Tricia McAvoy, Founder and Owner

Tricia McAvoy is the Founder of Blissworks Yoga & Healing Arts, LLC, and a certified Anusara-Inspired (TM) Instructor. After dealing with the symptoms of Lupus for 11 years, Tricia took her first yoga class in 1995 when she was feeling completely lost in life, a classic couch potato. In her first class, while holding a warrior pose, her teacher suggested that she breathe, and at that moment everything changed. She feels that yoga gave her life more meaning and helped reconnect her vital force. She received her first certification to teach yoga from the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in 2000. Tricia’s classes ranges from funny and witty to deeply introspective. She shares from everyday experiences and relates them to the highest teachings of yoga. The root of her teachings is that we are all beautiful and unique in our owns ways, with our own skills and gifts to share with the world and yet we’re all deeply connected at the heart. Tricia is certified through the Lotus Palm School for Thai Yoga Therapy and is also a certified Reiki Master. Tricia lives in downtown New London where she greatly enjoys the growing art and music scene. She loves to make pottery in her spare time.
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Instructors

Kim Abraham

Kim took her first Ashtanga class after failing a flexibility test and to relieve chronic pain. She experienced amazing relief from the effects of long term tick-borne disease and a challenged immune system. Yoga helped heal her mind and spirit as well as her body. She is extremely grateful for that healing as well as for amazing teachers like Doug Swenson, David Swenson, Patabhi Jois, Paul Grilley, Beryl Bender Birch and Dharma Mittra. Additionally she has studied Anusara and Thai yoga therapy with Jonas Westring. Kim presents a wide array of styles – from the strict formal sequences of Ashtanga (her main practice), to Vinyasa flow, to Yin. Kim loves to teach. She has a B.S. and M.A. in teaching, and her students enjoy her enthusiasm and commitment to their learning. In class students will explore all areas of yoga including pranayama, Kriyas, Ayurveda, and the Yoga Sutras. Kim teaches in a manner with just the right blend of gentleness, discipline, humor, spirituality, respect for tradition, compassion, dedication, and passion for the yogic lifestyle which makes each and every class an absolute joy and an integral part of her students’ lives. Kim has been a resident artist for two years and she lives with her son at the Hygienic Gallery in downtown New London. She loves to travel and has taught worldwide. She dreams of going back to India, and going to California to study with Tim Miller.
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L’Ana Burton

L’Ana Burton started dance class at age 2 1/2 and today at 61 still feels very passionate about dancing because it makes her so happy! She loves dancing but also supporting others to do it and to feel good about themselves as ‘dancers’! She feels great joy in seeing others involved in creating their own movement vocabularies and also believes we can all find movement that is special and unique to our own individual selves.

L’Ana is a dancer, performer, educator and the founder of CDC, Creative Dance Continuum, begun in 1986 in the dance department of Connecticut College. CDC was at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum for ten years and has now moved to The Dragon’s Egg and Blissworks. L’Ana has been teaching dance since 1969, bringing hundreds of residencies into schools to integrate movement & dance into the curriculum. She is a Master Teaching Artist for the Department of Economic & Community Development (formerly known as The Connecticut Commission on the Arts) and is a HOTS educator for the state since its inception in 1994. L’Ana strives to create a dance atmosphere where everyone feels like A DANCER, using the tools of improvisation & exploration for all ages in her classes. You can read more on the CDC web site: www.creativedancecontinuum.com. When she’s not dancing you can find L’Ana doing yoga or at the beach or hanging out with her two amazing kids, Jona and Jason. She has lived in Niantic for the past 5 years and is quite happy there.
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Larry Caruso

The book “Journey into Power” by Baron Baptiste sat on Larry’s nightstand for 2 years before he opened it. After the first 10 pages he decided to try Hot Power Yoga…. that day! Being a long distance runner and weight lifter he thought it was going to be a breeze. “I walked into my first class a few hours later. I approached yoga head on and to my surprise it kicked my butt. Over the next few weeks the teachers showed me how to try easy and how to rest in the resistance as opposed to using bull force. Instead of me doing yoga, I was taught how to let yoga do me. I found the balance between not enough and way too much, it was a watershed moment in my love for physical activity.” Through his practice Larry learned how to slow the train down, calm the mind and minimize the worry that daily life presents. It eliminated aches he had for years and increased core strength to levels previously unattainable. The icing was his discovery of self-transformational writings from authors like Lao Tzu, Deepak Chopra, Echardt Tolle and others. What a marriage, mind and body growing together in harmony. Larry has two wonderful, grown children. He co-owns Caruso Music in New London, CT, with his brother Richard (he was the one that gave him the book). Larry has completed Baron Baptiste Level 1 Teacher Training 2009 as well as the Baptiste Teacher Assist program Cambridge 2009. He continues his education through the Baptiste organization and its affiliates. “Beside my love for yoga I’m passionate about running, having done about 25,000 miles in 11 different countries. I’m here because of my dedication to you as a student of the practice of yoga. Sharing what I love in life brings me the greatest joy.”
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Sonya Cyr

Having been a member of several musical groups throughout her education, music serves as a source of inspiration for Sonya and a variety of music is often infused into each of her classes. She began the study of yoga in 2002 and was trained as a yoga instructor at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in 2006. She teaches the Kripalu method as well as Vinyasa Flow, Restorative and Core classes. Sonya has taught French and Spanish since 2002 and currently teaches at Norwich Free Academy. Sonya completed YogaEd training and often uses these techniques to create balance in her classroom. Sonya enjoys knitting, dancing, running, cooking and hanging out at the beach. She lives in New London with her husband and kitty.
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Sandy Hartnett

“Yoga has taught me so much about myself and life. I love seeing those ‘ah ha’ moments in my students and the calm wave of peace that washes over them during savasana.”

Sandy has been teaching yoga since 2005 to many diverse groups, including seniors, corporate employees, gym members, and prison inmates. She completed 500 hour training at Kripalu in 2010 and will continue to be, first a student, then a teacher. She is a Level One Practitioner certified in LifeForce Yoga (Yoga for Depression) with Amy Weintraub. She believes wholeheartedly in the healing power of yoga. She is also an Advanced Reiki Practitioner. Sandy lives in Preston with her husband Dick and dog, Chloe. They enjoy hiking, kayaking and spending time with family and friends.
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Constance Kendros

All You Need is Love (and Yoga) Constance Kendros has studied extensively with a wide range of teachers since 1993. She holds a 200 hour yoga teacher certification from Healing Touch Yoga Center. Her greatest strength in life has come from her consistent daily yoga practice. Yoga never fails. Constance teaches musically infused and philosophically charged classes that aim to inspire and enliven. Her classes are challenging, yet aspire to be fun and promote oneness of being, with a strong focus on the breath. She lives in Waterford, CT with her two teenage sons.
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Jillian Oakes

Jillian began yoga as a form of cross training to strengthen her body from years of long distance running. “To my surprise, adding Baptiste style yoga to my running took a whole minute off my time per mile!” Practicing Baptiste Power Vinyasa yoga since 2008, she recently completed Level 1 Teacher Training Bootcamp with founder/creator Baron Baptiste in August of 2010 and continues her education through the Baptiste organization. She is on an inspired path to become a Certified Baptiste Master Instructor. “I have so much love and admiration for my teachers, who have inspired me to be part of an amazing yoga community, committed to help each other SHINE!”
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Jessica Ricker

Jessica believes that yoga teaches us how to live a life with joy and grace. After taking her first yoga class at Blissworks in 2006, Jessica found that the stress of life became more manageable. Her life shifted; what she practiced on the mat began to shape her everyday life.
Jessica completed her 200-hour Anusara Yoga teacher training with Todd Norian and Ann Greene and hopes to share the transformational power of Anusara yoga with the Blissworks kula (community).
Jessica has her BA and MA from Connecticut College and lives in Mystic with her husband Jeff.

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Heidi Waddell

Heidi has been practicing yoga since 1999 after suffering from a serious back injury. Through her yoga practice she regained her strength and mobility and soon discovered that yoga had so much more to offer than just the physical aspects. In 2004 she began as an instructor for River Yoga in Westerly, Rhode Island and has since taught at Mystic Yoga Shala and Blissworks Yoga & Healing Arts. She received her 200 hour Yoga Alliance Vinyasa Teacher certification from The Rolf Gates School of Yoga. In addition to Heidi’s yoga practice, she has also received the teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche at Karme Choling, a Buddhist Meditation Center in Barnet, Vermont. Heidi resides in Stonington, Connecticut with her loving husband and fellow yogi, David, and their three children. In addition to her teachings at Blissworks, she offers classes through the WCEE, an education and enrichment program housed in Westerly, Rhode Island. Heidi likes to incorporate both the physical and the philosophical qualities of a yoga practice into her classes. She truly believes that everyone can benefit from yoga and encourages her students to explore a wide range of asanas, while tossing in an occasional meditation, pranayama or chant. Her goal is to guide others toward self-knowing and ultimate contentment, so that what we learn on the mat is something we carry within us wherever we go.
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Katie Ziskind

Katie Ziskind feels yoga practice creates a metaphor for the rest of life. She is highly interested in the symbiotic mind-body connection that can be experienced through yoga and so is currently majoring in psychology at Mitchell College in New London. She loves practicing because life is a practice and a person always has the choice to be their own best friend. When she comes back to her center, she realizes she is whole and complete. Then, she finds she has the power to get down and boogie with the rolling waves of life!

When Katie hears how yoga has helped one of her students cope with life, she feels happy and inspired. Even when she is 80 years old, Katie hopes to practice a modified version of yoga. She believes that as humans, we are just vessels of energy confined within the boundaries of skin. Constantly changing through states of being and becoming, our bodies will physically age, but the practice transforms energy into a free spirit. Working towards her goals of intertwining psychology and yoga, she hopes to give others an opportunity to cultivate inner peace on the mat and radiate global peace off their mat. In Katie’s free time, she enjoys going to local markets, listening to live music, hiking and immersing herself in nature. She lives in Niantic, with her mom, sister and two cats, a short walk from a glassy pond and woodland trails.
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Therapists

Anne Belliveau

Anne’s life was transformed by the powerful experience of healing herself through meditation and visualization after a car accident at age 14. Doctors believed she would be unable to dance or perhaps even walk again. Ignited with a powerful desire to bring this potential for profound healing to others, Anne has been on a quest to understand the connection between the mind, body and spirit, and to learn how to access the body’s powerful healing abilities for physical healing and personal transformation. Anne is inspired by the potential within each one of us to experience greater health, harmony and happiness in our lives, and to reconnect with that Source of Well-Being which lives within all of us. It is her passion in life to awaken within herself and others the remembrance of this innate Love, Joy and Freedom which is the essence of who we all truly are. Anne was a 1999 Honors graduate of Earlham College, Religion & Psychology; 2002 graduate Polarity Realization Institute, Holistic Massage Therapy; Polarity Therapy Level 2; Divine Openings Giver. Licensed massage therapist, healer, teacher, singer and sacred sound artist, Anne conducts workshops and offers private sessions for massage therapy, vibrational healing, Divine Openings, personal/spiritual coaching, sound healing, sacred music (voice, singing bowls, celtic harp), and more. Anne lives in a beautiful old farmhouse in Norwich with her love of her life husband, Shane and their two boys, Raven and Emmett Sparrow. She spends her days homeschooling her boys- hiking in the woods, hunting tadpoles, and curling up in front of the fire for storytime. When she’s not slaying villains with a plastic sword or washing the dishes, you’ll find her playing her celtic harp and singing her heart out.
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Tamara Delano

Tamara’s love for massage therapy started at an early age massaging her mother’s back when she was suffering from the effects of degenerative disc disease. It has since blossomed into a full blown passion for the profession, and the many wonderful modalities that compliment and bring relaxation and relief.

Tamara is trained in Swedish Massage, hot stone, myofacial techniques and reflexology as well as Spa modalities such as, salt scrubs, mud and seaweed wraps, and herbal wraps. She is a graduate of The Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy, having completed the 720 hour Spa Massage Program, and a member of the American Massage Therapy Association. Tamara has also trained at the Brio Academy of Cosmetology, and recieved her certification as an Esthetician in 2005. She looks forward to her continuing education to bring the utmost attention to her clients, and to ever broaden her knowledge of techniques to awaken, refresh, and revive the body, mind, and soul.Tamara resides in scenic Niantic, with her four legged companion, a less than aquatic dog named Frog.
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Jana Flaherty

Levitation! That’s what Jana felt in her early experiences receiving Foot Reflexology. She thought the therapist was lifting her feet, but later found out it was the reflex that connects us to heaven and earth that opened that experience of levity. Jana wanted to share the full relaxation she experienced with others and pursued her education at the Connecticut Center for Universal Reflexology. Her own practice has given her both witnessed and reported experiences from her clients of immediate bruising reduction after surgery, reduced fluids from a lymphatic condition, as well as mitigated headaches and so much more. Whether you are having health issues or just want to maintain optimal health, Jana believes Foot Reflexology can help! As well as having a BA in Social Work, Jana is a Certified Nursing Assistant and a Foundations of Svaroopa Yoga Teacher. She loves living in New London, her favorite city in Connecticut!
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Suzin Webb

Suzin Webb first recognized the healing powers of massage during a very stressful time in her life and has since come to believe that bodywork can play a central role in recovery from injuries, pain management, and mind/body/spirit balance. Prior to becoming a massage therapist, Suzin earned BS and MA degrees in Biology and has worked as a molecular biologist for 15 years and currently also works at the Mystic Aquarium. Feeling a need to share the wonders of bodywork, Suzin decided to go back to school to learn massage therapy so as to assist others in developing self-awareness and maximizing performance. She attended the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy and became a LMT in 2009. Suzin is also a Certified Active Release Technique (ART) Provider and a Certified Reiki Practitioner. Her work incorporates Swedish, Deep Tissue, Myofascial, Acupresure, and Energy Balancing techniques. She works closely with each client to develop a therapeutic massage practice specific to his or her individual needs and has seen dramatic results with this approach. In addition, Suzin is a Certified Small Animal Massage Therapist (Bancroft School) and works closely with our canine companions through private sessions and workshops geared toward owners interested in a holistic approach to veterinary care. Suzin lives in Mystic and spends much of her spare time training for marathons, practicing Ashtanga yoga, and running trails with her border collie Karni.
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