balanced | YOGA ... About Us

Our instructors will take you beyond the edges of your comfort zones and set the stage for new experiences. We are proud to have the following instructors on staff at Balanced Yoga.

Donna Winters’ compassion for individuals living with serious illnesses has always been a primary influence in her career. After graduating from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology (minor in psychology), and completing graduate-level courses in human anatomy/physiology and cardiac function, she worked as a radiation oncology administrator. Donna went on to work, for fifteen years, facilitating major changes in the lives of individuals by helping them develop the skills to quit smoking, manage stress, and communicate effectively. This work focused on the philosophical integration of the physical, psychological and spiritual realms. As Donna began to incorporate this integrated philosophy into her own life, she was led down her own personal yoga path.

Donna has studied yoga with Tracy Rich and Ganga White of the White Lotus Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA, where she completed her yoga teacher certification. Tracy and Ganga are known for their eclectic and non-dogmatic approach to yoga, with a philosophy and style that empowers the individual on their own path of inquiry. Many others have had an encouraging influence, including studies with Rodney Yee and Donna Farhi, and Donna’s desire is to share their wisdom with others.

Donna has been teaching yoga in the Columbus area since 1999, and currently shares her experience at her own studio, balancedYOGA.

She often travels to San Diego to visit her son, Jeff.

Om Shanti

Julia McSheffery Combining a strong understanding of the body’s structure and systems as well as offering extensive experience and skill in yoga and its therapeutic potential, Julia provides her students the opportunity to easily understand and incorporate yoga practices into their lives in a meaningful way. Originally interested in yoga as a means of recouping some of the flexibility she lost because of sport rock climbing, Julia quickly realized the benefits of yoga and its healing of injury and illness in her own life. Besides being a degree in exercise science, Julia is also a certified yoga teacher and is registered with the Yoga Alliance as a yoga therapy teacher (500-hour level, Shiva Shakti Synthesis with Janice George) and as a teacher of vinyasa flow (200-hour level, White Lotus Foundation with Ganga White and Tracy Rich). Julia has also completed a 108-hour Anusara Yoga immersion (with Todd Norian and Ann Greene.) In addition to these certifications, Julia is thankful for her training with David Swenson, Shiva Rea, Donna Farhi, Amy Weintraub, Elise Browning Miller, Judith Lasater, and Tom Myers. Her experience includes teaching various levels of yoga at McConnell Heart Health Center, the OSU Center for Integrative Medicine, Balanced Yoga, Columbus State Community College and other Columbus locations. Julia is a member of the Internation Association of Yoga Therapists, www.iayt.org.

Beaker Prince M.A., RYT has been exploring the body-mind connection since 1996 through the disciplines of Hatha Yoga, Contact Improvisation, and the Alexander Technique. From 1999-2002 she studied with teachers from the Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, California and their knowledge of form and alignment awakened her enjoyment of the practice and her desire to teach. Her interests in the body-mind connection led her to Columbus to pursue a Master’s degree the Somatic (bodymind) Studies program at OSU, where she began teaching yoga in 2002. She was certified in 2005 from the Integrative Yoga Teacher Training Program under the guidance of Janice George in Columbus, and completed an advanced (500hr) training with Janice George in 2007. She continues to study the therapeutic and somatic aspects of yoga, and is grateful to be able to connect through her teaching with diverse populations of adults, children, and seniors.

Beaker offers herself as a teacher with the intention of giving people tools for authentic well-being in their yoga practice and in daily life. Her classes are designed to guide students away from their habitual tension patterns and towards mindfulness, self-knowledge, deeper understanding of anatomy, and heightened enjoyment of the moving body. Beaker believes in the power of yoga to connect us both to ourselves and to community. With attentiveness, kindness, and gentle humor, she invites students to co- create a warm, inclusive, accessible space for practice and learning.

Anne Comarda first discovered yoga in 1999. Since then her yoga path has lead her to explore several styles of yoga, such as Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Hatha, all of which have benefited her immensely. However, it was during an Anusara workshop with Todd Norian in 2005 that yoga truly became a transformative power in her life. The life-affirming philosophy of Anusara as well as its focus on physical alignment transformed not only her physical practice, but her life as well. Having experienced yoga as a powerful healing modality in her own life, Anne decided to leave a career in the field of social work and devote herself full time to the art of teaching yoga. Anne is a certified yoga instructor through Todd Norian’s Anusara Teacher Training program (2006).

Anne’s classes focus on cultivating mindfulness through attention to breath and alignment. Her teaching style is heavily influenced by Anusara alignment principles, which are taught within a flowing sequence of postures. She welcomes the opportunity to work with all levels of students. While encouraging students to embrace their yoga journey, Anne compassionately offers modifications as well as opportunities to go further in the physical practice.

Anne is grateful to have the opportunity as a yoga teacher to not only guide her students, but also learn from them as they explore their own yoga path. She is eager to help light the way as students open to and deepen their connection with the wisdom and beauty of their own consciousness.

Alex Ferm spent seven years studying the martial art Tang Soo Do before receiving a black belt from the World Tang So Do association in 1995. In the martial arts she discovered strength, discipline, and focus in mind and body. She continued her practice until her enrollment in The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she found her inspiration and belief that each of us houses a divine force of creativity that seeks unique expression.

After graduation, she found yoga in a beach house on the New Jersey shore. She and her childhood friends spent a year in New Jersey, painting, writing, and teaching themselves yoga out of an old book. They did shoulder stands and head stands on the rooftop with their toes stretching to the sky.

After a bit of beach-house-hopping Alex found herself in Cincinnati where she discovered an Ashtanga studio down the street. She quickly became a dedicated student discovering that there were yet more regions of consciousness to explore. In 2005 she received her 200 hour teacher training certification from "It's Yoga" Cincinnati. She took to teaching quickly and naturally. Drawing on her roots in the martial and creative arts Alex seeks to create a lighthearted and playful atmosphere in the classroom where her students can play the edges of strength and surrender in a safe and supportive environment. Alex encourages her students to find their own expression through the practice of yoga, constructing new habits of thought and movement that will extend beyond the yoga mat.

Kari Djuve has been studying yoga for the past 11 years, training in various forms of yoga including hatha, kundalini, ashtanga and vinyasa. She received her first teaching certification in 2004 from the Diane Wilson yoga school in Portland, Oregon. In 2008 she completed a Yoga Alliance certification with the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in France. Kari recently spent 6 months in Paris where she studied vinyasa yoga with Gerard Arnaud whose inventive and precise flow sequences influenced her current approach to vinyasa yoga. Kari is forever grateful to her long-time teacher Diane Wilson who inspired a creative style of teaching and living. Kari has a background in psychology and fine arts. She has an active studio painting practice that informs her yoga practice, and she considers both painting and yoga to be systems of meditation that allow one to work through change. Kari loves to explore new ways of seeing, whether in her paintings or asana practice, and brings a sense of adventure, innovation, and humor to her teaching.

Elaine Torrie first found Yoga in 2000 as a means of stretching out tight muscles from bike riding, aerobics, and free weights. Her practice deepened over the years as she discovered the other wonderful benefits and aspects of Yoga, including Pranayama and Meditation. Elaine has worked professionally as a trainer in the corporate world, and enjoys facilitating the learning and discovery process in others. Her desire to teach Yoga became clear to her as she worked with a dear friend to prepare her for a major operation through Yoga and Meditation. Elaine is a graduate of the Balanced Yoga teacher training program. She is deeply grateful to Donna Winters sharing her wisdom during this training and afterwards. Elaine’s passion is making yoga accessible to students of all ages and backgrounds.

Elizabeth Miller RYT500 is a certified yoga teacher through the American Viniyoga Institute and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She has been practicing yoga for nine years, and has studied extensively with many renowned teachers including Gary Kraftsow, and others. Like many, Elizabeth's path to yoga came from a desire to become healthier in body, mind, and spirit after a challenging life experience. In addition to her yogic studies, Elizabeth also holds certification in Thai Yoga Massage from the Lotus Palm School in Montreal.

Elizabeth worked for many years with the Omega Institute and The Crossings. Through these progressive centers of education, she has been able to learn and incorporate seeds of wisdom from many traditions in her classes and private sessions.

Elizabeth's gentle, yet powerful, teaching style helps students accept themselves as they are and uncover their sacred perfection. Following an ancient tradition honoring the five dimensions of humanity, Elizabeth weaves a class that touches the physical, mental, energetic, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of our being.