Absolute Yoga - Hopkinton, Massachutes

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Meet the Absolute Yoga Staff

Kristine Maselli, R.Y.T. (Owner) is the founder and owner of Absolute Yoga. After years of teaching on a part-time basis, she took a leap of faith, resigned her position in corporate information technology, and pursued her passion in wellness and yoga by founding Absolute Yoga in 2001. Over the last six years, Kristine has built and evolved the studio into an environment where students of all fitness and experience levels feel comfortable practicing. As one of the few studios in the metro-west area, Kristine enjoys introducing yoga to new students as well as assisting current students to deepen their practice and take it to the next level.
Since 2001, Absolute Yoga has grown in leaps and bounds, with expansion in the number of students, instructors, modalities offered, and actual studio size. Currently, Kristine and eleven other expert instructors offer a wide range of classes in yoga and pilates for both adults and children. While there have been many exciting changes at Absolute Yoga, it remains place of community and a "home" for many to practice yoga. Watching her students and studio grow has been a tremendous source of happiness for Kristine.
Kristine is a Registered Yoga Teacher (R.Y.T.) through Yoga Alliance, is a member of Mass Yoga, and holds the AFAA Group Fitness and Personal Trainer Certifications, and PhysicalMind's Pilates Mat and YogaFit Level One's designations. She lives in Hopkinton with her husband and two daughters.

Alexandra De Collibus (Director) is a Certified Itsy Bitsy Yoga Facilitator who received her training directly from IBY Founder Helen Garabedian. In addition to sharing Itsy Bitsy Yoga with families in her community under the name "Sweet Pea Yoga", Alexandra continues to work with children in the classroom at the Montessori Children's House in Southborough. Alexandra has found that Itsy Bitsy Yoga and the Montessori philosophy are a natural fit as they both advocate an environment for children to learn at their own pace, according to their individual abilities while honoring their unique learning styles during this highly absorbent period in children's emotional, physical, cognitive and social development.
Prior to yoga, Alexandra worked for many years as a stage manager for theatre, dance, and opera on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theatres and national tours. Upon moving to Massachusetts, Alexandra began working as a stained glass restoration artist where she crafted and restored dozens of stained glass windows for churches across New England and Italy including several windows in the restoration project of Trinity Chruch in Boston. She has served on the Board of "In Hopkinton By Women" an alliance of women-owned businesses. Alexandra has studied traditional Hatha, Bikram, Ashtanga and Baptiste Power styles of yoga with several teachers in Massachusetts and New York.

Ellen Dougherty is a certified yoga instructor through FRA (Fitness Resource Associates, Inc.) where she studied under Judy Baker. She has practiced various styles of yoga for 16 years and incorporates her years of practice into an exciting blend of teaching styles for her students. Ellen teaches a vinyasa-flow yoga that incorporates Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Viniyoga. She currently teaches in Hopkinton, Westborough, and Southborough. She also volunteered as a yoga instructor at Hopkinton's Serenity House. Ellen is a mother of two and previously worked as a systems analyst.

Donna Onacki is certified in Pilates Mat through the Physical Mind Institute of NY and is currently pursuing her Pilates reformer certification with Stott Pilates NE as well as a national Pilates Certification. Donna's background in dance and exercise goes back to a very young age. She studied dance with the Nutmeg Ballet and Hartford Ballet Companies in CT, and later with the Jeanette Neal and MJT Dance Companies in Boston. In 1985 she became aerobics certified and in 1996 became a certified personal trainer through AFAA. Donna was responsible for the fitness program at Assumption College where she worked with students, faculty, and alumni doing fitness testing and designing individual fitness programs. While there, she also worked with Residence Life doing nutrition, fitness, and body image workshops, and taught workshops for sports teams to develop more effective weight training techniques. Donna has been studying Pilates over 12 years ago under the guidance of Tammy Plaxico founder of Body Mind Balance, Worcester.

Deb Newman has been practicing yoga for over a decade. She studied with Diane and John Featherstone of Frog Pond Yoga in Princeton, MA where she certified in hatha yoga. She spends much of her spare time at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health Services where she re-energizes and continues to develop and add to her own practice and her teaching. She has studied with Ana Forrest, Rodney Yee, Baron Baptiste, Patricia Walden, Shiva Rea and others in continuing education opportunities at the annual Yoga Journal Conference, as well. Deb enjoys travel that embraces yoga opportunities and practiced yoga in Dublin during this past summer's trip. She has traveled to Samasati Nature Retreat Center in Costa Rica and practiced this ancient art in the rainforest, surrounded by monkeys and exotic birds. Deb brings an openhearted, playful style of yoga to her classes. As a full-time high school English teacher, she finds the practice and sharing of yoga adds joy to her professional and personal life and says she can't imagine life without the gift of yoga.

Amy Harper is a certified yoga instructor through FRA (Fitness Resource Associates, Inc.) and certified children's yoga instructor through Garden of Healing under Maureen Spencer. She has practiced various styles of yoga for 10 years including Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Viniyoga. She currently teaches in Hopkinton, Brookline and Boston. She has 26 years of dance experience in Ballet and Jazz and has taught dance classes for children and adults.

Jaime Brault has completed numerous Yogafit Teacher Trainings, including Prenatal and Senior Yoga. She has taken classes taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Baron Baptiste, and many other wonderful and inspiring teachers in Massachusetts and New York. In her classes, Jaime focuses on the yoga behind the poses such as the breath and mind/body connection. Her personal yoga practice has inspired many aspects of her life from her health and fitness to her parenting and relationships. Since she began her teacher training, sharing her passion for yoga has become a passion in itself. Jaime lives in Milford with her husband and 1 ½ year old son.

Kim Erickson, R.Y.T. completed her yoga training at Central Mass Yoga Institute. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (200 hour) through Yoga Alliance and has been studying and practicing various styles of yoga for seven years. She comes to yoga with a background in dance and her passion for yoga began when she first took a class for lower back pain. She continued her studies in Los Angeles where she lived for several years. Her teaching goal is to allow students to discover their own inner strength and confidence through their practice. She incorporates a strong knowledge of alignment and sequencing to ensure safety while allowing students to develop to their full capacity in the posture. Kim currently lives in Natick and works as a Training specialist in the software industry.

Annika Nilsson-Ripps (to be posted soon)

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