Meet our team of Yoga Instructors
Amy "Dechen" Zezulka
Senior Teacher, Studio Owner/Founder
Dechen is the founder and owner of the Mystic Yoga Shala and currently a grateful Baptiste Yoga Teacher and a Heartfulness Meditation Instructor who has been training and practicing since 1992 and teaching for over 22 years. She got into yoga for anger management after taking on the job harassment literally into her own hands by slugging a co-worker in the jaw getting her immediately fired.
She is a student first and continues her studies with the Baptiste Institute and practices meditation under the guidance of Kamlesh D. Patel, affectionately known as "Daaji," the president of the Heartfulness Organization. Her first teacher training was completed in 1996 at a Sivananda Ashram after studying yoga previously for four years at Jivamukti Yoga under the guidance of Sharon Gannon and David Life in Manhattan. She started teaching in 1996 on the east end of Long Island while working on an organic farm. Soon after she opened up "The Studio" for the Arts and Education in Greenport, NY while also working for The Association for Resource Conservation-encouraging vineyards and farms to use organic methods of farming through on site composting. In 1997 she completed her first ten day silent Vipassana Meditation Retreat and in 1999 she lived, worked and studied at Pema Osel Ling in California, home of the Vajrayana Foundation and the late great Tibetan Rinpoche Lama Tharchin who gave her the name Dechen.
She credits the success of her school to the support of her family, her teachers, the Baptiste Methodology and Institute, and all of the dedicated people who work at the shala. Dechen was also the official yoga teacher for the WNBA Connecticut Sun Womens Basketball Team from 2009-2011. Her current favorite quotes are "Freedom comes from discipline”, and "Love grows through service", by her late teacher Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari.
Emma Sutphen
Teacher
Emma took her first Baptiste Yoga class in 2010 at the Mystic Yoga Shala while she was in high school and got hooked on the practice in college. Since then, she has become a 200-hour RYT and taken Baptiste Level One and Two, as well as the Baptiste Art of Assisting and Instructor courses, to become a certified Baptiste Yoga Teacher. Emma believes “your life is your message,” and lives her yoga daily by fostering connections between humans and nature as a farmer, beekeeper, and outdoor educator. She has experienced the ability of yoga to calm the central nervous system and remedy anxiety and depression first hand, and seeks to share the healing qualities of yoga with her students and others. When she isn’t on her mat, she is outside building community in the Mystic area, where she has lived since she was born.
Sue MacClain
Teacher
Sue believes that a good day is any day she gets to step onto her mat. In describing her connection to yoga, she says, “Yoga is my peace, my inspiration, and my refuge. It has become part of who I am. It is my connection to earth and my space to be. It is infinitely patient, elegantly simple, and immeasurably expansive. My relationship with it is much like any other. It has seen highs and lows, has taught me patience and compassion, and continues to evolve, showing me that the more I give, the more I receive.” In 2010, Sue received her 200-hour certification through the Mystic Yoga Shala & Lifeline Power Yoga, and is now a certified Baptiste Teacher. “I teach because it shows me who I really am. Much of what I am learning about myself and how I move through life, I am learning on my yoga mat. Teaching, learning, and conveying the experiences of my own living yoga practice inspires me to inspire others.” Sue’s teaching style follows the principles of Baptiste yoga, incorporating alignment, mindfulness, flow and breath.
Aaron Warren
Teacher
Aaron is a yogi who has followed the Baptiste yoga tradition as a dedicated student for over 15 years and started his teaching career at the Mystic Yoga Shala in 2010. Since then he founded Manipura Power Yoga and has traveled the world building power plants and being of service to others.
Aaron teaches a free form flow of power that is super challenging and will leave you feeling transformed. We are so grateful to have Aaron back!
Aaron is looking forward to his very amazing days ahead helping to generate Self Love for all!
Pam Mirante
Teacher
Pam is thrilled to be teaching again at the Yoga Shala! She is a 500 hour Baptiste Certified Yoga Teacher, Yoga Therapist, LCSW and a Certified Divorce Coach. She was an innovator in a tech start up company designed to help people with addictions and mental illness. She loves sharing the Baptiste Methodology with students. When not at the Shala you can find her tap dancing, playing competitive pickle ball, boating with her husband, leading people on Ketamine retreats, or working on Enders' Island.
Sierra DeAndrea
Teacher
Sierra has had a passion for yoga since her first class in 2019. She jumped right into a MYS hot yoga class & found her purpose. To teach. To teach others how to move consciously throughout life & believe we are all whole. Sierra received her 200 RYT in 2022 through the Mystic Yoga Shala & has continued to grow as a teacher AND as a student on her mat. Her classes are stimulating & challenging but leave her students feeling empowered. Yoga has made her feel more open hearted, compassionate & patient. Outside of yoga Sierra is a pharmacy technician. She also likes to juice, hike/snowboard, travel & dance at music festivals with her friends. Join Sierra in the studio for a groovy sweaty time.
Caitlyn Rodriguez
Teacher
Caitlyn earned her 200hr Yoga Teacher Training certification in June 2025 from the Mystic Yoga Shala. She hopes to share the presence and strength that come with practicing yoga. The loving and inspiring community at the Mystic Yoga Shala makes her proud to call it her home studio. Caitlyn loves to camp, garden, and paint, and is passionate about sustainability and environmental stewardship. She hopes to see you in class!
Danny Monaco Iliff
Teacher
It was written in the stars that Danny would become a yogi. As a lifelong athlete and fitness enthusiast, he always loved to find new ways to express himself through movement of the physical vehicle. Wrestling, baseball, football, and other competitive sports were a large part of his youth and young adulthood. They formed endurance, strength, and drive for greatness, but only until personal struggles and adversity, he began searching for deeper understanding and purpose. In the darkness, yoga became a beacon of light. Years passed where yoga was off and on along with meditation and other spiritual practices, until he finally made it more consistent at the Mystic Yoga Shala in late 2023. Inspired by the community, he then pursued his 200 hour YTT at MYS and became a certified yoga teacher in the summer of 2025. His main goal as a teacher is to empower others by showing them their greatness while having fun doing it. Danny is also a mentor at the “Into The Forest School” for kids in Chester, Connecticut at The Grove, where he also teaches Yoga to all ages of humans.
When not at the Shala, You can find him at the gym, or hiking, skiing, dancing, playing guitar and drums, singing, or hanging with family and friends, while listening to Taylor Swift.
“Life’s a garden… dig it.”
Lori Tavares
Teacher
Meet Professor Tavares!
200 HR RYT Lori found her way to Baptiste Power Yoga at the Yoga Shala as a way to recharge, reconnect, and grow stronger in body and mind and now she loves sharing that same energy with her students. As a college nursing professor, she brings the same clarity, compassion, and encouragement she offers her nursing students into the yoga studio. Her classes are powerful yet welcoming, blending clear instruction with heart.
When she’s not teaching, whether in the classroom or on the mat, you’ll probably catch her paddleboarding, walking by the ocean, dancing at beach concerts, or planning her next adventure. She believes yoga is about showing up as you are and leaving a little more grounded, a little more empowered, every time.
Marcia Schaller
Teacher
Marcia Schaller is a Tier 3 1200 Hour Baptiste Certified Instructor. She has completed Levels I, II, & III of Baptiste Training and has completed 2 Fit To Lead Programs in 2017 & 2018 in addition to The Art of Assisting and Being of Power Workshops. Marcia also traveled to Nairobi, Kenya in July 2017 to participate in a Seva Safari affiliated with Africa Yoga Project and through Africa Yoga Project became a mentor to a Ugandan yoga student for 2 years.
After her first Baptiste class in 2008, Marcia felt inspired, rejuvenated, & energized. She realized that each time she stepped on her mat, she could focus on the breath and become present. Marcia loves this practice and wants to share her experience and passion by giving others the tools of empowerment and transformation. She is honored to be a part of the Mystic Yoga Shala and the Baptiste community.
Holly Kelley
Teacher
The Mystic Yoga Shala has been Holly’s sanctuary since 2018. What began as a personal practice soon became a journey of self-discovery, where she uncovered deeper intention, resilience, and a profound love for yoga. In June 2025, she completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training under the guidance of Dechen .
Beyond the Shala, Holly is deeply connected to the rhythms of nature and simple joys—whether tending to her garden, swimming or baking. A lifelong learner and local to the Eastern Shore, she can often be found tucked into a library book or wandering new hiking paths with her loyal husky, Zeus.
With her background in early childhood education, she carries a gift for inspiring curiosity, play, and joy through movement. Holly approaches teaching yoga as an invitation: a chance to connect body, mind, and spirit, and to discover the quiet strength that lives within us all.
Mary Kay “MK” Pappas
Teacher
Mary Kay “MK” Pappas has been practicing yoga for more than 25 years and teaching for over 12. She offers slow flow vinyasa and yin yoga, creating classes that are warm, grounded, and accessible to all. MK believes yoga should feel right rather than look a certain way, and she invites her students to listen deeply to their bodies with compassion and curiosity.
Her teaching style blends mindful movement with thoughtful themes and spiritual readings, offering a practice that nourishes body, mind, and spirit. Her hope is that every practitioner leaves class feeling reconnected, centered, and more at ease.
MK has been practicing at the Mystic Yoga Shala since 2006 and it is an honor to teach at this beloved studio as well.
Beyond the mat, MK loves walking and hiking, traveling, playing Pickleball, engaging in her community, and spending time with family and friends. She brings the same joy and presence she finds in these passions into her teaching, creating a welcoming space where students feel supported and inspired.
Carissa Gullickson
Teacher
Carissa took her first yoga class in 2011 and was hooked after completing her first savasana. A lifelong learner, she credits her practice in helping let go of perfectionism, while also encouraging to challenge herself mentally and physically in ways she never dreamed possible.
Carissa completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at MYS in the spring of 2025 and is honored to be teaching at the Shala. She loves the Baptiste methodology and hopes to inspire her students to grow on and off their mat.
Outside the studio you’ll probably find her on the hunt for a new houseplant or loudly cheering her son on the soccer field.
