200 Hour Teacher Training

Nicole Siegel is the proud owner of Wonder Yoga, experienced yoga teacher, and movement therapist. With 20 years of experience in the Greater Boston health and wellness community, Nicole embraces holistic modalities to empower her students to connect with their authentic selves. Movement has always been a part of her life, as she has journeyed from dancer to movement therapist to yogi. She has a passion for whole body wellness and the ability to connect mind, body and spirit through breath, movement and self-study. She continuously strives to let go of the internal chatter and external distractions and just simply be. Nicole holds a master’s degree from Lesley University in Dance Movement Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. She received her 200 and 300 hour yoga teaching certification through the Yoga of Energy Flow. She lives in Arlington Heights with her husband, son and two dogs.

Qualifications

• ​Yoga of Energy Flow RYT 500 (2015)
• ​Yoga of Energy Flow RYT 200 (2013)
• ​Lesley University Master’s of Art Dance Therapy + Mental Health Counseling (2002)
• ​Pennsylvania State University Bachelor of Arts Integrative Arts (1999)

​Certifications + Trainings

• ​Race and Equity in Yoga: Disruption as a Practice with Kelley Palmer (2020)
• Accessible Yoga Training with Jivana Heyman (2020)
• Chair Yoga Certification with Stacey Lubets (2020)​
• Foundations of Ayurveda with Kate O’Donnell (2018)
• Spa Yoga Certification with Betty Riaz (2017)
• Yoga for Peaceful Weight Loss with Brandt Passalacqua (2016)
• Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy with Brandt Passalacqua (2016)
• Healing Trauma Through Yoga with David Emerson (2016)
• Trauma Sensitive Yoga in Therapy: Bringing the Body into Treatment with David Emerson (2015)
• Eat, Breathe, Thrive Yoga, Food, and Body Image Intensive with Chelsea Roff (2015)
• Foundations of Thai Yoga Massage Level I with Jennifer Yarrow 500 (2014)
• Divine Sleep Yoga Nidra Teacher Training with Jennifer Reis 500 (2014)
• ChildLight Yoga Certification with Sharon Trull (2014)
• Yoga Therapy Training with Doug Keller (2014)
• Yin Yoga Training with Josh Summers (2014)
• Meridian Yoga Training with Danial Orlansky 500 (2013)

Marca came to yoga 12 years ago during a time when she was training for marathons, teaching step classes, and raising her 3 sons. Feeling a need for something with less impact but no less challenging, she was initially lured by the physical aspects of yoga, but kept returning to her mat as she experienced the many other benefits yoga brought into her life. Wanting to share this gift with others, she completed a 200-hour teacher training at Down Under School of Yoga in Newton/Brookline with Kate Heffernan and Natasha Rizopolous, and a 300-hour training at The Boston Yoga School with Ame Wren. Her background includes degrees in nursing and exercise physiology, both of which have helped to inform her practice and teaching. Her classes are alignment based, intelligently and creatively sequenced, and rooted in breath and flow. She encourages her students to honor their own unique bodies, tune in to their inner voice, and practice in a safe and gentle way, on and off their mat.

To me, yoga is more than just a sequence of poses. It is a way of life. I initially started practicing because I heard it was a great way to build strength and become more flexible. I found those things and much more. What I gained was greater peace of mind, a tool to manage anxiety, a sense of well being, a supportive community, increased self confidence, connection with others, joy in vulnerability, and a profound spiritual practice. Yoga unites and connects. It meets us in our struggles and amplifies what is going right in our lives while giving us strength to handle what isn’t. It is a source of calm in a chaotic world. My goal is for my classes to challenge you and lift you up. I will ask you to look within yourself for truth and to your neighbor for support. I will lead you through breath, strong poses, and graceful movements, so you can then sit and hear the quiet wisdom of your own mind.

I completed my 200 hour training with Rolf Gates in 2014 and my 300 hour training with Jacqui Bonwell in 2018. I am certified to teach Vinyasa Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Meditation. I also have some additional certifications – Balanced Athlete Level 1 and Reiki Level 1 – which further inform my yoga instruction. When I am not on the mat or in the studio I am an enthusiastic sticker collector, a high school administrator, and mama to a yogi in the making.

Shortly after starting my corporate career about 15 years, I also found my yoga practice and now I have no idea what I would do without it. Yoga grounds me, it is the way I connect to myself and how I am able to live in relationship to others. When I decided to sign up for teacher training I had no intentions of teaching any public classes. I have a demanding job in tech and never thought I would find the time. It was strictly to deepen my personal practice and connect more with my local yoga community. Once I graduated I realized there was no way I could not share this knowledge with others and I began my teaching career. Since then the desire for deeper knowledge and training only became louder.

I have been experimenting with holistic and alternative medicines and diets since I was a teenager. I was on a constant search for the lifestyle guidelines that made sense to me and my body. I tried them all! When I found Ayurveda through my yoga community I knew my experimenting days were over. This science is based on the innate knowledge that is already within us that we simply need to tune in to. It was exactly what I was always searching for! My studying began with reading and going to lectures on my own, beginning my daily routines, trying a seasonal cleanse, noticing how my environment impacted my body and my mind. Once I was able to enroll in the Down Under Ayurveda School things really changed for me. I first enrolled in 2017 in the 200 hr Ayurveda Fundamentals Program and upon completion immediately signed up for the 650hr Ayurveda Health Counselor Program. It is the first of its kind at the Down Under School and a privilege to be a part of. Learning how to take better care of myself and help those around me has been the most exciting and inspiring shift in my life. As I begin to build up my clientele and spread the teachings of Ayurveda to others, I know I am doing exactly what I am meant to be doing and where I am supposed to be. I am grateful for each day I get to bring the combination of Yoga and Ayurveda into peoples lives. This will never feel like a job!

Shawn has been teaching yoga for over 20 years both in the United States and internationally. In addition to being an E-RYT-500 he is a Certified Yoga Therapist through IAYT. He is also certified in Yin Yoga, Meridian Yoga, Yoga for Anxiety & Depression. His studies have also included an 800 Hour Advanced Teacher Training in Yogic Philosophy. Shawn travels internationally teaching diverse styles of yoga, as well as offering a 200 & 300 hour teacher training. His home location in the USA is Boston & Las Cruces, New Mexico. In Boston he is a staff instructor in the Open Doors 200 Hour Teacher Training Program and is a co-creator of the Open Doors 300 Hour Teacher Training Program, and in addition offers teacher certification in Yin Yoga and Yoga for Anxiety & Depression.

As a yoga instructor Shawn teaches classes that are focused on breath and functional movement of the body. His classes are geared toward students who want to explore the inner spaces of the body and mind and are both physically challenging and at the same time very accessible. He uses his knowledge of meridians, yin yoga, therapeutic yoga, and fascination with yoga’s rich history to create classes which are informative and allow students to move in ways that support their unique structure.