Sue Coogan came to yoga as a gentle form of staying fit during her pregnancies. She fell in love with her time on her mat and quickly discovered through practice that this moving meditation also calmed her anxious mind and became a ritual of self-healing. Sue became a yoga teacher to share the gift of connecting with one’s true self through movement and breath work. She is sought after for her welcoming presence and positive energy. Students who attend her class learn how to honor their mind, body, and soul, and leave class feeling present and uplifted. Sue earned her 200 Hour RYT through Zen Fit House/Practice Everywhere in January 2018. She continues to teach and practice in and around Chicago.
Find Sue on Instagram @susiecoogan
Photo by: Kate Olsen @kateolsenphotography
Regina Verdico began her yoga journey to get out of the daily grind of the gym. She was in need of something that was less invasive and still provided a full body workout. She was introduced to a heated vinyasa flow that felt ‘life-changing’ and she never looked back. Yoga calmed her spirit and gave her more peace. No matter what was happening in her life, she knew if she showed up on her mat, everything was ok. Regina loved the physical and psychological benefits and became an advocate to others to start practicing. Her meditation practice deepened ten-fold as a result of what she was learning through yoga and she decided she would complete her 200 hour certification. Yoga was a gift to her and she is passionate about providing an experience that helps others remember themselves, love a little deeper and take care of their overall Self.
Regina received her 200 Yoga Teacher certification from CorePower Bucktown in 2016. In addition, she has taken a Trauma Awareness and Prenatal Workshop. She volunteers as a teacher for YogaCare in Chicago, an organization that provides yoga to underserved communities.
Rose Semsak remembers playfully practicing Yoga as a child while watching the television show “Lilias, Yoga and You”. Rose needed the calming energy and nourishment of her own breath. As a fitness enthusiast for over thirty years, strength training helped Rose develop physical strength. But something was still missing from her life. It was not until Rose found Yoga again, that she was able to find peace, calm, and purpose in her life. She has a passion for helping others find their mind body connection and peace within. Join her on your mat to discover what you may find within yourself.
Rose earned her 200 RYT through Zen Fit House/Practice Everywhere in Jan 2018. Rose is also a certified Personal Trainer thru NASM.
Christina DeCillo was introduced to yoga through trials and errors, different fitness regimens, and a desire to be healthy. Her passion for yoga came about through tragedy as well as in her work as a chiropractic assistant.
In Christina's work at a chiropractor, she worked directly with patients healing from spinal pain, instructing therapeutic exercise. As the Universe had it, a patient also was a yoga teacher and introduced her to the practice. She attended a Restorative Yoga class and found tools to help not only her patients, but to begin healing her own emotional and spiritual wounds. Yoga became a beautiful therapy, allowing her to meditate and draw upon her own energy.
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Soon it became clear to Christina that she was being offered this gift and that it was her purpose to serve others and help them along their own healing journey. Shortly thereafter she trained to become an instructor and have since become a trauma sensitive instructor.
Christina both practices and teaches primarily Hatha and Yin, as well as Vinyasa, Beginners and Restorative. She believes strongly in the power of sound healing and reiki and is drawn to the energy they cultivate and how we, as individuals and collectively, are nourished by that energy.
Karen Keane earned her 200 RYT through Zen Fit House at Twisted Tree Yoga studio in January 2017. She began practicing yoga for stress relief, however, in 1997 at the suggestion of a co-worker. Karen spent the interim twenty years between that first class and becoming an instructor taking classes in all different forms of Yoga. And while every form had its benefits, Karen landed in a class with an Iyengar-trained instructor who stressed precision, alignment and strength and stayed there for seven years!
Because Karen is also a Board Certified Massage Therapist (since 2005), she personally uses and teaches yoga as a tool for conditioning the somatic body. She often stresses effort and ease in poses while holding space for her student's long-- slow-- stretches and targeted muscle strengthening.
Karen works hard to combine the classic elements of yoga with her student’s 21st century needs. She strives to convey the joy of continually approaching yoga practice with Beginner’s Mind, and, of course, never losing sight of the idea that yoga is indeed about practice and NOT about perfect!
In addition to her work at Twisted Tree as resident sub and specialty class instructor (Chair Supported Yoga, Couple’s Yoga and Psoas Stretch Series), Karen works privately with special needs students--the elderly, persons dealing with cancer, autoimmune disorders and other health challenges.
Teresa King began her journey with yoga in 2017 at our very own Twisted Tree Yoga. Teresa is a local mom of 3 children and struggled with postpartum anxiety after having her twins. She received a recommendation to try yoga to help her cope with her anxiety. She tried a class and it was love at first downward dog.
Teresa started incorporating yoga at home with her own children. She believes in the importance of teaching children to become aware of their bodies and mind. Teresa received her 95 hour Children's Yoga Teacher Training from Good Seeds Yoga and has experience working with a wide range of ages and backgrounds. She incorporates her love for movement, dance, yoga and meditation into her youth classes. She believes teaching yoga is her calling in life and loves sharing the gift of yoga with the yogis of all ages.
Ryan Spanton is a queer yogi, who came to yoga as a tool of self exploration and introspection. They earned their 200hr certificate from YogaSix and are currently working on their 300hr certificate. They believe that yoga has the ability to support growth in all aspects of life: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. As a teacher, they enjoy introducing students to more than just the physical limb of yoga. They incorporate aspects of yoga philosophy, anatomy and physiology, alternative movement modalities, subtle body energetics, psychology and somatics into their classes. Ryan is currently living in Boulder Colorado and is extremely grateful to continue to be a part of the Twisted Tree community through their virtual class offerings.
