Lead Instructors and Organizers:

Douglass Stewart, Co-Founder and Lead Instructor is a Senior teacher at Yoga Works and  co-founder of Solstice in Times Square, who nurtured the idea of bringing yoga into places that one wouldn't usually consider as being sacred.

Through his practice, rooted in the teachings of Alan Finger, founder of Yoga Zone and now of Yoga Works, Douglass has been exploring the interplay between the personal and the Universal.  His classes flow, each pose emerging gracefully to the next guided by the use of the breath.  Douglass has received the Center Special Service Award from the Lesbian and Gay Community Center for his volunteer yoga classes (for nearly 8 years!)  that were initially an offering to the HIV community but has since opened to include everyone.  Douglass is delighted to celebrate this Solstice in Times Square with so many yogis! (Instructor, 7:30pm Session)    

Connie Chan, Lead Instructor is the owner and founder of Levitate Yoga in Times Square. Once your typical out-of-shape, over-stressed New Yorker, Connie reclaimed control of her life after stumbling upon a local yoga studio in Long Island.

The joy she received from that journey inspired her to help other New Yorkers experience the same life-altering results. She opened the doors of Levitate to offer yogis a warm and friendly, contemporary, urban-oasis for their personal transformation. Connie is thrilled to participate in this amazing annual gathering of yogis, once again, for Solstice in Times Square. (Instructor, 10am Session)

Tim Tompkins, Co-Founder and Instructor is the President of the Times Square Alliance, the organization behind Solstice in Times Square. With Douglass (above) he conceived of the idea of a Summer Solstice Yoga celebration at the Crossroads of the World. While he has practiced yoga for over five years, he only recently became a certified yoga teacher after studying at Laughing Lotus.

He is grateful to his teachers there and also especially thanks Douglass for his wisdom and patience and for inspiring him to become a teacher in the first place. When not hanging out in the most urban and unnatural place in the world, Tim can be found on his sailboat Prana, enjoying the natural beauty of New York Harbor. (Instructor, 8am Session)

Nishit Patel, Instructor is first and foremost a teacher of yoga and meditation, although he has also been a pharmacist (India) and a graduate student in Medical Psychology (USA). He started meditating under the guidance of his father at the tender age of five. As a youth, he became enamored of scriptures such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, studying them extensively.

Today, his love of scriptures and his unique ability to decipher and explain their subtlety make him an inspired teacher of the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras, essential texts for anyone seeking to penetrate the heart of yoga. He is a yoga teacher with a profound understanding of the source and power of this transformative practice. (Instructor, 3pm Session)

Joschi Schwarz, Instructor is the creative director and co-owner of Joschi Body Bodega in Chelsea. The European globetrotter found his love for Yoga and Pilates after an international career as a dancer, choreographer and fitness expert and opened Joschi Body Bodega to help bring his students to their personal edge and greatest potential.

Joschi is an expert motivator and known for his charismatic, dynamic and creative teaching style. Joschi is thrilled to be part of Solstice in Times Square and share the experience with so many yogis.(Instructor, 5pm Session)

Santiago Solis, Instructor completed Bikram's teacher training in spring 02, recertified in summer 05. He as enjoyed guest teaching yoga in many locations in the U.S. and Europe., led yoga retreats in Costa Rica and Mexico, and has assisted studio Director Donna Rubin in posture clinics in New York City, his home base.

He regularly works with private clients and small groups. He is a native of New Mexico, proud AEA and SAG member, and graduated with academic and athletic honors from Stanford University. (Instructor, 12pm Session)