About Us...

Westfield Yoga Center

Healthy Body, Clear Mind, Peaceful Spirit

About Us...

Westfield Yoga Center, Co-Owners

Sally Barber & Tom Swochak

The Westfield Yoga Center is owned and directed by two individuals who share a vision of maximizing individual health and community well being through the medium of yoga. Tom Swochak and Sally Barber had been married for 15 years in 1993 when they enrolled in Westfield Yoga Center’s inaugural class. Their intention “to do yoga together” was more than fulfilled: four years later they assumed ownership of the center! Their passion for yoga and commitment to bringing it to as many people as possible caused a part-time endeavor to become a full time venture for both of them. Tom’s business background in management/accounting and Sally’s experience in clinical rehabilitation and supervision create an ideal combination for managing a yoga center. Tom enjoys combining student and teacher support with the myriad business tasks essential for maintaining a viable enterprise. Sally loves teaching yoga to everybody, but balances classes with a variety of administrative and environmental tasks. Both are involved in program development and community outreach. Without its complement of caring and committed teachers, the Westfield Yoga Center would not touch the lives of so many in the greater Westfield area. As managers, Tom and Sally feel responsible for fostering the very best in their instructors. The teachers radiate so much love and support that it is a blessing to be associated with them. Blessings abound in the yoga business! It’s a blessing to ease peoples’ pain. It’s a blessing to make the world a more peaceful place. It is a privilege and a joy to serve in the capacity of directors of the Westfield Yoga Center.

Tom Swochak

Tom does a lot of work behind the scenes. He is available by phone, email and in person to assist students with class selections, questions, payments and other related business and yoga matters.

INSTRUCTORS

Sally Barber

Sally was initially trained in Kripalu Yoga in 1994. She attended Amrit Yoga Teacher Training in 2001 and completed an advanced Amrit Yoga certification in 2003. Sally is convinced that yoga can benefit everybody: she enjoys sharing yoga with people of all ages and abilities. As an occupational therapist, Sally is skilled in tailoring yoga to each individual’s unique situation. She balances providing clear directions for the physical form with guiding students to be focused internally. Her intention is to help people achieve their highest sense of well-being through the practice of yoga as meditation in motion.

Tara Balboni

Tara has been practicing yoga for over 10 years. After a biology and traditional business background she was called to a more integrated, physical profession. She has completed the teacher training certification program through Mama Nirvana New Yoga. She enjoys bringing yoga to all fitness levels and ages, and really enjoys working with seniors and children. Her practice focuses on creative sequencing and strengthening poses. She has a deep connection to the concept of momentum: a body in motion stays in motion!

JOHN BORAL

John is a long time yoga practitioner who is certified as an instructor in the Amrit Method of yoga. His teaching combines active postures and consistent breath control with yoga philosophy and meditation techniques. John’s specialization in yoga for back and neck pain relief is based on therapeutic yoga techniques. His intention is to provide students with a pleasant, fulfilling experience that improves physical health and gently relieves stress.

DEBRA CIGAL

Debra’s love for yoga was ignited 17 years ago. It was reawakened with a serious commitment to practice in 1997. She graduated from the Integrated Yoga Teacher Training at the Northampton Yoga Center, Northampton, MA in 1999. Her teaching style is gentle. In gentle yoga, Debra likes to spend time deepening into the postures to allow for recognition of subtle inner shifts or changes. She also teaches in a heart-centered manner. Debra’s wish is to have students honor and respect where they are in each moment and have the courage to express that in their practice.

SUSAN CRONIN

Shortly before retiring form her position as a state police Detective Lieutenant and Hostage Negotiator, Susan was drawn to yoga for health and stress reduction. As her practice deepened, it brought more compassion, acceptance, connection and balance to her life. After five years of practice she became a certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor in 2007. Susan is passionate about teaching yoga and making it accessible to people who have not had the exposure or opportunity to experience the many benefits of yoga.

GENEA CRUM

Genea has been practicing yoga for more than 10 years. She was originally introduced to yoga as a way to help combat migraines and fibromyalgia. Inspired by the healing benefits, she began studying and taking as many classes as possible. During this time she realized that teaching yoga was her natural calling. Genea is a certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor and has studied vinyasa style yoga with Shiva Rea; enabling her to incorporate the beauty and grace of flowing sequences into her classes. People are drawn to yoga for many different reasons and within each class students are encouraged to tailor their practice to their individual needs. Genea's goal as a teacher is to create a safe and compassionate environment for students of all levels and abilities.

Anna Guarco

Anna began practicing yoga while attending a high school for the creative arts. Several years later, she became a student at the Westfield Yoga Center – and then went on to earn her yoga teaching certification through the Kripalu School of Yoga in 2009. She has trained in other healing practices as well, such as primordial sound meditation, hypnosis, the Emotional Freedom Technique, and CranioSacral Therapy – and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts from Goddard College in the Health, Arts, and Sciences specifically studying the roles of stress, trauma, relaxation, and narrative in the health of the body and mind.

JUDY HARVESTER

Judy Harvester moved to Westfield shortly after becoming certified as a Yoga Instructor in 2003. She studied with Steffi L. Shapiro of the Well Street Station in Watertown, MA. (Shapiro's chair yoga practice is widely available on CD and video.) Judy has a gift for adapting yoga poses to those who are unable to sit, kneel, lie on or rise from the floor. Her dedication to the practice of yoga for every body endears her to individual students and provides a valuable service to the community. Judy is certified as an Infant Massage Instructor through IAIM (International Association of Infant Massage) and has taught infant massage through the Early Intervention program where she works.

Cheryl Hollister

Cheryl has practiced yoga for 15 years. She received her Yoga Teacher Certification in 1999 from the New England Center for Yoga and Healing Arts in Amherst, MA. Cheryl has diverse teaching experience that includes children and families as well as adults. Beginners and those preferring a gentle physical practice are particularly drawn to Cheryl’s classes. Cheryl’s teaching style is gentle, nurturing, playful and compassionate. Attentive to each student, Cheryl expresses her passion and love for yoga to all.

Carol Jeneral

Carol became a student of yoga in the early 70's when Lilias Folan introduced her yoga series, 'Lilias', on PBS television, then the only yoga class available. In 1993 she joined the Westfield Yoga Center, where she was inspired to become a yoga teacher. She was trained in the Iyengar method of yoga founded by B.K. S. Iyengar, one of the fathers of American yoga. Her own teaching style blends technical expertise with caring and compassion. Carol is a licensed nurse who worked many years in the field of women's health. It is her intention to bring yoga to students of all ages, as they go through the various stages of their lives with grace and mindfulness.

Nancy Madru

Nancy was originally drawn to yoga for the physical benefits but quickly discovered the transformative power of breath, balance, alignment, and meditation. She has completed Mama Nirvana’s 200-hour yoga teacher training and also completed specialized prenatal yoga teacher training at Kripalu. She is a registered member of Yoga Alliance and currently teaches beginner yoga and prenatal yoga. Nancy graduated with an MA in anthropology from UMASS in 2007, focusing on medical anthropology and women’s health in pregnancy and postpartum. She is a certified birth doula, postpartum doula and childbirth educator.

Tulsi (Lisa Gauthier)

After practicing yoga for several years, Tulsi experienced Amrit Yoga in 2002. She was immediately drawn to the sequential flow of postures coupled with the meditative time between each pose. She studies with Yoga Amrit Desai and completed her advanced Amrit Yoga certification in 2004. Tulsi realized the transformative aspects of this practice in her life: being more present, open, calm and focused. She formed the intention to bring this experience to others and does so through her teaching.