Instructors

TEAM MATRIKA

Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, MA, E-RYT, R-PYT is the owner and director of Yoga Matrika.  She has two Masters degrees, one in Chinese and East Asian Studies and another in Cultural Anthropology.  This academic work helps to inform her practice, creative process and understanding of what it means to be human.  Sharon studied and practiced vinyasa flow, but has made a more significant personal commitment to Vajra Yoga (Jill Satterfield), meditation, embodied anatomy and mindful practices in the past ten-years.

Angela (Hatha Yoga)Angela is originally from the rural hills around Kittanning PA.  Her college and graduate studies focused on psychology, language and religion.  She spent several years in NYC working to help young people and their families build communication skills and cultural understanding.  Excited by the many reasons to integrate the discipline of yoga with her work, she was drawn to further her own practice and learn to share her love of yoga.  She completed a 9 month certification course at Integral Yoga Institute in NYC.  In addition to private instruction, she taught with Life in Motion, NYC Parks and Bent on Learning (a non-profit group that delivers yoga class to urban school teachers and students).  She recently moved to Pittsburgh and now joins Yoga Matrika to deliver Hatha Yoga.

Cherilyn (RYT, 200hr) began practicing yoga in 1999 when she strolled into the Dharma Yoga Center across the street from her New York City apartment. Years later, she completed her certification with Sri Dharma Mittra and now enjoys teaching several levels of The Dharma series as well as her own vinyasa flow classes.  She feels very fortunate to be able to teach and share her passion for yoga with others.
April, RYT (500 hr) brings to her teaching a gentle and understanding awareness of the of the body’s ability to recover from injury and illness through yoga. Her approach emphasizes Ahimsa, or non-violence, and honoring your body and its limits in this moment. She believes in the therapeutic value of yoga for mind and body. April began her own yoga journey to heal body and soul, and feels extreme gratitude to be able to help others on their journey.  April is a 500 hour RYT in Hatha Yoga with additional certifications in Restorative Yoga and Reiki. She has also studied Sanskrit, Ayurveda and Ayurvedic body treatments, Thai Yoga Massage, Yoga for Children, Yoga for Pregnancy, and Yoga for Athletes.

Mark Chandlee Taylor, Director of the Center for BodyMindMovement  Mark is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT™) accredited by the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association. A certified teacher and practitioner of Body-Mind Centering® (BMC™), he has taught in the School for Body-Mind Centering in Massachusetts and Germany, and served as the school’s U.S. Program Director and Program Coordinator. He was artistic director and choreographer for Dance Alloy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and for Mark Taylor & Friends in New York, and served as a member of the Princeton University dance faculty. Mark teaches movement and embodiment practices in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Central and South America, and maintains a private practice in Pittsburgh.

Dezza Pastor

Dezza is in the process of completing her 200-hour teacher training through Yoga Matrika.  Her yoga journey began with an introduction to yoga during a high school gym class, but Dezza finds that there is always something new to learn on the exciting path of yoga.  She has found her own personal practice to be both a source of comfort and transformation.  She strives to apply the mindfulness that she works for on her mat to everyday interactions.

Ven. Soorakkulame Pemaratana (aka. Bhante Pema)

Bhante Pema is a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka. He was ordained in his early age and received higher ordination in 1997 after completing 10 years of monastic training. He holds a bachelor’s degree with first class honors in Buddhist Studies from the University of Peradeniya and a master’s degree in philosophy from the National University of Singapore.

He has lectured at the University of Peradeniya and the Buddhist and Pali College of Singapore.  The Transcultural Society for Clinical Meditation in Japan gave him the 2008 Haruki Award for his research paper on Meditation and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. He is currently the abbot of the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center in Natrona Heights. He conducts regular lectures and workshops in Buddhist teachings and meditation in the Buddhist center and other places in the area including the State Correctional Institution in Pittsburgh.

 

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