New Faces at The Yoga Loft
We have some new faces popping up at the studio and want to introduce you!
You can catch all of these wonderful women subbing and teaching specialty classes at the studio. Please say hello next time you take class.
Maida Broudo
As an oncology healthcare practitioner, teacher and writer, Maida believes in the power of the body, and the importance of taking care of it. She attended her first yoga class more than 20 years ago to balance the stress and strain of marathon running, and has been practicing ever since. The connection of the mind, body, and spirit is vital, and taking time to devote oneself to yoga offers rewards on and off the mat. Maida attended Boston Yoga School where she continues her studies and practices with Ame Wren. She continued formal yoga studies with Larisa Forman and continues to deepen her knowledge and understanding of the practice. She is deeply inspired by teachers Kevin Courney, Marc St. Pierre, and Alison Sinatra, who invite growth and compassion. “We are always learning, we begin anew each day!” Maida currently works as an Interventional Radiology Oncology Navigator at Salem Hospital, where she helps navigate the way from cancer diagnosis to treatment. Her entire career has been working with patients, and she believes in the power of taking care of body and soul through the practice of yoga.
Brenna Buckley
Brenna has a natural instinct to be in tuned with her body as well as a passion for fitness. Yoga aids to combine both her mental and physical state into one. Brenna had the privilege to learn and practice yoga in her early 20s, allowing her energy to be channeled in the most positive light at a young age. Brenna’s practice has helped her to grow stronger & fearless both on and off the mat. Additionally, as a mom of a 6-year old boy, she has learned to be mindful and enjoy each and every moment. With a bubbly personality & patient nature, she enjoys making students feel as though they’ve reached a state of peace and joy within themselves.
Brenna completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2016 through Empower in Beverly in 2016. Since receiving this training, she has taught many styles of yoga in numerous studios on the East Coast. Brenna has enjoyed teaching groups that range anywhere from small and intimate groups up to classes of 50 students. The settings of these classes have ranged from indoor heated or non-heated to private outdoor or public ‘marketplace’ type spaces.
Teaching yoga is Brenna’s passion. She continues to learn and grow as a student of the practice each time she steps on her mat. Brenna is forever grateful for the inspirational wisdom given by her teachers. She continues to find happiness in sharing her love of yoga & all it brings to those around her.
Alyssa Flynn
Alyssa Flynn has been practicing yoga for 10+ years. She is a mom of two boys and wife of a professional hockey player. Home is Manchester-by-the-sea, but part of the year they are traveling the country (and world) for different hockey teams. Alyssa completed her 200HR certification through the Yoga Loft Marblehead in May 2022 and received a plant-based whole foods nutrition certification from e-Cornell & T. Colin Campbell's Center for Nutrition Studies in 2018. As a college athlete, she was always drawn to more power and Baptiste style classes, but has recently fallen in love with healing qualities of restorative yoga too. Because of this she likes to include both firey movement and relaxing stillness elements in her classes. Through some personal loss while living abroad during the pandemic, she calmed her mind through yoga and meditation and witnessed first hand how it is possible to activate the parasympathetic nervous system all on our own. She is motivated by the scientific research behind what yoga, meditation, and nutrition can do for the mind and body. As someone that grew up with digestive issues, destined to have colon cancer by the time she was 30, researching & finding her own medicine in food is what saved her. She loves to make filling tasty plant-based food for her family and friends, sharing her recipes and lifestyle on her website. Her goal is to empower others to reduce inflammation in the body through healthy food choices and to access calm in the mind through breath and movement. She hopes to inspire others, like her, to heal from within.
Laura Gunn
Laura Gunn has always found peace in movement and was pulled toward yoga in 2009. In 2017, she took The Yoga Loft 200-hour Teacher Training Program under Larisa Forman and Vito Politano and graduated in 2018. Laura has a passion for teaching yoga, especially teaching to children. Being a mother of three young children she understands the need for children to channel their energy, and Laura has found ways to guide them in doing so on the mat. When she is not teaching or practicing yoga, she is enjoying time with her family, or you can catch her running the streets of Swampscott and Marblehead and biking the Neck.
Lindsay O’Connell
Lindsay began regularly practicing yoga in 2015 while pregnant with her son through a prenatal class. Since then, her interest in and love of yoga has grown to include vinyasa, restorative, and power yoga. She is a Second Degree Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner and completed her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training at The Yoga Loft in May 2022.
Whether she is teaching indoors or outside, Lindsay’s classes provide an all-level energetic flow offering each practitioner the chance to breathe and find what their body, mind, and spirit need that day.
Rachel Perrella
Rachel’s yoga journey began several years ago with a class at the Yoga Loft. After that class, she was inspired by the physical, meditative and spiritual nature of the practice. She had already established a practice of mindfulness, which she cultivated through her teaching of second graders at Tower School. Yoga has allowed her to deepen her practice and bring it to her students. She has always been active; she played competitive sports in high school and college, and has continued to enjoy a variety of activities. Rachel is a recent graduate of the 200 hour teacher training at the Yoga Loft. Yoga has become an integral part of her life and helped her to develop a practice of moving meditation, which she incorporates into her teaching. She believes that a yoga practice should create a feeling for the practitioner through breath and movement. She embraces the physicality of the practice, but she recognizes that the meditative and reflective elements are equally as important. Her classes emphasize alignment, flow and breath, and she encourages her students to be safe and aware of their bodies on their mat. She believes in the power of a smile and a positive attitude.
Rachel is grateful for the teachers at the Loft who have inspired and encouraged her throughout the years and through her training. She hopes to share her passion for the practice with her students
Julie Zaccaria
Julie's yoga journey began 15 years ago after living with chronic back pain. She received her 200 hr certification from The Yoga Loft in 2020. As a teacher, Julie is fun and challenging. She appreciates all yoga classes and adapts her classes to all Yogis.