Carmel Calcagno Carmel Calcagno began her practice in 1989 after a book fell on her head in a local bookstore. She bought the book, "Initiation" and while reading it she looked up Yoga in her phone book, called, and signed up for her first session. She has been studying ever since. Yoga did not come easy for her, but she knew after her first class that yoga would play an important role in her life. She began teaching in 1996 after practicing for 7 years and in 1999 she began studying with John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga. Carmel was certified by John in 2003. She is very proud and honored to be one of his teachers from around the world.  Carmel is also a student of Paul Mueller-Ortega since 2008. Through Paul she has discovered her love for the practices of Tantric Saivism and the study of the Shiva Sutras. Dina Crosta Yoga began to weave its way into Dina's life during her last year of college when a friend would tell her great stories about her experiences of practicing yoga. Dina was intrigued by the beauty and fluidity of yoga but was hesitant to bring it into her life. It wasn't until she entered "the real world" and befriended a woman aptly named Hope that yoga began to dance into Dina's life. Hope convinced her to attend a yoga class where she met her first Anusara teacher. As soon as she came into her first Down Dog and felt both the challenge and the freedom in it, she knew that this was something she wanted to experience again. Six years later Dina has seen her life moved in so many ways by her connection to practicing yoga - the most profound being the ever-widening circle of friends, teachers and students and the ever-deepening connection to herself. She is forever grateful to all of her teachers both through yoga and throughout her life. Dina aspires to inspire in others all that yoga has graciously given to her.  Margie Kozub My original connection to yoga in l995 was initiated by my desire to heal myself. Suffering from fybromyalgia and chronic fatigue, I realized very quickly that I needed to do "yoga" for the rest of my life. With that intention, I completed my certification at Kripalu in 2000 and started to share my love of yoga and its healing power. Then in 2001 I was introduced to John Friend's Anusara yoga and very happy to say, that it opened my heart and body to a world of wonderful people and a profound healing. After completing various teacher trainings with John Friend and some of his senior Anusara Teachers, I received my Affiliated Anusara Teacher Title (I am presently working toward my certification). Also, during this time, I was introduced to Reiki Energy Balancing and I have just recently completed my Reiki Master Attunement. I am so grateful to all the teachers in my life...my family, friends and students who continue to help me grow in body, mind and spirit. I feel so blessed to be a part of the Anusara and Yoga Anjali kula...Namaste.    Susan Lalji    When Susan Lalji was invited to attend her first yoga class in 1995, she responded, "Yeah, why not, I have nothing better to do." After the class one of the other students told her, “Yoga will change your life”. She soon felt an improvement in her posture and breathing and experienced relief from the back and neck pain that had resulted from a car accident. But the changes were to be much more than physical. She began taking classes with Theresa Rowland at Studio Yoga in 1996, then entered the Teacher Training program there and began teaching in 1998. She received her 500-hour Teacher Certification in 2001. During that program, she met Swami Tadatmanada, who introduced her to the teachings of Vedanta. Drawn to these teachings, she began attending classes at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Susan has been blessed with the opportunity to take many courses in Vedanta, Yoga and Meditation at the gurukulam since 1998. She spent two years at the Gurukulam as a resident staff member and continues to study and volunteer there. Over the years, Susan has studied with and been inspired by many great teachers in the U.S., India and Europe. In 2003, she traveled to Pune, India to study with the Iyengar family. Her teaching is influenced by her personal practice and on-going study of Yoga philosophy and Vedanta. She considers the practice of Yoga and the teachings of Vedanta to be great blessings that have completely changed her life. Through teaching she hopes to share these great blessings with others.