Cindy Wargo, RYT, Director and Owner of Sacred Well

Cindy Wargo, Registered Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance, has been practicing under the guidance of Master Teacher Frances Stahnke for over six years. Cindy is a graduate of the Sacred Well Yoga Teacher Training, completing a rigorous course of over 200 hours of study and now has several years of extensive teaching experience. She also studied with Glenn Black and has Kid's Yoga Certi?cation with Shana Meyerson of Mini Yogis. The teachings of Mata Amritanandamayi, B.K.S. Iyengar and Swami Satyananda Saraswati have greatly in?uenced Cindy's approach to yoga and to life. As director of Sacred Well Yoga Studio, Cindy strives to provide a peaceful safe-haven for students to explore their bodies, expand their minds and enliven their spirits.

Bhekaji Lynch, ERYT 500, RYT 500

Bhekaji Lynch, ERYT 500, RYT 500. Bhekaji has been practicing and studying yoga since 1970. Discovering that asana and pranayama are methods to explore the true nature of the self, she began a life long quest. She incorporates the essential elements of the Astanga tradition (focus on the breath and the heat) with the detail and alignment of the Iyengar tradition. She is also in?uenced by the vedantic teaching of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswam.

Melanie Settje, E-RYT200

Melanie took the scenic route to Virginia from her native South Dakota, unrolling her mat in Colorado, England, the Dominican Republic, Germany, and Italy before arriving at Sacred Well in February of 2006. Her primary motivation for teaching yoga (besides not having to wear shoes at work) is to help students take their practice beyond the mat into their lives in the wider world, and she is always humbled by and grateful for the lessons she learns from those students along the way.  She has an affinity for the practice of surya namaskara and believes that anything worth doing is worth doing with a twinkle in your eye.

Sue Lyn Schramm, RYT

Sue Lyn Schramm began her study of yoga after back pain led six nurse friends to tell her, ìyou should take yoga!î She was delighted to ?nd that not only did yoga help her body, but also her mind and spirit. She delights in teaching beginning and more advanced students to share her appreciation of the calming and healing effects of a yoga practice. Sue Lyn is also a hospice consultant and writer who keeps a blog called Mulberry Jam: Adventures in Mindful Living (www.mulberryjam.net). She is a graduate of the Sacred Well Teacher Training Program.

Fritz Partlow, RYT

Fritz began her yoga practice in 2001 under the teaching of BodyMaster Frances Stahnke, a teacher who helped foster a deep love for yoga for which Fritz is eternally grateful. More recently Fritz considers her primary influences as Kofi Busia and John Schumacher, both senior teachers in the Iyengar tradition. As a practitioner of yoga, Fritz has experienced a profound impact in her overall sense of well being and state of mind. She is especially enthusiastic about helping her students experience the healing effects of yoga and helping them create balance in the body which as Iyengar says "is the foundation for balance in life."

Jenn Fay

Jenn is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and received her teacher certification through the Integral Yoga Institute. Her teaching style draws from a variety of other yoga disciplines including Viniyoga & Iyengar. Jenn's mission in life involves providing a safe space for people to develop self-awareness and expand their consciousness as they follow their unique path toward self-realization. She is also certified to teach Cardiac Yoga.

Hope Lambert, RYT

Hope Lambert, RYT 200, has been practicing yoga since 1998 when a friend introduced her to a wonderful yoga teacher in Washington, DC (Kamakshi Hart). An actress and teaching artist, Hope was looking for help in overcoming a bout of stage fright and after her first yoga class was hooked. In addition to helping get the stage fright under control, Hope enjoyed the profound physical and mental benefits that yoga offered. With a desire to expand her understanding of human anatomy and movement, Hope received her U.S. 1 Yoga Teacher Training through Little River Yoga in 2007 and is registered through Yoga Alliance. Hope has been teaching theatre arts to children and adults in the DC metro area for many years through the Educational Theatre Company and The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. She loves finding creative ways to bring yoga and theatre together in a yoga setting. Above all, she enjoys making yoga fun for kids of all ages.

Suzanne Bakewell, RYT

Suzanne believes that one of the reasons for the growing appeal of yoga is as a form of adult play. Through Hatha yoga, we rediscover the joy of moving and challenging the body—learning how to flow on the mat and in life.

Suzanne’s classes are I yengar-inspired with creative touches intended to encourage her students to play their edges and enjoy yoga for life. She has taught Pre-natal, Senior, and Multi-level yoga classes plus workshops on Kitchen Yoga, Yoga for Weight Loss, and Mindful Eating. Suzanne’s first RYT accreditation was through Frances Tejaswi at Sacred Well. She has since completed the 500-hour RYT training with Ladan Judge and Bhekaji Lynch at Beloved Yoga.

Valerie Hauser, RYT

Valerie has been studying yoga with BodyMaster Frances Stahnke since 2004. She was drawn to yoga as an alternative to conventional treatments for arthritis and other ailments and continues to experience profound healing in body, mind and spirit. Teaching allows her to share this amazing gift with others. Valerie’s approach to both life and yoga is greatly influenced by the teachings of Mata Amritanandamaya Devi (Amma), Thich Nhat Hanh, and B.K.S. Iyengar. Valerie is a graduate of Sacred Well’s teacher training program.

Katherine Greenspun, RYT

Katherine was hooked on yoga from her first introduction to pranayama. The discovery of the power of the mind and breath was intriguing. Later Katherine began to study asana as well, and was enthused by the connection of the mind and body, and the spiritual and psychic awareness experienced through the practice of yoga. Katherine believes that yoga can transform the personality, in addition to transforming the body. She is a graduate of the Sacred Well Teacher training program and a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance. The Iyengar approach to asana, with his concentration in body alignment, is a natural fit for Katherine because she also holds a BA in Biology. Katherine approaches each class with the attitude that "We are all teachers and we are all students." Her wish is that her students benefit from her teaching as much as she benefits from teaching them.

Rashmi Nair Ripley, RYT

Rashmi began practicing yoga over a decade ago in La Paz, Bolivia in the hope of finding community in a foreign land. She discovered that her yoga practice connected her not just with community but sparked a passion for investigating the human mind, body and spirit. Rashmi is a graduate of the Sacred Well Teacher Training Program. As a practitioner of Vipassana meditation, she brings her practice of mindfulness meditation to the yoga mat. Rashmi delights in creating classes that allow students to integrate mindfulness and compassion both on and off the mat. She is also an Ontological coach (www.stillripples.com) and enjoys weaving yoga in to her coaching sessions. While Rashmi is inspired by the teachings of Pema Chodron, Charlotte Joko Beck, B.K.S. Iyengar and many other wise teachers, she considers her husband, children, family, friends and students to be her most intimate teachers.

Elizabeth Eastwood, RYT

Elizabeth first discovered yoga in 1998 when she was in graduate school, where she found it to be her antidote to stress. She has been practicing yoga with BodyMaster Frances Stahnke since 2001 and is a graduate of the Sacred Well Teach Training Program. Elizabeth finds that her yoga practice helps her maintain a calm and centered outlook, making her better able to respond to the stresses of daily life. Elizabeth believes it is important to introduce yoga students to the tools that enable being in the present moment, taking time to relax, and restoring balance.

Evelyne Noel, RYT

As a graduate of the Sacred Well Teacher Training program, Evelyne brings to her teaching a comfortable presence born from 25 years in the ?eld of education and an openness of spirit developed from years of work in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. She feels that yoga increases her ?exibility and strength, keeps her centered and helps her promote a more compassionate world where personal and inhibiting barriers gently dissolve.

Mary Beth Stewart, RYT

Mary Beth has been practicing yoga since 1998. She recently completed her first 200-hour yoga teacher training, as well as a Kids' Yoga Certification. Mary Beth has a friendly and fun style and looks forward to introducing kids to the joys and surprises of yoga.

Gail Salvetti, RYT

After retiring in 2001 Gail Salvetti began studying yoga and found her yoga home at Sacred Well in 2002. While asana practice was a great beginning she ?nds that yoga continually brings newness to her life through both its spiritual and physical aspects and helps the mind be calm and centered. Gail is a graduate of the Sacred Well Teacher Training. She is excited about helping others learn and experience how our bodies work and how much better we feel when we stretch ourselves in our body, mind, and spirit. She believes that yoga is important and valuable throughout life.

Lisa Blough, RYT

Lisa has been practicing yoga with BodyMaster Frances Stahnke since 2001 and is a graduate of Sacred Well Teacher Training Program. For Lisa, giving students the opportunity to open, explore and grow is pure joy. Lisa hopes to inspire students to realize the beauty and wonder within.

Frances Stahnke, RYT, CMT, BodyMaster^©

Frances Stahnke is a certified BodyMaster™ yoga teacher. The BodyMaster training emphasizes hatha yoga, meditation, pranayama, kriya yoga, yoga nidra and BodyTuning (a form of therapeutic bodywork). Frances has been a practitioner and teacher of yoga for 25 years,  her current  teacher being Master  teacher Glenn Black. The teachings of Mata Amritanandamayi, Swami Sivananda, Swami Rama, and B.K.S. Iyengar have strongly influenced Frances's approach to teaching yoga. Frances' teaching emphasizes the importance of connecting proper alignment and breath with the power of being present. Her 20 years as a Certified Massage Therapist and now  BodyMaster^© enables her to use yoga, meditation and BodyTuning to treat injuries and other health conditions. Frances is the founder of Sacred Well Yoga Studio and Healing Center which has been in Falls Church, VA since January of 2000 and has established a Yoga Alliance approved 200-hour teacher-training course.