Sharon discovered her love of yoga from her parents’ basement in the apple orchards of Washington as a teen. A competitive tennis player at the time, she was drawn to its challenging yet tranquil nature, and has had a regular practice ever since. In addition to her love of yoga and meditation, Sharon’s studies in neuropsychology, medical anthropology and anatomy, inspire her to teach from a holistic lens. Sharon graduated from Chicago’s Eight Limbs Yoga Center in 2004 (200 hrs), and The Temple of Kriya Yoga in 2006 (500 hrs). She has been teaching yoga at Bloom since 2005, and co-created Bloom’s Yoga Teacher Training with Kerry Maiorca in 2010. A Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga Teacher, Sharon’s style gathers intelligence from many schools of yoga and is non-dogmatic, accessible, and delightfully challenging.

Lucy's yoga journey began in 2004 when her close friend (fellow Bloom teacher Sharon Wentz) enlisted her as a willing guinea pig for yoga teacher training practice sessions and Rodney Yee Yoga videos (if you know you know). From the beginning she was captivated by the practice, and it has since become an integral part of her life. Originally hailing from the picturesque mountains of Colorado, she brings a deep appreciation for nature and mindfulness into her teaching style. 

​

An enthusiastic and devoted instructor with over a decade of teaching experience, Lucy enjoys guiding students on their own yoga journey of discovery. Lucy is a Lead Trainer for Bloom’s 200-hour and Prenatal Teacher Trainings, and she is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT® 500), a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT®), and a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP®). Lucy has undergone extensive training and her desire to continually learn and grow ensures her students receive the highest quality instruction. 

​

With a nurturing and inclusive approach Lucy draws inspiration from various yoga styles, incorporating elements from each to create a harmonious blend in her classes. She aims to empower her students and give them the tools needed to connect mind, body, and spirit both on and off the mat. 

​

Outside of the studio, Lucy enjoys spending time working in her garden, taking long walks with her dog, snowboarding, trying new recipes and spending time in nature with her family and friends, drawing inspiration from her surroundings to continually enrich her teaching. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or just beginning your journey, Lucy welcomes you to join her on the mat and discover the transformative power of yoga.

Chelsea Brown is an experienced student and teacher of yoga who never stops learning. Since completing her initial teacher training with Prairie Yoga in 2010, Chelsea has continued to explore yoga under the guidance of her beloved teachers including the incomparable Gabriel Halpern, Linda Troutman, and the whole wonderful team at Prairie, where she went on to complete 500 hour training in 2021.

She is immersed in and has studied energetics, meditation and yoga nidra extensively through Tricia Fiske and Rod Stryker of the Parayoga tradition. She has taken on additional study of restorative yoga with Judith Lasiter, as well as Somayoga and the SATYA practices as taught by Tias Little. Chelsea’s teaching style  blends the deep innerwork of tantra with a strong alignment based asana practice rooted in the Iyengar yoga tradition and informed by therapeutics.

Chelsea  is a registered Children’s Yoga teacher who’s experience with children spans well over a decade. She continues to share yoga with students of all ages, including yogis as young as 18 months old and is firm in her belief that the principles of yoga offer a beautiful system for living an integrated life for all people. She believes in yoga as a way of life and finds incredible joy in sharing it with her students. Her company, Good Seeds Yoga, provides children’s yoga programming to schools and community groups throughout the Chicago area, and offers training programs and workshops to adults who seek to share the practice of yoga with children.

Chelsea is firm in her belief that yoga can benefit everyone, and the key to teaching effectively is to meet students where they are and then give them a reason to want to go further.

DuShaun has been practicing for almost 13 years and fell in love with yoga because it allowed her to find peace of mind while moving her body. As a yoga student, DuShaun noticed that in the majority of her classes she was the only black and plus sized person in the room. This inspired her to become a practitioner to bring yoga to more people who looked like her.

​

DuShaun previously worked in higher education, and is currently a community organizer in North Lawndale, a community on the west side of Chicago. Because of her former and current work, DuShaun is focused on bringing yoga to historically marginalized communities, with a focus on black and brown youth, women, activists and organizers.. DuShaun is the Co-founder of a Black Brown and Breathing; an activation that happens monthly for Black and Brown women to come together, breathe, meditate and feel.

She believes people not only need rest and relaxation, but resistance; yoga is a powerful way to tap into the balance of ease and positive effort. DuShaun teaches through the lens of equity and trauma-informed, hosting classes in “non-traditional” settings all over the city. DuShaun is the founder of Sage Gawd Collective LLC, where she currently teaches classes via Zoom and also leads cultural competency workshops to Yoga students and studios.

Francine was introduced to yoga as a pre-teen growing up in Jamaica (a most unusual occurrence in the early 1980s) and has been in love with yoga ever since. She was certified to teach yoga through the Temple of Kriya Yoga in 2004, and feels blessed to have studied with many wonderful teachers since then. In addition to teaching yoga, Francine also support clients and students in recovering from trauma and having a richer experience of life through the use of yoga, Somatic Experiencing® (body-centered psychotherapy), Reconnective Healing® and the Akashic Records. Francine’s classes encourage mindful, yet relaxed, self-awareness. It is her hope that while developing flexibility, strength and body awareness, students will also find the self-acceptance, peace and well-being that yoga can help us uncover. In addition to working with students and clients, Francine also enjoys reading, blogging, butterfly gardening and spending time with her most cherished spiritual teachers - her husband and two energetic children.

Victoria has practiced yoga from a young age, but her relationship to yoga has changed over the years. At first, Victoria was drawn to the physically challenging aspects of yoga. However, in the past 5 years, she has found meaning in the stillness and expansiveness of yoga philosophy and movement practices. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Victoria focuses on encouraging individuals and communities recovering from systemic trauma to discover physical, emotional, and spiritual connection within. While we are often taught that healing should look a certain way, she believes that healing can take many forms and look different from one person to the next. Healing isn’t linear and may change over time, as Victoria’s relationship to yoga has changed.

Victoria encourages folx to find what creates ease and roots them. This led Victoria to complete her 200hr Teacher Training at Bloom to further explore the intersection between yoga, equity, and wellness. Victoria prioritizes teaching from a trauma-informed and equity focused framework that emphasizes accessibility of yoga. Anyone and everyone can and should be able to practice yoga if they would like to. She strives to support individuals in creating connection, awareness, and balance in their practice. Off the mat, Victoria deeply enjoys spending time in nature, gardening/herbalism, biking, reading, and hanging out with her pup and loved ones.

​Kerry founded Bloom back in 2004 to make yoga more welcoming and accessible to all. She co-created Bloom's 200hr Teacher Training program to help dedicated students explore the beauty of yoga beyond the poses so they could learn to share the practice they love. Kerry enjoys exploring the individual nature of yoga and encourages students to make the practice their own. Her down-to-earth teaching style emphasizes healthy alignment, gentle strengthening, mindfulness, and an exploration of conscious breath and movement. Whether teaching an active or gentle practice, Kerry prioritizes time for reflection, stillness, and rest. As someone who was often ruled by thoughts of past and future, she loves the way consistent yoga practice teaches us to live in the now so we may enjoy all of life's richness. Kerry has been teaching since 1998 and considers it an honor to mentor and support budding instructors in their own journeys towards teaching. Kerry is also a Somatic Therapist and Sound Bath practitioner. Learn more at kerrymaiorca.com.