THe Yoga Ananda team
Maria Merrill
Maria is a certified Baptiste Power Vinyasa Teacher, and a certified Hot Yoga Teacher. She has participated in numerous programs with Baron and also assisted at Baron's 1 day workshops and Level 1 programs. Maria has been a registered Yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance since 2003 and an E-RYT since 2008. She teaches with skill and compassion focusing on intention while allowing students to find stillness within.
"I practice yoga to stay grounded and to focus my mind as well as relax and strengthen my body. When I started my practice my intention was to find balance. At that time I did not fully realize that yoga would also give me a deeper spiritual quest. Yoga has lead me on a path that is so much greater, richer and broader than I could ever have imagined. Yoga returns me to my true essence. This essence is what I wish all my students to begin to tap into."
You can reach Maria at maria.merrill@gmail.com or at the studio tel. 713-527-8280. 
Meet Our Other Great Teachers
Nancy Sheridan
Nancy completed a Power Vinyasa teacher training" in house" in Philadelphia in Spring of 2009, and completed her RYT certification in June of 2010 at Yoga Ananda., She is currently finishing up her requirements for Baptiste Power Yoga certification.
Nancy teaches with the idea that yoga is tremendously fun, highly challenging, yet accessible to anyone. She sees yoga as the perfect way to maintain the body and the mind, and allow the spirit to grow. Through the practice, she has been able to gain a sense of awareness and happiness in her life, body, and actions. As a teacher, Nancy creates space for others to uncover their own awareness and happiness through their practice.
Sarah Martin
Sarah completed her 200 hour certification in May of 2007 and is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance.
Sarah Martin has just begun to explore the Houston yoga community with her return home from many years away. While away, Sarah spent several years in New York City, where her love for yoga blossomed. While in New York, Sarah received her 200-hour certification from Laughing Lotus Yoga Center, a center focused on joy, courage, creativity, and boldness in life...and in the practice of yoga practice. This means that Sarah's power vinyasa practice is vigorous, creative, expressive, and based on the freedom that the practice of yoga can uncover in our lives.
Emily Bludworth
Emily completed her 200 hour training in June of 2009 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with The Yoga Alliance.
Her goal is to teach with compassion and precision. She sees the yoga room as a space to meditate through movement and breath, and guides her students on an internal journey, as well as a physical one. Emily loves literature and yoga. She sees both as opportunities to hone the mind and enrich daily living. She also loves to share what she loves and is an English instructor at Davis High School as well as being the resident yoga instructor.
Annie Frost
Annie completed her 200 hour training in June of 2009 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with the Yoga Alliance.
Annie first began practicing yoga purely for the physical aspects but soon realized the
spiritual benefits were far more than she expected. For her, yoga is a tool for calming
the senses and a foundation for a healthy lifestyle in an over-stressed society. She
passionately believes that both body and spirit should be equally nutured while
practicing yoga.
Elizabeth Haberer- Lamson
Elizabeth completed her 200 hour training in June 2009 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with the Yoga Alliance.
Elizabeth discovered yoga in 2000, and since then it has become a way of life that transcends the mat and flows into all elements of her life. Her desire to share this path with others led her to seek certification as a Power Vinyasa instructor. She enjoys immersing herself in various styles of yoga, and has attended various workshops and Yoga Conferences with David Swenson, David Life, Johnny Kest, Mathew Sanford, Rusty Wells and Steve Ross.
Born in Brazil and raised in Mexico City, Elizabeth infuses her teaching with her lust for adventure and for expansion of physical and spiritual horizons. Her classes are intuitively tailored to meet students where they are, while compassionately challenging them to new heights of awareness and release.
Off the mat, Elizabeth is a licensed psychotherapist who integrates yoga into her extensive work with trauma and addiction. Her greatest joy is to sneak time into her day to play with the beautiful creatures in her life.
Kim Godfrey
Kim completed her 200 hour training in June of 2010 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with The Yoga Alliance.
Kimberly discovered the practice of yoga not only provided incredible physical benefits, but presented a pathway to the balance of mind and spirit. In realizing how powerful the effects of yoga were on her, she felt compelled to share her knowledge with others in hopes of helping people find a deeper part of themselves. Through her yoga practice she has learned to trust her intuition, be less reactive and simply let go and relax with what is. Kimberly wishes to guide her students toward genuine acceptance of self and surroundings and to encourage them to shine in their own authentic beauty and strength.
Lindsay Parmer
Lindsay completed her 200 hour training in June of 2010 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with The Yoga Alliance.
Lindsay believes yoga is a way of expressing creativity, living spirituality, and facilitating healing. Her focus is being in the present moment while practicing yoga. She believes that yoga is more than just a workout, but a physical form of prayer. Lindsay teaches from a place of “anything is possible” on and off the mat. When she is off the mat Lindsay enjoys reading, painting, exploring new places, and connecting with friends and family.
Erica Douglas
Erica completed her 200 hour training in June of 2010 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with The Yoga Alliance.
A Louisiana girl at heart, Erica was looking for a way to deal with the stress of a new city and job after moving to Houston. Erica found Yoga Ananda and fell in love. Like dance, Erica found that yoga allowed her to tap into her inner self. She quickly immersed herself in the the practice learning as much as possible and sharing it all. Erica brings grace and a strong spiritual practice into her class letting her students tap into the power they "maybe" haven't yet uncovered. "Open your branches and just be" is Erica's mantra. In the ability to let ago of our mental chatter we truly find the freedom to just "BE" .
Emilie Joseph
Emilie completed her 200 hour training in June of 2010 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with The Yoga Alliance.
Emilie began practicing yoga 5 years ago , and was overwhelmed with a sense of physical calm and improved physical health that the practice brought to her life. Yoga became a channel for her energy and strength to shine throughout her life. Emilie teaches with power balanced by grace and believes that anyone regardless of age, size, or physical ability , can benefit from the physical and mental practice of yoga.
Emilie's career as a nurse practitioner has taught her the importance of caring for the body and mind, and yoga provides the necessary tools to reach and maintain true wellness.
Magda Jungman
Magda completed her 200 hour training in June of 2010 at Yoga Ananda and is a registered certified teacher with The Yoga Alliance.
Magda believes yoga provides a wonderful blend of physical, spiritual and mental balance, building strength and flexibility for the mind and body. She lovelingly encourages students to practice at their highest potential by creating a stimulating environment of transformation. Magda provides individualized attention to meet each of her student's needs and her teaching style empowers students to "tune in" to their intuition, promoting strength both on and off the mat.
Off the mat, Magda is an occupational therapist and a massage therapist, her knowledge and love of the human body offers unique approaches to alignment individualized to each student.