Our Teachers

Lauren S. Deaton

Lauren, 200hr RYT, received her training in Rishikesh, India—the birthplace of yoga. She loves that yoga is a practice for the body, mind, and spirit. Through that unity, she believes we carry our experiences on the mat into our lives off of the mat. Her classes are vigorous and fun vinyasa flows, filled with compassion and humor. It is an honor to share the gift of yoga with others.

Cassie Zehren

Wisconsin native, Cassie moved to Chicago in 2007 to attend school for graphic design. Adjusting to urban life, and a full class schedule, Cassie found herself in need of a stress release. That was when she found yoga for the first time. She began to notice the profound effects that the practice had in her daily life, her relationships, and began to feel the transformation of yoga. 11 years have passed, and yoga has been there every step of the way.

She received her 200hr certificate at Bloom Yoga Studio in Chicago, IL in 2018. Cassie is also a Reiki Master/Teacher. She hopes to create a healing environment along with the practice. She has experienced the peace, balance, and grounding that yoga can bring to everyday life and is excited to share this with her students.

When Cassie is off the mat, you can find her taking photos, playing with her two black cats, listening to records, searching for a new plant to add to her collection, or enjoying a craft beer with friends.

Katie Foley

Katie been teaching Vinyasa style yoga throughout the city of Chicago since 2016 and has been growing her personal yoga practice since 2008. Katie was inspired to begin teaching by her love and genuine desire to help others with their spiritual, physical, and emotional needs. Katie completed her 200 hour RYT at Chicago School of Yoga in June 2016. Katie spends her summers teaching SUP Yoga on Lake Michigan and she is an active student at the Second City Conservatory. Her background in creative arts and her love of music and people create a dynamic flow that encourages you to have fun, center your mind, and pursue growth in your own personal yoga journey.

Whitney Katz

Whitney Katz is a certified Yoga alliance 200hr RYT specializing in vinyasa, mindful, restorative and yin yoga. She reveals the heart of the practice through positivity, care and joyfulness. Her teaching reflects a playfulness while encouraging students to embrace the edge with care. She carries the message of community into each classroom by checking in with individual needs and then building a platform for possibility.

Kate Smith

Yoga has helped Kate both mentally and physically since she first discovered it in 2004. Helping her through P.T.S.D and anxiety by creating strength and connection between the mind and body. Kate is a sort of Yoga Melting Pot, culminating Trauma Sensitive, Vinyasa, lyengar, Kundalini, and prenatal training to make her own style. She loves moving between holding poses and flowing in poses to create connection and freedom in the body. Kate currently teaches (and receives training) in Trauma informed and prenatal classes with Yoga For Recovery. She received her 200 hour certification with Yogaview Chicago, her continuing trauma informed training with Molly Boeder Harris, her prenatal training with Katie Hanlon and Amy Owen, and continuing education courses with Claire Mark and Sara Strother. She also apprentices with Alie McManus.

Nicole Kalantzis

Nicole discovered yoga as a teenager through her mom’s Lillias Folan “The First Lady of Yoga” tapes. She reconnected with it years later while working at a newspaper in downstate Illinois. Then she moved to Madison, Wisc., enrolled in a 200-hour yoga teacher training program and has been teaching ever since. Nicole’s classes are accessible to all practitioners, beginner to advanced. She likes holding poses and connecting breath to movement, offering both a physical and mental release.

Melissa Schwenk

Melissa Schwenk (RYT-200, RYCT) began her practice of yoga after time in the culinary industry left her body and mind in need of positive changes. Through yoga she continues to discover a space for clarity of mind and the deep understanding that we are all connected.

She completed her 200 HR Hatha yoga teacher training with the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organization in Grass Valley, CA. She also completed her 95 HR children’s yoga teacher training with Mission Propelle here in her beloved city of Chicago.

Melissa brings a sense of fun and playfulness into her teaching whether with children or adults. Melissa believes that when we slow down, connect to our breath and show compassion for ourselves, we can dissolve barriers within and to the world around us. Melissa strives to make each class accessible to everyone.

Sarah Palmer

Sarah holds deep love and respect for the transformative power of yoga, meditation, and energy work. Drawing wisdom from multiple traditions and modalities, she helps her students discover internal freedom and a powerful connection to their deepest truths. Yoga Alliance certified in both Kundalini Yoga and Vinyasa, Sarah is also a Reiki Master Teacher certified in Usui Reiki, New Paradigm MDT, and Akashic Records readings.