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 eight years.
Chris Cramer suverna45@hotmail.com Chris Cramer first became involved in belly dancing in 1972 and has since been teaching and attending workshops for more than 35 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.
Jenn Danyi Jenn attended a Zumba teacher training program in Delaware in October, 2008 and has been teaching Zumba classes in Indiana ever since. She is currently enrolled in a program to become a certified personal trainer, which she expects to complete soon.
Jason Diamond Jason has been practicing Hatha Yoga for 10 years and teaching for the past 8. A 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 after moving to Indiana in 1996. After finishing her Ph.D. in Literature and Criticism at IUP in 2003, she enrolled in a Hatha Yoga teacher training program in Pahoa, HI and the following year traveled to Austin, TX to The Living Yoga Program, where she completed the required 200 hours to qualify as a Yoga Register Teacher. Jill began teaching Yoga in 2005 and has since studied with teachers from a variety of Yoga traditions and styles, including Iyengar (Sara Azarius Eichmiller), Kripalu (The Kripalu Center), Anusara (Desiree Rumbaugh, Todd Norian & Ann Greene, and Mitchel Bleier), Kundalini (Gurmukh, Shakta Kaur Khalsa, and Snatam Kaur), and Ashtanga Yoga (David Williams), as well as Mindfulness and Vipassana Meditation (Thich Nhat Hanh, Bhavana Society). She has also earned certificates specializing in Pre-Natal Yoga (at Yoga Matrika in Pittsburgh) and Children's Yoga (through YogaKids® International). 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.
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.
Courtney Thompson courtneycilla@gmail.com A native to the Indiana area, Courtney first discovered yoga as an undergraduate at Westminster College. Amazed at the power of yoga to balance one's life, she continued her practice after moving to Virginia, where she worked as a high school Art and Spanish teacher from 2007-2009. During this time she also served as an intern at a Hot Yoga Studio, where she was able to gain experience teaching children's and beginner's classes. In 2008 she became a certified Pilates instructor through the AFAA. In the summer of 2009, Courtney returned to her hometown in hopes of contributing to the growth of art and yoga in the community. She 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 through the studio.