Now Hiring!
Are you searching for a fun and rewarding part-time job? We are always looking for talented and passionate people to join our team!
See our job openings below and click on the buttons for more info and to apply.
Wish you could teach aerial yoga with us, but don’t have the right certification? Join our next Aerial Yoga Teacher Training!
Katharine Scalora
Co-Founder & Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Mixed Levels, Aerial Yoga Functional Flow
Upcoming Workshops: Aerial Yoga Teacher Training
About: Katharine is the co-founder and Managing Director of Earth & Aerial Yoga, and she is the visionary behind the Earth & Aerial Yoga Teacher Training program. Over the past decade, she has led thousands of traditional and aerial yoga classes, and, since 2018, she has trained and mentored dozens of aerial yoga instructors, 12 of whom currently teach at our studio.
Katharine’s journey into yoga began in 1999 as a student, and her enthusiasm for the benefits of both traditional and aerial yoga has only deepened over the years, through continuous study and exploration of new ideas and research. She has made a lifelong commitment to learning and has studied yoga, biomechanics and strength training under notable figures in the field, including Jules Mitchell, Katherine Bruni-Young and Jacqui Bonwell. While she revels in guiding aerial yoga classes, her true passion lies in training others to become skilled aerial yoga instructors.
Her teaching style is focused on providing a safe and mindful experience through precise cueing and careful observation, while simultaneously encouraging her students to embrace a sense of playfulness and curiosity. Katharine motivates you to push yourself both physically and mentally, ensuring that you’re well-equipped to deliver an exceptional experience to your future students. Under her expert guidance, you’ll have the opportunity to nurture your teaching skills throughout and beyond the formal training hours.
Lora Markova
Co-Founder & Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Mixed Levels
Upcoming Workshops: Aerial Yoga Teacher Training
About: Lora is the co-founder and Creative Director of Earth & Aerial Yoga. Coming from a traditional yoga background, she has been practicing around the world for over 20 years and teaching in Massachusetts for more than a decade. In 2012, she studied under Yoga Arts and Rose Baudin in Sri Lanka to complete her 200-hour yoga teacher certification. She began her aerial yoga journey in 2016, and it quickly became an integral part of her vision for her own yoga studio. After training under Katharine Scalora, the two co-founded Earth & Aerial Yoga, driven by a passion to share the profound physical and psychological benefits they personally experienced.
In her classes, Lora focuses on using deep, full breaths to flow seamlessly from pose to pose, while stretching, strengthening, and opening all the areas of the body. While her classes are slow and strong, Lora always gives her students a range of options, so they can move at their own flexibility and ability levels. She uses extensive cuing and subtle hands-on adjustments to enhance her students’ practice, fostering heightened physical and emotional awareness. Her aim is for each student to leave feeling reenergized, rejuvenated, reconnected, and refocused.
Erik Bang
Studio Manager, Aerial Hoop Program Director, Aerial Yoga & Hoop Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Hoop Mixed Levels, High Flyers Club
Upcoming Workshops: Hoop Doubles, Double Sling Flow
About: Erik’s yoga journey began in 2009, during college, as a means to stay physically active and maintain mental clarity. After discovering aerial yoga, he immediately enrolled in a teacher training program and, upon its completion, began his career as an instructor. He continued to develop and expand his skillset by joining the world of circus arts, where he worked with various aerial apparatuses and specialized in using the aerial hoop. Now, many years and hours of training later, he continues to share the joy of being in the air with his students. His teaching focuses on bringing awareness to individual movements, both on the earth and in the air, and developing a stronger understanding of one’s unique kinesthetic and self-expression needs.
Sarah Olsen
Client Relations Manager & Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Essentials, Aerial Yoga Mixed Levels, Aerial Yoga for Teens & Tweens
Upcoming Workshops: Soaring Swifties: Teen Aerial Yoga Camp, Kids Night Out: Flips & Flicks, Advanced Partner Aerial Yoga
About: Sarah O. is our Client Relations Manager a.k.a. the super nice person who reaches out to check up on you and helps you with everything you need, when you call, message or email EAY.
Sarah O. has been a member of our community since May 2021, when she first discovered and fell in love with aerial yoga and, later, lyra. Since then, she has taken more than 350 classes (and counting!) at EAY, and completed her aerial yoga training with with EAY.
Besides being our chummy classmate and teammate, Sarah O. is a cancer survivor and a mom of two kids, one of whom is also a frequent EAY flyer. In a previous time she was on the board of directors of LACI, a homeschooling co op, running kids/teen classes. She also recently added to her training by becoming a NASM certified personal trainer with additional certification in corrective exercises and nutritional coaching.
While she always takes her work seriously, she never takes herself too seriously and loves to inject fun and humor in her classes while serving EAY members with every bit of the passion she feels for our studio.
Kelly Mayes
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Upcoming Workshops: The Healing Hammock: Aerial Reiki & Sacred Sound
About: Kelly found yoga at a time when she needed it most. Deepening her personal practice gave her newfound confidence and inspiration and allowed her to uncover a passion for teaching. Since completing her 200-hour yoga teacher training through One Voice, Kelly has been able to share her love for yoga with her community. She believes that each yoga pose is a unique expression of the body that should be honored and respected. In her classes, Kelly likes to create a held space, where her students can further explore and understand their bodies, while maintaining strength and integrity. Kelly is also certified in Integrated Energy Therapy, Reiki and Crystal Sound Bowls.
Kara Herbertz
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Mixed Levels, Aerial Get Fit, Aerial Yoga for Teens & Tweens
Upcoming Workshops: Advanced Partner Aerial Yoga
About: In addition to her first love, strength training, yoga had always been an integral part of Kara’s weekly workout schedule. Appreciating the benefits of both, in 2019, Kara partnered with a dear friend and yoga teacher to create a workshop that brought their two worlds together and gave people an opportunity to engage in the unique combination of yoga foundations with strength-based resistance training.
In January 2020, she took her first aerial yoga class, which instantly brought her yoga practice to a whole new level! Flowing through yoga poses, while using the silk, strengthened her appreciation of the benefits of inversions, balance and core stability. Her new student pass turned into class packs, teen aerial yoga classes for her daughter and, ultimately, a membership at Earth & Aerial Yoga. Inspired by her new love of aerial yoga and her amazing EAY family, she decided that she wanted to become a teacher.
Kara is empowered by exercise and how it makes her feel, both mentally and physically, and her training background adds a special touch to her aerial yoga classes. She is a National Academy of Sport Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), with a Youth Exercise Specialization, and is also a TRX Qualified Trainer. Kara loves being a positive force in her clients’ fitness journeys, providing them with support, encouragement and continued motivation. She focuses on teaching and reinforcing proper exercise form and technique, while establishing a good foundation for functional movement to ensure success in reaching any fitness goal.
Victoria Rojas
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Flow & Restore, Aerial Yoga Flips & Tricks
Upcoming Workshops: Inner Peace: Floating Meditation & Reiki Healing, Roll with the Flow, Silks by the Sea: Aerial Yoga Escape
About: Victoria’s yoga journey started in 2010, when she enrolled in a teen yoga class with a friend. She had participated in many sports and other forms of exercise, but the grounding quality, the quiet confidence and the community, rather than competitiveness, of this new practice are what made her continue on through high school and into college. While attending Keene State College’s art program, Victoria discovered that Sadhana Yoga School was just a short walk from her campus. So, during her junior year, she enrolled in the school’s 200-hour yoga teacher training program, and by her senior year, she was already teaching regular yoga classes. Since then, she has taken a variety of yoga trainings to broaden her scope. While pregnant, in 2018, she also completed a Reiki Level 1 certification (later upgraded to a Reiki Master!) and taught yoga classes up until the day her son was born. The strength of her breath work, which had been sharpened over a decade of disciplined practice, steadied her childbirth, kept her focused, and made her the talk of the labor and delivery department. In addition to increasing her mindfulness, Victoria’s yoga practice has also made her the most flexible and balanced she has ever been. Her classes follow Ashtanga style yoga, connecting breath work with the flow of the poses, but she has also taught hot, power and restorative yoga. Her aim is to have yogis leaving class feeling inspired, energized, and at ease in their minds and in their bodies.
Jenny Flakoff
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Essentials, Aerial Yoga Flips & Tricks
About: As an avid lifelong fitness enthusiast, Jenny has always enjoyed traditional yoga classes. But it wasn’t until she discovered Earth & Aerial Yoga that she truly found her home. She instantly fell in love with the playful nature of aerial yoga and the physical challenges it presented her with. Since becoming an EAY member, Jenny has thrived by gaining confidence, mental clarity, a deep spiritual connection and a sense of community, as well as new friendships and physical and emotional strength, especially during an isolating and stressful pandemic year.
Jenny is vibrant, energetic and passionate about everything she puts her mind to. As a full-time school psychologist, she strives to cultivate resilience in at-risk youth and see the light in everyone she meets. She is driven by motivating and inspiring others to be happy and healthy. As a Zumba Fitness instructor since 2012, Jenny combines her passion for dance and fitness with her intrinsic joy and zest for life. As a newly certified Earth & Aerial Yoga instructor, Jenny is grateful for all the teachers who have challenged her, believed in her and given her confidence to fly, and she is eager to inspire others to reach their full potential too.
Susie Pallis
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Earth & Aerial Yoga for Kids, Aerial Yoga for Teens & Tweens
Upcoming Events: Creative Arts & Movement Kids Camp
About: Susie found yoga in 2012, and it changed her. The practice became a way to manage her stress, sharpen her focus and challenge her body, all while maintaining a sense of play. So, when she discovered Earth & Aerial Yoga in 2019, she was hooked. Aerial yoga gave her a fresh and fun way to build both inner and outer strength, and it ultimately inspired her to embark on a challenging new path in 2020. After spending the past 26 years teaching acting to children and the last decade as the Director of Drama Kids of Metro West, Susie decided to explore teaching aerial yoga. She recently completed her aerial yoga teacher training, which rounds out her Breathe for Change Mind-Body Wellness education certification and her upcoming 200-hour yoga teacher training. Susie brings a wealth of experience working with kids of all ages, which makes her classes authentic and playful. She looks forward to seeing your child in one of them soon.
Krista Gordon
Kids Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Earth & Aerial Yoga for Kids
Upcoming Events: Creative Arts & Movement Kids Summer Camp
About: After over 20 years of teaching dance in and around Massachusetts, and having two children of her own, Krista found a new passion for teaching yoga and using other holistic health approaches with children. She became a certified kids yoga instructor through ChildLight Yoga, a Usui Reiki Practitioner, and a Wellness Advocate for doTERRA Essential Oils. Having two children with anxiety and sensory regulation issues and using these practices at home, brought Krista the idea for her business, Tranquil Little One, which was founded in March 2019. Through a mix of interactive yoga poses, breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques, Krista teaches children simple coping strategies that leave them feeling empowered and in control. Children can use these strategies to curb anxiety, ground down, find stillness and quieten the mind at any time—before a test, stepping on stage, going to bed or studying—by tapping into their senses, using visualizations and employing other effective methods. Krista is excited to bring her area of expertise to Earth & Aerial Yoga and looks forward to working on the mat with your children!
Jill Mackavey
Aerial Hoop Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Hoop Essentials, Aerial Hoop Flow Foundations
About: Jill is a theater and movement artist whose life’s work has been in expressive physicality as performer, director and teacher. Her personal goal is to move as well as she can for as long as she can, functionally and expressively.
Jill is a Certified Lyra Instructor through CirqFit. She has a BFA in Acting, MFA in Directing, and is a CMA – Certified Movement Analyst – from the LABAN/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC. Most recently, JIll has taught theatre and graduate dance therapy students at Lesley University and led masterclasses for the casts of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam and Amaluna companies in the US and Rome.
On aerial hoop: “I require fun daily, and find none in repetitive exercise. I am, however, highly driven by play and beauty. The airborne circularity, lyricism, creativity and athleticism that the aerial hoop demands is both playful and beautiful; furthermore, it satisfies my need to be fully absorbed in what I do, keeping mind, body and imagination stimulated and engaged. The aerial community is also where I find my closest connections; where I feel most welcomed and at home.”
On teaching: “I have always been a hungry student, and nothing makes me happier than helping learners explore their growing edges and surprise themselves. I started lyra when I was in my 50s and had the upper body strength of a sock monkey. Now I can get the bottom half over the top half, and look pretty doing it. You can, too.”
JoAnna Sacco
Aerial Yoga Teacher
About: Born in Poland and raised in New England, JoAnna fell in love with yoga in high school. Since then, she has attended more retreats and workshops than she can count, and has dedicated her life to her passion for empowering others about their physical, mental and spiritual wellness through meditation, mindfulness, holistic health and movement. As a cancer warrior, she intimately understands the need to treat the whole person—mind, body and soul—and believes that stress-reduction through yoga played an integral part in her own healing journey.
JoAnna has a degree in psychology, and is a birth doula, a certified meditation and mindfulness instructor, a public speaker, a hobbyist photographer and a doTERRA wellness advocate. In 2013, she started her own business, Essentially Sacco, which has an international team of almost 7,000 wellness advocates and leaders.
JoAnna’s love for adventure and fun drew her to aerial yoga and, in 2021, she decided to take her practice to the next level by completing the Earth & Aerial Yoga Teacher Training. She brings her wealth of education, knowledge, compassion, leadership and support of all bodies to her classes, and is excited to share it all with her students.
JoAnna lives with her husband, 4 energetic kids, 2 goats, 2 dogs, 3 cockatiels and 30ish chickens. When she’s not busy with her family, you can find her hiking, gardening, cooking, teaching various health and wellness classes, writing, reading, at the beach, or learning a new skill.
Niki Sodt
Aerial Hoop Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Hoop Essentials
About: Niki had very little athletic background when they took their first aerial hoop class in 2017. They simply walked in, hoping to make a change towards a healthier lifestyle, and walked out transformed by what was to become an enduring passion. Five years and several performances later, they aren’t sure they could live without aerial hoop at all! Aerial fitness has become both a motivator for their own health goals and a place to seek community, wellness, and overall peace of mind. A full-time social worker by day, Niki enjoys sharing their enthusiasm for the craft at night, helping their students achieve their fitness and wellness goals, while guiding them towards their own aerial happy place.
Stephanie Coutant-Matsen
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Mixed Levels
Upcoming Events: Parent & Child Partner Aerial Yoga
About: Stephanie has worked in the healthcare, fitness and dance industries for 30+ years, is an E-RYT 500 and holds a BA in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work. She first experienced yoga in 1999, and found it to be the natural next step on her path, marrying the health of the body, mind and soul, and addressing the well-being of the whole individual. Since then, she has studied a wide variety of yoga modalities, systems and traditions, receiving her yoga teacher certification from the school of Integrative Yoga Therapy. Stephanie is a longtime member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and holds certificates in ChildLight Yoga, Unnata Aerial Yoga, Yoga 4 Classrooms, Eat, Breathe, Thrive Yoga and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction through the Center for Mindfulness and UMASS Medical Center. Before moving to Massachusetts in 2008, Stephanie was the sole proprietor of “YogaSpace” in central Ohio, where she offered group classes and private sessions in a physical therapy and rehabilitation setting. She enjoys working with groups and individuals, as well as diverse and specialty populations. She believes wholeheartedly in meeting students where they are in their practice and helping them to learn and bring personal and practical applications of yoga to daily life, on and off the mat.
Grace Hartin
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Mixed Levels
About: Grace embarked on her yoga journey in her formative years when, as a middle schooler, she stumbled upon her first book of yoga poses at a Scholastic Book Fair. Inspired, she started introducing Sun Salutations to her morning routine and dove headfirst into self-study, group practices, and courses focusing on the Yamas, Niyamas, and Asana limbs of yoga.
Grace discovered aerial yoga in 2023 while searching for a local yoga studio to continue her practice. Once she got the “hang” of it, she couldn’t get enough and began practicing with EAY multiple times a week, easily adapting traditional poses to their aerial counterparts. She quickly fell in love with the practice and become a regular studio member, eventually earning her Earth & Aerial Yoga Teacher Training certificate.
Grace thrives in the lighthearted and playful nature of aerial yoga. She aims to instill confidence and vitality in all her students, encouraging them to embrace fun and challenging poses.
Sam Shipman
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Functional Flow
About: Sam has been a dedicated yogi for nearly a decade, exploring diverse styles like Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Yin, and drawing inspiration from instructors in both the California Bay Area and Boston. Beyond the mat, her influences include modern Yogis like Andrew Sealy, the mind-body connection teachings of Wim Hof, and spiritual development inspired by the Buddha. By day, Sam is an engineer, and, prior to dealing with chronic illness during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was an amateur cyclist, racing in cyclocross and hillclimbs.
Sam discovered EAY in 2022, and quickly recognized aerial yoga as a crucial tool for managing her health. Within a year, she transitioned from a casual student to a certified aerial yoga instructor, graduating from the Earth & Aerial Yoga Teacher Training with flying colors.
Sam is passionate about deepening her own aerial yoga practice and sharing its benefits with her students at EAY. In her classes, Sam emphasizes the profound connection between body and spirit and fosters resilience through a range of practices, from restorative to challenging.
Lincoln Alexander
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Essentials
About: Lincoln’s aerial yoga journey began with a girl’s day out in 2019. One class and she was hooked! She and her sister began seeking out aerial yoga classes whenever they traveled. Her passion deepened when she became an EAY member in 2021, and she soared through the Earth & Aerial Yoga Teacher Training program in 2023. Aerial yoga makes her intensely happy and, with each new pose or transition she learns, she finds a deeper sense of confidence and self-awareness.
Lincoln is a full-time software engineer and product owner who loves to move. She is also a NASM certified personal trainer and has been teaching small group fitness classes for over 15 years. She works primarily with an aging population who inspire her weekly and, although they find her aerial pursuits a bit eccentric, they love to learn about her latest flips and tricks.
Beyond the silk, Lincoln finds happiness in teaching, hiking, paddling, traveling, and making ice cream.
Julia Bilancieri
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Essentials
About: Julia’s journey at Earth & Aerial Yoga began in 2023, amidst a battle with severe anxiety. Faced with the overwhelming challenges of mental health, she turned to aerial yoga and sound healing, finding in them anchors of tranquility amidst the storm.
Her journey faced a setback when a back injury temporarily slowed her practice. Instead of letting this deter her, she found relief through aerial yoga, which aided in her recovery. As her back healed, she emerged with renewed determination and commitment to deepen her knowledge and share the transformative benefits of aerial yoga with the world.
Julia completed the Earth & Aerial Yoga Teacher Training program in 2024 and continues to expand her expertise by delving into sound bowls and sound healing, eager to incorporate these practices into her teaching. With her unique blend of experiences, Julia aims to inspire others to discover the profound healing and empowerment that aerial yoga offers, guided by her own transformative journey from anxiety to strength, resilience, and joy.
Beyond the studio, Julia leads a dynamic life as a sales representative for a renowned scientific instrumentation company. Balancing the tranquility of aerial yoga with the fast-paced demands of her professional life, she embodies resilience, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of personal growth.
Emma Bartolini
Kids Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Earth & Aerial Yoga for Kids
Upcoming Events: Creative Arts & Movement Kids Summer Camp
About: Emma has had a lifelong passion for movement arts, starting with classical ballet, modern dance and then lindy hop, and west coast swing. She discovered pilates and yoga during those years as ways to condition, strengthen, and soothe.
Motherhood shifted her career goals and after witnessing the impact yoga had on her young daughter, she decided to pursue teaching Kid’s Yoga. She is Certified through Kidding Around Yoga.
Emma specializes in creative, dynamic and playful classes instilling yoga principles in kid friendly ways. Her classes incorporate many layers of movement, and visual arts that help children connect to yoga, introducing essential tools for mindfulness, self-confidence, strength, and mind/ body connection and calm.
Emma went on to CYT 200 YTT, specializing in Gentle Vinyasa Flow and Restorative Yoga through Costa Yoga School, under the instruction of Mandy Lawson. She also teaches Chair Yoga and Corporate Wellness programs. Over the past few years, one of Emma’s accolades has been to help develop a Mindfulness and Yoga program in the Southborough School District, teaching Yoga and Mindfulness in classrooms, as well as assemblies, after school classes and special events.
Emma is excited to be a part of the EAY team for Camps and Summer programming and connecting with your littles on the mat this coming year!
Nikayla Hiraeth
Aerial Yoga Teacher
Teaches: Aerial Yoga Essentials
About: Embarking on her journey in early 2023, Nikayla quickly fell in love with aerial yoga. She fully dedicated herself to developing her practice and dove headfirst into teacher training. Nikayla considers aerial yoga the ultimate therapy, as it has been a major source of calm and comfort for her. She is extremely passionate about helping others become more in touch with their bodies and reach their goals in their own practice. So, come try out Nikayla’s class and experience her infectious energy for yourself!
Alyssa Chamberlain
Social Media Manager
About: Our social media maven, Alyssa, is a creative photographer, marketer, and design professional, who brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to our studio! She has a passion for capturing and creating beautiful visuals, and a love for helping small businesses build their social presence.
Before landing at EAY, Alyssa was part of the creative teams at RAVentures for Apex Entertainment, 110 Grill, and Evviva Trattoria, helping to showcase food, fun and games to the masses! She has also worked as a swim instructor, nanny and TV production assistant in her hometown and our neighboring city of Marlborough.When she’s not creatively crafting content, you can find her spending time stargazing and taking photos of the moon and night sky, or hanging out with her cats and rabbit!
Alyssa’s incredible attention to detail, wide-ranging skillset and dedication to excellence have quickly made her an indispensable member of the EAY team, and we are excited to watch her grow alongside us for a long time to come. Be sure to strike a pose next time you see her snapping pics in the studio!