Twin Pond: Teachers and Staff

Teachers and Staff

Jennifer Steckler Jennifer Steckler is the founder of and runs Twin Pond Retreat, Center for Wellness and Sustainable Living. Jennifer created Twin Pond Retreat because she appreciates the value of holistic care. She aims to create an environment where a person’s entire being is nurtured and is able to experience peace, harmony, and optimal health. Twin Pond is a place to rejuvenate and relax and also a place to address speciﬁc health needs. Jennifer aims to create a very personalized retreat experience for one to enjoy. Jennifer also values the need for a holistic approach to land management. She recognizes that a connection to our food and to where it’s grown is integral to our health. She has been explored many philosophies and practices in land mananagement including permaculture, biodynamics, nutrient-dense farming, organic, rotational grazing, and much more. She enjoys working with the land and the many lessons she receives from this close relationship to the land. Jennifer teaches yoga and meditation classes in her private studio at Twin Pond Retreat. Jennifer, given the name Jyotidhara by her yogic teacher, has been studying yoga and practicing meditation for 14 years. She has trained with teachers from around the world and did her intensive training with a yogi monk in Mexico where she studied aspects of astaunga, hatha, tantra yoga and meditation techniques. Jennifer teaches yoga for self-transformation. This practice explores the powerful effect yoga can have on the mind, body, and spirit. Biopsychology, the science of the mind-body connection, is an integral part of her yoga style. She teaches a gentle form of yoga which focuses on the breath and the inner effect of these postures on the body. A deep state of relaxation and rejuvenation can be experienced from this practice. Yoga asanas prepare the mind for meditation, elevating the mind so that we can experience a peaceful state of being. Jennifer teaches a simple meditation practice which uses visualization and breath to help guide the mind into a relaxed state of being. [show less] Jennifer Steckler is the founder of and runs Twin Pond Retreat, Center for Wellness and Sustainable Living. Jennifer created Twin Pond Retreat because she appreciates the value of holistic care. She aims to create an environment where a person’s entire being is nurtured and is able to experience…[read more]
Dr. Christopher Hollis Dr. Hollis received a Bachelor of Science in Psychophysiology from Pennsylvania State University. After college he completed a six-year nationally accredited medical program and received a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine and Master of Science in Oriental Medicine from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Hollis treats acute and chronic illness utilizing western and Chinese herbs, acupuncture, homeopathy and clinical nutrition. A specialist in complementary and alternative medicine, he addresses a wide range of conditions in his general practice and is certiﬁed in Wilson’s Thyroid sydrome protocols. He has studied homeopathy in India and Chinese Medical Theory and Qigong in China. Dr. Christopher Hollis http://www.integrativehealthvt.com (802) 728-9600 [show less] Dr. Hollis received a Bachelor of Science in Psychophysiology from Pennsylvania State University. After college he completed a six-year nationally accredited medical program and received a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine and Master of Science in Oriental Medicine from the National College of…[read more]
Anjali Budreski Anjali Budreski has been in love with yoga since taking her first yoga class in 1994. Anjali’s practice blossomed from doing yoga on a small Southern Vermont farm in a one room cabin to teaching at a Burlington yoga studio. Passionate about sharing her love of yoga with others, she enrolled in Kripalu’s 200 hour teacher training, where she met Todd Norian, who later introduced her to Anusara Yoga. Since then, she has trained and practiced with a wide variety of Anusara teachers, and has completed a comprehensive 200 hr. Anusara Yoga Teacher Training with Deb Neubauer. She has studied Rajanaka Tantric Philosophy with Douglass Brooks and Paul Muller-Ortega. Anjali’s classes are powered by the beauty, potency, and alchemy of nature. Her sessions are both grounding and soul-lifting, guiding students to safely deepen their practice and open their hearts. Anjali Budreski http://www.yogamountaincenter.com (802) 223-5302 [show less] Anjali Budreski has been in love with yoga since taking her first yoga class in 1994. Anjali’s practice blossomed from doing yoga on a small Southern Vermont farm in a one room cabin to teaching at a Burlington yoga studio. Passionate about sharing her love of yoga with others, she enrolled in…[read more]
Lydia Russell-McDade Lydia Russell-McDade is a certified Anusara-inspired Yoga Teacher, as well as a practicing herbalist and whole foods nutrition educator. She has been practicing yoga since 1996 and since 2001 has spent many hundreds of hours studying with various renowned Anusara teachers. Deeply influenced by Tantric yoga philosophy, as well as by the shamanic traditions of her own European ancestors, Lydia’s heart-opening teaching style is rooted in the cycles and rhythms of the Earth, and is a celebration of the delicious gift of embodiment. A poet and story-teller, Lydia uses her love of words, nature, and myth to illuminate her students’ asana practice as she weaves a web of rich metaphor and imagery to support and guide each student’s unique journey. Through a blend of precise alignment instructions and fluid posture flows, her playful, community-oriented classes inspire the student to discover his or her own potent source of grace, power, and radical freedom. Lydia Russell-McDade Saprema Yoga Group Classes, Private Lessons, and Special Events http://www.saprema-yoga.com http://sapremayoga.blogspot.com (802) 229-6300 [show less] Lydia Russell-McDade is a certified Anusara-inspired Yoga Teacher, as well as a practicing herbalist and whole foods nutrition educator. She has been practicing yoga since 1996 and since 2001 has spent many hundreds of hours studying with various renowned Anusara teachers. Deeply influenced by…[read more]
Erica Koch Erica Koch, N.D., M.Ed., R.M.T is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor with a focus on Family Health. She is a traditional Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Master, practicing Reiki since 2000. Erica is an advocate for whole systems healing and teaches Reiki as one way to tangibly integrate spirituality and health. Through treating many people with chronic disease, she has seen the far-reaching benefits of incorporating a daily healing practice into life. She enjoys sharing this gentle and profound practice with everyone, from wily children to magnificent elders. Erica Koch thereikiunion@gmail.com [show less] Erica Koch, N.D., M.Ed., R.M.T is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor with a focus on Family Health. She is a traditional Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Master, practicing Reiki since 2000. Erica is an advocate for whole systems healing and teaches Reiki as one way to tangibly integrate spirituality and health….[read more]
Lisa Mase Lisa Mase is a whole foods cooking teacher who enjoys creating meals with others, gardening, writing, and walking in nature. Her wellness-focused consultations and classes are informed by her experience in healing a variety of conditions with the help of food, herbs, and harmonious life choices. Lisa Mase Harmonized Cookery http://lisamase.blogspot.com (802) 598-9206 [show less] Lisa Mase is a whole foods cooking teacher who enjoys creating meals with others, gardening, writing, and walking in nature. Her wellness-focused consultations and classes are informed by her experience in healing a variety of conditions with the help of food, herbs, and harmonious life…[read more]
Sandra Lory Proprietress of Mandala Botanicals, keeping the ancient art and science of Herbalism alive and in the people’s hands, where it belongs. Sandra offers Natural Health Consultations at Twin Pond Retreat Center. Consultations may include: spirit baths with herbs; astrology; art, gardening, food and herbal recommendations. Each person is an ecological expression. We are part of nature and need nature. In this rapidly changing global climate we need to attune to the practices of our ancestry, and to the foods and medicines of the bioregion in which we live. Through integrating regular awareness of our bodies with the rhythms of the seasons, we can enjoy great improvements in health. Sandra Lory Mandala Botanicals Folk Herbalist, Food Educator & Creatrix Barre VT USA http://www.mandalabotanicalsvt.com (802) 479-1925 [show less] Proprietress of Mandala Botanicals, keeping the ancient art and science of Herbalism alive and in the people’s hands, where it belongs. Sandra offers Natural Health Consultations at Twin Pond Retreat Center. Consultations may include: spirit baths with herbs; astrology; art, gardening, food and…[read more]
Sarah Shapiro Sarah Shapiro practices Integrative Bodywork, massage which is both deep and relaxing; informed by Swedish massage, trigger point therapy, and deep tissue modalities. Integrative massage addresses and releases muscular, energetic, and emotional blocks and integrates the body on all levels. After studying biology in college and working in public health, she studied massage with Green Mountain Institute for Integrative Therapy. She is certified by Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. She is also a student of clinical herbalism at Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism which deepens her understanding of the human body in health and disease. Integral to all she does is the awareness of the dire times in which we are living and the planetary need for healing. She helps through personal healing, and through doing healing work, person by person. Sarah’s practice, Greenheart Massage, is based in Montpelier, Vermont. Sarah Shapiro Greenheart Massage sarah@greenheartvt.com http://www.www.greenheartvt.com (802) 522-0374 [show less] Sarah Shapiro practices Integrative Bodywork, massage which is both deep and relaxing; informed by Swedish massage, trigger point therapy, and deep tissue modalities. Integrative massage addresses and releases muscular, energetic, and emotional blocks and integrates the body on all levels. After…[read more]
Flower Kotkes Flower Kotkes Body & Soul Therapeutics Flower has been a Certified Massage Therapist for 14 years offering Swedish/Esalen, Deep Tissue, Prenatal massage and Reiki 802-236-7791 flowervt@myfairpoint.net [show less] Flower Kotkes Body & Soul Therapeutics Flower has been a Certified Massage Therapist for 14 years offering Swedish/Esalen, Deep Tissue, Prenatal massage and Reiki 802-236-7791 flowervt@myfairpoint.net
Emily Harvey Emily Harvey has been practicing massage for 5 years. She had her training in Integrative bodywork at the Green Mountain Institute for Integrative Therapy in Bennington, Vermont and the Algarve, Portugal. Integrative Bodywork addresses and integrates the physical, energetic and emotional levels. Many of the strokes are related to Swedish massage but acupressure and energy balancing techniques are also applied. On the physical level it releases muscle tension, increases circulation of blood and lymph and improves muscle tone. This creates a feeling of lightness and space in the body and increases ease of movement. The practitioner takes special care to always remain focused and truly present, creating a safe environment for healing and personal well-being. Emily has also had training in Miofascial Release, Thai Yoga Massage and Deep Tissue Therapy. The combination of these modalities translates to a massage that is simultaneously deeply relaxing and quite invigorating, with the added beneﬁt of targeted deep tissue therapy for speciﬁc ailments or injuries. Thai Yoga massage, which is a form of practitioner-assisted stretching, is often brought into a session allowing the client to feel a sense of lengthening and opening. The goal is allow the body to relax, heal and to attain a sense of ﬂowing wholeness. Emily also enjoys working with new mothers pre and post-partum, as well as helping mothers become comfortable with infant massage. [show less] Emily Harvey has been practicing massage for 5 years. She had her training in Integrative bodywork at the Green Mountain Institute for Integrative Therapy in Bennington, Vermont and the Algarve, Portugal. Integrative Bodywork addresses and integrates the physical, energetic and emotional levels….[read more]
Joann Darling Joann Darlings life work is the growing and nurturing of plants. A Vermont Native, she stays close to the land where she continues to learn and teach about the amazing gifts we receive from the plant world. Joann Darling gardens7gables@gmail.com 802-476-3350 [show less] Joann Darlings life work is the growing and nurturing of plants. A Vermont Native, she stays close to the land where she continues to learn and teach about the amazing gifts we receive from the plant world. Joann Darling gardens7gables@gmail.com 802-476-3350
Kate Smith Kate Smith of Marshfield, Vermont has been dyeing yarn and weaving fabric for over 30 years. In 1979 she came to study with master-weaver, Norman Kennedy, at the Marshfield School of Weaving and spent the next 10 years as his apprentice and assistant instructor. In 1992, Kate started her own business, Eaton Hill Textile Works, which accurately reproduces the interior fabrics of the 18th and 19th centuries using all period equipment. Some of her handwork is now in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the J P Getty Museum in California and many private collections. She continued to teach students at her own school, The School for Traditional Handweaving, and she re-opened the Marshfield School of Weaving, with Norman Kennedy’s blessings, in its original location. Kate is committed to passing on the valued traditions of historic textile production as a way to enhance and inspire a person’s innate creativity. (photo of Kate by John Burke) Kate Smith http://www.marshfieldschoolofweaving.blogspot.com 802-426-3733 eatonhill@fairpoint.net [show less] Kate Smith of Marshfield, Vermont has been dyeing yarn and weaving fabric for over 30 years. In 1979 she came to study with master-weaver, Norman Kennedy, at the Marshfield School of Weaving and spent the next 10 years as his apprentice and assistant instructor. In 1992, Kate started her own…[read more]