Our Teachers & Team Members

JULIANA OLMSTEAD

Studio Owner | Original Hot Yoga Instructor | Yin Yoga Instructor

I took my first Hot Yoga class in 2004, during a summer break from college. I had practiced ballet since I was a kid and had dabbled in many different yoga styles, but I had never experienced anything like this! As a bendy ballerina, I was usually bored in yoga, but the hot yoga class was a real challenge and I loved it! I had never felt such powerful results from a “beginner's" yoga class.

At the time, I was working on an engineering degree at MIT and trying to maintain a dance career on the side, so I did not have a lot of spare time and I was a very sporadic yoga student for my first few years. When I finally graduated, quit ballet, and made yoga a priority, I saw a huge difference in my life. I got stronger and more flexible, which I appreciated, but I also felt much calmer and happier. I had always been a very type-A, competitive person – which does help when you’re running a business! – but yoga has taught me how to relax and find peace with myself.

In 2010, midway through graduate school, I realized that I would never be happy as an engineer working in a lab. I wrapped up my degree, went to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Las Vegas, and never looked back. I taught full-time at studios all over the country before making a home in Rhode Island. I opened our Bristol studio as August 2014 and expanded the business to Providence in 2017.

I love coming into the studio and feeling the energy in the air as more and more people discover this life-changing practice. Yoga has transformed my life in ways that I never imagined, and I hope that the same will be true for you!

STACY EPSTEIN

Social Media Manager | Original Hot Yoga Instructor | Inferno Hot Pilates Instructor

I took my first Original Hot Yoga class in 2016 at the Bristol studio and have made myself a home here ever since. Growing up I played a lot of sports but my main passion was playing the drums. I hurt my shoulder very badly in 2006 while drumming and it was all downhill from there. From 2006 to 2016 I was in a constant state of pain, miserable, on medication, had terrible anxiety, and was doing nothing with my body or my life.

My brother took me to my first Hot Yoga class at the Bristol studio and that’s all it took… 90 minutes in a hot room to realize that I can help myself if I put in the right amount of work and self-care. I knew from my very first class that this yoga and studio are going to be a part of me forever. At least 10 years of excruciating pain was now manageable after just a week of being in the hot room. I wasn’t cured by any means, but I was seeing what I was capable of, and was understanding that it’s okay to try something new. I went to class almost every day, sometimes doing doubles, and I came to understand that some of the best things come from discomfort. It was the most I was able to move my shoulder and body since 2006, so saying this yoga made me feel alive is an understatement! Six months into my practice I got off of my prescribed pain medicine (the opioid epidemic hits hard – be kind to everyone) and realized that there is so much in this life to see, so much to do, so much to be!

This yoga and the studio showed me the tools I needed to get my life back, so it was my karma yoga duty to help others the way that I was helped through my process. I went to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Spring of 2018 and went to Inferno Hot Pilates teacher training in 2019. I teach full time at both studios and also run the social media for RIHY. On the podium I am your biggest fan, your #1 support, your proud mama bear watching you grow. I learned to fall in love with myself in the hot room and I invite you to do the same. I invite you to challenge yourself, love yourself, be kind to yourself. I invite you to believe that you are stronger than you know. Above all, I invite you to root for you.

GIANNA AUGER

Retail and Facilities Manager | Inferno Hot Pilates Instructor

I originally came into the yoga studio, like most people, because a friend convinced me to try this crazy ass hot yoga. She was a Karma Yogi at the time and the studio was having a great deal for the month of February. I left my first class asking myself what I just did and then came back 30 days in a row.

This practice and this studio have changed my life completely. Through this 90 minute open-eyed meditation I have been able to overcome lifelong depression, anxiety, and back pain, and I’m able to identify with certainty the things that do and do not make me happy and whole. This yoga and this studio have been with me when I felt my lowest, when I felt like I was going to give up, when I felt like no one and nothing could help me, and here I am. I wouldn’t be here without this yoga.

ALLISON ESTES

Original Hot Yoga Instructor

Teaching yoga makes me happy. Every time I’m on the podium, I watch students transform themselves. Body, Mind, Spirit. I see students succeed in ways (and in an environment!) they may never have thought possible. It’s beautiful. I’m rooting for you every time you walk into the hot room and can’t wait to see your smiling happy faces.

I began my own practice in August of 2008 at Bikram Yoga Amherst, MA. A co-worker urged me to try my first class. I had no idea what I was in for! Back then, my heart had a lot of anger and it created a lot of pain in my body. I was a very unhappy person and very homesick for South Dakota. I had trouble eating, sleeping, and making friends and was constantly making poor life decisions. I worked through all this in the hot room. I’d never felt so safe and so vulnerable at the same time. The yoga gave me the courage to face myself and gave me a new life.

I graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in Human Nutrition, but my heart was in the hot room. I decided to go to Teacher Training in Fall 2010 and began teaching right away. I worked at a a few studios before finally settling in Rhode Island.

I’ve been teaching part-time since Rhode Island Hot Yoga first opened and couldn’t be happier with fellow my teachers and students. You are my family. I feel blessed to be able to share the practice with others. In my class, I hope to teach you not to take yourself (or the yoga!) too seriously! To crack a smile when things are challenging. I want my students to find the humor and love in themselves and in the yoga. Try the right way, and watch the magic happen. This yoga works for every body, every time. See you in the hot room!

ARIADNE GREENBERG

Yin Yoga Instructor

I’ve been doing yoga so long that it is hard to remember my earliest classes. I remember my mom taking me up some steep steps into the yoga space, how quiet and sunny the room was, and the people in the cotton drawstring pants. I also remember falling asleep in savasana. Well, I had four siblings and lived in the inner city so the quiet and peace was both rare and wonderful.

When I could afford it, I took classes. When I couldn’t, I got books from the library or practiced with Lilias on TV. This was the ’70s, before the yoga boom, so options were more limited then. I took some classes when I was in college, and even then, as a philosophy major, yoga as a philosophical system was always percolating in the background.

In the mid eighties I joined a gym, and of course, gravitated to the yoga program. (I think it was fate that they had it, since not all places did!) Eventually I began to study intensively with and student-teach for the Iyenger trained teacher there. I also trained for, certified in, and started teaching group fitness classes and did graduate work in exercise science. I did residential teacher training at the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara. This was the first time I had heard of vinyasa (unthinkable now). I have continued my habit of taking regular workshops and trainings and classes with as many people as I could afford, though now it is more about time than funds. With marriage, two children, relocation to DC, and a choice to spend some time as a stay at home parent, my path took a lot of turns. I’ve been back teaching part-time for another 10 years now.

My style is eclectic. I try to listen to each student’s words and body and help them find what they need in their practice. Working with the Hot Yoga students has been wonderful. The practice that I offer is meant to support and underline the main practice with focused strength and focused energy, neuromuscular, and mental work. And I get the wonderful side benefit of getting to share the other classes as well!

BRITTANNY TAYLOR

Original Hot Yoga Instructor

I took my first Hot Yoga class on June 1st, 2018, basically on a whim. I never heard of it before. I went to yoga on an off for my adult life but never stuck to a practice. After the first class, I didn’t know what I just did, but I loved how I felt after. I knew I had to keep going after my three-week trial ended. I continued my practice, and a year after I started, the opportunity to attend teacher training the following year. I never thought about being a teacher, but Juliana thought I would be a good one, so I applied. Fast forward another year later, I graduated top of my class from Original Hot Yoga Academy.

I saw firsthand what this yoga could do for a body. Not only did I physically feel better, but mentally I also found peace in the hot room. Representation matters, so I’m proud to be a Black, plus size yoga instructor. I want to show people that this yoga is for all bodies.

Outside the hot room, I’m a photographer and mindset coach.

CHARLENE PRATT

Yin Yoga Instructor

Teaching lets me be fully myself (quirky, playful, gentle, motivating) in front of a room of people who are doing their best to fully embrace themselves as well. Yoga is raw and allows you to open up (physically and emotionally) in ways you might not outside the hot room. Teaching puts you right in the middle of the process: watching the people around you slowly open, slowly become more empowered, slowly face their demons and embrace themselves while you do the same. It is the ultimate connection.

From the first day that I walked into the Bristol studio, I felt welcome and accepted. The postures and the heat can be very challenging; but when you are in the room, surrounded by others who are struggling along side you, you feel a sense of support and camaraderie. The teachers are there for you and care about their students. It is a safe and loving space for you to do some real work.

Do what you can and set no expectations for yourself. Everyone has a first class and everyone is intimidated by the idea of doing something new. The sooner you start, the sooner it wont be new to you anymore.

DENISE CALISE

Original Hot Yoga Instructor

I have taken various forms of yoga classes over the years, but it wasn't until turning 50 in 2014 that I started practicing the Original Hot Yoga regularly.  After serving 32 years in the US Army, deployments and several knee and foot surgeries; I needed a way to heal and safely stretch my body, plus get a tremendous workout!  This yoga has changed my life.  My goal now is to live a long happy life without medication.  This yoga truly is medicine and just what the body (and mind) needs!  I tell everyone I meet to come and try the Original Hot Yoga!

KATHLEEN SEAGRIFF-CHAPMAN

Power / Restore, Yoga for Hips & Back

I have always been a very book-oriented person. As a child, I would do anything I could think of to avoid physical activity. Yoga was the first time I enjoyed challenging myself physically. I was amazed to find myself so focused on the present moment that I could quiet my very busy mind. Through yoga, I am learning to become more comfortable with the present moment and in my physical self.

I encourage my students to find and follow their breath and to listen to what their bodies need. I ask them to spend an hour in the present moment and to accept and love their bodies as they are.

KELLY MCCULLOUGH

Original Hot Yoga Instructor

I took my first hot class while visiting my father and his wife in Atlanta, Ga in 2003. They had been practicing a few months and I was stunned by how glowing, healthy and happy they looked. I joined them for a class and was instantly hooked.

Over the years I have continued to be amazed by the transformations you see in yourself and others through consistent ongoing practice. This sequence of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises in the high heat is an extremely effective tool for personal and physical growth and healing. I believe in this method of Yoga wholeheartedly and have been teaching since 2015. I am honored and thrilled to be sharing what I love at Rhode Island Hot Yoga.

LYNN WEISMAN | MA, LMHC, RYT

Original Hot Yoga Instructor

I came to a yoga class seeking a way to heal my body from the aches and pains of having been diagnosed with SLE (Lupus) when I was young. I was searching to find what it was I wanted to do long term, vocationally, and to make better decisions in many areas of my life. Life had taken a toll, physically, mentally and emotionally. Sometimes just getting to class was harder than what hurt. I had practiced other styles of yoga and enjoyed all of them, but once I found the Original Hot Yoga sequence, in that, sometimes glorious, sometimes torturous hot room, I was home. The results were immediate and have continued for the past 17 years. Yoga is a scaffold, not only for healing, but also, for life’s unexpected happenings. I feel good in my body, work in family therapy and am able to use this amazing yoga practice to keep it all together. And sometimes less is more!

Teaching Original Hot Yoga since 2002 changed my life in so many ways. It has brought me experience, wisdom and love. It is my pleasure and passion to show others the way, because I love what I teach. Every class and every student present a new opportunity for me to gain insight into their journeys, use it to serve others and improve my own practice. I love to bring it all together with compassion, joy and fun!

I have traveled the world, taught, studied, and practiced with many master teachers and am grateful to have one of the best jobs in the world. “The inspiration to teach comes from those who love to learn.” Sri K. Pattabhi Jois said, “Practice and all will come.”

I believe if you come to class when you can, you will step onto a path to improve, heal or change your life physically, emotionally or mentally.  Yoga will support that! Let it change you “from the inside out, bones to the skin.” All you have to do is come to class and practice! Hope to see you in our lovely community!

MANDY DION

Membership Adviser

This yoga has changed my life in every way. It keeps away seasonal depression, has alleviated my issues with anxiety, helped me maintain a healthy weight, and greatly minimizes the severity and amount of autoimmune flareups I have. Overall, I have more energy, sleep better, and almost never get sick.

I was terrified to come in for the first time because many of my health issues were seemingly worsened by physical activity, and I didn't think I could stand being in the hot room. The hardest part was getting there for the first time. I vividly remember my first class - I ended up in the front row of a packed class and had no idea what I was doing but LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. At the end of class I felt like I melted right into the floor and was reborn after final savansana. I never wanted the feeling to end!

REBECCA HENRIQUEZ

Inferno Hot Pilates Instructor

I spent the majority of my youth as a competitive rower and stretching was most definitely not a part of the culture, so I never really thought about my flexibility too often. I was introduced to the Original Hot Yoga practice in 2010 and my life was changed forever. (I think that is a theme with yogis!)

Each time I returned to the yoga room it was better and better. I struggled through tough classes and I have celebrated breakthroughs. It is true what they say that the "worst yoga class is the one you miss." I am also always amazed at how every class is filled with people from so many different walks of life working to heal themselves physically, mentally, or spiritually.

Without knowing it, yoga led me to Inferno Hot Pilates (IHP). I found myself in a class where people were talking and laughing in the hot room before class (unheard of in yoga!) Then the instructor walked in and I knew I was going to get my butt kicked, which I did! After 4 months of practicing IHP, I realized that I needed to help share this amazing HIIT workout with others.

I have been teaching IHP since February 2019 and it has been both an energizing and humbling experience to see students push themselves and get stronger with each class. The best part is that the classes are designed for everyone to be able to challenge themselves where they’re at and see fast results that carry over into their yoga practice as well. I love being creative with my class plans and bumping good music so we can always have fun and feel the burn! See you in the hot room and have fun!

STEPH BARTA

Providence Studio Manager | Inferno Hot Pilates Instructor | Original Hot Yoga Instructor

I took my first Original Hot Yoga class in December of 2011 and was immediately hooked. Long distance running left me with achy joints, I was full of stress and anxiety, and a friend suggested I try hot yoga. After that first class I was amazed at how great I felt, physically and mentally. Just nine months later, in the fall of 2012, my toes were on the line at Bikram Yoga Teacher Training!

My favorite thing about teaching is hearing students talk about how much their quality of life has improved. I strive to teach with humor, compassion, strong dialogue and a cat story or two.

SUNNY SHATTUCK

Original Hot Yoga Instructor | Inferno Hot Pilates Instructor

I fell in love the with Original Hot Yoga after my very first class. Nothing I had ever done before had made me feel that way. I was hooked! Everyone I came across heard about hot yoga.

I went to teacher training in Acapulco in 2008. Being in the yoga bubble for 9 weeks was amazing. I love this yoga and enjoy watching people's lives transform as they commit to their practice. 

As someone who has physical challenges, I had to learn to do as much as I could the "right way," which was a lesson in patience and very humbling. Now I get to share the message to listen to your body and that less can be more in the hot room.

ZABI ALEJANDRO

Original Hot Yoga Instructor

​I took my first hot yoga class in January 2013. I was introduced to yoga while in the Adolescent Unit of Bradley Hospital as a coping skill and from there, on my own. Yoga became a daily practice in 2010 during my “walk-about” through the whole west coast and much of the USA. It helped with the tremendous amount of walking I accomplished in a day. You know, even walking through most of about 43 states with a backpack on my back and no money in my pockets, seemed easier than my first hot yoga class.

My first class was terrible. It was hot, it was wet. I was in the front row and nearly killed myself. I was told to sit down by the teacher because I was such a dizzy mess. Thing was, I knew I could do better. I wanted to do better. I could feel the power of this particular practice. I fell in love instantly and participated in a ten day challenge. I did 9 out of 10 but it was amazing. I kept a consistent practice and everything changed for the better.

In September, on the second day of my third year in URI, I was hit by a car while riding my bike back to Providence from a gardening job in Warwick. My bike got stuck to the grill of the car and I flew into the curb face first. I broke my orbital floor and right shoulder. I was out of school. I was out of work. I had an emergency surgery on my face and they sewn my right eyelids together. I felt awful, helpless, and hopeless. So the day after the surgery, I went right in the room. I went in there everyday and did what I could until the stitches came out. I kept going in until each of my doctors appointments said I was alright. I was scheduled for two more surgeries but the doctors cancelled them both.They were amazed at my healing and the fact that I never signed into Physical Therapy.

In January 2014, just a year later, I received a settlement from the accident. With it, I decided to invest and leave school for awhile to join Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Los Angeles in Spring 2014. After being certified, I traveled about. I lived and taught in State College, PA and New Orleans, LA. Now I am back home and “staying the course!”

I teach how I practice. I emphasize the importance of one’s awareness to their breath. My goal is to guide those taking class, to practice this awareness further into other aspects of their life and become aware of their actions. I invite them to take control of themselves and make life what they want it to be.

ABBY DABA DO

Studio Dog

Hi, I'm Abby! I like to come to yoga class and greet students at the door. I am a very well behaved dog who loves to get ear scratches and belly rubs. Once you give me some good patting, you've got a friend for life. Sometimes I help the humans to relax when they are stressed out after a long day or nervous about taking a hot yoga for the first time.

The best day of my life was probably when my Dad adopted me from the Providence Animal Rescue League. But another good day was when Mom opened a yoga studio, and then TWO yoga studios, so that I can meet lots of humans and get all the ear scratches! (The day that I almost got the squirrel was a pretty good day too.)

My favorite yoga pose is savasana and I am very good at it - I can do it on my back, my front, my side, or even curled up into a ball. I think I might even be better at it than the humans, but they keep practicing and they are improving.

Please do not feed me your snacks or let me sneak into the hot room even if I give you my best puppy eyes!