I was born in York, Pennsylvania, moving with my four siblings to Willingboro, New Jersey, when I was not but a year old. There I lived until the age of 10, when we came to the Pocono Mountains - Stroudsburg specifically. Upon arriving in the little town I began attending a gymnastics program at the local YMCA, my first taste of being taught to move my body. It was a whole new world for me, and, as I look back, I know that I knew then that this is what I would do, in one way or another, for the rest of my life. I remained a gymnast until my junior year of high school.

During my sophomore year of high school I began taking fitness classes at a little aerobic studio and it was not long before I was begging to teach. The owner took me under her wing and trained me, knowing that I would need to be 18 before I could receive any formal training, and I began teaching with her at the age of 15. I studied her training literature and there my interest in exercise physiology and biology began to grow. Promptly at the age of 18, I received my first certification to teach fitness from AFAA ( The Aerobic and Fitness Association of America ). In the years that followed I taught aerobics, got certified as a personal trainer and nutrition consultant, and became an avid runner. In 1989 I was asked to teach some classes at Deerfield Manor Spa & Retreat Center  in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania, and it was there in 1990 that I took on my first appointment as a Group Fitness Director . I managed a small staff of 4 teachers and a class schedule that consisted of about 30 classes a week. My students were transient, visiting the spa for a week at a time, and a lot of them were either seniors or very overweight. It was my experience here that, up until that point, was the most gratifying for, though I was young (20) and fit, I had a great connection to and understanding of this population. You see, my own mother was extremely overweight my whole life and had always battled with her health and well-being . We were very close and she inspired me to reach out and help those who struggled with health and well-being . I worked for Deerfield for three years.

For the next several years I worked as a model and moved around quite a bit, so I taught classes and worked as a personal trainer, or in the fitness industry wherever I lived, maintaining certifications and attending workshops relevant to my work.

After marrying my husband, Don, in 1995 and having a couple of babies I found work as a Group Fitness Director once again at Work Out Plus in Easton. Here I worked for 2 and 1/2 years.  From there I moved on to the same position at a "bigger, better" place at the Hatfield Athletic Club in Bucks County. I stayed there for over a year, but chose to resign after the birth of my third child.

It was then that  I began taking Yoga classes at Yoga & Health in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and fell in love with the Bikram style of Yoga. I had taken some Yoga classes in my travels and enjoyed them, but nothing moved me the way Bikram's series of intense, challenging postures did. I studied the system and began teaching in a local gym. Within a year I was asked by an acquaintance if I would be interested in teaching at a new little studio that was beginning classes in downtown Easton. I jumped at the chance to get out of the gym atmosphere and into a real Yoga studio! It was at the studio that I began to learn about other styles of Hatha Yoga.

I helped to get the studio really rolling in February of 2002 and was asked to act as a partner/owner. I directed the four class per week schedule (with only that many students showing weekly! ) to a 14 class schedule with an average of about 120 students per week. It was marvelous and I was certain I had landed just where I belonged. I have since left what is now Easton Yoga to pursue an enterprise that is more inviting to families, and all of the people of the Lehigh Valley, here at Olde Mill Yoga & Wellness Center.

I have turned my attention and love for Yoga from the hardcore, "hot" Yoga styles to a style of Yoga very different from those. Svaroopa®! Oh, Svaroopa® Yoga. It is the stuff that will change the world!

After finishing a Hatha Yoga teacher training in 2004, I am currently training with Rama Berch and her fine staff of teacher trainers to become a CSYT
(Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher). Though the curriculum is long and intense - it will probably take me a couple of years to complete - I  look forward to each training!! You can visit www.masteryoga.org to find out more about Svaroopa® Yoga! 

With four small children at home, the work of operating this business, and the next years with Svaroopa® teacher training, I will surely be challenged with running and operating Olde Mill - but we are so enjoying our time that I would think of doing nothing else! The changes that Yoga has brought into the Johnson family's life are priceless and I trust in the power of all of it. I hope to instill in my students that same kind of trust - in themselves as well as in the world around them.

"Live well, and you will Be well"
 

Jennifer Hahalis
 

Kathleen’s natural compassion for people and deep love of God has led her to share her most beloved teachings and learning experiences. What she shares has shaped her life in very powerful ways and her hope is to pass this gift on to other women.

She mentors women as a spiritual and holistic life coach, leads women’s groups and teaches meditative yoga. She is a certified Yoga teacher.

Her training in Yoga and Ayurvedic Principles she attributes to Ketul of Rasa Yoga, Leslie Kaminoff of the Breathing Project and Advanced Yoga Teacher training at Yogaworks.

Her spiritual teaching has come from a great number of teachers, the most prominent one being Life itself.
 

Mari was first introduced to yoga in early 2006 as a result of a friend asking her for months to join her in a class at Olde Mill Yoga.  Being an athlete, Mari’s first thoughts were, “No way am I doing that stuff”.  Well to quiet her friend she decided to take just one class.  So she took her first weekend warrior Vinyasa class.  Because it was strenuous and felt like a workout, Mari felt that it would be a great way to get back into shape and maybe relieve some of the extreme back pain she was dealing with for years.

After taking 3 Vinyasa classes, Mari was introduced to her first Svaroopa® yoga class.  It was almost immediate that she felt the benefits not only physically, but mentally as well.

She began taking every Svaroopa® yoga class she could - about three a week - and could not believe the relief she felt in her body. She had pain free days for the first time in over a year! Friends, family and co-workers could not help but comment on her happy healthy appearance, and life as she knew it was changed forever!

Within six months she decided to complete the Svaroopa® Yoga Foundations course to deepen her practice. The Foundations course allows it's graduates to teach hatha yoga in the Svaroopa® style. In October of 2006 she taught her first class and immediately knew she wanted to share the benefits of Svaroopa® Yoga with everyone she can. 

Mari has recently completed Week One of Svaroopa® Yoga's Teacher Training Program and plans to complete Week Two by the end of 2007. Completing Week Two will give Mari her 200 hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) status, and leave her with four other installations to complete for her 500 hour RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) certification. This training is a long process, and the education teachers receive is tremendous.

The benefits of this practice continue to be profound and simply amazing to Mari.  She  never would have imagined that doing something so simple and delightful would create such relief physically and mentally.

Mari is a Purchasing  and planning manager for a  Pharmaceutical company in New Jersey.  She loves to garden and be outdoors any chance she gets, and Olde Mill is grateful to have her as a part of their family.
 

Donald Johnson, BMOC
 

"If I were any better, there'd have to be two of me!"