Instructors
Brianne Barrett
Brianne Barrett has been instructing yoga since 2003 and training yoga instructors since 2009. Her teaching is an eclectic blend, inspired from what she has learned in training from many master yoga instructors. She first became certified in March 2003 with AAAI just after moving to Colorado. Eager for a deeper training, she discovered and completed a 200 hour training with Inner Connections Yoga. She has been teaching ever since and has complemented and expanded her teaching with numerous workshops, conferences and prenatal training with Hansa Knox and separately with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa. Brianne has continued to deepen her study with advanced trainings, giving her a stronger foundation in therapeutics, ancient texts and spiritual practices. Much of Brianne’s private clientele work is therapeutic with careful consideration of injuries and healing. Complementary to her instruction of yoga, Brianne is also a Reiki Master, Labor Doula and Lactation Educator.
Brianne has a deep love of guiding students of all levels or abilities. Her heart opens to all she instructs in a supportive embrace. She hopes to inspire students to find their own yoga from within and feels blessed to connect with them on their path of this exciting journey.
Andrew Burkamp
Andrew is a Yogi Psychotherapist and native of Glastonbury, CT. He has been practicing and teaching Kundalini Yoga since 2009. He is a certified senior teacher of Kriya yoga from the Siddhanath Yoga Sangh in addition to receiving kundalini teacher training through Raviana Yoga. As a psychotherapist, he has a passion for utilizing yogic techniques to help address mental health and addiction.
Nicole Cari
Nicole is a graduate of Bloom Yoga School’s 200 hour yoga teacher training program. Initially being introduced to yoga in 2002, it wasn’t until 2010 that yoga became an integral part of Nicole’s life. After being drawn back into her practice to rehab a running injury, she soon learned the practice could help heal much more than running injuries. In the beginning her practice consisted of hot vinyasa classes until one day when she tried Yin yoga and it started to change. Once she completed her 200 hour training she then enrolled in a 50 hour Yin foundations training and decided to pursue her 300 hour yoga teacher training. Nicole studied under Josh Summers in the Summers School of Yin Yoga. Nicole’s yoga classes are quiet, giving her students time for introspection, playing both the physical and mental edge. When not practicing yoga Nicole can be found managing the MRI department for a radiology practice, running, traveling, hiking, and enjoying life.
Lauren Goodale
Lauren began her yoga journey in 2014, enjoying the balance that yoga initially brought to body and mind. For years Lauren knew she wanted to teach yoga, and in 2022 she answered her heart’s calling and began her 200hr Yoga Teacher Training at Be.Yoga with Kristin Cork. To her, Yoga is where we come to listen to our body, our intuition and our true, authentic selves – when we connect more deeply in loving awareness with ourselves, we begin to connect in that way with all of life. With joy and enthusiasm for what yoga has cultivated in her life, the continuation to offer and share this practice with others is that of sincere gratitude. In Lauren’s classes you will be guided to lead with your breath and explore with curiosity what is here and now. Yoga is for everyone, and Lauren truly appreciates the adaptability and universality of all the different paths and practices of yoga. As inspired by some of her teachers, “The only requirement is breath, if you can breathe, you can do yoga.” Outside of the yoga studio, you can find Lauren enjoying reading, writing, doing all kinds of art, being in nature, volunteering for support groups, and connecting with friends and family.
Sarah Helberg
Sarah was introduced to yoga in 2013 during grad school, and was immediately drawn to the intentionality of yoga, specifically, the way that yoga asks you to be present in your body and with your breath. In 2021 she completed a 200-hour training at One Point One Yoga Studio in Pittsburgh, PA, and since then she has completed continuing education in Chair Yoga, Katonah Yoga, Sequencing, Fascia and Function, and Yin and Restore. In her classes, she blends traditional yoga poses with mobility exercises so that students can inhabit each pose with curiosity, experimenting with their muscular engagement and range to find new ways to arrive in familiar (and unfamiliar) shapes. Her classes are all grounded in diaphragmatic breath cues, asking students to tune into their own rhythms, to engage their deep abdominal muscles, and to keep the practice mindful. You can expect Sarah’s classes to be playful, strong, and mindful. When she’s not on the yoga mat, you can find her teaching high school English at Choate Rosemary Hall, hiking on any of the incredible trails in CT, or hanging at home with her husband and their rambunctious cats Corduroy and Dilly!
Sybil Merriman
Originally drawn to the physical practice of Yoga for the flexibility and strength it gave her, Sybil soon discovered the power and depth of meditation, yoga philosophy and self-inquiry. She’s been sharing yoga with others since 2010, teaching workshops, working with private clients, leading retreats, and guiding a wide variety of classes. Sybil’s classes are focused on precise alignment, breath awareness, mindfulness, and enjoying the journey. She draws her inspiration from over twenty years of personal practice. Sybil is a Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500 instructor, with additional training in restorative yoga, SATYA (Sensory Awareness Training for Yoga Attunement), Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra, Energy Medicine Yoga, Street Yoga, Animal Flow, Oxygen Advantage and Y12SR.
Sybil is also the owner of Starr Mill Yoga. Her vision is to hold space for a vibrant community of teachers and students to cultivate inner peace and well being. The mission of Starr Mill Yoga is to spread the innumerable joys and benefits of yoga to as many people as possible.
Caroline Smith
Caroline completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training through Afterglow Studio in Hartford where she studied Vinyasa & Hatha Yoga with influence of Katonah yoga. She is currently a graduate student at Sacred Heart University studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling with hopes to become a LCMHC. On the mat she is dedicated to cultivating a grounding and welcoming space where students can tap into self-awareness and exploration. Her background in mental health informs an effort to find nervous system regulation through free-flowing movement and careful periods of stillness. In utilizing the teachings of traditional yoga and modern knowledge of functional movement and wellness, she invites students to practice in a way that is authentic to their goals and purpose. When not teaching yoga, Caroline enjoys walking in nature, thrifting clothes and teaching dance.
Natalie Spadaccino
Natalie Spadaccino, M.S., has an Associates of Science Degree from Briarwood College, a B.S. in Education and a M.S. in Human Performance/Exercise Physiology with a concentration in Nutrition from SCSU. Her certifications include: American College of Sports Medicine, Exercise Physiologist, AFAA, Spinning Instructor, Resist-A-Ball Advanced Instructor, Fitness Yoga, Physical Mind Institute Pilates, CPR/AED, PiYo, & Balletone Sole Synthesis and Standing Flow.
Natalie has been teaching group exercise since 1989. She currently teaches group exercise classes for various companies/studios and works for ConnectiCare as an Exercise Physiologist/Wellness Trainer, teaching lectures and providing health screenings for participating companies. She has also been an adjunct professor at CCSU Exercise Science/Human Performance Department. Natalie owns her own business called Joyful Movement and has filmed two of her own exercise videos. She also appeared in five exercise videos with fitness expert Ellen Barrett. Natalie has an honest passion for group exercise and loves being able to share this passion with her students. She has been teaching group classes for 30 years and truly believes that exercise can and should be fun.
Tracy Tanguay
Tracy is a biomechanics-trained movement educator specializing in mobility training, movement optimization, developmental kinesiology, ELDOA, Pilates, and yoga-informed practices. Her work integrates intelligent mobility with nervous system regulation to help people move with greater ease, strength, and embodied awareness. Most of Tracy’s work is within the professional athlete community, where she is a respected educator known for bridging biomechanics, performance, and nervous system health. She is an international keynote speaker, event-leading instructor, and regular podcast guest. With over twenty years of experience across holistic and somatic disciplines, including EFT, NLP, meditation, and energy healing, Tracy offers an integrative approach that supports both peak performance and nervous system balance.
Juliana Tryon-Ranaudo
Juliana began practicing yoga after moving back to Connecticut in 2015 and quickly realized that she wanted to share with others the benefits that yoga had brought her. Juliana is a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 instructor and is certified in Energy Medicine Yoga® Foundations. She is currently pursuing her advanced certification in Energy Medicine Yoga® as a student of Lauren Walker’s Training Program. Juliana is also a certified Childlight children’s yoga instructor. She believes that yoga is for people from all walks of life and welcomes students of all levels. As a professionally trained dancer, Juliana has a strong interest in alignment, creative flow and integrating breath with movement.
Jamie Wright
Jamie started practicing yoga in 2008 and fell in love with it. He found it nearly impossible to think about anything other than what was happening on the mat. This focus on the breath and the body felt great, important and sacred. That passion led him to yoga workshops, retreats and eventually teacher training at West Hartford Yoga in 2011. Jamie’s teaching style is a unique blend of all that he’s learned and continues to learn from his personal life, his teachers and students.
He loves his students, and loves sharing yoga with them.