Kellie Finn is immensely grateful for her New England upbringing, family, friends, sunshine, good jokes, moon gazing, night walks, ocean breezes, lingering hugs, fresh vegetables, road trips, adjectives, and an ever growing boot collection. She has been studying yoga since a volunteer summer at Omega in 1991, and teaching classes/working privately as a Yoga Therapist since September 2001, after two years of volunteer service and study at Kripalu Institute. She is a recent transplant to the DC area where she serves as a Clinic Supervisor at Maryland University of Integrative Health's Yoga Therapy Program, writes, and continues her private practice exploring how the practices and philosophy of yoga can heal trauma and guide individuals into a life of communal empowerment.

Kellie's alignment based classes are infused with humor, philosophy, poetry, self-inquiry, ethical explorations, education, and tools for carrying the practices of yoga off the mat. She teaches postures in layers with consistent encouragement to listen to the brilliance of one's own body / being. She believes that the practices of yoga offer us the opportunity to connect to the Grace within ourselves such that we can move as far as possible beyond our own being to cultivate connection in the world without losing recognition of Grace. She looks forward to seeing you on the mat!

Philip Bender (YACEP, E-RYT 500) creates yoga and meditation classes to facilitate greater joy, confidence and connection in the lives of beginners and experienced practitioners alike. With a clear style, dry humor and occasional irreverence, he shares traditional teachings in an accessible way to inspire students and connect them to the wisdom of their own bodies.

An initiate of the Himalayan tradition, Philip currently follows the embodied path of Dharma Ocean. He leads workshops and retreats as well as weekly hatha yoga and meditation classes throughout the area, including the Freer Gallery of Art and Anne Arundel Community College, where he is adjunct faculty in the yoga teacher training program through Yoga 4 Life, LLC.

What to expect in class
Philip's classes connect movement with breath to draw students out of chronic overthinking and into the inherent wisdom of their own bodies. His mindful approach of combining dynamic and static postures with focus is influenced by the Viniyoga and ParaYoga traditions as well as the somatic lineage of Dharma Ocean. Philip is inspired daily by his students and family while drawing from a BA in philosophy, experience as a performing artist, Buteyko breathing, twelve years as a dad, and long-term personal practice to impart the profound yet practical wisdom of moving inward.