The Karuna Team
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DIRECTORYoga Instructor & Shiatsu Practitioner E-RYT 500, YACEP, AOBTA-CP, CIYT
Paul Menard began studying yoga in 2002 & has maintained a passionate practice ever since. His background in classical dance gives him profound appreciation for the intricacy of the form that yoga affords. His elegance & grace shines through his postures & the execution of his teaching. Paul’s pursuit of a more spiritual practice led him to Karuna, where he feels blessed to have found such an open & welcoming community. In addition to yoga, Paul has a fervor for education. He completed his master’s degree in Adult Education & Training in early 2011 to complement his career as a workplace learning & development professional. He has completed the 300-hour advanced yoga teacher certification program at Karuna & is seeking other professional credentials as an educator. Paul is excited to connect his love of education & passion for yoga at Karuna.
Our Team
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Our Team 〰️
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ACUPUNCTURIST
Kristin Althea O’Connor, M.Ac., L.Ac., is a Five Element Acupuncturist who aspires to help people connect with their best self. She established a her practice in NC in 2011 and also practiced in OR before bringing the needle love back home to Western MA. Kristin focuses on emotional wellness, trauma, chronic illness, addiction, and postpartum nurturing. She utilizes Medical Qigong, Cupping, Gua Sha, Essential Oils, Chinese Stone Medicine and Feng Shui to complement her practice in Amherst, MA. She loves to see people thrive and can’t wait to work with you. *Cancellation within 24 hours of the event is non - refundable without qualifying reason.
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YOGA INSTRUCTOR/STRETCHING & FLEXIBILITY COACH
Maria began studying yoga in Maine in 2001. Her first experiences with yoga were in the Iyengar tradition. She found herself teaching group fitness at her gym in 2012. This led to multiple certifications in group exercise and a personal trainer certificate. In 2022, she enrolled in a 200 hour yoga teacher training at Karuna. She fell in love with yoga philosophy and reconnected with all that had drawn her to yoga originally. She is thrilled to continue to develop her teaching at Karuna, under Paul’s mentorship. Maria's goal as a teacher is to make everyone feel welcome and appropriately challenged, and she has a passion for helping people improve their quality of life through movement. She combines a focus on alignment and form with joyful inquisitiveness. She is a lifelong learner, and plans to pursue further education and training in yoga.
As a Certified Stretch and Flexibility Coach, she specializes in assisted stretching that goes beyond what you can do on your own. By guiding your body through deeper, more targeted movements, she help you improve your range of motion, release tension, and move more freely. Unlike stretching solo, her sessions allow you to fully relax while she focus on proper technique and personalized adjustments to get the most out of every stretch. Whether you’re recovering from workouts, dealing with stiffness, or simply want to feel better in your body, she’s here to help you move and feel your best—safely and effectively.
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YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Susan Yard Harris has been practicing yoga for most of her life and begins each day with meditation and pranayama. She has been a student of Eileen Muir’s for twenty-five years and is a graduate of Karuna’s 200- and 300- hour teacher training programs.
Susan is an artist, mother, writer, copy editor, gardener, baker, and lover of the natural world.
She has been teaching Wise Yoga since 2005, and is happy to share the health, strength, peace, and joy that yoga can bring us as we age.
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CERTIFIED IYENGAR YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Suzie Goldstein is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher and has been teaching in the Northampton community for 15 years including at Smith College and as the owner of River Valley Yoga Center for 10 years. She is dedicated to working with students of all ages to improve and restore their health and vitality. Through the intelligence of the Iyengar method, she has extensive experience observing students closely and teaching students how to stabilize and integrate the function of the muscles, bones, and joints with the nervous system while relieving pain, addressing specific injuries, disorders, dysfunctions, and common postural habits. Suzie is a rigorous teacher, but also light-hearted, fun-loving, and compassionate. She infuses her teaching with joy and enthusiasm weaving in yoga philosophy to each class. She is dedicated to cultivating a warm and loving environment where students of yoga can thrive, better understand themselves, and increase health and vitality. She adheres to “NO PAIN - NO PAIN” messaging, and through creative, adaptive, unique, and radically personalized instruction meets each student where they are each day. She hopes to make the Iyengar yoga classroom an inclusive, welcoming, interactive, collaborative, creative, healing, and equitable space that values and honors the full scope of human experience and affirms all markers of identity.
Suzie is thrilled to be offering classes at Karuna. She also works privately with students and hosts retreats. Suzie is a lifelong student first and continues to advance in the Iyengar system studying closely with her primary teacher and mentor, Senior Certified Teacher Jessica Becker, as well as Senior Certified Teachers Doerthe Braun, Marla Apt and many others. She has also studied directly with members of the Iyengar Family to whom she is eternally grateful. She honors their profound teachings that live on through Suzie and her students. Visit suziegoldstein.com for more information about Suzie.
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YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Kimberley Joy Bressem is an experienced Yoga Practitioner and Teacher with over 30 years of experience teaching weekly Restorative Yoga classes, Foundations classes, and Introductory Level Asana classes. Having earned her M.A. & C.A.G.S. from American International College, she attended the University of Massachusetts where she earned her BA in Psychology. Past studies with certified Iyengar Yoga teachers such as James Gleason CIYT, Susan Elena Escudero CIYT, Jean Stawarz CIYT, Suzy Goldstein, CIYT, and most recently Jessica Becker CIYT.
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YOGA INSTRUCTOR
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” -Jon Kabot-Zinn
Rebeca Allessi was a public school teacher for over 35 years and understands the importance of courage, balance, and compassion. She is currently the Social and Emotional Specialist for the Northampton Public Schools, bringing high schoolers together with elementary students to practice mindfulness, meditation, and yoga. She is a graduate of the 200 hour and 300 hour Karuna Teacher Trainings with additional certifications from Yoga Ed and Breathe for Change. Rebeca has been teaching yoga for over a dozen years and is inspired by the transformative power that yoga brings to people of all ages to regulate emotions and to find peace.
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YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Molly is a retired clinical social worker after 40 years in the profession, mostly in community mental health with folks with developmental disabilities. She has been practicing yoga off and on for nearly 50 years and is a great believer in body work of various kinds to promote both physical and mental health. She has taken multiple courses in meditation, primarily the Jon Kabit-Zinn Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, for nearly 40 years as a way to manage difficulties with anxiety. She was a regular yoga student of Suzie Goldstein for several years and ultimately followed her to Karuna after Covid. She took several classes with Paul Menard and was struck by his meditative approach which led her to try out the meditation class there in February, 2024. She has been a regular ever since and is honored to become a class leader 2+ years later. When not meditating or practicing yoga, she can be found hanging out with her two Siamese cats, gardening, hiking in the woods, strolling on the beach or just being in nature, preferably eating ice cream.
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MEDITATION LEADER
Scott came to Yoga in 2010 after an auto accident left him unable to walk without the aid of a cane. After practicing Yoga for a year, he was able to walk normally again and recognized the value of regular practice. Scott discovered Iyengar Yoga while on a business trip which led him to study at Karuna. He is grateful to study with Paul in the Iyengar tradition and enjoys leading meditation classes.
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MEDITATION LEADER
Yasmin has always been interested in personal growth, health, and well being. She pursued many avenues in this quest. Among them were years of running, strength and conditioning training, ballroom dance, Pilates, yoga, and a study of nutrition and organic gardening. Her first experience with yoga was a gentle, meditative style she practiced with teacher Dean Hudson, but he left teaching. And a career in engineering and other interests took her away from yoga. Years later, after a recovery from shoulder surgery, looking for a way to become active again, she came upon Paul Menard and Karuna. In this style of yoga she first was drawn to the attention to detail, and then found what had alluded her in previous physical pursuits. It was here that the quest for wellness took on a deeper meaning of transformation, growth, and a spiritual path to healing and fulfillment. In October 2018 she graduated from 200 hour teacher training and is excited to bring her love of yoga as a practice of body, breath, mind, and spirit to others. She is grateful for the the Karuna community where she continues on the path of healing, growth, and transformation
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5 ELEMENT SHIATSU PRACTITIONER
Michelle Eastman has been practicing yoga for over 20 years. She became a yoga teacher in 2014 and a Shiatsu practitioner in 2018. With many years of experience as an educator, she brings a thoughtful and grounded approach to her teachings, blending her love of learning with a curiosity about how our inner and outer resources—including technology—can be used more mindfully to create balance and well-being. A passionate hiker and nature lover, Michelle finds joy, clarity, and healing in the natural world—an inspiration she brings into all aspects of her practice. A lifelong learner, she explores ways to connect more deeply with the body and intuition. Recently, she has been inspired by Intuitive Meditation and the poetic teachings of The Radiance Sutras. She also enjoys creative writing as a way to access inner wisdom and expression. Michelle encourages students to flow with their own energy and to tap into inner power. Her offerings often include practices such as shaking, tapping, and intuitive movement—simple yet powerful tools that release tension, reset the nervous system, and support deeper connection with self and others.
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YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Grace Celi is a graduate of AllYoga's 200 hour Ashtanga-Vinyasa Teacher Training. Drawing from a background in modern, flamenco, and improvisational dance, Grace’s approach emphasizes finding freedom through alignment, and unity across body mind, and breath. Grace is also a current MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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CONSULTING DIRECTOR, E-RYT 500, YACEP, IAYT
Eileen Muir began her yoga training in 1969 at the age of 13. Her study of yoga led her to India, China, and Japan. She has been devoted to studying and teaching yoga since 1983 and practiced Vipassana Meditation for over 25 years. In 2004 she began doing Global Awareness Meditation with Adyashanti. Nisargardatta Maharaj and Adyashanti are her teachers. Nisargardatta Maharaj (1897-1981) taught Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism) in Mumbai Bombay, India. She believes Adyashanti is the living embodiment of his teachings.
In addition to being a Yoga Alliance certified teacher, Eileen is also an AOBTA-certified instructor of Shiatsu therapy and she teaches a year-long 200-hour teacher training program and a 300-hour advanced teacher training. Eileen’s teaching is infused with the passion and understanding that comes from her commitment to yoga as a spiritual path to relieve suffering. Each class is an exploration into stillness, moving from gross to subtle while gently penetrating the layers of our being. She brings compassion and vitality to her classes along with close attention to every student. A native of Scotland, Eileen also brings a lively Celtic spirit and humor to her teaching.
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COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Camryn is currently studying Media Arts Production at Emerson College in Boston. While he is no expert at yoga, he knows a few things about graphic design. He began to create graphic design pieces as a hobby, which eventually led to him working for Karuna and managing the artistic creations of advertisements, emails, social media posts, posters, & more. He enjoys nature, mindfulness, art, & movies. Camryn is extremely thankful to have the opportunity to work for Karuna while he is still a student.