Our Team

Leah Chiofaro, Owner & Founder

Leah Chiofaro founded SoulShine Power Yoga in 2014 as a way to bring more healing, peace, and strength directly to her community. After some of the hardest years of her life, consistent yoga practice brought her strength in body and mind, and she understood for herself the power of yoga to help people change their lives. With some help from her mentors, SoulShine Power Yoga went from a dream to reality.

Leah has a long history in business, retail, and entrepreneurship, and owned her first business in Burlington called Hydrangea from 2005 to 2020. She opened SoulShine in Essex in 2014, the first standalone yoga studio in Essex Junction. Her vision expanded, and in 2021 Leah opened the second SoulShine studio on Church Street in Burlington in the middle of a global pandemic. When she’s not in the studio, Leah loves spending time with her three doggies, snowboarding, and enjoying live music.

Diana Rose, Manager

Diana’s teaching journey began in 2014 after completing her 200hr Hatha Yoga training at ShivaShakti School of Yoga & Healing Arts. Her intention with every class is to create a sacred space for each individual to honor their own practice while joining in moments of collective breath and movement in a place that is free from judgment and expectation.

Diana’s classes will begin with a grounding exercise to connect with the breath, shift into a series of warm-ups and sun salutations, flow through a balanced standing, seated, and reclined sequence of postures with modifications available and finish with a guided body scan meditation to support relaxation during the Savasana resting pose.

Outside of the studio, Diana continues to learn and share the benefits of Thai Bodywork, Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga, Structural Reflexology, Clutter Clearing/Organizing, and Sound Healing.

Brielle Cataldo, Studio Manager

Brielle began practicing yoga in 2005. At first, it was just another way to move and keep her body flexible and strong for her other activities like hiking and mountain biking. But as she delved more deeply into her practice, she realized that yoga was so much more than a way to accommodate her other fitness passions. She found that the physical strength she gained from yoga, while wonderful, was surpassed by the peace of mind and serenity that she carried with her after each practice. Brielle felt called to seek more knowledge about the practice and became a 200 hour certified yoga instructor through Asheville Yoga Center in 2017. She loves sharing the practice with others and welcomes play and joyful movement into her sequences.

Apryl Larkin

Apryl came to yoga as a runner wanting to avoid injury, but quickly fell in love with the practice. She really fell in love with yoga in 2011 when she moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and met an amazing teacher there who told her that she knew one day Apryl would teach. That planted a seed that came to fruition in 2015 as Apryl enrolled in the 200-hour teacher training program at Laughing River Yoga in Winooski.

Apryl loves the ability yoga gives to build strength in the body and enjoys a Vinyasa practice, powerfully linking breath with movement. She enjoys inverting and arm balancing, but also holding poses to build strength and flexibility. She is so grateful for the many teachers and students who inspire her on a daily basis.

Bridget Workman

Bridget (she/her) attended her first yoga class at her local community gym when she was a junior in high school. Though she was immediately drawn to the physical aspect of yoga, over the years her practice has evolved into one deeply guided by philosophical and spiritual facets.

With a background in education and a deep desire to spread the social justice that is innately intertwined with yoga, Bridget completed her 200-hour teacher training in 2023. Bridget has found her mat to be a place of refuge, challenge, and joy and she works to bring this play between effort and ease to her daily life.

Through her teaching, Bridget hopes to create an intentional shared space where students are able to nourish their authentic self through an exploration of spirituality, energy, and rest. Bridget understands that the human body holds deep, resounding truth and she encourages students to move in a way that listens and honors their body’s needs. In Bridget’s classes, students can expect to intentionally move through postures, varying between exertion and relaxation with an emphasis on listening to the inner voice and generously utilizing props to create access and alignment.

Her intentional sequencing provides a combination of both strength building and restorative rest to promote a sense of inwardness that will in turn allow students to show up more fully in their communities. Bridget offers nurturing hands-on assists to help students soften into poses and provide comforting connection.

Bridget currently lives in Burlington with her husband and enjoys cooking, exploring the outdoors, live music and celebrating her community through active involvement!

Cara Bondi

Cara (she/her) believes that every time we practice yoga, our yoga changes, and these shifts are what transform us. She teaches yoga to give the mind and body creative, playful obstacles, hoping that students discover something while practicing together that adds to their yoga. She completed her 200 hour training at Laughing River Yoga in 2022, and is currently training in Yoga Nidra at the Mind.Body.Joy school of yoga. In her classes, you can expect creative sequences for all levels, a little yoga philosophy, and a lighthearted, inclusive atmosphere where you can come as you are and take what you need. Off the mat, Cara is a scientist, mother, and animal lover living in Burlington, Vermont.

Catherine Hamilton

Catherine (Ph.D., ERYT 200) has been practicing yoga for forty years. She received her 200-hour training certification at Honest Yoga in 2015 and has studied under Tao Porchon-Lynch. She has completed 200 hours of her 500-hour training with the Westchester Academy of Yoga (WAY) under Renee Diamond (the “Tao” Way).She is also certified to teach Dharma yoga wheel, Yin and accessible chair yoga. Catherine conducts teacher certifications in chair yoga and has delivered four certifications as benefits for yoga studios during the pandemic.She has also developed also developed a curriculum for teachers on mudras and has delivered the chair yoga training for teachers in various 200-hour programs.

Her background in gymnastics and modern dance are evident in her energizing Vinyasa flow sequences that build core strength, stability, and greater flexibility. Catherine’s classes are known for their interesting and uplifting themes, designed to create a healthy, joyful experience and a blissful balance between ease and effort. She integrates “mudras” or “hand yoga” into her classes to promote healing and transformation, as well as offers options for therapeutic and Reiki assists. Catherine spins vinyl records for the yoga teacher community under the name DJ Love Doctor.Outside of the yoga studio, Catherine is a wife, mother, public health professor and advocate for better a consumer experience in health care. Follow Catherine on Instagram: ChairYogaLove, DJLoveDoctorVT, Yogalove.us; and on YouTube: Chair Yoga Love (chair flows) and DJ Love Doctor (mat flows)

Christie Mainart

Christie has been practicing & studying yoga for over a decade, with an interest in both yoga’s modernized physical practice and its rich philosophies emergent from its numerous ancient sources. She feels that yoga, which was originally intended to unify one’s mind with the divine, remains a living, dynamic, & ever-evolving map with underlying golden threads for self-realization today. Christie believes that the current interest in yoga’s physical practice is a calling from the heart of our culture’s humanity that longs for many things, such as the detoxification & purification of our physiology, a disciplined practice that burns up our stories & stills the rough waters of the mind, to improve our breathing habits for optimal health, & to inspire us to actively cultivate & more fully embody our inherent ability to thrive in well-being. From here, begins our work.

In 2019, Christie completed a 200-hour teacher training with Tirza Dawn at Dhyana Studio in Sebastopol, CA, and in 2023, she completed a Yin Yoga training with Bernie Clark through Yoga International. Each program has played a uniquely wonderful role in helping her more deeply understand the functionality of yoga poses for individuals over merely aesthetics. Off the mat, Christie likes to ponder our place in the Cosmos and muse on the pathless land to Truth while drinking a warm cup of tea.

Devon Penny

As a former gymnast, Devon (she/her) initially came to yoga intrigued by the challenge of folding herself into a pretzel like the days of her youth — however, she came to realize that yoga was so much more than a physical practice when she experienced how it calmed her busy mind. While navigating a lifelong relationship with depression & anxiety, and in particular, after developing a recurring health condition in 2016, Devon discovered that her yoga practice was becoming integral to her physical, mental and emotional recovery. Along the healing path, a yearning grew within to teach and hold space for others as they explore, discover and awaken their most vibrant self through yoga. It is Devon’s belief that this mind-body-spirit connection is there for each of us if only we commit to showing up for ourselves and to stay open to the shift in awareness offered by our practice.

With joy, passion, & a bit of humor, Devon teaches from a place of deep reflection and with attention to the inspirational, healing and transformative opportunities that yoga and its teachings offer students both on and off the mat. She strives to create a brave, welcoming space for students to explore & nurture their own personal practice with an emphasis on alignment and honoring their body’s unique needs from moment to moment. In Devon’s classes you will experience nuances from her own home yoga practice with elements that are playful, challenging, and sometimes surprising. You may be prompted to ‘choose your own adventure’ as you move through unique, well rounded sequences intended to inspire and nourish your experience on the mat. As a student of Caitlin Pascucci and Sarah Diedrick, Devon completed her 200 hour teacher certification through Sangha Studio (Burlington, VT) with a foundation in alignment-based vinyasa yoga.

Emily Souliotis

Emily has been practicing and teaching yoga for five years. She earned her 200 hour teaching certificate through Yoga Vermont in Burlington, and is currently working on her 500 hour certificate. Although Emily loves teaching many styles and levels, her favorite class is a challenging vinyasa! When she’s not teaching, Emily loves spending time with her husband, two little ones, and boxer pup.

Jenny Lowell

Jenny completed her Registered Yoga Certification course in Goa, India at Kashish Yoga School in 2018, and has been teaching professionally in Vermont and abroad ever since. She is certified in multiple styles of yoga, but focuses on Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative, and Yin. She also received her Tantra-inspired Restorative training certificate in 2019.

In her practice, she links breath to movement with intention and mindfulness. Almost all of her offerings include a Hatha-style warm-up; moving each part of the body slowly to check-in, acknowledge, and wake-up. You can expect to slow down in her class, with time to deepen any posture or try something new. Her classes are all-levels with accessible options to make your individual practice more low-key or more challenging, depending on what your body is asking for at that moment. Join Jenny with an open mind, and finish with an open heart.

Jenny Sugar

Jenny Sugar (you can call her Sugar!) took her first yoga class in 1999 and has been teaching ever since. With a background in Ashtanga, her true passion is for Vinyasa-style yoga because of its playful, energetic, fluid, and challenging nature.

Sugar’s vigorous classes use the connection of your breath to your movements to deepen the connection you feel toward others and to the world. You’ll strengthen and open every inch of your body, and are encouraged to move at your own comfort and ability level, to explore new, challenging poses, and above else, to have fun!

Karl Woods-Lucas

Karl found the practice of yoga in his late twenties. It took him only one class to realize how much he had been neglecting his body, despite years of movement through sports. He became consumed with understanding what it was about yoga that was so effective at nourishing the entire body. Since then he’s completed his first teacher training, taken various anatomy courses and workshops, and has continued to develop his and his student’s personal practices. He’s seen and experienced how yoga, when practiced with specific attention to the minute details of the postures, can remove tension in the body, leading to reduced tension in the mind. He believes in the practice as therapy for the body’s musculoskeletal and nervous system, which then opens up the possibility for deeper, richer experiences of life.

Karl’s goal is to bring the practice of yoga to beginners who are curious or dubious or simply unaware, and to deepen the practice of advanced practitioners. His classes are rich with precise verbal cues to effectively establish and maintain alignment in the bones and muscles, building strength with stability while creating ease in movement.

Kelsey Reed

Kelsey first came to yoga during high school as a way to prevent injuries from other sports, but she quickly realized the benefits of yoga beyond the physical aspect. The physical movements combined with the breathing techniques have been crucial for her stress management. In the summer of 2018, she decided it was time to learn how to share her passion with others and completed her Yoga Alliance certified 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training through Health Yoga Life in Stratton, VT. Kelsey is also a registered nurse and appreciates using the various aspects of yoga to help her patients achieve mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Kerry Fantelli

Kerry Fantelli teaches a vinyasa focused class. When you take class with Kerry, you will be welcomed and challenged. She has a strong alignment focus and incorporates mindfulness practices within her classes. Kerry wants students to find the balance between going beyond their fears and doubts and listening to the needs of their body. Kerry is playful and energetic and her classes often have the same vibration.

Lindsay Carey

Lindsay discovered yoga when she was in high school and has been practicing ever since. Her classes inspire thoughtful movement to encourage self-discovery, acceptance, and love. Lindsay’s classes incorporate breath work, foundational yoga postures, and the connection between breath and movement.

Lindsay completed her 200 hour YTT at Laughing River Yoga in May 2020.

Malaika DosRemedios

Malaika DosRemedios (E-RYT-500, and YACEP) is a full-time teacher of the Tantric Tradition of Hatha Yoga, group fitness instructor and personal trainer in the Burlington, Vermont area during the late spring to mid fall and lives in Key West, FL during the winters. When not in Vermont she is traveling and teaching all over the globe. In the recent years, Malaika has lead Intensive Immersion Teacher Trainings in Bali, Indonesia and clinics for students and teachers in Sydney, Australia.

She enjoys working with communities, inspiring others into their best selves. She is a community partner, and consultant with other yoga communities globally, helping to fine tune their vision and creates collaborative partnerships with other teachers and studios involving yoga retreats, teacher trainings and events throughout the world. Her life is dedicated to this work and she always feels as though it is just beginning. She and her beloved Yellow Lab “Teddy,” who is a certified Therapy Dog of Vermont, like to volunteer in their free time unleashing smiles to folks in need of personal visits.

Marissa Pappalardo

I began my yoga practice as a means of gaining physical strength and flexibility. Years later, I find myself with a deeper understanding of yoga. To me, yoga is a practice of melding together the mind, body and spirit.

After establishing my personal practice, I decided I wanted to share the joy of yoga with others. In 2017 I completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training at the University of Vermont. During this experience and thereafter, I’ve sought to expand my understanding of yoga through exploration of the Chakra system and a myriad of traditional Sanskrit Sutras. As a teacher I hope to facilitate a space where students find deep relaxation and connection with their bodies.

Megan Moon

Megan Moon leads dynamic vinyasa flow, offering a fully supported space for students to build their practice safely and freely. She weaves creative asana sequences together with the universal principles of alignment and yoga philosophy to create enriching practices. Megan has embraced many different styles of yoga over the past several decades including Kundalini, Ashtanga, Yin, and Anusara and believes in the power of yoga for healing, health and expansion. Megan received her 200 hour training in Anusara Elements from Tiffany Wood in 2021 and her 500 hour training in alignment based Vinyasa from Honest Yoga in 2018. Megan is also certified in Yin yoga, kids yoga, and hoop dance. Outside of the studio, Megan is a Mom, a DJ, a personal chef, a gardener and a hoop dance teacher.

Natalie Boyle

Natalie (she/her) first came to yoga in 2015, as a way to reconnect to her body after a debilitating herniated disk injury. She stayed with the practice because of the way it made her feel – connected, grounded, present, and certain in her sense of self.

She went on to complete her 200-hr teacher training at Heart of the Village Yoga in Manchester, VT in March 2020. In February 2023, she received certification in Restorative Yoga with Sarah Diedrick at Sangha Studio. Most recently, she attended a yin intensive with Emily Garrett at Laughing River Yoga.

Her flow classes are strong and not too slow, and emphasize the breath and physical sensation as a way to calm the mind.

Noelle Davis

Noelle Davis has practiced yoga for the last 16 years and completed her 200 hour teacher training through Yoga Vermont. Her vinyasa classes focus on being present, listening to the breath as the voice of the body, and having fun. The connection that we all make through breath, movement, and our minds is what inspires Noelle to get on her mat everyday. She believes that through the physical mind we can free the mental mind. Noelle is grateful to be here sharing her love and adventure for yoga, for her teachers who inspire her daily, and most especially for her family, as it is their love that makes living her life blissful.

Paula Palermo

Paula identifies as a teacher. Yoga, art, mindfulness and mathematics both sacred and practical are passions she shares with adults and children alike. Fostering wellness, curiosity and building strength as well as supporting practitioners in developing meaningful and sustainable life-long practices are the goals of her teaching. Expect a mindful practice which integrates breath-body connection, energy, humor and music with Paula.

Rachel Lacourciere

Rachel is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance and has been practicing yoga for almost 20 years. She currently teaches group classes in a wide variety of venues, as well as privately. Rachel specializes in teaching to the needs of the individual, bringing to SoulShine an energetic vinyasa practice designed to improve each student’s flexibility, strength and overall well-being.

Rachel Cowan

Rachel found yoga over fifteen years ago, beginning with the fundamental Ashtanga sequence and exploring many other disciplines since. She fell in love with yoga, the union found in practice, one’s ability to quiet the mind, focus on breath, challenge the body, and most of all have fun!

Rachel teaches Vinyasa flow yoga with creative sequencing that will work all areas of the body, focusing on opening the heart and undoing the ways in which we’re hard on ourselves in our day-to-day lives. Rachel hopes that through mindful practice each practitioner will cultivate a sense of awareness and awe within their individual practice, taking time to enjoy. Rachel enjoys intertwining music and philosophy into her teaching, while never taking practice too seriously. When Rachel is not in class practicing yoga, she enjoys being on the water, hiking, art, writing, live music, food, and finding new adventures.

Santiago Mendez

Santiago began his yoga journey 4 years ago taking classes and practicing on his own shortly after moving to Vermont. He grew up in Miami, Florida, but found himself craving a change of pace and made his way north. Since moving to Vermont he has travelled to Portugal to get his 200 hour Vinyasa certification with the Sacred Fig as well as to explore various areas of Europe for two months prior to his training. Santiago loves to travel and expand his capabilities whenever possible. He often finds himself in his free time rock climbing, hiking, mountaineering, sea kayaking, skiing and much more. He is an avid lover of the outdoors and has spent extensive periods of time immersed in nature on outdoor expeditions over the years.

Santi (Santiago’s childhood nickname) finds that the practice of yoga allows him to dive deeper into his own relationship with himself and in turn to the world and those around him. Linking breath to movement serves as a moving meditation for him and there are few things in his life that bring him deeper joy and connection than doing so. Being able to share the love of yoga that he has developed over the years is truly a gift and blessing that has forever changed his life.

Sarah Quinttus

Sarah was first exposed to yoga in the spring of 2011 and quickly fell in love with the practice and its teachings. Growing up playing competitive sports, Sarah endured several injuries which resulted in 5 reconstructive knee operations. Yoga was the only form of rehabilitation that made a lasting impact, and she attributes her daily practice to being able to remain active outdoors, whether it be skiing, biking, hiking or kayaking.

Although Yoga started as a mostly physical practice for Sarah, it has grown into a way of life, both on and off the mat, and has become deeply spiritual and healing for her. Through living her yoga she has learned the power of intention, positive thinking and remaining present. In Sarah’s class you can expect to be physically challenged, play with your edge and find space and serenity in the mind. Sarah has been inspired by many wonderful teachers on her path and is excited to share the traditions of this beautiful practice with her own students. Sarah is currently working towards her 1,000hr IAYT certification in Yoga Therapy.

Sara Swartz

Sara completed her 200 hour yoga certification in Embody Yoga at Yoga Center Amherst in 2005. She is currently working towards her 500 hour certification. She has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 20 years.

Sara takes a structured yet light-hearted approach to teaching. She aspires to create a safe, nurturing space that will bring you to your edge while allowing you to have fun and express yourself fully. A lifelong lover of movement, Sara will encourage you to approach your practice from a new perspective. Her classes are grounding and centering, yet dynamic and powerful.

Sara is also a mental health professional and has taught yoga in a variety of clinical settings, including hospitals and community health centers. Her practice is trauma-informed and all-affirming.

When she’s not teaching yoga, you will likely find her exploring the natural beauty of Vermont. She loves hiking, biking, kayaking, cooking, watching birds and spending time with her dogs.

Shaun Glenn

200 HR YTT, Trauma Recovery Yoga TT, Mindfulness Mentor Certification.

Hey! My name is Shaun and I am here to share love and kindness with others through my passions of creating art, music and yoga. After being introduced to mindfulness back in 2014, my journey into yogic living began and it has truly changed my world in so many amazing ways. My intention as a teacher is to empower my students through connection to their hearts, and freedom in their bodies and minds. My style is a mix of mindful movement, mobility, vinyasa flow and a little acoustic guitar. Thank you for reading and I look forward to practicing with you!

Stacey Sadowsky

Stacey is an avid runner and volunteer running coach who was told by her massage therapist if she didn’t’ find a way to stretch the body, she would not be able to continue running. That comment led her straight to yoga! Though her body calls for a heated, vigorous practice with arm balances and handstands for strength, her passion is teaching beginners who think they can’t “do yoga”. She loves to inspire, encourage and unite through yoga, breath and meditation.

Stacey completed her 200 hour teacher training in 2019 and will graduate with her 300 hour teacher training in January 2021. She is also a certified chair yoga teacher and volunteer teaches at a local senior center. She is also certified in Dharma Wheel and Yin practices.

Victoria Fearn

With a Background in musical theatre, Victoria fell in love with the power of movement at an early age. That being said, after her first yoga class in 2017 she left with a distaste for the practice. Expecting movement alone, she was challenged to go deeper with not just body, but mind and spirit which she later found was the reason she couldn’t stay away for long. Turning to the practice time and time again, yoga soon became a regular part of her life. Victoria found patience, confidence, and gratitude through yoga and strives to help others find the same as she guides you through a practice. Using themes, affirmations, and storytelling to allow others to take up space, move as they please, and lead with curiosity. Finding your inner child along the way during practice allows for a welcoming, kind, creative, and humorous space to be your authentic and beautiful self. In 2021, Victoria took the leap and completed her 200hr YTT certification and in continuing to grow and stay curious with her practice and her teachings!