Meet the New Yoga Now Dream Team
Erin and Kendall had a dream to build a yoga home where Savannah’s very best teachers could share authentically, unscripted and from their hearts. When the timing was right, this diverse group of teachers came together with a shared mission: to let the yoga speak for itself, to be but a channel for these ancient teachings, and to offer a yoga practice for EVERYbody. We are here to meet our students where they are and to offer yoga with love and light.
Kendall Beene, Co-Founder
Kendall Beene has been studying yoga for 30 years, and teaching for 20. A scientist at heart, Kendall's years studying and teaching geology are a major influence in her practice and teaching, which focus on curiosity, process, and digging deep to visualize what is happening beneath the surface! In 2023, Kendall began studying and training in Somatic Movement and is currently working on her Yoga Therapy Certificate through Prajna Yoga. One of the low country’s most sought-after private yoga teachers, Kendall considers working with individuals over the past 15 years to be the greatest honor and education she has received as a teacher. This work has gifted her with an ability to truly see and listen to her students. Kendall's intuitive, soulful teaching style embodies a balance of compassion, strength and grace. Slowing down has had a profound effect on the quality of her life on every level, and her mission is to help people release tension from their bodies and minds.
Erin Lambright, Co-Founder
Erin Lambright is a seasoned and highly respected yoga and meditation teacher who has been teaching in the Savannah area for over five years. With a background in gymnastics and dance, yoga was an easy transition. Yoga also fits perfectly with her UGA degree in Therapeutic Recreation. Though Erin has taught multiple styles of yoga from hot and sweaty power yoga to therapeutic yoga for illness and injury, she is most at home teaching a slow, steady, challenging flow. She has seen this modality give her students time to gain confidence and ease in their practice.
Betsy Powers, Teacher
Betsy is an experienced yoga teacher and somatic therapist. She loves the practice of yoga and it shows in her teaching. She believes in the amazing transformational power of the practice and uses her body psychotherapy training to help students use the physical practice to support emotional balance and wellbeing.
Will Boatwright, Teacher
As an avid skateboarder at a semi-professional level and a certified and licensed Physical Therapy Assistant for 13 years, Will never thought he would be where he is today. Certified as a 200-hour yoga teacher and studying to complete my 500hr, my life is yoga. Will practices asanas (poses), yes, but his practice extends to his family, friends, and, most importantly, his son. Yoga is not just exercise but a state of mind, a sense of calmness when times are tough, and an essential grounding. It has the ability to heal the body and the mind. The foundation of Will’s teacher training comes from Prajna Yoga, which is a system developed by Tias Little and taught by Marty and Marti Yura of Vista Yoga in Atlanta, GA. Prajna in Sanskrit means "insight" and focuses on using the breath to power the posture along with focusing on proper alignment. This system of yoga brings about big changes in subtle ways, and Will looks forward to sharing this amazing approach to yoga with you soon.
Emily Polonus, Teacher
Emily Polonus is a former map-making Geographer, turned explorer of the inner terrain of the heart, mind, and body connection. A dedicated student with a thirst for knowledge her certifications are many: Emotions Mentor Coach, Essential Oils Specialist/Teacher w/ doTERRA, Forrest Yoga Teacher, and Massage Therapist. Through daily dedication, consistency in practice, and teaching she has become a brilliant master of using essential oils as primary healing tools for everyday health, emotional and energetic regulation, and transformation. She weaves a unique tapestry of wisdom, insight, and experience into her teachings, business and relations. She believes that reclaiming the truth of our innate worthiness and inner abundance is key to being more kind and compassionate to ourselves and others. You can connect with her on IG @emilyannpolonus or emilypolonus.com
Emily Bowser, Teacher
Emily’s first experience with yoga was the class she never attended – she was too scared to walk through the door. The following day she returned and kept coming back day after day. Years later, she is still just as in love with this practice as when she first began. Emily also loves spending time with her family, making art, swimming in the ocean and dancing in her living room.
Wayne Lee, Teacher
Wayne was introduced to yoga in 2013 after suffering from an AC joint separation in the shoulder for many years. Immediately falling in love with the practice and its amazing rehabilitative abilities he dove into a 200 hr teacher training at the Mira Yoga School with Kendall Beene. He has been teaching since 2014 and designs his classes to be energetic, physically challenging and healing. All with a healthy dose of laughter to help everyone stay present. He writes, “I am honored to have been asked to teach at New Yoga Now and look forward to sharing my practice with all of you.”
Max Arnzen, Teacher
Max started practicing yoga prior to COVID, but during the intense isolation of lockdown developed a personal practice and started turning inward to battle the negativity of loneliness, tragedy, and apathy. Soon enough, the practice expanded beyond the physical and he began to incorporate concepts of the eight-limbed path into his everyday living. Max has always had a passion for teaching and, after completing his 200-hour training in 2021, was eager to get started sharing his passion with others. Max uses the chakra system as a roadmap for the creative process and to manifest creative ideas. He believes in a well-rounded practice, not just in the poses, but through chanting, mantra, breathing techniques, stillness and meditation, intention and relaxation.
Heather DuCloux, Teacher
Heather is a 200 hour yoga instructor. She has taught a form of group exercise for over 20 years. Decades of cardio and joint pounding exercises led her to yoga. Through yoga she has been able to find a different type of success in mindfulness modalities. Her goal is to support yogis in their journey of mind-body care and quality of life movement.Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Jessie Gulliver, Teacher
Not native to Savannah, but I have been a resident to the East Coast my whole life.... Beach girl at birth! From Jacksonville, NC to the northern waters in Mass.... And we ended up in Savannah, Georgia! Quickly made my way to Tybee Island about 25 years ago and I stayed! Picked up SUP 8 years ago, started practicing yoga with a common thread, Jessica Taylor.... She introduced me to SUP Yoga and that’s when I decided I wanted to teach SUPY. It was not an easy journey... I never had a desire to teach yoga, I had SUPY on the brain! Completed YTT at Mira Yoga School and jumped into teaching yoga immediately... as I quickly realized this must be the place for me! FAST FORWARD... I have been leading SUP Tours for 8 years, SUP Yoga classes for 5 years, Baptiste Power Instructor for 2 years, teaching yoga for 5 years. My mission in the world of yoga and in life is to BE COMMUNITY!
Jill Luse, Teacher
Jill is an elementary art teacher and yoga instructor with a love for learning. The asanas are what first drew her to yoga in 2015; the heat and power of a Vinyasa flow established a mind, body, and heart connection that continues to grow. Later, as a student of New Yoga School, Jill deepened her understanding of the eight limbs of yoga. She brings mindfulness and creativity to each class, whether in school or the studio. Practicing yin and yang styles of yoga helps Jill find balance- which is what she hopes to share with students.
Lauren Butler, Teacher
Lauren is a yoga teacher, realtor, wife, and mother of two boys. Her yoga journey began in 2002 and has been a source of physical and mental healing for her. After undergoing spinal fusion surgery in 2017, she credits yoga for her recovery.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lauren compiled a list of fulfilling activities, with yoga topping the list. This inspired her to pursue a 200-hour yoga certification at NYN and a 50-hour Certificate in Authentic Movement after studying with her teacher, Erin Kelly. Lauren offers classes infused with mindfulness and creativity, as well as a variety of workshops including her favorite, a Chakra Balancing & Healing workshop, with the intention of assisting others on their own journey to health and healing. Lauren is passionate about sharing the practice and contributing to positive growth in her students.
Emily Bremer, Teacher
Shea Walker, Teacher
Shea Walker is a 200-hour E-RYT, an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, and an Empowered Wisdom Yoga Nidra Facilitator. She has been studying yoga since 1998, and her offerings are informed by the teachings of the Himalayan Masters and Sri Vidya Tantra. In 2019, Shea completed her yoga nidra teacher training under the guidance of Tracee Stanley and Chanti Tacoronte-Perez. Shea’s classes weave together yoga asana, philosophy, pranayama (breath control), ayurvedic concepts, and self-inquiry. Her passion and purpose is sharing these tools with others so they can explore mind, body, and spirit, on and off the mat, creating deep transformation. Since 2016, Shea has been teaching public and private yoga classes, leading workshops in yoga, ayurveda, and yoga nidra, as well as mentoring private clients and sitting on various YTT faculty.
Paola Ronchetti, Teacher
Paola Ronchetti is a passionate yoga teacher who has been practicing since 2014. She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training at NYN under the guidance of Kendall Beene and the mentorship of Erin Lambright. Originally from Brazil, Paola left a successful career in the fashion industry to fully embrace yoga, bringing with her a commitment to excellence and creativity that shines through in her teaching. She loves guiding students through energizing flows as much as she cherishes the peace that restorative and somatic yoga bring to their lives. Paola inspires her students to live yoga both on and off the mat, embodying its transformative power every day.
Janelle Hubble, Teacher
Jen McCarter, Teacher
Yoga blossomed in Jen‘s life in 2013. In 2016, Jen decided to take yoga teacher training at Sanctuary for Yoga in Nashville, Tennessee. She started teaching a free class in October 2016 at Hot Yoga Of East Nashville. She graduated from her 200-hour in 2017 and quickly started her 300-hour to become 500 certified. Over the course of these years, Jen has managed Hot Yoga Of East Nashville, co-led the 200-hour teacher training, and built a 300-hour program, which she also leads. Yoga has been Jen’s modality for healing, and she is constantly amazed at how the body presents, heals, and grows. In her past time, Jen can be found on her 34-foot Beneteau sailboat with her husband, Charlie, son, Duncan, and daughter, Lila.
Michael Pope, Teacher
Michael Pope has been practicing yoga for around five years. A former football coach and school teacher, he left the classroom three years ago to pursue the life of a yogi. He completed his first teacher training at the Rishikesh Vinyasa Yoga School in Rishikesh, India under Yashpal Routela Ji. Upon returning to Savannah, he continued his training at New Yoga Now, completing a second 200hr certification with our very own Kendall Beene. He continues to study and grow as a yoga teacher, benefitting from the tutelage of Erin and Kendall, along with the rest of the amazing teachers at NYN. Michael prefers a more mindful approach to Vinyasa and is especially interested in traditional yogic philosophy.
