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1250 Addison Street ∼ Studio 209
2121 Bonar Street ∼ Studio C
Berkeley, CA 94702
510-843-8784 |
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Instructors |
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Vickie Russell Bell has been studying yoga since 1990 and started teaching in 1994 in Ohio. Her teaching style emphasizes body awareness, alignment and the integration of mindfulness and ease in the yoga practice and in daily life. She is a very warm and inviting teacher who likes to challenge her students to higher levels of awareness. Vickie is a graduate of the Piedmont Yoga Studio's Advanced Studies Program and is certified through Judith Lasater as a Relax & Renew Trainer.
email: yogavickie@hotmail.com
(510) 290-7401
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Sadie Chanlett-Avery began practicing hatha yoga in utero and emerged into the mountains of West Virginia after a few pivotal cat/cow poses. After a two-decade hiatus, she reconnected with yoga at her local gym. The practice ignited an exploration of how Eastern approaches integrate with Western forms of exercise.
She received her teacher certification from Ana Forrest in 2003 and has immersed for months in the jungles of Costa Rica with Master Yoga and Kriya Meditation Teacher, Glenn Black. Sadie holds a personal training certification from the American College of Sports Medicine and serves as the In-House Yogi in the employee gym at Clif Bar & Company. Offering an understanding of anatomy, biomechanics and the profound effects of conscious relaxation, Sadie assists Yoga Tune UpR founder, Jill Miller, in teacher trainings across the country. In June 2009, Sadie will complete a Masters Degree in Holistic Health Education from JFK University with specialized coursework in nutrition and somatic psychology.
Sadie appreciates the diverse expression of the human genome with the belief that people of all ages and sizes can benefit from exercise and heal with yoga. With humor and compassion, she applies ancient yogic principles to individual needs and modern lifestyles. She infuses her classes with a playful, energetic attitude while challenging students to open, strengthen, and relax.
email: schanlet@hotmail.com
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Jill brings a sense of ease and joy to her teaching. Combining both the subtle and dynamic, her classes are active yet gentle. A graduate of the Yoga Room's Advanced Studies Program, Jill focuses on correct alignment within the form and the effective use of props, making her classes accessible to people of all ages, abilities and body types. She combines her love of yoga with breathing awareness and meditation to create space for both body and soul.
email: jill@jpdcom.com
(510) 540-5286
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Zô De Muro brings a wealth of perspectives to his classes, from the core strength of Pilates to the rigor of Iyengar yoga, from the intensity of weight training to the graceful expression of Nia dance. Zô's passion is to foster true functional fitness for the athlete, the weekend warrior, or anyone seeking to live a long and healthy life. As a personal trainer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), Zô is sole proprietor of Left Coast Fitness, based in San Francisco.
email: zo@leftcoastfitness.com
(510) 409-9812
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Lily's fascination with movement and the mind/body connection began at an early age through her childhood dance lessons. Dance led her to the practice of yoga, which she has been studying since 1998. Now a modern dancer with LEVYdance, (www.levydance.org) Lily's classes draw from her appetite for movement by integrating the energizing grace of vinyasa flow with a focus on inward cultivation. Challenging yet nurturing, she provides a safe space for students to play with their own perceived limitations. Her classes generate internal heat through vigorous posture flows, simultaneously allowing one to find length in the muscles and fascia of the body and openness in the nadis, or energy pathways of the body. Designed to still the mind, open the heart, and melt tension in the body, her class is accessible to all levels. She is also available to teach private sessions.
email: lilyyoga@gmail.com
(510) 928-5416
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Chandra Easton has been studying yoga since 1991 and began teaching in 2000 after training with Integrative Yoga Therapy (IYT), as well as Sarah Powers and Paul Grilley. She blends her studies of Vinyasa, Yin and Shadow yoga to create a practice imbued with sensitivity and strength. In her classes, she integrates her background as a translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts into her teaching of both yoga and meditation as a way of facilitating a direct experience of mindfulness, introspection, and compassion in one's practice.
Chandra began studying Tibetan Buddhism in 1996, in Dharamsala, North India, at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, founded by H. H. the Dalai Lama. While there, she studied Tibetan language, Buddhist philosophy, and meditation. In 1997, she resumed her studies in the Religious Studies Department at UC Santa Barbara where she worked on the translation of Tibetan Buddhist texts with the Buddhist scholar, B. Alan Wallace. She also taught Tibetan language in the same department, as well as supervised the cataloguing of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon for Davidson Library at UC Santa Barbara.
Her primary Buddhist teachers are H. H. the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, B. Alan Wallace, and Lama Tsultrim Allione. Her primary yoga teachers are Sarah Powers and Zhander Remete.
In 2007, Chandra co-founded Metta Journeys (www.mettajourneys.com), a service oriented organization that offers yoga retreats internationally to help women and children in developing countries. Visit www.shunyatayoga.com to view complete schedule.
email: chandra@shunyatayoga.com |
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Kathleen Fay came to yoga to deepen her understanding of the mind-body connection. As a Certified Kripalu Yoga teacher registered through Yoga Alliance and as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in mind-body-spirit work, Kathleen has seen the profound effect yoga and meditation can have in people's lives. Kathleen's Kripalu-style yoga classes focus heavily on breathwork and flow to rejuvenate one’s spirit. Classes range from a gentle to moderate flow, integrating breath and movement to release pent up tension and emotional stressors to make room for prana (life force or energy) to move more freely throughout the body. Kathleen's students benefit from the physical aspects of yoga, increasing strength and flexibility, as well as from the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yoga, reducing stress and learning ways to integrate practice into daily life. Kathleen provides a safe environment for each student to “explore their edge” on their journey to finding self-acceptance and unconditional love both on and off the mat.
email: kathleenyogi@yahoo.com |
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Rebekah Fessenden has been a student of Iyengar-style yoga since 1998 and has taught since 2006. Beginning with a background in dance, she came to yoga with a degree of body awareness. But through the tradition of Iyengar yoga she soon discovered the ability to look deeper within, to go beyond the physical placement and engage the mind. As a teacher, Rebekah focuses on clarity of alignment but also brings attention to the flow of breath and energy within each pose.
Rebekah received her certification through the extensive 3-year long Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley. There she had the pleasure of learning from several great teachers: Donald Moyer, Mary Lou Weprin and Sandy Blaine, among many.
These days, yoga continues to enliven and support all aspects of life for Rebekah, including dance, which she performs professionally with Shahrzad Dance Company, a Persian-modern fusion troupe.
email: chicabekah@hotmail.com |
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Sherry came to yoga five years ago after working as an architectural project manager and human resources manager. The stress of the corporate world had taken its toll, and yoga was her salvation. Because she began yoga later in life and had to face her own limited mobility, she has a heightened sensitivity to ensuring her students move through the postures in a relaxed and comfortable way. The focus is classical: eclectic Hatha practiced in a slow meditative manner. Classes emphasize coordinating the breath with movement, beginning with long warm ups, moving slowly in and out of more challenging postures and cooling down with calming quieting poses. Students are encouraged to listen to and observe their bodies, practicing kindness and acceptance of where their bodies are today. Alternatives and modifications are provided when necessary to enable the student to feel more ease in the postures. Sherry believes in the principle described by T.V.K. Desikachar, in The Heart of Yoga, "Anybody can breathe; therefore, anybody can do yoga."
email: fsherry@sbcglobal.net
(510) 604-9263
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Melanie Green is a yoga teacher, mother and co-director of the Berkeley Yoga Center. She has been practicing yoga since 1992 and teaching since 2000. Melanie makes yoga accessible to all. While encouraging students to focus on their breath, she teaches her students to deepen their practice as they honor their bodies. She values the spiritual aspects of yoga integrated with the asanas. Melanie focuses as much on the profound inner lessons of yoga: attention to the breath, letting go of thoughts and ego and perseverance through practice, as she does on the physicality of the poses. This process has been informed by Melanie's own experience with scoliosis.
Melanie's yoga background includes Ashtanga, Iyengar, Pre/Postnatal and Vipassna Meditation. She has trained with Tim Miller, Dena Kingsburg, Judith Lasater, Lisa Walford, David Swenson and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Currently, she attends Mysore practice with Vance Selover at the Berkeley Yoga Center. Her daily practice informs her teaching and gives her an abundance of experience from which to teach others. Melanie always finds ways to integrate lessons from her own yoga practice into her daily life with her partner and children.
In addition to her regularly scheduled classes, Melanie also offers private instruction and workshops.
email: melyoga@hotmail.com
(510) 368-3581
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Jonothon, a psychiatrist and yoga teacher, has focused on the connections between mind and body for more than twenty years. He continues to wonder about the elusive nature of the human soul.
email: jonothong@msn.com
(510) 236-8612
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Marie Hart has studied and practiced Iyengar yoga, pranayama and meditation since 1978 and first began to teach in 1981. She is a graduate of and now administers the 3-year Advanced Studies Program of The Yoga Room in Berkeley, an Iyengar-style teaching school. A former dancer, dance coach, and instructor in Indian music, she brings a dedicated, creative and disciplined approach to yoga.
Her level 1-3 classes create a path to opening tight shoulders, hips and hamstrings; this takes you gradually and safely beyond your present limits, while satisfying the body's desire for a workout. Marie's was chosen "Best Yoga Class" in the East Bay Express's "Best of the East Bay" in 2001.
email: mariehartyoga@hotmail.com
mariehartyoga.com
(510) 658-3097
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Bonnie Maeda, RN, graduated from The Yoga Room's Advanced Studies Program in 2002 and is certified as an Advanced Relax and Renew Teacher. She has been teaching Restorative Yoga at The Yoga Room as well as gentle yoga for health and healing at women's centers in local hospitals. She works with students with chronic illnesses, women receiving treatment for cancer, and individuals wanting to focus on their health. Bonnie believes the yoga practice is available to every body type and age when the approach is individualized.
email: bbmaedarn@yahoo.com
(510) 548-9566
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Scotty McCaulley has been a student of yoga for ten years and has been teaching for the past two. He teaches Iyengar style yoga and emphasizes the internal spaciousness that the practice of yoga can offer. Scotty's past experience as a psychotherapist brings to his teaching a focus on how yoga can enhance our overall mental, emotional and spiritual health, and he does so with a sense of humor.
(510) 649-1800
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Jon Morgan accelerated his study of Iyengar-style yoga after it brought continued functionality to him while he was suffering through herniated lumbar discs in 1999. A graduate of The Yoga Room in Berkeley, Jon teaches from the perspective that yoga is for everyone, made accessible via appropriate propping. He blends his degrees in Biomechanics and Philosophy and Religion into alignment-based asana sequences that are informed by one's breath.
email: jonyoga@gmail.com
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Donald Moyer has been practicing the Iyengar method of yoga since 1971, and teaching since 1974. He was the director of The Yoga Room at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley from 1978-2008, and is a former president of the California Yoga Teachers Association (CYTA). Donald wrote the "Asana" column for Yoga Journal in 1987, 1989, and 1992. His first book, Yoga: Awakening the Inner Body, was published by Rodmell Press in 2006.
email: yogaroom@aol.com
(510) 848-0993
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Danish by birth and a lover of truth, Herdis has been a student and teacher of yoga and meditation for 25 years. She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and co-founder of the Berkeley Yoga Center.
email: Herdispelle@pacbell.net
(510) 649-9812
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Jen Raven-Harris has been a student of Yoga since 1997 and is a graduate of the Piedmont Yoga Advanced Studies Program. From her corporate background, Jen has a keen understanding of the pressures of the working world and how Yoga can help you manage stress, relax, strengthen, and live with mindful presence. She teaches an accessible and energetic form of Hatha Yoga appropriate for all levels.
email: jravenharris@yahoo.com
(510) 846-5481
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Ariel Roland-Holst began studying yoga in 1989 after many years of dance. She is a graduate of the Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room. She approaches yoga as a means of self-discovery and meditation between human nature and the pragmatic realities of our daily lives. In yoga, self-examination and mind-body communion offer enormous potential to strengthen ourselves physically, spiritually, and socially. The gradual, integrated, and progressive challenges posed by the asanas remind us that life is a process of overcoming. From opening salutation to savasana, we experience a microcosm of life itself. Ariel's commitment as a teacher is to facilitate the personal discovery and growth that can accompany this.
email: ariella262002@yahoo.com
(510) 206-4567
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See www.ashtangayogaberkeley.com for more information about Mysore classes.
email: vance_selover@yahoo.com
(510) 301-6747
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Ada's practice of yoga and meditation began in 1993 as an organic progression from her work as a professional dancer and Pilates instructor, and a path to healing career-related injuries. She is a Certified Yoga Teacher and graduate of the Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley, a three-year teacher-training program in the Iyengar Tradition. She guides students of all levels and life stages through a challenging yet accessible practice in which postures are explored incrementally to facilitate deepening awareness, openness, strengthening, and healing of the body. Ada's teaching is inspired by Donald Moyer, Mary Lou Weprin, Patricia Sullivan, the dedication of her students, her passion for movement, and the study of human anatomy. She leads classes and retreats throughout California's Bay Area. See www.adayoga.com for more information.
email: info@adayoga.com
(510) 552-0155
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Diane began practicing yoga in 1996 and teaching in 2001. In 1999 she turned to her practice to rehabilitate her body, mind and heart after a major car accident. She embodies the powerful transformation that can happen through dedication and practice.
As a teacher, she creates a sacred space for people to practice and to pay attention to their bodies' wisdom. Her classes provide a supportive environment for students to work their edge, at their own pace, with a focus on core strength, inner listening and self-care. Diane's asana practice blends yin yoga (long-held passive poses), with yang yoga, which builds strength and stamina. Her focus throughout each class is on mindfulness, with compassion as the underlying tone.
Her training includes studies in Iyengar Yoga, Yin Yoga, Vinyasa, Ayurveda and mindfulness practice. She also has a Master's in Arts and Consciousness from JFK University. Diane has danced all her life and continues a dance meditation practice with the Moving Center School in Mill Valley, CA. Her influential teachers include Sarah Powers, Donald Moyer, Scott Blossom, Pema Chodron, Gabrielle Roth and Gandhi.
Diane is also a poet whose work focuses on the mindfulness of each moment. Her poetry and yoga schedule are available to read on her website at www.lotusofferings.com.
email: diane@lotusofferings.com |
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Patricia's classes offer a depth and breadth that arise from over thirty years of teaching and include many streams of study. Having begun yoga in 1971, she studied in India with the Iyengars in the 80's and taught Advanced Studies (teacher training) at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco through the 90's. She continues to contribute her skills in other teacher trainings and retreats at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, the Yoga Loft, California Institute of Integral Studies, Deer Run, and others.
Patricia has studied many translations and commentaries, as well as the practice of chanting, of the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali; explored other systems of yoga; and dedicated many years in personal exploration. Her practice and study of Buddhism brings the emphasis of mindful awareness and investigation taking precedent over accomplishment, and her work as a sculptor adds a creative, improvisational element to the class.
Patricia's knowledge of alignment, anatomy and kineseology promotes healing and aesthetic awareness on the physical level. Her emphasis on attuning to, calming and toning the energy body through sensitive awareness in the poses, through sound, chanting, and pranayama practices, creates an effective bridge to and from the more subtle and universal aspects of our existence. The meditation practices offered, primarily Buddhist, guide students toward greater sensitivity to the effects of our unexamined reactive patterns in daily life and relationships and help build tools for wiser, more compassionate and joyful living. For more information about Patricia and her teaching, see www.patriciasullivanyoga.com.
email: psullivanyoga@earthlink.net
(415) 342-7772 |
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Cybèle Tomlinson is a teacher, mother, and the co-director of the Berkeley Yoga Center. Her yoga background includes study of Kundalini, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vini and Yin Yoga; teachers who have most influenced and inspired her practice and teaching are Sarah Powers, Erich Schiffmann, Richard Miller, Donald Moyer, and Hameed Ali.
Cybèle's classes are a blend of Yin yoga and other more rigorous styles, with an emphasis on cultivating breath and flow in your practice. Classes are challenging, while respecting the body's limits: students are supported to find their own "edge," going as deeply as they wish. Cybèle provides an open, nonjudgmental atmosphere in which to investigate the totality of your experience: physically, mentally, and emotionally. In addition to regular classes, Cybèle offers private sessions, workshops and retreats.
As well as teaching, Cybèle also writes; she is the author of Simple Yoga and Ayurveda Wisdom. She is currently deeply immersed in the Diamond Approach, a contemporary spiritual teaching. She lives with her husband and two sons in Berkeley.
email: cybeleb@hotmail.com
(510) 558-6936
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Jennifer Ward began her yoga studies sixteen years ago in the Iyengar tradition. While she enjoys dynamic yoga styles such as Iyengar, Anusara, and Vinyasa Flow, her personal practice is now focused on the inwardly drawn style of Yin Yoga, accompanied by meditation. Jennifer has found that the combination of Yin Yoga and meditation is a potent catalyst for personal transformation. She is studying with Sarah Powers and is influenced by the teachings of Paul Grilley. She is also immersed in the exploration of psychospiritual practices with Jennifer Welwood whose work combines the efficacy of contemporary Western psychotherapeutic techniques with the ancient wisdom of Tibetan Buddhist practices. She has also trained with Erich Schiffman, who confirmed her own inclination that meditation is the "main deal" and imparted to her a deeper understanding of the fact that each person has his or her own yoga and so there is no ultimate form of a pose to attain. Jennifer believes that each yoga session is an opportunity to embrace what is present in each moment and to meet whatever arises with non-judgmental curiosity, which then allows the practitioner to inhabit a more integrated self. In addition to teaching regularly scheduled classes, Jennifer offers private sessions and workshops. Jennifer lives in Berkeley with her husband and two sons.
email: jenward1010@gmail.com
(510) 558-1139
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Herta Weinstein has been a yoga student since 1978, mostly at the Yoga Room in Berkeley, and has also graduated from their teacher training. She began teaching Seniors (being one as well) in 1995 and since then has been teaching seniors and people with disabilities in classes and individual sessions. The Yoga for 55+ class is a gentle yoga program for seniors (or anyone with physical challenges) to enhance strength and flexibility. Open to all levels. Anyone of any age who can climb the flight of stairs to the studio is physically able to participate. This class emphasizes working at whatever level one can, often with adaptations and modifications of classical Iyengar style poses, with mental focus on the needs of the body in the present, rather than striving for a distant goal, or a pose to achieve.
Herta retired from medical practice (psychiatry) in 1998 and does not practice or teach medicine or psychiatry now. But the experience inevitably informs her teaching and practice of yoga. She has a particular interest in the borderline areas between East/West approaches to medicine, to anatomy, to physical therapy, and to concepts of consciousness, and also in the preventive medicine aspects of yoga correctly practiced.
(510) 845-8724 |
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Mary Lou Weprin works with alignment and progressive sequencing to balance and enhance the energy of the inner body. As Associate Director of The Yoga Room in Berkeley since 1980, Mary Lou has taught beginning, intermediate and advanced practice classes in the Iyengar tradition, and has trained many of the teachers in the East Bay in the Yoga Room's Advanced Studies Program. She has studied with many of the senior teachers in the Iyengar tradition, including Donald Moyer, Ramanand Patel, and Judith Lasater, as well as with Mr. Iyengar and Gita Iyengar. She holds an Iyengar certificate, and is registered as an E-RYT 500 teacher with Yoga Alliance. She teaches Intensives and workshops locally, on the West Coast, and in Canada.
email: mweprin@comcast.net
(510) 236-0295 |
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Gretchen Wobrock is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. As an educator of mind/body awareness and mindfulness practice, Gretchen worked for many years with adolescents in public and private schools in the Bay Area, offering a holistic and experiential approach to learning. Intrigued by what she saw in the souls of children, including her own daughter, and her experiences with energy work and meditation, she became a healer, working with clients as a Reiki practitioner and yoga instructor. Trained at Kripalu, the largest yoga school in the US, she began to understand the profound connection between body, breath and spirit. Her deep yet gentle vinyassa flows in her yoga classes allow students to delve into the mysteries of their unique mind/body connection, exploring the many facets of healing and transformation. As a Phoenix Rising Yoga therapist she has witnessed the profound transformation in individuals, who, through self inquiry, explore and discover a more authentic connection to themselves and the world around them. Gretchen is currently a student in the Diamond Heart School, and has had over a decade of meditation training, primarily with teachers in the Vipassana tradition. She weaves her long-time interests of resonance and sensual experience in the natural world into her classes and offers workshops and retreats in the Bay Area.
email: gretchenwobrock@gmail.com |
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Nobuko Yamada has been teaching yoga since 2000. She is a graduate of the three-year Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley. In the Iyengar tradition, she blends her thirty-year background in meditation with her yoga practice, creating a sense of lightness and quietness after each class.
email: nobukoyamada@comcast.net
(510) 845-5518 |
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