Who We Are | The Light Within Yoga Studio
The Light Within Yoga Studio was founded in 2004. Our mission is to provide a safe, clean, nurturing space to learn and practice yoga.
Our Affiliations and Accreditations
The Light Within Yoga Studio is a 200 hour Registered Yoga School through Yoga Alliance.
Interested in 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program information? Please request an application and curriculum details by contacting Alison at: Alison@thelightwithinyoga.com Meet Our InstructorsAlison Donley - E-RYT 500 w/ Yoga Alliance, Faculty, WCU Kinesiology Department, Studio owner.
Alison Donley discovered her love for yoga when, at the age of 16, she discovered B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga in the library of the small town of Waynesboro, PA. While she continued to practice yoga asana throughout the next 5 years of competitive gymnastics, 4 of the 5 years competing in NCAA Nationals, the real journey began when the competition ended, and the true practice of Yoga began. Alison has been practicing yoga for 35 years and teaching for 28 years. She started yoga programs for 2 large health clubs in the West Chester area, and opened The Light Within Yoga Studio in November of 2004 after she and her husband Dean, and two children, Rachel and Trevor, moved to Southern Chester County. Alison created two 3-credit electives (Yoga I and Yoga II) for West Chester University, where she has been teaching since 1998, and continues to teach full time. In addition, she and Pamela Walsh, owner of The Spirit of Yoga studios in West Chester and Downingtown, co-created a Yoga III course and a 200 hour yoga teacher training program at West Chester University.
Alison has been through numerous teacher-training and certification programs through the years, including guidance and training from Tim Miller, Richard Freeman, David Swenson, Beryl Bender-Birch, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. She is an E(xperienced)-R(egistered)Y(oga)T(eacher) 500 (hours). Alison is the author of Yoga: A Path to Wellness, published in August, 2010 by Kendall-Hunt Publishers. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Unite For Her www.uniteforher.org as the Yoga and Meditation teacher for the foundation's Wellness Days for Women with breast cancer. She contributes monthly articles on Yoga and Wellness for the foundation as well. Alison believes that her strongest quality as a teacher is her passion for sharing yoga and her love for her students. The Light Within Yoga Studio was featured in the October 2005 issue of Yoga Journal magazine, as part of Omtown Heroes, an article about small town yoga studios. She is infinitely grateful for the love and support of family, friends, and students and for the ability to share this ancient (and AMAZING), system of self-care. Katie Brodie - RYT 200 w/ Yoga Alliance
Katie Brodie has began practicing yoga when she was 14, and feel in love with the practice. She began teaching at The Light Within Yoga Studio in May of 2007, and continued teaching throughout her undergraduate career as a student in the Fashion and Apparel Studies program at the University of Delaware. Katie just completed her Master's Degree in French Literature from the University of Delaware. Katie finished her 200 hour RYT at The Light Within Yoga Studio in August of 2011. She continues to teach and spread her knowledge and love of the practice of yoga through a variety of classes, including Mixed-Level Ashtanga, Mixed-Level Vinyasa, Gentle-Evolving Level, and Gentle/Beginner.
Patty Jacobs - RYT 200 w/ Yoga Alliance
Patricia was first drawn into yoga, as a way to exercise when the cold winter weather dissuaded her from riding her mountain bike. But, since her very first class at The Light Within when it opened in 2004, she has been drawn even deeper into yoga, as a way of experiencing so much more than the physical postures. Patty appreciates all that yoga has brought into her life both on and off of her favorite blue mat. At the studio, she has been involved with many of the marketing and promotional events. She has helped to develop and assist such programs as the Children's yoga classes, "Yoga Grooves" (a music inspired class) and "Barefoot in the Park" (a community event celebrating the summer solstice). In addition she has assisted Alison Donley, owner of the studio, with teaching classes at West Chester University. Patricia's informal yogic education includes reading, continued practice, and ongoing learning from her gifted teachers. Future goals include: incorporating more yoga into her special education classes (she is a certified Child Development Specialist); collaborating with friend and creativity coach, Paula Graham on a series of wellness workshops; and attending teacher training workshops.
Sarah Martin - RYT 200 w/ Yoga Alliance
Sarah Moran Martin received her 200-hour teacher training certification from The Spirit of Yoga in 2009. She practiced yoga sporadically since first discovering its wonders at Duke University. But it wasn't until serious knee injuries in the late 1990s that she eschewed the pounding of tennis, snow-skiing and running and returned to yoga for good. At The Spirit of Yoga in West Chester, she revitalized her practice under the wise tutelage of Alison Donley and Pam Walsh, Spirit's owner. Sarah has attended workshops at Kripalu and the Omega Institute, as well as taking numerous yoga classes and workshops locally and wherever she travels with husband Tom, a retired attorney and now a metal sculptor. She and Tom have three sons and live in West Chester. With a teaching style best described as eclectic, she is particularly interested in how pranayama supports and sustains yoga asanas, and how staying with the breath often brings serenity to her own life and can do so for her students. Various sports-related injuries help her to better understand students who approach yoga with trepidation, injury, soreness or stiffness, while she encourages students to work hard and find their "edge." Often, Sarah's classes incorporate bolsters, straps and other props to deepen asanas. Always, there is music! In addition to teaching at The Light Within, Sarah is developing stress-reduction breathing/yoga clinics for corporations and chair-based yoga practices for active seniors. A journalist for the past 40 years, Sarah is a contributing writer for West Chester's Daily Local News and has written for a variety of regional and national publications, including the Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine, The Detroit News, the Kiplinger Washington Letter and numerous trade publications.
Anne Marie Lysle - RYT 200 w/ Yoga Alliance
Anne Marie has been practicing ashtanga yoga for over 7 years at The Light
Within. She discovered her love of yoga at a 6 week program offered by Alison Donley through Avon Grove Youth Association and has been hooked ever since. Anne Marie completed her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in June, 2011 and is currently teaching the Wednesday night GEL class. Anne Marie is thrilled to share yoga with others and to share the joy she has experienced from the practice. Anne Marie lives in New London Township with her husband Roger and two daughters, Nicole and Megan and is a long term employee of Genesis HealthCare in Kennett Square. Karen McKenica - RYT 200 w/ Yoga Alliance
Karen began practicing yoga almost 8 years ago years ago when Alison first opened her studio. She fell in love with the practice immediately, and has been a regular student at TLW ever since. Yoga has had a tremendous impact on Karen, not only increasing her strength and flexibility, but it has helped her find a way to feel peaceful and calm. Yoga has brought a balance and purpose to her life. Wanting to share her love of yoga with others, Karen completed her Yoga Teacher Training at The Light Within this past June, and is excited to be teaching.
Karen is a Bi-lingual Paraprofessional at Glasgow High School. She lives in New London with her husband Dave, and has two grown children: Kristin and Stephen. Margaret Bodine - RYT 200 w/ Yoga Alliance
Margaret recently completed the Yoga Teacher Training program with Alison Donley at The Light Within. This has served to deepen her understanding of the philosophy and practice of Ashtanga yoga. She loves the joy and peace yoga brings to her life. Margaret began practicing yoga in the Triyoga system approximately 23 years ago while living in California. She attended Triyoga teacher trainings and is certified to teach Triyoga Basics and Level 1. When Margaret moved to Pennsylvania in 1994, she founded the yoga program at the Jennersville YMCA and taught there for eight years. In 2001, Margaret became certified as a school counselor and has worked for the Avon Grove School District for the past 11 years. She is so happy to have discovered The Light Within as her new yoga home. She is enjoying learning the Ashtanga yoga system and sharing yoga again.
Kristin Moore
Kristin Moore fell in love with Yoga eleven years ago while working on an organic farm. Yoga kept her strong, limber and free from injuries. She also started to feel a profound sense of peace and calm as her practice continued, and realized Yoga was a key component to her overall wellness. Today, mother of two, she finds even more gifts in the practice of Yoga. During her second pregnancy, she practiced up to the ninth month and experienced an amazing pregnancy and birth that she largely attributes to yoga. She looks forward to that same experience as she and her family prepare for the birth of a third child in November! As a birth doula, she has also seen the effects that a yoga practice can have on other laboring mothers. Kristin has just completed her Yoga teacher training with Alison Donley from The Light Within in West Grove, and is currently teaching the Thursday night Pre-Natal class, and the GEL that follows. Look for Kristin's Friday night "Happy Hour" vinyasa classes offered twic monthly. These are donation only, one hour vinyasa classes set to music. Kristin will complete her 200 hour Yoga TeacherTraining Certificate Program this Fall.
Shannon Boyd - RYT 200 w/ Yoga Alliance
Shannon has been practicing at the Light Within for the last two years and has recently completed the teacher training program at the studio. She is enthusiastic about sharing her passion for yoga as an instructor!
Shannon believes that yoga is for everyone and students can benefit both physically and spiritually from consistent practice. An educator by background, Shannon also works for the Avon Grove School District. Candice Berkowitz
Candace’s love for yoga began over 25 years ago. She began by learning how powerful yoga was as a fitness practice, but soon discovered it to be an enriching and nourishing way of life for mind, body and spirit. Yoga created the structure that Candace believes to be what held life together at those times when all else seemed to be falling apart. According to her, “Yoga is the joy, the power, and the peace that sustains my life”.
Candace is a KRI certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher (as taught by Yogi Bhajan) and a member of IKYTA. She earned her certification in 2009 at the Khalsa Healing Arts and Yoga Center in Yardley, PA with Mahan Rishi Singh Khalsa and Nirbhe Kaur Khalsa- venerated teachers who were long time students of Yogi Bhajan. Candace is a mother of four grown children and she is also a professional New Thought/ Religious Science Practitioner offering spiritual and life coaching. Some other life passions include organic gardening and farming, landscape design, photography and dance/movement. She also offers chakra clearing and Radical Forgiveness classes. Candace is working toward her Level ll, 500 hour Yoga Training. She is very grateful to Alison Donley for the opportunity to share Kundalini Yoga at the Light Within Yoga Studio. Michael Kahn
Michael has been practicing yoga at The Light Within for over seven years. He recently completed his 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training at the studio. Michael is leading the Wednesday morning short-form mysore classes, along with innovative vinyasa classes on Thursday nights. A photographer by trade, but a yogi by heart, Michael has discovered first hand the healing power of yoga both for the mind and the body. He is continuing his studies by reading yogic philosophy books, and studying vinyasa variations, as well as working on his own Ashtanga practice. Incorporating yogic philosophy in his daily life, he has learned to slow down in a world that is going too fast, to let go, and to take better care of himself by really listening. He and his girlfriend Christine are constant supporters of the yoga studio, with the hope that others can benefit just as greatly as they have.
You can see Michael's photography at www.michaelkahn.com . Cybil Housh
Cybil took her first yoga class 14 years ago. She immediately fell in love with Yoga.
She quickly found that Yoga helped her find peace and strength both mental and physical to help deal with daily life. She practiced a variety of styles until finding The Light Within, where her love of Ashtanga emerged. After several years of learning the practice, Cybil completed the 200-hour RYT course with Alison at the Light Within Yoga Studio. Being on the mat, is always a good place to be; she continues to develop her own practice at home and at the Light Within. Cybil also teaches at Kennett High School and is mom to Lucy and Foster. T'ai Chi ChuanMitch Goldfarb
Professor Mitch Goldfarb is a Kinesiology Department
faculty member at West Chester University, and teaches Tai Chi throughout
Chester County. Mitch is fascinated by the phrase "Do Less - Achieve
More", one of the backbones of T'ai Chi's Taoist philosophy. He has
investigated the benefits of practicing an exercise that elevates laziness to
an art form.
Along with writing and music, teaching T'ai Chi is one of Professor Goldfarb's great passions in life. The Taoist philosophy and background of this discipline has helped to focus his creativity both in and out of the studio. Goldfarb has written and narrated a guided instructional CD for the Short Yang Form and is currently at work on a non-fiction T'ai Chi text. His articles on T'ai Chi and meditation can be found in Yoga Living and PhillyFIT magazines. He is actively involved in writing and producing various healing and meditation recordings, including five CD's for Dr. Deepak Chopra. Goldfarb's latest CD "Native Path" for T'ai Chi, Yoga and meditation is available on iTunes. Mitch is a member of the World T'ai Chi and Qigong Day Organization. In addition to T'ai Chi, Mitch is certified as a Reiki Master in the Usui System of Natural Healing. For More Info Contact Mitch at mitch@mitchgoldfarb.com or 610-873-1923 Massage Therapy |
  Learn more about our professional affiliations and certifications. Support the Studio!  |
Rebecca Morrison - NCBTMB, ABMP
Rebecca is a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist with over 500 hours of training in various techniques. She has been practicing for 11 years.
Rebecca feels that in this fast-paced culture we live in, far too often we neglect ourselves and our bodies. Toxins are in our food, our water, our air, and our muscles. The release of these toxins can have a profound effect on our health and well-being.
Rebecca feels deep in her heart that her calling is bodywork. She believes that everyone deserves to be free of pain. Rebecca has choosen to devote her skills, training, and passion to this cause through service and through education on the benefits of bodywork.
Currently, Rebecca is a stay at home mother, taking care of 2 little ones. She is grateful to be a mama, a wife, and to have a home in these hard times. Yoga is also a passion in her life, and she will soon be wrapping up her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training. In Rebecca's words. she is ..."Just enjoying the moment".
You may email her at booper122@comcast.net or call (302) 351- 4958 to schedule an appointment. You can also visit her website here!
Rebecca feels that in this fast-paced culture we live in, far too often we neglect ourselves and our bodies. Toxins are in our food, our water, our air, and our muscles. The release of these toxins can have a profound effect on our health and well-being.
Rebecca feels deep in her heart that her calling is bodywork. She believes that everyone deserves to be free of pain. Rebecca has choosen to devote her skills, training, and passion to this cause through service and through education on the benefits of bodywork.
Currently, Rebecca is a stay at home mother, taking care of 2 little ones. She is grateful to be a mama, a wife, and to have a home in these hard times. Yoga is also a passion in her life, and she will soon be wrapping up her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training. In Rebecca's words. she is ..."Just enjoying the moment".
You may email her at booper122@comcast.net or call (302) 351- 4958 to schedule an appointment. You can also visit her website here!
Meditation
Dr. Jean Hauser
Dr. Hauser has over 25 years of experience as a Clinical Psychologist in a psychotherapy practice. She has a Master's Degree in Psychiatric Nursing and a Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology, both from Rutgers University. Prior to practicing as a Psychologist, she taught in the Nursing Departments, first, at the University of Delaware and then at Rutgers University. Presently, her practice includes psychotherapy with individuals and couples; stress management; grief counseling; and teaching relaxation and meditation techniques for psychological and spiritual healing and growth.
