Instructors
Chill people, teaching yoga
Get to know our incredible teaching staff whose diverse education, passions and personalities inform every class.
Keela Williams
Owner/Senior Instructor
Live for a good beat? Keela’s playlists are a portal. Designed to drop you in and power you up, her classes offer equal parts support (hello hands-on assists!) and strength at an invigorating pace. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, and neither should you! She’ll have you trying out sneaky challenges you never saw coming and having fun while you do it. You’ll leave feeling accomplished, sweetened and definitely sweaty. Spice level: three jalapeños.
Keela has over a decade of teaching experience, completing her 200hr yoga teacher training through Jai Yoga Arts in Koh Lanta, Thailand in 2015. In 2018, she completed her 300hr training with Raghunath at Super Soul Farm in Chatham, NY. She’s facilitated 7 teacher trainings at New Love City and has led over 15 retreats both stateside and internationally. Keela’s Dharma is centered on togetherness. She has owned and operated New Love City since 2020, building a heartfelt home and space for people to feel true belonging and a sincere sense of community.
Conor Yates
Director of Education/Senior Instructor/
Studio Manager
Conor’s classes are a deep dive into body, breath, mind and mood. He teaches with deep respect for the inherited tradition of yoga that will renew your sense of awe for the practice. His classes are slower-paced with longer holds, foregoing music to invite a symphony of breath that will move you like no soundtrack could. Walk away with a new Sanskrit name under your belt and a witty joke you’ll snicker about for days.
Conor’s practice spans over 30 years, receiving his first instruction in meditation at 10 years old. He has accrued over 1,600 hours of yoga training in anatomy, injuries, pranayama, meditation, philosophy and history. His teachers include Paramhansa Yogananda, Baba Hari Das, Krishna Das, Alison West, James Finlay, Zoe Slatoff-Ponte, Layne Little, Amy Matthews, Megan Mook and Gail Tirana. Conor has been teaching for 14+ years and has led 15+ yoga teacher trainings.
Beginner-friendly
Be Leigh
Director of Dharma/Senior Instructor
Rooted in metaphysical philosophy and bolstered by the body awareness of a triathlete, Be’s style will kick your ass and bend your brain. Her classes live at the intersection of endurance and ease. While she’ll inspire you to practice with devotional discipline, Be encourages a reverence for your practice that will help you move in relationship rather than routine. Expect soulful storytelling and an exploration of the subtle. Leave feeling magically, beautifully human.
With over 16 years of experience, Be’s teachings are shaped by a wide understanding of yogic pathways. Her education includes studies in meditation and Yin yoga with Todd Grube, Ashtanga Yoga with Manju Pattabhi Jois, Bhakti with Raghunath, and trauma-informed studies with Thomas Hübl. She has taught numerous 200hr teacher trainings, including those at New Love City, and has led workshops and retreats in Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Bali.
Lulu Soni
Senior Instructor
If you’re due for a bit of fresh perspective, Lulu has it in spades. She fluidly layers swirly twirly fun on top of timeless yogic principles for a practice that feels different and alive. Lulu lays the groundwork for clear structural integrity and then invites you to move beyond it into total expressive freedom. Expect creative prop use, a buzzing breathwork moment and a poetic metaphor that sparks your soul.
With over 16 years of practice and 10 years of teaching yoga in NYC, Lulu has accrued over 800 hours of formal yoga training across focuses in Vinyasa, traditional hot yoga, Katonah yoga and advanced studies. She holds a BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. Her teachers include Jared McCann of Lighthouse Yoga School and Nikki Vilella of Kula Yoga Project.
Lulu has has assisted in 4 teacher trainings at New Love City and has led over 14 retreats in global destinations including Portugal, Greece, Mexico, Peru, Upstate New York and Joshua Tree, California.
Edie Shipler
Senior Instructor
A New York City native, Edie is the ultimate cool kid, serving up deep beats that slyly push you to your limit. With an accessible and educational approach to anatomy and movement, her classes are a slow burn: challenging, steamy and satisfying. To ride the waves of resilience, Edie will bring you back to your intention and your breath with functional techniques that make your joints sing. The outcome? Major catharsis and a whole lot of care.
A yoga teacher of over 11 years, Edie is a 500+hr certified instructor with extensive experience in Vinyasa and Yin styles. She is a new-teacher mentor, has taught in over 7 yoga teacher trainings. With a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Columbia’s Teachers College, Edie is also an exercise oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, prescribing aerobic training for cancer patients.
Manzell Glover
Senior Instructor
Manzell’s class in three words? Possibility over perfection. With classes that favor in-the-moment awareness and extra sharp cues, you’ll explore movement as a form of care and joy as a form of resistance. Their biodynamic stretches create an intentional warm-up while their thoughtful, fluid sequencing encourages both flow and freedom of choice. Expect an ethereal, beat-driven soundtrack and movement repetition to break past conditioning.
With over 10 years of teaching experience and more than 600 hours of accumulated training, Manzell’s rich educational background spans Vinyasa, Yin, Bikram and Katonah Yoga, with a strong emphasis on trauma-informed language.
Manzell passionately educates on trauma-sensitive approaches to yoga and collective liberation. They have co-led over 7 yoga teacher trainings and currently teaches trauma-informed practices and social justice within the wellness industry at New Love City.
Jade Leitzel
Senior Instructor
Made to feel like a moving meditation, Jade brings a class that demands respect for the breath. At a medium pace, she blends intelligent sequencing with invitations for somatic awareness that will keep your practice warm, connected and real. In both Vinyasa and Yin offerings, Jade will dare you to be still and listen for what calls to you, both in your body and entirely beyond form.
Practicing for 11+ years and teaching for 5+ years, Jade completed her 200hr yoga teacher certification with New Love City in 2020. She has accrued 60+ additional hours of Yin yoga training with Be Leigh in Chinese five element theory. Jade is also an integrative trauma practitioner, certified through the Integrative Psychology Institute. She blends her respect for yoga with her somatic work in her workshops, immersions, and retreats in NYC and coastal Mexico.
Beginner-friendly
Quazzy Herd
With the mind of a meditator, Quazzy’s energy immediately grounds. His classes inspire soft focus while holding space for lots of wiggle room (pun intended). You can expect a thoughtful and accessible sequence and ample options that make even the trickiest transitions feel possible. Backed by a soundtrack that will make you smile, Quazzy’s welcoming nature makes bringing all of who you are to the mat a no-brainer.
Teaching since 2014, Quazzy holds 200hr, 500hr and hot yoga certifications and is a longtime meditator, having guided hundres of meditations and workshops around the world. Quazzy is the author of The Conscious Intersection, a book centered on meditation, awareness, and lived experience, which later inspired an animated series available on YouTube (@heyQuazzy) where he regularly shares educational resources for practical mindfulness in everyday life.
Beginner-friendly
Ali Chinetti
With a fierceness that’s infectious, Ali’s style is direct and intelligently accommodating for all levels. While her Forrest yoga-inspired Vinyasa flows are challenging, Ali’s clear guidance will have you reaching new heights in your practice with personal feedback and hands-on assists. In her Yin yoga offerings, Ali holds the same commanding energy that guides you towards your own inner wisdom. Take any of her classes and prepare to feel powerful.
Ali has been practicing yoga since she was 15 and completed her 200hr yoga teacher training in 2021 with New Love City. Since then, she’s collected 60+ hours of Yin yoga training with her teacher, Be Leigh, focusing on Chinese five element theory and the energetic meridians.
In spring 2026, Ali will complete an additional 300hr Forrest yoga-inspired teacher training with Leslie Pearlman at Good Ground Yoga in Hampton Bays, NY.
Beginner-friendly
Samantha Casuga
As a tiny dancer from the mountain town of Calgary, Canada, Sam and her classes are up front and genuine. A heart-opening enthusiast with a gift for hands-on assists that make you feel totally held, her sequences are extra friendly with just enough spice. Expect an instrumental cover song, honest, relatable Dharma, and stretchy shapes to stay nimble in your practice both on and off the mat.
Sam completed her 200hr yoga teacher certification at New Love City in 2020 and has been teaching at NLC for nearly 5 years with a personal practice that began at age 14. She’s accrued 60+ hours of Yin yoga training with Be Leigh and passionately introduces programs in Asana, breathwork and meditation in NYC’s hospitality industry as the bartending baddie that she is.
Beginner-friendly
Liana Rosenberg
No matter the weather, Liana will be your personal ray of sunshine. With an enthusiastic and uplifting approach, she’ll help you connect to your inner child and spark big joy in your practice. With a background in audio post production, her playlists are full of eclectic, uptempo tracks that will have you boppin’ while you breathe. Expect a medium pace, invitations for play, and extra love for any mamas-to-be in the room.
With a personal practice of over 15 years, Liana completed her 200hr yoga teacher training at New Love City in 2020 with an additional 20 hours of Yin yoga training in 2021. Liana has completed several kids yoga trainings, including Bhogah/Kaia yoga, children’s yoga anatomy and a 95hr children’s yoga leadership certification with Yogi Beans.
Beginner-friendly
Julia Padavona
Where sweet and slow meet a little rock and roll. Julia’s classes are dance-inspired and laced with cues that will keep you curious about the present moment. Her Vinyasa flows are a crash course in embodied expression layered on top of foundational technique. Her Yin teachings are rooted in traditional Chinese five element theory and will take you on a sultry, poetic journey to the most tender parts of yourself.
Julia is a 200hr certified yoga teacher with an additional 25 hours directed toward Yin yoga studies. She is also a certified mat pilates instructor and a professional dancer with a dance background spanning 23+ years. Julia also holds her emodiment coaching certification from the School of Embodied Arts and shares her teachings through her podcast and online community Smart and Hot and with her NYC-based cabaret group, The G Strings.
Beginner-friendly
Emma Henry
Need a big exhale? Welcome to Emma’s class. Her invitation to take what you need is sincere and embodied. Emma’s superpower is reading the room, and she offers flexibility in her sequences to meet the needs of her students with tunes that guide the vibe. Expect a comfortable pace that builds to longer holds and peak postures with an extra restorative cooldown. In her own words: never rush Savasana!
Having developed her own practice over the last 15 years, Emma became a graduate of New Love City’s 200hr yoga teacher training in 2022, furthering her education in Yin yoga shortly after with a certification from Rebecca Ambrose at The Corner Yoga and focused studies with Be Leigh on Chinese five element theory.
Beginner-friendly