Sara Szeglowski

Sara opened Shine Yoga in August of 2015 as part of Dr. Brian Zelasko's chiropractic office. As part of the broader practice, she provided individual yoga therapy and small classes with an emphasis on anatomy, alignment and health for students at all levels of experience.

In May of 2016, Sara moved Shine Yoga to the Village of Hamburg in order to have more of a community presence. She continues to provide individual yoga therapy to people with a wide variety of therapeutic needs. She is experienced in supporting people with joint replacement and injury, Parkinson's, cancer, post surgery, chronic fatigue, and anxiety. She also teaches sixteen classes a week to all levels of students, runs retreats, teaches in workplaces, schools, and the community and teaches yoga foundation classes.

Sara has been practicing for more than 15 years and teaching since 2010. A Yoga Alliance 200 hour ERYT (experienced registered yoga teacher), Sara received her training through Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health’s renowned month-long intensive yoga teacher training program and is working towards a 500 hour certification through Tiffany Cruikshank's Yoga Medicine program. She is designated as an experienced teacher by Yoga Alliance, having taught more than 1000 hours of classes. Sara has 60 hours of training in spinal dysfunction and 60 hrs in shoulder dysfunction through Yoga Medicine and is scheduled to complete a 60 hr module in facia in September. Sara is also certified to teach yoga for cancer patients and survivors, having trained with the recognized expert in the field, Tari Printer.

She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, Tiffany Cruikshank's Yoga Medicine and Amy Ippoliti's 90 Monkeys Teacher Communities and the Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association.

Sara further explored her interest in anatomy and body mechanics through trainings and workshops with Paul and Suzie Grilley, David Sears, Linda DiCarlo, and Naama Gidron. Sara recently completed Dr. Ray Long's intensive course on deepening postures through anatomical knowledge. Sara has studied under Susi Hatley's therapeutic yoga program and has trained in creative sequencing with Natasha Rizopoulos, Rodney Yee. Sara has also worked with Yoga Therapy educators Rachel Krentzman to better understand how yoga therapy can decrease neck, shoulder and upper back pain, Amy Weintraub, to support people with anxiety and depression, and Staffan Elgelid to support a more flexible nervous system.

A cancer survivor, Sara has worked closely with Roswell Park Cancer Institute and developed a video with Roswell in 2016 to provide yoga for the more than 200,000 patients who spend time in Rowell's hospital each year. The video specifically helps people who can't yet get out of bed bring breath and movement into their recovery. Most recently, Sara was asked to speak at the annual Symposium of Yoga Therapy and Research in Washington , where she shared her experience as a cancer surviver in her early forties and her experience working with other cancer survivors within the same age range.

Sara is skilled at providing modifications that allow all students, whether it is their first class or their hundredth to safely reach their goals. Workshops with Diane Ducharme, Margot McKinnon, and Sudha Carolyn Lundeen have helped her develop modifications that work for people with special needs and all levels of experience, as has Sara’s curiosity and focus on exploration within her own practice. Sara’s teaching is most influenced by Iyengar's alignment-based approach, Amy Ippoliti's joyful presentation and engagement with students, and Tiffany Cruikshank’s focus on yoga as a means to better health.