MEET THE TEAM
NATALIE
OWNER | TEACHER
26+2 | Hot Power| Hot Pilates
RYT 200, Hot Yoga + Pilates Certified, 300hr training original hot yoga series
Natalie moved to Woodstock in the summer of 2022. She loves the small town charm. One of the things her friends asked when she said she was moving is where will you practice yoga? In her first year embracing Woodstock as home, she was unsuccessful in finding a close place to practice in the heat. So… here we are... ARIS was born from the heart and vision of Natalie's long-time love for and ever-expanding knowledge of an ideal HOT practice & community! ARIS: Ambition, Resilience, Inspired, Strength
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Natalie is a mom to two daughters and two sons, and a few four-legged kids too. She LOVES the heat… total sweat junkie. But this wasn’t always true. It took a lot of convincing to get her to step foot in the hot room for the first time. After crossing the threshold: one class and that was it! There was no turning back. If you know, you know! If you’re wondering what it’s all about.. come try a class and see for yourself where the magic happens with daily HOT practice.
Always active and on the go running on adrenaline, Natalie recognizes that usually equates to running on empty. Add to that full-speed lifestyle, she was a young mom and always so focused on trying to do everything right, instead of giving herself grace for doing the best she could. After beating her body to a pulp riding horses and running -she found her space on the mat 15+ years ago. It was exactly what her body needed to balance a high impact lifestyle. It was many years after that when she discovered the ideals and benefits of hot yoga and the true mind/body connection started. "I could feel the change in my body almost immediately. This is where I learned to stop worrying my mind endlessly if I was doing anything right and found clarity in my thoughts." -Natalie
Natalie will tell you: Yoga keeps me sane! I can feel it in my body and my mind when I’ve been away from the mat too long. Even my daughter will say… "Mom, you need to go to yoga!!!"
Her goal at ARIS is to build a community that comes together to work on themselves. To create space where there is an ease to quiet the endless chatter and encourage you to take time out of your day to take care of YOU. To help you gain strength, flexibility, and balance both in the body and in the mind. To explore each posture each day as if it were your first class and allow yourself to accept wherever you are in your practice today.
CYNTHIA
Hot Pilates
Cynthia (Cindy) has been a group fitness instructor for almost 15 years. She has an education in Art Therapy, but loves sharing the benefits of Pilates and its positive effects on the mind and body.
On top of taking care of her family, including four daughters, she has a country home in Woodstock with goats, cows and chickens.
Her main goal is to make exercise attainable, beneficial and fun!
DAN
Yin | Restorative | Sound Bath | Hot Power
Dan has been teaching yoga since 2005 after completing certification at the temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago. Dan has taught yoga at festivals, in classrooms, privately, and in large room seminars. Dan specializes in yin and restorative yoga but also teaches a flow style. All of his yoga sessions end with a sound healing meditation. He fully believes in this work and in a yoga-influenced lifestyle.
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Dan lives in Woodstock with his two kids.
KATHLEEN
Hot Pilates
Health and fitness has been a core (see how she did that :)) part of her life since she started youth sports at the age of 10. Kathleen’s “real” approach to health, fitness, and overall wellness provides the opportunity for people to be successful in maintaining a harmony of mind, body, and spirit. She is a firm believer that we have one life to live, so we should live it. Have the glass of wine, eat the piece of chocolate cake, and skip the workout if your body is telling you that it needs to rest. Tomorrow is another day! It is critically important and most beneficial to our mind, body, and spirit, to find balance between intentionally working to maintain a healthy lifestyle (which includes both exercise and diet) and honestly listening to what our mind OR body OR spirit may be telling us in any given moment.
Her classes are just one component on the list of many tasks a client has compiled to create a routine that fits their health and fitness wants and needs. She wants her clients to leave her class feeling good about their decision to include her as part of their health and fitness journey, and to always feel like they did their best based on where they were at physically and mentally when they walked into the room. Kathleen’s primary focus is for her clients to feel good on and off their mat.
KRISTINA
Strength & Stretch
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Kristina has been enjoying all types of group fitness classes from PIlates to yoga to weight training since her teenage years, and she's been ACE Fitness certified and leading group exercise sessions since 2016! Kristina has also spent a full career in the elementary/middle school setting which provided her the path to also grow into sharing her personal passion as a teacher: fitness. Her favorite fitness classes include a combination of yoga, Pilates, and weight training... at ARIS this cultivates in the perfect peak performance class we call STRENGTH & STRETCH!
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Some of her favorite quotes are:
"It is when I struggle that I strengthen. IT is when challenged to my core that I learn the depth of who I am." -Steve Maraboli
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"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs.... one step at a time." -Joe Girard
MAGGIE
Hot Power | Yin Yasa
Maggie is a CYT200 Yoga instructor and flexibility coach. Her teaching style is accommodating and inviting to all ability levels and she enjoys teaching Vinyasa, Power, and Yin Yoga styles. As she leads she focuses on the mind body connection using the breath and practicing presence. She encourages yogis to listen to their bodies and modify/adapt whenever needed and provide rest/reset as your experience may call for... meet yourself where you are today, that is the best any of us can do and Maggie is here to support you with her knowledge, lightness, and grace as she leads from the front.
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She has said, "being truly present on your mat is how to get the most benefit from your practice." Maggie is passionate about physical fitness, nutrition, mindfulness, and living a healthy lifestyle.
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GLORIA
Vinyasa Flow | Hot Power | Beginner Series
Gloria has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and teaching since 2008 when she completed her first yoga teacher training. She brings a love for movement and body mechanics to her teaching style.
Gloria will be teaching power yoga, with a focus on alignment and vinyasa and to help build strength and stability in your body with connection to breath. She is also a LMT and offers full spectrum thermal therapy with her mobile sauna business.
ANNIE
Hot Power
Annie has been practicing yoga since she was sixteen years old and teaching since 2017. Her yoga practice has taught her to listen to her own voice and discover her own truth. Her intention is that through the practice of yoga that you too can feel empowered in your own body, mind and soul.
We come to our mats often to escape, but what we often find is ourselves. Annie will teach you how to take what you learn in class and apply it into your everyday life.
Annie will tell you: Bio’s are cool and all but you come to class to learn about yourself, not learn about me! Let’s learn about ourselves together in class!
AUSTIN
Steel Mace Flow
Austin, our Steel Mace Flow coach at ARIS Hot Yoga + Pilates. Not only is Austin a Mace Artist, he has been in the fitness space for a little over a decade... you name it he has tried it. On his personal health & well-being journey Austin started at 250lbs searching for a way to lose weight and get into shape. He accomplished that goal and became obsessed with fitness, so much so the attention he paid to his fit lifestyle almost became unhealthy... It was a numbers game and by his own definition, Austin eventually ran his body and mind into the ground. He recalls living in chronic pain at the age of 27.
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Becoming a student of Steel Mace Flow and Yoga gave him the tools necessary to heal his body and create a new mindset, in fact an entirely new way of being. HIs goal as a teacher is to give his students the best education possible to be a healthy and strong movement practice. Once we have established that together, then he aims to give his students freedom. Freedom to create and express themselves through beautiful movement. Austin likes to say, "in flow you are limitless."
JEN
Hot Power | Strength & Stretch
When Jen took her first yoga class in 2007, the impact it had on her life felt profound. The physical workout was intense. She felt calm and experienced some much-needed mental clarity. After that first yoga class, she went down a path of yogic exploration and found a wide range of yoga practices, which all led to the same brilliant outcome of calm and mental clarity. During the pandemic, yoga was a critical part of how she overcame some of the mental struggles that plagued people around the world after the forced isolation. Since yoga had been such a critical part of her survival, she wanted to share it with others. In 2021, she joined a 200HR teacher training program at Fox Valley Yoga Teacher Training, and became an certified instructor in 2022.
Breathwork has always been a big part of her yoga practice. When teaching, she enjoys connecting breath to movement. Jen hopes her students get to enjoy an intense physical practice and walk away feeling calm, with mental clarity, ready to embark on a productive day.
Amman
26+2
Amman has been a dedicated 26+2 yoga practitioner since 2006 and has been sharing the transformative power of yoga as a teacher since 2019. Having taught in both Los Angeles and Chicago, Amman combines elements of urban energy and mindfulness in each class.
Specializing in the 26+2 yoga series, Amman deeply appreciates the strength, flexibility, and mental clarity this practice fosters.
Whether you’re stepping onto the mat for the first time or deepening an existing practice, Amman is committed to creating a supportive, engaging, and empowering environment for all students. In her teaching, she focuses on proper alignment, breath control, and the joy of self-discovery, making each class a fun experience.
SAM
Front Desk
Details coming soon ...
Your ARIS Team
ARIS Hot Yoga + Pilates Teachers
Our ARIS TEAM is...
