OUR TEAM

The Heart of The Movement Apothecary

LACEY ESTRELLA

Owner
Instructor of Pilates, Yoga & Dance

My name is Lacey, and I am a movement instructor out of Fort Collins, Colorado. I utilize the teachings of Pilates, Yoga, Dance and more in my sessions with clients. I grew up as a dancer and fell in love with learning how the body moves. After a spinal injury in high school, I began physical therapy and found what I was passionate about: Helping others understand and move their bodies.

I went to university and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology. I began teaching fitness classes at the university recreational center. That was where I found my love & energy for teaching. Pilates teacher training and Rock Steady Boxing Coach training only furthered my desire to learn more.

After graduating from university, I spent the next 5 years working at The Parkinson’s Exercise & Wellness Center in Kansas City. There I specialized in working with people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. I began the Moving & Shaking (dance) program, The Pilates program and the Spinal Roll & Release program at the center. All of these classes were specifically designed for those with Parkinson’s.

Pilates taught me how to put words to movement, Yoga gave me the breath work and control, and Dance gave me the flow and flexibility. My teaching style is intuitive and present. I love teaching, it is where I feel connected and powerful. I believe my classes can be beneficial for everyone and am always happy to modify for injuries. It’s important for me that everyone feels safe in my classes.

I am a lifelong learner and am always eager to expand my repertoire. I have undergone Yoga teacher training in India, reiki training, one-on-one assisted stretching, herbalism, massage therapy and more!

JOE RITTER

Sound Healing & Meditation Instructor

Joe Ritter is a Chopra Certified Meditation and Ayurvedic Health Instructor, and a graduate of Emily Fletcher’s ZIVA. He has also studied Vipassana meditation through the lineage of S.N. Goenka. Originally from Michigan, he now lives and teaches in Colorado. He is a plant medicine advocate who loves playing drums, seeing live music, and exploring nature in the mountains. His passions also include Kaizen, yoga, and psychedelic healing. In September of 2020, the benefits of his daily practice led him to leave his executive chef career to become a meditation teacher. He created Rhythmic Alchemy shortly thereafter as a platform to raise the awareness of his community and share his gifts as an educator. Joe practices the style he teaches every day.

ASHLEY BORIACK

Yoga Instructor

Having started my yoga practice with little more than my breath, I am a firm believer that our bodies hold the wisdom we need in order to thrive. My name is Ashley and I began my yoga practice after moving to a remote mountain village in Haiti in 2011. I started to experience health issues which progressed since there were no resources for healing. So I leaned into what I did have, my own breath and body. I began my practice by syncing my breath to a handful of memorized yoga poses. As I intuitively returned to my practice day after day, things began to shift. When I let my body and breath lead the way, I started to heal. I felt like I had discovered a hidden treasure when I realized that there is an inherent wisdom that is always available within my own body.

After experiencing the healing effects of yoga physically and mentally, I pursued my teachers certification at Wild Spirit School of Yoga for my 200 YTT in 2017. Since then my yoga practice and my interest in wellness have been a consistent part of my life throughout all seasons. My aim in teaching is to give tools that build ownership in personal practice no matter the age or physical ability. My approach is to bring a balance of supportive guidance and room for self-exploration. May we all come to the mat to learn from the greatest teachers… our own body and breath.

JENNIFER CARMACK

Somatic Practioner, Yoga & Pilates Instructor

Jennifer Carmack, E-RYT 500, has been teaching Hatha Yoga since 2008. She was certified by the Shambhava School of Yoga (associated with Shoshoni Ashram Nederland, CO) for her 200 hour YTT and Advanced YTT with alignment based teacher, Christina Sell. Her continuing education over the years in hands on Yoga adjustments, Thai yoga therapy, Ayurveda, Restorative Yoga, Breathwork, Bhakti, Meditation and Somatic Experiencing integrates in all of her teaching.

For Jennifer, teaching yoga creates a space, a moment in time where we get to just be, right where we are, in our own bodies, our experiences, our perspectives, our thoughts, all the parts of us. There is this limitless space when the group aligns in this energy and there we all are, together, in ALL that is. Transcendence of the ways we are perceived, an abandonment of our judgements, in commonUnity . Moving in this way reminds us of the practice that we get to bring into our lives, our relationships and all we are creating.

SYDNEY SHORTMAN

Dance Instructor

Sydney grew up here in Fort Collins, and has been dancing since childhood. She has trained in multiple styles such as ballet, hip-hop, and jazz, but her most-loved style is contemporary. She took a brief step back from dance as a teenager, but has returned to dancing as an adult with the goal of encouraging other dancers to learn to appreciate their own unique talents. She hopes to create a class environment which instills a sense of self-compassion, creativity, and non-judgement in her students. She strives to teach key fundamentals and principles of contemporary dance while making maintaining a fun and healthy environment the main priority.

SARAH BROUSSARD

Barre Instructor

My love for yoga began in 2011. My past job required hours of driving and stressful deadlines. My body was in need of restoration and my mind was in need of peace. I gradually started to include more and more mat time into my life and, soon enough, yoga became a necessity for me. After I was bit by the ‘yoga bug,’ I started to expand my horizons with all different types of yoga and movement styles.
I received my teacher training from Om Ananda Yoga Studio here in Fort Collins where I obtained my 500 hour and prenatal teacher trainings. My training only enhanced my background in yogic and other movement methods and techniques. I am forever a student and continue to attend various meditation, restorative yoga, and inversion and arm balance workshops and barre trainings not only to enhance my own practice but also to teach my students the newest methods to help accomplish their physical and mental goals.
My love affair with inversions is never-ending but I have learned more than just the simple ‘headstand’ or ‘handstand.’ Through years of practice I have learned when to listen to my body and when to hold back (even when my ego begs me to keep going). Finding trust in the process of yoga is a crucial component that I try to communicate to all my students.
I cannot stress enough to all aspiring yogis that yoga is not just a physical practice but also a mental one. I value the yoga sutras and you will find that many of my classes are based on these friendly moral principles. I truly believe that yoga is not just for the flexible or fit; yoga is for anyone at any age. My classes are catered to not only seasoned practitioners but also beginners. I will challenge every one of my students because only when we escape our comfort zone is when we learn and grow. I enjoy practicing as well as teaching Vinyasa, Yin, Restorative, Hatha, and Kids/Teen, SUP Yoga, Barre, and BUTI, value creating a balance between these styles of movement and the balance it helps to create in my life.

LIZBETH MARTINEZ

Yoga Instructor

Lizbeth is a free-spirited, nature and travel enthusiast. Her passion and love for yoga began 10 years ago when she discovered all the wonderful healing benefits this practice has to offer.

Throughout the years she has practiced different styles of yoga and her passion for it led her to make the decision to get certified to teach. She took her 200-hour training in Bali, Indonesia, where she absolutely fell in love with their culture and spiritual practices. Lizbeth focuses on teaching all levels and is looking forward to connecting deeper with the movement community.

TAYLOR ESTRELLA

Calisthenics Instructor

My name is Taylor and I grew up involved with different contact sports such as boxing and wrestling, tumbling and gymnastics, parkour, climbing, and pretty much any activity I had an interest in understanding that made me move my body and control it more. I was a competitive boxer for 7+ years and went from assisting athletes in that field to coaching them. My love for boxing is still there, as it’s helped me achieve my coordination and control over different aspects in my movements today!

I have always been in love with movement and unlocking a deeper potential with my vessel. I loved seeing personal growth and progress when practicing various forms of movement. Which is what guided my interest in getting certified in Yoga, and further deepened my practice in Calisthenics. I had been a practitioner of Yoga and Gymnastics for some time, and had always incorporated some form of Calisthenics into my exercises when it came to doing different activities. But studying Yoga in Rishikesh, opened my mind to the potential my body and all of our bodies have lying within them. Understanding this, I decided to go down the road of Calisthenics once more, but with more of an open mind. I developed a dream routine I wanted to achieve for myself, and have since been on that journey to obtaining it. It became a transformative way of thinking when I started getting really deep into practice, and that really carried over to different aspects in my life. Calisthenics has provided me with patience, body awareness, and tenacity. My goal is to expand your idea on what Calisthenics can be, and help you develop a dream routine of your own.

I am more than excited to be around you conscious collectives at the Movement Apothecary and create synergistic relationships with all who come in!

ORLANDO MAYEN

Zumba Instructor

Orlando was born and raised in Austin, TX but his background is Mexican. He moved to Fort Collins, CO in 2021. His regular job is teaching children at a preschool and he is also studying to get his degree in communications. He has been into Zumba since the early 2010’s. He would go to Zumba class with his mom and older sister, then he fell in love with dancing. He just got licensed to be an Zumba instructor early 2024 and is excited to teach! He is very family oriented and likes the company of people he loves. His hobbies are dancing, going to the lake, play keyboard, play video games with friends, and watch a scary movie!

AUDREY NEIMCHICK

REB3L Groove Instructor

Audrey was born in Taiwan and moved to the states when she was 2. She grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and took ballet classes for many years until she traded in the ballet shoes for tennis shoes and forgot about her love for dancing. It wasn’t until she was an adult and started taking REB3L classes that she remembered just how much she loved to dance! She loved the fun choreography, high energy songs, and sense of community the classes brought. After moving to Fort Collins, she was disappointed to see that there weren’t any REB3L classes offered in town, and inspired by her newfound confidence from taking the classes, decided to become an instructor!

DEANNA ANDERSON

Dance Instructor

Deanna brings a depth of awareness, knowledge and sensitivity to teaching Movement, acquired over many years of study and practice. Her area of specialty is World Dance with an emphasis on Cuba. She had a 40-year career teaching Healthy Movement and Dance at Stanford University.
Deanna has a degree in Dance Performance. She is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist Educator RSMT/E. She holds an Advanced Teacher Certification in Action Theater and is a Certified Pilates Mat Instructor. She is an award-winning actor - writing and performing original theater pieces.
She is also trained in leading body/mind systems including Therapeutic Yoga, Laban Movement Analysis, Body Mind Centering, Linklater Vocal Technique, and Feldenkrais.
Deanna is currently a performing/teacher with www.storytellerproject.org - an arts and education nonprofit. Deanna has received numerous grants to deliver creative projects for diverse populations, including incarcerated women and youth, children with developmental disabilities, women in cancer treatment, and teen moms.
Deanna is committed to helping people experience joyful health, pleasure, expressive power and personal satisfaction through the miracle of their bodies.

MICHAEL NAFFIER

Dance Instructor

Michael is a Colorado-born artist on a mission to redefine and revolutionize the way music and dance are perceived together. Always somewhere between definable structures, his multimedia work carves out an artistic space that is accessible and empowering for others. His teaching philosophy stems from the belief that everyone has a lifetime’s worth of experience to share and that all of our practices, whether creative or not, are deeply interconnected. By utilizing our knowledge in one area, we can make deeper and more personal connections in all other areas of life.

He graduated in 2023 from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance as a BFA dance major with a concentration in Choreography for Stage and Screen. There he received training in styles such as hip-hop, house, contemporary, ballet, jazz, and gaga; and discovered a love and passion for music composition, production and performance.

Utilizing his unique perspective as a dancer and movement maker to inform his musical process, Michael has done commissioned work for choreographers, scored evening-length works, performed live for dance events and shows utilizing Ableton Live and MIDI instruments, and is currently developing his own movement system that allows dancers to connect more deeply with music and themselves.

EMILY ALLIGOOD

Belly Dance Instructor

Emily has called Fort Collins "home" since 2007. She was introduced to belly dance through a dance workout DVD she found at her school library during her freshman year of college. She began taking classes at the Senior Center and was drawn in by the earthy isolations, elegant gestures, and rich music of the dance.

After dabbling in different belly dance styles, she joined Satori Dance and Drum in 2014 and began her professional dance career as a restaurant dancer. Three years later, she launched her own company, Switchback Belly Dance, and continues to teach and dance in the community. Emily's goal is to share her passion for dance and encourage a spirit of exploration in all of her students.The only prerequisite for her classes is a willingness to have fun and learn something new!