Our Teachers

Amy Rubin, CYT 200

Amy has been practicing yoga on and off for several years. A Framingham native, Amy has a Masters in Special Education and is a learning specialist at the MetroWest Jewish Day School in Framingham. It became clear that yoga would be a great addition not only to her own growth, but for her students and others as well. Amy became a Certified ChildLight Yoga and Mindfulness for Children Instructor in 2018.

The next step was to fulfill a passion to become a yoga teacher. Amy completed the One Voice 200-hour teacher training with Dima Bosko in April, 2019. This training has led to a greater exploration of self: physically, spiritually, and emotionally. She is excited to share her love of yoga with others, and the benefits of health, kindness, and community.

Amy feels that practicing yoga, taking chances, and having a sense of humor, can lead to a happier life.

Anne Roberti, RYT 200

Anne began practicing yoga and meditating over twenty years ago, when she first embarked on her journey to better understand the connections among mind, body, and emotions.

Anne is a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance after having completed a training program in Hatha yoga influenced by the Iyengar method. In addition, Anne earned a certificate in Seniors Yoga. She is a Reiki Master in both the Usui System of Reiki Healing and Kundalini Reiki.

Off the mat, Anne has taught writing at the university level for many years, adopting a kind and compassionate approach to instruction; she is passionate about nurturing warm, supportive relationships with students. Through the practice of asana and pranayama, Anne’s intention is to facilitate students’ abilities to strengthen the body and quiet the mind

Cheryl Wolf, LMT, RYT, AHC

Cheryl Wolf is a spiritual seeker with a profound enthusiasm for
metaphysical studies and personal growth. She believes that happiness
and healing come from within. Her goal is to empower people to live life to
their fullest potential in mind, body, soul and spirit and to embrace their
authentic beauty.

She is trained in several complementary and alternative healing modalities
including Swedish Massage, Reiki, Polarity Therapy, Reflexology and
Aromatherapy. She is a member of the American Polarity Therapy
Association and the ABMP (Associated Bodywork & Massage
Professionals). Cheryl completed a 200 hr. Register Yoga Teacher
certification in April 2012 and a 500 hr. Ayurvedic Yoga Teacher
certification in December 2016. In June 2019, she finished her 650-hr.
Ayurvedic Health Counselor certification at world-world-renowned Kripalu
Center for Yoga and Health.

Cheryl is a lifelong learner who continues to be inspired by both new and
ancient healing techniques, having spent the last eight summers in Peru
alongside Shipibo Indians and Qero shamans working with traditional plant
medicines. She encourages others to live in the present moment, as she
does, without resistance to the flow of life.

She loves being in nature whether running, hiking, walking or riding on the
back of her partner’s Harley. But mostly, she loves her daughter, Olivia.

Donna Kramer Merritt RYT 200

As a massage therapist, I often tell my clients to do Yoga as a way to maintain stress relief and flexibility between appointment. After too many times of hearing them say “I am not flexible enough” or “I feel to intimidated to take a yoga class”, I decided to become a yoga teacher to share my joy and passion for yoga with those who have felt it was inaccessible.

As the owner of the The Gentle Place Wellness Center, I was overjoyed when after my Yoga Teacher Training, a beautiful room opened up down the hall from my massage studios. Just large enough for 8 to 10 students, my dream was to create a safe haven for yoga student new and old to discover their own personal yoga practices.

I teach Yoga Fundamentals, a beginner’s course to give people the confidence and the tools to be safe in any yoga class. Welcome to Yoga @The Gentle Place…. Where we offer yoga for every body. Namaste’

Emily Yandl, CYT-200

After following magazine “exercises” as a teenager and dabbling with yoga DVD’s in her 20’s, Emily finally fell in love with yoga after her first studio class in 2012. Since then, she’s practiced in a variety of styles including Vinyasa, Restorative, Svaroopa and Ashtanga. Before training through One Voice with Dima Bosko and Metrowest Yoga with Shawn Shaw, she spent a few years as a yoga class assistant

Emily sees yoga as a great way to practice “on the mat” more of what you’d like to embody “off the mat”. In her classes, she strives to combine a meditative atmosphere, opportunities to cultivate awareness and an invitation for safe and challenging physical exploration.

Emily loves learning about the body/mind/spirit connection and is excited to share! Besides yoga, her current interests include developmental movement, somatics, maintaining mobility thru the lifespan and anything “neuro” related.

Come try a class with Emily!

Karen Fishman

Karen Fishman has been teaching muscle, Pilates, and Yoga classes at area gyms in the MetroWest since 2003.

She is certified as a Group Fitness Instructor by Fitness Resource Associates (FRA) and holds several fitness certifications from the American Aerobic Association International and International Sports Medicine Association (AAAI/ISMA). By day, Karen works as a Probation Monitor for the MA Dept. of Public Health.

When she’s not working, Karen enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Karen Zelinsky, CYT

Karen Zelinsky began practicing yoga in 1999 and did her 200-hour yoga teacher training through Finding Inner Peace Yoga in 2005. In 2006 she left her job as a high school teacher to focus on supporting women during pregnancy through teaching prenatal yoga and HypnoBirthing.

In addition to Prenatal Yoga at The Gentle Place, Karen currently teaches Prepared Childbirth and HypnoBirthing at Newton Wellesley and Mt. Auburn Hospitals and supports growing families both as a birth and postpartum doula.

Lisa Diebold Smith, RYT 200

Yoga has been a part of my life for over 10 years. I love yoga because it helps me feel centered and allows me to eat more chocolate.

I completed my RYT 200 with Sonic Yoga in NYC and added my Prenatal Certification a few years later. I will always be a student of the practice and am deeply grateful for the wisdom every teacher has shared with me.

When not teaching, I’m busy chasing around two tiny humans. I also enjoy hiking, swimming and eating delicious food.

Mary Ellen Brooks, RYT 200

My training in Martial Arts eventually led me to my Yoga mat as a means to disconnect for an hour each week from a hectic lifestyle that was consuming me.

My Yoga practice started to become more of an experience that was nourishing my Body, Mind and Spirit through Breath awareness. This beautiful gentle connection and my love for teaching drove me to become a Certified Yoga Instructor.

I look forward to sharing my experiences and yoga practice with others who also seek nourishment for their Body, Mind and Spirit in a comfortable safe setting.

Michele McLaughlin, CYT 200

Michele has practiced yoga on and off for over 15 years. She has been a stay at home mom for the past nine years. In 2017 she was finally able to find the right moment in her life to complete her first 200 hour yoga teacher training. Certified through One Voice Yoga Teacher Training in May 2017, her love of yoga reaches beyond just the benefits it brings physically. With an emphasis on mindfulness and connecting to your inner self, Michele brings a peaceful and grounded experience to her class.

Sarah Clift, CYT 200

Sarah practiced yoga on and off for several years before realizing the connection between mind, body, and spirit. After feeling the connection first hand she began to dig deeper into yoga. Her personal journey led her to Kripalu, (a center for yoga and health) for a weekend retreat. She immediately fell in love with the connection made that weekend. Her desire for a deeper connection led her to the 200-hour Kripalu yoga teacher training in the fall of 2019.

Sarah did an immersion program living at the center during her training. Living in a yoga community while training allowed a deep connection between the mind, body, and spirit to blossom. During her stay she knew that she wanted to reach others through practice on the mat. Sarah is grateful to all the wisdom shared with her along the way, and she hopes to have a positive effect on everyone she comes in contact with on and off the mat.