About Lilananda Yoga
Lilananda Yoga is a yoga studio serving Glenville, Burnt Hills and the surrounding areas. The studio offers a warm and inviting space to enjoy your practice. Come learn about, expand and explore yourself with our skilled and experienced teachers. We are proud to have created a space where the community can come together through wellness!
Jennifer started the studio in hopes of sharing the timeless practice of yoga with others. Based on her own practice and experience with yoga she knows that the practice can help people with it’s practical applications, in countless ways. Yoga takes into consideration that people are very complex beings, we are not one size fits all! It offers many “tools” to help us understand and nurture the mind & body so that we can optimize our lives.
The studio also offers a variety of classes for a variety of abilities with vibrant & talented teachers. We hope you find your way in to see us and try a class or workshop that suits your interests. View our class schedule here.
We host different guests for workshops, special classes, and sessions. Visit our Programs page for further information and details on upcoming dates.
Lilananda Defined
If you’ve ever tried to pronounce our name, you may be wondering what the heck Lilananda (lee-la-nahn-da) means.
Sanskrit is the language of yoga. It is similar to latin in that it is no longer spoken but has informed modern languages. Lila means play and implies the playfulness inherent in creation. Ananda is bliss; the highest level of joy.
We hope a visit to our studio helps you elevate your inner space to a more joyful, carefree place.
Our Teachers
Jennifer Venditti - E-RYT 500
Jennifer has been practicing yoga for 14 years and has a dedicated personal practice. She received her 200HR Yoga Teacher Certification with Lauren Toolin of Yoga Vidya, in April of 2012. She completed the final module of her 300HR advanced training program in November of 2016. She is grateful for her teacher Lauren Toolin and for the guidance and love that she has provided. She is registered with the Yoga Alliance as a 200ERYT and a 500RYT. Jennifer has always been interested wholesome/natural living and believes passionately in yoga’s potential for creating a healthy, successful and loving existence. Her teaching style is drawn from her knowledge of Classic Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra, and her own personal experiences with the teachings and practices. Jennifer loves and lives her yoga practice, it spills into all other aspects of her life. She is the mother of 4 and a loving wife to her husband, best friend, and business partner Luciano Venditti, Jr.
Chris Darby-King ~ RYT 200
Chris has been practicing yoga for over 30 years, initially as a student with Kripalu yoga for many years.
She began her life changing journey with yoga in 2003 when she was faced with a breast cancer diagnosis and began to re-evaluate her life and health. It was than when she dove into her yoga practice with more intensity and resolve and ventured into yoga teacher training with Lauren Toolin and became 200 hr YTT certified in 2011. She also trained with Jennilee Toner studying Hot Warrior Yoga. She presently is in the process of working on her 500 hr. certification and has been teaching yoga in the Capital District for the past several years, mostly offering gentle hatha yoga, chair yoga and gentle vinyasa flow. Chris is passionate about yoga and is excited to share with others the many health benefits a yoga practice provides.
When not found on the mat, Chris also is an Occupational Therapist and has worked with children for the past several years. She loves to be outside whenever possible and is often found hiking, kayaking, on a paddle board, skiing or snowshoeing.
Sarah Stygles ~ Children's Yoga Educator
Sarah Stygles is our Children’s Yoga Educator & Naturalist/Community Educator. She has a background in Environmental Education, experience as a Health & Wellness Instructor/Program Director, and is trained in Yoga Ed’s Children’s Yoga, certification course. Her classes include;
-Little Yogis, for children 3-10 years of age
-Young Yogis, for children 11-15 years of age
-Mindfulness & Enrichment classes for preschoolers +
-Homeschoolers
-Sports centered yoga
-School based programs
For more information scroll through this website, check out our Facebook page, or contact Sarah at SarahStygles@gmail.com
Ligeia Peterson ~ CYT 200
Ligeia has first been introduced to yoga as a child when her mother signed her up for an after school program in elementary school. Ligeia picked yoga back up as an adult and has made it a part of her daily life for over 5 years. In April of 2019, Ligeia graduated from her 200 hour certification through Lauren Toolin's Yoga Vidya program. She is deeply thankful for the loving knowledge her teachers shared with her. By day Ligeia works for a nonprofit that helps low income communities gain access to fresh produce all over the Capital Region. Throughout her practice Ligeia takes her creativity and kindness through her day to day life.
Melia Gordon ~ RYT 200
Melia is a registered 200 hour yoga teacher, certified pre/postnatal and mommy and me teacher, trained birth and postpartum doula, lactation educator/counselor, and mom of 3. With 25 years of personal yoga experience, 13 years of breastfeeding experience and 4 years working with birthing mothers, she is passionate about creating a strong caregiver baby/bond while helping ease the aches and pains that go along with pregnancy and caring for a child in the early postnatal time.
Vanessa Chambers ~ CYT 500
Vanessa has been practicing yoga since 2003 and teaching since 2008.
She has a bachelor's degree in Holistic Health, has over 500 hours of accredited yoga teacher training, and is certified in Thai Yoga. She has been offering yoga classes in the Capital District for 10 years. She is currently raising three people, helping to manage Lilananda Yoga while working for VMC Support Services from home providing one on one yoga instruction and wellness coaching.
Jenna Bodisch ~ CYT 200
Jenna began practicing yoga consistently in 2016 while in graduate school in order to manage her own stress levels and to foster a connection between her mind, body, breath, and spirit. As she used yoga and mindfulness to facilitate her own healing and growth, it led Jenna to earn her 200 hour certification in 2019 through Yoga Vidya, taught by Meghan Hogan. While not practicing yoga, Jenna is also a social worker and works with children/adolescents on the Autism Spectrum. Jenna strives to incorporate yoga/mindfulness whenever she can into her personal and professional life, and believes that regardless of ability or differences, all persons should have the opportunity and access to learn about and engage in these practices. Jenna is dedicated to creating safe and supportive environments to empower those she serves to live their fullest and best life.
Gail Witte ~ RYT 500
Gail has been teaching yoga since 2007 and has since repeated her 200 yoga teacher training, did the advanced course work to become 500 registered yoga teacher and is currently embarking on her journey to become a Yoga Therapist. Gail's dedicated personal practice has elevated her teaching skills over the last twelve years and she is looking forward to sharing the art of Yoga with the Lilananda Community!!
Carrie Swift-Huntley ~ RYT 200
Carrie began practicing hot power yoga in 1999 in the Greater Boston area in preparation for Y2K (kidding/not kidding). In 2004, she signed up for a sunrise and sunset yoga al fresco series – she expected ocean-side yoga but got much more. This was her introduction to the Iyengar method and its zealous emphasis on form. Yoga became an essential part of Carrie’s life and she was physically, mentally and spiritually transformed. During a few years of major life transitions, she let her practice slip and felt the effects. To recommit to yoga, Carrie completed 200-hour teacher training with Lauren Toolin of Yoga Vidya in 2017. To complement this, she has additional training in restorative yoga, yoga for children/adolescents and meditation, and is working on 500-hour advanced teacher training. Off the mat, Carrie is in the midst of a career change to become a chemistry teacher after two decades consulting in occupational health and environmental toxicology, and she is a ‘boy mom’ of an extremely busy tweenager. She stays sane(ish) by spending time on her mat/meditation cushion and in the woods with her favorite yogini, Sweet Caroline the corgi!
Nadia El-Fawal ~ E-RYT 200
A yoga practitioner since 2009, Nadia El-Fawal earned her 200-hour certification as a yoga teacher through Yoga Vidya in the spring of 2017. She is a community partner with the Yoga and Body Image Coalition, and through partnering with them seeks to continue creating inclusive, body-positive spaces where students can experience yoga as a transformative tool for their personal lives and for their communities. In her classes, students are invited to join her while they compassionately cultivate curiosity and challenge themselves to grow, both on and off the mat. She embraces the idea that yoga is for all bodies and all people and is passionate about to imparting to her students that all bodies can find an expression of asana (physical postures) that best suits them. She strives to teach students to learn to utilize the tools and gifts of yoga to serve them where they are presently in their practice and in their lives in a judgement-free, positive, and encouraging environment.
