Nicole Carter
Co-Owner | Studio Manager
E-RYT | CHWC
Nicole’s first step into a yoga practice began with healing her relationship with her body in her late 20’s The next step was supporting the loss of her mom. Yoga and it’s principles have helped Nicole navigate confidence, mindfulness, grief and many transformations of the mind & body. She started teaching because she believes that yoga transforms lives and supports mental health through breath work, mindful movement and community.
Nicole is on track for her E-RYT 500 and has over 20 years of teaching experience. She is a certified prenatal teacher, Barre Eclipse Instructor and Certified Health & Wellness Coach. She is also a certified Mental Health First Aid responder and trained in CPR. She holds trainings from MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) and positive psychology.
Nicole is the artistic founder and producer of Gypsy Layne Cabaret & Co., a successful cabaret troupe in the Berkshires for over 10 years dedicated to self-empowerment, body-positivity and inclusivity.
“My heart, and my home, is in the Berkshires. I grew up in North County: raised in North Adams, and now live in Williamstown. Being a part of this community is vital to me—as a teacher, an artist, a businessperson, and a mother. I know firsthand the hardships this community has faced. I have also witnessed it flourish in beautiful new ways, thanks in large part to the contributions made by small town business owners, I am proud to be a part of that community.”
Amyleigh Foster
Co-Owner | Functional Health Coach
RYT | CHWC | FDN-P Trainee
Amyleigh had an on and off yoga practice for years. It wasn’t until she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s + Thyroid Eye Disease that she started to deepen and become consistent with her practice. She knew that she needed to find new, healthy ways to combat stress and regain the confidence she once had before her autoimmune struggles. Amyleigh’s Yoga journey has helped her heal, physically and emotionally, while becoming more in tune with her body. Meditation, mindful movement, and therapeutic heat have become important parts of her healing protocol.
An RYT, Certified Health and Wellbeing Coach who’s also on track to become a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, Amyleigh began teaching yoga and functional health coaching to help other people struggling with chronic illness, hormone imbalance and GI issues find the root cause of their symptoms and reclaim their health.
Angela Rocca
RYT
Angela is passionate about bringing her love and knowledge of yoga to everyone, at every level of experience. She first began practicing yoga while in high school. She strayed from her practice in her 20's but came back to it in her 30's to get some much-needed and deserved healing. Yoga provided her tools to help heal past trauma and the clarity to see that what she wanted was to be in a studio, teaching others yoga.
Angela is a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher. She has learned that there is a yoga practice for every body, and everybody can benefit from a yoga practice. Angela’s classes invite students to focus on their breath while they safely find and explore the edges of their physical practice. She's continually amazed at what the seemingly simple act of breathing can do for the mind and body. When off the mat, Angela spends time canoeing and wading around rivers and lakes with her significant other while pretending she’s an angler.
Bethany Boulger
RYT
Bethany is a massage therapist, Yoga Educator, Life coach and lover of the adventure of life. Bethany began practicing massage therapy in 2001 after attending Florida College of Natural Health in Sarasota, FL. She has traveled the world to study a variety of modalities including Hawaiian Lomilomi massage and Traditional Thai massage.
Bethany has been teaching Yoga since 2010. She bows to her primary teachers Gopi Kinnecutt and Eoin Finn for stoking the fire of inspiration within her. Bethany has had the honor of sharing the healing and empowering practice of yoga across the globe. Her favorite memories include teaching on the sun deck of a boutique cruise ship in glacier bay Alaska while whales breeched from the pristine waters. She has led Yoga Alliance Certified YTT’s and Yoga retreats to the islands of Hawaii.
Hands on assists are a foundational aspect of Bethany’s offerings. She views assists as an opportunity to empower each student to feel greater freedom, strength and depth within their practice. With an awareness of safety and integrity she uses assists for students to embody their practice as a sustainable and joyful experience.
Bethany loves spending time in nature, reading poetry and enjoying the simple things in life. She lives in with her husband Tyler and their son Jai in Southern Vermont as well as the Big Island of Hawaii.
Ashleigh Catsos
RYT | CPT
Ashleigh’s first experience with yoga was as a requirement in acting school at a time when she was finding it particularly challenging being present in her body. The more she practiced, the more she discovered about herself—from the correct setup for her body in half pigeon pose, to the ways in which she was hiding behind her anxiety and letting fear dominate her life. The more she practiced, the more she learned to take up space. The more she moved, the more she did so for herself, unapologetically. Now, nearly twenty years later, Ashleigh is helping others do the same. With a diverse background in Pilates, Vinyasa and Hatha yoga, CrossFit, and personal training,
Ashleigh encourages students to move on the mat in a way that supports daily life while also empowering them to adapt poses and exercises to work for them, not the other way around. Her classes guarantee fun and dynamic sequences, specificity in cuing, and compassionate guidance, all built on the belief that movement can be technically challenging rather than needlessly hard. It’s all about the process: messy, emotional, powerful. She’s not perfect, and she’s finally stopped striving to be
Ali
RYT
Write a bio for each team member. Make it short and informative to keep your visitors engaged.
Fiona Slattery
Dance Teacher | Licensed Barre Eclipse Instructor | Level 2 Usui Reiki practitioner
Fiona is an award-winning dance performer and instructor, a level two Usui Reiki practitioner, a Barre Eclipse instructor, and life-long student. She has studied and performed throughout the country and in Greece for the past twenty years. Whether dance or barre or energy work, her goal is to find strength in mind, body, & soul.
Fiona’s goal is to help students connect with their bodies without judgment, to find their own definition of strength, and to have fun with dance and movement.
Ali Tatro
RYT
Before discovering yoga, life felt like a relentless rush. Embarking on my yoga journey has changed my way of thinking. It has helped to instill a sense of calmness, enhance my focus, and cultivate deeper self-awareness. As a school teacher, I knew there was no doubt that I wanted to share these positive changes with others. Which, ultimately, sparked my passion for teaching yoga.
I am driven to help students navigate their own journeys, using yoga as a tool to tackle life's complexities. My unique approach stem from my own transformation and my dedication to facilitating similar breakthroughs for my students. Personally, I've always been captivated by life's fast pace and yoga has helped bring me to a place of balance and clarity. My goal as a teacher is to assist students in finding their own ways that yoga can bring them these same feelings.
Lev Sukenik
RYT | Ayurvedic Health Practitioner
Lev first came to Yoga after needing to recover and heal injuries from years of powerlifting. He did not expect it to radically change his body, mind and life path. After three years of consistent practice, in 2015 he decided to pursue teacher training with Sri Dharma Mitra in New York City, in a traditional Hatha yoga lineage. This inspired him to dive deeper into breathwork, meditation and spirituality.
Lev began teaching where he lived in Saratoga Springs, NY with a focus on Hatha, Yin and Yoga Nidra. After developing a chronic case of Lyme’s disease, Lev’s search for wellness brought him to study Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga. Ayurveda is focused on holistic health in body, mind and spirit. He studied full time for 2 years at the California College of Ayurveda to become an Ayurvedic health practitioner. This gave Lev a new lens from which to view the world and the practice of yoga. Focusing more on acceptance, compassion, self care and slowing down.
In Lev’s class you can expect slower movement, postures held for a longer duration and sequencing catered to the natural rhythm and influence of the seasons and environment. Yoga is accessible to everybody. By focusing on the fundamentals with great intentionality, a strong base is created for people to explore more complex movement and postures, in a safe and confident way. Lev’s motivation for teaching is to be of service. It is an honor for him to share these teachings that have so graciously been shared with him. He currently lives on an off grid homestead in the Berkshires with his dog Chester.
Becky Ahamad
Dance Teacher
Becky’s passion for dance ignited in the Berkshires, where she trained at various local studios. By the age of 15, she was already a choreographer for the "Romance Soul Rock N Roll" productions at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA. She continued her love for dance at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, performing with the MCLA Dance Company and earning a B.A. in English/Communications.
Following graduation, Becky contributed her talents to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, where she led weekly workshops for interns. In September 2011, she joined Berkshire Dance Theatre as an instructor and has since taught a diverse range of classes including Hip Hop, Tap, Choreography, Jazz, and Children's Programming. In 2021, Becky was appointed Artistic Director, further solidifying her leadership role.
Becky is also a co-founder of dysFUNKcrew, a community dance group that has performed at numerous local events, including the newly renovated Adams Theatre, MASS MoCA, Tanglewood, the Colonial Theatre, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Lauren Vinning-Barsotti
RYT
Lauren began dance lessons before her third birthday and never lost her love of movement, music, and being fully embodied. In college and as a young adult, there were fewer opportunities to take dance classes so Lauren gravitated toward yoga classes. At first, her focus was using yoga to find new ways to physically challenge herself, but eventually she found the pleasure of yoga and meditation as a spiritual practice. In particular, the practice of Metta Bhavana, the cultivation of loving-kindness, allowed Lauren to release some of the competitiveness and self-judgement that had always been part of her physical practices in the past. She opened up to the idea that it isn't important to do a pose perfectly, to be the most flexible, or the strongest. She now focuses on the joy of movement, creativity, self-exploration, and community, which makes all of her practices (yoga, meditation, dance, painting, gardening) so much more fun and freeing.
Yoga and dance have also been essential in helping Lauren to navigate grief, depression, and anxiety. She hopes to create a nurturing and inclusive space for all students who cross her path, so they can also experience the transformational power of practicing movement in community.
