Meet the instructors
Our instructors bring a wealth of experience and diverse backgrounds to their teaching, creating a welcoming space for all students. With expertise in alignment, breathwork, meditation, and mindful movement, they offer thoughtful guidance tailored to each individual.
MURIEL QUINN
Meet Muriel
Muriel was drawn to yoga in 2000 following what she would come to understand as an ecstatic birthing experience. Faced with the limitations of Western medicine, she began to explore a new relationship with her body through asana. Her asana practice became the gateway to a lifelong study of all eight limbs of classical yoga.
Her first teacher, Mary Samano, guided her through private instruction and encouraged her studies at The Temple of Kriya Yoga. Over the decades that followed, Muriel’s path continued to unfold through the guidance of teachers including Jim Bennet, Sarah Starnes, and Gabriel Halpern.
After many years of training in Anusara Yoga, her focus shifted more fully toward Tantric Yoga. Sally Kempton became her primary teacher, alongside Kavitha Chinnaiyan and Uma Dinsmore-Tuli. More recently, Muriel’s teaching has moved toward a post-lineage orientation, influenced by Tracee Stanley and a strong emphasis on expanded states of consciousness.
Instructor's classes
Muriel (Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday) is an enthusiastic learner of the eight limbs of yoga, and her classes focus on breathing and physical alignment in a non-competitive atmosphere. She believes everyone can benefit from a yoga practice and offers modifications and hands-on adjustments to her students, from beginners to advanced. Muriel encourages and supports students of any experience level in exploring the eight limbs of yoga in class, retreats, and private sessions.
JAMES SULLIVAN
Meet James
James Sullivan came to yoga through a long-standing background in Zen Buddhist meditation and study. He was ordained as a Soto Zen priest in 2024 and received his 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training from the Temple of Kriya Yoga. He continues his formal Buddhist studies with Roshi Robert Althouse.
He lives in Oak Park with his partner, Sharada, and his 13-year-old daughter, Elspeth.
Instructor's classes
James' (Monday and Wednesday) classes are alignment-based, meditative, and community-focused. Most importantly, he creates a safe space in which students can work to connect their emotional and physical energies with a like-minded community.
JULIE CARRIGAN
Meet Julie
Julie Carrigan came to yoga after many years as an athlete, initially seeking a way to stretch and prevent injury. As her practice deepened, she developed a greater appreciation for the connection between the body, mind, mindfulness, and meditation.
Julie is a licensed clinical social worker and studied Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at Northwestern University in 2019. She completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Purnam Yoga in October 2024.
Julie lives with her husband in Glenview, Illinois, where they raised their three children.
Instructor's classes
Julie’s (Tuesday) yoga class is an alignment-focused yoga class practiced within a safe and supportive space. The class begins with centering to focus within oneself, connect with the body, and ground into the present moment. You’ll be carefully guided through poses with mindful movement that supports proper alignment, allowing you to explore your body’s natural range while creating stability, strength, and balance.