DRAGONTEACHERS

Meet Our TEAM

Mori

Known for tough yet compassionate teaching style, Mori owes her life and being to God, her parents and the Original Hot Yoga Sequence. Given this, she left her successful career in Corporate America, not once but twice, dedicating herself to improving the life of others through yoga. Having received her MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon and working at major CPG companies on iconic brands (including Kraft Foods, Heinz Inc, Campbell Soup, and First Response), Mori was provided the proper training grounds for her to start her own highly successful Breathing Dragon Hot Yoga in Montgomery, New Jersey and allowed her to share the love of the yoga with thousands of others since 2013.

James

James is one of the most prolific Original Hot Yoga instructors in the tri-state area. He has more than 10,000 documented hours teaching and taking Original Hot Yoga classes.

He can provide honest insight on how to develop and improve one’s overall ability to teach an Original Hot Yoga class. James will provide insight into the practicality of what you’ll need to do to feel cool and confident; from busy classes of 50 students to smaller more intimate ones. James brings a passionate, accurate yet laid-back approach to his teaching. He has also spent over 200 hours outside the classroom studying basic anatomy so as to facilitate a more immediate understanding for the students.

From 2007 to 2010 James managed Bikram Yoga Philadelphia, one of the busiest yoga studios on the east coast. He oversaw a staff of a dozen teachers and a schedule with 48 classes per week. Soon to be the owner of Allentown Yoga Works, set to open in the Spring of 2020, James believes health of the body, mind and spirit is the basis for how well someone practices the class. Peace of mind is the byproduct of a steady and coherent practice.

James has been with Breathing Dragon Yoga Montgomery, NJ for over six years and is a perennial favorite for a reason!

Meredith

One of our most veteran instructors, Meredith has been teaching Original Hot Yoga since 1999. She first started hot yoga in the Boston area back when it was difficult to find any place to take a hot yoga class. She fell in love with hot yoga immediately after she took her first class! Meredith loves teaching (indeed, you can hear it in her voice as she teaches!), and feels she has grown over the years because the students teach her from both inside and outside of the yoga room. Meredith has been with Breathing Dragon Yoga since 2014 and looks forward to teaching with us for many more years to come. Her joyous energy is infectious, come catch it soon!

Betsy

A yoga and meditation teacher, 4th generation Usui Reiki Master and Intuitive Coach, Betsy brings over a decade of
experience as a leading teacher with 1000 + hours of training in Yogic healing arts and meditation. Her yoga
certifications include Yin/Yang, Yoga for Cancer, heated Vinyasa Flow, and the 26 + 2 Bikram Yoga – all levels.

Her work is grounded in energy, anatomy and somatics from which she has refined a reliable, embodied and practical
approach for targeting unhelpful mindsets and habits, healing and strengthening body, mind and spirit.

Betsy’s passions include her family, deepening relationships, travel, yogic healing arts, and philanthropic work which has
taken her to Haiti, the Texas/Mexico border, New York and New Jersey. She has a deep love and passion for the
performing arts and when she’s not on her mat you will find her in front of a camera or live audience as an actress,
director, writer and producer. Betsy holds a B.F.A from Florida State University and M.F.A. from The New School
for Drama in NYC. Pop in for a class with Betsy and flow with her joy and love of life!

Laiko

Laiko (Lay-Koe) has been practicing yoga for more than a decade. Suffering with autoimmune disease and joint damage, Laiko struggled to walk up the stairs due to severe joint deterioration. Finding hot yoga to be helpful for pain and mobility issues, she transitioned from casual yoga classes to daily classes.

While balancing immunosuppressive pharmaceuticals, natural eating, and yoga she was able to heal her body. Shortly thereafter, Laiko attended YTT 200 hr in 2021 offered at Breathing Dragon Yoga with High Impact Leadership Institute where she studied Baptiste Yoga. Laiko also completed Yin/Yang teacher training at Yoga Renew along with sound bowl healing in 2022.

Laiko’s joint damage caused her to have an incredibly difficult time practicing yoga, so her focus during yoga teacher training became to understand the mechanics of the body.

Today, Laiko’s focus is always on moving in a way that can grow your practice while also honoring who you are today. Her Dragon Vinyasa Power Flow class is where you will gain strength, flexibility, and the courage to try something new; while her Dragon Yin/Yang class is a true balance between empathy and challenge.

Laiko lives in Rocky Hill with her husband and two children (18 & 13). When Laiko isn’t on her mat she is gardening, cooking, canning, and reading. She has a BS in Political Science, BA in Anthropology, and Ed.M in Higher Education Administration. She has 8 years of university teaching experience at numerous public and private universities. She uses her background in curriculum design to organize yoga class themes and musical vibes. Come join her in the hot room and see why we all love her classes so much!

Michael

Michael Abair, M.A., E-RYT, YACEP, serves as the full time Yoga Educator and Therapist for Hampton Behavioral Health; one of the most comprehensive inpatient psychiatric hospitals in the state of NJ. Serving as a yoga instructor for more than 20 years, Michael’s leadership roles have included the design and direction of targeted yoga programming for Rutgers University, KIPP Philadelphia schools, Wiley Behavioral Health Management, and the South Jersey Behavioral Health Forensic Program.

Michael holds a Master’s degree from Fordham University in Religion/Spirituality with a targeted specialization in the integrative application of classical yogic practices within western models of human development.

With more than 1,000 hours of ongoing professional training and development, his formal certifications include: Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa, Baptiste Power Yoga and Original Hot Yoga. In addition to his role as a Yoga Teacher-Trainer, Michael also serves as Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider and volunteers his time with such non-profit organizations as Project Little Warriors and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Michael celebrates more than 3 amazing years with Breathing Dragon Yoga where his vigorous classes aim to challenge, support and inspire. You will fall in love with his style, class, and rhetoric!