Instructors - Garden of Yoga

Kathleen Wright

Kathleen Wright is the founder and director of the Garden of Yoga, and cofounder of Yoga Circle and Wild Onion Yoga in Chicago, IL. She began her study of Yoga in 1974, and has taught since 1976. Kathleen commenced her studies under the direct guidance of Swami Veda Bharati of the Himalyan Tradition. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Movement Education from the University of Minnesota, and is a 1983 graduate of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco’s two-year state yoga teacher certification program.

Kathleen has studied in India with the Iyengar family, including B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar on many occasions. She also helped host the Iyengars on visits to the U.S., and participated in many Iyengar Yoga national conventions.

Kathleen is a nationally certified Iyengar Yoga instructor at the Junior Intermediate level, and an experienced, certified Yoga Therapist. She is also a Certified Ayurvedic Educator. Her Yoga teacher in the U.S. is Ramanand Patel. Kathleen serves as a mentor and teacher to many of the Chicago area’s top Yoga teachers.

Meg Barber

Since 1999, Meg has experienced yoga as a valuable tool for centering, stress reduction, inspiration and relaxation. She also believes that yoga increases wellness while improving the quality of life. With this in mind, she believes that yoga should be made available to people of all abilities.

Meg’s yoga teaching experiences include beginning, continuing, partner, aqua and restorative yoga. She has created and hosted a number of workshops including yoga for the lower back, practice at home, new moon reflections and yogic philosophy in the workplace. She completed her 200 hour Hatha Yoga studies in 2004 with the Temple of Kriya Yoga, her 300 hour studies under the Iyengar tradition in 2012 at the Bhavana Institute for Yoga and Meditation and Yin Yoga in 2018 with Sandra Carden.

Meg has also been a student of astrology since 1999. Her studies include time at the Temple of Kriya Yoga and has also complete Applied Astrology Level 3 with Debra Silverman Astrology. She reads charts and also hosts seasonal circles with astrological themes.

Meg is a Reiki Master Teacher and Red Tent Facilitator who has also trained in Meditation, Dowsing, Aroma Point Therapy (APT), Universal Laws and Dream Analysis.

Rose Carol

Rose graduated from Pacifica Graduate Institute with a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and along the way, found alternative coaching methods to help people effectively reduce stress, gain insight, and move through life’s many challenges with more support and ease. For 30 years she’s taught people around the USA ways to relax and improve health as a meditation instructor and Ayurveda Health Practitioner. She completed her Marriage and Family Counselor Internship in Oakland California where she worked at JFK Counseling Center and worked and trained in John Bradshaw’s Inner Child Healing at the Center for Creative Growth in Berkeley California. In addition, she worked as a grief and trauma counselor in Ashland Oregon. In the 1980’s Rose attended Maharishi International University where she studied Vedic Science. She mentored with master Ayurvedic healer, Vaidya Ramakant Mishra and was initiated into his family lineage of Ayurvedic Healers. She lives in the Chicago area where she offers Insight Coaching, Sensitivity Coaching for the Highly Sensitive Person, Delving Deep Meditation, and Ayurvedic Preventive Health Services. Rose is also a Highly Sensitive Person and Empath offering workshops to optimize the positive traits of HSP such as empathy and intuition.

Kristen Kepnick

Kristen has studied Iyengar yoga for over a decade and recently became certified at the Introductory Level. She is an avid traveler, and being far from home made her realize how fortunate she was to have access to many qualified Iyengar yoga teachers in the Chicago area. Ultimately, this is what led her to consider becoming a teacher herself. She hopes to share her love and enthusiasm for yoga with beginning students, as well as encourage continuing students to dig deeper into their practice.

Kristen feels everyone can benefit from a yoga practice and in the classroom, she aims to provide careful instruction in a fun and lighthearted atmosphere.

Chad Koch

Chad White Wolf Koch has been teaching martial arts, yoga and tai chi for over 20 years. He loves sharing his knowledge and the healing that yoga and tai chi provide. He continues to pursue avenues of healing as he gained his Muscle Activation Techniques^® Specialist certification in 2018. He is now working towards his MAT^® Master Specialist certification.

Donna Prenta

The path of Yoga supports the fluctuations of the mind, body, & spirit. There is a depth of relaxation guiding the student towards peace and equanimity. Donna’s caring and gentle approach leads the student towards this space. She has taught retreats, public & private classes since 2005.

She is dedicated to the path of healing.

Connie Zdenek

Laughter and work are what Connie Zdenek likes to bring to her traditional Hatha Yoga classes. Her introduction to yoga came in 1991 in Tucson, Arizona, at the local park district. Though she was enthusiastic immediately, it was years before Yoga assumed a prominent place in her life. Her classes include a variety of asana, with the hope that students will experience that which goes beyond muscular exercise of the asana practice. Connie completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training and a Meditation Teacher Training at the Temple of Kriya Yoga. She completed her 500-hour teacher certification at the Bhavana Institute and, with over 1000 teaching hours, is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 200-hour level with Yoga Alliance. She continues to study with her beloved teachers: Kathleen Wright, William Hunt, Janet MacLeod and Kim Schwartz.