Our instructors

Meet our experienced and enthusiastic instructors:

Janice Baker Jan practices Iyengar Yoga combining lifestyle practices, physical poses, breath control, and meditation. She started practicing Yoga more than 25 years ago with the Himalayan Institute in Pittsburgh when there were very few classes available in the area. Jan participated in the Southern Institute of Yoga Instruction teacher-training program in Nashville in 2001. She has been teaching Iyengar-style Yoga in the Indiana area for more than 5 years.
Tiffany Chan tiffanyochan@hotmail.com Tiffany has been practicing Yoga for 20 years and teaching for 12 years in the Indiana area. She is a certified as a Kripalu Yoga Instructor and Integrative Yoga Therapist. She taught Stress Management for the Dubois Regional Medical Center for the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease for 2 years and is currently working for the Indiana Regional Medical Center. She teaches classes for people ranging from those with limited mobility and stress-related illnesses to the intermediate student who is looking not only for stress relief but also a good workout.
Jason Diamond Jason has been practicing Hatha Yoga for 10 years and teaching for the past 5. A recent transplant from Tampa, Florida, Jason was originally brought to the teacher’s path through the blessings and guidance of the Goddess Luna. Jason is a Yoga Alliance certified instructor as well as a licensed massage therapist. He has taught beginners and intermediate level practitioners, gentle yoga classes as well as "power"/vinyasa flows. Jason's experience with and love for the mind/body arts stems to, and flows from Martial arts, fitness training, and intuitive and sacred dance. Jason is currently pursuing a quiet life of service and reconnection with Mother Earth. Jason's love for teaching rests in the magick of Yoga. "Our yoga practice is as a flame. As it grows, it shines light to that Divinity which has yet to be remembered."
Jill Fiore sunfloweryoga@comcast.net Jill first discovered Yoga as a teenager, but only began to deepen her practice when she moved to Indiana in 1996. After finishing her Ph.D. in Literature and Criticism at IUP in 2003, she enrolled in an Iyenger-style yoga teacher training program in Pahoa, HI. The following year she traveled to Austin, TX to The Living Yoga Program, where she completed the hours for her level I Hatha yoga teacher certification. Jill has since been teaching Yoga in Pittsburgh and Indiana. With the vision of bringing teachers and students of Yoga together to enjoy a variety of Yoga classes, Jill decided to open Sunflower Yoga Studio in downtown Indiana. As this community develops, Jill plans to offer ongoing Yoga and Yoga-related classes, workshops and events with the hope of sharing the life-transforming benefits of Yoga and inspiring new and experienced students alike.
Basil Fisanick Basil was first introduced to Yoga in 1997 when he took his first class with Theresa Patrick in Indiana. He earned his Level I Yoga teacher certification at the Mt. Nittany Institute, State College, PA, where he studied with Megan Belew and Claudia Simpson, in 2003 and has been teaching Yoga ever since. Basil currently teaches Yoga classes in his hometown of Nicktown, PA and has also offered classes at the Evolution Physical Fitness Studio in Altoona, PA and at St. Francis College, Loretto, PA. He has taken workshops and trainings with a number of renowned teachers, including Rodney Yee, Todd Norian, Ann Greene, and Mitchell Blier, and is now experienced in variety of Hatha Yoga styles, which he incorporates into his classes. Basil’s emphasis is on helping students achieve a balance between Yoga poses and attention to breath in order to achieve the life-transforming benefits he himself has experienced.
Julie Means juliemeans@verizon.net Julie Means has been studying Yoga since the age of sixteen. In 2002, she became certified to teach Kripalu Yoga and began teaching in Indiana. She met Kali Ray, world-renowned Yoga master and founder of TriYoga® in 2005 and fell in love with TriYoga® for its meditative grace and strength and for the wisdom and beauty of its system. “It is transformational on so many levels - physical, emotional, mental, spiritual,” Julie says. She loves sharing TriYoga® and the healing and transformation that students experience. Also a certified massage therapist in Indiana, Julie brings this background in anatomy, physiology and pathology to support a safe and transformative practice for students of all levels in classes and private lessons. Julie is certified in TriYoga® Basics and Level One. She continues to practice frequently with Kali Ray and senior TriYoga® instructors and is studying to certify in Level Two.
David Morris davidtmorris@culturestop.com David found the spiritual path of Zen nearly 6 years ago and has since been devoted to deepening this practice. This non-denominational practice led him to open the only business in the area devoted to Zen/Spiritual gardens and bonsai. Martial arts, qi gong, art practice, and yoga are the main body practices he uses. David is currently pursuing becoming part of a Zen monastery as a lay practitioner.
Theresa Patrick hohhmyoga@comcast.net Theresa Patrick, BFA, MA, has been joyfully teaching Hatha Yoga classes for twenty-two years. She has extensive background in Sivananda, Iyengar, and Kripalu Styles, having studied with Morris Knapp of Champaign, IL; Patricia & Andrew Junker of Yellow Springs, OH; and the excellent staff of Yogis at the Kripalu Center in Lennox, MA. Her introductory classes are Kripalu-based as she feels this style is accessible to new students. Her advanced courses combine her own blend of technique and philosophy from Sivananda, Iyengar and Kripalu styles. Theresa earned her Basic Kripalu Teacher Certification in 1998 and is one ten-day module away from her Kripalu 500-Hour Professional Certification. Theresa and her husband Kevin, a Professor of Geography at IUP, have two daughters, Kaitlyn, 18, and Veronica, 16. Theresa is a floral designer and Shop Manager for Malcolm’s House of Flowers and an active professional actress and vocalist.
Lindsey Tapper-Anderson lindseylenny@verizon.net Lindsey has been studying and practicing Yoga for more than seven years. She has an extensive rehabilitation and therapeutic background, completing internships for her Occupational Therapy certification in behavioral health, orthopedic rehabilitation, pediatrics, geriatrics, hand therapy, and cardiac rehabilitation. She will graduate with her BS in Holistic Health from IUP in May. After earning her group fitness certification, she went on to instruct a general yoga class, Yoga for children, Yoga for older adults, a child’s fitness class, a moderately paced aerobics class, and a seniors aerobics class, all within the Indiana County area. She has also studied karate, Pilates, and core and weight strengthening. A resonating theme within Lindsey’s life has always been studying health and Yoga. She is excited about sharing her passion for Yoga with you and providing you with the gifts Yoga has given her.
Carolyn Trimarchi carolyn725@hotmail.com Carolyn, a certified yoga instructor, began her yoga practice at Temple University, Philadelphia (before Madonna!) and has been studying and teaching yoga for many years. Throughout this time, she has learned many styles of yoga from excellent teachers, attending seminars, lectures, and practices across the country and overseas. During the past twenty years, she has taught and learned from many students from the Indiana community and looks forward to continuing at the Sunflower Yoga Studio.
Bobbie J. Zapor bjzapor@gmail.com Sunflower Yoga also welcomes Bobbie Zapor, Intern from the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.