John Schumacher
 John Schumacher is the founder and director of Unity Woods. He has practiced yoga for over 35 years and has taught in the Washington area since 1973. John has studied in India with B.K.S. Iyengar, the world's foremost Yoga teacher, many times since 1981 and is a certified senior Iyengar Yoga teacher. He also spent many years studying with internationally acclaimed teacher Dona Holleman, who strongly influenced his practice and teaching.
Cited by Yoga Journal as one of "25 American originals who are shaping yoga today," John's clear, precise style and his engaging sense of humor have made him one of the country's leading yoga teachers. He has written for a variety of publications and has appeared in numerous local and national media, including U.S. News and World Report, W Magazine, Yoga Journal, Washingtonian Magazine, the Washington Times, The Washington Post and others. john speaks about the practice and benefits of yoga on radio and television, and at conferences and organizations around the country.
John has taught thousands of students and trained hundreds of teachers over the years. He continues to travel across the U.S. and throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean to conduct workshops for students and teachers of all levels.
See John's Teaching and Workshops Schedule
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Joe Adlesic
 Joe Adlesic, a certified Intermediate Junior I Iyengar Yoga teacher, began his studies with John Schumacher in 1982. He has studied with many senior Iyengar teachers and has been to India to study with the Iyengars. He has taught since 1987 and is the director of Blue Ridge Yoga in Charlottesville, VA. Joe has a B.A. in Psychology and graduate training in Health Education.
See Joe's Teaching Schedule
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Carolyn Bluemle
Carolyn Bluemle, a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, began her yoga practice in 1979. She has studied with the Iyengars in India, in Italy with Dona Holleman, here with John Schumacher, and with numerous senior teachers throughout the country. Her teaching is precise and enthusiastic. Her compassion has been nourished by the teachings, practices, and community of Thich Nhat Hanh. She cultivated and honed her analytical skills during her doctoral studies in ancient Greek philosophy at UC Berkeley. Her appreciation of the rhythms and poetry of the body arise from years as a dancer. She leads silent days and retreats with yoga and meditation as prayer: www.cmagicisafoot.com.
See Carolyn's Teaching Schedule
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Jill Pollet Cahn
 Jill Pollet Cahn, a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, has studied at Unity Woods since 1980 and taught since 1987. Her teachers are John Schumacher and Judy Pollet Narvid. Jill has a B.S. from U.C. Berkeley and an M.A. in Special Education. She developed and teaches workshops on Vital Alignment: Yoga and the Energy Field.
See Jill's Teaching Schedule
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Carol Cavanaugh
Carol Cavanaugh has practiced Iyengar Yoga since 1974 and taught since 1977. She was one of the first certified Iyengar Yoga teachers in the United States, and took five intensive courses with the Iyengars in India. She directed the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco for over 10 years, and wrote often for Yoga Journal, including the 1991 "Asana" column. Currently she also teaches yoga to young people with scoliosis. Carol has a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University. She also practices vipassana meditation.
See Carol's Teaching Schedule
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Rocky Delaplaine
 Rocky Delaplaine is interested in exploring how the practice of asana and pranayama promote peace, reduces violence, and cultivates reverence for the natural world. She is a certified Iyengar teacher with twenty years' teaching experience, a mom, and a poet. In a recent poem about grackles she wrote "We live by magnetism." See her website, www.rockydelaplaine.com for more details.
See Rocky's Teaching Schedule
Read some of Rocky's Poetry.
Balancing With Yoga by Rocky Delaplaine
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Esther Geiger
 Esther Geiger began studying with John Schumacher in 1980 and became Unity Woods' administrator in 1988. She holds a B.A. in Early Childhood Development and an M.A. in Movement, and has worked as a dancer, elementary teacher, playground designer, and audio describer for dance. Her approach to yoga (practice, teaching and studio administration) is influenced by Jean Piaget's observations, Rudolph Laban's explorations, Richard Bull's improvisations and John Schumacher's grounding. Esther is a CMA (Certified Laban Movement Analyst).
See Esther's Teaching Schedule
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Giulia Mainieri
 Giulia Mainieri has trained with some of the finest yoga teachers in the world, including Mr. BKS Iyengar. Inspired by her first teacher, Joanne Cameron of Alexandria, VA, in 1970, she became a student of Mr. Iyengar in the early 70's. She taught classes on Capitol Hill in 1976 and soon became a student of John Schumacher. She began teaching at Unity Woods in 1984 and was certified in 1986 by the first Iyengar assessment committtee in the U.S. Giulia is ever-grateful to be studying with Carolyn Bluemle and John Schumacher. She has raised three children and lives with her two youngest children, two cats and one puppy.
See Giulia's Teaching Schedule
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Liz Marx
 Liz Marx is a certified Iyengar teacher. She has traveled to India on several occasions to study with the Iyengars. Liz has been highly influenced by the teachings of John Schumacher and Barbara Benagh. She has studied at Unity Woods since 1981 and has taught since 1984.
See Liz's Teaching Schedule
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Steve Mitchell
 Steve Mitchell is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher and has studied with many senior teachers from the United States and Europe. John Schumacher is his primary instructor and the main influence in his practice and teaching. He has taught in D.C. for many years.
See Steve's Teaching Schedule
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Terence Ollivierra
 Terence Arman Ollivierra, a certified yoga instructor, studied Occupatnoal Therapy at Howard University. Disillusioned with the western medical system of disease management, he began seeking integrative prevention. This search led to years of dedicated self study with the book "Light on Yoga". He has been training with John Schumacher since 2003. his love for music, nature and humanity inspires his practice and passion for teaching.
See Terence's Teaching Schedule
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Mary Pappas-Sandonas
 Mary Pappas-Sandonas is a certified Intermediate Junior I Iyengar Yoga teacher. She continues to study in India with the Iyengars and with senior teachers worldwide. Her primary teachers are John Schumacher and Patricia Walden. Mary holds a B.S. in Psychology with an emphasis in the Neurosciences and an M.S. in Exercise Physiology, Cardiac Rehabilitation specialty.
See Mary's Teaching Schedule
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Lori L. Ritland
 Lori L. Ritland is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. She has studied with John Schumacher, her primary teacher, since 1998, with the Iyengars in Pune, India, and with other senior Iyengar teachers. She holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and a M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. Lori is devoted to fostering the practice of asana and pranayama for those seeking greater balance in their busy lives.
See Lori's Teaching Schedule
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Maggie Rhoades
 Maggie Rhoades, a certified Yoga teacher, has studied with the Iyengars, apprenticed with John Schumacher, and trained with many senior teachers. She holds an M.A. in education, is a certified Pilates instructor, and has taught classes for cardiac and cancer patients in area hospitals. She has developed yoga and Pilates DVDs for beginners and beyond.
See Maggie's Teaching Schedule
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Alyson Ross
 Alyson Ross is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher with a Master's degree in Nursing. She began studying yoga in 1990 with Nashville's beloved Jan Campbell, and taught for 8 years at Atlanta's popular Stillwater Yoga Studio. Alyson is currently pursuing her PhD in Nursing, focusing her dissertation on the health benefits of Iyengar yoga.
See Alyson's Teaching Schedule
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Linda San Gabriel
 Linda San Gabriel began practicing yoga in 1989 and teaching in 1996. She credits Maxine Tobias as her first yoga teacher when she opened Maxine's book "Stretch and Relax" and has, in essence, never closed that book! Linda apprenticed with John Schumacher and studied with the Iyengars in India and in the US. She continues to study with Iyengar teachers when she frequently travels the globe, her other passion. Linda believes that the essence of yoga can be found in diligent work that is accompanied by laughter. She holds a Masters degree in Applied Linguistics.
See Linda's Teaching Schedule
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Suzanne Y. Sigüenza
 Suzanne Y. Sigüenza, our Assistant Administrator, is dedicated to offering yoga as a medium to help students develop and practice awareness, self-acceptance, and benevolence. God, Nature, and her studies with John and the Iyengar family inspire her teaching and her practice. She is a runner, an artist (MFA), and is working towards her certification in Education for Parish Services at Trinity University.
See Suzanne's Teaching Schedule
Suzanne's received her Master's in Fine Arts and maintains a home studio, SiriusArts Studio. www.SiriusArts.net
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Ann Thomas
 Ann Thomas is a certified Iyengar teacher and has studied in India with the Iyengars. She is ever grateful to her teachers, especially John Schumacher with whom she apprenticed. Within a sound framework of alignment and form in asana, Ann hopes to convey the healing potential of yoga, and an awareness of faith, love and devotion. She has an MA in Health Promotion & Education, is pursuing a divinity degree, and is the mother of twins.
See Ann's Teaching Schedule
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Anne Wutchiett
 Anne Wutchiett is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher who has been teaching for over twenty years. She has studied in India with the Iyengars and with many senior teachers. Her teaching is both caring and inspired, recognizing the immense benefits of a regular practice and a life grounded in yogic principles. She expresses the teachings of Iyengar yoga which introduce healing properties to both mind and body and produce an intuitive inner alignment that allows grace and clarity to unfold. She appreciates the strength and endurance that these teachings cultivate, helping one to balance the stresses of modern life and in this way to live more consciously and fully. She is particularly interested in aspects of practice that introduce and regulate rhythmical patterns, breath and sequencing of asana, as examples. In addition, she loves nature and animals and looks to both for understanding and inspiration.
See Anne's Teaching Schedule
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