ARIELLE LIMBERIS (she/her/hers)
MA CERTIFIED MAT PILATES, E-RYT-200, RYT-500: With over fifteen years of personal practice, Arielle has been teaching yoga, private sessions, and group fitness for seven years. Arielle has a passion for learning, and has sought out training in traditional Hatha/Ashtanga yoga, meditation, pranayama (breath-control), Yin yoga, Classical Pilates, and wrote her master thesis on Mind-Body-Psychology. Rooted in a passion for movement, mindfulness, and whole person wellness, Arielle weaves together her training and experience to successfully guide clients towards mind-body synergy through the methods of Yoga meditation, and Pilates. Email arielle@vitalclimbinggym.com for all inquiries.
ED LIU
RYT-200: Meet Ed, a hand balance coach from Hong Kong who discovered his passion for handstands in his late 20s and has been hooked ever since. Learning hand balancing later in life, Ed recognized that he couldn't rely on the advantages of youth or natural abilities. Instead, he devoted himself to mastering the best techniques possible. Now based in NYC, Ed is dedicated to sharing the techniques and drills that have helped him succeed with all his students, regardless of their age or fitness level. Ed received guidance and mentorship from the renowned hand balancer and performer, Andrey Moraru.
EMILY FABER
RYT-200: Emily completed her 200-hour training at New Love City in Greenpoint in 2018. Her vinyasa classes are flowy, playful, and full of surprises! She's drawn to the problem-solving aspects of sequencing — trying to figure out how to get from one place to another in novel ways and finding the most effective combination of movements to achieve a particular feeling. You'll find plenty of opportunities to get curious on your mat, whether working through unexpected transitions or trying out a new arm balance.
EMILY HORKAN
RYT-200: Emily grew up expressing herself through movement, training in classical ballet for most of her early life. Finding yoga was a fluid continuation on her ballet foundation, and she quickly fell in love with yoga as a mulit-dimesnional practice. After teaching classes to friends and family for years, she formally completed her 200 hour teaching training, immersed in the beautiful nature of the Costa Rican jungle. With over a decade of personal practice, Emily’s teaching style is reflective of her movement background, balancing grace with strength while also emphasizing the importance of introspection, creating space to tune into your body's ability to express itself organically. She encourages her students to get curious and have fun! Emily is passionate about yogic philosophy, pranayama, meditation, and the constant balance of applying the teachings of yoga both on and off the mat. Forever a student, Emily loves taking classes and workshops to continue to expand her own knowledge. Outside of the studio, you can find Emily reading in Harlem’s coffee shops, catching a show downtown, or traveling out of the city for a long hike.
EMILY "EPB" PEARSON BECK
RYT-200: Emily/EPB is a certified RYT 200, a social worker and a psychotherapist. She brings a confident and comforting presence to her yoga classes, and aims to provide a fun challenge to her students. Emily is passionate about bringing people together to create community, and fell in love with yoga at 12 years old when she took a series of classes for tweens with her two childhood best friends. Emily has appreciated the way that yoga allows for both inward exploration and growing alongside others. As a lifelong music lover, she loves to both practice and teach alongside a great tune.
JOY CHEN
RYT-200: Joy S. Chen is the founder and owner of Cosmic Fit Club (https://cosmicfitclub.com)-- an acroyoga based movement studio formerly in Long Island City, Queens and currently located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Before opening her own studio she spent six years teaching a wide range of yoga, core conditioning and acroyoga classes at Brooklyn Boulders. Joy received her 500 hour teaching certification in 2011 through Yogaworks and has been teaching yoga for more than 10 years. She is a native New Yorker with an extensive background in acrobatics, dance and yoga. With a playful voice and a creative touch, Joy's acroyoga and power yoga classes combine the alignment based approach of Iyengar with a focus on core work and functional movement training to build lightness, strength, and flexibility throughout the whole body.
JACOB HOFFMAN
RYT-200: Jacob Hoffman is an artist and educator with over fifteen years of experience on that mat. The foundation of his yogic philosophy may be summed up in three words: constance, curiosity, and compassion. Jacob’s areas of knowledge include the practices of hatha, vinyasa, yin, and restorative yoga, as well as mindfulness, meditation, and mantra work. Students can expect to be safely challenged during their practice with Jacob … they can also expect to have a lot of fun. @jacobhoffmanofficially
JULIA NEUBER
RYT-200: Julia Neuber discovered yoga when she was in Brazil where she is from in 2000 at a yoga retreat. She felt amazing afterwards and she kept taking classes at her local gym. What amazed her the most is how she feels after class. She started to read many books about it, taking daily yoga classes and when she moved to New York she did her 200-hour training at Sivananda and Om Yoga center. She considers herself a life learner. Her main goal is to make people happier and healthier. Her classes are fun, focused on breath, alignment and she loves to be spontaneous and creative. She taught many years in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and now that she moved to Washington Heights she can’t wait to teach and build a community. Besides teaching she loves reading a great book with her cat Juliet.
TY MARTZ
RYT-200: Hi, I'm Ty and I'm thrilled to be joining the team at Vital Climbing Gym as a yoga instructor. My yoga journey began in 2018 with a hot yoga class, and I had a not great, very sweaty time trying to figure out the poses. What brought me back after that experience was the calm ending savasana and the way I felt both calm and strong after class. I was determined to learn more and have spent years since practicing and learning in multiple cities and studios. Yoga has become a central part of my life where I integrate its teachings to maintain a healthy mind and body. I completed my 200-hour RYT training in early 2024 with a teaching style focused on vinyasa. I enjoy creating classes that find balance in being both challenging and accessible with my purpose being to help others grow. A little more about me: My favorite pose: Warrior 2 - what I think of as quintessential, but truly a strong base pose to transition to so many more Pose I am perpetually working on: Handstand Other interests: Rock climbing, baking bread, being active outside, cooking for dinner parties, star wars, data, dogs, biking
AUSTEN MCNULTY (he/him/his)
My name is Austen and I'm the Head Coach at VITAL West Harlem and Upper East Side. I am a seasoned climber with over a decade of experience in both indoor and outdoor climbing. I've always been passionate about the sport and love being a part of any climber's progression, whether novice or elite. I think climbing is a great way to be physical while still allowing for self-expression through movement.
Throughout my time in the community, I have had the pleasure of traveling the world for climbing. I have a proficient background in Bouldering, Sport, and Trad climbing and can assist in creating training plans for any desired goal. I also have a background in competitive climbing having been the captain of my university club team for four years. I live and breathe the sport and am excited to be a part of your journey.
HALEY SCHMIDT (she/her)
My name is Haley and I’m a youth coach at VITAL West Harlem and Upper East Side! I started climbing 17 years ago on a youth team in St. Paul, Minnesota. I grew up as an aerialist, so climbing was a fun way for me to train, but I loved it so much that I continued climbing even after leaving the circus.
I’m passionate about helping kids get excited about the sport and building confidence in themselves through climbing! As someone who started climbing very young, I have a lot of knowledge of appropriate training methods to improve strength, flexibility, and technique for kids of all ages. I’m excited to work together to reach your climbing goals!
BEN SWANSON (they/them)
My name is Ben and I’m a Bouldering 101, Monkey Club, and Youth Team coach at VITAL Upper East Side! I started climbing 15 years ago with my mom on the crags of Idaho. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, so climbing outdoors was hard to find. I fell in love with the climbing gym and soon transitioned from rope-climbing to bouldering. New York City helped me create my own climbing family.
I enjoy introducing first-time climbers to the sport and working with climbers of all skill levels and body types through coaching! In our sessions, I highlight the importance of strength, flexibility, and technique through drills, fun games, and selecting challenging projects for adults and kids of all ages. I’m excited to work with you to maximize your climbing sessions, and to set you up with climbing goals designed to challenge your skills and build your confidence on and off the wall.
ELLINGTON BLU (they/them)
Ellington is an incredible surf and climber instructor! Hes been doing it for years and is currently pursuing a career in acting.