INSTRUCTORS
Wendy O'Lenic
Yoga, Pilates and
Personal Trainer
Wendy is the owner and founder of Wendy Fit Yoga and Pilates Studio in Tampa Florida since 2005. She is an eRYT200 Yoga Alliance certifed instructor and a member of the Suncoast Yoga Teachers Association. Wendy's love of yoga began with her passion to dance. She started her professional dance career in 1979 performing with a Vegas Dance Review, "Viva Variety" and "Hello Vegas". After she returned to Tampa she taught Ballet, Jazz and Aerobic dance for all ages at local dance studio's and health clubs. Wendy began practicing yoga in 1980 with many yoga masters such as Dharma Mittra, Rodney Yee, Baron Baptiste, David Swensen, Bryan Kest, Beryl Bender Birch, Erich Schiffmann and Tias Little inspiring her to continue her in-depth training in Ashtanga, Hatha and Iyengar' Yoga techniques for healing and Meditation.
Wendy teaches a slow Hatha yoga and specializes in Yoga for Weight Loss. Since she began practicing yoga, Wendy has lost over 70lbs and enjoys sharing tips for being fit by eating sensibly, exercising, and incorporating weekly Yoga sessions to build and stretch muscle and focus the mind. Wendy's classes are suitable for all levels. She incorporates movements that build strength and flexibility as well as incorporating a deep meditation to focus the mind and bring the body, mind, and spirit into harmony.
Wendy is a WendyFit certified instructor and has been teaching at our studio for almost 2 years. She also holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration and has over 15 years of experience in corporate training.
Wendy Samuels
Yoga Instructor
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, graduate from the University of Puerto Rico, Wilda moved to the US in the early '90's and started working in fitness. With over 15 years experience, her classes and method of training has been published in different articles in the Tampa Tribune and Tampa Bay Times. She has 2 workout DVD's of Salsaaerobics! and has certified instructors in Puerto Rico. Her focus right now is in Yoga, Pilates and Dance for fitness and overall health, focusing on effectiveness. She teaches workshops in fusion workouts such as Yogalates, Bellydance/Bollywood and Laughing Yoga that attract a large audience. Her classes are fun, dynamic and the students actively participate in them.
Wilda Santiago
Yoga and Pilates Instructor
Sara has been a fitness professional since 1987. She has always had an infinite passion passion and love for dance, fitness, and sharing her knowledge with others. Sara enjoys inspiring all fitness levels to have fun and achieve their fitness goals! No two classes are ever the same, as she challanges students with variety and by constantly changing the dynamics of class.Sara's style of teaching is influenced by traditions learned from living in Louisiana making her classes like gumbo, a mixture of many different techniques. She infuses every class with lagniappe - "A little something extra!"
Sara Terrell
Yoga Instructor
Laurie has always had enthusiasm for overall wellness and being fit. She became interested in the philosphy of Yoga and the transformational power of meditation long before she stepped foot on a mat. After a two year stint of marathon running and triathalons followed by six months of living in Vail, Co snowboarding, she committed to a full time Yoga practice in 2002.
The benefits she received from her practice both on and off the mat ignited a passion to learn more and share it with others. She completed her 200 hr certification in at Yogaworks in Orange County, CA in 2004. Shortly after giving birth in 2006, she completed her 300 hr in Yogaworks in Santa Monica. Practicing yoga all the way through both pregnancies was a key factor to keeping a lot of discomfort at bay as well as adjusting to the pressures of parenthood. She welcomes any expecting mother's into her classes.
Laurie Hradec
Yoga Instructor
Dance and movement have always been an essential part of Yulia's life. She received her initial dance training in her native Ukraine, and has performed and taught with a number of dance companies including "Style," which is well known for its innovative choreography and cutting edge approach. It also has won high awards in many prestigious competitions and has been featured on television. The years she spent with this company were an invaluable experience.Yulia was fortunate to work side-by-side with a very talented choreographer, and had the opportunity to explore music and movement in deep and imaginative ways.
Leslie Lemmon
Yoga Instructor
Dance and movement have always been an essential part of Yulia's life. She received her initial dance training in her native Ukraine, and has performed and taught with a number of dance companies including "Style," which is well known for its innovative choreography and cutting edge approach. It also has won high awards in many prestigious competitions and has been featured on television. The years she spent with this company were an invaluable experience.Yulia was fortunate to work side-by-side with a very talented choreographer, and had the opportunity to explore music and movement in deep and imaginative ways.
Marina Lagler
Yoga Instructor
Yulia received her initial dance training in her native Ukraine, and has performed and taught with a number of dance companies including "Style," which is well known for its innovative choreography and cutting edge approach. It also has won high awards in many prestigious competitions and has been featured on television.
She moved to the United States in 1996 and continued dancing, teaching, and choreographing. One of the works she choreographed was presented at the Dynamite competition, and was selected for a showcase at Disney World in Orlando. In 2000 Yulia met Elena Martinson and Andrei Ustinov, former stars of the Kirov Theater and of the Moscow Mali Theater and began teaching at their "Ustinov and Martinson School of Classical Ballet" in St. Petersburg, Florida. She also performed and choreographed for the "The Chamber Ballet Company", which was associated with the school.
Yulia's passion lies in combining traditional styles of movement, be it jazz, ballet, martial arts, or yoga in new ways, and merging them to create new exciting styles that turn regular exercise sessions into an exploration of the body, movement, and music.
Yulia Shevchenko
Yoga Instructor
Rachel started dancing at age 5 and became a professional dancer in New York City by the age of 21 with BLADE Entertainment. While there, Rachel studied physiology, anatomy, kinesiology, dance theory, creation of choreography and maintained her athletic requirements. She got her license as a personal trainer through the National Council of Certified Personal Trainers (NCCPT) in Hollywood, CA in 2007 and became certified through American Council on Exercise (ACE) in Tampa, FL in 2010. While practicing her skills in California Rachel received two more certifications through the International Kettle bell Fitness
Federation (IKFF) earning Level I in Vegas and Level II in Boston. By 2011 she earned 200 Yoga Alliance hours from Wendy Fit Academy. Shortly after in September she got certified with Silver Sneakers. Rachel also holds a CPR and AED certificate with the American Heart Association. It is obvious Rachel is dedicated in continuing her studies with the newest scientific methods in exercise and nutrition providing each one of her clients and students with the knowledge necessary to live a healthy lifestyle.
Rachel Downing
Yoga Instructor
Chrissy has always had a natural affinity for health and wellness with a strong connection to eastern philosophy. Her passion is Ashtanga and invites even the very beginner to experience yoga through the Ashtanga Series. She has spent her adult life studying and practicing various popular and unconventional work out regiments, diet plans and healthy eating habits.In 2009 She found Yoga to be the perfect balance between the spiritual and the physical and she excelled rapidly at it.She became certified through the Wendy Fit Academy in 2011,and is always looking for new ways to improve herself through exercise, diet and the pursuit of knowledge. Chrissy has become one of the youngest teachers at Wendy Fit Yoga.
Chrissy Chiarito
Yoga Instructor
Alison J. Kay, has her PhD as a Holistic Life Coach, and has just recently returned from living in Asia for the past ten years. She has been a meditation practitioner for 20 years, a meditation teacher for 10 years, India certified RYT-200 Ashtanga yoga teacher, and an energy medicine practitioner for 15 years. The energy healing she does is as a direct lineage certified Usui Reiki Master, a certified Tibetan Adamantine Healing System Master, an Advanced ThetaHealer Practitioner, and Chi Gong as a Chi Gong instructor, to assist in channeling what has become the high-voltage healing energy for empowerment and healing of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual issues on behalf of each of her clients ability to thrive.
Alison is also an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, with 15 years of weight training,18 years of vegetarian eating, and 25 years of endurance athleticism.
Alison Kay
Yoga Instructor
Lydia Smith is a SomaVeda Certified Advanced Thai Yoga Practitioner and Level 1 Instructor and a 200hr Hatha Yoga Teacher.
Lydia has been practicing healing arts for several years. She received her 200 hour certification as a hatha yoga teacher from Yandara Yoga Institute in Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico. She also graduated from the New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics and practiced bodywork and massage until she was introduced to SomaVeda Thai Yoga and Integrated Therapies in January of 2011 from founder of the Thai Yoga Center and International Thai Therapy Association, Dr. Anthony B. James, MD. Aachan Dr. James was given instructor and lineage holder of the Buddhai Sawan tradition by Grand Master Phaa Khruu Samaii Mesamarn, Nongkam, Thailand in 1984. Grand Master Samaii was the 36th generation Grand Master of the Buddhai Sawan School originally founded in Ayudthaya and a consultant to H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the current King of Thailand.
Lydia Smith
Yoga and Advanced Thai Yoga Practitioner