biographies

Tricia Porter

Tricia is the Co-Owner of Empower Yoga Studio. Her passion for Power Yoga and Optimal Health and Wellbeing inspired her to open the studio in 2004. Tricia most recently completed her Baptiste Power Yoga teacher training. She is a registered yoga teacher with the national yoga alliance and has been studying and teaching yoga for 5 years.

Tricia has been teaching fitness since 1989. She is a certified personal trainer, and group exercise instructor. Tricia blends all of her teachings together with her personal life experiences and challenges to create a strong , unique and very inspirational yoga experience! Her classes will help each student to reach their truest potential on and off the mat!

Lisa Garlitz

Lisa Garlitz is a co-owner of Empower Yoga. She graduated college with a BS in Business Administration. After college Lisa acquired business experience while living in California for a year and in Madrid for 2 years. After living in Spain, Lisa settled in Boston where she started a successful telecommunications company. After 10 years of building her business in Boston, she decided to pursue passions outside of the telecommunications industry. She moved to Manchester-By-The-Sea and focused on raising a family. It was during this time that Lisa and Tricia Porter became neighbors and friends.

After the birth of her second child, Lisa discovered yoga. As a life-long fitness and sports enthusiast, Lisa enjoyed the physical challenge of hot, power yoga, combined with the mental peace and tranquility. As a runner, she found yoga to be a perfect workout to balance frequent runs and essential in preventing injury as she trained for two marathons. As a busy mother, she appreciated the serenity that yoga provided.

“I had tried a variety of yoga classes and nothing quite clicked with me, until I tried hot, power yoga. I was immediately drawn to the intense physical challenge. I came out of that first class, drenched in sweat, and completely invigorated. Over time, I discovered that yoga strengthened my body on all levels - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It is a workout that is so complete. Everyone needs this type of yoga.”

Lisa and Tricia joined forces in 2003 and combined their efforts to create Empower Yoga. With Lisa’s business background and experience in starting new ventures, combined with Tricia’s extensive knowledge and experience in teaching yoga and fitness, they decided to partner up and bring hot, power yoga to the North Shore of Boston. With her three young children keeping her busy, Lisa handles the finances and administration of the business, while Tricia enjoys teaching the majority of classes at Empower. With the growing success of Empower Yoga, Lisa and Tricia plan to extend Empower Yoga beyond Boston’s North Shore, opening locations in other areas of Massachusetts and Florida.

Jeanne Magazu

Jeanne is a lifelong health and fitness enthusiast who originally sought out yoga to compensate for the toll that years of strenuous physical activity had taken on her body. She immediately loved the de-toxifying aspect of the practice and over time she began to understand the transformation that was taking place within her. Through her yoga practice she discovered how tense and out of balance her body and her life had become. Yoga practice awakened the dormant spirit within her and she is now practicing yoga in all aspects of her life.

"Yoga provided me with so much more than I was looking for. Yoga has become my vehicle of choice as I navigate my way thru the ups and downs of life. When I'm struggling with pain, resistance or difficult decisions I step onto my mat to seek comfort and clarity. In times of happiness and joy my mat is where I can express the freedom and lightness I feel in my heart."

Susan Himml

Susan's interest in athletics led her to the practice of yoga to gain strength and flexibility. She quickly acquired not only physical benefits but emotional and spiritual benefits as well. Her passion for yoga inspired her toward the path of teaching others, where she has combined natural teaching ability with learned training skills from her background in corporate training. She teaches with patience and compassion and encourages her students to see beyond their self-imposed limitations.

Susan studied with Patty Townsend of the Yoga Center Amherst, where she completed her 200 hundred hour certification progam and continues to study. She also completed Ashtanga teacher training with David Swenson and is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance.

In addition to teaching Yoga, Susan teaches Human Resource Management as an adjunct faculty member at North Shore Community College. Susan holds a B.S. degree in Business from Babson College and an M.S. degree in Human Resource Management from Lesley University.

Megan Bouchard

Megan started practicing yoga in October 2002. Shortly after becoming a certified Bikram teacher in June 2003, she took her first Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga class. Immediately, Megan knew that she had found the yoga that she was meant to practice and teach. The freedom and flow of this style was what she was looking for in her own life and what she wished to share with her students. Megan is now a certified Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga teacher and continues to study with Baron Baptiste. Her commitment and love for the practices of teaching and taking yoga are strengthened every day.

"When I first started Power Vinyasa, I was having so much fun in classes despite the fact that I was falling on my face in crow and slipping out of everything else. There is so much space to just be yourself in this practice. I love that class can be fun whether it is your first class or your millionth. The acceptance and welcoming aspect of Power Vinyasa makes teaching a joy."

Willa Worsfold

Born in NYC, raised in the Berkshires and schooled in the midwest, Willa found her yoga soul in Chicago. It was there that she discovered the power of Astanga, the alignment of Iyengar, and the lift of the Universal Style. She is so very grateful to have advanced her personal practice with Daren Freisen, Paul Weitz, Quinn Kearney, Joe Lubitsch and others at the wonderful Chicago teaching centers: Moksha Yoga and YogaView.

Furthermore, Willa has explored multiple styles through advanced workshops with Tim Miller, Richard Freeman, Anna Forest, Shiva Rea, Seane Corne, Dharma Mittra and most recently, teacher training with David Magone in Boston. She has taught privately since 2003 and having two lovely daughters of her own, delights in teaching teen and children’s yoga as well.

Landing on the east coast in 2004, Willa was introduced to Baptiste Yoga with Tricia Porter at Empower in Beverly, MA and most recently to David Magone and the PranaVayu Style of Yoga. PranaVayu is a form of power yoga that uses sequencing to make more difficult poses easier, pays mindful attention to the entire body, is fun and lighthearted, and closes with a delicious 15 minute guided meditation and savatsana.

In 2007 Willa completed her PranaVayu teacher training with David Magone- and now teaches a unique style of PranaVayu yoga accompanied by refreshing alternative music.

For additional information about Willa or PranaVayu, please visit: Insideyoga.com and threeoms.com or email Willa at: willaworks@mac.com

Johanna Kenworthy

Johanna has been teaching yoga and other holistic services since 1995. To provide santosha (simply defined as contentment with what is in our lives) she feels is her dharma. She is trustworthy, conscientious, knowledgeable, responsible, caring, and has an uncanny knack of knowing what is appropriate for each session, which is completely unique every time. She draws upon many years of experience as well as her solid education in yoga, acupressure, neuromuscular massage, Thai yoga massage, psychology and many other disciplines. As a continuing student of yoga she has always been open, honest, and giving in everyway.

For additional information about Johanna Kenworthy or Santosha, please visit: santoshaconnection.com or email Johanna at: santoshaconnection@hotmail.com