About Us
Experience a physical, mental, spiritual and energetic cleanse
At Vitality Yoga, you will find a warm and welcoming community that loves to practice yoga together! From beginners to seasoned yogis – we breathe, sweat, stretch and release tension, becoming flexible, strong, compassionate folks.
We offer a wide variety of classes for yogis of all levels as well as programs for yogis inspiring to become yoga teachers. These programs include our 200 and 300-hour teacher trainings.
We hope to see you on the mat soon!
Meet Your Teachers
-
Maggie Heinzel-Neel
FOUNDER
The peaceful feeling I receive from practicing yoga asana (poses) and pranayama (breath work), as well as the empowerment from becoming strong and flexible, is at the core of my teaching. After years of debilitating back pain and a very inflexible body, I finally took my first yoga class. People say they’re not flexible enough for yoga if they only knew what I looked like (for a very long time) in my practice! But what made me stick to it is how I felt afterward: elated.
I love to combine a wide range of experiences; a dynamic physical workout with precise alignment instructions, focus on breath within the poses and in pranayama, spiritual reflection, and a mindfulness observation that leads to a meditative experience. My prime focus is on the breath throughout the entire class, which provides a cleansing from the inside out. I strive to teach an equal part of challenge and nurture, a balance of feminine and masculine. As the breath, heart, and body all work together, I hope to lead students to a deep connection and wholeness that helps them stay focused and quiet their minds.
My initial training came from a foundation in Iyengar Yoga. Ashtanga, resulting in an alignment-based vinyasa flow that’s a slightly slower vinyasa than the typical vinyasa flow, emphasizing alignment as we move with a rhythmic breath. I am also trained in Medical Chi Gong, using the 5 elemental theories to guide the practices according to the seasons, which I overlay in the Meridian Flow Yoga+Qigong. This is the ultimate combination of a strong physical practice combined with a deep inner focus on moving our prana (chi) in the patterns of the energy highways. It’s a unique combination that is deeply healing.
-
Katherine McHenry
INSTRUCTOR
Yoga has helped me heal on many levels and continues to provide me with the energy and strength to thrive while living a hectic life with multiple autoimmune conditions. The peace and well-being that comes with regular yoga practice is invaluable for me, and I am excited to have the opportunity to share this powerful therapy with other embodied beings… yoga is for everyone!
I completed my initial 200-hour teacher training at Yoga Shanti with Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee in 2018-2019, learning safe sequencing, proper alignment, pranayama, and how to understand bodies. Currently I am working to complete an additional 300 hours of advanced teacher training at Vitality, focusing on 5-element theory and designing classes for the unique energetic needs of each season.
In my classes I aim to cultivate physical and psychological strength and ease through attention to alignment, breathwork, mediation, and self-inquiry. Deeply committed to the exploration of nonduality and interconnection, I recognize that I am always in process, sometimes manifesting as a teacher, always as a student.
With inner focus and equanimity of mind we realize our innate freedom— on and off the mat!
-
John Orcutt
INSTRUCTOR
I have always been active, a runner, swimming, hours of racquetball, golf, but for whatever reason Yoga was never on my radar. Until I took my 1st class, I WAS HOOKED! The practice of yoga to me is just so multi-dimensional, not only physically, but mentally as well. The asanas require poise-strength-balance and the movements connected to our breath and mind elevate the entire experience. I sincerely believe in the maxim that Yoga is for everyone and it’s never to late to begin.
My classes are always a little different and can be challenging, but they are designed for participation by yogi’s of all level. Adding bits of humor and playfulness and sometimes lighthearted movements to my classes keep them fun as well as challenging. My aim is to provide a supportive energetic environment for the students to discover the power of the practice for themselves.
-
Michael Stein
INSTRUCTOR
Michael Stein has been practicing yoga for many lifetimes but still hasn’t quite figured it out. During his most recent incarnation he has been teaching for over thirty years. Shortly after moving to New Paltz, NY in 1999, Michael opened Ashtanga yoga of New Paltz, where he taught for fifteen years and led multiple teacher training programs.
Michael has led dozens of workshops all over the Hudson Valley and in Bath, England where he taught briefly. His workshops and intensives include: Anatomy for Yoga & Pilates, Core strengthening, and Pranayama. Nothing makes Michael happier than imparting his love of yoga to students. His classes blend traditional Hatha Yoga with Vinyasa, Pilates, Restorative and some truly awful anecdotes.
Michael also teaches private yoga and core stability to anyone who would like to improve their overall fitness in order to become more confident in all physical endeavors.
-
Kathy O'Dowd
INSTRUCTOR
Yoga, my patient, steadfast friend, has popped in and out of my life for a very long time. Each time it reappeared it was another invitation to go deeper. Starting as a young adult in high school, I dabbled in hopes to improve my posture due to scoliosis. Through childbirth, cancer, broken hearts, and new beginnings, yoga saw me through, and brought me forth. Yoga was a valued companion in my career as an early childhood educator, where I shared yoga with the children in my class as well as offering it to all students in our school as an intramural. Yoga and the beautiful teachers I have met along the way have taught me how to ground as well as to uplift, to find strength and how to surrender. And now as I am immersed in Vitality’s 300TT, I am discovering my desire to share this old friend with others. I love helping people know that yoga is a healing practice for body, mind and spirit and that it is for everyone! There is no reason to be afraid to explore in this safe community and discover your own strength, depth, and capacity to heal and grow.
I completed my 200 hour training at Happy Buddha with Kelly Kamm in 2013. I initially took this training to deepen my practice. It most definitely did and led to my desire to share the practice with children. My certification from Radiant Child Yoga was completed in 2018 with Shakta Khalsa and Allison Morgan of Zensational Kids. There have been countless other teachers both in studios and in my life who have shaped my devotion to this ancient practice, including in this moment…Michael Gould and Maggie Heinzel-Neel. It’s a journey I delight in discovering something new in, at each turn along my way “home”.
-
Sama Phelan
INSTRUCTOR
Sama is a movement & sound visionary hosting a variety of workshops, classes and work force wellness events. She is an empowerment coach offering students and clients the experience to connect and heal through primal movement, guided meditation, mantra and sound healing. Sama is a singer/songwriter and has been performing for over a decade. Her gift of song is her most sacred instrument and she encourages others to connect to the power of their own healing vibrations. Sama specializes in styles like Vinyasa, Kundalini, Movement 109, Yin & Restorative, Donna Eden Energy Medicine, and Vibrational Healing.