instructor-bios

Nicole Becker, Owner and Director of Ojas Yoga Center
Nicole is a dedicated Yoga practitioner with a breadth of knowledge in many Yoga styles and healing traditions. In 2004 she received her teaching credentials in Anusara style Yoga with Jim and Ruthie Bernaert. With a background in Kundalini and Iyengar Yoga, and extended education in anatomy, physiology, and therapeutics, Nicole’s teaching encourages safe alignment, creative expression, and release of habitual tension in order to allow the life energy to move freely.  Her classes often center on philosophical insights drawn from her studies of Buddhism, Tantra, Chinese Elemental Theory, Ayurveda, Taoism, Nature, and the Human Condition. www.anamiyoga.com

 

Matthew Anziani 
Matthew Anziani teaches Wisdom Healing Qigong with permission from  his teacher, Master Mingtong Gu. He is a sound/music therapist who used the power of his voice to heal from tetraplegia (paralysis  affecting all four limbs). He has a degree in Jazz/World music  performance from SFSU and is certified in Sound, Voice, and Music  Healing from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

 

Daniel Doane
Daniel Doane has been a student of vipassana meditation since 1983, has led meditation days and practice groups for over a decade. He teaches meditation and yoga in the bay area and is interested in socially engaged spirituality and art.

 

 

 

Cathyn Fan
Cathyn joyously guides classes into a place of refuge, offering an oasis from the busy world. She began her yoga journey with restorative yoga, and practiced a variety of styles including Iyengar and Ashtanga before following the vinyasa path for her teacher training at YogaFit®. She begins class with a meditation and provides safe spaces for students to listen to their inner wisdom to connect body, mind, and spirit. She considers yoga as a pathway toward greater awareness and presence in our own lives and in our community. Cathyn enjoys teaching yoga to all ages and abilities and is adept at using props to support postures, encouraging steadiness and flow of energy in one’s practice.  More information about Cathyn can be found on her website at FanWellness.com.

 

 

Jnana Gowan
Jnana is the founder and director of Powerhouse Education; a company dedicated to health & well being. A teacher since 2000 she enjoys students of all shapes, sizes & skill levels. As an instructor, she has the unique ability to make people feel at ease and encourages each student to explore their true essence. She finds it is highly gratifying to share her knowledge of yoga and celebrates the wonder and excitement of a body in balance. Her studies are Iyengar influenced but have softened with age, insight and injury. She has written chapters for two books Executive Stamina and Mindful Motherhood lending her understanding of asana in the fields of motherhood and corporate America. In 2003 she developed the Bunny Head Yoga Program for kids – and it continues to grow with the monthly Girl Power Craft Days and Camp Bunny Head Yoga summer program. To her, the kids are the proverbial cherry on top!

 

 

Leah Kanaga grew up dancing around the Bay Area and studying ballet with the San Francisco Ballet.  Her practice of and devotion to Yoga and Zen grew naturally out of her love, experience, and connection with dance. Leah is a graduate of the Advanced Studies Program at The Yoga Room in Berkeley, a three-year, 1000-hour course with exceptional teachers such as Donald Moyer, Mary Lou Weprin and Gay White, who all received their training from B.K.S. and Geeta Iyengar in India. Today, she continues her studies with Donald Moyer, author of Yoga: Awakening the Inner Body.   Leah is also a graduate of the Yoga Studio, Mill Valley, a 214 hour teacher training program with wonderful teachers like Sarah Powers, Paul Grilley, Tias Little, and Georg Feuerstein. Leah has been teaching Yoga for seven years at Empty Gate Zen Center in Berkeley, where she is a student of Zen Master Bon Soeng (Jeff Kitzes), a

 

Senior Dharma Teacher and Vice Abbot.  Her website is www.clearstillness.com.

Carla Koopal
Carla welcomes you to her 30+ years expertise in Yoga Therapy, Multi-Lineage Yoga & Natural Therapeutics * 25+ years Advanced Pain Relief Bodywork / Massage * Degrees in Education & Nursing.  You’re in good hands! …Carla’s unique “AllOneYoga” classes are joyful journeys that focus on holistic health, and are customized to meet your needs.  As a young teen Carla developed her own way of stretching, leading to 7 years of University Yoga studies.  Then after degrees in Education & Nursing, and an additional 7 years of Iyengar Yoga studies, Carla journeyed blissfully through 15 teacher trainings: Integrative Yoga Therapy 500hr * Kripalu Yoga 500hr * Ananda Seva Yoga Therapy 500hr * Dr. Lad’s AyurYoga * Anusara style * Iyengar style * Sivananda Yoga * Svaroopa Foundations * Yoga of the Heart * Yoga Meets Dance * Yoga Movement * Joy of Life Yoga * Laughter Yoga * Mini Yogis * Pilates/Fusion.  TM, Tibetan & Insight Meditation teachings have provided a precious parallel path.  Carla continues to study Adi Yoga, Angela Farmer Yoga, Bihar Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Shadow Yoga, ViniYoga, TriYoga, and Yin Yang Yoga. www.bayareaholistic.com

 

 

 

Jennifer Lee
Jennifer Lee completed her original Feldenkrais training in Berkeley California in 1997. Her dedication to her own healing led her to undertake a second Feldenkrais training in The Netherlands with Mia Segal, the first student and assistant to Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, which she completed in March 2003.

Her experience of a serious injury led her to the Feldenkrais Method, and informs her understanding of the processes involved in recovering wholeness. In her pursuit of healing by way of learning, Jennifer pursued a wide variety of studies and practices including Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, the Rosen Method, Huma Somatic Psythotherapy, Arnold Mindel’s Process Work, Geomancy, Bio-Geometry, Tibetan Medicine and Free Diving amongst others. She believes that anything is possible and that fear is the biggest illusion.

Raven Nemeroff has been a student of yoga since 1997, and received her teaching certification from Integral Yoga Institute in February of 2003. She teaches an accessible yet challenging form of Hatha yoga, appropriate for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. In her classes there is an emphasis on non-competition and working at your own pace. Each practice will include instruction on proper alignment techniques, pranayama, and brief meditation. Her students tell her they appreciate her clear instructions and ability to convey the teachings of Hatha yoga with humor and kindness. When not teaching, Raven enjoys biking, singing, gardening, local farmers markets and generally being outdoors. www.ravenyoga.com

 

Jazz Poitier
Jazz is a Yoga Alliance instructor @ 500 hours and has 15 years experience teaching Hatha Yoga. She was Certified by the Yoga College of India in 1996 (Bikram), and was a participant in the Advanced Studies/Teacher Training Program at Piedmont Yoga (Rodney Yee) 2000. In 1999 Jazz met and began to study with her primary Hatha Yoga teacher and mentor, John Friend (Founder of Anusara), and received her Anusara affliation in 2002.

Sensitive to all body types, ages and abilities, Jazz believes anyone can learn to do Yoga postures well! Students of all levels from novice to advanced practitioners can deepen their understanding of yoga and how it works. While guiding an exploration of awareness of breath and principals of alignment, she offers tools that help cultivate strength, stamina, flexibility and balance. Her forte is assisting students in the realization of untapped potential in the postures, and helping them achieve true integration, optimal alignment and the possibility of flow. Jazz encourages and motivates. Her classes are focused, fun and challenging. www.globalheartyoga.org

 

 Rhoda Rossman Be ready to be guided down a stream of postures and take a detour from your usual mental focus and competition. Along the way, each pose will be shown and fully explained. You will grow more sensitive and step up the abundance of your precious physical and spiritual resources. By the end of practice, you will arrive at a purified state of health and wellbeing.

Rhoda took up Yoga in her late 30-s after a variety of athletic pursuits; she began with the Bikram form and later turned to Iyengar Yoga, which is her main influence. She started teaching in 2001 after completing the Yoga Alliance-certified Yoga Source Teachers Training Program. Her class is very nurturing and suitable for beginners as well as intermediate students.

James Michael Ryder is a dedicated student of meditation and hatha yoga, trained primarily in the Krishnamacarya lineage during the two-year/500-hour program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute, San Francisco.  He has consistently offered public classes and workshops over the past five years.  At essence, hatha yoga and its array of practices aim to bring us back to ourselves, to embodied wisdom and an undefended heart.  Founded in this intention James brings students through flowing series, and into concentrated investigations of poses and the rhythmic changeability of the breath.  Students will experience thoughtful sequences, earnest yet playful encouragement, and a true desire to help each yogin in the room discover greater ease and freedom. Currently, James is engaged in the 18-month Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation training offered by Spirit Rock Center, Marin Co.  Prior work as a theater artist imbues James’ teaching with precision, playful curiosity and a love for evocative language and story.  www.jamesryderyoga.com

 

Ryan Stone was introduced to yoga in 2002 by a fellow improv comedian in his native Chicago. Using yoga as a way to improve stage craft and reduce anxiety, laughter and yoga share a special relationship in Ryan’s practice. He earned his CYT from Moksha Yoga in Chicago, with in-depth study of anatomy, sequencing, therapeutics, and hands-on adjustments. Ryan also has backgrounds in Thai Massage, physical therapy, and enjoys the playful nature of Acro Yoga. Ryan moved from Chicago to the Bay Area in 2010 to further his study of yoga.

 

 

 

Tony Wolff  is author is author of The Yoga of Self Acceptance, to be published in 2011. He is a recovering achievement addict, coming to yoga from vipassana meditation over 20 years ago. He found that yoga embodied meditation by focusing attention on the actual physical experience occurring through the effort of asana. But he also found himself striving to make his body do things that more experienced practitioners seemed to have mastered. After years of injury and dissatisfaction, the 5 Not So Noble Truths emerged: slow down, pay attention, breathe, relax and lighten up. Those precepts guide his teaching. www.yogaofselfacceptance.com