Our Teachers
Cote Shaw
(Owner, Operator, Instructor)
Cote believes strongly in the idea of maintaining balance, and truly believes yoga is the most ancient and consistent practice to help us strike this balance.. With an ever evolving passion for movement of all kinds, his classes are highly physical but psychologically demanding as well, with a strong focus on mindful movement and breathwork.
A student of his mama, first and foremost, who has been a yoga teacher for over 30 years.. but learning from other greats along the way including David Swenson, Jonny Gillespie and Natasha Rizopoulos, to develop his own traditional but eclectic style, that he is humbled and honored to bring to others through the beautiful space of Mati Yoga..
Melissa Aura
Melissa is a Reiki Master, 200-hour yoga teacher, and lifelong spiritual practitioner. Raised in the Chicagoland area within a Buddhist household, her early years were immersed in chanting, meditation, and spiritual exploration. These foundations continue to shape her holistic path of healing, creativity, and embodied practice.
Melissa was first attuned to Reiki energy healing in 2013. Yoga found her in her early twenties, and what began as a physical practice soon became a profound journey of self-discovery. She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Metrowest Yoga in May 2022 and received her Reiki Master certification in the Usui Shiki Ryoho lineage in March of the same year. In March 2025, she expanded her studies into Taoist internal arts through an online Neidan Inner Alchemy training based in Japan.
Melissa’s classes are infused with integrity, self-love, and deep meditation. With a playful connection to the inner child spirit, she invites students to blend joyful curiosity with grounded presence. Her intuitive and sensitive approach helps students feel safe, seen, and supported. She creates space where others can fully let go and return home to themselves.
A devoted mother and creative soul, Melissa brings the rhythm of daily life into her teaching. For her, creation is at the heart of everything. Whether through writing, painting, music, or simply living with intention and joy, she sees yoga as a sacred return to essence and holds space for others to explore their own inner landscapes with compassion, presence, and love.
Sara Basile
Sara discovered yoga in 2010 and quickly connected with the positive impact it had on both mind and body. She completed her 200-hour YogaWorks certification before beginning to teach in 2017, and later earned her 500-hour advanced training with Jason Crandell in 2021.
Her teaching blends functional movement, breath-centered Vinyasa, mindfulness, and inclusivity to create a practice that is both empowering and accessible to all levels. Sara encourages students to explore movement with compassion, curiosity, and personal agency.
Expect classes that are strong, balanced, and supportive — designed to leave you feeling grounded, energized, and more connected both on and off the mat.
Michele Hutchinson
Michele believes yoga should support humans living real lives — meeting ourselves where we are each time we come to the mat. Her classes invite students to slow down, breathe deeply, reconnect inward, and approach practice with greater awareness, compassion, and honesty.
Blending mindful movement, nervous system support, breathwork, and instinctive meditation settle-ins, Michele creates grounding and accessible classes that encourage students to move with self-awareness rather than expectation or perfection. Rooted in the understanding that the body carries both stress and wisdom, her teaching supports balance, emotional wellness, reflection, and inner growth in ways that feel supportive, realistic, and deeply human.
A long-standing member of the Mati Yoga community, Michele’s teaching is shaped by years of personal practice, community connection, and lived experience. She is a 200-hour certified yoga teacher through Breathe For Change, with a background in Early Childhood Education and ongoing graduate studies in Clinical Psychology. As she begins her clinical internship in farm-based therapy with children, she continues to deepen her understanding of healing through connection to body, nature, relationships, and self.
Her work is influenced by mindfulness, trauma-informed care, family systems, identity and archetype exploration, and the belief that healing begins by creating safe spaces to reconnect with ourselves gently and authentically.
Whether teaching adults or children, Michele encourages students to approach practice with curiosity rather than judgment, honoring the reality that every body and every season of life deserves to be met with care.
Brianna Affsa
Brianna is a certified Vinyasa yoga teacher with over 10 years of personal practice and a heartfelt commitment to guiding others through mindful movement, breath, and self-discovery. She completed her 200-HR teacher training under Shawn Shaw at MetroWest Yoga. With a growing passion for yoga anatomy, Ayurveda, and herbalism, Brianna’s teaching reflects a deep appreciation for the wisdom of the Eight Limbs of Yoga—approaching the practice not only as physical exercise, but as a full-spectrum path to inner balance and well-being.
Her classes often draw on the rhythms of the natural elements, inviting students to ground themselves in the present moment and reconnect with the world around them. Brianna’s teaching style is thoughtful, accessible, and rooted in the belief that yoga is a powerful tool for cultivating connection—within ourselves and with the greater whole. Off the mat, she works as a Space Planning and Design Manager, bringing the same mindfulness and intentionality to the workspaces she creates. She believes that just as movement can shape energy, so too can the spaces we inhabit—and she brings that vision to life by blending her love of yoga, nature, and thoughtful design.
Brianna is also a visual artist, and crafts stained glass art that explores light, shape, and movement. She sees a natural connection between her creative process and her yoga practice—both require presence, patience, and a deep respect for form, and flow. Whether on the mat or behind the glass, Brianna is always exploring new ways to bring beauty, balance, and connection into the world.
Jordan Grinstein
Jordan has been training meditation and yoga teachers since 2010 and is an E-RYT 500 and Ayurveda practitioner. His work centers on empowering communities with wellness and equity-based education. In schools, he mentors student leaders to facilitate social-emotional wellness experiences and leads professional development for educators to integrate instinctive meditation, nonviolent communication, and Ayurveda into their work with youth.
To learn more about his work in education visit: wholeschoolmindfulness.org and ivychild.org