The Sagebook Team

DSC00361

Courtney Bauer
Founder, Author

At the heart of it all, Courtney is an eternal student of life. Born two months early, Courtney arrived on January 31, 1975 (The day of the lyrical Poet) just weeks before the year of the Bold Tiger would transition to the Bucolic Rabbit. Rooted in the Live free or Die State of New Hampshire, Courtney has played the role of a Blue Knight (Manchester West HS, 1993') and also a Crusader (College of the Holy Cross, 1997'). And with Taurus as her rising, it's easy to see that this freedom loving Aquarian knows how to fight the good fight. (Just watch her move through Mods class and this becomes quite clear.) But there's something else about her. Tough to explain. It's as if her strength emanates beyond the physical. An avid collector of magical moments -- she is best understood as a mystical muse and widely known for her uncanny sensibilities in the fruition of grace.

  • Western Zodiac: Sun: Aquarius, Moon: Libra, Rising: Taurus
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Tiger
  • Atmatype: The Philosopher
  • www.StudioAnya.com

 

 

Melissa GendreauMelissa
Director / Developer

Melissa has been on the go all her life: as a fidgeter, athlete, dancer and trainer.  Originally from Massachusetts, Melissa - a professional choreographer - founded Perceptions Contemporary Dance Company in 2007 after graduating from Dean College School of Dance.  Melissa made the trek over to New York City in 2009 where she immediately began studying with Studio Anya. She has since explored all things Anya as a student and a teacher, an artist and liason.  Her studies of the AUM curriculum branched so deep into her soul that she began incorporating the AUM Curriculum into her choreography.  Through this incorporation blossomed a collaborative journey between Perceptions Dance and Studio Anya called Project AUM: a method of teaching and exploring the AUM Curriculum through dance and the arts.  Melissa is proud to be a part of The Sagebook as the Director and Developer.

  • Western Zodiac: Gemini, Moon: Capricorn, Rising: Scorpio
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Ox
  • Atmatype: The Seeker
  • www.PerceptionsDance.org

 

Project Posture Contributors

alecbio

Alec B.
Body Banter Contributor

Alec - a Brooklyn native - has spent over 15 years in environmental fields, mostly in the NYC area. He has built community gardens, restored woodlands and has communed with the trees as an Arborist and canopy researcher. He is currently up to his armpits in urban agriculture. Over many years of manual labor, his body has taken a bit of beating. Upon first glance (at the reformer), he said it should be called the disciplinarian.  He comes back week after week, grateful for the expertise and well-guided lessons provided by Studio Anya and Curriculum AUM.

  • Western Zodiac: Sagittarius, Moon: Sagittarius, Rising: Gemini
  • Eastern Zodiac: Fire Dragon
  • Atmatype: The Seeker

christie

Christie Anderson
Body Banter Contributor

Christie has always been inspired by movement. But from a young age, it was a pony’s prance, a warmblood’s majestic gate, that was most captivating. A dedicated student and an avid equestrian, Christie was committed to the sport and enamored with the animal.  Learning how to move with and communicate to these gentle creatures was a daily practice and her devotion. When she handed over her helmet to focus on academics, she felt a real sense of loss and disquiet. But her passion continued to ignite and excite her soul. Christie began to explore new and different movements. To quiet the disquiet and to keep moving, Christie experimented with every of-the-moment fitness fad, from running to pilates, cycling, strength training, boxing, the ballet barre and yoga, you name it.   But finding Courtney and Anya and studying the Aum Curriculum has reignited her spirit and renewed her energy. And now Christie finds herself “purposefully fidgeting.” Equally challenging and inspiring her in both mind and body, this new movement philosophy quite literally resonates in her core.   As a new mom-to-be, Christie shares her practice with her future tiny yogi-to-be and Sage devotee who has already shown signs of movement at the sound of Aum! Christie also works as a freelance media consultant for two Mexico-based event planning companies.  She is co-developer, along with her husband, of the “Beach Box,” an eco-luxe “container home” on Long Island’s East End. There, they plan to build more eco-conscious homes and awareness around sustainable development.

  • Western Zodiac: Sagittarius, Moon: Scorpio, Rising: Pisces
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Rat
  • Atmatype: The Philosopher
Elizabeth

Elizabeth Gray
Body Banter Contributor

As a recent transplant to New York in May, Elizabeth found a home immediately at Studio Anya. Coming from a dance and movement-oriented acting background, she discovered that the movement philosophy at Anya directly spoke to her own exploration of the body/mind connection. Currently enrolled in the Anya Teacher Training Program, she is excited to continue this exploration and live the journey while sharing her experiences on the Sagebook.

Gina

Gina Flores
AUM on the GO! Contributor

Gina Flores, BA CA CST LMT, holds a BA in Dance Education, performed professionally, taught ballet, modern dance, and rehabilitative exercise, before embarking on her career as a New York State Licensed and Nationally Certified Massage Therapist. She is a Certified Newborn and Infant Massage instructor, and an Upledger Institute Certified CranioSacral Therapist. Before opening her private practice in 1997, Gina was one of the massage therapists for New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater. In the years that followed, she has been honored to work with a multitude of companies as therapist to their dancers, musicians, singers and stage hands, from companies both nationally and internationally known, on site at her practice, as well as offsite on location. Her private practice includes, and invites, people from all walks of life, all ages including children, and is not exclusive to performers.

Since receiving her certification as a Clinical Aromatherapist both in the USA and Canada, Gina is nationally recognized by the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy, and internationally recognized by the Alliance of International Aromatherapists and the Canadian Federation of Aromatherapists. Gina has created the unique line of AUM AROMAS, based on Curriculum AUM's Atmatypes, which are available at Studio Anya and Essential Body Wisdom.

Hadley

Hadley King
Body Banter Contributor

Hadley King is a board-certified dermatologist living and practicing in Manhattan.  With an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Harvard College, an MD from Columbia University and a dermatology residency at Cornell, she is western-trained but holistically inclined.  She is honored to be nourishing both her body and her mind at Studio Anya.  Hadley grew up on the beaches and bayous of northwest Florida, where she developed a great love of experiencing and exploring the beauty and mysteries of nature.  This resonates for her with the careful attention to anatomy and physiology at Anya and the investigation of the secrets of the mind-body connection.

  • Western Zodiac: Leo, Moon: Leo, Rising: Capricorn
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Tiger
  • ANYA Atma-Type: The Philosopher
  • http://www.myclearskin.com
Jeffrey

Jeffrey Schara
Body Banter Contributor, Video Contributor

Jeffrey has called Studio ANYA home for the past two years, now. New to bodywork, Jeffrey has been trained in the Anya Touch Work, and enjoys everything "ANYA." Being an actor, navigating the mind-body-spirit connection has always fascinated him, and he is excited to share his discoveries with you!

  • Western Zodiac: Aquarius-Pisces Cusp, Moon: Scorpio, Rising: Taurus
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Rabbit
  • Atmatype: The Philosopher
  • www.jeffreyschara.com
JCbio

Johnson Chong
Movement Philosophy & AUM on the GO!  Contributor

Johnson is the Director of Operations at Studio Anya and has the fortune of interacting with like-minded seekers on a daily basis.  Life has been full of twists and turns taking him on an adventurous path, guiding him around the world in search for a deeper connection to Source.  Having found a niche on the path of Yoga and inspired by other mind + body templates like Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method and Pilates, he inevitably found a hidden piece of his soul in healing modalities like Thai bodywork, Ayurvedic Massage, Reiki and Anya Touchwork.  As a student and practitioner of all these things , Curriculum AUM provides a venue to explore the intricate layering of each one as an integrative pursuit of nourishing the soul.

Johnson has a BFA in acting and strives to unify his creativity with his intuitive practices.  He is delighted to witness the expansion of  Studio Anya into the digital realm. Project Posture and the Sagebook will undoubtedly provide opportunities for all inner artists to blossom up and outwards in full actualization.
  • Western Zodiac: Pisces, Moon: Scorpio, Rising: Virgo
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Ox
  • Atmatype: The Seeker
  • www.jasananda.com
Kate

Kathryn Enright
Project AUM Contributor

Kathryn Enright is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and scholar based in Berlin, Germany.  She currently choreographs in collaboration with Corey Harrower, creating work for their company Bi-Product Performance/Kathryn Enright and Corey Harrower, and dances for Chris Haring/Liquid Loft, based in Vienna, Austria and Laurent Chetouane, based in Berlin, Germany. She also continues to examine the world through an ethnographic lens, questioning expectation and cultural information, and writing about it for various publications and conferences.  She is thankful to be part of the curiosity and generosity found at ANYA and in The Sagebook.

kim

Kim Kamila
AUM on the GO! Contributor

“We all need to discover our inner gifts which will allow us to find the true essence in ourselves.  Kim has been called one of this country’s most highly esteemed and respected psychics and mediums, and has quickly earned a reputation as Hollywood’s “Secret Psychic”.  She is a very much a young spirit with an “old soul” and guides people in developing and managing their power and creativity while giving clarity to life solutions for all her clients.

Born in New York City, Kim's clairvoyant gifts became apparent to those around her at age three when she would announce who was at the door or on the telephone at the first ring of the bell.   Over the years, her unique gift continued to mystify those around her with insightful predictions of life - prior to events which would take place in the lives of those around her.

Kimberly has been featured in several magazines such as People, Woman’s Own, Cleo Magazine, and the film “My Date with Drew,” and was a recurring guest on Los Angeles’ Latino 96.3  morning radio show, Hot 92, the Jim Bruer Show and the Ken Hundall show.

  • Western Zodiac: Virgo, Moon: Aries, Rising: Scorpio
  • Eastern Zodiac: Earth Dog
  • Atmatype: The Seeker
  • www.kimlovemuse.com
coco

Laura Cococcia
Body Banter Contributor

Laura Cococcia is the vice president of Executive Communications and Operations at AOL. In addition, she is the founding editor and publisher of The Journal of Cultural Conversation. Prior to her current role in communications at AOL, Laura worked at Google in global market development, where she led the integration of the North America and Latin America sales and operations teams. Previously, she spent seven years as a senior communications consultant at Peppers & Rogers Group, working with global Fortune 500 companies to design and implement communications programs, primarily through the development of research-based thought leadership. Laura spent the early part of her career in communications and education at various non-profit organizations and worked in Chicago in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Over the past decade, Laura has contributed to a number of publications as a freelance writer and editor and writes a regular column for Huffington Post. She is an active member of the National Book Critics Circle, the Association for Business Communication and PEN American Center. In addition, Laura is currently involved in a variety of writing and social media volunteer projects for global nonprofit organizations and most recently served as a writing tutor for the Afghan Women’s Writing Project. A passionate world traveler, Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and women's studies from The College of the Holy Cross.  She is in the process of completing the executive education program in Corporate Social Responsibility at Harvard Business School. She serves on the board of CARE Multicultural Healing and lives in New York City.

  • Western Zodiac: Scorpio, Moon: Pisces, Rising: Aquarius
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Tiger
  • Atmatype: The Wounded
Laura1

Laura Norkin
Body Banter Contributor

Laura Norkin lives in Brooklyn and works as a freelance writer and editor, while making the most of her Prospect Park proximity and access to Studio Anya's classes. A Takoma Park, Maryland (let's just say DC) native, she is still adapting to the ways of New York City. For example, people here "barbecue" instead of "cook out," and consider her home town to be "The South." She has written and edited for a variety of lifestyle publications and is planning a journey-by-bus through South America with her husband, with whom she enjoys eating oysters, watching HBO, and other simple pleasures of the honeymoon phase. Her older brother, an Iron Man, got 100% of the family's athletic genes, so in her Body Banter blog, Laura will explore the trials and tribulations of trying to cure herself of what can only be described as an aggressively docile demeanor.

  • Western Zodiac: Gemini, Moon: Taurus, Rising: Leo
  • Eastern Zodiac: Water Pig
  • Atmatype: The Seeker
  • www.LauraNorkin.com

Perceptions Dance

Perceptions Dance
Project AUM

Perceptions Dance focuses on the creation, collaboration, and presentation of fresh, exciting contemporary dance and developing artistic opportunities through the performance company, Perceptions Dance Festival and Project AUM.

Sarah

Sarah Sadie Newett
Body Banter Contributor

Sarah Sadie Newett is a true blue lover of movement. Whether she's practicing yoga, pilates, dance or aerial arts she feels at home. She's lived in New York for nearly three years and has had the privilege of studying extensively with Courtney in the AUM curriculum. These studies have deepened her understanding of movement as a whole and helped further her dance career in many ways. She teaches signature classes as well as pilates and yoga privates and semi privates. Both the teacher and student role appeal to her enormously and she delights in them at her second home, Studio Anya.

  • Western Zodiac: Virgo II, Moon: Capricorn, Rising: Capricorn
  • Eastern Zodiac: Wood Rat
  • Atmatype: The Philosopher
Tai Jamar Hanna

T'ai Jamar Hanna
Body Banter Contributor

What happens when two-southern get-away/hippies/activists move out to the wild, wild west, become healers and start a family? A redhead child is born in New Mexico, under an autumn sky. T'ai Jamar Hanna is a performer, poet, producer, peacemaker and curious spirit who has found her home in NYC.  As Thai Yoga Massage practitioner and Yoga Therapist, T'ai Jamar has integrated a lifetime of athleticism, dance, and a passionate calling to the healing arts. She provides public and private instruction in meditation, breath, movement, and Thai Massage. Since 1998, she has produced, coordinated, and managed multi-media events in fashion, music, and dance.  She holds a Master's Degree in Nonprofit Management from The New School University, 2012.  She sits on the Board of Directors for Organic Magnetics and is a consultant for the Urban Yoga Foundation House. When she is not writing, exploring, or collaborating; you can find her bike riding, playing soccer or walking her dog Chula in Prospect Park.

  • Western Zodiac: Libra-Scorpio Cusp, Moon: Pisces, Rising: Cancer
  • Eastern Zodiac: Fire Snake
  • Atmatype: The Warrior
  • www.taijamar.com