Founded in 2001, Prana Yoga Center is the Fox Valley’s premier yoga center dedicated to the practice of authentic yoga. Our mission is to offer quality, transformational yoga, meditation, and other wellness programs that enable others to reach their full potential through vibrant health.
Laura has been practicing yoga steadily since 1996, originally as a means to ’escape’ the chaos and flux of her personal life. Over the years, her yoga saw a transformation from the idea of ’checking out’ of daily life to one of ’checking in’ to one’s capacity for self-knowledge and centering.
The base of her yoga experience lies in the Iyengar method, which establishes a keen awareness of proper alignment and posture in asana. However, her discovery of the art of yoga would begin when she stumbled upon Astanga, Vinyasa, and Universal Yoga - each of which emphasizes a progressive flow/sequence of asana to open to deeper possibilities. Through realization of the physical benefits of yoga, Laura eventually became intrigued with the science of yoga and started exploring the sacred texts, which provided a refreshing outlook on life and the interconnectedness of all beings. Those aspects are incorporated into her eclectic Vinyasa teaching style, which Laura describes as creative, compassionate, challenging, and inquisitive. “I like to lead a class with a balance of the physical and psychological, the spiritual and the perceptually real. My main focus as an instructor is to engage the mind in the moment, and encourage students to individualize the teachings, to remove any obstacles that keep them from feeling or enjoying their practice. It’s also not uncommon to develop a healthy sweat during a vigorous class!"
Certified and formally trained through Moksha Yoga Center’s teacher training program, Laura has been instructing since 2001. Designing a lifestyle that nurtures expression, growth and creative endeavors has been crucial to her as a working artist and graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Laura was a founding member of TENbyTEN magazine, a Chicago-based arts and culture magazine that is independently published and the dwellingseries, which strives to provide alternative viewing experiences in unique settings for artists. She is also a vegan who manages a Whole Foods Market store, a job with the pace, stress, and responsibility that she claims provides ample opportunity to exercise the principals of yoga in a public forum. “I feel fortunate to be in a position to affect so many people (corporately and in the community) with my positivity, shoppers and employees alike, and I’ve learned a lot about human nature working in a grocery store for 10 years.”
Laura’s favorite things Pose: Ekapada Rajakapotasana ~ King Pigeon Mudra - Sanmuki ~ Closing off the Senses Yoga Soundtrack ~ tablas or downtempo Influential Artists ~ Robert Rauschenberg and Antoni Tapies Treat ~ dark chocolate
Let your Inner Light radiate upon others so that you may see your beauty reflected in the world.
Lance Hoagland has been a teacher of yoga for over 10 years, studying yoga with a variety of teachers and styles. Lance has completed his 200hr Teacher Training Certification with Moksha Yoga Center in Chicago, IL. Having spent 2 months practicing Astanga Yoga in India last year, he has been influenced by the teachings of Ansuara and Power/Vinyasa Flow Yoga. Lance has taught in Salt Lake City, Seattle, New York and Costa Rica. Lance is a certified AFAA personal training instructor and was the lead yoga instructor at the acclaimed Canyon Ranch SpaClub in Las Vegas before moving to Chicago.
Blanca began her training at Moksha Yoga Center in 2003 at the young age of 18. It was her mother who first inspired her to to pursue the path of yoga and has supported her journey ever since. From that point on she has studied with master teachers Shiva Rea in Vinyasa flow, and aliginment based Iyengar from Aadil Pahkivala. Her recent study with Astanga teacher Kino Macgregor has sparked a passion for the astanga practice. She has dedicated her daily practice to this traditional form.
Blanca has a degree in dance from Columbia College Chicago and also intensively trains the Brazilian martial art capoeira. It is no surprise to experience a blend of these beautiful practices within Blanca’s creative vinyasa flow classes. Her priority as a teacher is to offer a space where her students can deepen their practice, receive a balanced practice of pranyama, asana, and meditation and leave class with an overall feeling of ease and wellbeing.
I’m proud to say I’m the oldest teacher on the Moksha staff. Years of intense play: sports, dance, horseback riding, skiing and triathlons - not to mention parenting! - have kept me fit, but life itself takes its toll no matter how hard you work at defying age. My firm belief, however, is that if there is a fountain of youth, it’s yoga. I’ve taught since 2000, and have seen how yoga is truly limitless in its ability to keep us in compassionate touch with our bodies, our selves. I did my initial training with Ana Forrest, then Daren Friesen, and many other master teachers. My style is so eclectic I hesitate to label myself, but the closest would be vinyasa flow. Core strength, reverence for the breath, respecting one’s natural range of motion, and always seeking for the sense of flow are essential to my style. I love language and music and incorporate Sanskrit and poetry into my classes. Being a psychotherapist, I value the addition of yoga to my healer’s toolkit.
In 1996, Erin was living in New York City, pursuing a career in theatre and film, racing all over, hoping to be “in the right place, at the right time.” After a couple sleepless years, her health suffered, the joy within her drained, and she was simply no longer herself. Eventually, a fortunate twist of fate led her to Dharma Mittra’s yoga studio. There, at last, she took a deep breath and learned to sit. Soon, she was attending class regularly, developing her own practice, and once again feeling alive in her own skin. As her practice continued and deepened, she was eventually brought back home - to herself and the Midwest.
Since her first class years ago, Erin knew that she would be a lifetime student and dreamed one day of teaching. In 2004, she completed the Moksha Teacher Training Program and has since found two teachers who continue to inspire her practice, her teaching, and her life – Aadil Palkhivala and Tias Little. Her studies with Tias Little have taken her to the Upaya Zen Center, nestled in the mountains of Santa Fe, NM, where she completed Prajna Yoga’s 200hr training and will pursue the 500hr level. In September 2009, Erin looks forward to her fourth week-long Purna Yoga training with Aadil Palkhivala at Moksha Yoga Center in Chicago.
As a teacher, Erin aspires to give her students the gift she has received from her teachers, the guidance to turn inward and connect with one’s own inner light and joy, not only to enhance the life of the student, but the world we all share.
Rich Logan has traveled the world, studying and teaching massage therapy and Yoga. He has been on faculty at the Chicago School of Massage therapy and The Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Rich has also been a guest speaker on Western massage techniques at the Auyurvedic College in Mysore, India. A student of Yoga for over 11 years and meditation practitioner since his teens, Rich incorporates his knowledge of anatomy and physiology with a unique understanding of spirituality in the modern world. Rich has studied at the prestigious Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras, India with TKV Desikachar presiding. Rich’s significant teachers have been Kim Shwartz, Tias Little, Aadil Palkhivala, Gabriel Halpern and Anna Forrest. Rich has also assisted Tias Little in workshops as well as his Esalen retreat in 08. He currently interns at the Yoga Circle under the tutelage of the enigmatic and brilliant Gabriel Halpern in the Iyengar tradition.
A word from Rich on what to expect in his class:
"I teach as best I can to the level of the student. We hold poses longer than most average classes. I tend to focus on standing poses in my level 1-2 classes. My level 2-3 class is more oriented to movement and getting into some challenging advanced work. All my classes incorporate some theme whether Spiritual Mental or Physical. I encourage students to do their own deeper work, i.e. emotional energetic. In the end I want you to find out what works best for you, but be open to the suggestions that come your way.”
Alie has studied yoga and meditation for almost 20 years and has been teaching for more than 13. Alie’s passion for yoga has led her to Bali, Thailand, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Greece, and across the United States studying with the world’s foremost teachers and eccentrics.
Daren Friesen is the director and founder of Moksha Yoga Center in Chicago which is the largest yoga center in the Midwest. An enthusiastic student and passionate teacher, his challenging style of vinyasa flow incorporates asana, pranayama, mudras, bandhas, and kriyas. Having studied with renowned teachers in the states and masters and gurus in India, Daren encourages students to use traditional elements and techniques to overcome the pull of opposites (duality) and to develop one-pointed attention. Through one-pointed attention, one discovers the keys to accessing true health and vitality. Daren’s classes offer provocative insights and opportunities for personal growth through his unique blend of a classical yet innovative approach to practice.
Daren Friesen is the director and founder of Moksha Yoga Center in Chicago which is the largest yoga center in the Midwest. An enthusiastic student and passionate teacher, his challenging style of vinyasa flow incorporates asana, pranayama, mudras, bandhas, and kriyas. Having studied with renowned teachers in the states and masters and gurus in India, Daren encourages students to use traditional elements and techniques to overcome the pull of opposites (duality) and to develop one-pointed attention. Through one-pointed attention, one discovers the keys to accessing true health and vitality. Daren’s classes offer provocative insights and opportunities for personal growth through his unique blend of a classical yet innovative approach to practice.
Extraordinary instructors lead yoga and yoga-inspired classes seven days a week. Step into our studio in downtown Glencoe and stretch, twist and flow your way to a healthy body and peaceful mindset.
***“Please get your Yoga practice from this wonderful person. She knows what she is doing. Linda has studied with the best teachers and can design a practice that is right for you… “your own yoga,” direct intimacy with Life in every way.” — *Mark Whitwell: Heart of Yoga****
Experience The Totality of An Authentic Yoga Experience…Yoga as it was meant to be taught.
Offering Hatha Yoga And Mindfulness Meditation For The Fox River Valley: Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and Elgin.
Be it in small group classes or private one-on-one sessions, students have described their Metta Yoga experience as dynamic, inspirational, thought-provoking, and life-changing. Linda’s classes are for beginners who are seeking authentic yoga with a meditative emphasis, for those who want more than what a public yoga class can give them, and for dedicated practitioners seeking to expand their practice on a deeper level.
Whatever your path, Linda Karl has the years of training, practice, and experience to guide practitioners in all aspects of Yoga and meditation practice, bringing together body and mind, heart and soul. Yoga teacher mentoring and Yoga retreats in India also available.