Arella Axelrod
Arella teaches an inspiring vinyasa flow. Her classes include well-choreographed sequences with a focus on the breath. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 16 years.   Arella was certified in the Jivamukti yoga tradition in 2011 and the Kripalu yoga tradition in 2001.   She has been teaching yoga for 11 years in San Francisco and Manhattan.

Arella’s passion for the practice of yoga is reflected in her challenging classes where she encourages her students to reach their edges while moving their bodies with grace to an eclectic mix of rhythmic world music. Her classes are designed so that students will gain strength and flexibility in the body, release physical tension, clear the mind, and feel an overall sense of peace and wholeness. Be inspired, feel liberated, experience bliss.

Monday 4:30pm Vinyasa (All Levels)
Wednesday 4:30pm Vinyasa (All Levels)

Linda Aldrich
is a graduate of The Mindful Body Teacher Training Course. She has been practicing yoga for more than 30 years and teaching yoga in San Francisco for over six years. She is a lifelong athlete and believes in the physical benefits for all bodies. Linda is also fascinated by the creative processes at the heart of all our lives. She holds a Masters's Degree in Psychology, is a published writer, and works nationally and internationally as a Creativity Consultant with writers, artists and people in all fields who wish to bring more meaning and creativity into their lives. In all of these activities Linda is continually fascinated by the transformational aspects of yoga and the many unique ways students' and clients' lives are opened and enhanced by the practice of yoga.

Tuesday 3:00pm Hatha (All Levles)
Saturday 11:30am Vinyasa (All Levels)

Dee Benefield
Dee has been teaching Hatha Yoga for over 10 years. She received her certification through the Integral Yoga Institute and is also experienced in teaching Iyengar and Bikram styles of Hatha Yoga. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Integral Yoga Institute, a member of the California Yoga Association. Her classes are flowing and instill a great feeling of inner peace, balance and harmony.

Monday 9:30am Beginning
Monday 7:30pm Beginning
Wednesday 7:30pm Beginning
Friday 9:30am Beginning
Friday 4:30pm Gentle Hatha (All Levels)
Friday 6pm Meditation (FREE)
Saturday 8:00am Beginning
Saturday 1:15pm Beginning

Maria Colina
Maria began practicing yoga in 2004 while living in her home town in Venezuela. She teaches from the experience of her own journey of healing and her studies in Yoga, Reiki, Meditation and Ayurveda. Maria is most inspired by her teachers, students, friends and family.

Her approach to yoga is playful, light hearted and dedicated to building a community to grow and learn together. Maria teaches Hatha, Flow, Restorative, and therapeutic Yoga. She also leads Yoga Hikes and Reiki healing sessions.   Maria encourages an alignment based practice as well adaptations to meet student's needs.   She invites you to meet your challenges and explore your inner Higher Self to find strength, clarity, guidance as well Self and Universal Love.   Through her teachings Maria strives to bring change and inspiration to embrace the beauty of life fully, and continues to deepen her studies in the healing arts to share with all of you.   Maria offers instruction in yoga studios throughout San Francisco, at her home based studio, and she travels to students.

Tuesday 7:30pm Hatha (All Levels)
Thursday 7:30pm Hatha (All Levels)

Elise Collins
Elise has been studying healing and meditation for the past fifteen years. She writes a monthly column for the psychic reader, Body and Soul, and has been practicing yoga for the past seven years. She graduated from the piedmont yoga two year advanced studies program when she was six months pregnant. She teaches pre-natal yoga and mom & baby yoga throughout the Bay area.

Meg Ellsworth
As a teacher of Hatha Vinyasa Yoga and Vipassana Meditation, Meg Ellsworth’s approach to yoga asana both grounds and opens students to the energetic experience of the practice. With an emphasis on process and focus on clarifying intention, Meg weaves sequences together that allow for exploration in postures and necessary time for meditation.

Meg has been a student of Yoga since 1995, training extensively with Sarah Powers. In 2000, Meg’s devotion to the practice of yoga and meditation, and deep love for the philosophy of Yoga and Buddhism, lead her to a teaching practice. Now, Meg is part of the faculty as an assistant yoga instructor at the Insight Yoga Institute, which offers trainings in Yoga, Buddhism, Mediation, and Spiritual Psychology. Meg assists in the Insight Yoga Institute’s 720-hour Yoga Alliance endorsed certified program.

She is the mother of two daughters and leads Sacred Wisdom Circles workshops for mothers and babies with her partner, Catherine Stone, a doula and lactation specialist. Meg is looking forward to working with you to explore the connections between mind, body, and heart.

Tuesday 9:30am Hatha (All Levels)
Wedneday 12pm Community Yoga (All Levels)
Thursday 9:30am Hatha (All Levels)

Britt Fohrman
Britt Fohrman creates a healing, loving, and supportive environment for pregnant and birthing women, as well as and new mammas in her work as a pre and post natal yoga teacher, bodyworker, photographer, and birth doula (childbirth assistant). Britt's Iyengar based yoga classes draw on a variety of practices including mindfulness meditation, fluid movement, HypnoBirthing, and breath awareness. These practices help mammas connect with their babies as well their own inner beauty, wisdom and strength. From her experience, Britt knows that the practice of yoga is one of the most effective ways that a woman can prepare to bring her baby into the world in a peaceful, conscious, and loving way. Britt was certified to teach Prenatal Yoga by Colette Crawford, RN, the top specialist in yoga for pregnancy, birth and postpartum, and has also traveled to India to study with the Iyengars. She continues her studies with Judith Lasater and a variety of other teachers, but finds that her most profound education comes from witnessing true yoga in action...women giving birth.

Monday 6pm Prenatal (All Levels)

Sue Hardy
Sue teaches practitioners of all levels of experience. Her teaching style integrates the breath based flow of Ashtanga and the precision of Iyengar into a deep and sweaty transformative mind/body experience. She communicates advanced principles of anatomy and alignment with clarity, patience, humor–and a real-life context that helps students understand how these ancient poses can help them manage the physical and emotional challenges of the modern age. Huge shout outs filled with gratitude and love to her students, who inspire her each and every class; her teachers, Tias & Surya Little, Tim Miller, Maty Eratzy, Eddie Modestini, Nicki Doane and Jason Crandell and her family, who continue to support her in every possible way.

Saturday 9:45am Vinyasa (Intermediate/Advanced)

Renee Heidtman
Renee Heidtman has been practicing the healing arts since 2000. Her unique style of teaching stems from her practice of Vipassana meditation and therapeutic massage background. In her classes you may explore a creative flow with your eyes closed as well as postural adjustments that incorporate massage. Through her commitment to each individual, Renee facilitates a supportive and nurturing environment where students aspire to confront obstacles, meet potential and move at their own pace.

Please click here for more information about Renee and her Center for Peaceful Healing

Renee is curently on leave from teaching to focus on her own healing.

Caroline Kelley
Caroline has been teaching yoga since 2000. She originally certified with The British Wheel of Yoga, followed by six months of extensive studies in Mysore, India and most recently completed Richard Freeman’s month long teachers intensive. She considers Richard to be her most influential teacher and has had the good fortune of practicing daily at his studio in Boulder, CO for the last two years. Her roots are embedded in the Iyengar and Ashtanga tradition, but her approach is not limited to this. She believes a fruitful yoga practice is one approached with patience and intelligence. In every class Caroline emphasizes the role of the breath. The breath helps to fuel and cleanse the body as well as center the mind. In the stillness of a pose she will often invite you to drop into moments of meditation. You will find Caroline's classes to be appropriately challenging, informative and restorative. The sequence of each class is intended to balance the internal sun (ha) and moon (tha) energy. Caroline is also a certified massage therapist and her extensive knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology enable her to offer safe and progressive classes for everyone.

Tuesday 4:30pm Vinyasa (Intermediate/Advanced)
Sunday 11:00am Beginning

Kari Marble
Kari Marble is a mother of two and a certified yoga teacher, massage therapist, infant massage instructor and birth educator with a passionate and extensive specialization in the childbearing year and healthy family living. Her classes are highly regarded for their revitalizing and centering practice, educational content, and warm, nurturing community. Kari's vision through yoga is to support women in their physical, emotional and spiritual journey into motherhood. To support this vision, she weaves into classes the opportunity to share openly, to discuss aspects of birth preparation and parenting, to practice techniques for deep breathing and relaxation, and to meditate, deepening inner awareness, connection to baby, trust in the body, and appreciation of the sacred. Kari designs prenatal classes to increase comfort and fluidity in the rapidly changing pregnant body, enabling women to feel a greater sense of strength, vitality, grace, calm, confidence, and playfulness. Postnatal classes include songs and poses with baby along with a focus on yoga poses to help moms feel restored, energized, strong, open and ready for the joys and challenges each day brings. Kari also teaches workshops for expectant couples in yoga and massage for labor and in Calm Birth childbirth meditation. Her classes and workshops are featured in Babies by the Bay, 2nd Edition (Council Oak Books 2005).

Tuesday 9:30am Prenatal (All Levels)
Thursday 9:30am Prenatal (All Levels)
Thursday 11am Postnatal (All Levels)
Saturday 9:30am Prenatal (All Levels)

Nathan Ng
Nathan Ng is the founder of the “Personal Mastery through Tai Chi (Cultivate the Power Within)” Program. It is based on authentic Tai Chi, an ancient art that brings a balance of inner peace and inner strength to dedicated practitioners. His classes are perfect for beginners. Nathan holds a loving and compassionate space for his students and is gentle, patient and non-judgmental in his teaching approach. Nathan appreciates Tai Chi as a path of self-discovery and self-mastery. Through his program, Nathan’s mission is to empower and teach you how to live a more balanced and integrated life.

Nathan has been studying Tai Chi and Qigong since 1993. He is a 5th generation direct lineage of Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan, and a 21st generation direct lineage of Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan. He has studied with internationally renowned Tai Chi Grandmasters from China and he is a two-time Tai Chi Chuan competition gold medalist. To learn more about Nathan, visit his website: www.artoftaiji.com

Tuesday & Thursday 7:30pm Tai Chi/Qigong (All Levels) - Series/Workshop
Click here for more details and dates

Misa Nuccio
Misa aims to assist her students in building a stronger mind-body connection through the use of breath, alignment, and encouragement of self-compassion. Her love for helping others understand their own unique gifts and bodies is weaved into her instruction in an accessible way. Misa believes that yoga has something to offer everyone, no matter what state the body or mind is in. Her classes are suitably challenging, engaging, and educational. She gently challenges her student’s minds and bodies, and they leave feeling rejuvenated. Misa has been practicing the art of yoga for 8 years, and completed her teacher training with YogaWorks in Walnut Creek in May 2010.

Look for Misa on the sub schedule!

Sasha Papovich
Sasha Papovich has been studying yoga in earnest since 1997, and teaching since 2001. She weaves together various strands of the yogic path, offering an integrated practice for the body, heart and mind. Her teaching is continually fueled by her in-depth studies in yoga, meditation, transpersonal and somatic psychologies, Eastern spiritual practices and philosophy, as well as her deep faith in the human potential for embodied awakening.

She has been immersed in the study of Insight Yoga (Yin Yoga, Yang Yoga, Meditation, and Psycho-Spiritual Practice) with Sarah Powers for the last four years, and now assists Sarah in workshops and trainings. Her teaching is also deeply influenced by her practice of vipassana meditation, and by the psycho-spiritual work of John and Jennifer Welwood, whose work brilliantly integrates western style psychological inquiry within the framework of spiritual practice.

Sasha is a graduate student in East-West Psychology at CIIS She teaches classes in the San Francisco area, as well as regular workshops and retreats in Los Angeles.

Thursday 6pm Yin & Yang Flow (All Levels)

Charu Rachlis
Charu Rachlis' formal yoga studies began in 1992 upon her arrival to the United States from Brazil. Her primary studies have been with Thomas Fortel. She enjoys the alignment principles of Iyengar and the flow of breath and movement offered in Astanga, and her teaching is influenced by both methodologies. Charu has a Masters Degree in psychology and is a practitioner of Buddhist meditation. She feels that the combination of teaching and practicing yoga is the perfect path leading to the integration of her interests in helping herself and others experience their inherent potentiality.

Friday 9:30am Hatha (All Levels)

Lori Salomon
Lori Salomon recognizes the art of yoga is a magnificent tool for self healing . Through yoga we cultivate the skills to stay supple, strong and playful in body, heart and mind.    Lori combines over 20 years of training in Ashtanga, Vinyasa Krama and Iyengar yoga in her classes.   Each class incorporates vinyasa (dynamic movement with breath); longer holds of postures designed to shift and balance the physical structure; and exploration of the boundaries of asana (physical posture).   Lori has been teaching yoga in Marin County since 1999, and her teaching has been informed by her extensive knowledge of anatomy that stems from the therapeutic bodywork practice she has had since 1984.   She has a background in dance and movement theater that brings a freedom of movement and spirit to her classes.  

Thursday 4:30pm Vinyasa (Intermediate)

Catherine Shaddix
Catherine began her intertwined studies of hatha yoga and Buddhist meditation and philosophy in 1990, and has devoted her life to the exploration of each of these since. She began studying traditional Ashtanga yoga in 1993, and has since studied intensively with Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty, and her main teacher in America, Richard Freeman. Since 2000, she has also practiced under the guidance of the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson, Sharath Rangaswamy, with annual trips to the AYI Shala in Mysore, South India.

She began teaching in 1996, and her teaching style is infused with the co-arising spaciousness and intensity of her Buddhist training. She has practiced with many of the great Dzogchen masters of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, beginning with Trulshik Rinpoche in 1991, and currently with the Venerable Tsoknyi Rinpoche, as well as H.H. the Dalai Lama. She has also trained extensively in the Zen tradition, living for two years at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center, a traditional Rinzai Zen training monastery, with Joshu Sasaki Roshi.

Currently on leave for School - will be back in the summer

Maile Sivert
Maile discovered yoga in 1996 while living in Vermont. Immediately, she resonated with yoga and could feel there was something special, something indefinable to it. She continues to explore and experience this sensation in her practice today.

Impassioned by Indian culture, she has traveled to India multiple times, and in 2000 she spent three months studying with BNS Iyengar in Mysore, southern India. She considers Richard Freeman, whom she met while living in Colorado in 1998, to be her primary teacher. She continues to study with him annually and has completed three advanced teacher trainings with him.

Maile teaches yoga in an exploratory way, encouraging the cultivation of intuition as a guide. While rooted in the tradition of Astanga, her practice has been nourished by many styles and teachers. She is inspired by the connection between breath and movement and teaches precision in alignment. Balancing tradition with creativity, her classes are an active, yet nurturing synthesis of flowing postures, breath awareness and yogic philosophy.

Tuesday 6am Mysore (All Levels)
Thursday 6am Mysore (All Levels)
Friday 4:30pm Vinyasa (Intermediate/Advanced)

Vanessa Tate
Vanessa creatively guides students through the practice of yoga encouraging playfulness and balance between taking risks and recognizing one’s present limitations. By bringing humor, humility and conscious awareness to the mat, students are supported in being more accepting of themselves. A yoga practitioner since 1995, Vanessa knows that with commitment to regular practice, the breath deepens, physical postures unfold, and a deeper connection is formed with the self/soul. She has a diverse background in yoga disciplines though is mainly influenced by Ashtanga. She has completed various teacher trainings and intensives with mentors such as Pattabhi Jois, David Swenson, Bhavani Maki, Rolf Naujokat, Clayton Horton, Kathleen Kastner Mortenson and Richard Miller. Additionally, Vanessa is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist trained in Somatic Psychology and iRest® Yoga Nidra. Knowledge of the psyche/body connection greatly informs her approach to teaching. Ultimately, she considers one’s own intuition to be the wisest teacher of all.

Sunday 8:30am Vinyasa (All Levels)

JD Wolfe
In one way or another, I have been practicing some form of yoga long before I ever knew what it was or the impact it would have on my life. I was always stretching and twisting or turning upside down while watching TV as a kid, and as a runner, the stretch before and after the run was the most rewarding part. Upon moving out west, I had my first formal yoga class and was instantly hooked. I studied with many different teachers and tried many styles until a move to New York connected me with Dharma Mittra, whose style and comprehension of the mind, body, and spirit union seemed to connect all of my previous studies. I enrolled in Dharma's teacher training and upon completion, I attended a week long mysore ashtanga course with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois on one of his many visits to NYC. A daily mysore practice has been part of my life ever since. I then studied with Eddie Stern for 8 years who became my primary teacher. During this time, I also completed another teacher training with Richard Freeman and made several extended trips to Mysore, India to study with Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy. I'm now back on the West Coast and studying with The Mindful Body's very own Catherine Shaddix. My style is influenced by each of these teachers. I give the practice structure and focus. I have been told that my authority is great but my compassion is greater, which is what I strive for with every class I teach. I have a daily practice of yoga and meditation with skilled teachers and am constantly funneling new information from my own experience on the mat directly to my students. I am continuously striving to achieve yoga's ultimate goal of the quiet mind. In finding the quiet mind we find our truest self. Our essence. Truly a goal worth striving for.

Monday 6am Mysore (All Levels)
Wednesday 6am Mysore (All Levels)
Friday 6am Mysore (All Levels)
Sunday 7:30am Mysore (All Levels)