Our Teachers

There are always new discoveries to make in yoga, and in 2015 I felt ready to offer the first 200HR Teacher Training at Strongheart. Honing what I’d learned over my time practicing and studying, in 2015 I developed a training program for those who want to become teachers themselves. I continue to refine and revise the Strongheart Yoga Advanced Trainings to make them more comprehensive and effective learning experiences for others.

Yoga’s two thousand year exploration of what it means to be conscious and human, has always been an inspiration to me. There is always more to know. As both a student and a teacher, I never stop being amazed by all that yoga can teach us about living as strong, fulfilled, loving human beings without fear. I hope that, in my teaching, every student can begin to feel how much more is possible for them than they imagined, with yoga as a guiding star.

Pattie

Dawn Young, ERYT, R-PYT

In 2004, I found a yoga practice that transformed me from someone with poor health and pounds to shed into someone passionate, fit and comfortable in her own skin. After graduating from my 200 hr teacher training at House of Yoga in 2011, I jumped into teaching numerous classes a week as a founding partner of Strongheart Yoga.

My thirst for knowledge never diminished and even as I taught many varied students, my study continued. I trained and was certified in Pre/Post Natal yoga and Yin yoga in 2010; as an “Ageless Grace” educator in 2012, and a Reiki level 1 & 2 practitioner in 2013. As I found my niche in the most calming yoga practices, I studied Restorative Yoga with Judith Hanson Lasater. To take my Yin Yoga teaching deeper, I did a Yin Yoga Teaching Intensive with Bernie Clark in 2018. And I took my Prenatal certification deeper and enhanced my knowledge by completing my Prenatal Yoga training with Mama Nurture Prenatal Yoga School to become a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher. And I’m looking forward to 2020 as I begin studying with the Beaumont Hospital Yoga Therapy program.

Sharing my love and knowledge of all these practices with the community at Strongheart for almost 10 years has taught me so much. And it has reinforced my desire to be a teacher who lets each individuals embrace what they feel without judgement and discover their own strength. I feel that my dharma is to offer the kindness and sensitivity that’s necessary for that. And my hope is that, as a teacher, every student feels my support and compassion.

 Dawn

Jennifer Senyk, RYT

After many years of wanting to try yoga, I took my first class in 2009. That was the beginning of my journey with yoga. Every year my passion and commitment to yoga grew. I joined Strongheart Yoga in the fall of 2011.  Being a part of a yoga community only increased my desire to learn more, so when Strongheart yoga offered their first teacher training program I was honored to be a part of it.

Teaching yoga was never part of my plan, but I find that sometimes life you pushes you in the direction you are supposed to go. Being a yoga teacher has been rewarding in ways that I never expected. Being a part of a yoga community and welcoming others to it is a deep pleasure. Yoga is a limitless subject, and I’m always eager to learn. As I learn and grow, I hope to share that knowledge with current and future students. 

Jen

Sue Andrzejewski, RYT

Uniting the mind, body and spirit is extremely important to our well being and can be achieved through movement, breath and meditation. When we learn to quiet the noise of our busy lives and turn our attention inward we become more in tune with ourselves and others, more balanced, and healthier overall. 

After years of practicing yoga, my desire to share this with others moved me to become a teacher. In February of 2020, I completed the 200-hr RYT teacher training through Strongheart Yoga and have been teaching, growing and continually learning since. My classes are designed for all levels as I truly feel yoga is for every body, mind and spirit.

Sue

David Demo

Little did I know that when I agreed to go along with my wife to a yoga class, it would turn out to be a game changer! That was over ten years ago and I have found that yoga really helps to smooth out the rough spots in my life, both physically and emotionally. My next step was to take teacher training at the House of Yoga, and now I am grateful and honored to be able to share my practice and teach others.

My passion is to help make yoga accessible to everybody, especially those that don't think it's possible for them. My own health has improved, practicing yoga has helped lower my blood pressure and released a lot of emotional baggage that I've carried around for way too long. Practicing yoga helps to keep me balanced, and I want to pass that on to the people that I teach and learn from. Namaste.

David

Sandra Aloia RYT

I dabbled in yoga as a physical practice for many years before yoga called to me as a way of life. Yoga poses soothed my aching joints and chronic pain, but my anxious mind still raced. Stressed-out and self-medicating with alcohol, I enrolled in a yoga/meditation retreat in 2021, an act of desperation that marked the first steps in a journey of self discovery.

Gradually, through regular yoga practice and my teacher training at Strongheart, I learned the transformative power of yoga as the unity of mind, body, and breath.  My teaching mission is to help others see how yoga meets you wherever you are — physically, mentally, and spiritually — and of course I have a special interest in the use of yoga and mindfulness practices in recovery from addiction.

When I am not teaching yoga, you will find me at a rock concert, brewing (nonalcoholic) kombucha, geeking out on neuroscience, or looking for dogs and cats to pet.