Meet Your Instructors
Jenny Otto, E-RYT®500
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Co-founder and co-director of GHY, Jenny Otto has been a yoga practitioner and meditator since 1987. She is a senior certified Anusara Yoga teacher and has studied with John Friend since 1994 and Rod Stryker since 1999. She has trained the majority of Anusara teachers in the Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington, DC metro areas. Her early influences were Iyengar yoga, Stan Andrzejewski, Mary Dunn and Victor Van Kooten. She is nationally known for her in-depth understanding of anatomy and therapeutics, having studied not only with yoga masters but osteopaths, chiropractors and rolfers to develop her unique approach to physical well-being and pain management. Jenny shares the depth of her knowledge and her love of yoga as she travels both nationally and internationally teaching workshops and teacher-trainings. She brings warmth and creativity to her teaching as well as exploration of the subtle aspects of asana along with pranayama and chanting.
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Lynn Matthews, E-RYT®500
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Lynn is co-founder and co-director of Golden Heart Yoga. After graduating from the University of Virginia and pursuing a career in information technology, chronic back problems led Lynn to yoga in 1997. Yoga had such a positive impact on her body and life, she felt compelled to share this gift with others through teaching. Her detailed approach to alignment and knowledge of therapeutics allow students at all levels to progress safely in their yoga practice. Lynn enriches her students' experience by weaving pranayama (breath work), meditation and chanting into her classes. She brings compassion, humor and encouragement to her teaching. A certified Anusara® teacher, she has been studying Anusara Yoga® since 1997 and ParaYoga® with Rod Stryker since 2002. Lynn is also an Advanced iRest® Yoga Nidra teacher. She continues to study annually with her primary teachers, Rod Stryker and John Friend.
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Eric Reid
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Eric is the director of Patapsco Yoga Center and has been studying yoga since 1975. He has studied with John Schumacher, Carol Cavanaugh, John Friend, and Kofi Busia, whom he considers his primary teacher. Humorous and lighthearted, Eric encourages students to work to their fullest and to explore the possibilities that yoga creates.
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Carr Kizzier, RYT®200
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Carr is a graduate of WSYC’s comprehensive teacher training program. He began practicing and studying yoga in 2001 in an effort to improve his bad back and golf game. Carr studies regularly with senior teachers Linda Howard, Jenny Otto, Moses Brown, and Doug Keller. He also has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans and teaches English at Essex Community College. His love of words infuses his work with alignment and breath with deeper meaning which can enrich any yoga practice.
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Jill Dorosz, RYT®500
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Jill is an Anusara-inspired yoga instructor who holds certifications in both pregnancy yoga with Janice Clearfield and infant massage/family bonding with the Foundation for Infant Massage and Family Bonding. Jill currently studies with Rod Stryker, founder of ParaYoga. Meeting her students where they are, Jill joyfully nurtures her students as they discover the healing spirit of yoga.
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Janelle Jones, RYT®500
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Janelle was first introduced to yoga about ten years ago while attending Florida State University. She immediately fell in love and has been practicing ever since! Since a vinyasa flow teacher training program, Janelle has continued her studies in the Anusara style of yoga with her teachers Lynn Matthews and Jenny Otto. As an Open Water SCUBA instructor, Janelle was given insight into the various learning styles and abilities of each individual. In her yoga classes, she honors this individuality in each of her students and through her love of teaching creates a space where students feel empowered to safely explore the gifts their yoga practice can offer.
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Molly Harding, RYT®500
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Molly graduated from Boustany’s year-long Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Program in 2001. Yoga has been a wonderful gift since she began practicing in the early 90’s, but it has been particularly valuable as she has been pregnant or nursing for the last 3 years (and still going). Her Yoga practice has helped her rebuild and connect with her body through this precious but challenging time. Molly’s teaches developmental skills to nurture openness and alignment in the body and mind. Studying Anusara Yoga with John Friend, Jenny Otto and Lynn Matthews is her focus at this point in her journey.
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Joan Livingston, RYT®200
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Joan has been a student of spirituality and mindfulness for many years and is a recent graduate of GHY's Advanced Studies Yoga Immersion. She began studying yoga 7 years ago with one of her current teachers, Linda Howard. After practicing Kung Fu for many years, Joan found yoga to be a natural transition from martial arts. She sees her practice as a sanctuary from the busy rhythm of life and hopes to share this gift with her students. Joan continues her studies in the Anusara style of yoga with teachers Jenny Otto, Lynn Matthews and Linda Howard. | 
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Hans Merkl, RYT®200
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Hans was introduced to yoga in 2001 after a shoulder injury forced him to stop practicing boxing. Since then, he has deepened his practice and continues to study with Lynn Matthews and Jenny Otto. Hans is a graduate of the Golden Heart Yoga Advanced Studies Yoga Immersion. He encourages his students to focus on alignment, meditation, and breath - not only on the mat, but also in their daily lives. | 
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Charlotte Byrd, RYT®200
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Charlotte began studying Iyengar yoga in 1999 with Mitra Tredway. She recently completed the Advanced Studies Yoga Immersion program at Golden Heart Yoga. Charlotte has studied various modalities of massage and energy therapies and practices massage therapy and Reiki. She utilizes her knowledge of anatomy, physiology and philosophies of energetic systems to create a multi-leveled approach to studying yoga. Now a practicing social worker, Charlotte brings her skills of intuition and observation to assist students as they explore growth through yoga. | 
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Melinda Frisch, RYT®200
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Melinda began her yoga journey in 2004 when she sought help for a debilitating genetic autoimmune disease. In 2008 she graduated from the Golden Heart Yoga Advanced Studies Yoga Immersion. She continues to study with Jenny Otto and Lynn Matthews in the Anusara style of yoga and with Jenny Otto and Heidi Pardue in gentle and therapeutic yoga. Melinda wants her students to know that anyone can benefit from the never-ending possibilities that yoga can offer. | 
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of Annapolis...
