Paula McGinnis

Owner of Body Grace, RYT-200.

Paula came to yoga after nearly 20 years of long-distance running and shooting hoops, 12 years of coaching basketball teams for VYI and in three foreign countries, and experiencing sudden on-set arthritis and osteopenia. Her doctor told her to try yoga - stressing that both diseases could be debilitating if she did not work hard at joint fluidity and bone building exercises. He said, “use it or lose it it’s all up to you.” That was 2007. She threw herself into the poses (asanas), acquired a deep appreciation for the breath work (Prāṇāyāma), began researching the anatomy of yoga, and took every opportunity to practice yoga while serving at US embassies in the Middle East, East Asia, South Asia, and Europe.

While the arthritis and osteopenia remain present - they do NOT define her; she and her doctors credit yoga for keeping her from tipping toward osteoporosis and for GROWING 3/4 of an inch TALLER. Yoga Works!!

When she retired from federal service, she signed up for yoga teacher training. She studied under former owner, Jan Crerie, and when Body Grace was at risk of closing in 2019, Paula and husband Michael considered how they could keep this lovely and loving place going. Vienna had given their children a warm welcome home every time they returned from foreign postings, and they were looking for new ways to “give back” to the community.

Body Grace offered the McGinnis Family a ready-made chance to offer Yoga, Fitness, and a strong sense of BELONGING and WELLNESS to this community. No matter who you are - know that YOU ARE WELCOME here at Body Grace.

Jan Crerie

Founder of Body Grace, ERYT-200, RYT-500

Jan Crerie founded Body Grace Fitness and Yoga in 2001. She has brought her passion for group fitness and health to students since 1990 as a dedicated cardio and strength-training teacher. 

Jan was diagnosed in her late twenties with depression and found that exercise, coupled with therapy, helped her gain a new and happier outlook on life, so much so, that she wanted to share her love for fitness with others and began teaching. She accidentally found yoga in 1999 at a conference where she was learning how to teach indoor cycling, but quickly discovered that sitting on a bike was not for her. She snuck into a yoga workshop to give her bottom end a rest and fell in love!

Jan started incorporating the mind/body philosophy into her fitness classes, as well as going deeper into a private practice. She loves the worlds of fitness and yoga and believes they can complement each other beautifully. She earned her RYT through YogaFit in 2004.

Jan is registered as an experienced Yoga Teacher; American Council on Exercise group and personal trainer since 1994; and a Relax and Renew Yoga teacher. She has had the privilege of training with many amazing teachers along the way, but her biggest influence is her own life journey - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and sharing that with her students. Mix in a variety of music genres, some laughter, and a relaxed, supportive atmosphere, and you will have found yourself in one of Jan's classes.

When Jan is not teaching, you might find her walking in the woods with her husband, Bob, and their dog or visiting with their two grown daughters, and two grandsons. She nourishes her soul at the beach and really loves trees!

Kathy Bagden

Kathy believes that yoga holds many gifts for people in all stages of life. Guiding students in breath awareness and gentle movement, her classes promote vitality, strength, flexibility and balance. She invites students to experience yoga as a grounding, centering space, and believes that yoga can lead us gently and mindfully towards meeting physical challenges and more deeply, life’s challenges, in a more self-connected, calm and thoughtful way. Her classes are often themed with the weather, seasons, and holidays as a way to reflect the interplay between yoga and life itself. She embraces Hatha and Ashtanga yoga and continues to broaden her yoga knowledge through ongoing training with master teachers, and always, her students - the best teachers of all! 

Carolyn Bagdoyan

Carolyn loves how yoga is a journey of discovery that can open insights into us physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Carolyn is an IAYT-certified yoga therapist, having graduated from Susi Hately’s Functional Synergy 1000-hour yoga therapy certification program that emphasized functional movement - bio-mechanics and body education within the context of yoga - and the use of breath, movement and stillness to help individuals draw greater awareness to their movement and tension-holding patterns both on and off the mat.  

Carolyn loves the therapeutic aspects of yoga - particularly how students can find more ease in body and mind if they are empowered to move better and more functionally, even as they build strength and stability through their practice.  Carolyn has found her passion in helping students discover how to nurture what’s working and quiet what’s not working, and in the process mindfully integrate this awareness into their day, and discover a deeper connection to themselves. She has completed certifications with LOVEYourBrain, Dr. Marc Halpern’s Yoga Nidra and Self-Healing, and Amy Weintraub’s LifeForce Yoga®.  Carolyn is also a licensed physical therapist assistant. 

Gina Leskovar-Buhrman

As Gina says, the Kettlebell Swing is more than it appears, especially on social media! It can be the most powerful and impactful addition to your training. Just make sure that you find someone like me who can show you how to do it safely and effectively!

Move it to live fit.  Through proper movement patterns the body gains flexibility, balance and strength.  Gina’s goal is to train your body to move better.  Once we move better, we increase progressions in our exercises; eventually adding weight to our movement for overall body strength.  Strong is the new beautiful! 

Gina is a local Virginia girl who's dad was a Madison HS football coach (and played college football, Bill Leskovar).  With athleticism in her blood Gina ran track in high school (West Springfield), even snuck into Spa Lady after school, eventually getting her first gym membership there!  Gina met her husband while training for the 1999 Marine Corps Marathon.  She's always the one to get people outside and moving and having Fun!  Gina passed the greuling Snatch Test RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certification) in 2013 and maintains her strength through a recertification every 3 years.  Gina believes kettlebells are her "fountain of youth,” allowing her to participate in events with her kids (obstacle runs/ downhill mountain biking), competing in events on her own like Trail Running (she placed first in her age group); tactical strength competitions (pull-ups/kettlebell snatches/deadlift), she trained and competed in a powerlifting competition and brought home 2 trophies.  Her knowledge from RKC allows her to teach the fundamentals of kettlebell training in a safe & fun way.  Her training allows you to learn about yourself and believe in yourself.

Melanie-Joy H. Dorn

Melanie began taking yoga classes in 2008 and has been hooked ever since, finishing her 200-hour teacher training through YogaFit in November of 2014. She teaches Vinyasa style yoga, focusing on bringing the breath and body in harmony during her classes. She is amazed at how therapeutic deep breathing can be both mentally and physically, and continues to read everything she can about the breath - our life force. Melanie credits yoga for helping her remain calm through life’s difficulties, and enjoys sharing her practice with others.

Melanie has been a Speech-Language Pathologist for as long as she can remember, currently working at Fair Oaks hospital with adults who have had strokes or traumatic brain injury, have Parkinson’s disease, voice disorders, head and neck cancer, and/or swallowing disorders.

Melanie enjoys experiencing her two passions, yoga and speech therapy, together when she teaches yoga at The Stroke Come Back Center right here in Vienna, or Vocal Yoga to patients with voice disorders at the hospital. Melanie loves that both yoga and speech have breath as their foundation.

Melanie has lived in Vienna for over 20 years with her husband, Bill, who also enjoys yoga, and their three children. She loves spending time with family and friends, reading, sending snail mail, cycling, and carpooling (really). Melanie is thrilled to be a part of the Body Grace community.

Rheema Garrett

Rheema has been practicing various styles of yoga for nearly ten years, and feels that it is an essential part of her journey in the “flow of life." She began her yoga teacher training with Little Flower Yoga, Croton-on-Hudson, New York, in order to bring yoga to her preschool classroom. The positive effect yoga had in her classes revealed how centering and grounding it can be even for the littlest of students. She completed her RYT 200 hour certification from the Kripalu School of Yoga, in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, in 2014. This experience changed the way she sees herself and others, and learned that compassion for one’s self and for others leads to a sweeter, happier life. Rheema’s intention for her students is keeping the body safe and encouraging her students to explore their yoga practice, in their own unique way.

Rheema is currently working on her RYT 500 hour yoga certification with the Kripalu School of Yoga and Ayurveda, and has recently discovered that she is as happy  teaching her students meditation and mindfulness as she is teaching the physical aspects of a yoga practice.

Rheema has a passion for Classical Pilates Mat. Although she has practiced various styles of Pilates for over ten years, the classical sequence designed by Joseph Pilates remains closest to her heart. She is certified through the Equinox Insitute for Pilates, which belongs to the Pilates Method Alliance. Her teacher is Lilia Browning Cohen, who was trained by master teacher Romana Krysanowska, a student of Joseph Pilates himself.

Rheema teaches her students how to perform Pilates mat effectively by helping them to build a start position from the ground up, and by teaching them how to use the breath to fuel mindful movements which strengthen the core and lengthen the muscles.

Lisa Gunther

Lisa received her 200-hour teacher training at Sun and Moon Yoga Studio in Arlington, Virginia in 2013. 

Lisa experiences yoga as an exploration and a journey to self, and is constantly amazed by what is uncovered on the yogic path. Each day, each pose, and each breath provide the gifts of new perspective and deeper connection. Lisa shares this sense of discovery and joy with others as she guides them through the delightful practice of yoga.

Paloma Jimenez-Raika

Paloma started her fitness career in 2007 as a group exercise instructor.  She's now a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a 200 RYT Yava Yoga instructor. She has a Physical Therapist Assistant degree that helped her strengthen her knowledge of the human body and improved her performance as a fitness professional benefiting everyone that participates in her group & private sessions. She has a cheerful personality and loves meeting others who share their passion for movement and relaxation. She encourages others to find what makes them happy.  Helping people stay active, healthy and happy through the practice of yoga and fitness is Paloma's ultimate goal. She's excited to join the Body Grace family as a Yoga instructor. Her classes focus on toning/sculpting, full body stretching, balance, core engagement and relaxation. On the personal side, Paloma adds Spanish language capability to our staff. She and her husband have an awesome daughter, and they love the beach, hiking, and spending time with their 3 kitties. 

Ely

Ely is an instructor of Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga in Mclean, Virginia. Ely graduated with a BA in Physical Education from Azad University before obtaining her yoga teaching license in 2014. Her passion for movement and athleticism, honed through years of swimming, naturally led her to discover yoga. For Ely, yoga is more than just a physical challenge; she combines the practice’s ability to harmonize the mind and body. In Virginia, she has continued her yoga practice by obtaining her teaching license through Yoga Fit. Ely views teaching yoga as a profound privilege, and her teaching philosophy is anchored in the belief that it is our universal right to explore the myriad of benefits that yoga offers to one’s mind and body.

Diane Lim

Diane views yoga as a better-late-than-never-found treasure in her life—and something meant to be shared. She discovered her yoga practice at age 40, realizing that having four babies and working full-time (as an economist) had taken a toll on her own physical and emotional fitness. Yoga quickly took over most of her personal fitness routine as well as her general outlook on life, and she decided to become a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200) so she could share it. She and Jan first met when they trained together with the YogaFit School. When Diane was still developing as a yoga teacher, she started a donation-based yoga program called Giving Yoga which raised thousands of dollars for charitable health causes. She also did what most thought impossible, leading “bipartisan yoga” classes in committee hearing rooms on Capitol Hill (where she worked at the time). Today, Diane continues to work as an economist (and writer and teacher of economics), her four kids are now all adults and college grads, and she continues to view her yoga practice and teaching as an ongoing personal mission that will last way beyond the other roles she's held in her life.

Diane’s favorite master yoga teachers who have profoundly influenced her continuing yoga education and practice are Donna Farhi (of New Zealand) and Erich Schiffmann (of Venice, California). She teaches in a relatively slow-flowing vinyasa style that integrates elements of Ashtanga (sometimes labeled “power”) and Iyengar (emphasizing alignment) yoga, and promotes core strength, flexibility, balance, and grace.  She likes to “go with the flow” in the sequencing of poses, so that no classes are ever the same, and she encourages students to feel the poses develop and blossom very organically and intuitively, from the breath to the body, and from the inside out. Diane’s goal in every class she leads is to have students leave their mats feeling stronger, more “spacious”—and generally, more comfortable inside their own bodies.

Judy Mannes

Judy has been teaching yoga, Pilates, and strength training since 2008. In addition to holding a 200-hour yoga certification, she has completed hundreds of hours of specialty training in anatomy, prenatal and post-natal yoga, yoga for seniors, and yoga as therapy. Judy teaches both Vinyasa and Hatha styles of yoga. Her approach to teaching yoga emphasizes doing yoga safely with proper alignment, coordinating the breath with movement, and finding core strength to create flexibility, stability, and balance.

She earned her Pilates mat certifications from Power Pilates, which bases its teacher-training programs on the principles of control, precision, and flow developed by Joseph Pilates. Judy is also certified as a group fitness instructor and a person trainer by the American Aerobics and Fitness Association (AAFA). Regardless of the format she teaches, Judy wants to help students understand, and appreciate why proper form unique to their individual bodies is critical to performing any exercise safely.

Kristen Pierce

With a zest for life and celebration of the wonderfully created human body, Kristen is committed to safely bringing the joy of fitness to each of her clients.  A fitness professional for over thirty years, she holds a variety of certifications and teaches many forms of rhythmic movement.  From aerobics to specialized equipment, from Thai Massage and Yoga to personal training and Line Dance, she integrates the best of all fitness modalities, believing that each one informs the others.  She strives to honor the God-given wisdom of the body in all endeavors and compassionately encourages her students to do the same, using mindful—not mindless--movement.

On a personal note, Kristen hails from Atlanta, Georgia.  She received her Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Georgia and her Master's degree in Literature and Linguistics from Marymount University.  She has completed additional graduate work in literature at Villanova University as well.  Besides immersing herself in fitness, Kristen enjoys reading and writing, gardening and biking, singing and dancing, plus games and entertaining.  When not teaching a class or training a client, she can be found at the farmers’ market looking for something healthy and tasty!

Rita Stankwitz

Gratitude, Love and Respect. Rita’s Yoga journey began more than a decade ago, when her then mid-teens son established a family Yoga practice, following a television Yoga instructor. Throughout her journey, family and friends of a younger generation have led her and been her companions in discovering and expanding her experiences of the love and joy of being first a Yoga practitioner, and now an RYT-200 Yoga Instructor. Rita and her daughter walked the path to becoming instructors together through the YogaFit teacher training system. They finished their 200 hours of training in the spring of 2018, having begun together in September 2016.

During the years of continuous training as an instructor, Rita has been grateful to be a Yoga instructor in multiple care settings, with students ranging from age five at church camp, to 98 years young in an independent living health and wellness center. Rita was introduced to Body Grace through her daughter living in Vienna for evening Yoga classes. In a beautiful unfolding of her journey, Rita is now an evening class Instructor for Body Grace and continues to work to make the joy and love of Yoga accessible to everyone. She seeks to make her classes places of Ahimsa and Santosha: love and mutual respect for ourselves and all others, ever mindful that the present is a gift of living our lives fully, a gift that only we can give ourselves.

Emily Steiner

Emily began practicing yoga in 2001 at Integral Yoga Institute in Manhattan under the teachings of Swami Satchidananda. Immediately, she felt more connected, peaceful, and resilient. Along her journey, she has practiced Hatha, Vinyasa, Bikram, Pre-natal, and Mommy and Me yoga in many different settings. Wanting to deepen her understanding of the process that was happening both on and off the mat as a result of yoga, she enrolled in teacher training. Emily is a RYT-500 hour Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor. She has worked with Pandit Ragmani Tigunait, Rod Stryker, Shiva Rea, Seane Corn, Max Strom, Dharma Mittra, Rolf Sovik, and recently finished her 500-hour training at the Himalayan Institute. 

Yoga continues to help Emily see life with clarity and enables her to remain an observer in the midst of a hectic life. Yoga helps her let go and let the change come, to bend and not break. 

Emily is inspired every time she teaches yoga. She loves to see the courage it takes to be on a mat and fully present, and the compassion it takes to be exactly where you are and how you are. Emily’s classes cultivate an inner awareness and self-compassion. Through mindfulness and the breath, we access our inner teacher allowing for clarity and self-understanding, and enabling us to act rather than react in our day-to-day life and relationships. Emily’s intention as a teacher is to inspire and guide students to an experience of inner awareness in hopes of spreading more light in the world. She is honored to be able to share yoga and its benefits with others.

Stan Stewart

Stan has been an AFAA certified group exercise instructor for over 20 years. During that time, he has taught classes at various clubs in the Northern Virginia area. His style could best be described as “high energy, upbeat and fun,” both in cardio and strength/conditioning classes. It is his belief that working hard and fun can coexist.

Some of Stan’s accomplishments to date include being a three time regional medalist in the U.S. National Aerobic Championship; appearing in various aerobic videos; appearances as the guest/presenting instructor at various clubs, charitable events, and schools in Virginia, Maryland, and New York.

When not teaching classes, Stan can usually be found on the bike trail with his wife training for the next upcoming century (100 mile) bike ride or a week long biking vacation, or at his church leading fitness activities and/or singing.

Stan looks at his ability to lead others to a better fitness level as a gift, one he is willing to share whenever possible.

Mary Beth Stewart

Mary Beth is E-RYT certified and has been practicing yoga for over 20 years. She believes we are constantly learning and our bodies are ever changing.

Her classes combine strength-building postures, balance poses, and flexibility conditioning. Her teaching style can be described as engaging, energetic, and encouraging. You will leave her classes feeling vibrant and energized.

Kathy Talkington

Kathy started taking yoga at Body Grace around 2012 to find a calming activity to balance a stressful job and to complement other activities like biking and running. Since then she has seen the many benefits of yoga whether that is to learn to listen to the body instead of pushing past pain, feeling the benefits of focusing on the breath for being in the moment and for enabling the body to stretch a little deeper, to building strength and flexibility.

Kathy enjoys teaching a vinyasa flow yoga class while mixing in lots of different poses and modifications. Her hope is to both make yoga accessible to anyone who's interested and to offer some options for holding a pose a little longer or progressing through balance poses to test your edge - while keeping it fun.  She likes to mix in a variety of music.

Kathy got her 200 RYT through YogaFit which stressed the importance of alignment for safe movement both on and off the mat.

Clare Tomassian

Clare (Stankwitz) Tomassian began her yoga journey alongside her brother and her mother, Rita. As Rita describes in her bio, Clare's brother started the yoga journey for all 3 of them when Clare was in high school. They would practice first thing in the morning with PBS programming in the mid-2000s (Namaste Yoga and Inhale Yoga with Steve Ross). Clare kept coming back to yoga for the sense of calm, restoration, and lengthening it brought her. She practiced off and on throughout college and after. Yoga kept her grounded through stressful coursework and starting a professional career, and also helped her touch her toes with straight knees for the first time ever!

Finding Body Grace when she moved to Vienna was a turning point towards deepening her yoga journey. She relished the evening classes and how Jan especially emphasized breathwork, the mental and spiritual benefits of yoga, and exploring postures playfully.

Rita and Clare jumped at the opportunity to take a Yoga Teacher Training Level 1 class when it was offered at Body Grace in 2016. That class led them to both becoming RYT-200 certified instructors through Yoga Fit in 2018. Clare has substituted for many of Rita's classes and other classes at Body Grace as well as offering one-off classes at her work. Her teaching style emphasizes using the breath to enhance asanas (the postures) and fluid movement, offering plenty of modification options, and the collective journey of the class through the practice. She often enjoys theming classes around a set of centering quotes or a mudra (hand posture). She is excited to begin a regular weekly teaching slot as of July 2021, and looks forward to welcoming you to a practice soon!

Jon Waterman

Jon, who was introduced to a Zen meditation discipline while teaching the martial arts in the early seventies, now teaches both Mindfulness Meditation Courses as well as the traditional Cheng Man Ching variation of the Yang style tai chi form using the ZOOM platform at various times throughout the week. 

Jon, one of the founding directors of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, has studied with teachers from around the world with a focus, since 1994, on Concentration and Insight Meditation practices and has been a member of IMCW’s Teacher’s Council since its inception. 

His meditation classes, workshops and retreats focus on reducing stress and strengthening continuity of present moment awareness by synthesizing various meditation techniques with mindful movement and insight dialogue within a safe, relaxed and light-hearted environment.

Jon and his wife began studying tai chi with John Allen in 2007 and has been refining that practice with Kris Brinker since 2017.

Jon’s love for mind/body disciplines is currently balanced between private coaching/mentoring sessions and his meditation and tai-chi classes. 

Holly Williams

Holly, RYT 200, began practicing yoga in 1998, soon after she enlisted in the United States Air Force. She found it the perfect antidote to the fast pace and ever-changing external demands of the military lifestyle. Throughout a 20-year Air Force career, she gained first-hand experience in how yoga shifts and deepens with sustained practice, becoming a source of stability in the midst of environmental, personal, and physical changes. Holly recommitted to understanding more about yoga following her military retirement in 2018. Chronic pain, injuries, and motherhood had altered what postures (asanas) she could attain, but the challenges also provided new insight into the importance of making yoga accessible to anyone. She believes if you have a body, yoga is for you.

In 2021, Holly determined the time had come to enter a teacher training program. She studied with the Hamsa School of Yoga and Ayurveda in San Antonio, Texas, and completed the program the same year, shortly before she relocated to Virginia. Holly’s aim for teaching yoga is to help people, regardless of limitations, be at ease in their bodies and in the world—to find the interior stillness, even while in motion.

Beth Wilt (currently on sabbatical)

Beth attended her first yoga class in 2007, and was drawn to the approach yoga takes in combining body, mind and spirit. Inspired by her first yoga teacher, she took her first YogaFit teacher training in April 2011. She obtained her 200 RYT Yoga Alliance certification in November 2011 with YogaFit. Thru yoga, Beth has had an increased interest in the therapeutic benefits of yoga and is currently pursuing her 500 RYT Yoga Alliance certification with YogaFit with an emphasis on yoga as therapy.

While her teacher training focused on vinyasa flow, Beth enjoys combining various yoga style elements including gentle, restorative, and yin yoga as well as flow. Beth describes her style of teaching as calm and relaxed, welcoming smiles and humor into the yoga practice. Her classes emphasize a balance of strength, flexibility, and mindfulness and often offer modifications to encourage students to find accessibility that is right for them in yoga poses. Beth emphasizes that modifications don’t necessarily make a pose easier but rather modifications make the pose accessible for where you are at that particular time.

Beth considers herself a continuing student of yoga and enjoys learning and sharing that learning with students. When not teaching, Beth enjoys tennis with friends and plays on several tennis leagues in the area year round. Playing golf has also become an activity that Beth enjoys as it allows her to spend time in the outdoors.  She also enjoys cooking, and learning to try something new now and then.