Meet Our Teachers
Teacher and Center Board President
Anil Saigal, E-RYT 500
Teaches meditation, yoga philosophy and yoga related topics/practices.
Anil started meditating in college, and later met Swami Rama of The Himalayas. He studied with, and was initiated by Swami Rama. He studied with Swami Veda Bharati for eighteen years. He completed Swami Veda Bharati’s 600 Hr level TTP in 2005
He has been a guest speaker at local organizations and schools for teaching meditation and yoga philosophy. Anil also provides individual and family consultation sessions for personal development and meditation practice.
Profession: Independent Engineering Management consultant.
Personal Statement: Learning meditation and making it a part of my life has been the greatest change I have made in my life. The practice of meditation has made pervasive changes in my life in the areas of personal relationships, professional performance, mental well being, physical health, and a state of continual cheerfulness. I strive to teach and inspire every student to learn and incorporate meditation in his/her life, and to reap its wonderful rewards.
Teacher
Sarada Putsa, RYT 200
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My journey with yoga started 20 years back when I was an undergraduate student.
I became a certified teacher in through the Himalayan Yoga and Meditation Center. I love teaching yoga in the Himalayan and restorative approach in a calming and supportive atmosphere.
Sarada is teaching a Himalayan/Restorative class on Fridays at 5:30-6:45 PM.
Teacher and Center Board Member
Charlotte Mogensen, RYT 200
Where were you trained: Himalayan Yoga and Meditation Center located in Palatine, IL.
Graduated: March 2010.
Teaching yoga: Part time at Himalayan Yoga & Meditation Center
Other certifications: Gymnastics teacher, rhythmic and pre-school.
How yoga changed your life : I started practicing yoga about 15 years ago in Denmark. This personal experience encouraged me to share the benefits with others. I now teach yoga at HYMC since graduating from their Teachers’ Training Program. I also teach children’s yoga at a local school, children’s gymnastics, Pilates both mat and reformer (machine), and private group yoga classes. When not teaching, I practice yoga, meditation, running, swimming, along with the occasional marathon and triathlons.
Class Schedule: Level 1&2 Mondays 5:30 pm - 6:45 pm
Teacher
Jenny Hennek, M.A., RYT 200
My Yoga practice has been included in my dance classes for over 15 years. Yet it was not until after an illness that I discovered my desire to teach Yoga and share it's many healing benefits. As I was brought back to health through Hatha Yoga I hoped others could experience the same. I completed the teacher training program at the Himalayan Center and I am humbled and.grateful to teach Yoga at the Center.
I believe in a compassionate approach to my practice and in teaching. I enjoy the students I meet, I know in many ways that it is really they who are teaching me.
Teacher and Office Administrator
Joanna Morse, CLC, RYT 200
I have been practicing yoga for over twenty years. I tried it for fun at first in high school and college, however, my practice was very inconsistent and strictly physical. It was not until my early twenties when I discovered a whole new meaning to a yoga practice. I learned that yoga is so much more than asanas and relaxation. It is a deeply spiritual and meditative journey leading to a much more fulfilling, selfless, Earth conscious, and intuitive life. It has taught me how to be present and appreciative of every moment in life as well as patience to overcome life's obstacles.
My journey with yoga has led me to completing my 200 level teacher training program at the HYMC in 2010. I have been teaching part time ever since.
Tai Chi Teacher
Lon Johnson
Lon is a student and practitioner of Temple Style Tai Chi and Qi Gong for over 25 years. He trained at the Tai Chi Tao Center in Oak Park with Master Waysun Liao and other master and senior teachers in the Midwest.
The benefits from years of regular practice has inspired him to share with those interested in developing chi (prana) flow. The class sessions focus on learning gentle meditative movements that aid in attaining a calm mind, a relaxed, active body and an overall well-being.
To pay the bills, Lon is Development Director for NPN360. He is a graduate of the College of Wooster.
Teacher
Nancy Sieh
I believe everyone’s body is a gift with strengths to be uncovered and challenges to be explored—yoga is the perfect method for discovering them. Practicing yoga has helped me crack open my “outer shell” (my old way of seeing, feeling and doing), stretch beyond my body, and find the beautiful treasure inside. I’d like you, my students, to also have a similar “aha” experience with yoga.
In 2013, I completed teacher training in the Himalayan Tradition at Lotus Yoga Centre. I am a registered yoga teacher (E-RYT 200), and a yoga4cancer certified oncology yoga teacher. Additionally, I served as a Teacher Trainer with Anita Maher at Lotus Yoga Centre in 2019 & 2020. I really love teaching yoga, sharing what I’ve learned, and helping others experience the many benefits of yoga including better balance, focus, flexibility, strength and peace.
Board Member
Olga Miech-Wiszniewski
Olga has been practicing meditation since 2007, & has been leading Community Meditation at HYMC since 2012. She holds Master’s Degrees in Psychology & business. Olga pursues Jungian psychology & ancient wisdom from the Himalayas as maps for personal growth. She believes that in our contemporary fast-paced life finding methods that promote relaxation & stress relief are essential to the wellbeing of individuals, families, & communities.
In 2011 Olga was introduced to crystal singing bowls & found the experience deeply relaxing & fascinating. In Spring 2018 Olga completed training & became a certified Vibrational Sound Therapist.
Teacher, Meditation and Board Member
Pavel Latash
Pavel is a certified Yoga teacher and a Metallurgical Engineer. He received his first Yoga instruction in Russia, in 1967. In 1986 Pavel became affiliated with the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Glenview, IL. There he underwent teachers' training and taught from 1993 through 1998. In 1998 Pavel joined Meditation International, Inc. as one of the founding members. In 2005 Meditation International and Lotus Yoga Teachers Association merged and formed Himalayan Yoga and Meditation Center of Illinois, where Pavel is a Board Member and teaches Hatha Yoga and Meditation classes.
To ask about times for Saturday meditation classes, please click / contact Pavel here.
Teacher
Nicole Rice, RYT 200
My yoga practice is rooted in the Ashtanga Yoga Darsana, including teaching methodologies in practice and instruction as understood in the Krishnamacharya Lineage style and methodology.
I came to yoga at a very young age but did not begin to truly embrace the practice until 2015 when I became very ill. Through a dedicated yoga practice, Ayurveda (a natural system of medicine originating in India), and other healing modalities, I was able to find my health again. Shortly after my recovery I began working with federal agencies, universities, and Tribal communities in North America and abroad as a Cultural Anthropologist on projects that supported environmental and cultural protection along with providing racial equity and social justice.
In 2023, I decided to officially become a certified yoga teacher which deepened my work and advocacy for social justice. This was not unexpected, as yoga inherently welcomes equity; it is about self exploration and development, self expression, and liberation for all. I wanted to become a yoga teacher to create a safe space for EVERYONE to practice yoga regardless of their background. It was Krishnamacharya that said, “if you can breathe you can do yoga.”
In Memory:
Patricia (Pat) Constabileo
Teacher, Training Director and Board Member
Pat served the Himalayan Center and its students with her dedication to teaching hatha yoga since it’s inception. Pat earned her TTP200 certification and initiation into Himalayan Tradition at Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA. She joined the Himalayan Center as a yoga teacher when the center started in 2005.
She joined the TTP200 faculty at the Center as an ERYT-200 certified teacher and taught several hatha yoga modules in the program. She mentored TTP200 students and held monthly yoga sessions, known as Sādhaka Sundays, offering trainees a supportive space to learn how to teach classes while thoughtfully refining their technique and confidence.
She completed her TTP300 certification and registered as an ERYT-500 teacher with Yoga Alliance. She served as the Director of the TTP200 program until a few months before her transition.
Pat earned her certification as a meditation teacher and taught “Introduction to Meditation” classes at the Center. As an active member of the Himalayan Center board of directors, she was loved by everyone for her kind manners and a constant smile.
We all loved Pat's service-oriented, giving soul, her warmth, and the genuine care she showed every single one of us. Her dedication and unwavering work ethic were matched only by her kindness, and she had a way of making everyone feel seen. She shared those gifts so freely with our community, and will be deeply missed.
"Over time I knew yoga had found a place in my life and in my heart. One important way in which Yoga has changed my life is being able to share the many benefits of Yoga with my students. Many of my students have become personal friends and I’m grateful they are in my life.
Yoga has enriched my life by creating a balance and focus and by providing me with a vocation I truly love." ~ Pat
In Memory:
Dr. Dale Buegel, MD, ERYT-500
HYMC faculty, Teacher Trainer, Educator
Dr. Dale Buegel was a living link to HH Swami Rama and his teachings. He studied meditation techniques and Tantra under Swami Rama. He was initiated by Swami Rama into Samaya Tradition and was instructed by him to practice and teach Samaya Tantra practices.
As a trained medical professional, he integrated spiritual teachings and yogic practices with human physiology and psychology. Dr. Buegel's workshops focused on tantric practices and their application to deepening one’s spiritual path and experience and he shared subtle practices he received from his master Swami Rama.
He always began his workshops with a question to the students: “What do you want to learn today?”, and he focused on the needs of the students as he presented the topic. He taught hatha yoga with an emphasis on awareness of energy movements associated with asanas.
His workshop series on awakening Chakras and Kundalini were extremely popular. He left a legacy of the practices he taught in the books titled “Practical Samāyā Tantra,” and “Practical Yoga Sutras.” In his workshops and classes, he used to encourage his students and sadhakas to recognize the internal urge to go deep during a practice that one may be engaged in, to take that cue and to transition deep within to the joyful state. He referred to it as “boarding the bus when it arrives,” instead of continuing with the mechanics of the practice. He was a true mentor to anyone whose life he touched.
Dr. Buegel was also a member of HYMC faculty. In addition to the workshops for the Center, he also taught anatomy, physiology, and pranayama modules in our Teacher Training Program since 2008. He also taught subtle tantric practice workshops at The Meditation Center in Minneapolis as well as during the AHYMSIN Sangha Gathering events.
We remember and celebrate Dr. Buegel for bringing the Himalayan Tradition and Swami Rama’s teachings to our HYMC community of aspirants. His passion, dedication, and steady presence touched countless lives, guiding students with humility, wisdom, and deep compassion. Through his teachings and example, he helped many walk the path with greater clarity, devotion, and trust.