Joann Burnham
Joann is the Founder and Director of Dharma Yoga Nantucket and Founder of the Nantucket Yoga Festival.
She thanks her lucky stars for the day she arrived at the doorstep of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in New York City. That was more than 25 years ago and she has been practicing Yoga ever since.
She received her original 200 hour teaching certification under the guidance of Dharma Mittra at the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City. She holds a certificate in Integrative Yoga for Seniors from the Duke University School of Integrative Medicine. Joann received her Restorative Yoga training from Judith Hanson Lasater and is a certified Relax and Renew® teacher. She is a certified Integrated Yoga Tune Up® and Roll Model® Method instructor.She is also a certified Unnata® Aerial Yoga Instructor and a certified Yoga for Golfers instructor. She is trained in Somatic Exercise.
She is an Experienced Registered Teacher with the Yoga Alliance.
Joann is responsible for creating, developing and teaching the annual Yoga program at The Sankaty Head Golf Club.
She has traveled through the spiritual heart of India with Bhakti teacher Raghunath.
Joann is profoundly grateful to all the teachers along the way who have encouraged her to follow her heart. In particular, she is thankful to Dharma Mittra, a true Yoga Master, who at 83 years of age, continues to teach daily with humility and love.
She lives on Nantucket year-round with her husband Ted and their dog Lucie. It is her great joy to teach students of all ages and levels of ability sharing with them the many benefits of Yoga.
Ted Burnham
Ted is the Co-Founder of Dharma Yoga Nantucket and Co-Founder of the Nantucket Yoga Festival.
Ted's practice has been a long and winding road. It began with an Asana practice at age 19, advanced meditation techniques years later, then more advanced practices nearly 20 years after that. In the end he earned a teaching certificate.
From his early teacher he studied the Vedas, including the Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Ramayana, the Rigveda and the Upanishads. Through study and practice he developed a greater understanding of creative consciousness and the field of all possibilities. In 1990 Ted completed the Maharishi Advanced TM Siddhi program in Washington DC.
Ted is also an accomplished oil painter. He studied painting, anatomy and drawing at The Art Students League in New York with the iconic Frank Mason. The required in depth classes in anatomy gave him a solid understanding of body structure allowing him to often visually assess the needs of his yoga students. As a former athlete he has experienced his share of injuries and knows that his daily yoga practice not only has repaired his body but improved its flexibility, strength and balance.
He received his 200 hour teaching certification under the guidance of Dharma Mittra at the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City. He holds a certificate in Integrative Yoga for Seniors from the Duke University School of Integrative Medicine. Ted received his Restorative Yoga training from Judith Hanson Lasater and is a certified Relax and Renew® teacher. He is a certified Yoga Tune Up® and Roll Model® Method instructor. He is a certified Yoga for Golfers instructor which is known for its highly personalized approach to maximize athletic performance. Ted is also a certified Unnata® Aerial Yoga Instructor. Ted has completed the Essential Somatics® Movement Teacher Training Level 1 and 2.
He is an Experienced Registered Teacher with the Yoga Alliance.
Ted has traveled to the spiritual heart of India with Bhakti teacher Raghunath.
As a rising Yogi he wakes daily before dawn to perform his practice, welcome the light and is ever appreciative of his joyful and selfless teachers Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Dharma Mittra.
Jai Guru Dev
Sandy Carter
Sandy Mukti Carter is a Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher (CSYT 700 hours) as well as an Embodyment® Yoga Therapist. She has been teaching Svaroopa® Yoga at her personal mainland studio for over 11 years.
Sandy began her yoga journey more than 20 years ago. She was introduced to Svaroopa® Yoga by her first instructor, Yogeshwari (Melissa) Fountain. Drawn to and deeply affected by this yoga’s profound core-opening nature, she then pursued practice, training and certification under Svaroopa®’s founder, Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati, (previously Rama Berch). In 2015, she traveled with Swami to Ganeshpuri, India, where she experienced ancient traditions and teachings and received her Sanskrit name “Mukti”. She continues on her path, training with Swami Nirmalananda through the Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, deepening her professional skills, personal practice and meditation.
Sandy lives on Nantucket full time with her husband and daughter. She is truly honored to be sharing Svaroopa® Yoga with the Nantucket community.
When Sandy began her practice she was a mother to three young children. Stretched and stressed by the demands of being a stay at home mom, she found Svaroopa® Yoga not only settled the tensions in her body but settled and softened the tensions in her mind. It was the realization that this practice was unraveling inner mental and emotional tension, which was consuming her physically and energetically, that kept her coming back week after week for another “fix”. Her asana practice provided much needed relaxation, but going further, it began to re-structure her thought patterns. It allowed her to become a more present and loving person to her family, her friends, and to herself. It was with this understanding that she chose to commit more fully to this path. “Mukti” means liberation, something that she aspires to share with her students.
I have never taken a yoga class which I so look forward to as Joann’s. She has created an oasis of sorts in this space at the farm. Her kindness, gentleness, and compassion radiate from her beautiful spirit. Each class presents a challenge for me to overcome.” —TP
It was the first time I have had such personal attention during practice. It was the fine tuning and different ways of thinking about the postures that I found extremely helpful. When I started with Joann, I had just thrown my back out and could hardly bend forward. I am blown away by the progress I have made in such a short period of time.” —SS
I began practicing yoga last year, about the same time I started chemotherapy for breast cancer. At first I was thinking, “Wow! There is no way I am ever going to be able to do these poses!” But with the help of Joann and Ted showing me variations leading up to a particular pose, I am now standing on my head! I feel that yoga has brought a sense of lightness and relief into my life. I am a calmer person. Keeping negativity out and letting in all that is positive. Yoga has helped me realize that I have the power to do whatever I want. Now it's a year later and I am cancer free, happy, and standing as a strong warrior! Thank you Joann and Ted for sharing your practice!” —K.L.
We LOVED your class, it was exactly what we needed and we’re going to be back! Thank you for letting us borrow mats and for leading us in that amazing class. We’ll see you Sunday!” —Mallory