Our team of experienced yoga teachers in New Milford, CT brings together diverse training, lived experience, and teaching styles to support your practice on and off the mat. We are a small, passionate group of instructors, guides, and wellness practitioners who love what we do and are honored to support you on your journey. We look forward to practicing and growing together.
Elora Herberick 
Founder & Director
Yoga Instructor, Plant Forward Nutrition Counselor
Elora’s work is rooted in a lifelong curiosity about people, culture, and what truly creates change. With a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Political Science, she originally set her sights on the Peace Corps and the United Nations. After interning at the State Legislature and later serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand from 2015–2017, she discovered that transformation happens most powerfully at the grassroots level—through community, connection, and compassion.
This realization shifted her path. Instead of pursuing policymaking, she stepped into the role of a change-maker, committed to supporting individual and collective well-being. Having spent much of her twenties traveling, learning from diverse cultures, and immersing herself in new ways of living, Elora carries forward the perspectives and experiences that have shaped her into the teacher she is today.
Elora has practiced yoga on and off the mat since childhood. She completed her 200-hour Ashtanga Vinyasa training with All Yoga School in Thailand in 2017 and went on to receive her 300-hour certification in Yin and Restorative Yoga through My Vinyasa Practice in 2020. Now a 500-hour Registered Yoga Alliance Instructor with over 5,000 hours of teaching experience, she has spent the last eight years guiding students in New Milford and the surrounding communities.
Her teaching reflects what she’s learned through her own practice: yoga is not simply about shapes or physical achievement—it’s a discipline of awareness, breath, nervous system regulation, and inner transformation. She blends traditional teachings with modern knowledge, always with the intention of creating sustainable, accessible practices for her students.
In February 2021, after four years at ah Yoga, Elora acquired the New Milford studio and rebranded it as EVOLVE Yoga Wellness Nutrition. Her vision is to weave together ancient yoga philosophy, mindful movement, science-based wellness, and a deep commitment to community. She believes that meaningful change begins with how we care for ourselves and one another—and that through connection, mindfulness, and conscious living, we can evolve toward a healthier, more balanced world.
Sarah Maasik 
Yoga Instructor
Sarah received her certification in November 2018 after starting her yoga journey in January 2018 with a restorative class at Holy Yoga CT. Sarah deeply enjoys the meditative qualities gained from a strong yoga practice and delights in sharing this with her community. In balancing a busy life, she found the crucial piece is yoga for clarity and energy.
Sarah is also a FAA certified Helicopter pilot and instructor in addition to a FAA Licensed dispatcher. Being a proud mom of two wonderful boys, she loves getting them involved in aviation. They often help her practice yoga at home while providing inspiration for yoga classes through their eyes.Sarah’s class style is upbeat, trying to find the joy in every class, with a music focus. She is also very active in bring DoTerra oils into her life and others for better well being, as well as bringing oils into her yoga classes to enhance the experience.
Shannon Loormann 
Yoga Instructor
Shannon has been practicing yoga since 2015 after taking a vinyasa class with a couple of friends. She has always been involved in sports and dance, and yoga was a new challenge with so much to learn. Her practice has grown over the years into a daily practice that extends beyond the mat. Shannon earned her teaching certification in December 2020 from OM Center in Watertown, CT to start sharing yoga with others around her.
Shannon’s goal with teaching is to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all levels to open up and listen to their bodies and minds. She enjoys incorporating creative movement with a connection to neurology and Ayurveda for a balanced and fun experience.
Megan Cremonini
Yoga Instructor
Megan is an enthusiastic yoga instructor just starting out on her teaching journey. After falling in love with the physical and emotional benefits of yoga and other wellness modalities as a teen, Megan went on to obtain her Bachelors degree in Wellness & Alternative Medicine through Northern Vermont University – Johnson in 2022. Since her graduation, Megan has furthered her education and is now a certified Reiki Level 2 Healer, and is a registered 500HR yoga teacher with special certifications in yin and prenatal yoga.
Due to a visual impairment that greatly affects her central vision, Megan has developed a knack for clear and concise teaching cues that are easy to follow in the event that you can’t learn visually. With experience in a number of different styles of yoga and an upbeat, humorous attitude, Megan’s classes are lighthearted, restorative, and fun!
Lindsay Rullo
Yoga Instructor
Lindsay has been practicing yoga in all its forms for over 15 years, beginning while living in Santa Monica, CA. She has experienced the different styles of yoga all across the country and brings a uniqueness to her practice. Lindsay left her corporate career in 2021 to focus on sharing her practice and wisdom with others. She incorporates breathing techniques, mudras, and knowledge of the energetic body into her classes, offering her students benefits beyond the physical postures.
Lindsay enjoys traveling and spending time with her family. She was recently married in July, has one son, a stepson and stepdaughter, and two dogs. She is a recent graduate of the 300 hr YTT program thru Yoga Renew and is registered with Yoga Alliance.
Maryann Ness
Yoga Instructor
Maryann Ness is a dedicated yoga teacher whose journey reflects a lifelong passion for growth, change, and compassionate connection. A graduate of Lotus Gardens Yoga School with a 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training recognized by Yoga Alliance, Maryann also holds advanced certification in Trauma-Sensitive Yoga through Holy Yoga. These trainings, combined with her natural ability to create safe and supportive spaces, allow her to guide students through practices that honor both body and mind.
Maryann spent many years as a special education teacher in high school, where she nurtured and inspired teenagers to find strength, balance, and confidence. This experience deeply shaped her teaching style, which emphasizes inclusivity, care, and meeting students where they are. Her greatest influences include her mentor Lara Ward, who instilled in her the importance of emotional balance, spiritual connection, and yoga as a practice for all.
Maryann’s classes are rooted in creating strong foundations while encouraging personal exploration and choice. Whether leading a gentle restorative practice or a class designed to build strength and resilience, she provides accessible postures, mindful breathwork, and the use of props so that every student feels empowered.
Jill Melendez
Yoga Instructor
Jill discovered yoga in 2021 at EVOLVE Yoga after a spinal injury forced her to step away from the gym, weights, and fitness routines she had always known. Movement had been part of her identity since the age of three, when she began gymnastics—flipping, tumbling, and rarely slowing down. When the pandemic and a shoulder injury brought her gymnastics career to a close, yoga became a new way for her to reconnect with and heal her body, find stillness in motion, and open the door to spiritual exploration.
She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training in June 2025 at Afterglow Studio in Hartford, CT. She practiced under the guidance of Jane Krantz and Jen Daniels and completed 20 hours of anatomy study with Mike Torrant.
Jill approaches her practice with an exploratory lens. In her classes, you’ll experience a vinyasa flow infused with Katonah-inspired elements—insight through repetition, the balance of Yin and Yang, and honoring each body’s individual dimensions. Through both practice and teaching, Jill views yoga as a space to cultivate a deeper relationship with oneself, which she believes is essential to living a life rooted in fulfillment, gratitude, and alignment.
Wanessa Anderson
Pilates Instructor
Born and raised in Brazil, her journey began with a deep love for movement and classical ballet. She has practiced Pilates for over 30 years and has been teaching professionally for more than a decade.
Years of training with renowned instructors shaped her philosophy: movement is not just fitness—it’s a way of life.
In February 2024, she was diagnosed with MS, a turning point that deepened her purpose. She became certified in Pilates for Neurological Conditions and now help others live functional, empowered lives.
From dancer to trainer, Wanessa blends artistry and science to guide others toward strength, vitality, and lasting transformation.
Our Studio Assistants
Or, as Melissa insists, her title is actually Studio Gremlin.
Melissa began her yoga journey in 2018 seeking mental and physical healing… and found all that, plus a warm, welcoming community.
Melissa became a Studio Assistant Gremlin in 2021 when Elora breathed new life into the studio, and is still going strong! You can catch Melissa dancing off-beat mopping the floors, singing off-key while watering the jungle of plants, bopping while writing out the weekly sign and bathroom mirror affirmations… or taking a break for a selfie with resident skeleton Pelvis Presley.
Don’t forget to look up at our kitchen window facing Railroad Street and see what affirming message Melissa has written for you!
When she’s not covered in dirt, taking an exorbitant number of photos of her cats, or humbly experimenting with a new recipe, she likes to spend her free time doing laundry for the EVOLVE community.
If you’re lucky you may even catch her returning the blankets to the studio still warm out of the dryer!
Want to work with us?
With a deep-rooted passion for yoga and a commitment to guiding others on their journey to physical and mental well-being, we are excited to read your application!