Yoga for everyone
Brassy Buddha Team
Carmen Chicola
Owner and Senior Instructor
I came to Brassy Buddha looking for a yoga home base to nurture my own practice. The community, teachers, and Brandi made it easy to feel comfortable and give back to myself. I am excited to see this amazing community continue to thrive and grow. I began practicing yoga after retiring from a dance career in 2000 to stay in shape. The practice quickly resonated far deeper and gave me access to so much more from myself.
As an active mother of three, I learned how important it is to take time out of busy schedules to nurture, rebuild and restore our innermost dreams. My vinyasa flow and energetic class intertwine movement with self-affirmations designed to inspire and re-ignite our own truth. I want to hold space for each and every single member of this community.
My background as a dancer gives me an edge in recognizing proper joint alignment and maintaining a balance between strength and flexibility. I like incorporating poses that increase joint stability, as well as, range of motion.
I have been teaching almost 40 years with a Bachelors in Education and 300 hour training from The Yoga and Healing Center. My creative approach to movement allows me to connect to all ages in the studio and out!
Cherise Mazur
Instructor
Cherise is a wife and mom of 2 teenagers living in Cranford. She found yoga when looking to ease her anxiety without meds. Her yoga practice evolved into so much more which led to teacher training at Home Power Yoga in 2020 and is currently enrolled in their 300-hour training. She loves a good power flow which you can find in her classes!
She is a lover of all things health and wellness as she is a Holistic Health Coach from IIN. She has a passion to help others lead a healthy lifestyle without restrictions.
When not teaching yoga she is hanging with her family, creating healthy recipes, traveling to warmer places, watching Netflix, and enjoying a good glass of wine with chocolate.
You can follow her @cherisemazur for healthy recipes & wellness tips.
Jo-Ann Evangelist
Instructor
Jo-Ann is a proud mom of two, an avid dancer, athlete, and registered dental hygienist. She found yoga after she had her first child in 2011. Yoga gave her a sense of compassion for her body and mind while also allowing her to feel her best! She completed the NYC Marathon and practiced for years before taking her 200 hour certification at LifePower Yoga in Lifetime, graduating in 2019. She then completed a 30 hour yin yoga certification and is almost through her 300 hour Home Power yoga Baptist certification. The connection of breath, movement and the body on your mat and in life is what inspires her to continue to learn, teach and serve her community.
Eve
Instructor
Eve is a 200-hour RTY certified Yoga Instructor who began practicing Vinyasa a decade ago. After immediately falling in love with heated Power Yoga, Eve signed up for her 1st yoga teaching program thru Powerflow in NJ. She has also trained with Baron Baptiste, Paige Elenson, Sean Corn, Matt Giordano, Brando Sommers & Kyle Weiger.
She completed a 2nd 200 hour program in 2021 & will complete her 300 hour program in May of 2022.
Eve’s classes will increase your strength, flexibility & mobility. Each sequence is designed to challenge your body and mind. Eve’s intention is for you to finish class feeling empowered, accomplished and ready to take on the world around you.
“You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to do.” Eve Adelson
Lisa Stevens Bruno
Instructor
Lisa Stevens Bruno, RYT, RPYT
Lisa completed her yoga 200-hour training in 2013 and 100-hour prenatal yoga training in January of 2015. She loves teaching vinyasa flow, prenatal and postnatal yoga. Her teaching style emphasizes the connection between breath and movement, and how the flow of the practice creates a path inward.
She encourages tapping into one's own inner source of power in order to find focus, stamina, and release. You can expect the consistent movement of the body with some pausing for strengthening and stretching.
Lisa integrates the many benefits of yoga into a fun and strengthening flow class. (You can follow her on Instagram @kokobelliyoga.)
Melody
Instructor
Melody began her yoga journey at Yoga Joint in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training. Yoga provided the time and space needed to cultivate self-awareness and connect with her deeper self. Her teaching foundation is based on hot fusion flows, with the use of life coaching, inspirational narratives, and seamless sequencing.
She has completed additional training in trauma-informed outreach programs through Connection Coalition and is trained to work with addictions through the yoga of 12-step recovery (Y12SR). Yoga has not only helped Melody gain clarity, focus, and better self-understanding but has allowed her to authentically connect with others.
She believes yoga is a way to cultivate wholeness by learning to trust in oneself, even in the most difficult situations. Melody’s mission is to create a safe space for individuals to express and strengthen themselves through movement, and to carry the lessons we learn on the mat into our everyday lives.”
Vita Semeraro
Instructor
Vita Semeraro is a yoga teacher, wellness coach, reiki practitioner, and writer. She specializes in Yin Yoga and infusing her classes with philosophy and poetry. Her Instagram account is @vitasaflow.
Annemarie Lawrence
Instructor
Annemarie Lawrence earned her 200-hour vinyasa certification in 2021. She is also an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and an elementary school teacher. Annemarie lives and teaches in Westfield, and is a mom of 3.