Who We Are
WHO WE ARE
Scott Cassa
Fitness and Wellness
Scott is certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He specializes in private personal training, group wellness, corrective exercise training, weight loss management, athletic strength and conditioning, post-physical therapy and cardiac rehab fitness, cancer and exercise, brain injury fitness resources, fitness for fragile health status, and corporate wellness.
Additionally, Scott enjoys assisting with adaptive sports and fitness and has experience working with both youth and adult adaptive sports clients. As a survivor of Brain Injury in his teen, Scott strives to help clients overcome health setbacks to stay strong, body and mind.
Scott is a father of two, and an accomplished personal athlete as a seven-time competitor in the Mount Washington Race to the Summit.
Melissa Matheson
Fitness, Nutrition, Athletics, and Wellness
Melissa is certified through The National Academy of Sports Medicine and holds her Pn1 Certification through Precision Nutrition. She has recently completed her Master Health Coaching certification and is working toward becoming a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness coach. She specializes in personal training, nutrition, and health and wellness coaching, group fitness, youth fitness, sports conditioning, and enjoys working with our corporate clients designing wellness workshops and resources for a variety of employee populations. Melissa is passionate about nutrition and enjoys using her expertise and education to help people develop plans to reach their health and wellness goals. Melissa is an avid runner qualifying and competing in the Boston Marathon in addition to many full and half marathons.
Ron Rigazio
Fitness, Athletics, Wellness
Ron is certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. His strength and conditioning programs focus on the quality of movement, stabilization, and agility. He enjoys working with people of all fitness levels, adapting the workout to the individual.
Following years of being active and training, a back injury and the demands of life caused Ron to stray from weight training for a while. Then he met a personal trainer who showed him how to strengthen his back, glutes, and hamstrings, as well as how to move correctly alleviating his back pain. With the pain gone and newfound energy, Ron left the corporate world to work in an environment he loves. His desire is to help others overcome similar challenges and reach their fitness goals.
Outside of the gym, Ron enjoys coaching youth sports and being with family.
Meghan Kwartler
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Yoga, Lifestyle Wellness
Meghan is a lover of movement, breath, and the powerful peace of awareness. Originally she wanted to be a Physical Therapist but ended up in the world of Tech & Business. Yoga became her refuge during a health crisis as a young adult and is still her anchor as she mothers her twin daughters and navigates life. Meghan is passionate about helping her students honor their body, mind & spirit by connecting to their inner wisdom. Their wisdom knows when it’s time to rest, challenge or stay steady, but can be hard to hear without consistent practice.
Meghan started her 200 hr. teacher training in 2011 with Anusara when living in the Pacific NW and finished in 2019 when she finally found her east coast teacher. She is certified in Love Your Brain yoga (accessible yoga for those with brain injuries) and most recently completed her 300 hr. Advanced modern yoga teacher training with Heart and Bones Yoga Studio. She is passionate about weaving embodied anatomy, movement science & mindfulness into her teaching. She teaches privately and in groups including in corporate settings.
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Chris Kandianis
Pilates ,Yoga
Chris has been studying Pilates since 2004 and yoga since 2000. She is passionate about helping people use these practices to develop the strength and flexibility needed to enjoy sports and to prevent and overcome injury.
Chris is STOTT™ Pilates certified in Matwork and Reformer and is an RYT 200 yoga instructor. In addition to her core certifications, she regularly attends workshops and has training in Injuries and Special Populations and Anatomy. Since opening her studio in 2006, she has taught thousands of classes and has worked with hundreds of clients in group classes and one on one helping them to get stronger, overcome musculo-skeletal pain, and improve their sports performance.
She holds a BA degree from Tufts University and an MBA from Simmons College. When not teaching, Chris enjoys biking, skiing, hiking, rock climbing and walking.
Shagufta Rahmen
Yoga
Shagufta first came to yoga during college, taking classes as they were available. This basic introduction to yoga was enough for her to pursue a more regular practice and during this time she came across one of her mentors Barbara Rich of Kripalu who taught a very meditative,
breath-focused sequence that resonated deeply with Shagufta. This foundation of breath-work
would become a guiding light for her during a time of loss in her family and helped her begin her journey into a formal training of mind and body. Yoga saved her!
Shagufta completed her 200-hour Yoga Alliance Fluid Yoga certification program under Kevin Gale and his extraordinary team of teachers in May 2016. She loves to share the psychological and physical benefits of Yoga with everyone around her. She has also completed her Yin Yoga Teacher training under the guidance of Anne Dries of Buddha Nest yoga in May of 2018. While her classes are technically in the style of Vinyasa Flow, her Yin approach to
teaching encourages focusing on mindfulness and breath, and she hopes her classes can serve as a restorative time for mind, body, and spirit.
Julie Hanagan
Yoga, Lifestyle Wellness
Julie is a registered yoga teacher from the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She received her 200 hour certification in 2020. She is also a Certified Nutrition Health Counselor from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and Reiki Practitioner. Her yoga journey started later in life when she was experiencing painful arthritis and stress. She consistently attended yoga classes and fell in love with how it made her feel! The balance of class that incorporated postures with centering meditation and breathing techniques allowed her to bring her attention inward. This helped to manage stress while enhancing physical strength, flexibility and well being. Her classes are geared towards beginners or those who have been away from yoga for awhile and could use a refresh. Julie truly believes that yoga is for everyone and it's never too late to begin!
Melissa Ackerman
Yoga
Melissa has been a practicing yogi for over 25 years. She views the limbs of yoga as her life compass helping her to ground, balance, focus, develop strength and stay true to herself. She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training under Cindy Boulter in May of 2019. She has additionally trained in Yin Yoga under Theresa Murphy and the anatomy of yoga with Susi Hatley.
Melissa draws on her counseling background to acutely tune into her students and thoughtfully communicate her cues. Her classes encourage students to link breath with movement, quiet the mind and be present in their practice. Turning awareness inward allows students to hear the signals their body is sending and move in their own pain-free range of motion. Through her classes, she hopes to pass on all the joys and gifts that yoga has brought to her life both on and off the mat.
Julie Iatron
Julie Iatron discovered yoga in 2013 as a way to help cope with grief. Initially cautious and unsure of herself, she found the courage to let go of worry and the need for perfectionism in her practice. After just a few months, she found that she craved the peace that stepping onto her mat brought. As a busy wife and mom, she knew she needed to make time for self-care, and her yoga practice became the foundation of a more intentional lifestyle. Almost immediately, she wanted to share her newfound awareness and knowledge with others and began to consider the possibility of teaching yoga. In 2017, Julie completed her training with Gail Lachs at Windsoul Studio as a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certified Instructor. Her training included Vinyasa, Hatha, restorative, and chair yoga. In 2019, she pursued her passion for Yin yoga and became certified through the Summers School of Yin Yoga with Josh Summers.
Julie feels that yoga, meditation and energy healing are tools that everyone can use. Her classes are carefully sequenced and designed to be accessible for beginner as well as seasoned yoga practitioners. She encourages her students to discover what works for their individual bodies and skeletal structure. As a master level Reiki healer, Julie loves to offer Reiki healing energy as an option for those in her classes, and believes in creating a secure space where students can go within, challenge themselves and find inner stillness. Her goal for each of her students is that they are able to come to their mat, focus on their breath and move their body safely and in ways that feel good, cultivating a deep sense of ease and self-compassion.
Yoga
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Kate Ham
Yoga, Mobility
Kate Hamm has been assisting others in improving their health and wellness for over 15 years as a personal trainer, fitness/yoga instructor and hiking guide. Her passion is helping to improve body awareness and movement patterns weaving different movement modalities together leaving students feeling better in their bodies. She has a BS in Exercise Science from Ithaca College. A constant seeker of education, she holds many certifications, which includes: Vinyasa Yoga from Sonic Yoga, Restorative Yoga with Jillian Pranskey, Yoga Tune Up® Level One with Jill Miller, Performance Enhancement Specialist with NASM, Hanna Somatics with Eleanor Criswell-Hanna.
Courtney Spence
Yoga
Courtney has been teaching yoga since 2018. She was first introduced to the practice in high school and after leaving college she decided to explore the world of teaching yoga. Courtney graduated with her 200 hour yoga teacher certification from Buddha Nest Yoga in May of 2017, but that was just the start of her yoga education. She fell in love with learning about yoga, its history, and its application, so she decided to dive into the next level of training. In 2018 Courtney graduated from her 500 hour yoga teacher certification from Cloud Nine Yoga and found herself completely immersed in the world of yoga.
During the pandemic Courtney continued teaching yoga on zoom and fell in love with pottery. She now sells her own pottery and teaches pottery classes, along with her weekly yoga classes.
Courtney’s classes are well balanced with a mix of mindful breath, movement, and stretches all geared toward whole body alignment and building awareness of the body, mind, and spirit. Her goal is always to lean into curiosity and exploration of our physical form and internal world
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Lelia Leary
Lelia was unprepared to discover the power of yoga when she signed up for a class as a way to add mobility to an exercise regimen. Very quickly she learned that yoga was something extraordinary. She dove into true practice and has never looked back. Her most valuable lesson was cultivating the power of the yogic breath to become more responsive and less reactive.
She’s a mom, a science teacher, and a nature lover. Currently, her passion is training Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She completed her 200-hour training at Revolution Community Yoga. She offers a challenging yet compassionate practice to build strength, flexibility, and balance. All levels are welcome with modifications to ramp up or tone down the offerings. Expect to feel calm, grounded, and restored from the practice.