| Our
Teachers
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. |
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Atosa
Babaoff
Atosa feels incredibly blessed to have stepped
onto this path of teaching yoga. She has been practicing yoga
since 2001 and was blown away by the transformative process
of the practice, and felt a great desire to make it a bigger
part of her life. She seeks to create a soulful class inspired
by her deep love of poetry, music, yogic philosophy, and the
breath, which she finds to be the key element in the moving
meditation that is yoga. She is a graduate of the Laughing
Lotus college of Yoga where she trained with her primary teachers
Jasmine Tarkeshi and Dana Flynn. |
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.
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Roy
Bergmann
Roy is the founder of The Mindful Body and
is a Certified Massage Therapist and yoga teacher who has
been studying and teaching yoga, meditation and massage/bodywork
since 1985. His approach to fitness, relaxation and health
draws on his training in Bikram, Iyengar and Astanga yoga
styles and on his study of Swedish/Esalen long stroke and
deep tissue massage, Feldenkrais, the Alexander Technique
and Hanna Somatics muscular release work. His philosophy of
health and healing is based on having an appreciation for
the power of "mindfulness" or "calm focus"
in everyday life. |
Deborah
Burkman
Deborah
Burkman has been passionately teaching yoga since 2000.
She teaches a strong fluid practice while stressing form and
alignment. She uses verbal and hands on adjustments to help
challenge her students and advance them to the next level.
Her yoga training includes asana and philosophy with several
master teachers in India including Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and
A. Vankatesh. Her primary influences are Richard Freeman,
David Swenson, Sara Powers, and Ana Forrest. "Deborah
Burkman Stands out for her dedication to her students, often
helping them with problems off the mat as well as on it."
-- San Francisco Magazine, January 2005 |
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Catherine
Chapman
Catherine
Chapman is a teacher of curious exploration, meditation,
sound, and movement. Her key focus in life is to bring community
together under the common thread of compassion and love. The
combination of her welcoming smile, knowledge and training
creates a classroom that is inspiring and playful. Catherine
continues to enrich her understanding of the healing arts
through education and life experience. With gratitude and
excitement she returns to San Francisco to pursue a M.A. in
philosophy and teach yoga! |
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. |
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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. |
Renee
Heidtman
Yoga is a vital part of Renee's life
as a tool for striving towards greater empathy, awareness
and purpose. Her classes reflect her dedication and
passion to help each student stretch beyond old limitations
and create new boundaries not only for the body, but
for the mind and spirit as well. Her style is influenced
by her experience with Insight Meditation, which teaches
us "to see things as they truly are," and
focuses on discovering breath, embracing impermanence
and cultivating equanimity. She began her personal practice
in Michigan in 2001, and began teaching yoga in 2003.
Renee trained with Jonny Kest of Center for Yoga in
Detroit, and with Kathryn Nicolai of Ethos Center for
Yoga & Therapeutic Arts in Holly, Michigan. Some
of her other influences include Baron Baptiste, Paul
Grilley, Bryan Kest and David Swenson. Renee is also
a massage therapist here at The Mindful Body. |
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Livia
Jenvey
Livia Jenvey was first introduced
to yoga in 2000 to help her recover from a physical injury.
After seeing yoga’s benefits influencing her speedy
recovery, she became hooked and decided to make it a fundamental
part of her life. Livia is a graduate of the Integral Yoga
Institute of San Francisco’s yoga program. She has
also studied with teachers Shiva Rae, Judith Hanson Lasater,
Jane Austin, and Max Strom. She teaches a myriad of yoga
styles such as Hatha, Prenatal, Restorative, and Vinyasa.
With each style that she teaches she incorporates different
levels of postures and breathing practices to engage the
students in a balanced practice. She believes in creating
a space that is engaging, safe, meditative, relaxing, and
fun for the students. Livia is also a photographer and birth
doula. |
Jo Lewzey
Jo has always had a deep passion to grow
and learn about life and herself on a soul level.
She
began as a dancer, dancing professionally for 5 years,
and then realized that she wanted to somehow help others...
so she became a personal trainer. During the past 8 years
Jo has been doing her own inner spiritual work of self
discovery, and in the last 2 years working with a teacher,
Edward Rice, doing multi-dimensional healing. Gradually,
through her own desire to find tools to take her to deeper
levels, she found yoga. Already having the deep connection
with her body, she fell in love with yoga immediately.
Jo studied with Yolanda Bain for her teacher training
and has taken several teacher training workshops with
Rod Stryker (Pure Yoga).
To
Jo, yoga is like a direct reflection of Spirit and the
Divine. The poses are like a dance, and they truly show
us the grace and sensitivity of who we really are.
The
most important thing Jo wants to bring across to students
of her yoga classes is self acceptance and love, to truly
embrace and enjoy the journey of yoga and life, and to
allow them to take a step back from the busy distracting
world in order to see with clarity and focus, as well
as to find direction in life from the heart and soul.
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Willow
Joines
Willow's mother first introduced her to
yoga at a very young age when she taught her to do a headstand
on the living room floor. Since then, Willow’s innate
sense of curiosity and dedication to yoga have led her to
study with a variety of notable teachers including Ramanand
Patel, Rodney Yee and Richard Freeman, who's teacher training
she attended in 2005. Currently, she is enrolled in the
teacher-training program at the Iyengar Institute of San
Francisco. She is also a certified massage therapist with
over 1,000 hours of training from the Boulder College of
Massage Therapy. Willow has been teaching yoga since 2002,
and her style is greatly influenced by both Ashtanga Vinyasa
and Iyengar yoga, with attention to internal alignment,
breath and mindfulness. She believes in the path of yoga
as a means to optimal states of vitality, health and well-being
in both the body and the mind, undeniably linked by the
flow of the breath. It is with immense gratitude to her
teachers that Willow shares her joy of yoga as a way to
experience freedom in the authentic self. |
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Niema
Lightseed
Niema Lightseed has been a student
of healing her entire life. A passionate but shy budding theatre
artist, she discovered Yoga in 1998 as a way to transform
her relationship with her body and the world around her. She
was trained and certified as a Hatha Yoga teacher by the Temple
of Kriya Yoga in Chicago in 2004, and since then has studied
with a variety of excellent teachers of many modalities. Her
classes are a blend of precise, classic, detailed alignment
with juicy exploration and radical self-acceptance. She has
also continued her studies in the movement and verbal arts,
and brings an inspiring passion and delightful turn of phrase
to her teaching. She strives to have everyone feel welcome
and appreciated in her classes for being the love that they
already are, while challenging them to discover their purpose
and soul-joy. Niema is also a Jazz and Kirtan singer, Performance
Artist, Reiki practitioner, priestess, and beautifier. |
Katie
Louderback
Katie
is continually inspired by the deeper levels of insight and
wisdom she gains from her yoga practice. She hopes to share
yoga’s ability to transform, to heal and to awaken with
all of her students. Her classes are inspired by all her teachers,
especially her current teacher Tony Briggs, and by her vipassana
meditation practice. She has completed Judith Lasaters "Relax
and Renew" teacher training and finds restorative yoga
to be an expanding aspect of her personal practice. After
witnessing her first birth many years ago she decided to support
women along the journey of pregnancy and birth through teaching
prenatal yoga and as a birth doula (labor support). She studied
prenatal yoga with Collette Crawford, RN, one of the top specialists
for prenatal yoga in the country. Her classes are fluid, gentle,
and relaxing and yet allow mamas to connect with their incredible
strength. Katie weaves birth stories and information into
her classes to help mamas prepare for birth. She hopes that
each class creates space for mamas to share their experiences
and create community, to connect with their babies, and to
deeply trust in the wisdom of their bodies. |
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Kate
Lumsden
Kate
sees teaching as her dharma, fulfilling her destined life
path, and lets her devoted love of yoga shine through in each
of her classes. Introduced to yoga in 1999, Kate's background
in the Astanga Vinyasa style, along with the treatment of
her scoliosis curve, have enriched her teachings with love
of the meditative flow of breath and movement, while finding
solace in proper alignment. Drawing from her own experience,
Kate encourages her students to develop inner awareness through
exercising attentive presence and abhyasa, a committed application
of oneself to the practice in and out of the asana. Kate feels
blessed to be guided by many gifted teachers along her path
including Colleen Taylor, Yolanda Bain, Judith Lasater, and
Catherine Shaddix. |
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). |
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Kimberly
Paul
Kimberly has been a student of yoga
for thirteen years and a teacher for over ten. At crisis point
in her life, facing personal turmoil and battling a litany
of health issues, the practice of yoga and mindfulness meditation
opened her eyes to a new way of experiencing life. Since then
she has completed three teachers training's. A continued curiosity
led her to study with master teachers Dona Holleman, Kofi
Busia, Ana Forrest, and Edward Clark. Her yoga teaching is
informed, organic, and honest, a call to the need to slow
down and grasp that which is real and personally satisfying.
She is best described as erudite, yet deeply enthralled with
the beauty of the simplest things. |
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 |
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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. She travels annually to study with Sri K. Pattabhi
Jois, his daughter Saraswati, and his grandson Sharath in
Mysore, South India. Her appreciation of the life-transforming
practice of Ashtanga led her to create a yoga program for
people with chronic and terminal illness for the BodyMind
Restoration Retreats in Ithaca, NY, which she directed for
8 years. 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, 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. |
Rachel
Shaw
Rachel began her study and
practice of Hatha yoga in 1992, at the original Jivamukti
Yoga Center in New York City, where she regularly studied
with Sharon Gannon and David Life. Her scholarship then lead
her to receive teaching certification through the Sivananda
lineage. Rachel has been blessed with many strong teachers,
in the styles of Kripalu, Astanga, and Iyengar methods. Her
personal practice is most recently inspired by the teachings
of Ana Forrest, and the Anusara method developed by John Friend. |
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Maile
Sivert
Maile
Sivert teaches yoga in an exploratory way, encouraging
cultivation of intuition as a guide. Her style, while rooted
in the tradition of Astanga, is influenced by many styles
and teachers. She fell in love with yoga in 1996 and considers
Richard Freeman her primary teacher. She has also enjoyed
studying with BNS Iyengar, Dena Kingsberg and Sri Louise.
Balancing tradition with creativity, her classes are an active
yet nurturing synthesis of flowing postures, breath awareness,
and yogic philosophy. |
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 soul. Working toward completion of a Masters degree
in Somatic Psychology, she enjoys sharing her knowledge of
the psyche/body connection. She has a background in diverse
yoga disciplines, though is mainly influenced by Ashtanga.
She has completed various teacher trainings and workshops
including studies with Pattabhi Jois, David Swenson, Bhavani
Maki, Rolf Naujokat and the Greenpath Yoga Teacher Training.
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Brick
Thornton
Brick
Thornton began his spiritual path in 1994 by spending
over a year at a Tibetan Buddhist healing center. In the years
that followed, he studied yoga and internal martial arts,
culminating with a 4-month trip to India that led to a 4-year
journey. In India, he immersed himself in traditional forms
of yoga and meditation with an emphasis on viniyoga, studying
at the source at Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram under Desikachar.
Brick's classes are a unique approach to vinyasa yoga - the
breath feeds directly into fluid, aligned movements that foster
core strength and suppleness, weaving together a playful sequence
that focuses the mind and enlivens the spirit. |
Mirabai
Warkulwiz
Mirabai
Warkulwiz planted her yoga and meditation roots in San
Francisco at the Sivananda Center in 1998. Amazed at her healing
of a back injury and many other positive life changes, she
became yoga certified at the Integral Yoga Institute, and
at the Greenpath Ashtanga. In July 2008, she completed another
Teacher Training program in asana and pranayama through the
Integral Yoga Institute in Virginia. With over 600 hours of
yoga training, she has a passion for sharing these ancient
yoga practices with her students. Mirabai’s classes
offer a spiritually uplifting and holistic experience. Her
classes include centering excercises, asanas (postures), pranayama
(breath work), yoga nidra (deep relaxation), meditation, and
Kirtan (Sanskrit chanting.) She invites all of her yoga students
to transcend physical, emotional, and mental blocks to experience
more spaciousness, comfort, happiness, clarity, and inner
peace. Mirabai is attuned to Reiki Level 1, studies Aryuveda,
is a dancer, and enjoys being in communion with nature. She
is thrilled to come on board as a Mindful Body teacher!
Mirabai
is also a Kirtan musician leading Kirtan gatherings at the
Mindful Body and around the Bay, and enjoys implementing
chanting, sound, and music in class. |
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Stephanie
Wright
Stephanie began her journey in
health and wellness 14 years ago and discovered the love
of teaching others about fitness and overall well being.
In 1997 she took her first Yoga class and was drawn to the
mind-body connection. It was from there that she realized
Yoga and Pilates was her path and has been practicing both
ever since. Her first studies were in Ashtanga, but she
has expanded her practice and teachings to include Hatha
flow, restorative and yoga/pilates blend classes. Stephanie's
teaching style incorporates creativity, humor and encouragement
and reflects her background of both yoga and pilates. Stephanie
has a BA in International Business from UC Davis and is
a graduate of the Greenpath Yoga Teacher Training Program
as well as the SCW Pilates Teacher Training. She is influenced
by many different teachers and disciplines. |
The
Mindful Body welcomes all:
energetic youth, active adults, the young at heart, athletes,
dancers...and you! |
