Public Community Classes

Howard Brown Health

See full bio HERE.

Howard Brown Health

Initially approaching yoga as a physical practice and a way to maintain sobriety in early recovery, Erica quickly experienced the deep healing of reconnecting her body, mind and spirit. Feeling called to facilitate space to help others to tap into their own potential, she began her formal training in India, returning to the US with a determination to provide healthy & accessible Yoga to every body whilst honoring Yoga’s traditional roots. Erica is currently working towards IAYT certification as a Yoga Therapist and has over 80 hours of training specific to trauma-informed Yoga practices. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and serves as a board member and teacher for Prison Yoga Chicago and as a member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression (CAARPR) and the Socially Engaged Yoga Network (SEYN). Erica also loves cooking (and eating!) plant-based foods and spends as much time as possible outdoors.

Site Coordinator and Teacher PCC Community Wellness

After over a decade of practicing yoga, Melissa was inspired to deepen her practice by participating in the OmBodies teacher training program. It was a transformational experience! Not only did she learn more about her practice, but she came to realize how much she enjoyed teaching and sharing yoga with others. Melissa’s goal as a yoga instructor is to make yoga accessible to everyone. Her classes focus on alignment, breath, and providing space for students to explore each pose. Students can expect a balance of effort and ease and to leave class feeling more relaxed and centered.

Wellness Circle Coordinator & PCC Community Wellness Teacher

Melissa Renzi, MSW, LSW, CYT is a bilingual (Spanish/English) social worker, longtime yoga practitioner, and trauma-informed yoga teacher who weaves her skills to help her students befriend their bodies and minds, access a sense of inner refuge and engage in the world for the well-being of all. At the forefront of Melissa’s teaching is creating a supportive environment that fosters personal agency, accessibility, and inclusion while honoring the philosophical underpinnings of yoga. Challenging the idea of yoga as fitness, Melissa aims to teach yoga through movement rather than yoga as a movement. Her classes are gentle, slow, and deeply nourishing, as she threads yoga’s deeper purpose throughout in an approachable way that students can truly feel and experience.

Sub Teacher, Employee Wellness & Special Events

Margaret M. Morris began her yogic breath training as a child choral singer traveling the country. She went on to become an award-winning choreographer and physical theater divisor, a published poet, a musical collaborator on 6 albums, and an experimental collaborative co-divisor of performance. During her dance studies at Columbia College, she learned Ashtanga yoga to deepen her understanding of the body. She has also studied shiatsu, reiki, Anusara yoga, C-Yoga with Carmen and Moises Aguilar, and is a pilates instructor. Artistically, Ms. Morris has enjoyed support from the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, High Concept Labs, Links Hall, Ragdale Foundation, Driehaus Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Chicago Office of Cultural Affairs to name a few. Ms. Morris is currently working on her genre transcending opus entitled Quantum Negress Tantras (QNT).