community for giving her the chance to reinvent herself in such meaningful way.

Beth Meyer is a graduate of Thrive Yoga's YTT. She has taken Yoga classes for years, but in 2018 she realized that consistent Yoga practice helped her achieve strength, flexibility and balance on the mat and in her everyday life.

Beth believes Yoga has the unique ability to challenge us physically but also to calm us mentally and emotionally through all of life's transitions, and her classes embody an energy that is equally uplifting and grounding.