MA » Broga® Yoga Instructors

Throughout her childhood and teen years, Ankita enjoyed flipping and flying through the air as a competitive gymnast. Finally tiring of constant soreness, perpetual injury, and the anguish that comes from a sport that demands perfection, she decided to hang up her grips, but found that traditional exercise like running and lifting weights didn’t have the same adrenaline rush as gymnastics, nor did she feel as mobile or flexible.

While in college at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, a power yoga studio opened nearby. After a few vinyasa classes, Ankita was hooked! For the last 12 years, yoga has been a mainstay in Ankita’s life, providing benefits both on and off the mat. Taking her practice to the next level Ankita received her 200 hour teacher training certificate through Prana Power Yoga and is now a proud member of the Broga® Yoga teaching team. She has a special fondness for teaching yoga to absolute beginners, breaking down poses and helping students learn the fundamentals of yoga.

When not teaching yoga and Broga classes at The Breathing Room in Central Square, Ankita can either found in her office at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she is responsible for global marketing and integrated research, development and commercial strategy for the company’s portfolio of Cystic Fibrosis medicines, or on her bike in the Boston suburbs.

I’ve been in the fitness industry teaching group fitness classes and managing for over 25 years. As for personal workouts, lifting weights and cardio have always been the norm. Significant weight loss, weight gain, depression and anxiety has been common for me. I’ve always been in search of a workout that can provide me with strength training, core, flexibility and cardio. I decided yoga could be the answer. But what style? I explored several different options. That’s how I found Broga® Yoga. Turning 50 this year prompted me to really start to take care of my body, mind and soul… This is the beginning of my own personal journey as well. Hope to see you at a class soon!

Matthew is a Licenced Broga® Yoga instructor, Balanced Body Pilates Instructor, and ACE Certified Personal Trainer. He’s been teaching functional movement since 2007, beginning with the YMCA in San Francisco and then in his native Boston. He now works full-time as a trainer and instructor at the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston.

Marlon Taylor, BA, MBA, RYT-200 and ACE certified Personal Strength Trainer lives in Marshfield, MA with his family. His interests include fitness training, biking, skiing and sailing. Marlon’s current career in fitness and yoga was preceded by nearly 15 years in surgical device sales with a focus on spinal surgery and implants. “Working closely with both orthopedic spinal surgeons and neurosurgeons left me with a deep appreciation for neck and back injuries which can arise out of years of poor body posture, inattention to a healthy diet and inadequate exercise.”

Since completion of a 200 hour yoga teacher training course at Sanctuary Studios in Plymouth, MA, Marlon has immersed himself in combining his prior professional experience, his yoga training and his current fitness career with his goal of bringing the
benefits of yoga to more people, especially men. “I had practiced yoga for nearly 12 years before I discovered Broga. It was the answer to the growing feeling that something was missing from my yoga practice. With Broga, I had finally found a form of yoga that was vigorous, safe, challenging and in synch with what men’s bodies and minds really needed. In fact, Broga inspired me to become certified as an instructor of both yoga and Broga. ”

“I firmly believe that bit by bit, year after year, we create patterns in both our bodies and minds that no longer serve us. In fact these postures, habits and repeated acts of neglect pull us further away from goals of health, contentment and ease in both mind and body. I have found it is only through the practice of yoga that we can identify these patterns and then begin the process of addressing them in real and meaningful ways. I
love how perfectly the combination of a deeply satisfying yoga practice and traditional fitness and sports activities can achieve increases in strength, endurance, balance and flexibility. The changes we create are not only satisfying but they are also profound, lasting and real.”