Meet the caring and knowledgeable teachers at Curative Yoga.
Naader Shagagi
Trained in Raja Yoga at the Self Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, and Hatha Yoga at The Yoga College of India, Beverly Hills, Naader Shagagi has been studying and practicing Yoga & Meditation since 1983. A former Ph.D. Candidate in Engineering, Naader also studied Philosophy and Religion before coming to Los Angeles as a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda in 1985.
A student of the great Yoga Master, Paramahansa Yogananda, and Sufi Mystic, Pir Inayat Khan, Naader brings a culmination of intensive study and personal experience presented to you through his Yoga of Mystics® philosophy.
Carolina Cotman
Inspired to practice yoga to set an example of living a balanced life for her children, Carolina’s journey has taken her on a deeper path towards spirituality and guiding others seeking peace and harmony. While Carolina has received her 200 Hour Certification from Yoga of Mystics®, she believes that a commitment to teaching yoga is a lifetime journey in which she sees the teacher in all, in particular her well-intended mother, mystical father, supportive and loving husband, strong willed daughter, affectionate son and her trustworthy teacher.
Teaching Credentials: 200-hour Yoga of Mystics Teacher Training with Naader Shagagi
Antonella Vigorito
Antonella has been studying and teaching yoga for well over 17 years. She is a 200 hr Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher, a E-RYT 200 with the Kundalini Research Institute and a RYT 500 with the Santa Barbara Yoga Center in California. She has more than 1600 teaching hours and she continues to study the history , philosophy and practice of yoga paying special attention to science based research articles.
Her classes are always experimental and often include different paths of awareness that accompany the physical practice.
It is Antonella’s personal belief that the poses should be adapted to our body and not the other way around, and that creating an openness to explore the path of yoga as a practice of healing, well-being and spiritual growth, a deep sense of fulfillment is achieved.
Antonella was born and raised in Rome, Italy and she currently splits her time teaching and studying in her two favorite cities, Los Angeles and Rome.
Art Grigorian
I am Art and the story of me becoming a teacher is not important. I didn’t get here because of that story, but who I am in eternity, inquiring about something, is what allowed that story to happen. To me real yoga is a process of a gradual unlearning, a mental cleanse, a demolition of the false in us. It is as simple as that, yet it will take time and focused attention. Just practice; move, breathe, sweat, listen, observe, meditate, pray. The transformation will happen. The body will change and becomes healthy to endure the pains and limitations the false mind creates. The thinking will become strong and focused, our soul will become robust. We will become a powerful tool of piercing thought that has the power to dismantle and chew to pieces anything that is not real in us. We will develop a pair of newly born fearless eyes to see, locate, and illuminate the falseness in us; and a brave heart that will radiate this powerful energy into the world, inspiring and bringing about change by the Truth of us. That is the real power of Yoga and I welcome you to this practice.
Liz Tovar
Growing up in East L.A., the City of Angels, Liz Tovar learned to appreciate the simplicity of life. After encountering many challenges as a fatherless child, her life journey diverted Liz on an unexpected path of struggles. The many challenges she faced would later lead her to the beginning of her new journey. Under the direction of Master Teacher Naader Shagagi, Liz completed her 200 Hour Teacher Training in 2012. Using the Curative Yoga series as her platform, she has modified the series to teach gentle yoga for beginners. In 2013, Liz later discovered her great grandmother was a “partera” (midwife) in Mexico. In discovering this, she once again had another calling, and began working with expecting mothers, guiding them in prenatal yoga. She’s worked with over 300 women, preparing them for one of the most memorable moments in motherhood giving birth. She’s learned to unlearn, to break walls, and to trust her intuition. That it takes a courageous soul to face the self, to break and remove the veils of delusion, with WILL (Love) and perseverance.
Yan Ling Weng
Why I Practice
As an Argentine Tango dancer, I started practicing hatha yoga a decade ago with the aim to prevent injury. Yoga since then has enhanced my will power, concentration, strength and flexibility and balance. My body is more reposed, my mind is more at rest, my heart is more at peace. Yoga expands me and touches the core of my being beyond words.
Why I Teach
Learned from Naaderji based on the teachings from Master Yogananda and Master Khan, I’m moved to share this beautiful practice with others, to explore and realize that latent power and inspiration within each of us. I am forever grateful for this opportunity to journey the path of truth-seeking with many.
Yoga Teacher Certification
200-Hour Certified Teacher Training at YogaWorks – Costa Mesa, CA
Yoga Alliance Certification
500-Hour Teacher Certification from Yoga of Mystics® – Pasadena, CA