Lynn Cordell's history of teaching movement began with dance while earning her Electrical Engineering degree at Notre Dame. Lynn began practicing yoga in 2000 at a gym in Austin, TX to avoid doing cardio exercise. She was frustrated and intrigued to learn that yoga was so much more than flexibility. This began a hobby that turned into true passion once she moved to Omaha, NE with her husband and 3 children. At the encouragement of her good friend and teacher, Maria Miglioretti, Lynn began the process of teacher training. She is currently certified at the 200 hour level with Yoga Alliance after training with Susi Amendola. Lynn has been teaching in the Omaha area for almost 4 years. She loves to teach vinyasa style classes that blend breath with movement, strength with flexibility, and curiosity with humor. “I believe that no matter how challenging a class may be personally or physically, yoga is joyful and should always leave you elated.”

Ashley Foley discovered Bikram yoga in fall 2006 while living in Chicago . At the time she was looking for something to balance the stress from working and living in the BIG city. Something about the heat and dynamic and repetitive nature of the series kept her coming back day after day. This curiosity has led to a daily personal practice transforming her physically, mentally and spiritually. “Yoga keeps me balanced and continues to shape my life both on and off the mat”

Since moving to Omaha in summer 2007 she has become a passionate OTY student exploring the many classes offered at OTY. She completed her 200 hour teacher training recognized by Yoga Alliance at OTY in October 2009. Ashley is deeply grateful to senior OTY teachers who continue guide, challenge and inspire her as a teacher and a student.

Browyn Gaines’s yoga journey began in the late 1990’s during a drop-in lunch time yoga class at a local medical center gym. Positively relaxed after each class, she wanted to explore more yoga. Five years ago, practicing hot yoga at One Tree Yoga, she became instantly devoted, loving the heat, intensity and the “massage on the inside feeling” after each class. Naturally, her path unfolded to teaching. Browyn positively and enthusiastically teaches class with inspiration, compassion and true love of yoga. “Developing a good solid practice and study of yoga is my health decision to age well”, she says. You may also see Browyn behind the espresso machine at a local coffee shop where she is a certified barista. Deep bow of love, thanks and gratitude for her many teachers, especially Theresa Murphy, Amanda Pearson, Adena Cleary and Rolf Gates.

Jill Hallgren (aka SuperJill) set foot on her path in 2006. You may recognize her smiling face from behind the check-in desk as one of our beloved Front Desk Yogis. Tired of treadmills and stair steppers, Jill tried yoga and it was love at first sun salute, but it wasn't until she felt the warmth of the Bikram room that she truly felt what it meant to be in love.

Inspired by her own teachers, Jill embarked on the journey of becoming a teacher herself. She is certified at the 200 hour level by the Yoga Alliance. Her passion and inspiration draw not only from the gift of all teachers before her, but the students who dedicate themselves to the practice.

When not on the mat, Jill keeps busy with her job at UNMC, her 2 delightful English Bulldogs, Stella and Emma and creating art for her home. She offers deep gratitude to all teachers and students including Theresa Murphy, Tias Little, Rolf Gates and Bikram Choudhury.

Alison King tried her first bikram yoga class in 2003 and instantly loved the heat of the room and challenge of the poses. It wasn’t until 2006 that she started to seriously attend all types of yoga classes and realize all the benefits a regular practice has to offer. While still an avid runner, Alison loves the balance and therapeutic component her yoga practice provides to the rough physical impact running has on the body. She began yoga for the physical challenge, but her love for yoga has now grown to provide mental calmness and emotional well-being. Alison enrolled in the teacher training program at OTY in January of 2009 and finished in October. You may recognize her as the 6am silent “Power Hour” leader at the west studio.

When not at the yoga studio, Alison works for a research unit in the criminal justice department at UNO. She also loves to run and spend time outdoors, as well as with her family and friends whenever she can. Alison is grateful for all of the amazing instructors at One Tree Yoga and is excited to be a teacher and continue practicing with all the great people at the studio!

Michelle Kohrs discovered Bikram yoga in 2003. Having had minimal experience with yoga of any kind, she didn't know what to expect.  As she lay in savasana at the end of class, covered from head to toe in sweat, and feeling more at peace in her own body than ever before, she knew she was hooked. As with anything in life, her practice waxed and waned over time, but the mind/body benefits of yoga always called her back to the mat.

As a freelance filmmaker and writer, Michelle considered adding the title of "yoga teacher" to her bag of tricks. At the time, teaching seemed that it could be a cool gig on the side. She started the One Tree Yoga teacher training program in 2006. Amidst the many hours spent reading ancient texts, going through intensive trainings, learning about anatomy and exploring the other limbs of yoga, she has discovered a renewed passion in all that yoga encompasses and is excited to share this with her students.    

Michelle's other passions are filmmaking and traveling, particularly combined together. She traveled to Tanzania in 2006 to shoot the documentary The Face of Ukimwi. The film explores the changing face of the AIDS crisis in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Danielle Dragon began her yoga journey in 2003 at the urging of One Tree Yoga teacher Paddy Tarlton. Like many, when she first attended a Bikram class she questioned the sanity of what she was doing, but in the end she realized she had found what she had been seeking: a workout which made her feel great both mentally and physically. Yoga had such a positive impact on Danielle’s life that she decided to become a yoga instructor in order to share yoga with others, and in 2008 she completed her 200 hour teacher training with One Tree Yoga and began teaching at the studios. When Danielle is not at One Tree Yoga or at home with her family she works as a licensed massage therapist. Danielle recently became the first certified practitioner of the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage in Nebraska. This method focuses on developing and maintaining optimum female reproductive health. Danielle would like to thank Paddy for her encouragement to give yoga a try, and would like to give special thanks to Theresa Murphy and Carol Westerman for the opportunities and support to they have given her along her way.

Megan Minturn found yoga a natural fit for as it is a perfect union of her love of movement and philosophy. At Fordham University Megan majored in Philosophy and minored in African Major Studies. While in New York she studied at Sonic Yoga where she received her 200hr Yoga Alliance Certification. Aside from teaching yoga, Megan works with the ARTery (http://arteryomaha.org) teaching ballroom dance to 5th graders, African Culture Connection (http://www.africancultureconnection.org) performing and teaching African dance, and most recently dancing and teaching with The Diavolo Project: Nebraska. She receives great joy from sharing her passion for yoga with others!

Amanda Pearson has been a student of yoga for over 10 years. She has been teaching yoga for the past 5 years, and is also a licensed massage therapist. Although she has primarily practiced and taught hot and prenatal yoga, she truly loves yoga in all forms. She is devoted to her family and her spiritual practice and prays daily for world peace. "Om lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu" (May eternal peace and goodwill prevail throughout the world).

Troy Rapp began practicing meditation in 1996. He has spent four years of his life in residence at Zen Centers and monasteries in the Japanese and Korean lineages of Zen, including a total of seven 90 day meditation intensives at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in California, Diamond Hill Zen Monastery/ Providence Zen Center in Rhode Island, and Musangsa/ Kyeryangsahn International Zen Center in South Korea. He has also attended numerous shorter retreats in the Zen and Vipassana traditions. He began practicing yogasana shortly after beginning to practice meditation. In 2001, he began attending Susi Amendola’s classes at Omaha Yoga and Bodywork Center, and in 2007 he began attending Theresa Murphy and Libba Harmon’s classes at One Tree Yoga. He has attended trainings with Tias Little and Ranjani Cobo. His practice and teaching focus on integrating the various techniques of the Yoga tradition in an eclectic approach to establishing physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual equanimity, which provide a sound basis for a life dedicated to easing the suffering of all beings.

Lynn Sanchez Ballai was part of the initial teacher trainee class at One Tree Yoga in 2002 and has over the past six years taught people of all ages and abilities in recreation centers, yoga studios, and her mom's basement! Now she has come full circle and returned to the hood and her roots and is thrilled to be back.

"I like to combine all the energetic styles of yoga that I love -- ashtanga, power, Bikram’s style -- in a way that is approachable, empowering, fun and challenging. But the thing I hope students take away from classes with me is that the practice of yoga is about celebrating the present moment exactly as it is. Yoga is not about self-improvement -- it's about paying attention. In its highest form, yoga alleviates suffering in the world."

Emily Smith fell in love with the practice during her undergraduate dancing days at Creighton University. After sustaining a dancing-related hip injury, she was drawn to the healing, strengthening and restorative benefits of the Bikram and Vinyasa practices. In 2006 she discovered the joys of One Tree Yoga and has not looked back since!

With guidance and inspiration from OTY senior teachers, Emily completed her 200 hour Yoga Alliance certified training through OTY in 2009. She is passionate about the holistic aspects of the practice, focusing on the mind-body-spirit connection. While not on the mat, Emily is working towards her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy with a concentration on weaving yoga into the profession. She gives a deep bow of gratitude to all of her teachers, including Theresa Murphy, Tias Little and Lynn Sanchez.

Robyn Tait  took her first yoga classes in 1975 as a way to escape the confines  of boarding school in Nelson, New Zealand.  She incorporated bits of yoga  into her life for many years, but began her "real" practice after moving to  Washington D.C. in 1987. It has been a consistent part of her life ever since, providing a link to herself and to the spirit of her homeland, all  land, where ever she is.

Robyn completed her teacher training with Susi Amendola in 1994, and has  taught at OYBC and in the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart  Disease at Immanuel Hospital. In 2002 she spent a year in New Zealand where she was privileged to study Iyengar yoga with Rosie Holland. She is Yoga  Alliance Certified at the 200-hour level.

Yoga has given her the freedom to hear the voice of the divine.  She  loves  to share this path with others, using asana, meditation, breath and chanting.

She gives thanks to her teachers:  Susi Amendola, Rosie Holland,  Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Theresa Murphy,  Angela Farmer, her parents, her three teenage children, and her husband, John.

Jackson comes from a long line of yogis.  His biggest strengths as a teacher are his devotion and loyalty.  When he's not hanging out at One Tree Yoga you can find him curled up on his bed at home or running through the park.  Jackson gives a deep bow-wow to his most loyal student, Theresa Murphy.