MISTY BELOUS
Yoga has become a way of life for Misty over the last twenty years. She has been teaching for 15 years and continues to feel grateful that her job is to share her love of yoga with the world. In 2012 Misty received a bachelor’s degree in Science from Michigan State University. Over the course of her studies at MSU, she spent 4 months in Nepal studying Ayurvedic Medicine. Studying the science of yoga is just as important as studying the tradition of it.
Misty first trained with Cherie Ferro in her early 20s, earned a 200 hour and 300 hour certificate through Hilltop Yoga and most recently earned a 300 hour certificate from Annie Carpenter’s Smart Flow Program. Dr. David Grimshaw has had a big influence on her teaching as she continues to develop and redevelop her 200 hour and 300 hour teacher training program with David, Kelly Fisher, Shiloh Daum, Celine Bridges, Quincy Kittle, Carol Gibbs and Carisa Wilder. A large portion of Misty’s training comes from spending seven years as a yoga therapist, collaborating with physical therapists and bodyworkers at Mindful Movement and Physical Therapy. This is where she developed Chair Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Yoga For Arthritis, and one on one instruction for patients recovering from joint replacements, back surgery, broken bones, and traumatic injuries.
In her free time you can find Misty gardening, cooking, eating nourishing foods, mountain biking, hiking, camping, fly fishing, and spending time with her three beautiful kids and wonderful husband Jay.
SHILOH DAUM
Yoga is more than being flexi-bendy in our bodies, it’s about finding a suppleness of spirit. I have an integrated approach to practicing and teaching yoga. By weaving biomechanics, somatics, trauma-sensitivity, biotensegrity, and applied neurology with the eight limbs of yoga, my teaching explores asana as a means to self-understanding. What that looks like in class is progressive loading of the body. Gentle yet challenging movement is interspersed with occasional prop work, and interoceptive cues invite self-awareness. What starts for many students as a physical practice begins to nurture inner strength and stability.
I did my first 300 hours of yoga training with Hilltop Yoga in 2007. I also completed 500 hours with Peoples Yoga. Having studied Kinesiology at MSU, I became intrigued with other movement disciplines and their relationship to the mind-body connection. Incorporating these in my classes is a hallmark of my teaching, and after more than 15 years of practicing and instructing yoga, I continue to study and learn from a variety of teachers.
Outside of my passion for yoga, I enjoy spending time with my family, gardening, being out in nature, and learning about sustainable living. I am also a NASM-certified personal trainer and work with clients on holistic health. Yoga is the vehicle that brings us closer to our true selves. Everyone is welcome in my class. So come as you are, and practice finding your creative expression - in postures and in life, to plant seeds of peace and shine your light outward!
SONIA THOMPSON
The first time I walked into an actual yoga/asana class, it was a restorative/yin type class, and I was probably around 18 years old. Since then, I have tried several types of yoga, but seem to settle most intuitively into an alignment-focused, vinyasa type practice. For the last 20+ years, I have fluctuated between a very consistent, to sometimes non-existent mat practice, always finding my way back eventually. In the interims, the yoga philosophy continues to follow me off the mat, whether into other movement-based activities, or just everyday life, where I maintain that no matter what the goal or pursuit, the greatest gains will always be made when you commit to starting authentically from where you’re at, remain open to ongoing self-reflection and observation, work to avoid comparison to others, and learn to balance effort and rest honestly and appropriately based on your particular make-up and current needs.
My goal as a new teacher is to encourage students to foster their own sense of interoception, to build trust in their ability to know what they need in their practice—so that they can translate this into other aspects of their lives—and to serve as a general guide for the safest and most beneficial alignment as they move their bodies physically on their mats. .
CELINE SMITH
Yoga brought me back to my body. About 9 years ago I was introduced to the practice and it transformed my relationship with myself; changing my focus from my body's limitations, to its possibilities. From there, it helped me practice turning self-criticism into self-love and compassion. Through my practice, I am learning to listen to my body and its reactions, taking them seriously and tending to them. I was astounded to realize that this brought me to deeper levels of understanding of myself as a whole.
As my love and appreciation for this practice grew, I knew that I wanted to learn how to share this with others in my own way. After I completed my Peace Corps Service in Nepal in 2017, I traveled to India and completed my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training with Shiva Shakti Yoga. I returned to my hometown and have been teaching yoga in the Lansing area for the past 2+ years. Since then, I have completed Yin, Aerial, and Trauma-Informed Yoga training.
Outside of yoga, I love traveling, mountains, and spending time with my dog and loved ones.
KATLYN CARDOSO
Katlyn came to her mat in 2013 seeking a way to cope with severe anxiety and depression. She was drawn to a way of moving the body that was more than a “good workout,” but a way to cultivate union between my body, mind, and spirit. Katlyn has been teaching since April 2019 and her favorite part of teaching is bringing yoga to unconventional spaces. In addition to teaching at Peoples Yoga, she has led restorative classes for her former high school’s lady's cross-country team, community events at Michigan State University, and a weekly lunch hour class in her office building.
Through her teaching, Katlyn hopes to help students experience the same union of physical movement and mental and spiritual balance that first drew her to the practice as a student. She emphasizes the deeply personal experience of this practice, encouraging self-compassion and intuitive movement over comparison or competition. When she isn’t teaching or practicing yoga, Katlyn enjoys running, cooking and baking, being outside, writing, and spending time with her partner Rigo, their Boxer dog Miles, and their cat Tigger.
LOIS HOPKINS
I have been active in some manner or another all my life. Over ten years ago I joined the local walking/running community as part of my fitness program. During this time frame, I also practiced yoga on a hit-or-miss basis often feeling frustrated due to muscle tightness and imbalances created or accentuated by the constant forward motion of running and walking.
As I started my 200-hour teacher training with Peoples Yoga, I began to understand that there is so much more to yoga than I previously had any idea. I went on to complete my 300-hour program with Peoples Yoga. I am Yoga Alliance 500-hour certified and want to share my love of yoga with others as I continue learning and enhancing my own practice.
JENNY WAGEMANN
I started practicing yoga in 2006, as a way to help me lose weight, but then started coming to my mat to love myself rather than try to change myself. Sean Corne became my first teacher with a DVD set I purchased (and still have!). One video was an instructional Vinyasa flow and the next was solely breath, with no instructions. Moving on to the second DVD is when I truly began to witness the spiritual and mental benefits of connecting the breath with movement.
My yoga practice was mostly a home practice with occasional studio visits, until 2011 when I lived in Chicago and was involved in a work-study program to afford classes. I became more involved in the yoga community and found practicing in a studio versus solely in my living room helped deepen my practice and was so beneficial in meeting like-minded individuals.
Life brought me back to Lansing and I took my 200HR with Misty in 2019-2020 and am now in the midst of wrapping up my 300HR. My classes are Hatha, Vinyasa, and Kundalini inspired and I also teach a hula hoop yoga class called YogaRound, where we use a hula hoop as a yoga prop to assist with balance, spatial awareness, planes of movement, adjustments, and more.
KELLY GALLAGHER
I love yoga. I love to practice yoga, I love to teach yoga, and I love to learn about yoga. Vinyasa is my passion- I’m hooked on the freedom it offers- allowing for a practice that’s as intense or gentle as needed on any given day. Yoga has been a life-changing experience for me and the biggest thrill is the beautiful community I’m part of because of this beautiful practice.
I am an (almost) 500-hour trained yoga instructor having completed my 200-hour YTT through MI Hot Yoga and my 500-hour training at People’s Yoga. I focus on flow-based yoga styles and enjoy teaching with a little heat and subtle music.
LINDSAY HUNT
I began practicing yoga consistently back in 2018. I had just finished grad school and I found that it was one of the few things that helped me through my personal struggles with anxiety. I have fallen more in love with yoga and the additional, numerous benefits, over time.
In 2022, I completed a 20-hour training through LoveYourBrain yoga. I started teaching yoga to people with brain injuries, at Origami Rehabilitation, where I work full-time as a Speech-Language Pathologist. I completed my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, during the fall of 2023, at People’s Yoga.
Outside of yoga, I enjoy spending time with my two little sisters, being outdoors, traveling, and loving on my yellow lab, Otis.
SABRINA ADLEMAN
I’m dedicated to helping people like you find more balance, strength, and body awareness. Our modern lives push and pull us in so many directions, that it’s easy to forget how to stay centered in ourselves. I will help you bring attention to what is happening in the moment and learn to listen to your body.
Yoga has been in my life for over 20 years. Early on, my practice would get away from me, depending on where I was in my life. But. I always came back to it because it kept me grounded, focused, and more balanced emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I just felt better.
Yoga helped me so much that I studied to be an advanced yoga instructor, at this point accumulating over 700 hours of training. My motivation to serve you encourages me to continually ask questions and adjust what I offer so I can help you better. My goal is to help you begin. Wherever that is.
DHANASHREE BOPARDIKAR
`Life is nothing but a balance of holding on and letting go’ and this is what yoga means to me. I love yoga and it has been my way of life for over a decade now. I truly believe in taking yoga `beyond the mat’ and I do this by practicing conscious breathing, slowing down, applying the principles of yoga in everyday life, and just being more mindful of what I do.
I recently completed my 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training with Peoples Yoga and I am excited to begin my journey as a yoga teacher. Over the years, I have realized that yoga is not about those prefect looking postures, but it is more about feeling connected to our bodies and minds. My goal as a teacher is to help others to make the mind-body connection - `one breath at a time‘
Outside my passion for yoga, I am a homemaker and an artist. I love creating mandalas and Zentangle-inspired artwork. I love cooking, baking, listening to Bollywood music, singing, and spending time with my amazing husband and two beautiful children.
NICOLE PROCTOR-KANAMA
Nicole’s yoga journey began in 2000 with a study abroad to Quito, Ecuador where she took an Indian Thought and Philosophy class. This stretched her mind, body, and soul as well as her Spanish skills. Many hours were spent reading the philosophy of yoga, chanting, and meditating. The movement (asana) part of yoga came much later.
Nicole believes in the power of movement and that yoga is medicine for the spirit, mind and body. She completed her 200- hour training through People’s Yoga and YTT 20-hourYin Yoga training offered by Katy Joe DeSantis in 2024.
Yoga is a gift that offers peace, grace, acceptance, and so much more. Life gets hard and yoga is a safe place to process feelings, accept emotions, offer oneself grace, work on self-love and find moments of pure joy, peace, and love through this practice.
KENZIE CANNARILE
Hi, my name is Kenzie and I am a 200-hour trained yoga teacher. I began my regular yoga practice a few years ago at a small studio in Williamston called Our Space Yoga. I really enjoyed attending the classes with my mom and getting to know the teacher, Cherie Fero. I was amazed at the physiological, emotional, and mental effect that mindful practice had on my mind and body after just 1 hour of class. I felt more mellow, strong, happy, and ready for whatever comes my way, especially during the stress of college.
After recognizing this lovely feeling, I knew I wanted to pursue yoga more consistently in my life, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like. My training and connection to Peoples Yoga has allowed me to take a supported, consistent, and personal dive into my yoga journey. It has built my confidence within myself and my ability to teach to others - at People’s Yoga Studio, Hilltop Views Farm/Goat Yoga MI, and my day job at Turning Leaf Behavioral Health. I’m so thankful for this practice, my path of self-discovery, and the sense of community that People’s Yoga has brought into my life.
ALLYSON GREEN
As fate would have it Misty and I worked together at Foods for Living in 2007. She encouraged me to come to her vinyasa yoga class. It was a hot, sweaty, and intense; a mix of deep breaths and new shapes I had never found myself in before, I was hooked! I have a dance background and a deep connection to my body; movement has always been my therapy. I was trained at the 500-hour level at Hilltop Yoga in Lansing and have been teaching group classes privately for the past decade. My degree is in Bio-Medical Science, Chemistry, and Comparative Religion.
I find that my practice of yoga as an instructor and hands-on therapist incorporates that formal training nicely. I love to learn and I love to teach. I own Meridian Massage & Bodywork, a healing arts practice in East Lansing. My technical training is in Neuromuscular Therapy and Myofascial Release; I am a practitioner of Arvigo Therapy and a Doula. I have assisted birthing women and nurture the pre and postnatal population. I have three very active young boys of my own, all born within a four-year span, out of this very active time in my life I have personally developed a deeply restorative Yin Yoga practice that I love to share. Connection to the present through body and breath is a powerful healing tool and I am honored to teach it.
DR. DAVID GRIMSHAW
David Grimshaw has been practicing yoga from the Kriya Yoga tradition since 1998. He became an instructor in 2006. He is also an Osteopathic physician with 30 years of experience practicing in Old Town. Kriya means action with awareness, and he teaches an integral approach, using techniques that facilitate a better understanding of the Self through postures, breathing, meditation, study, singing, and service. Classes are 90 minutes and include philosophy, postures, breathing, and end with a meditation. You can learn more about him and Babaji's Kriya Yoga at his website: www.oldtowndoc.com.
KAMBRIANA CRANK
Kambriana is a newly trained yoga teacher and recent grad of the 200hr YTT at Peoples Yoga. Over the last few years, yoga has been self-affirming and healing for Kambriana. Her desire to teach grew from wanting to bring awareness and access to underrepresented communities and beyond. Through teaching, she looks forward to supporting others in finding that same healing and self-love in their practice.
Aside from yoga, you can find her going on walks, listening to music, reading, volunteering, trying new foods, finding a good podcast and spending time with her wife and pup!
MARY WARDELL
I first discovered the blissful, peaceful effects of yoga back in 2011. It has been a powerful force for good in my life ever since—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and in community. When I’m active in my practice, life takes on a lightness and flow that brings me greater joy and capacity to give to others. By contrast, a week without yoga leaves me feeling out-of-sorts, drained, achy, and often irritable or depressed. I have come to think of yoga as my medicine: though I may not always want to take it, I am always glad I did.
I am a 200-hour certified yoga instructor, completing my teacher training at People’s Yoga in 2022. It is the thrill of my life to have the opportunity to share this life-giving and life-affirming practice with you. Thank you for being part of our yoga community. I look forward to practicing with you!
PREETY OTAL
Preety Otal is a Detroit-area native turned Lansing, MI yoga and fitness instructor known for her strong, yet compassionate slow flows, soothing baritone voice, and - when applicable - a kick-ass music playlist. Her personal practice began as a young child as a therapeutic regimen, but the practice drifted away as age progressed; she later returned to it with great devotion in her 20s. She credits her practice with saving her life, quite literally, by being a dynamic expression of inner and outer fortitude in wake of trauma, more-so than was ever explored in her athletic history or MSU education. She completed her 200 hour teacher training at Hilltop Yoga in Lansing, MI in 2016, and then found the joy and inspiration of teaching as she completed additional hours as an apprentice. After the events of the COVID-19 pandemic continued, Preety made the choice to turn to teaching yoga and fitness full-time as more compelling work, rather than returning to her previous work industries, and is all the more fulfilled because of these changes.
While you'll usually find Preety teaching her alignment-minded slow burn vinyasa yoga, she also teaches HIIT, fitness, and swimming classes. All of this exploration of strength then lead to her teaching yin and restorative expressions, encouraging a return to softness to yield the mind/body to further release. Her classes always acknowledge that yoga - specifically, YOUR yoga - will always be a journey. Come join her for the adventure, friends.
MOON POWELL
KRISTA RIED
Krista began her yoga practice when she stumbled on a DVD in 2005. She vividly remembers her first in-person class 3-years later and immediately embraced the new-found community. After a running injury in 2014 that nearly resulted in the loss of her left foot, she discovered yoga’s accessibility to all bodies, marrying years of physical therapy with her practice. A dancer all her life, Krista finds movement in yoga both physical and emotional. In 2016 she began working at MI Hot Yoga which increased the regularity of her practice significantly. Krista completed her 200-hour teacher training at Peoples Yoga in March 2023. She enjoys blending self-love with physical stability and strengthening. She loves a dance-like flow to music as well as a meditative, restorative practice.
Outside of yoga, Krista is a certified elementary school teacher continually looking for ways to support K-12 students. She dreams of someday retiring and devoting her time to bringing yoga to children. For now, she works for the Michigan Department of Education and enjoys cooking & baking, reading brainless romance novels, traveling, and spending time with her husband, cats, and 2 grown children.
LIZ IVKOVICH
I (she/her) am a professional dancer with a Master of Fine Arts in Modern Dance from the University of Utah and 25 years of experience teaching movement.
My first yoga experience was an Ashtanga class at age 12 at a Joffrey Midwest Ballet camp. From then, yoga was sprinkled into my dance training, so I thought “yoga” = a series of poses. Things changed in 2013 when I began studying Ananya Dance Theatre's dance and social justice practice of Yorchhā, which intersects principles from the traditional Indian dance form Odissi, Vinyasa Yoga, and the martial art form Chhau. Dr. Ananya Chatterjea and the Ananya Dance Theatre artists taught me that yoga is more than just poses. Instead, yoga organizes and catalyzes transformation.
Once I completed my MFA, yoga became my primary movement practice. When I moved to Michigan, I fell in love with Peoples Yoga and completed a 200-hour teacher training in 2025. Misty’s training combined with my diverse movement background influences my teaching. I tend to design sweaty, dancey flows with surprising transitions. Because of my training as a ballet teacher (which heavily relies on hands-on feedback to guide alignment), and since I am a Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, I am skilled at offering hands-on adjustments. In my spare time you’ll find me seeking out the next adventure with my partner and our gaggle of hooman and fur babies.
BROOKE MONTEL
I became a yoga teacher to help others find more balance and joy in their lives. My classes are well-rounded and I offer a lot of options so that students can better connect with themselves and their needs.
When we take care of ourselves we are able to care for those around us better too. In this way our balance/wellness ripples out into our communities.
Finding my balance through pregnancy and motherhood has been its own kind of mental yoga practice. I’m still constantly readjusting, but now I have a beautiful, two-year-old, little boy and a new appreciation for cars, trucks, trains and rocket ships.
RYT-200 & RPYT
JENNIFER BIRITZ
I’m Jennifer. Yoga makes me a nicer person. That’s the main reason I do it. Even on the days I think I’m too crabby or tired. I’ve had the joy of practicing yoga for over 20 years with an amazing teacher who fed my heart and soul every week with various yogic readings from around the world. I’ve also gone on more than a dozen yoga retreats with classes and workshops that challenged me both intellectually and physically.
Yoga has helped me build stamina, strength and flexibility. I recently received my 200-hour certification from Peoples Yoga and am excited to share everything I have learned as a student of yoga and also the excellent instruction I received at Peoples as a trainee.
When I’m not practicing yoga, I love to feed friends and family in my amazing new kitchen, read good books, listen to podcasts, go for walks, and play dominoes (or cards, board games, yard games…). In the 2nd half of my life, I also hope to travel more, do yoga around the world, and eat delicious food far and wide.