"I first started to practice yoga to attain the body and life I wish I had. Now I practice to feel empowered within the body and life I already posses."

As a teacher and the director of Illumina East, my priority isn’t to get you excited about me, or our space, but for you to be excited about you. To help you experience the prosperity of your integrity, fearlessness, and truth so that you can serve your heart, your relationships, your authenticity, and your life’s mission, in the most elevated, empowered, and ‘bad-ass” way possible.

What you can expect from practicing with me: Expect the unexpected. You will learn how to direct your energy in the most potent way possible, and how to show up for yourself with sensitivity and strength. Expect to explore your blindspots, and gain deeper awareness of how your mind operates and how the body responds. How your humanness and struggle and heart are all an asset to your growth and success.

Johanna is known as a teacher of teachers and an inspiration guru who mentors countless yoga instructors on their ever expanding journeys. She is a sequencing specialist devoted to the infinite creative and connective stream of each individual’s truth and is the founder of the Full Spectrum Sequencing Approach. Her classes incorporate poetry, moving metaphor and music in a rich orchestral way that guides the student on a soulful, sweaty journey into the heart of what it means to be human. As a counselor and healer, she is recognized for her ability to see the light, wholeness and infinite potential within everyone she meets.

Johanna’s yoga journey started when she was a wee tot, dancing to express the things that had no words, writing to find the images that evoke… These loves carried her through years of training as a classical ballet dancer, a degree in theatre with an emphasis on literature and a successful career as an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer in New York and on the road. Her dabbling into yoga turned serious when she discovered Sonic and the expressive joyful, forgiving energy of the space. She graduated from the 200-hour program under the guidance of Lauren Hanna and Jonathan Fields and soon realized that the teachings made sense of everything she ever believed in and brought all her separate pieces together. She’s never looked back…becoming teacher and manager of the 2nd Sonic Space in Westchester almost immediately…guiding that studio through it’s transition to Quest Yoga Arts, Joining The Sonic Training Faculty and ultimately stepping into her home base in NYC as Co-Director in 2009, serving Sonic and all its training programs in that capacity until 2014. In the midst of all that, she was blessed with a 500-hour certificate under the guidance of the incomparable Sri Dharma Mittra and has continued to be inspired through the lineage of Shiva Rea, the wisdom of the Tantra, the Pneuma System and ancient Shamanic wisdom. She is a Reiki Healer and has studied under Guru Dharam Khalsa for her certificate in Kundalini Yoga Therapy. She is married to the most magical man and fellow Yogi, Jim Bell. They reside with their daughter Lucia in Carmel, NY.

Teaching since 2002, Susanna inspires through her passion for Hindu myth, mantra, and the Tantric tradition, specifically Rajanaka Tantra, which she has studied for over sixteen years in the U.S. and in South India. Susanna believes that your body is your temple, and whether you are in a yoga studio or in nature, traveling or at home, you can celebrate your embodied life by stepping onto your mat and moving with your breath. Her spiritual home is the great Nataraja Temple of Chidambaram.

Susanna created Devi Soul Yoga, an approach to teaching that includes Hindu myth, mantra, mudra, and meditation in each of her classes. She combines these practices with a careful attention to alignment and an emphasis on the breath to guide flowing movement sequences. Her classes are challenging, inviting students into the deep sweetness of svadhyaya, or self-study.

Off the mat, Susanna spends her time writing and drawing. Her book, Yoga 365, was released by Chronicle Books in October 2016, and is in its fourth printing. Susanna writes for numerous publications, including The Huffington Post, Mantra Wellness, Yoga Journal, Elephant Journal, and NY Yoga+Life Magazine.

Susanna created the popular Writing Your Practice and 30Things workshops and online courses, which apply yoga philosophy and myth to the practice of writing, unlocking yogis’ creativity and refining their self-expression. Students from over 25 countries have participated since 2011.

Susanna is based in New York City, but teaches internationally. Her current weekly classes are at Brooklyn’s Abhaya Yoga and YogaWorks Soho. She teaches public workshops in Yoga Philosophy, Myth, Mantra, Meditation, and Writing, and guest teaches for numerous teacher trainings. She teaches, mentors, and coaches privately in these areas as well.

I came to yoga and Ayurveda from a stressful, jam-packed life, with debiliiating allergies, asthma and digestive issues. Tired of medication, inhalers, doctors, caffeine and not enough sleep, I was willing to try anything.

I decided to stop believing the myth that feeling terrible was my fate. I didn’t want to walk around with a smile on my face while my body was in pain. I wanted to OWN my body and my health. I wanted to take care of myself.

I believe that great health is a holistic matter: when your body, mind or emotions are out of alignment, it throws the whole system off. However, the more you come into balance, the greater your magnetic potential, purpose, meaning, and love in life.

Julius Betila's natural curiosity in science and technology led to spirituality and a deeper connection to the universe. Sound as an energy modality helped Julius align his mind, body, and spirit to connect with his passion of helping others. With a loving intention and gratitude, Julius creates a meditative soundscape with a mixture of sacred instruments to promote a sense of well-being and to strengthen the heart-brain coherence.