FACULTY

SUSAN MORTON, M.S., E-RYT 500,

FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
MASTER TEACHER
of The Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair
Certified Yamuna Body Rolling Level 3 Practitioner and Therapist, Foot Fitness Specialist

Susan Morton began studying yoga in 1968, seeking relaxation in the midst of a hectic professional life. From her initial experience, the benefits of yoga enhanced her sense of well-being so profoundly that she began a life-long journey of yoga and meditation study and practice. She began teaching in 1974 and founded the Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair in 1976. Susan brings the gift of many years of study and practice to her students and considers it a privilege and an honor to share the ancient, yet highly practical and relevant teachings of yoga and meditation.

Susan spent 10 years of intensive study with her primary teacher, Jain Master Sri Chitrabhanu. For six years, she taught hatha yoga at the Jain Meditation International Center in New York City. She began her study of classical hatha yoga with Dr. Vijayendra Pratap of the Swami Kuvayalananda Foundation (SKY) in Philadelphia, who founded the Yoga Organization for Research and Education (YORE). Susan is past president of YORE and was an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Asian Studies at Seton Hall University. She is certified by Yoga Alliance to train and certify teachers and the Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair is a Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher Training School.

A perpetual student, Susan feels that authentic teaching arises from her own experience of practice and ongoing study. Her love of meditation and its healing and liberating power has led her to study "Inner Tuning," mantra yoga, chanting and the chakras with Swar and Naada Yogis Sri Shyamji Bhatnagar and Dahliana Hohe for six years. She has attended many of the Dalai Lama's trainings in New York and is a member of Tibet House New York, where she has studied with Robert Thurman, Ph.D. -- co-founder of Tibet House with the Dalai Lama.

Since 2006 Susan has been studying intensively with Peter Fenner, Ph.D., author of Radiant Mind and creator of the nine-month Radiant Mind course. The course, a training in nondual wisdom, is uniquely structured to facilitate the student's ability to rest in unconditioned awareness in the midst of daily life. Radiant Mind has transformed Susan's personal practice and her approach to the teaching of meditation. Susan is also a graduate of Peter Fenner's Nondual Training for Teachers and Therapists, www.nondualtraining.com.

She has studied hatha yoga with many senior Iyengar teachers including Ramanand Patel, Aadil Palkhlvala, Patricia Walden, Elise Miller, Karen Stefan, Mary Dunn, and James Murphy. She has studied anatomy and physiology with Paul Copeland, Ph.D, M.D. and Deane Juhan, Ph.D. of the Trager Institute and Esalen. Her hatha yoga teaching style has developed and evolved over the years as a result of training in Movement Re-Education with Milton Trager, M.D. and her work as a Yamuna Body Rolling Practitioner and Therapist. She has integrated elements of Yamuna Body Rolling into her yoga classes and also offers entire courses in YAMUNA BODY ROLLING.

Susan's expertise as a YOGA THERAPIST and YAMUNA BODY ROLLING THERAPIST have enabled many people with specific and/or special needs to have those needs addressed in one-to-one private sessions. After a car accident in 1990 that left her with a spinal injury, Susan worked her way back to teaching yoga through a combination of therapies that included yoga, meditation, and lumbar stabilization and strengthening. She now shares her experience and knowledge of pain management through yoga, Yamuna Body Rolling, and Meditation therapeutically with people who have chronic pain or those who are unable to attend a regular hatha yoga class. In 2010 Susan completed a Yoga of Awareness for Cancer training at Duke Center for Integrative Medicine, a pioneering training based upon research that was done at Duke University by James Carson, Ph.D.

Susan has deep gratitude for the many teachers who have influenced her teaching and her life, particularly Peter Fenner and Shyamji Bhatnagar. After an accident in 2011, she has returned to her study and practice with Shyamji and his deeply healing work. She is grateful to her students, who continue to inspire her. It is obvious to anyone who has studied with Susan that for her, the experience of teaching is a source of joy, compassion, generosity, energy, and well-being.

SUSAN WILSON

MASTER TEACHER
Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500
Certified Yamuna Body Rolling Level 3 Practitioner and Therapist

Susan Wilson has been practicing yoga for 30+ years and teaching for over 20 years. Over the years she has passionately pursued an understanding of the true essence of yoga, a profound and deep interconnectedness of the body mind and spirit. Drawing upon this inspiration her teaching flows, creative, focused, yet sensitive to individual student needs while maintaining a firm foundation in the importance of alignment and correct technique.

Born and educated in London, England, Susan's fascination with yoga began there as a young teenager which has continued ever since. Early on she attended classes with B.K.S. Iyengar when he was at the Institute in London. After moving to the U.S.A. in 1979 she began studying with two local Montclair, NJ teachers, Susan Morton and Esther Lampert, who both encouraged her to teach. In 1983, after completing four years of intense study, practice and training she began teaching at the Yoga & Meditation Center of Montclair.

An Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher certified through Yoga Alliance to train teachers as well as to teach yoga, Susan's teaching approach is diverse and multi-dimensional. Influenced by her many years of study in the style of B.K.S. Iyengar, with teachers including Kofi Busia, Patricia Walden, Nancy Stechert, Gabriella Guiblaro, Mira Mehta, Ramanand Patel, Dona Holleman and Rodney Yee and then more recently by the more fluid and innovative style of Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten. Studying philosophy, meditation, Sanskrit mantra, chanting, and the chakra system for eight years with Shyamji Bhatnagar and Dahliana Hohe at the Sri Centre in Princeton, NJ, enhanced her awareness and appreciation of the subtle energy system and the powerful effect of mantra and sound on the physical, mental and emotional bodies. She has trained with Yamuna Zake in NYC and is a certified Level 3 Yamuna Body Rolling Practitioner and Therapist. A truly unique approach to fitness YBR™ adds yet another facet to Susan's practice and teaching.

Continually expanding and exploring, Susan has been a long time student of Tibetan Buddhism, having had the good fortune of extensive study, most notably with Acharya Ani Pema Chodron and Robert Thurman, Ph.D and also attending teachings with H.H. Dalai Lama whenever he’s in the NY area. Following her interest in non-dual wisdom, initially taking two 9-month Radiant Mind Training Courses with Peter Fenner, Ph.D, Susan has in November 2009 completed Peter’s Non-Dual Teacher Training Course. This unique training, a synthesis of several powerful non-dual wisdom traditions such as Mahamudra, Madhyamika, Advaita, Zen and Dzogchen has refined and enhanced Susan’s capacity to share the nondual as a component of her teaching. Forever delighted in the freshness of the moment, Susan remains deeply appreciative to all who have shared their skill, insights, presence and wisdom along the way.

CAREN BROWN M.S., C.M.T.,

Yoga Alliance RYT 200
Certified Massage Therapist and Yoga Teacher

CAREN BROWN, an ongoing student of both Susan Morton and Susan Wilson, began teaching yoga in 1996, after a successful career as a public library director. She has been teaching at the Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair since 1997 and, in addition, has taught at the Unitarian Church in Montclair, the First Congregational Church of Verona, the Adult School in Maplewood/South Orange, and Daughters of Israel Nursing Home in West Orange.

For the past 4 years Caren has taught chair yoga at Care One of Livingston working in the assisted living section as well as in the Alzheimer's unit. She volunteers at the Universal Institute for Rehabilitation in Livingston where she teaches chair yoga and meditation to clients with traumatic brain and/or spinal cord injuries. Teaching in these facilities has given her a unique understanding of the value of movement even when conventional yoga poses are not possible and how working in chairs can allow for the same dynamic of acknowledging the union of mind, body and spirit that occurs in a more traditional setting. Caren is also a massage therapist, certified by the Essex Group Bodyworkers Institute in 1997.

In addition to studying with Susan Morton, Caren has studied extensively with Mel Robin (author of A Physiological Handbook for Teachers of Yogasana) and Rodney Yee. She has also participated in several in-depth yoga programs at the Kripalu Institute and at Studio Yoga.

COLLEEN BRISCOE

Yoga Alliance RYT 200
Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair
Individualist Yoga LLC, Hillsdale NJ (Director)
Certified Yamuna Body Rolling Level 2 Practitioner

Colleen Briscoe, formerly a software engineer and now a full-time yoga instructor, has been practicing yoga for over twenty years. Born in Africa, her fascination with yoga began when she was introduced to Iyengar Yoga in the early 1980's in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). Her own experience of those early classes and the excellent physical condition and well being of her instructors — her seniors by several decades! — left a deep and lasting impression.

After living briefly in London, Colleen moved to the USA and in 1995 began studying at the Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair. In 2004 she completed the teacher-training program, obtained RYT200 certification and began teaching at the Center as well as starting her own yoga studio near her home in North Bergen County. She continues to study at the Center and to broaden her understanding of how to tailor yoga to unique conditions. To this end she has attended focus workshops for scoliosis and multiple sclerosis and has completed training in the Barnes Method Prenatal & Postpartum Yoga™ including an internship with Mary Barnes.

Most recently, Colleen has added Yamuna Body Rolling to her practice, finding this unique system wonderfully compatible with yoga and extremely helpful in unlocking tight areas in the body. She studied with Yamuna Zake in NYC and is certified in YBR™ Level II. She looks forward to integrating body rolling into her existing schedule of classes.

For yoga or Yamuna Body Rolling classes in Northern Bergen County, contact Colleen at www.individualistyoga.com

MAUREEN MURRAY L.M.T.

Certified Massage Therapist and Yoga Teacher

Maureen Murray began studying yoga in 1982 with Esther Lampert and shortly thereafter with Susan Wilson at The Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair. In the beginning of her journey as a young and curious yoga student, Maureen experimented in various traditions of hatha yoga. In addition to her original Iyengar training, she also explored classes in Yantra, Ashtanga, Anusara, Kripalu, and Vini Yoga.

Inspired by the many wonders and benefits of yoga and the skill and encouragement of her first two teachers, she began teaching yoga in 1989. She also became certified to teach hatha yoga by The Yoga Institute in Houston, Texas.

With respect and appreciation for all of the yoga traditions she explored, she has always been most inspired by the teaching of Sri. B.K.S. Iyengar for its precision, clarity and depth. She also finds it to be the most practical and effective means for helping a wide range of yoga students of all body types, capabilities and ages. Over the years she has provided Iyengar Yoga instruction for various yoga schools, health and fitness centers, and corporations in the North Jersey area.

Maureen feels profoundly blessed and impacted by steady guidance from the following gifted Iyengar teachers: Theresa Rowland, Lois Steinberg, Gabriella Giubilaro, Kophi Busia, and Geeta Iyengar. Maureen has also done extensive teacher training with Mary Dunn, Rodney Yee, Aadil Palkhivala, and Ramanmand Patel. She also finds ongoing inspiration in her students and is grateful for the opportunity to share the yogic path with them.

Maureen is also a Licensed Massage Therapist (NY). She specializes in Craniosacral and Manual Therapies addressing acute and chronic pain, stress and imbalances. She has been in private practice in Montclair since 1991.

SHARYN TAYLOR

Yoga Alliance RYT 200

Sharyn Taylor has studied Yoga for 13 years beginning with a year long immersion in therapeutic yoga which is still a core component of her personal practice. Although Sharyn is especially inspired by the Iyengar method, she has also experimented with Vinyasa, Anusara and Integral Yoga. She received her teacher training from Susan Morton and Susan Wilson in 2004 and has been a part-time teacher at Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair since 2007. Sharyn has also been meditating since 1988 and has been especially inspired by the teachings of Pema Chodron, Tenzin Palmo and the non-dualistic contemplative tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.

In addition to her yoga training, Sharyn holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs and has spent over 25 years as an executive and management consultant for financial, marketing and non-profit firms. She is versed in bringing the physical and spiritual teachings to the practice of “real life and work” and considers yoga asanas as a vital step toward self-knowledge, healing and inner peace. She feels blessed to be able to pass these traditions on to other practiioners and seekers like herself.

JACKIE COZZOLINO

Yamuna Body Rolling Practitioner, Level 2

Since 2007, Jackie has been a Yamuna Body Rolling Practitioner. She earned her Level 2 certification in 2007 and became certified as a Yamuna Face Ball practitioner in 2009.

Jackie has taught Yamuna Body Rolling at the Yoga and Meditation Center and has also taught classes and workshops at the JCC in West Orange, as well as privately. Jackie, a highly trained exercise specialist, has found that working with the Yamuna Balls and routines as added a unique dimension to her work.

Since her first dance class at the age of three, Jackie has been involved with movement in some form. Injuries, multiple births and structural asymmetry caused many physical problems for her as a young adult. Within those limitations, she searched for an exercise program that was both safe and effective. After much trial and error she found a Callanetics class taught by the International Master teacher/trainer Lynn Marotta, who became her first mentor.

This combination of Yoga, Ballet Barre work and Pilates was the answer to her special needs at that time. She became a Certified Callanetics teacher in 2000, earning two more certifications the next year. She taught in Tenafly and Montclair for several years, and then started Essex Callanetics, LLC in 2003.

Looking to further her knowledge in 2007, she earned her certification in Yamuna Body Rolling with internationally renowned body worker Yamuna Zake in NYC and trained in the Face Ball work in 2009. Jackie also earned her Pilates certification through the Stott Pilates training program in 2008. She is certified in both Mat and Reformer, and taken Stott's rehabilitation and pre/post natal training. More recently, she became certified in Zumba Gold (2009) and TRX suspension training (2011).

Currently she teaches Yamuna Body Rolling at the Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair as well as Mat and Cardio classes and private lessons in West Orange. Her teaching style is very hands on, emphasizing proper breathing, alignment, and relaxation for students of all ages and abilities. Her goal is to help everyone learn how to sustain optimal pain-free movement and function throughout their entire lives.