Welcome to New Orleans House of Yoga! Get to know our dedicated instructors below. With four new classes on the schedule, start the new year off right with yoga!
Niklas Isaac
Niklas joined New Orleans House of Yoga in 2010, after practicing and training under Pascal Beauvillain.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Niklas grew up in Denver, Colorado. He is a devoted practitioner of hatha yoga, and enjoys challenging students of all skill levels in his hot yoga classes.
Niklas teaches: Hot Yoga, Hot Hour
Jess Maxwell
Jessica Louise Maxwell (Jess) began her yogic path in high school while attending a gym for daily fitness in the style of Kripalu yoga methodology. In 2002, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited her hometown of Dallas, Texas, and Jess was honored to sit, observe, meditate, and learn from the Art of Living concepts. Jess continued her search for knowledge in college and began studying psychology, combining biology and philosophy into a discipline that pertained to the individual. After graduating from Loyola with her Bachelors in Psychology, Jess was ready to take her vigorous personal practice to the next level. Jess studied under Danny Arguetty, Sudha Carolyn Lundeen, and Devarshi Steven Hartmen at the Kripalu Institute for Yoga and Ayurvedic Studies, receiving her certification as a Kripalu teacher accredited through the National Organization Yoga Alliance. Jess has truly fallen in love with service to the individual: recognizing that everyone is different and everyone has something to share. Keeping with the Kripalu tradition, Jessica teaches a self-paced flow class that focuses on personal alignment, body awareness, and self-love within the internal experience.
Jess teaches: Kripalu Yoga, Kripalu Lunch
Lauren Darnell
Originally from New Orleans, Lauren returns home to us via New York and London. Lauren started practicing yoga due to a hip injury in 2006. In 2008, she discovered Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga with Dylan Ayaloo, founding Director of Hot Power Yoga in London. The heated power vinyasa practice challenged Lauren’s personal limitations. She was able to move beyond physical, emotional, and mental restraints to feel joy, freedom and an inner strength in her body that she had never tapped into before. In October 2009, Lauren completed her Level 1 teacher training in Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga, and became a part of the teaching team at Hot Power Yoga. Since then, she has assisted Dylan Ayaloo, Master Teachers Gregor Singleton and Claire Este-McDonald, and Baron Baptiste in delivering workshops, Teacher Trainings, Hands-On Assisting, and 40-Day to Personal Revolution programs. Lauren believes in seeking the fullest expression of yourself without boundaries. She teaches with the intention to provide a space for students to tap into their power within and discover their own path to joy and transformation through a deeper connection to their body. Her classes are playful, intelligent, and compassionate.
Lauren teaches: Power Vinyasa Yoga, Power Hour
Jennifer Rogers
“I was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a football coach for a father. Needless to say, I’ve always had a movement practice in some form or another since birth. I grew up playing organized sports and running track. I moved to the West Coast, where I started to run marathons, study Pilates, cycle, and volunteer as a running coach with the Boys & Girls Club San Francisco. This is where I attended my first yoga class. I found yoga to be the missing key that linked all of my different practices together. I like to guide a warming flow focusing on the balance between strength and flexibility through the marriage of the traditional with new modern styles. Yes, that may mean yogi jacks (Thank you Shaney Aalbers). Come have fun, stand on your hands, lengthen those hamstrings, and leave with a smile on your face. I studied on the west coast in San Francisco, CA and Portland, OR. I received my RYT at the Lotus Seed in PDX. Some memorable teachers of mine include Shaney Aalbers (PDX), Suniti Dernovsek (PDX), and Wren Doggit (PDX). Since then, my journey has led me back to the south. I now reside and teach in New Orleans, LA.”
Jenn teaches: Vinyasa Flow
Haley Cassidy
“I grew up in mid-Missouri, and moved to New Orleans only a few months ago after graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in Women and Gender Studies. I have been doing yoga for around four years, and teaching for two. I attended White Lotus Foundation in the mountains outside of Santa Barbara, California, studying under Ganga White and Tracey Rich. The experience was life-changing. I use what I learned from White Lotus as inspiration for my classes. I try to make my classes interesting by incorporating fun music, hands-on adjustments and aromatherapy oils. I LOVE teaching yoga and I hope that comes across in my approach.”
Haley teaches: Yoga Flow