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.
Lisa Brochetti liza@iup.edu Lisa has always been a big proponent of exercise. Whether it be biking, hiking, swimming, golfing or taking Aerobics, Zumba or Pilates classes, she enjoys combining physical activity with weight training at her local health club in Kittanning, PA. In 2005, she was asked to help teach Pilates classes at the club and later became a certified instructor through ExpertRating Global Certification; Expert Level. She continues to teach classes at Mac's Health Club in Kittanning. Lisa is the Director of IUP New Choices/New Options Career Development Services and has recently completed her Masters Degree in Adult Education and Communication Technology. She will begin to teach Pilates at Sunflower Yoga Studio on Sept. 2 where she looks forward to sharing the benefits and principles of Pilates.
Angela Bugli, CMT, HHP, RYT angelinab@verizon.net A former resident of New York, Angela is a graduate of the Connecticut Center for Massage where she earned her Certification in Massage Therapy. Since moving to PA, she has completed training at the Mt. Nittany Institute in State College, where she received her certification in both the Holistic Health Practitioner and Yoga Teacher Training programs. Angela is currently on the faculty of Mt. Nittany, where she assists with the HHP program. She is also registered with Yoga Alliance as a Level I Hatha Yoga teacher in the Kripalu tradition. Throughout her training, Angela’s focus has always been on women’s wellness and empowerment. She now looks forward to integrating and sharing this passion with others as they come to know the wisdom and benefits of Yoga.
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.
Chris Cramer suverna45@hotmail.com Chris Cramer first became involved in belly dancing in 1972 and has been teaching and attending workshops for more than 30 years. In addition to offering classes in Indiana, she has taught in Kittanning, Butler, Punxsutawney, Ford City, and Slippery Rock, PA. She is the director of the dance troupe, SUVERNA, which was formed in 1982 and has performed at many venues, including the New Growth Arts Festival. A member of many Middle Eastern dance organizations, Chris has been featured in a number of publications, most recently the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She lives in Ford City.
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, Studio Owner sunfloweryoga@comcast.net Jill first discovered Yoga thirty years ago 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 a Yoga teacher training program in Pahoa, HI with Kathy Elder that emphasized Iyengar and Sivananda styles of yoga. The following year she traveled to Austin, TX to The Living Yoga Program, where she completed the required 200 hours to qualify as a Yoga Register Teacher. She began teaching Yoga in 2005 and has since studied with teachers from a variety of Yoga traditions and styles, including Kripalu, Anusara, Kundalini, and most recently Ashtanga Yoga. With the vision of bringing teachers and students of Yoga together to create a Yoga community, Jill opened Sunflower Yoga Studio in February of 2008. It is her hope to continue 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 a 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.
Kaethe Mayer Kaethe Mayer has been practicing T'ai Chi for 10 years. She received her instructor certification in 2001 by Master Huang in Quito, Ecuador. In the past eight years she taught T'ai Chi to staff and faculty at IUP as well as "New Life Fitness", the Woods Spa and the Unitarian Church. Focus of her instruction are movement and breathing to facilitate a meditative experience that combines body and mind. Kaethe is a certified massage therapist who practices at the Woods Spa. Her emphasis is pain management for chronic and acute muscular distress through application of techniqes taken from orthopedic massage, neuromuscular work and myofascial release.
D. Casey Robertson www.giratorio.net Casey Robertson, known to the Capoeira world as Monitor Giratorio, has been training and teaching martial arts for 15 years. He has achieved a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, dabbled in Krav Maga, Hapkido, and grappling; and he earned the rank of Monitor in capoeira in 2008. He began training Capoeira with the group Capoeira Angola Quintal in Ithaca, NY under Professor Graveto, who is a student of Mestre Ombrinho (the first non-Brazilian master of Capoeira). Giratorio has been training capoeira for eight years, and has taught classes at IUP, Ithaca, NY and at Cornel University.
Courtney Thompson courtneycilla@gmail.com Courtney is a native to the Indiana area but it was not until she was at Westminster College, during her undergraduate career, that she discovered the splendor of yoga and its amazing ability to balance one's life. Then from 2007-2009, she lived and worked in Virginia as an Art and Spanish teacher. Courtney also practiced yoga regularly and served as an intern at a Hot Yoga Studio. Through the studio, she was able to gain experience team teaching yoga to children and beginner's classes. In the summer of 2009, Courtney returned to her hometown in hopes of contributing to the growth of art and yoga within the community. Courtney hopes to continue to promote the healthful and mindful benefits of yoga, and she very much looks forward to sharing this inspirational practice with others.