Instructors
Kim Fischer 200 hour, E-RYT
Kim Fischer is a registered, 200-hr Experienced Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) in the Kripalu tradition, with over 2,000 hours of teaching experience. She is the owner/director of Lotus Life Yoga Center, LLC, and a member of the Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association. She discovered yoga over 13 years ago as a form of relaxation. Kim’s yoga practice began to evolve into not only a wonderful form of exercise but a true and direct path to the heart. Kim’s mission, as well as Lotus Life Yoga Center’s, is to bring health and happiness to the community, through the practice of yoga and meditation.
Kim’s unique style of teaching is a blend of Kripalu and Vinyasa flow and has been described by students as energizing and inspirational. Her classes contain a balance of traditional teachings mixed with a modern twist of pranayama, meditation, asana (postures) and yogic philosophy as she has experienced it. Kim continues to be the student by studying with highly experienced instructors through workshops and retreat settings.
To read more about Kim and the growth of Lotus Life Yoga Center, click on the About tab.
Erin O’Toole 200 hour- Certified Yoga Instructor
A couple of years ago, Kim gave me one of the best bits of advice I’ve been given. I was in a funk, trying to get into a groove with my teaching. My words weren’t feeling fully authentic, the postures seemed to be bland and my inspiration well was drying up. As I talked with Kim about it, she simply said to me, “Just give them your love, Erin. Share your experiences and that’s all you can do.” That wisdom has continued to guide my teaching and my yoga practice on and off my mat as well.
I admit to loving a challenging sequence of poses or a steamy vinyasa flow but I enjoy a quieter practice at times, too. Somewhere within any type of asana practice, when I allow myself to be in my body and humming along with the rhythm of my breath, an inner shift occurs for me, a lightness comes in and it lingers. Then when I am going about the rest of my day, I find that I am more likely to be kind, to be easier on other people and to be easier on myself. I am more likely to be okay when things don’t go as planned. I am more likely to say less and listen more, to be more conscious of what I consume…I am more likely to be guided by love.
I am so grateful to share my practice with others. Over the past 6 years, I have followed Baron Baptiste’s power yoga postures and together with the Kripalu roots of my training, look for ways to make the practice accessible to all levels. Currently, I am expanding my personal practice with Iyengar classes.
It is a special feeling to be part of Lotus Life Yoga Center as it opens its doors! Kim is an inspirational teacher and friend to me.
~May all beings be happy and free.
Roxanne Beil 200 Hour- Kripalu Yoga Instructor
Mother of two grown (wonderful!) sons, life-long resident of Syracuse, has been a grateful Yoga student of amazing local teachers for the past 15 years. Roxanne’s teachers, all of whom were Kripalu trained or influenced led her to become a certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor herself. Roxanne hopes that her students find her gentle compassionate classes to be a haven for stress management , a powerful ally in a storm, or ultimately a vehicle for profound self-acceptance, transformation and love.
Kara Midlam 200 hour – Kripalu Yoga Instructor
Bio coming soon…
Kelley Purcell, 200 hour Certified Yoga Instructor
A graduate of Le Moyne and a native of Jamesville, I first experienced yoga on a regular basis while living and working in Savannah, GA two years ago. I was instantly attracted to the physical challenge of poses and the personal journey that yoga initiated, examining my actions and exploring what it means to control the mind. By the following year, I found myself pursuing my certification to continue learning about yoga and all its components of anatomy, philosophy, etc. and have been excited to share what I’ve learned ever since! Certified through Shakti Yoga Studios in Woodstock, my teaching embodies the importance of breathing, connecting movement to breath, and understanding movement principles of the body. Previously, I instructed yoga at Frost Valley YMCA in the Catskills. I now currently teach at Lotus Life Yoga Center, as well as instructing yoga at Syracuse University as part of the Healthy Mondays Program, a national initiative to promote healthy lifestyle choices. I am a graduate student in Environmental Science at SUNY ESF and teach at the Montessori School of Syracuse.
Lauren Britton, 200-hour Certified Yoga Instructor
Bio coming soon…
Sarah Oakley, MamaBirth Yoga
Sarah provides a safe, nurturing and empowering space for expectant mamas to practice yoga while connecting with their body and baby in preparation for childbirth and motherhood. Above all, she is a mama to her sweet, strong and spirited young daughter and partner to her loving husband. She is a certified PNYT through The Seattle Holistic Center where she studied under the guidance of Colette Crawford. Sarah is deeply grateful to have trained, apprenticed and taught with Camille Mulchi of MotherWise Yoga in Portland OR. Additionally, she draws upon her experience of birthing her daughter, motherhood and personal yoga practice of more than 10 years in Anusara, Hatha, Vinyasa and Kundalini Yoga. Sarah has found her calling in teaching prenatal yoga and teaches from the heart with respect for the intuitive wisdom of every mama and baby. She finds inspiration in her teachers, the mamas she has the joy to share space with and her daughter – the best teacher of the yogi way of life.
Visit Sarah’s website, Mama Birth Yoga.
