Meet the team

Kirsten Ahern is an E-RYT 200/RYT-500 Prana Vinyasa Instructor, Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, Marma Therapist and Corporate Wellbeing Consultant. She teaches dynamic, fluid, and strong vinyasa flow classes with a focus on energetic alignment, creative sequencing, breathwork, and meditation.

Kirsten joined Bhakti Yoga DC as an instructor soon after it opened its doors in 2016 and loves sharing space with the community and good friends who join her on the mat every week. Kirsten serves as Bhakti Yoga DC’s in-house Ayurvedic practitioner and the founder of Path Wellbeing (www.path-wellbeing.com), a holistic healing and wellbeing solutions company. When not teaching yoga or practicing Ayurveda, you’ll find Kirsten hiking or running trails, swimming laps, traveling with her husband, and snuggling with her Tibetan Terrier “Karma”.

Alex Duchscher, ERYT 200, has been practicing yoga since 1999, and teaching yoga since 2002, when she got her initial 200 hour teacher training certificate from Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Since then she has incorporated more Vinyasa flow to complement Kripalu's Hatha style of yoga, attending trainings with Vinyasa teachers and mentors Shiva Rea, Shannon Paige, Laura Wade Jaster and Jess Lazar. Also, studying and practicing Buddhist philosophy and meditation has added a joyful peace and freedom to her approach to yoga practice. Her practices are fluid with elements of strength and grace.

Alex also enjoys the depth, commitment and connection that come from teaching prenatal yoga.

Alex lived and taught yoga and practiced massage in Vail, Colorado for the better part of 10 years and has recently relocated to the Northern VA/D.C. Metro area. She is transitioning into new massage and yoga experiences and will update schedule with any new classes and massage information as it becomes available on her website: www.renewaltide.com.

With Jen’s classes, your breath will weave together the wisdom of your body, the compassion of your heart and the focus of your mind. This will help you release trapped patterns and come into greater joy through your own creative expression. Jen incorporates kriyas, pranayama, deep core work, holding of poses and meditation into a creative and playful Vinyasa Flow asana practice. Music is an essential part of Jen’s classes, especially inspirational, devotional and healing music.

Sara completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at Bhakti Yoga DC in 2020. After practicing at Bhakti for several years and experiencing the transformative nature of yoga, she was compelled to complete her yoga teacher training to use yoga as an instrument of healing and growth. Her flows are designed to bring greater awareness of our body on and off the mat by incorporating breathwork, meditation, and poses that target specific energy points.

Tarcy is a yoga teacher based in Washington D.C. with midwestern, Minnesotan roots. She is RYT-500 and has trained with Kevin Waldorf-Cruz, Gopi Kinnicut, Braja Kishori, and Janet Stone. For Tarcy, Yoga is an ongoing journey of mind, body and spirit alignment as she is constantly learning, exploring and actively curious about yoga - its roots, its modern modalities and everything in between. She builds her classes intuitively with that mind, body, spirit alignment guiding her as she tells a story through connection of breath, asana, mantra and flow. More so, she makes all classes accessible - because you define your yoga, you define your own mind, body, spirit alignment. When Tarcy isn’t teaching yoga, she’s a recovering lawyer negotiating complex technology contracts, taking way too many photos of her dog, and spending time with her husband and extended family.

Teaching since 2012 and practicing longer, Jeff found yoga and meditation as a means to connect with his body, confront anxiety and depression, and overcome issues around body dysmorphia.

His classes are highly inclusive and well-loved for their physical and mental inquiry, dreamy playlists, cultivation of curiosity, courage, strength, and sense of humor. Expect a vibrant, creative class with considerate variations of movements for various body types.

Jeff completed his 200hr training in 2012 with Sondra Loring and Raghunath, three subsequent 500hr trainings, including one with Ame Wren and Daniel Max of the Boston Yoga School, and earned his Masters Degree in Social Work from Tulane University in 2022. He currently serves on the teacher training faculty at both Yogamaya New York and Boston Yoga School. He is also a licensed psychotherapist with a private practice specializing in somatics, body based regulation, grief, loss, addiction and relationships.

Jill's greatest joy as a yoga teacher is helping you access shapes you haven't found before on the mat. In her classes, Jill draws upon her expertise of biomechanics and anatomy to gently, quickly, and safely help students blossom into one or more challenging peak poses, while at the same time providing options so her classes remain inclusive and fulfilling to all levels of yogi. Jill has been teaching group fitness since 2017, and she is a Certified Group Fitness Instructor by the Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) in addition to being a Registered Yoga Teacher and graduate of Bhakti Yoga's Teacher Training. Outside of the yoga studio, she specializes in high-intensity interval training (HIIT), bootcamp, and kickboxing fitness modalities, all while practicing law full time.

Miryam's journey with yoga began during her pregnancy in 2003, when she sought a gentle and holistic approach to complement her active lifestyle as a competitive swimmer and long-distance triathlete. Initially starting with Bikram yoga, she eventually discovered her true passion in Baron Baptiste's Power Vinyasa Yoga, which became her primary practice for several years.

In 2009, while continuing to compete in Ironman distance triathlons and maintain a consistent yoga practice, Miryam pursued her 200-hour Teacher Training at Downdog Yoga in Washington DC. This training deepened her understanding of yoga and allowed her to share her knowledge with others.

However, it was in 2015 that Miryam's path took a significant turn when she encountered her mentor, Jessica Lazar, and fell in love with the Prana Vinyasa flow developed by Shiva Rea. This profound connection sparked a transformative shift in Miryam's practice and teaching approach.

Presently, Miryam teaches yoga at Bhakti Yoga in Washington DC, where she continues to deepen her practice and explore various teachings. She finds inspiration from renowned teachers like Gopi Kinnicutt, Jason Crandell, Tara Brach, and Pema Chodron. Drawing from her own life experiences, Miryam's classes focus on the importance of reconnecting with one's purpose in life.

For Miryam, Prana Vinyasa represents a transformative journey towards greater embodiment, vitality, and enjoyment of life. It enables individuals to embrace the flow of life, find creative fulfillment, experience natural happiness, and forge a deep connection with their inherent purpose. Through her teachings, Miryam aims to guide others on a similar path of self-discovery and fulfillment.

For Ethan, yoga isn’t just an exercise, but rather a deep spiritual practice that has brought healing and connection to his everyday life. Having connected with the spiritual elements of yoga practice, Ethan’s approach to teaching comes from a strong foundation of lived experience practicing asana, mantra, and pranayama. In Ethan’s classes, you can expect an easy to follow flow accessible to all levels, and focused on moving energy throughout the body and connecting to the many parts of yourself. What we do on the mat mirrors the world outside of your mat, and Ethan’s heart has the power to help you connect to yourself, your community, and the world around you.

Hama is an RYT-200 who started her yoga journey in 2006 and completed her 200-hour teacher training with Gopi Kinnicutt at Bhakti Yoga DC. Her classes powerfully connect you with your breath, body, and mind through fluid motion and movement, bringing awareness to how these elements affect your moods and state of being. In Hama’s warm and straightforward style, she will accompany you to restore balance and authentically nurture yourself and your self-expression. When Hama isn't on the mat, she works on bettering the lives of women and girls and their communities in developing markets by providing access to finance and, thus, greater opportunities for a dignified life for all. She is an avid cook, baker, and eater and loves spending time with her cats and husband, practicing the art of doing nothing.

Shannon Lavery is a RYT-200 from Kunga Yoga School at In Balance Yoga, in Blacksburg, VA, and is currently studying under Gopi Kinnicutt, Bhakti Yoga DC to receive her 300 HR Advanced Teacher Training.

Shannon has been honored to attend and support numerous conferences and festivals, assist internationally known mindfulness meditation teacher Tara Brach, and practice and learn from teachers of all backgrounds and experiences. A dedicated and passionate yoga instructor, Bhakti Yoga student, and a lifelong learner, she understands the impact the teachings and practices can have on our lives and, when shared correctly, the rippling effect it can have in communities and the world at large.

She is grateful for her training and continued education on how to teach yoga in a non-intimidating way that welcomes all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and abilities.

Cultivate self-care, self-love and self-awareness in Jenny's classes. Whether leading yoga, meditation or dance, her goal is always to help students better connect to themselves—their inner peace and joy, bodies and needs. A lifelong dancer, Jenny's soul has always been drawn to movement, and her yoga practice dates back over 20 years. Amidst immense stress during the pandemic, she began a healing journey that exploded her understanding of what yoga truly is, led her to a powerful meditation and restorative yoga practice, and immersed her in other healing modalities and trainings that have forever changed her. Wishing she had these tools sooner, she now strives to share them so others can find deep restoration, reconnection, healing and joy, too. Jenny completed 200-hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training at Bhakti Yoga DC, Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Jillian Pransky, 200-hour Meditation Teacher Training with LA's Unplug Meditation, and Reiki Levels I and II with Jessica Mahler.

Strike the balance between fast-paced movement and grounding presence in Maddy's vinyasa flow classes. Maddy will accompany you with curiosity & humility as your practice unfolds your self-told narratives to make way for the joyful & intuitive essence of your being. Through her personal journey and her career as a physician & psychotherapist, Maddy has experienced how modern life so often separates the self from the body. For her, yoga & meditation are a path to re-integrating these fragmented parts. Maddy has been immersed in yoga since 2017 and is an RYT-200 certified yoga instructor with Bhakti Yoga DC

Maia Wise is a certified RYT 200 and a licensed clinical social worker. Maia has transformed minds as a clinical therapist and brings authenticity and confidence to yoga instruction. Trained in Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of love, Maia creates fluid sequences that strengthen and stretch both body and soul. Whether in studio or with a client, Maia infuses clinical expertise and the philosophy of yoga to assist one's journey inward. Maia incorporates breath work, mantra and meditation into a creative and playful vinyasa flow asana practice