Our Team

Jennifer Smeddy began her yoga journey looking for a way to quiet her mind and assist with her anxiety. She found solace in yoga and has a thirst to help others learn the benefits of yoga; helping your mind, body and spirit. Her formal yoga training occurred in India where she received her YTT. While living in India, she studied traditional Hatha yoga and the yogic sciences. Jennifer has experience teaching Hatha, restorative, yin and chair yoga asanas, pranayama, and meditation. Yoga has shown Jennifer how to approach life in an open and honest way. With yoga in her life she is able to achieve a sense of ease and acceptance she never thought possible. Choosing this yogic path has changed her life completely and left her more accepting of herself and the nature of reality than she ever thought possible. Her life has transformed because of her daily yoga practice and she is excited to help others on their yoga journey with Leading Yoga.

Shalyni is a NY State Licensed Psychotherapist, Certified Life Coach, Registered Yoga / Meditation Teacher, Sound Vibration Facilitator, Reiki Practitioner, and a Singer.

Shalyni felt a calling at a young age to share her presence and her voice to help those in distress. She believes it is her mission to inspire peace in others. She currently works full time providing psycho-therapy at a private practice group. Additionally, she offers meditation, yoga, and sound vibration sessions in various NYC locations.

Angela is a mom of 3 kids. She gained a lot of weight after her last child and was looking for a fun way to lose weight. She joined her local gym and attended a Zumba class and instantly fell in love with Zumba. After joining 1 year in the gym, she lost over 40 lbs. Zumba is her favorite group fitness class, not only did it help her physically, it also helped her mentally. Angela gained a lot of confidence and feel so much happier since. She gets to meet amazing people around her in her classes. So she decided that shewant to bring this happiness to others. After she got her Zumba license 2 years ago, she also obtained her Zumba toning, Zumba gold, Zumba Kids licenses. She is also an AFAA certified group fitness instructor.

Ethel is a yoga and meditation instructor with over 700+ hours of yoga training under her belt. She is also a certified doula, prenatal yoga, art and dance facilitator. Ethel loves to be creative in her offerings incorporating a variety of styles of yoga, meditation and movement. She empowers everyone through her teachings to nurture that precious mind-body connection.

As a means to balance professional and personal life, Malathi took to Yoga. She fell in love with the art of yoga and further went on to become a certified yoga teacher from The Yoga School NY and advanced training from KYM, India.

Andrea Baykir is a 200hr Yoga Instructor, Chopra Center Certified Meditation Instructor, and Revelation Breathwork Facilitator. She currently teaches Meditation, Yoga, and Breath to women online who are experiencing overwhelm, impatience in their relationships with their children and partners, self-judgment and criticism, and disconnected from what it is that their hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits need. Andrea is also a former Elementary School Teacher and also supports children in building emotional resilience through mindfulness, breath and meditation.

Azure started practicing yoga as a child and has been certified to teach yoga and meditation to adults and children since 2014. She is passionate about helping students connect to their inner peace and power. Azure has taught mindfulness to children in public and private schools across all 5 boroughs of NYC. She has organized classes for adults in workplaces and community centers as well as taught in studios and private homes. Azure believes that powerful benefits and big changes can come from simple beginning steps.

Abinaya is a yoga practitioner & registered yoga teacher specializing in Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Pre & Postnatal, Restorative, Yin, Prop, and Chair yoga. She is currently training in Yoga Therapy. She was introduced to yoga as a kid, with her base being Hatha yoga. She has been leading online and in-person sessions for all age groups, adults and kids, for over 5 years. She absolutely loves what she does.

Natalya is a yoga instructor certified in power yoga and restorative yoga. She enjoys teaching a combination of styles with a focus on pranayama that allows her students to feel their strength and release excess energy so they can drop into nourishing stillness and explore the peace of being present in their bodies. She believes that each person is their own best teacher and offers her students guidance to help them learn to listen to their body and understand how to give it what it truly needs. She has been practicing yoga since she was a child and teaching yoga since 2019. She has taught hot yoga, restorative yoga, yin yoga, power yoga, and combinations of these practices in group and individual settings both online and in person.

Hegulka is a registered yoga teacher and has been leading in-person and online sessions for over 8 years. She enjoys helping people from diverse backgrounds create an enriching and sustainable yoga practice. Her approach aims to be welcoming for every-body and she strives to make her instructions adaptable to the needs of participants. She completed her Vinyasa training at Three Sisters Yoga and then Gentle/Hatha training at Alchemy Yoga Therapy. Her offerings include practical guidance that folks can use in daily life, such as relaxed breathing, mindful movement, and guided meditation. She is currently a Yoga Therapist in-training.

Jesse has been working in the health and wellness industry for over 20 years. She has worked in therapeutic settings, health clubs, schools, and nonprofits. After experiencing the sense of strength, support, and peace that yoga brought to her life as a student, Jesse decided to become a yoga teacher to help others connect with all that yoga has the potential to give. A graduate of the Prancing Peacock yoga 200-hour teacher training program and a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance (RYT-200), Jesse also has a master’s degree (MPH) in health education and behavioral science. Ever on a quest to inspire others to heal, and to live healthier and more fulfilling lives, Jesse is currently studying to complete her RYT-500 certification and become a yoga therapist.

Hannah is a registered yoga instructor who has taught many in-person and online classes since 2018. She is passionate about teaching classes that feel accessible to students of any age, size, or strength level. She intentionally offers many modifications and sequences that give students the freedom to explore their individual practice in a judgement-free environment.

Holly Raymond has been teaching for over 20 years. As a wife and mom of 2 kids, she started taking yoga many years ago. She enjoyed the practice and added it as part of her classes where she was teaching dance at a local high school. After changes in the economy lead to Holly transitioning into teaching physical education, she continued to use yoga with her classes as she found the students were receptive to the practice. Holly has been teaching physical education online for over 7 years, and added yoga in live online lessons with her students to help them meet the physical fitness component of the course. She earned her 200 hour yoga teaching certificate, which included a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) facilitator certificate, and has incorporated SEL and meditation to content-specific live lessons as well as within the yoga practice. Students have shared that the yoga practice and SEL/meditation practices have helped them reduce anxiety, control anger, and improve focus. Holly teaches trauma-informed yoga as well as other yoga forms, and, due to the positive responses, she is excited to bring her teaching outside the classroom.