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, including Partner Yoga, Meditative painting, and those designed specifically for children. Visit our Events 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.
Vanessa Chambers ~ CYT 500
Vanessa has been practicing yoga since 2003 and teaching since 2008. She started using a Rodney Yee video after her eldest child was born as a way to lose weight. It worked and she was intrigued by the details in the relaxation portion. She began to be aware of things she had never thought of before or had actively pushed away. Her first public yoga class was done in jeans because a "workshop" meant something else for someone who had never been to a yoga studio. It was a bandha workshop with Lauren Toolin at Heartspace Albany. She decided to take the 200hr Yoga Teacher Empowerment Program the owner was offering. When he fell ill midway through the training, Lauren Toolin stepped in to complete the program.
Vanessa has a bachelor's degree in Holistic Health, she has taken Lauren Toolin's 300 hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training twice. She has been offering yoga classes in the Capital District for 10 years. She has also developed and grown a business which supports the growth of wellness professionals across the country. She is currently raising three people, helping to manage Lilananda Yoga while working for VMC Support Services from home.
Ruth Teitz ~ RYT 200
Yoga has been an integral part of my life for the past 10 years, and my practice has helped me grow stronger, more flexible and fearless, both on and off my mat. Yoga inspires me to live each moment more mindfully.
I completed my 200 hour Hatha Yoga training through Yoga Vidya in Albany, NY in 2012, and completed Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, PT’s “Relax and Renew” Restorative Teacher Training at Kripalu in 2015. In Jan. 2017, through Yoga Vidya, I completed “Advanced Studies in Teaching Yoga to Seniors.” I will always be a student of the practice and am deeply grateful for the loving wisdom my teachers have shared with me. I have a small, by appointment only studio in Clifton Park, NY, “Inspired Yoga for Wellness.”
In my classes, I love to combine gentle creative sequencing, a spirit of playfulness and a dose of inspiration to help you deepen your own practice. I seek to help others thrive in life by nurturing body, mind and soul with yoga. My hope is that you step off your mat feeling restored, nourished and balanced.
Sarah Stygles ~ Nature Educator
I grew up in Ballston Lake, then moved up to Plattsburgh where I attended SUNY Plattsburgh for my undergraduate work in Environmental Science, and Graduate level work in Entomology. I worked as as an Environmental Educator for the NYS DEC for 3 Summer Seasons where I developed my love of sharing nature with anyone that will listen! After grad school I worked at a Not-for-Profit as a Staff Educator and Incident Investigator for 10 years. In this position I found a passion for assisting people strengthen their health and wellness. Currently I'm a Naturalist & Community Educator, a 3rd season Beekeeper, and a knitting enthusiast.
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.
Ashley Davison ~ RYT 200
Ashley started practicing yoga in her home in 2010 as a way to center and strengthen her body and mind. In 2017 she decided it was time to become a part of the yoga community, so began attending group classes, where she was inspired by the wealth of knowledge and support provided by the teachers at Lilananda studio. In 2018, she embarked on the journey of becoming a certified yoga instructor, and completed her 200 hour certification through Yoga Vidya. When not practicing yoga, Ashley can be found working as an HR Director for a local non profit or adventuring in the great outdoors. It's Ashley's hope that through yoga, she can help her students find a sense of calm and stillness in their lives.
Jennifer Ananda
Jennifer spent ten years studying and working at a yoga retreat and spiritual educational center. She now leads the campus wide Mindfulness program at Skidmore College. For over twelve years she has immersed herself in the practices and principles of Yoga as a scientific and spiritual path, the study of the Sanskrit language and the ancient scriptures of India. As a teacher, she has a deep passion to create healing space. Using the natural expression of movement supported by the breath, she strives to create a balanced practice focused on inner awareness and mindfulness. She also loves weaving sound healing into her offerings.
