Meet Our Team

Kay started practicing yoga in 2016 in her university gym as a form of exercise. Having been an avid athlete, she was looking for that same sense of community in yoga. She was introduced to amazing students and a teacher who inspired her to develop a home practice. After she graduated college in 2019, Kay was interested in deepening her practice and learning more about the spiritual and historical part of yoga. She completed her 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training through Yoga Works LA and was granted her diploma on March 7, 2021. During some hard times yoga was and continues to be a perfect balance of spiritual, mental and physical healing. One of the reasons she loves yoga so much is because every time she is on her mat she is reminded that we are responsible for our own happiness, no matter what is going on in the world around us. Kay enjoys practicing yoga anytime and anywhere and is passionate about bringing yoga to all spaces. In her classes she focuses on mindful movement and believes wherever you are in your practice, yoga is a perfect way to tune into your body and show yourself some love. She believes yoga is a journey not a destination and encourages people to try yoga so they can feel good, take care and learn more about themselves and others. Kay lives in Uncasville, CT with her partner, Theo and their German Shepherd Dog, Layla.

Holly has been a certified Spin instructor for 6 years and advanced Les Mills Body Pump instructor for 5. Holly was hooked after her first Spin class. The challenging workout and love of group fitness motivated her to become an instructor.  She is passionate about music and believes it can be a powerful motivator.  Holly’s goal is to create an energetic fun class that will have you singing while you are climbing hills and racing on flats. When she is not spinning, Holly loves vacationing with her husband, spending time with family & friends, and snuggling with her two cats.

“Visualize your highest self & start showing up as her”

Michelle teaches with a uniquely articulate sense of body awareness, infused with a lighthearted sense of adventure and humor. Her classes are filled with flowing vinyasa sequences to gracefully direct the body into a dance like movement between the breath and the mat. Michelle spends class time sharing her energy around the room performing hands on assists. Her assists help students to feel the form and alignment of the poses, as well as encourage balance, lengthening and finding a subtle stillness within movement. Dharma (Buddhist “Devine Law”), Pranayama (breathing techniques), and music blend every moment and each pose of  Michelle’s classes allowing a beautiful collaboration of love, passion and playfulness to be infused into each’s yoga practice.

Michelle first found her practice in 2005 as a college student in Boston. After years of dedicated practice she was offered an internship in 2014 at a local studio and began teaching immediately under the guidance of the studio owner. Guiding breath and movement lit a spark within her she had never anticipated, and after lots of research she found The Awakened Life School of Yoga. She signed up to study under seven internationally trained yogis in the summer of 2015, as the school was hosting an intensive in Nosora, Costa Rica. Her training was highly focused on precise cuing and hands on teaching, allowing Michelle to focus on her students as they follow her flows and grant the energy of the room the ability to influence the class as needed.

In 2017 Michelle left her “day job” to pursue full-time teaching and has not looked back since. She teaches a wide variety of styles; Vinyasa, restorative, Yin, chair and Nidra. In 2017 she developed her own style of water yoga, Aqua Flow hosting multiple weekly classes year round in heated public pools. Michelle teaches at a handful of Connecticut yoga studios and wellness facilities, with her unique ability to construct adaptive styles of vinyasa in 2018 she was asked to join the Livestrong Foundation where she works with cancer patients in a structured 12 week program serving as their yoga and meditation teacher. As much as Michelle loves to teach powerful flows to able-bodied students, the reward that comes from bringing yoga to those in a place of deep need has been beyond measurable for her.

In 2018 Michelle was offered a full scholarship to the Wild Essence Yoga School, as they hosted a Connecticut based 300 hour training. Teaching full-time while attending weekly trainings gave her the ability to implement the Anusara style teachings of Meghan Currie directly into her teaching practice. She obtained her RYT500 that same year and has since taught thousands of hours of studio classes and attended many workshops, seminars and other continuing education programs classifying Michelle as an Experienced 500 hour trained teacher.

Sixteen years into her journey and Michelle’s passion and dedication to her practice are still strong. In the summer of 2021 Michelle attended 108 public classes in 90 days, taking time to sit and journal after each class allowing her to dive even deeper into her experience of being a student. Michelle’s classes offer many variations of poses, providing a space for students to make each flow their own and explore the uniqueness of their practice. Classes are structured with a peak pose, using every aspect of the class to prepare students mentally and physically to begin to play with a more advanced posture, using the cool down portion of the class to balance out the body, release and allow the lessons of the practice to settle within the entire being.

Hey Get Bent community!I’m Emily Vanstaen and I’d love to tell you a little bit about me… I am lucky to have lived the life of a traveler. I grew up in Bangkok, Thailand before moving to the wide open beaches of Western Australia, where I fell in love with surfing, always finding joy in fluidity and movement. After relocating to the US as a teen, I struggled to find my happy place, believing the Connecticut winters were to blame, I chased the endless summers on the California coast. Feeling lost and searching for some stability, I sought a spark and purpose in life. My search led me to yoga which always left me feeling grounded and full of fire.. and voila! My yoga journey began! This spark helped me work through personal challenges and fully embrace and commit to my practice. Always the traveler, I completed my 200 hour YTT & intro to Thai Massage certification in Cusco, Peru in February 2017. The course solidified the knowledge I have gained throughout the years and has given me the confidence and understanding to pass on these great tools of mindful movement to be of benefit to others. Now settled in Lisbon, CT, I’ve learned your happy place isn’t controlled by the weather or location, but by your mindset. Finding joy and igniting my fire with movement throughout the seasons! Including chasing the surf and snow in the New England winter…. paired nicely with a side of hot yoga!

In my class you will learn to link breath to movement and challenge yourself to push the boundaries of what you think you’re capable of. While helping you stay in the present moment by holding composure through flow and resistance, we’ll find the yin/yang balance amongst the chaos of life with a calm collected breath. Open to all body types and skill levels, I can’t wait to practice with you! Come see what you’re made of!

P.s It’s Stardust 😉