WaalayYoga & Wellness Center

Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, she has lived in Key Biscayne with her beloved husband since 1987. She is the mother of four beautiful children.

Miriam has been practicing yoga for over 10 years as both a teacher and lifelong student. She is a yoga instructor certified by the &Institute of Holistic Yoga" in Miami under the direction of Verónica Vidal and Swami Brahmavidyananda.

Miriam has been fortunate to learn directly from masters including: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Sri Dharma Mittra, Gurushabd, Sharon Gannon, David Life, Rod Striker, Shiva Rea and Naty Ezraty and others. However, her children—Mónica, Gonzalo, Blanca and Carolina—remain her most important teachers and the source of her love, inspiration and personal growth.

Miriam‘s way of teaching allows you to explore and honor your body and emotions naturally, guiding you into a deeper practice in a respectful and gentle way. Her background in Psychology helps her understand and accept the fluctuations of the mind which in turns gives special attention to mindfulness breathing and pranayama (breath control).

Miriam is infatuated with nature, yoga as a lifestyle and life itself. She is eager to share this love and enthusiasm with her students, as well as her joy and gratitude to God.

Elisa Duemichen is a certified Yoga Alliance teacher who started practicing in 1999 and fell completely in love with yoga. This passion led to her first teacher training in 2003. In 2006 she received her yoga certification for teaching children at Synergy Yoga Center under Suzanne Albertson's guidance, and has been successfully teaching children ever since.

Elisa feels very fortunate to have been guided by many wonderful teachers along the way including Tias Little. She has worked closely with him and completed a 200 hr. training program that certified her with Yoga Alliance and is currently working on her 500 hr advanced teacher training. Tias introduced her to the very precise anatomical and energy aspects of the practice of yoga and to the concept of deep restorative poses using props. For her yoga is not only about mastering asanas or physical poses, but a method of creating space within the person as a way to develop awareness of the unconscious physical, mental and breathing patterns. This in turn creates change as you move into lightness and consciousness in the practitioners. Yoga is a practice that can be utilized beyond the floor mat and applied to every day life.

Her classes include several styles but always begin with a vinyasa practice to create heat and mobility in the physical body in preparation for deep opening poses. She enjoys teaching and being part while students find out the many blessings that yoga can bring into life.

Kerstin is a mother of two beautiful children. She graduated from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida with a double major in Psychology and International Relations. Her love for yoga did not begin with her first class. As a matter of fact, it was several years later after her routine of exercise, feeling stiff and stress... she popped into a yoga class and hasn‘t left since.

The physical benefits were the first attraction but the serenity that comes from practicing yoga soon complemented the physical aspect creating an overall balance. Her love led her to complete teacher certification under the traditional style of Sivananda and then finish the advanced teacher training under Sri Dharma Mittra in New York. Kerstin is extremely thankful to have been accepted to train under Dharma Mittra "rock of yoga" the "teachers teacher"; however, the learning never ends. She is continuing her eduacation in Yoga learning the Ashtanga yoga practice. She teaches with compassion and kindness towards all living things and to seek happiness from within.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, 1967.At the young age of seven, her mother, who, in turn, studied under Sri Shankara in Caracas, introduced her to yoga.She always identified with this science, but also with art and design.Thus, she studied architecture, graphic design and visual arts, specializing in ceramics.

In 1991 she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where she continued her studies in visual arts and her quest and practice of karma yoga and meditation.At the end of that year, she joined her mother and sister in Putaparti, India. There they stayed in the ashram of Sri Sathia Sai Baba, where she practiced yoga and meditation in depth.In 1996 she moved to Key Biscayne, Florida. Continuing her quest, she took a wide range of courses and trainings in yoga with teachers who were well known and some who were lesser known, among them, Claire, Wayne Krassner, Veronica Vidal, Dharma Mittra, Swami Boa, David Swenson, Thias Little, Rodney Yee, Shiva Rea, Sharon Gannon, David Life, Rod Stryker and, finally, Aadil Palkivala.

After observing, practicing and teaching different yoga styles, she realized how many errors could mark a life. It was then that she seriously made the decision to learn, from its roots, the practice of yoga with Aadil Palkivala, creator and director of the College of Purna Yoga in Bellevue, Washington.

Living in Key Biscayne, she traveled four times a year to Bellevue. The effort was not in vain. Besides benefitting from the infinite apprenticeship in this infinite science, Laura is one of the two representatives of Purna Yoga in the State of Florida.Laura has two beautiful children, Gabriela and Jorge

Natalie Morales has been studying varied approaches to Hatha yoga since 1981, including Anusara, Ashtanga, Bikram, Kundalini, Iyengar and the style some call Viniyoga.

She started teaching in 1995, and blends these styles into light-hearted classes where everyone is encouraged to make their own multi-layered study of the body, breath and beyond.

Natalie promotes each class as an act of self-discovery, not just by emphasizing body-awareness through asana, but also by encouraging us to fine-tune an awareness in the patterns of thought and emotion that underlie our movement.

She believes that the most well-rounded approach to life and yoga involves experimenting with various styles, to honor our multi-faceted personalities. To help students experience this, she teaches Yoga Nidra, Restorative, and a style she calls Funyasa™.

To learn more about her, please visit www.funyasa.com

As a teenager, Ana María Velazquez left her home country of Colombia to explore France, study communications in Boston, and later to dedicate 5 exciting but yet intense and hectic years of her life as a Senior Broadcast Producer and Channel Director in Atlanta, GA. In search of a healthier lifestyle, Ana came to Miami to find a way into her true passion-Yoga!

Having initiated her journey into spirituality and meditation at 18, Ana is today a full-time Yoga teacher (registered with Yoga Alliance), an avid follower of its never-ending study, and a disciplined practitioner on-and-away of her mat. Ana was Certified in Hatha Yoga after completing the well recognized Teacher Training Course by Gaia Budhai of Synergy Yoga Center in Miami; which included studies in Iyengar, Sivananda, Prenatal, Vinyasa, and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Ana is also Certified as a Kids Yoga Teacher by the award winning program of Yoga Ed from Los Angeles. As a thirsty seeker, she travelled to India -the land where the ancient Science of Yoga was born-, to further her studies in Sivananda Yoga, which led her to achieve the status of Yoga Shiromani (Certified Sivananda Teacher) at the Sivananda Ashram of Kerala, where she then joined the team of 14 teachers imparting the practice of Sivananda Yoga to a group of 80 kids from 7 to 14 years old. -An incredible experience cherished as one of the most, enriching and unforgettable events of her life-. Through continuous study, practice, and devotion, Ana, also known by her spiritual name Anandi (Bliss), has found her true calling in Yoga. With the permanent guidance of her Gurus, her real purpose is to help kids and adults of all ages, races, and physical conditions, reach a constant sense of well being and joy.

Anandi currently teaches Sivananda Yoga to adults and kids in several locations in Miami, FL. By focusing on conscious breathing, stillness of the mind, correct alignment, profound relaxations, and more importantly, enjoyment, Anandi creates a loving, secure and comfortable space for everyone to embrace their Essence.

"Teaching Yoga is a great responsibility. I honor every person who shows up to my class. As I teach, I learn from every student. Through them I discover the true reflection of mySelf."

Peter has been practicing yoga for 15 years. 10 years ago Peter met John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, and has not looked back since. Peter’s Anusara-inspired yoga classes are about the celebration of one’s heart. We enter this world with the freedom to choose, it is through these choices we explore the pathway to the heart. In Peter’s class he will offer you a place to journey to. A place filled with stability and freedom. He will help guide you to poses you never thought possible, but all with the attention to maintain integrity of your alignment. Peter has a playful spirit and shares this with all.

Keep in touch with Peter at www.blissbrothersyoga.com

DeAnna passionately shares her love and appreciation for the journey of life through teaching Yoga and assisting women in childbirth as a Doula. She is an Anusara-Inspired™ and Pre-natal Yoga teacher. Her classes are filled with the elegant alignment principles of Anusara Yoga and heart-centered Tantric philosophy as well as a dose of poetry, story and humor to keep you moving with joy, wisdom and inspiration from within and from others in the class. She is gratefully inspired by her fun and loving teachers John Friend, Sianna Sherman, Desiree Rumbaugh and many other amazing people who come into her life shedding light upon her path. For more info see her websites: www.MagicalHeartYoga.com and www.MagicalHeartDoula.com