Meet our Team | Rise Yoga

Meet Your Team of Instructors

Judy Redding (she/her) RYT-200

A native of Gettysburg, Judy’s yoga journey poetically began in this very same holistic space nearly 30 years ago. Since then, yoga has provided a sanctuary through difficult moments and a desire to share the joys of yoga with others. After a long career in public relations and fundraising, Judy’s vision of becoming a yoga instructor became a reality. Judy is certified in Vinyasa Flow and has taught All Levels Vinyasa, Slow Flow and Gentle Yoga classes in the Adams County community. Her instructional style focuses on proper alignment in asana poses, safe sequencing, balance, core strength and connection of breath to movement. In Judy's words, "Yoga is a beautiful blend of movement that can bring improved mobility, balance and range of motion." As a more "mature" yogi, she can attest to the benefits of yoga for one's mind, body and soul.

Wendy Machemer (she/her) RYT-500

The desire to find an inner peace within herself led Wendy to start practicing yoga over 10 years ago. Highly passionate about health and wellness, yoga instantly became an everyday adventure. Wendy focuses on the breath while teaching, allowing the body to gently flow from one asana to another. Wendy is certified in Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga, Trauma Informed Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Adaptive Yoga. She is also certified by the LoveYourBrain Foundation to teach accessible yoga for the brain injury community. In addition to her regular adult classes at RISE, Wendy is also one of the lead teachers of our children's yoga programs. When not on her yoga mat, you can find her teaching elementary physical education during the school year, reading, or vacationing at the beach in the summer and on the ski slopes in the winter!

Heather Seton (she/her) RYT-200

Heather came to yoga, like many of us, in search of her own healing. After a lifetime of working with victims and survivors of violent crime, and as a survivor herself, she was introduced to trauma sensitive yoga and the practice of healing trauma through embodiment. Through her own yoga practice, Heather began to experience the healing power of yoga and mindfulness. As a life-long helper and healer, she couldn't keep this to herself and after completing Yoga Teacher Training through Down Dog Gettysburg, she began sharing her practice with others. In addition to her YTT, Heather has received training in meditation, pranayama, and yoga for mental health and is certified by the LoveYourBrain Foundation to teach accessible yoga for the brain injury community. Additionally, she is a licensed massage therapist and a Reiki Master Teacher. Heather brings a trauma informed perspective to the mat, encouraging you to meet yourself exactly as you are in each moment with compassion and curiosity.

Chris Sampson (he/him)

RYT-200, YACEP

Chris began his journey to yoga while stationed as a Military Training Instructor at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio Texas in 2004. Chris has earned a 200 hour RYT certification at Down Dog Yoga, Gettysburg, PA and has completed Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Ryan Dekis, at Ananda Shala Yoga in Frederick, Maryland. Chris has a passion for yoga, especially Yin Yoga, and wishes to share it with others: especially those who suffer from chronic pain, PTSD, trauma, and depression, as he believes it is an exceptional alternative for healing of the body, mind, and spirit.

Aurora Bonner (she/her)

ERYT-500, RYT-200, YACEP

Aurora was first introduced to yoga as a means of therapy when she was a teenager. Over the next 27 years she returned to yoga over and over, until it became her life practice. Aurora offers challenging and deeply renewing classes that are fun and down-to-earth. She strives to meet students where they are and welcomes all levels, interests, and experiences. Whether this is your first attempt or your thousandth, she'll help you build confidence and rediscover your inner warrior. Aurora trained for her 500hr YTT with Jeannie O’Neill in the Spiritual Warrior program at Yoga Farm Ithaca and for her 200hr YTT with Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga Master Teacher Bill Raup at Power Yoga Works in Philadelphia. In addition to training in trauma-informed Kundalini, Vinyasa, and Bikram-style yoga, as well as LoveYourBrain Yoga to support the brain injury community, Aurora has trained in Ayurveda, the Enneagram, and Lunar Wisdom. As a creative writing teacher and leader of wellness retreats, she is interested in sharing offerings that intersect writing, personal reflection and movement.

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Emily Seils (she/her)

RYT-240

Emily is an educator, an artist and a yoga teacher with an interest in supporting students in connection of the mind, body, and most authentic self. She carries her Yoga Alliance certification in Trauma-Informed Social Justice Leadership from Yogamour Studio in Frederick, MD. In her own practice, she has a deep love for breath work, and her classes invite students to connect body and breath in a way that fosters a sense of wholeness both on and off the mat. Emily shares, "I believe yoga is a creative and restorative journey that allows us to return to ourselves. My goal is to guide others toward discovering the strength within themselves, while celebrating the joy of the present moment." Off the mat, Emily is an elementary school art teacher in Upper Adams School district.

Stephanie Asper (she/her)

RYT-200

Stephanie stumbled into her practice while searching for ‘her people’ – those that would thrive when going slow, offer space and grace, cheer on self-exploration, and serve others. After years of building a personal practice, she became an instructor to fill a void left by the loss of one of her own teachers in a small town in North-Western New Mexico. Stephanie is Yoga Alliance RYT-200 certified and cares deeply about sense of belonging and community, safe alignment and sequencing, and helping others discover or grow their own practice. She’s returned to her mat for over 20 years to practice being more fully human through mindfulness, self-regulation, curiosity in the presence of challenge, and loving-kindness toward herself and others. She welcomes you to join her in that adventure and pursuit.

Melissa Rosenberger (she/her)

LSW, RYT-200

Melissa is passionate about supporting children, youth and families on their journeys of healing and transformation of mind, body, spirit, and heart through a mindfulness-based and relational approach. Melissa is a Licensed Social Worker, offering a variety of therapeutic interventions for adults, families, couples and children through individual and group therapy at Phoenix Counseling Center. Melissa received her 200 hour Yoga Alliance certification through Breathe For Change, an organization centered in supporting educators and youth in social emotional learning through yoga and mindfulness. She has a creative and fun approach to her instruction of children and family yoga classes at RISE, incorporating storytelling and imaginative play as well as breath work and age-appropriate mindfulness exercises to support emotional regulation. Melissa is also thrilled to offer insurance-based trauma-informed yoga to clients of Phoenix Counseling Center.

Alli's yoga practice is shaped by her own personal story of resilience. An educator by background, she turned to her work as an instructor of yoga and mindfulness during a prolonged recovery from TBI and persistent post-concussive disorder. Through this healing process, she experienced the many benefits of a routine wellness practice rooted in connection- mind to body, breath to movement, and human to human. In addition to her Yoga Alliance certification, Alli is certified in Accessible Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Children's Yoga and serves as a facilitator and instructor for the Love Your Brain Foundation, a leader in research and programming to support yoga and mindfulness for the brain injury community, including people who have experienced mild to severe traumatic and acquired brain injuries and their caregivers. Alli's style of instruction draws on this experience to support post-traumatic growth by offering a class experience that is adaptive in nature and meets students where they are. Alli is a student of accessible yoga teacher and author Jivana Heyman and a graduate of the Accessible Yoga School, an organization centered in equity and accessibility in yoga instruction. A life-long learner at heart, she is an ongoing meditation student at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a yoga for disability mentee of Rodrigo Souza, a current anatomy student of Jason Crandell and a 300hr YTT student of Tamika Caston-Miller and the instructional team at the Ashe Yoga Collective, in their course which is designed and dedicated to serving the lifetime practitioner.

Alli's intention at Rise is to create a warm and welcoming space that promotes healing, resilience and a strong sense of community. We welcome you exactly as you are, because we believe that yoga is for every body, every mind and has the power to support us through every season of life.

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Alli Crowell (she/her)

RYT-200, MAT

Studio Founder/Owner