Weekly Teachers
Alexis Stefanacci
Yoga has been a part of my life for many years and has helped me to deal with the stresses of everyday life. Shortly after getting married, I experienced a terrible tragedy in my life, and yoga called me stronger than ever before. I decided to complete my 200 hour certification with Styles Yoga in 2016.
Yoga gives me the opportunity to share my knowledge of anatomy and the amazing healing powers that yoga has to offer. I love to express myself by coming up with creative and fun flows on the mat. I was born and raised in Troy, NY and moved to Albany, NY to complete my Bachelors degree in Biology at the College of Saint Rose.
I volunteer at Whiskers Animal Benevolent League and completed a certificate of study in Animal Advocacy at Hudson Valley Community College. My husband and I met in 2007 and live in Albany, NY with our beloved dogs and cats.
Read more about Alexis here.
Beate Viggiani
Beate understands yoga as a system of practices that balance, strengthen, and open practitioners physically, mentally and spiritually. She delights in sharing the joy and benefits of yoga with clear and light-hearted instruction and guidance.
As a certified Hatha yoga teacher, Beate is passionate about facilitating a process of self-discovery and self-care that is available and accessible to every body. She teaches with heart, humor and an unwavering commitment to the well-being of all.
Over the years, Beate has been inspired by diverse teachers and varied styles of yoga. She is particularly grateful for the opportunity to complete her 500-hour teacher training at Heartspace.
Read more about Beate here.
Carrie Will
Carrie Will is a Kripalu trained and certified yoga teacher. She received her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certificate in 2008 and has been teaching proudly ever since. Carrie is well versed and well-studied in the Kripalu tradition and has assisted programs and teacher trainings at the Kripalu Center where she gained a wider understanding of yoga philosophy.
Carrie’s specialty has become teaching yoga to people in recovery. Whether recovering from addiction or injury or both, Carrie finds great pleasure in tailoring the yoga she teaches to best reach and serve the client she’s working with. Carrie believes that yoga satisfies a core human need to be seen and she teaches people how to see and accept themselves for who they are. Her classes use trauma informed insights and are open to all level of yoga practitioner.
Read more about Carrie here.
Isaiah Chajon
Isaiah is a lifelong capital region resident who started his practice at HeartSpace Community Yoga & Wellness. After years of experiencing what yoga had to offer him, he decided to get his 200 Hour YTT from Kripalu in 2024.
When he’s not on the mat, Isaiah enjoys hiking with his dog Java, running, and taking advantage of the northeast slopes!
Jessica Wolf
Jessica’s love for yoga began in 2021, when she started to take classes at the Hot Yoga Spot. An avid hiker, she was initially drawn to yoga for the strengthening aspect, but soon became drawn to the balance and flexibility yoga had to offer. When she started to notice the mental and spiritual benefits, along with the self exploration opportunities, she was hooked.
She received her 200hr training from the National VA Yoga Teacher Training in 2024. She looks to empower her students to listen and connect with their bodies while creating a safe space to explore. She loves to teach balanced classes that lead to peak postures.
Jessica is also passionate about giving back to the Veteran population. She currently works with Veterans and is looking to include this population in a class series as she develops as an instructor at Heartspace.
Maria Elayne
Maria’s journey into yoga began in her early 20s, developing a dedicated home practice that brought her the self-connection she’d been seeking. After completing her 200-hour Intuitive Vinyasa teacher training in Santa Barbara, California, Maria spent five years teaching and building community on the mat.
Returning to the Capital Region in 2024, she’s thrilled to share her practice with her hometown. Maria’s teaching style combines rhythmic vinyasa flow with music, creating a soulful, grounding experience.
Martha Moscowitz
Martha Kronholm Moscowitz is a 500-hour level trained yoga instructor and has been teaching yoga since 2011 in New York’s Capital District. Her philosophy of instruction is very practical, and focuses on challenges that are physically productive and safe.
Her classes incorporate breathing techniques and visualizations to facilitate functional range of movement, decrease tension in the body, and develop skills for energy management. She lives in Albany, New York, with her husband, daughter, and two cats.
Nadia El-Fawal
A yoga practitioner since 2009, Nadia earned her certification from Yoga Vidya School Teacher Training and In-Depth Studies 200hr Program in the spring of 2017.
She embraces the idea that yoga is for all bodies and all people. It is her passion to teach her students that everyone can find an expression of asana (physical postures) that best suits them and learn to utilize the many tools and gifts that yoga offers beyond asana to serve them where they are presently in their lives. While maintaining a judgement-free, and encouraging environment she invites students to compassionately cultivate curiosity about themselves while challenging themselves to grow.
She is the creator of the Yoga for Ample Bodies series, she enjoys teaching beginners, and helping more experienced students expand their experience of yoga. Nadia seeks to foster inclusive and accessible spaces where students can practice and explore yoga as a transformative tool for their personal lives and for their communities.
Rachel Cassidy
Rachel obtained her 200-Hr Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training Certification from Yoga Farm Ithaca in 2020.
She was drawn to complete the certification to deepen her own practice and is passionate about bringing the benefits of yoga and mindfulness to others through teaching.
Rachel completed her Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED certification with the American Red Cross, and she is a RYT® 200 Yoga Alliance Member.
In her free time, she enjoys hiking, bicycling, reading, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family, including her two dogs, Finnegan and Fiona.
Read more about Rachel here.
Teresa Harlow
\My first yoga class in Salt Lake City was a stiff awakening to my disconnect from my Physical body. The awakened comfort in my skin and energy movement that followed motivated me to sign up for Beyond Asana HYM (Hot Yoga Method) With Edie Fisher and Graham M. Schweig Ph.d in Virginia.
As Hawaii became my new home, Om Namah Shivaya brought me home into my internal self during my 300 hr training with Zeny. (Hawaii School of Yoga) It was with great honor to have witnessed and learned one of Zeny’s early morning Tantra (chanting) rituals that became My Cat, and I’s ritual until her passing.
The words yoga is for everybody hold a strong value in the heart of yoga and mine. Yoga is not about struggling through poses; it is about finding your body, mind, and heart flow within the subconscious and conscious connections of your breath.
