Meet our Teachers
Savitri Atma Kaur E-RYT 500, YACEP, Founder of Ananda Breathwork, Sound Healing Practicioner, Owner
Savitri Atma Kaur is a 500 HR Experienced Registered Yoga Instructor and practitioner. Born and raised in Southeast Missouri. She has spent years working on Spiritual Development and has brought new ways of practicing yoga to the Cape Girardeau Community. Savitri is passionate and creative about sharing her knowledge of Yoga and Meditation. She has extensive training in many different styles of yoga, Including Hatha, Yin, Restorative, Vinyasa, Trauma Informed Yoga, and Yoga for addiction and behavioral health. Savitri is a Certified Kundalini Teacher through Kundalini University, studying with Guru Singh. Savitri has also spent years studying the healing vibrations of Sound. She loves to incorporate Healing instruments in all of her classes. She also offers sensational Sound Healings with Gongs, Singing Bowls, and other instruments. She believes in the power of Yoga, Sound and Meditation and its ability to promote mental, emotional, spiritual health and well-being. Her favorite style of Yoga teach/practice is Kundalini Yoga. She has spent years studying Kundalini Yoga in El Paso, TX before her teaching endeavors began. Her Kundalini journey has transformed her spiritually, physically, and mentally. In her classes you will experience a dynamic mixture of Movement, Pranayama, Mantra, Meditation, and Sound. Savitri's purpose is to facilitate a sacred space for growth and contemplation of all facets of the self.
Maggie Salem MA, RYT 500, NCC, PLPC Administrative Assistant
Maggie Salem has practiced yoga since 2017. She completed both her 200 and 300 hour yoga teacher trainings here at Yoga East and has been teaching since July of 2020. Maggie's passion is making yoga accessible to anyone who thinks they can't do it. She is known for using props and modifications, making her classes unique, and bringing out her bubbly personality in her teaching style. Her goal as a teacher is to help guide every student toward feeling empowered in their body, mind, and soul.
In addition to teaching at Yoga East, Maggie also teaches a monthly kid's yoga class at the Cape Girardeau Public Library every First Friday at 11am. She was a music educator for the last 10 years and loves bringing the practice of yoga and its teachings to children as well as adults.
Jennifer Gardner, RYT 500
Jennifer Gardner has practiced yoga since 2011. After completing her 200 hour training at Yoga East in 2019, she continued her training to become 500 hour certified. She also has specialized certifications for Meditation, Yin Yoga, and Relax and Renew® Level1 Restorative Yoga with Judith Hanson Lasater. Jennifer is currently working to complete her Prenatal Yoga teacher training. Her love of learning is driven by her desire to deepen her understanding of the sacred, traditional practice.
Jennifer enjoys helping students find the physical and mental balance, on and off the yoga mat. Though she teaches a variety of yoga styles, sharing her love of Restorative Yoga is her passion. She also offers Private Yoga Sessions upon request.
“It is an honor to pass along what I have learned from other teachers and from my personal practice. I have deep respect for every person’s journey; we are all companions on the path. My job is not to help you “perfect your pose”, it is to help you cultivate a union between strength and ease, and then to sink into the beauty of rest.” -Jennifer
Cherish Petry RYT-200
Cherish Petry recently completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at Yoga East where she discovered a community of people who share her passion to live purposefully. She has been a practicing yogi since 2010 and deeply desires to help individuals pursue physical and mental wellbeing through the practice of yoga. Cherish strives toward cultivating all-around wellness within her own being in harmony with both her community and the natural world and aspires to encourage others to do so as well. Both as a teacher and a student, she seeks to continually embody a mindset of growth, fostering light and love from within that radiates out from her mat into all areas of life.
Sue (Greenwood) Nesler M.S., M.A., E-RYT 500,
C-IAYT, NCC, LPC, Director of Advanced Education
Sue (Greenwood) Nesler is a registered yoga instructor with Yoga Alliance and a Certified Yoga Therapist who has been teaching yoga for over 25 years. Sue holds degrees in psychology, rehabilitation administration and mental health counseling. Sue is a nationally certified counselor and practices in Missouri. Sue weaves yoga and mental health therapies together to create a holistic, safe, and brave space for students and clients to explore the deepest and greatest parts of themselves. She specializes in yoga Therapeutics and traditional flow practices on the mat; and healing trauma, decreasing anxiety, and life transitions in the chair. Sue also specializes in women’s health across the board.
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Sara E. McNeil, MA, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, YACEP, Reiki Master, MTT Program Director
Sara E. McNeil, E-RYT 200, YACEP, and RYT-500 completed her RYT-200 training with certification in 2014-2015. McNeil was certified as a Relax and Renew® Level 1 trainer in May 2017 by Judith Hanson Lasater. On December 15, 2019, McNeil was awarded her RYT-500 certificate after graduating from Yoga East's 300-hour RYT program, which she attended from August 9, 2018-December 15, 2019. Her teachers were Sue Nesler, Judy Grier, and Robin Drury,
McNeil enjoys working with private clients and teaching Yoga Philosophy, Lifestyle, and Ethics in the 200-hour YTT program at Yoga East Healing Arts Studio. Areas of interest include but are not limited to philosophy, ethics, Hindu mythology and cosmology, Sanskrit, Tantra, Hatha yoga, Yin yoga, Chakra and subtle body yoga, Restorative yoga, the neuroscience of yoga and meditation, Taoism, Buddhism, religious studies in general, and all of the above as they appear in artistic representation, both ancient and modern.
McNeil also leads Yoga East's 60-hour Meditation Teacher Training program, where she provides an eight-week, 20-hour introduction to Eastern meditation history, methods, and techniques. She also is a certified Usui Reiki I practitioner.
Robin Drury E-RYT 500, YACEP
Robin’s yoga teacher journey began in 2009, when she received her first Yoga Fit certification. She has been teaching yoga in the Cape Girardeau area for more than ten years. In her own words, “Having enjoyed the many benefits of a yoga practice personally, I had a deep desire to share those benefits with others. That’s what motivated me to become a yoga teacher.” She has more than 3,000 hours of experience teaching yoga classes, workshops, and trainings. She invites every student to breathe, relax, and bring the mind and body back to balance. Robin has focused her advanced yoga education on a subject matter close to her heart, helping those suffering with depression and anxiety as well as those dealing with trauma. She has completed 40 hours of training in Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TSY) with Dave Emerson and special guest Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She is in the process of completing the 800-hour yoga therapy program offered by Inner Peace Yoga Therapy. She is also an accredited Level I trainer in Restorative Yoga by Judith Hanson Lasater. Robin Drury also works as a lead trainer for Yoga East Healing Arts Studio’s 200-hour yoga teacher training program.
Jamie Hazard RYT-500, Certified Meditation Teacher, Certified Pranayama Teacher
Jamie Hazard has been practicing yoga since 2017, and teaching since 2021. She sees yoga as a never-ending learning experience, and is a firm believer that a regular yoga practice can improve mental and emotional awareness. Her interests include the philosophy of yoga, and how yoga affects the brain and nervous systems.
Tori Mincemeyer MS, RD, RYT-200
Tori Mincemeyer is a registered dietitian with an M.S. in Nutrition and Exercise Science and a 200-hr registered yoga teacher. It is her passion to help individuals gain clarity and confidence by reconnecting with their core values and carrying them out with intention. She believes yoga is a powerful tool in the journey of self-awareness that leads to a purposeful life, and loves being able to share that as part of her career.