Instructors

The foundation of our studio rests with our skilled instructors, who offer a wide variety of experience and instruction to our students.

Mary Proietta

Mary Proietta

Mary Proietta started practicing yoga when she relocated to Rhode Island in the early 1990s. From the beginning of her yoga journey, she became aware of the profound benefits of a regular yoga practice. She has been a student of the Bristol Yoga Studio from its beginning and is grateful to be part of this community. In 2015, she entered the Hatha Yoga Teacher Training taught by Theresa Murphy and completed her 200 Hour RYT in 2018. Yoga teaching has become an integral part of her life. Her classes are for all levels and are usually theme based with principles of yogic philosophy in mind. If you are a beginner or longtime yoga practitioner, there is a place for you to explore, feel, breath, sense healing vibrations and enhance your practice. Mary's classes always begin with centering/meditation, then followed by pranayama, and asana. She encourages her students to open their hearts and mind to all the possibilities yoga has to offer. Modifications and alignments tips are offered in every class. Your yoga, Your Practice is always honored in each class. In addition to teaching yoga, Mary is also a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist with a private practice in Bristol. She lives in Bristol with her husband Joe and their dog Charlie.

Kate Hawley

Kate Hawley’s practice of meditation and yoga began more than 20 years ago. As a kinesthetic learner, moving into stillness is often a profound process for her. Kate came to yoga for the asana and stayed for the transformation - the equanimity, contentment, and growing awareness of the ineffable interconnection of everything. These experiences are here for all of us, with practice, and she wants to share this with you, if you choose. Kate began teaching when she earned her vinyasa certification through Tom Gillette at Eyes of the World in 2004. Since then she has become certified as a yoga therapist through the School of Phoenix Rising, a Little Flower Children’s Yoga teacher, and an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant through the American Institute of Vedic Studies. She lives by the ever-flowing water in Bristol with her sculptor husband.

Janet Johnson

Janet Johnson completed her yoga teacher training at Grace Yoga in North Kingstown, RI. She was one of the first regular students at Bristol Yoga Studio, and is grateful to be part of such a warm and sustaining community. Yoga has taught her to listen to her body and quiet her mind, and she hopes to support her students in doing the same. Janet also appreciates the scholarly side of yoga, as she is an Associate Professor of Secondary Education at Rhode Island College. Her teaching, research and service focus on teaching for social justice, and she has found parallels between this work and her yoga studies. She also enjoys running and has completed three marathons and numerous shorter races. Janet lives with her husband and cat in Bristol.

Angela Goulart

Angela Goulart has been practicing Prana Flow© Yoga since 2009. In the Spring of 2014, she completed her 200 hour teacher training at Laughing Elephant Yoga in East Greenwich. Integrating the principles of Prana Flow© with the basic tenets of teaching she has learned in ten years as a middle school science teacher, Angela builds her practices to meet each student where they are, encouraging each student to invite breath and movement into their bodies at their own comfort level. When not in school or on her mat, Angela enjoys running as a meditative practice. She resides in Bristol with her husband and their dog.

Tracy Ramos

Tracy is the director of Bristol Yoga Studio and teaches all levels asana classes and prenatal yoga classes. She also works with clients in a one on one setting to help students deepen in their understanding and application of yoga. In 2014, Tracy completed her 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification, under the direction of Theresa Murphy. Tracy completed her initial teacher training at Innerlight Center for Yoga and Meditation in Middletown, Rhode Island in 2006. She is also trained in pre- and post-natal yoga, Foundations of Svaroopa(R) Yoga and is studying Theresa Murphy's Yin-Yasa Program. She is a firm believer in the power of Ayurveda as tool to merge with any devoted yogi's practice. Tracy's yoga classes are heavily influenced by her many teachers and her own practice and continually evolving personal experience and understanding of yoga and its richness. In addition to her yoga work, Tracy is a hotel real estate consultant and instructor with eCornell.com. She holds a Bachelor's degree in hotel real estate from Cornell University, and lives in Bristol with her husband, two children, and dog. Read a review of Tracy's class from The Bay Magazine Read Tracy's article on RhodyFitness.com Read Tracy's "This I Believe" Essay on the Bristol-Warren Patch or Listen to her read it from the Rhode Island NPR archives. Tracy is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-5oo and E-RYT-200) and a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT) through Yoga Alliance, indicating that she has completed substantial training and has over 1,000 hours of teaching experience.

Victoria Lally

Victoria is a 200 hour certified vinyasa instructor. She completed her yoga teacher training with Coral Brown through All That Matters Yoga & Holistic Health Center in Wakefield, RI. She began her personal practice in 2009 initially for the physical benefits but it was the opportunity to explore the mind-body connection and cultivate a moving mindfulness practice that has kept her coming back to the mat each day. Her classes are carefully sequenced to provide students the opportunity to be present in their bodies by linking breath with both movement and stillness. She encourages all students to tap into their intuition and move in a way that is supportive and sustainable. By cultivating a practice of compassion and awareness on the mat, yoga has helped Victoria to find balance in her life off of the mat and she hopes her classes inspire you to do the same.

Melissa Clark

An inspiring instructor with abundant trainings and certifications under her belt, Melissa offers her own delicately crafted class, The Reset. Through breath awareness, slow movements & gentle stretching, enjoy a flow that befriends your nervous system and leaves you feeling grounded and connected.

Amelia Bissett

Amelia spreads her passion for life through creative and transformative yoga meditative instruction. She has been teaching in a variety of diverse venues for more than 15 years. While teaching yoga, she noted the transformative healing and acceptance in her students lives physically, emotionally and practically. Her curiosity on the process piqued her interest to learning more about yoga as medicine. This journeyed her path to yoga therapy. So that she is never far from being available for those 'ah ha' juicy yoga moments, she comes to her own mat daily from the view of beginning student. "After all these hours of study and effort", she says "I know to let go and let be. I am That". Amelia is a Professional Level 500-hour Kripalu Yoga Instructor and a Phoenix Rising YogaTherapist with over 650+ hours certification, and is a member of KYTA, IAYT.

Mary Savitri Guerenabarrena

Mary Savitri Guerenabarrena is an Ayurvedic Consultant and Yoga Educator and owner of Being Ayurveda. Savitri Sarasvati Yogini (Mary Guerenabarrena) has been an Ayurvedic Practitioner and Yoga Educator for over 10 years. Her work combines Ayurvedic counseling, yoga, nutrition, herbal remedies, and mantra & meditation to assist each client in bringing deep healing to their body, mind, and soul. She leads several Ayurvedic Workshops & Trainings each year. Mary has over 2,500 hours of professional training, most recently studying with Dr. David Frawley and Yogini Shambhavi in India, Canada and Germany – Healing Ayurveda, Mantra Yoga and Shakti Sadhana. She is a graduate of The Kripalu School of Ayurveda in Lenox, MA, and is a professional member of National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) and the Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America, Inc (AAPNA). Mary has also served on the Board of the Rishi Center in Newport, Rhode Island. She is a Cho Dan (Black Belt) in Tang Soo Do Mi Guk Kwan.

Jeannie Records

Jeannie grew up in North Kingstown, RI where she was first introduced to yoga. Jeannie is a registered Kripalu Yoga Instructor. Jeannie focuses on the exploration of breath with movement and the calming affects that may arise. Through deep restorative poses she encourages nonjudgmental awareness of self and others. She has a background in Hatha Yoga with exposure to various paths of yoga. Jeannie believes that yoga is for everyone and she strives to create a class that is conducive to learning for people from all walks of life. In her spare time Jeannie is a student of the martial art Aikido and loves to learn languages. She currently works full time as a Google Advertising Account Manager for George Patton Associates, Inc. (aka Displays2Go) in Bristol, RI.