Breathing Space Family Yoga instructors incorporate training from many different styles and schools of yoga but all share a love for the practice and passion for sharing it with yogis of all ages.
AJ Hiskey (RYT-200) is an enthusiastic and personable teacher. Born and raised in the DC area. AJ completed her Yoga-Alliance certified training in 2018 with plans to teach adults, but fell in love with teaching children young and old!
AJ teaches a variety of classes from tots to trapeze. Always a kid at heart, she connects easily with children and loves sharing her passions of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
When she’s not on the mat, AJ loves being outdoors. She enjoys hiking, camping, swimming, or reading a good book in the sunshine. If she’s indoors, she’s probably rooting for a DC sports team (whether they’re winning or losing!) A life-long cheerleader for not only her favorite teams, but also her friends, family and students; she loves supporting others and helping them to be their best in body, mind and spirit.
Betsy Poos (E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP) is a lifelong student of movement and mindfulness. A DC yoga teacher since 2005, she’s honored to be a part of the Breathing Space Family Yoga community teaching preteens, teens and adults.
Betsy is known for her warm energy and informed alignment cues. Her true magic comes in making each practice equally accessible and challenging.
Betsy holds certifications in hatha yoga, Yogahour, pre/postnatal yoga, personal training, and sports nutrition. A consummate student, she is currently completing training to be a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher specializing in adolescents ages 11-18.
Betsy’s motivation to expand her teaching to teens has come as she’s begun navigating these waters within her own family. Always eager to expand and create, she is an avid dreamer (and doer), reader, and writer. She also makes a point of taking time to pause and believes the best days are nap days.
Betsy lives in Washington, D.C. with her incredibly patient husband, two strong willed daughters, and lovable boston terrier.
Irene Alexandra is a New York native who grew up as a competitive dancer. During her college years, she embarked on her yoga and mindfulness journey. During her journey, she received her BA in Ancient History, MA in Ancient History, MA in Education, and began a career teaching special needs students. Shortly after, she received her RYT-200 Certification and 95-Hour Special Needs and Children’s Yoga Certification. Irene is very enthusiastic about uniting mindfulness and yoga with traditional education, and works to educate others on tools and practices to bring mindfulness and awareness into the classroom and community.
During the summer of 2020, Irene was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, which she has been in remission from since the summer of 2021. While those who undergo chemotherapy and cancer treatment do experience a wide range of grueling physical, mental, and emotional side-effects, she credits yoga and mindfulness to helping to ease those side effects (including neuropathy, and emotional and mental well-being).
In her spare time, Irene loves to spend time with her puppies (Bacchus and Circe), read, travel, enjoy nature and the beach, and create new plant-based recipes.
Lauren Mae works with yogis of all ages to encourage self-connection, compassion, and confidence. She earned her 200 HR YTT certification in December 2022 and has experience teaching yoga to Pre-K and Kindergartners. She hopes to help students discover and grow their innate mindfulness superpowers.
Having survived childhood trauma, Lauren is passionate about providing kids with a safe and empowering yoga experience. She helps her students get to know their unique inner strength and cultivate it to carry off the mat and into life. Lauren is a yoga universalist and takes particular influence from vinyasa, yin, kundalini, and restorative yoga.
Camille Cobbs began her yoga journey in San Francisco in 2013. She stumbled into a level 3 Baptiste Power Flow class not knowing exactly what she’d signed up for, but the sweat, challenge, and positive affirmations inspired her to return week after week. In 2020, yoga became a refuge during one of the most difficult years of our generation. Her practice became a daily requirement, helping her to prioritize mental health, self-care, and healthy movement.
In 2021, she was inspired to complete her yoga teacher training and gained certification in early 2022. Since the completion of her 200 hours, Camille has returned to her power flow roots as an instructor, teaching adult classes around the DC area. She has also been able to reconnect with her passion for early childhood education by teaching a wide range of yoga classes for kids, from Pre-K to middle school. All of Camille’s classes are upbeat, full of music, and focused on self-love and self-study.
Carly Aull has been teaching at Breathing Space Family Yoga since 2021. After practicing yoga for about a decade, she decided to become a certified teacher during lockdown. With little outside distraction at that time, she practiced yoga all day every day and developed a much deeper connection and passion for both learning about it and teaching it. Previously, Carly had been a swim coach and one of the families she taught suggested teaching yoga to kids in addition to adults. She absolutely loves working with kids, and her main focus in class is meditation and developing greater self-awareness. She loves to see students progress by learning to sit in stillness with themselves a little bit longer each class.
Jacque Souza (RYT-500) was born and raised in Brazil. She loves dancing, traveling and studying the healing process through the body-mind. Jacque has been practicing yoga since 2011, and graduated from the Sarasvati Yoga School of Medellin teacher training program in 2015.
Jacque has taught yoga since 2016 and specializes in prenatal yoga, yoga for family, kids and teenagers and Thai Body Work. Her classes offer students an alignment based yoga practice designed to create spaciousness in the body, mind, and spirit. Jacque shares with students methods for reducing stress, enhancing well-being, and bringing peace into their daily lives.
Lili Wilson is a native Washingtonian and product of DC public schools. Lili graduated with a BA in Sociology from Spelman College in 2000. She went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
In April 2015, Lili initiated The Beautiful Dawn LLC, a lifestyle brand that primarily inspires young ladies and women to live genuine, bold, passionate lives. In 2016, Lili was trained in children’s yoga and mindfulness at Circle Yoga. For the past several years, she’s taught yoga and mindfulness to children. In Summer of 2020, Lili completed 200 (RYT) hours with Be Here Now Yoga and Wellness. In Spring 2021, Lili received a certificate in teaching mindfulness to children with the Interdependence Project.
In addition to self-care, Lili’s passion is singing and songwriting. She has been touring and recording with gospel, pop, and RnB artists since the age of 15. In Fall 2019, Lili’s talents landed her the tour of her life, Hans Zimmer Live, with movie composer Hans Zimmer.
Lili’s desire is to encourage self-care and self-love, by incorporating her gifts of music, intuitive mediumship, and healing. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Alaia Mary.
Tamar Lewkowitz received her RYT 200 Vinyasa Certificate in 2015 after graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in special education. Tamar spent a year abroad teaching English and volunteering at a special education school to teach yoga to students. Upon returning to the U.S., Tamar moved to the DMV area teaching K-3 special education at The Katherine Thomas School.
Tamar went on to receive her Budding Yogis Certificate and Kids with Special Needs Yoga Certificate from Circle Yoga in 2017, and she received her Chair Yoga Certificate from YogaVista Academy in 2019.
Tamar has brought yoga and movement into the classroom, and has seen firsthand how yoga and mindfulness can directly impact students’ regulation, self-image, and connection to the world around them.
In her spare time, Tamar loves being outdoors in nature hiking, cooking, and spending time with her two young nieces.
