7730 Post Road, North Kingstown, Rhode Island 02852, United States
Meet the teachers
Joan Vredenburgh
I found yoga over 20 years ago and practiced it on and off until a running injury brought me to the mat full time. It was then I discovered that yoga was more than physical asana; it was also a path to help me slow down and reconnect with myself and others.
In 2018, I completed my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) with Coral Brown at All That Matters and have been sharing my practice with others ever since.
The first Yama—Ahimsa—to do no harm, guides my yoga teaching. I strive to create safe and welcoming vinyasa classes, suitable for students of all levels and abilities.
Off the mat, I am an English Professor at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport where I teach reluctant students the finer points of college composition.
Joan will be teaching:
Mondays: 6:00PM-7:00PM -- All Levels Vinyasa
Vanessa Savas
I was first drawn to yoga during my college basketball days, using it primarily to enhance my strength and flexibility. For many years, I viewed yoga solely as a form of physical exercise; taking regular power and hot yoga classes at local studios. However, as I deepened my practice, I began to connect with its spiritual dimension—and it was there that I truly fell in love with yoga and began to learn more about its roots and purpose. As a high school teacher, I developed a home practice during the pandemic to cope with the stress and uncertainty of the time. The mental, emotional, and physical benefits I experienced inspired me to explore yoga more intentionally and to share its transformative power with my students and colleagues. In 2022, I completed my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training through Breathe for Change, a program designed specifically for educators that integrates yoga, mindfulness, and social-emotional learning in schools, something I have been doing ever since. I am grateful that my training deepened my awareness of how yoga is often culturally appropriated in the West and equipped me to teach in a way that respectfully honors its roots and cultural heritage.
I am passionate about yoga as a vehicle for personal growth and social change, because as the saying goes, “Inner peace, brings the world more peace.” Currently, I am continuing my education through a 300-hour advanced training with Breathe for Change, further expanding my capacity to integrate these practices into educational spaces. In addition to yoga, I love traveling, reading, surfing, hiking, triathlons, cooking (and eating!), and spending time with my partner and our dog.
Vanessa will be teaching:
Tuesdays 6:15AM-7:00AM -- Rise & Shine
Wednesdays: 7:30AM-8:30AM -- All Levels Flow
Jenn Thomas
Yoga showed up at the outset of my recovery process 37 years ago - it stuck. It was a gateway for me to look at life with a very different perspective, one that was inclusive, non judgmental and freeing. Kripalu from the later 80’s gave me a path, one that awakened a longing in me to be a good human. Lots of asana, ashtanga & then ashtanga Vinyasa for years, however, relationships, art making and glassblowing occupied my time so fully, my practice was living, learning, and bumping into lots of blind spots. The dismantling of my business asked me to look at myself as more than what i could do or did do, Yoga and now meditation came in full bore.
I studied for quite a while with Sarah & Ty Powers - Sarah’s skill and wisdom, & Ty’s kindness pointed me toward my own. Good fortune has followed me since. I met my current teachers through the early years of the IYI program. First John Welwood blessed my world view with compassion & presence, Gregory Kramer laid out a practice and approach to our relational existence that informs my every cell, and now my root teacher Jennifer Welwood holds an exquisite container for awakening, for loving & living as a way to be of benefit for all the life that i feel blessed to be a part of. I am dedicated to my personal practice, and new ways to share & spark that devotion in others keep appearing.
Jenn will be teaching:
Wednesdays: 11:30AM-12:30PM -- Yin Yoga
Katie Tougas
Hi my name is Katie! I hold my 200 hr. certification from Wild Wisdom Yoga and I have also completed the Karma Kids teacher training. I am a certified nutritional therapy practitioner as well as a third grade teacher. I started yoga years ago to do something for me and to help balance my athletic life with my body awareness. I grew up a national level swimmer and now do any and all exercise! Yoga has been a great tool to help me learn more about body awareness and what serves my mind and body and I love to help others find this awareness.
Katie will be teaching:
Thursdays: 6:15AM-7:00AM -- Rise & Reset
Julia Girman
I started dabbling with yoga back in 2004 on DVDs, and between 2010-2012, I ventured into heated power yoga and Bikram Yoga while in grad school. During that time, I didn't treat yoga as a way to slow down and take care of my body (and mind), but rather, as a means to an end -- whether that was to open up my tight hips so I could train harder and run faster or to try and look a certain way. It wasn't until a few years later that I discovered a style of yoga that really resonated with me, and in 2018, I completed my 200-hour Pranotthan Yoga Teacher Training at All That Matters in Wakefield, RI. It was by far one of the most healing and transformative experiences I’ve had to date, and I've been teaching ever since. I am drawn to yoga as a way to slow down, breathe, be in my body, and practice presence; and I endeavor to share the benefits of yoga with others while empowering my students to connect to their body, stay open and curious, and tap in to their body's deeper wisdom.
Julia will be teaching special 4-week yoga series sprinkled throughout the year. Stay tuned for these special offerings!