DAYA FOUNDER

Anna was born in small mountain village in Poland, where nature has taught her a way to live in peace and in tune with its cycles. Traveling throughout India and Brazil later introduced her to the spiritual way.

The Ganges and the Himalayas, mountains and the forests, shamans and the elders are the parents of her philosophy. Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga bring discipline and understanding to the alignment and the mechanical movement to the physical body. Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine and the Medicine of the Land in Poland are the schools of taught. Capoeira, a Brazilian Martial art, showed her how to be a warrior and how to grow strength not only in the muscle and bone but the one of the mind.

She brings it all into her teachings as a healer and mentor. Movement, meditation in motion, Yoga therapy, prenatal, postnatal practice, pranayama, Reiki, the elements, sound healing and rituals that heal the boy, mind and soul. Ania provides you an opportunity to become the witness, to dive deep, and sit in the questions, so you can heal.

“I believe in providing tools for people who are interested in finding purpose in their ‘human experience’ on this planet in this body, into the situation they chose to be born into. I’m the mirror of your true potential, the voice to be heard from a perspective of a third person, the memory that has been forgotten. My goal is to provide an overall experience where one can enter a labor which will allow the unnecessary layers to be removed and the true self can be uncovered and received. ‘Self realization’ is one of the main goals of yoga. So the dreams can become true, so the suffering can lead you to happiness, so the harmony of the senses, the elements can be found.”oes here

TEACHER & STUDIO MANAGER

TEACHER & DAYA CT CO-FOUNDER

Liza Leonard first studied yin yoga in 2019 at Daya Yoga on Jefferson St. Since then, she has taught yin yoga in NYC, Connecticut, India, and Nepal, and has trained Yin Yoga teachers. She loves sharing the depths of this practice and emphasizes meditation, or dharana. Learn the art of being still, observing, and how to guide others through this experience. Liza has studied and practiced tibetan buddhism, tantric meditation, and mantra meditation over the past 5 years.

TEACHER

At the tender age of 10, Jodie initiated her journey into yoga as she navigated the ebbs and flows of her commitment to the practice until five years ago where she wholeheartedly embraced it as a discipline demanding unwavering dedication. Yoga, for Jodie, has become a profound journey of self-discovery, offering tools and lessons that extend far beyond the mat, fostering a deepened sense of compassion for others.

Her personal practice transformed into a formal pursuit, earning her a 200-hour certification from YogaRenew and later, a 300-hour certification from AyurYoga Eco Ashram. Upon returning to New York, she added a Yin Yoga certification from Daya Yoga to her repertoire.

In her teaching, Jodie extends an open invitation for students to embrace their authentic selves and empowers them to take charge of their bodies and practice. She fosters an environment where individuals are encouraged to show up just as they are, fostering a sense of self-authority and self-acceptance.

TEACHER

Darran is a long-standing practitioner and teacher of Breathwork and Movement practices. He has studied with Masters in the Hatha Yoga tradition and the DongHan lineage of Qi Gong with additional Body Dynamics training to address underlying emotional connections within the body. His hope is to guide students towards a full range of expression and greater personal freedom. 

TEACHER

Natalya is a yoga teacher, meditation teacher, writer, and artist. She is deeply inspired by the profound healing abilities that yoga has on the body and mind. These practices have shifted her perspective on how she experiences life and all that gets entangled within it. She has a very gentle and soft approach to teaching. In her classes, she emphasizes joy, healing, exploration, and compassion. 

She received her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training certification with Rainbow Body Yoga, 200-hour Meditation Teacher Training with Three Jewels, and her Yin training with Daya Yoga. She is grateful to be continuously learning from her teachers and students.

TEACHER

Reid Foster has lived in Bushwick since 2018 after spending his childhood in the South and his early adult years in the Midwest. He fell in love with yoga in 2016 and the practice has been a staple in his life since. He’s extensively practiced many styles of yoga, including Katonah, hot yoga and Ashtanga, which have influenced his teaching style. His goal as a teacher is to help others tap into the joy the practice has brought him. 

TEACHER

Multidisciplinary artist and yogini in NYC. Practicing and teaching for over a decade

“Im devoted to inner transformation in service of healing “

Advanced Yoga, Yoga Therapy, Meridian Work, Acupressure, Bhakti & Meditation

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With a background deeply rooted in dance, Mackenzie discovered her passion for teaching early in her career. After years of training in various dance disciplines, she found joy and fulfillment in nurturing that love of movement. After completing her 200 YTT under the direction and guidance of Yogini Kali, Mackenzie began teaching Hatha and Vinyasa classes. Now with seven years of teaching yoga and over 15 years teaching dance, Mackenzie primarily offers power and dynamic vinyasa classes at Daya with scattered workshops in somatic dance inspired movement, inversions, etc.

Mackenzie’s impact as an educator extends far beyond the physical aspects of dance and yoga. She believes in nurturing the whole person, helping her students develop self-confidence, resilience, and a sense of joy in their practice. Her genuine care for her students' well-being and her ability to create a supportive and nurturing environment have earned her admiration and community from those she teaches. Find her on instagram at @_mack_of_all_trades__ for a complete list of her offerings and journey!

TEACHER

Julia has been cultivating her yoga practice since 2016. Her classes pull from various styles – combining Katonah yoga’s alignment and use of metaphor and her experience as a dancer to design inventive flows. Julia also has experience in Trauma Informed Community Building and strives to create a safe and inclusive space for students to play and explore.

Off the mat, Julia works in food and nutrition policy after receiving her Master of Public Health Nutrition. Combining her knowledge of nutrition with her background as a restaurant chef, Julia integrates the principles of holistic wellness into her teachings, encouraging students to nourish their bodies with delicious and nutrient rich foods just as we nourish mind, body and spirit through the practice of yoga. Julia completed her 200-hour RYT at Daya Yoga.

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TEACHER

Glo’s first experience with yoga was in 2016 when her roommate dragged her to a traditional ashtanga primary series class, and as they say, the rest was history. It was the beginning of a lifelong journey of healing, somatic exploration, and spiritual discovery. The practice has helped lift her through chronic pain and illness, and helps her stay soft in a world that can make it hard to do so. She teaches creative and dynamic vinyasa classes that are often ashtanga inspired, and leaves space for her students to create their own unique experiences.

Glo completed her 200-hour teacher training with Yoga to the People in San Francisco, Yin Teacher Training with Daya Yoga, Art of Yoga Sequencing with Jason Crandell, and has completed additional harmonium and kirtan trainings with Seth Lieberman.

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Katerina (she/her) is a working dance artist from and based in NYC. After receiving a BFA in Dance from Purchase College, Katerina started her Yoga teacher journey at Durgas Tiger School in Ecuador. Next, she completed another 200 hr YTT at Daya Yoga in the spring of 2023. Ania and the Daya training has gracefully provided Katerina with a grounded foundation and a mind,body, breath connection. Currently her practice explores the ideas of flow, coordination, strength, and breath.

TEACHER

Hazel has been studying and practising Astanga Yoga for the past decade. She has Yoga Teacher accreditation from Yoga Alliance professionals. Hazel studies daily under the guidance of her teachers Diana Christinson and Sarah Miles.

Striving for a continually deepening personal practice, she has travelled to India to practice Astanga over the years.

She loves teaching Astanga yoga in a safe and friendly environment.

TEACHER

Hello, I’m Casey! I started my journey with yoga over ten years ago, and have been teaching alignment-based Vinyasa classes for the past seven. I am a lifelong learner and am endlessly grateful to my teacher and friend Tony G, who introduced me to rigorous Vinyasa that incorporated precise alignment cue-ing, bio-mechanics, strength, and joint work. I am also deeply grateful to my first yoga teacher, Elizabeth Myers, who showed me how to cultivate a balanced practice that wasn’t concerned with achieving an external shape so much as learning to trust the process, and feel my way into alignment. 

I first fell in love with yoga because it allowed me to build physical strength and body awareness while nurturing a deeper relationship with breath. My classes focus on breath as a tool to soothe the nervous system and cultivate awareness in physical postures. I find great joy in teaching to all levels, with a focus on building strength and mobility in the foundational poses, using alignment focused cue-ing and breathing exercises to allow students to develop confidence in their practice. 

I feel so lucky to have met Ania, whose dedication to sharing yoga is the backbone of this wonderful Daya community!

TEACHER

Linnea Vedder teaches yoga and meditation, and is also a visual artist. Linnea has been practicing yoga for 20 years, and has been teaching yoga for over 13 years. She received her teacher training at Kripalu Center, under the guidance of Priti Robyn Ross. Linnea is one of the co-creators of Moon Church, a brooklyn based women’s spirituality group. She studied meditation with Lorin Roche and practicing with the ancient and vibrational text that he translated, called The Radiance Sutras. Linnea illustrated The World is Your Oracle, a collaborative effort with her mother, who wrote the text, that focuses on Oracle techniques for the modern witch.

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Vinay Kumar Mysore (they/them) is a nonbinary Lingayat yogi, from Canada, based in Brooklyn. Their path is shaped by 17 years of dedicated study across yoga and meditation.

Vinay's asana practice is primarily rooted in the Krishnamacharya lineage-training under Ryan Leier and deepening their study of yoga philosophy with Srivatsa Ramaswamy, Krishnamacharya's longest-serving student.

They've also practiced under Krishnamacharya's youngest daughter, Sri Subha, and have studied Ayurvedic approaches to yoga therapy in Mysore, Karnataka.

Their work is further informed by studies in Chinese medicine and meridian theory with Dr. Rose Erin Vaughn. A Vipassana meditator since 2007, Vinay continues to practice in the SN Goenka tradition, including multiple long-form silent retreats.

Vinay invites students to engage yoga as a South Asian system of liberation-one that resists colonized interpretations and reclaims its roots through breath, myth, scripture, and ethical practice. Their classes explore the Yoga Sutras as a tool for inner and collective transformation, and draw from the mythologies and cosmologies that animate yoga's spiritual foundations.

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Maya Tsuruki-Holden (she/her) is a dancer, performer and artist originally from Japan, with a lifelong passion for embodied expression. She began her comprehensive Pilates certification journey through the Kane School in New York, and is currently completing the apparatus program. 

Pilates has been at the heart of Maya’s movement career — a foundation that deepened her connection to the body. It also created space for self-reflection and access to a more intuitive mind-body connection.

Maya is committed to creating a safe, inclusive space where individuals can focus on building body awareness, moving with intention, and cultivating sustainable wellness habits.

Outside of Pilates, Maya has dedicated her professional life to dance. She has danced with North Atlantic Ballet, City Ballet of Boston, and appeared in Boston Symphony Orchestra Live, Swim Week (Miami), CounterPointe (NYC), Red Gloves (short film), and Danse de la Mort (series) among others.

Erica (she/her) is a certified contemporary Mat + Reformer/Jumpboard Pilates instructor based in Ridgewood, NY. Her classes are upbeat, empowering, and set to a dynamic playlist (she also works in the music industry!). 

As an avid fitness enthusiast, Erica has tried every movement practice you can imagine, but Pilates has allowed her to explore the mind-body connection in a powerful way. She believes there is no better way to ground, center, and align your body and self more than a pilates class. 

Her classes focus on deep connection, refreshing breathwork, and powerful control all while upping your heartbeat and allowing you to work up a sweat. 

When she’s not teaching, you can find Erica hanging around the NYC music scene - either playing with her band (America Jayne) or moshing in the crowd