Teachers & Practitioners

Namaste! My yoga journey began with an Ashtanga-based vinyasa practice in 1998. I have explored a wide variety of lineages and styles including Iyengar, Kundalini, Forrest, and Anusara. My respect and love for Ashtanga Yoga led me to my first teacher training under Bhavani Maki of Yoga Hanalei in 2009. I continued on to receive my 200-hour certification from Yoga Pod in Boulder, Colorado, and completed my 300-hour certification with Gina Caputo's Colorado School of Yoga.
I began teaching yoga in 2009 and opened OmTree Shala, a studio in downtown Lawrence, Kansas in September 2012. My classes blend the rich philosophy and dynamic sequencing of Ashtanga with modern alignment knowledge. I launched OmTree Shala’s 200-Hour Teacher Training Program in 2014 and continue to enjoy the challenging, yet profound process of teaching teachers.
Beyond the studio walls, I love to travel, dance to live music, and spend time with dear friends. At home, my children, partner, dogs, and cats keep me grounded and inspired!

Maria Elena Cuevas began her yoga practice in 2006 and has been a devoted student since she stepped on her mat. In January of 2015, she obtained her 200 RYT while studying with Anna Laurita at Davannayoga in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After several years of teaching, Maria began exploring other types of movement to incorporate into her classes, including Pilates, HIIT, and resistance training. Now Maria teaches not only vinyasa, but yoga sculpt, Pilates inspired classes, and yoga with weights! Coming from a musical background, Kirtan is also one of Maria’s favorite yogic practices and coincides with her knowledge of guitar, piano, and traditional Mariachi folk music. Maria fronts the band Maria The Mexican and enjoys combining yoga and live music. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in Communication Studies.

Tricia began her transition into a yogic lifestyle in 2010. She received certification in 2014 and continues to study yoga, ayurveda, holistic health, and energetic healing with her teachers. Tricia’s class honors tradition while embodying creativity in order to break patterns. Her centered presence can be attributed to her own practice, and is a quality she hopes to share with her students. She adheres to living minimally, purchasing ethically, eating a healthy plant-based diet, respecting and learning from all living creatures, and admiring nature.

Ambika offers structural bodywork and cranial release for acute and chronic pain and overall balance throughout the system. She has been training and treated in the John Barnes, PT method of myofascial release and soft tissue mobilization for the last four years and has found the technique transformational in her clients bodies and her own. This type of bodywork reduces restrictions in the fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds every organ and muscle in the body, to create and maintain the length-tension of the muscles and keep the organs mobile and healthy.

Ambika has been intensively studying, performing and playing in the movement world for over 35 years. Starting at an early age as a dancer with a professional career, then found her yoga practice and love of teaching it to everyone, and became a Physical Therapist Assistant with specialty in manual therapy. She likes to call herself a “Movement Facilitator” and is so happy to be able to help others move as freely in their bodies as possible.

Rylee began her journey with the Costa Rica School of Yoga via a 200 hr teacher training under Peggy Kelly and Krista Kamborian Baldini. She has received training in Iyengar, Vinyasa, Yin, and gentle styles of yoga as well as meditation and breathwork. She believes that our yoga practice begins with a deep connection to our breath which results in an incredibly grounding experience for the students in her classes. Rylee also enjoys studying nutrition, health and wellness, and holistic medicine and holds a Nutrition and Healthy Living certification from Cornell University. Rylee is a personal chef for a family of 5 with a specialized diet and takes pleasure in expanding her knowledge in this area through her own lifestyle choices as well. Outside of the yoga studio and kitchen, Rylee loves to travel, hike, spend time with her loved ones and her cat Leo.

Jennifer Nelson received her 200 hour teacher training at Om Yoga with Cyndi Lee in NYC in 2012. She began her teaching career at Harlem Yoga Studio before moving to Kansas in 2015. She began teaching at KU Endowment, Haskell Indian Nations University, RydeBarre, Jayhawk Club, OmTree Shala and continues to lead an amazing yoga community via Zoom. She continues to study Katonah Yoga NYC under the guidance of yoga pioneers Abbie Galvin and Navine Michaan.

Valentine first came to Yoga in the early 2000s, practicing intermittently as life evolved. Simultaneously, she cultivated a personal meditation practice and has led mindful meditation classes and workshops in therapeutic and corporate wellness settings. She trained in and then taught Yoga and Pilates-inspired group fitness for several years. Valentine committed to further developing her knowledge at 200hr yoga teacher training through OmTree Shala in 2022-2023. Her background in Music Therapy makes her an empathetic and compassionate teacher, creating space for all and supporting their unique experiences.  An avid advocate for animal rescue, you’ll often hear of the antics of her dog and cat or her latest foster pet. She feels the eight-limbed path and wisdom of the Sutra support an agile mind, body, and heart for all life offers.

Hi! I'm Sally McVey, originally from Nebraska but now happily settled in Kansas since 2013 with my husband and young-adult children. Lawrence has been an incredible place to work and raise a family, and we're proud to call it home.

During my undergraduate years as a non-traditional student at the University of Kearney, Nebraska, I pursued a broad range of studies, ultimately majoring in History—Social Science Comprehensive with an emphasis in Psychology, and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. My fascination with historical, social, cultural, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal matters led me to focus on a Master’s of Social Work degree at Kansas University.

With a background in family services and addiction recovery, I now run a private practice, where I'm privileged to share my knowledge and skills with the community. Upholding the inherent dignity of all individuals, I continually strive to recognize my own implicit biases and privileges, support systemic change around antiracism, and am dedicated to being an inclusive provider for all sexual orientations and gender expressions, following WPATH’s standards of care.

Some of my interests include immersing myself in poetry, losing myself in the pages of a good book, and constantly seeking new knowledge. I adore traveling to new places, cultivating vibrant flower gardens, and finding solace in nature, especially by clean water sources. You can often find me strolling through museums, finding my center through yoga, or challenging my mind with jigsaw puzzles. When I'm not engaged in those activities, I enjoy listening to podcasts and music, or taking leisurely rides on my bike.

Cole's somatic offerings center mindful engagement with the body through the incredible ecological matrix of connective tissue that is our container in this life: "fascia," an organ of both form and consciousness. This singular, multi-layered fabric begins with the skin and literally touches everything within us. It holds tremendous potential to facilitate embodied change.

Cole strives to embody a high degree of integrity, carrying a culture of deep inclusivity, safety, consent, acceptance, and presence. They are enlivened by work with folks of all different shapes, orientations, and backgrounds - including but not limited to the various life stages of pregnancy, postpartum, infancy, childhood, adulthood, aging, and end of life.

Kel offers craniosacral therapy and Esalen Massage. Her work is intuitive, relaxing and restorative. Completing her initial massage training in the Sonoran desert in 2009, she journeyed to Big Sur, CA where she furthered her studies of healing arts for six years at Esalen Institute before landing her roots in pacific northwest soil. Her work is dedicated to the wellness of the minds, bodies and spirits of her clients. Kel is interested in how processes of healing can be integrated into everyday well being leading towards an integrated experience of self. Kel believes in the body’s natural and innate ability to heal itself and that belief is fundamental to her work.