Teachers List — Unplug

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Charise Studesville

Background:

Charise is a truth warrior and healing artist, who believes in radical self-care—that the act of tending to our well-being sends a message to our own minds and spirits, as well as to the world, that we value ourselves, and others. She uses meditation, Reiki, and TRUTH Journaling to help clients unlock blockages, release old patterns and habits, and to live their lives with joy...and has utilized each modality in managing anxiety, grief, chronic pain, and PTSD in her own life. Charise sees these tools as vital components of her own personal wellness, in coordination with
good nutrition, Gyrotonic, breath work, sound baths, and daily laughter.

Charise is an Unplug certified meditation teacher, trained by davidji and Suze Yalof Schwartz; a Playing Big Facilitator, trained by Playing Big author and coaching specialist Tara Mohr; a Reiki practitioner; and a business person, artist, filmmaker, writer, and mother of four. She is also the founder of Hollywood Chick Mafia. And even though she is full-on LA convert, you might catch an occasional Madison, Wisconsin accent, or an NYC twinkle in her eye.

Why I Teach Meditation:

I believe that finding my way to a daily meditation practice saved my life. I was at a crossroads, on every front. Discovering that I had this power within me to quiet the storms, excavate what needed to be cleared away, and set my sights upon a new path that could feed all the parts of my soul, was a quiet revolution. And if this Type-A polymath has been able to find peace...I know that anyone can. I find great joy in helping other humans (and our family dogs!) find their own patch of sunny calm amidst all of the noise in this life.

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Byron De Marse

Background:

Byron taught for many years at the world renowned Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga studio in Santa Monica, California. He accumulated the bulk of his over 10,000 hours of teaching experience there. Born and raised on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma, Byron was raised to believe that simplicity is a key component of happiness. It was instilled from an early age the benefits of hard work and discipline. After losing his father at 17 and experiencing a traumatic spiral of events through his adolescent years, Byron turned to yoga. As a former athlete, yoga immediately spoke to Byron’s physical nature. And as a boy who was raised in a small town, yoga confronted deep mental conditioning. Yet somehow the practice felt familiar. Like he was home. Yoga become his church, his therapy, his gym, and his home away from home. During practice Byron found himself confronting fears, connecting with truth, and prioritizing his life purpose. Inwardly, he was in constant negotiation of how free he wanted to be. His mind was becoming more resilient, his body more adaptable, and his heart primed for a perpetual rebirthing. He was quickly waking up and the call to help others was louder than every distraction. It was his time to share the miracle of yoga and to do it in a way that optimizes and speaks to our full human potential. In his classes he began to structure his sentences and design sequences carefully and compassionately. He knew that if he could tap into a person’s desire to turn their mind off long enough for the yoga to work then it might change their life Byron’s guidance has developed into a method of precision cueing and verbal support that encourages people to explore their edges while connecting to ones heart. His classes are creative emanations of his journey on this planet cultivated from rich life experiences. They are designed to lift you up and trust life.

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Gigi Snyder

Background:

Gigi Snyder is a yoga, breathwork and meditation teacher, yoga teacher trainer, and mentor. Her yoga journey began in earnest at age 18 when she found a vintage instructional book on yoga in a thrift store. Since then, Gigi has practiced and studied with renowned yoga and Ayurveda teachers from around the world, has taught public classes, private sessions, and has lead thousand-person classes at festivals in the United States, Mexico and Europe. She has lead fifteen 200-hour teacher trainings, and has mentored many successful yoga teachers and entrepreneurs from around the world. In addition, Gigi has six years experience teaching trauma informed therapeutic yoga classes in a clinical primary care setting. Gigi aspires to inspire people to lead their absolute best lives by sharing the simple, yet profoundly effective tools of yoga with others. Gigi was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, raised in Charleston, South Carolina and calls Southern California her home sweet home. In her spare time she enjoys studying the stars, gardening, impromptu road trip adventures, roller skating, and hanging out with her dog Pablo Honey and her cat Bodhi.

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Miriam Parker

Background:

Miriam Parker is a visual and performance artist, and has been working professionally in the New York City dance and visual art world for the past 25 years. Miriam’s deep and steady Buddhist spiritual practice is seamlessly intertwined with her creative identity. Over the last 4 years, her personal practice has led her to complete over 35 weeks of solitary spiritual retreat. In 2019, Miriam completed a rigorous study of the 15 Foundational Buddhist Courses as offered through the Asian Classic Institute, which parallels the basic core of information that a Geshe (Doctor of Theology) learns at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. Miriam has been teaching meditation in NYC studios, non-profit organizations, and corporate settings for nearly 10 years. She has been imparting yogic techniques and physical training, both individually and in group settings, for nearly 7 years. In sharing the gifts that her practice as offered her, Miriam has realized that each of us are the architects of your own worlds, and that the inner landscape is the soil that needs tending in order to bear fruit. Miriam is beloved by her students for her authenticity, wisdom, and embodiment of joyful effort. Miriam is indebted to her teachers Dr. Lisette Garcia and Thupten Punstok among others; she has completed 200 hours of Meditation teacher training through Three Jewels NYC, and 300 hours of Yoga teacher training through Jivamukti.

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Ivorie Jenkins

Background:

Ivorie Jenkins, an EYT 500-hour meditation teacher and yoga therapist, has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga and meditation since it revealed its healing benefits during her professional dance career. After receiving a B.A. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University, Ivorie embarked on a fifteen-year performance career. She toured nationally and internationally, danced roles in film, television and commercial ad campaigns. At the peak of her dance career, she moved to Vegas to perform with Cirque du Soleil as an original cast member of the show, Viva Elvis. There she performed over 1,500 shows! During her time with Cirque du Soleil, Ivorie turned to yoga as a pre and post performance ritual. The practice offered a sanctuary from the stress of the entertainment industry and the negative self judgement that often plagues the minds’ of artists. Ivorie is now based in Los Angeles, teaching at studios, corporate offices and with private clients in their homes. Her studies include over 1000 hours with Senior teachers Annie Carpenter, Noah Maze and Loyola Marymount’s Advanced yoga therapy RX program with mentor, Dr. Larry Payne. This accreditation allows Ivorie to see private clients dealing with a wide range of ailments and offer a personal prescription of wellness via the holistic lens of yoga. There is a soul and a depth that Ivorie brings to her classes.What she loves most about teaching is reminding students of their wholeness, their innate perfection and inner wisdom so they might become comfortable with befriending who they already are.

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Alex Artymiak

Background:

Alex is a yoga, meditation, and breathwork teacher based in Santa Monica, California. Though he started his yoga journey seeking strength, balance, and flexibility as a way to improve his surfing skills, he soon realized that these abilities reflect a deeper and more powerful shift taking place within. Alex sees meditation and yoga as energetic practices that manifest in the physical body. This philosophy shines through his practice and teaching style. In his classes, Alex speaks to awareness and feeling as much as technique and form, intuitively guiding you to explore greater depths. Since his first teacher training in 2011, Alex chose to dedicate his life to studying meditation and yoga and has since taught over 5,000 classes, led retreats around the world, and lectured on yogic philosophy and meditation in teacher trainings. His philosophy, “keep your spine long, your breath strong, and your mind on” is a formula for presence and clarity on and off the mat or cushion. His classes will leave you feeling clear, connected, and empowered to shine your light for yourself and everyone around you.

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Gina Hemmings

Background:

Gina Hemmings has been in the health and wellness industry for over 18 years, as a qualified hypnotherapist, meditation coach, yoga/pilates teacher, body work therapist, and personal trainer whose reputation with celebrity clients earned her a fitness and nutrition column in The Daily Mirror newspaper and Body Fit magazine.

Before moving to Los Angeles in 2014, Gina previously owned two health and beauty salons—in Kew Gardens, London and The New Forest, Hampshire—and also ran the health and wellness services for the 5* Firmdale Hotel group in London.

With a wealth of experience of working one-to-one with clients and helping them transform their lives both physically and mentally, Gina work’s with clients as a RTT hypnotherapist having trained  with Marisa Peer, the world-renowned hypnotherapist in RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy).


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Denise Antoine

Background:

Denise Antoine, is a Holistic Yoga Flow E-RYT Yoga Alliance-certified yoga instructor, meditation, mat pilates, and dance teacher. She was born and raised in south central L.A. and is committed to bringing yoga, meditation and arts education to all communities. She believes we all have a unique gift to share with the collective and is honored to help others cultivate more joy and purpose in their lives. Denise guides corporations, adults, kids and trauma survivors in yoga, meditation and transformational practices. Her conversational teaching style allows you to feel comfortable being honest with yourself and facilitates the opportunities to confidently step into unwavering self love.


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