OUR FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Danielle Tarantola BS, ERYT-500, C-IAYT, is the founder and director of Yoga Foundation in Huntington Station, NY, established in 1998. She specializes in Yoga Therapy, Vedic Chanting, Yoga Philosophy and Teacher Training, all available in person and online. Certified by TKV Desikachar at Teacher, Teacher Trainer, and Yoga Therapist levels, she aligns with the powerful and practical teachings of T Krishnamacharya as learned directly through TKV Desikachar and his senior students in Chennai, South India, over 13 trips to Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM), and remotely thereafter, ongoing. Continued and extensive study, mentoring with her teachers, teaching and practice inspire her to ensure that yoga’s profound wisdom comes through clearly, simply, and with total relevance for our modern times and conditions.
OUR INSPIRATION AND TEACHING TRADITION
Professor T Krishnamacharya’s teachings, full stop. Sri Krishnamacharya is indisputably and ubiquitously recognized as the most influential Master of the modern times. A pioneer, he revived and widely disseminated the ancient teachings of yoga to the modern world. He emphasized the concept of viniyoga, the clever application of the many tools and techniques of yoga to his students with the utmost respect for their level, needs and capabilities. His main students, including Indra Devi, Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar and his son TKV Desikachar, have popularized yoga as we know it today.
TKV Desikachar, T Krishnamacharya’s son and foremost student who studied with him for the longest time, is the channel through which we have learned these teachings. His wisdom, humbleness, light-hearted integrity and dedication coupled with extreme acuity in observing students and applying the tools and practices of yoga are incomparable. As a former direct student of his son’s, I had the privilege of learning with him annually in South India from 2001-2012 as part of our in-depth immersion into the breadth and depth of Krishnamacharya’s teachings.
OUR TEACHERS
Gina D’Addario, RYT-500, began on the path of yoga almost 20 years ago, and has been fortunate enough to practice with and learn from many gifted and inspiring teachers in a variety of lineages, particularly the Ashtanga and Desikachar traditions. She is grateful to count Danielle Tarantola, Sara Intonato, Stacy Plaske, and Cher Meli as her most cherished and influential teachers.
After a decade and a half of dedicated practice, Gina completed the Yoga Foundation’s 500 hour teacher training program and transformed her personal practice into a professional calling. She has also served as a Retreat Assistant on several domestic and international yoga retreats, helping to deliver world-class experiences to dedicated and adventurous yoga practitioners. Gina is grateful to share the holistic, accessible, and healing yoga tradition of Guru T. Krishnamacharya via his son TKV Desikachar with students who aspire to personal growth and transformation.
Lisa Melendez, RYT-500 began practicing Yoga as a way to work with her asthma. After experiencing Yoga’s many benefits, she deepened her studies by completing a 500 hour Teacher Training Program with Healing Yoga Foundation, through which she also completed a Yoga and cancer support Program. Continuing to study and practice in the lineage of Krishnamacharya, Lisa takes Vedic Chanting courses with her mentor and teacher Danielle Tarantola. Committed to sharing Yoga as a means for developing awareness and wellbeing, Lisa offers stress management workshops that incorporate Yoga tools at the local college where she is a librarian, as well as other library venues. Teaching group class at the Mindful Turtle for over eight years, she also teaches Yoga for Teens with special needs.
Claudia Shapiro Claudia started taking classes at the Continuing Education program in Great Neck, NY, in 2001, just to see ‘what this is all about’....20 years later, she is a 500 hour certified Yoga Teacher and has been teaching group classes for 3 years.
After taking classes for about 15 years at different yoga studios, Claudia discovered Yoga Foundation and found what she had been missing elsewhere. The authenticity and fundamental wisdom of the Krishnamacharya tradition as well as in-depth study of the Yoga Sutras drew her in and she decided to take the next step.
Debbie Fratello is a 500 hour certified Yoga Teacher. After taking classes for about 20 years at different yoga studios, Deb discovered Yoga Foundation and found what she had been missing elsewhere. The authenticity and fundamental wisdom of the Krishnamacharya tradition as well as in-depth study of the Yoga Sutras drew her in and she decided to take the next step. The 200 and then 300 hour teacher training with Danielle and the co-students were challenging, wonderful experiences that had a deep impact on her life on as well as off the mat. Debbie would love to ‘pay it forward…’