Instructors

Jill Gutowski, Co-Director

Jill approaches yoga as a healing tool of transformation that has enormous potential to bring individuals greater physical, mental, emotional and spiritual vitality and well-being. Her own spiritual path of recovery from an eating disorder and depression, lead her to yoga 10 years ago. She teaches from the healing that she experiences with yoga and seeks to inspire others to have the courage to undertake their own personal healing journey. She states, "My first practice of yoga filled me with a feeling of coming home that I had not felt with other forms of physical activity. I was intrigued that yoga addressed the body and the spirit. I knew I wanted to teach yoga that first day."

Jill has always had a desire to contribute positively to the lives of others. Her background includes a degree in psychology and a Masters Degree in Counseling. She became a psychotherapist working with individuals and groups in the areas of addiction and eating disorders. After a life threatening health crisis in 2001, Jill decided to pursue teaching yoga full-time. She and her husband Michael opened The Yoga Studio at Pennington (now Four Winds Yoga) in May 2002. Informed by the incredible gifts yoga has brought into her life, Jill integrates yoga, meditation, self-inquiry, psychotherapy, energy healing, and ritual into her teaching.

She has studied with several yoga masters in vinyasa and Astanga and has been certified to teach yoga since July 2000. Her early influences of a non-dogmatic, open approach to yoga were a result of her study with Ganga White and Tracy Rich of White Lotus Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA, to whom she is eternally grateful. She was certified to teach pregnancy yoga in 2001 and in the spring of 2003, Jill met Ana Forrest. Jill states, "I knew immediately that I had found a powerful teacher and potent yoga practice that is highly intelligent, spiritual, healing and transformational". She completed the July 2003 Forrest Yoga Teacher Training and in 2006 became a certified Forrest Yoga Teacher. She continues to study with Ana and to assist her in national workshops. Jill is honored to host her teachers, Ana Forrest and Jonathan Bowra, in New Jersey, at Four Winds Yoga and to participate in "Mending the Hoop of the People".

Jill’s classes are both challenging and therapeutic, specializing in helping students work with and prevent injuries. She seeks to inspire her students to breathe new energy into their lives and to be open to new experiences. She teaches her students to connect to their spirit and live more vibrantly from their core with compassion and humor, while encouraging them to move beyond perceived limitations.

Read the article written about the studio that appeared in U.S.1  Read the article

Michael Brantl, Co-Director

Mike’s academic and athletic backgrounds lead him to the practice of yoga. An athlete from an early age, an avid exerciser since childhood, a sister who was an accomplished gymnast; movement was always a natural part of his life. After participating in competitive sports such as basketball, football, baseball, ultimate Frisbee and swimming; Mike transitioned to endurance sports like triathlons and marathons, and completed a cross-country bicycle trip in 1984. He also took up golf in his mid to late 20’s and has been passionate about golf since. “I always used stretching and weight training to boost my strength and flexibility”. Returning to college at the tender age of 30 lead Mike to the study of exercise science and corporate fitness. He received his second bachelor’s degree from the College of New Jersey in corporate fitness in 1995 graduating with honors and being listed in the Who’s Who among American College Students as well as other awards of academic excellence. This accompanies his first BS in psychology from Shippensburg University received in 1983. During Mike’s study at TCNJ he entered a yoga class as part of the curriculum. “I was very intrigued by the relaxation benefits I received from the yoga, being I was training for a marathon at the time”. Mike received elite certifications as a personal trainer, health fitness instructor, and strength and conditioning specialist during his studies at TCNJ. Mike has 15 years of experience working in the health and fitness industry, and nearly a decade of yoga teaching experience. In the summer of 1996 Mike participated in his first formal study of yoga at a weekend teachers program and was hooked from that point on. A daily practice of asana lead him to the White Lotus Foundation in 1998 where he was certified as a hatha yoga instructor. He also completed several advanced trainings there as well as the study of Thai Massage Yoga Therapy. He received training and certification in the primary series of astanga yoga with David Swenson in 1999, and completed an advanced teacher training with Erich Schiffmann in 2000. He has studied with many high quality yoga teachers of various traditions for extended workshops and weeklong programs. In 2003 Mike’s study of yoga lead him to a completion and certification of a 400-hour training in Anusara yoga with Todd Norian. He also completed John Friend’s Level 1 training in May 2004. Mike draws on his many yoga influences and personal practice to teach classes that emphasize breath awareness, a deep connection to physical alignment, and moving in a healing way. He blends humor and intensity to make his classes user friendly, inspiring, challenging, and fun. His greatest inspiration comes from his 14 years plus in recovery from addiction and a loving relationship with his wife, Jill Gutowski. Mike is an avid golfer and is writing a book on yoga and golf, as well as working with golfers to improve their games with the practice of yoga. “Golf and yoga are perfect together because both require you to stay present in the process and not obsessed with the outcome".

Read what the press is saying about Michael. Read the articles

Robin Wells

Robin spent many years as a university teacher and researcher. In 2002 Robin began studying yoga with Jill in an attempt to gain relief from many years of debilitating migraine headaches. Over the months and years of practice, in addition to being cured of the headaches, she found through yoga a deep sense of inner relaxation and calm that transformed her life. Robin’s love of yoga and gratitude for the gifts it has bestowed on her led to her desire to share it with others through teaching. Having experienced the ability to yoga to heal the whole person, she has a keen desire to see the practice of yoga spread through the medical community. She currently teaches yoga to the staff of the Presbyterian Hospital of Philadelphia and has attended workshops on the therapeutic use of yoga for trauma. In November 2005 she completed the 500-hour Forrest Yoga Teacher Training and she has also studied with Donna Farhi. She has also studied with noted Forrest Yoga teachers and body-workers Julian Walker and Ellen Heed. Robin deeply admires the teachings of Erich Schiffman and believes, as he states, that “Yoga will make you sensitive to the stillness, the presence, the hush, the peace of God. This deep inner stillness is at the core of your being. It is the ground, the joy of your being.”

Heidi Prewett

Heidi has been teaching yoga in the Princeton area since 2002. She received her yoga alliance, teacher’s training through Devalila Yoga in Lambertville, with Stefani Pappas. She has assisted Stefani in several teacher’s training programs and is featured demonstrating postures and assists in Yoga Posture Adjustments & Assisting. Heidi has studied with Jill and Mike since the opening of Four Winds Yoga. She likes to take her mat wherever she travels. She has taken classes with Shiva Rae and Seane Corn. Heidi is currently participating in an ongoing workshop with David Pitenger, called Saraswati Vidya , wisdom teachings. Heidi’s classes are a reflection of her own practice, a style brought about through blending techniques taught by all her teachers.

Heidi believes that by peeling away layers and letting go of preconceived notions of how things should be, each individual has the ability to shine bright. Although there is a certain amount of structure to her classes Heidi encourages playfulness and joy. Classes are taught at a multilevel, with suggestions for modifications and options to move to the next level.

Heidi shares her life with dear friends, her husband and three beautiful sons. She enjoys long walks in the woods, canoeing, running, biking, sailing, and dancing…she loves dancing.

Susan Viscido

Susan has been inspired by the many styles of yoga that she has experienced in her 10+ years of yoga practice. She completed a teacher training course at Integral Yoga of Princeton in 2005 and most recently has found a deep connection to Forrest Yoga upon entering into a teacher mentoring program with Jill Gutowski. She experienced many dramatic changes in her own practice through the mentoring and now incorporates Forrest asana techniques, abdominal work and pranayama in her classes to assist students in using their practice to develop courage to overcome obstacles and transform their lives. Susan provides a calm, supportive environment where students of any level feel safe to challenge themselves. As a Reiki Level 2 practitioner, she assists students in developing the wisdom to self-heal physically and mentally. She also has an MA in Psychology and currently teaches yoga and mindful exercise to women with Eating Disorders at the Renfrew Center. She is committed to researching yoga and its effect on recovery from various mental illnesses to continue to expand healing opportunities to all beings.

Pascale Poussart

Pascale Poussart came to Ashtanga Yoga while in graduate school at Harvard University. Both on and off the mat, she began feeling stronger, healthier and happier. Wishing to share with others the benefits of yoga, Pascale studied to become a teacher in 2004. She learned from experienced and generous teachers such as Beryl Bender Birch, Mimi Loureiro and David Swenson. In 2006, she visited Mysore, India to practice with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the founding father of Ashtanga Yoga. Pascale returned home understanding that a daily practice is the first step towards a lifelong commitment to health and wellbeing. One day at a time, she weaves in the practical lessons she learns on the mat into her teaching of yoga as well as her work as a Climate Research Scientist at Princeton University.

Marcy Sheldon

Marcy Sheldon has been practicing yoga since 1995 and teaching since 2003. She believes her role as a yoga teacher is to provide a safe and supportive environment that encourages her students to listen, honor and work with their bodies. Her classes are a challenging yet rewarding balance of asana, meditation and relaxation and include the cultivation of flexibility, strength, centering and focus. She is a certified yoga teacher through Radiant Health Yoga and is registered with the Yoga Alliance at the 200 hour level. Marcy states, "I approach my yoga practice as moving meditation, allowing me the time to indulge in the essence of being rather than doing." She teaches to share her love for hatha yoga and the gifts, benefits and endless possibilitites of the practice to create harmony in one's life.

Lisa Breisacher, Massage Therapist

Lisa Breisacher holds a B.S. in Corporate Fitness from The College of New Jersey. She is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) as a Health/Fitness Instructor, by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) as a Certified Personal Trainer, and by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a Massage Therapist. Lisa’s initial career path after college led her to providing exercise guidance and personal training services to a variety of clientele ranging from full-time parents to executives in various Fortune 500 companies. The impact of “life demands” on her clients made Lisa realize that exercise alone was not going to help achieve balance in their lives. It became obvious that without opening the blocked areas of the body, movement without boundaries and limitations would not be reached. Through her study of massage, Lisa has been able to share her knowledge of human movement and relaxation techniques, offering clients a more holistic approach to health and wellness. A former competitive swimmer and coach, Lisa now focuses her own fitness training on yoga, long-distance cycling, and short distance triathlons.

Lisa is available for massage appointments at Four Winds Yoga. To schedule a session, call (609) 203-5918