Our Yoga Teachers

Nathalie Croix

Creative Director and founder of Shanti Yoga Shala.  Nathalie is one of a handful of teachers in the country to be certified by Annie Carpenter  (Los Angeles – CA) in SmartFLOW and the only one in New Orleans. Nathalie is ERYT 500 hours Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher.

She is consistently finding ways to deepen her practice and teachings of yoga, movement and shakti prana energy  through frequent investigation and inspiration from her mentors, her students, the community, animals and nature.

She has a bachelor’s degree in dance and kinesiology, is a long time yoga practitioner having spent significant time in India during four extensive trips the past ten years,  training at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute., where she studied under the guidance of Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath Jois.

She has also extensively studied transcendental meditation (TM), the yoga sutras and philosophy under Dr. M.A. Jayashree and Professor M.A. Narasimha of Mysore, India.

After College Nathalie moved to Los Angeles, where she worked and completed her third teacher training program at YogaWorks with Annie Carpenter,  formerly of the Martha Graham Dance Company  and Lisa Walford, a certified Iyengar instructor.

She is eternally grateful to all her teachers, their wisdom and the countless hours they’ve spent together over the many years.

Nathalie assisted Annie Carpenter’s SmartFLOW teacher trainings in Los Angeles at Exhale Center for Yoga and currently teaches weekly classes at her studio, Shanti Yoga Shala in New Orleans.

In 2013 SmartFLOW Teacher Training will be taught in New Orleans for the first time.

She believes teaching yoga is a blessing and it gives us the possibility of realizing our full potential.

Favorite quote :                        “Reality is defined by the mind that is observing it” 

Happy Yoga Practice!

For more on Nathalie please click here.

Pamela Harris

Pamela is an avid yoga practitioner and has been taking classes at Shanti Yoga Shala and studying with Nathalie for the past year.  She completed her 200 hours Teacher Training in San Francisco, California. During her time in San Francisco Pamela began to dedicate herself to a vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa practice.  Having come from a physical background in Gymnastics and Karate, she was very drawn to the asana practice.  However, over time, her practice started to evolve beyond the physical aspects and became a way of life.   It was soon after that she decided to complete her teacher training in San Francisco through Larry Shultz’s It’s Yoga system.  Pamela is back in New Orleans and eager to share her practice with our yoga community.

As a teacher she uses her education in Physiology and Anatomy to combine wellness and healing by emphasizing strength, alignment, and breathe.  Pamela believes that every body is built differently and therefore everyone’s practice is different and constantly evolving.

“Practice and all is coming.” –Pattabhi Joys

Jonathan Rothschild

Jonathan has been practicing yoga for over five years. He was originally trained in the ashtanga yoga system in New York City. The past two years Jonathan has been studying vinyasa yoga with Nathalie Croix at Shanti Yoga Shala in New Orleans. To Jonathan practicing yoga comes first and foremost. He loves sharing his love of the practice with his students in a gentle and laid back manner. Jonathan is also a glass work artist at Tulane University and he has exhibited his sculptures during Art for Art’s Sake Annual Festival. Jonathan is a certified and registered yoga teacher at the 200 hours level.