Studio Teachers Bio

Ken “Anand” von Roenn III (E-RYT 500) is the creator of Skanda Yoga (RYS), and is the director of the Skanda Yoga Teacher Training program. A practitioner for 20 years, Ken founded Skanda Yoga in 2009 after studying many hatha yoga traditions. Ken holds a B.A. In Philosophy, is a Level III Reiki Master, and is certified in Iridology. He was an Honors graduate in 2000 from the Yoga East Teacher Training program. He has led 19 teacher trainings in Miami and has published two books: “The Practice of Skanda Yoga,” and “Classes of Enchantment.”

A teacher in the word’s most profound sense – throughout all aspects of life – Lina Vallejo meets each individual that approaches her with absolute attention, compassion and integrity. A teacher of teachers, she has educated over one hundred new yoga teachers in the style of Skanda Yoga®, which she co-created with her husband and asana master Ken “Anand” von Roenn. She is the owner of Skanda Yoga Studio, elected ‘Miami’s Best’ (New Times Magazine 2015), while also one of the most sought after one-on-one private yoga instructors in South Florida.

April is a seasoned yoga practitioner and teacher with Yoga Alliance ERYT 500 YACEP Certification.

Her journey started over 20 years ago after a knee injury. Yoga healed her and became the exercise of choice but….she instinctively knew there was more to it. After moving to Miami from NY in 2009 she wanted to deepen her practice, subsequently becoming 200 RYT certified. Yoga became a way of life. She found Skanda Yoga and knew this is where she wanted to practice and study more, receiving her second 200-hour RYT certification from Skanda in August 2017 and 300-hour certification in March of 2020. She is now an active 500 YACEP with Yoga Alliance and a Skandati. 🦚

Astrid’s aim as a yoga teacher is to become an assistant to practitioners so they can see that yoga is a great vehicle for healing, evolving and creating space, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. She started practicing different styles of yoga in the year 2000 in Caracas, Venezuela, then she continued her practice while living in Thailand, Panama and Indonesia.

Claudia or “Pia”, as most people know her, is a registered Skanda Yoga teacher who decided to change her career in Marketing after years of working in corporate, and follow her heart and love for yoga.

She loves yoga because it not only gives her a calmness of mind and a spiritual connection but also helps her to keep her body healthy and strong. 

Her classes will be for all levels, as she always provides options for the more experienced practitioners as well as for the ones who are newer to the practice. She is very focused on alignment, providing detailed instructions on techniques, and on building strength on body, mind, and spirit. She is a very happy and fun person so her classes will be fun as well and charged with a lot of energy.

Expect to be challenged, to sweat and, most importantly, to finish her classes feeling empowered!

Ganesha Michael Shapiro: IKYTA Certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor.

Ganesha will expertly guide you into embodying your essence, wisdom and creativity in new and powerful ways. He effortlessly draws from more than 12 years of experience in Hatha, Raja, Kundalini and Tantric yogas, a multitude of healing modalities and many years of intensively practicing contact improvisation and other “free” movement disciplines such as Ecstatic Dance and The 5Rhythms. Ganesha trained as a Healing Science and Energy Healing Practitioner at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, a 4 year program focusing on psych-spiritual development and Brennan Healing Science.

Gloria found Yoga in Miami in the summer of 2010. After trying her first style of Yoga she was hooked to Power Vinyasa. She quickly enrolled in a teacher training program completing her first 200 hours. After practicing committedly for three years she found Skanda Yoga through a fellow Yogini.

Jeff A. is a certified Skanda Yoga Teacher. The aim of his class is to help the practitioner challenge their body and breath in a manner which encourages them to recognize the patterns prevalent in the way in which they address personal challenges, and inspire them to overcome self-imposed obstacles.

Kurt has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and has explored many styles. After taking a Skanda Yoga class by chance, he was immediately drawn to the style and dedicated himself to the practice.

Her story with yoga began when a close friend would cancel plans to practice yoga; feeling curious about this, she decided to give it a try. Safe to say, she got hooked. The practice gave her a feeling unlike other physical activities, something indescribable… a release of mind and spirit. She liked the uncompetitiveness of it, the fact that, in yoga, you’re racing yourself, building yourself; it’s a slow process and Maddison felt encouraged and driven by this phenomenon.

El trabajo de alma de esta “Light Worker” es hacer que conectes con tu Magica esencia, y en meditación profunda volvernos un canal para que el universo envíe su sabiduria,  y con certeza sanar, aceptar, fluir, crear, perdonar y soltar hasta llegar a ese estado dulce y sutil de felicidad que todos buscamos sentir en este plano 3D. La sabiduría y experiencia que Norge ha recibido en este camino de conciencia nos guiara y ayudara a entender los cambios de estos tiempos en esta evolución como humanos.

when she took her first Skanda class.

Even though she had no idea what she was doing, she fell in love with the practice. She felt challenged every second and watching others around her was inspiring. She was falling over, breathing hard and sweating harder. Over time, she learned to control the breath, focus the mind and keep her balance — but she still enjoys sweating every class!

Victor has been a practitioner for almost two decades and in 2015 took his Skanda Teacher Training. He first discovered yoga after a debilitating cancer surgery at the age of 20 and credits his recovery, in part, to the cumulative benefits of a quality yoga practice. A true native Floridian, Victor moved to Miami in 2006 to continue his career as a Park Biologist and Wildland Firefighter. Having been raised with a deep connection and fascination of the natural world, he felt instantly connected to Skanda’s synchronistic fusion of energy and nature.

Having always held an important space for physical exercise in her life, Zelmira (a once avid runner and soccer player) first found yoga when searching for a new and more holistic form of exercise to improve and sustain her physical well-being. Since then, she has not let go of her yoga practice and has only ventured deeper. Fresh out of her first 200 hour yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, India (summer 2018), she found the next step to deepen and enrich her practice in Skanda Yoga, completing her Skanda teacher training that same year. Yoga has not only vastly supported and developed Zelmira’s physical, mental and spiritual vitality, but it has also heightened her connection with self and the world, and her love for life!