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Annika Williams
Vinyasa Annika Williams was introduced to Hatha Yoga while studying Dance and English Literature at the University of Oregon in 1996. Her spiritual journey lead this vocalist, poet, song-writer, and artist of the Performing and Visual Arts, to find in Yoga a path to both spiritual and physical alignment.. Her style of Yoga is a creative fusion of Vinyasa Flow, traditional Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara Inspiration. With the influence of her dance background, the practice unfolds into a choreography of dynamic sequencing that opens the body, breath, and spirit and reminds us to feel the Yoga, the graceful yet vigorous movement with the breath that strengthens the body while guiding it back into alignment for optimum health. Her classes include meditation, chanting, and Pranayama; in quieting and training the mind, we are able to realize the beauty and bliss of our true nature and interconnectedness. Her attention to alignment brings her students both a safe and liberating experience, bringing to them the freedom in the poses by deepening their practice and building their strength, endurance, and flexibility. Annika is dedicated to living the Yogic path, the Eight Limbs of Astanga Yoga, and brings this into her teaching. Annika Williams is a graduate of the Avalon Yoga Teacher Training and Certification Program in Palo Alto, California where she apprenticed with Certified Senior Iyengar Instructor, Ben Thomas. She also regularly studies Asana, Philosophy, Sanskrit, the Yoga Sutras, Meditation, and Pranayama with Anirudh Shastri, Samantha Shakti Brown, and John Berg, whom she substitute teaches for and assists. She is devoted to helping others make the journey to wellness in body, mind, and spirit, and to awaken to their potential within, transcending with loving kindness the limitations that the mind imposes while respecting the true limitations of the body, and finding the awareness to differentiate between the two. Bonnie Linde Intro to Yoga, Restorative, Vinyasa Bonnie came to yoga after a career in high-tech operations management, and loved the way it made her feel, both physically and mentally. She completed the Teacher Training Program at Avalon Yoga Center in Palo Alto, mentoring with her primary teacher and influence, John Berg. After completing the program, she studied Restorative yoga with Jaclyn Long. Bonnie believes that yoga is more than just a good way to stretch and work out; it leads to a clearer, calmer state of being. She also believes a yoga practice should feel good, whether the student is a beginner or an advanced yogi. Brandy Falcon Yin and Vinyasa Brandy began practicing hatha yoga in 1998 and teaching in 2002. She pulls from many styles to lead classes that are slow, deep, and appropriately intense. Strongly influenced by Buddhist practices of Vipassana (insight) and Metta (loving-kindness) meditation, Brandy encourages students to investigate the many layers of their nature while working with the body, and to practice with compassionate awareness. She is certified to teach through the YES program directed by Joyce Anue, and has completed a Yin/Yang teacher-training course with Sarah Powers and Paul Grilley. In addition to her ongoing studies in yoga and Sanskrit, she is working toward a Master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Brandy is also one of the managers of Devi Yoga. Carla Philbrick Ashtanga and Vinyasa Carla has been practicing yoga since 1992, when a friend introduced her to the Ashtanga primary series. Since then, she has studied a variety of styles of yoga, including Ashtanga, Bikram, and Iyengar. Her eclectic background and previous experience as a dancer led her to a vinyasa practice, incorporating the synchronization of breath with a flowing sequence of movements; the result is a moving meditation. As a teacher, her goal is to inspire and guide people through this challenging practice while providing a safe and fun environment. Elizabeth Ballantyne Iyengar and Vinyasa Beth has been practicing yoga since 1998 and teaching since 1999. Beth teaches private, public, and corporate yoga classes. She completed the Teacher Training Program at IYISF (Iyengar Institute In San Francisco) studying with senior teachers such as Ben Thomas. Her strong background in Iyengar brings awareness and alignment to the postures while the infusion of Vinyasa brings breath, strength and flow to her classes. Beth has led wedding parties through pre-wedding morning yoga classes, and a childrens birthday party of 20, 8 and 9 year olds. Eric Wesoff Vinyasa and Ashtanga Eric has practiced and taught Yoga in the SF Bay Area for several years. He is certified in the Ashtanga style but borrows liberally from other Yoga disciplines. He has had the good fortune to practice with a number of distinguished teachers and hopes to carry on their teachings with integrity and grace. His classes emphasize breath, dynamic flow, and finding calm in the intensity of the asana. Giselle Mari, C.Y.T. Jivamukti, Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Yin Giselle's classes infuse yogic philosophy, chanting, and eclectic music in a challenging, yet fun openhearted environment. She encourages students to be exploratory in their practices and challenge their own ideas of what is possible by utilizing patience and humor both in the physical and mental practice of yoga. With an open mind, the body responds in kind. Her aim is to provide a space for students to awaken to their Divine Self through the journey of asana (seat/connection to the earth), breath, and dhyana (meditation). When we take time to listen deeply and experience our breath, quiet the mind, and connect to the earth, we expand and liberate ourselves from separateness and experience wholeness and peace. Giselle is a certified Jivamukti Teacher by her beloved Guru’s Sharon Gannon & David Life. She is also certified through the White Lotus Foundation and completed the Yin/Yang Teacher Training with Sarah Powers & Paul Grilley. She bows to the lotus feet of Sharonji, Davidji and Sarah for their generosity, love, guidance and inspiration. Her practice is also enhanced by lots of laughter and continued studies in Sanskrit, Buddhism and Vipassana meditation. Janya Wongsopa Vinyasa Janya is a devoted yoga practitioner. For the past five years she has immersed herself in yogic philosophy, psychology, health and healing. Janya received her formal yoga training from Avalon Yoga Center in Palo Alto. She has completed 200 hours certification course in yogic meditation and vedanta philosophy at Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm, Grass Valley. She also completed a certification in Somatic Psychology from the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in 2006. In the past two years Janya has taught yoga and meditation as well as worked as a pancha karma apprentice at Blue Sage Sanctuary. As a yoga teacher Janya emphasizes body and breath awareness. She weaves spiritual teaching of yoga into her classes allowing her students to connect with all aspect of themselves and gain physical, emotional and mental health. Her teaching is gentle yet challenging. With sincere guidance and support she urges her students to take an active role in creating optimum health and wellbeing. Jenn Gaskin Vinyasa Jenn Gaskin began studying yoga and pilates ten years ago. She says, "For me, yoga is more than something I do. It is who I am - something I feel I was created to take joy in. It meets and nurtures me in the deep places." Jenn's classes tend toward the more rigorous side of Vinyasa, but she seeks to maintain an atmosphere of solid calm and joy class. Jenn has had the privilege of learning from many wonderful yoga instructors over the past ten years and regularly practices with Anirudh Shastri. She is currently pursuing certification with Tias Little. Jennifer Payne Forrest and Hatha Jennifer has been practicing yoga since 1995 and teaching yoga since 2001. Yoga transformed her life and healed her in many ways. She decided to become a yoga teacher to share her passion. She completed her first yoga training at The White Lotus Institute in 2001. She completed her second training at The Forrest Yoga Circle in 2002. Her two main teachers are Stephen North and Ana Forrest. She also has a BA in Psychology and is a Certified Massage Therapist with five years experience. She incorporates compassion, humor, alignment, and intuition into her teaching. Jenny Ward Jenny is a play activist - empowering and inspiring adults to enjoy life not survive it. She created and owns Playward.com , who's mission is to start a play revolution in the world. Jenny has been invited to present Play Activism workshops and seminars to Corporations, Non-Profits, Churches and Schools all over the country. Her two books, "Who Said So?...creating a life outside the box," and "101 Ways to Play" continue to remind adults of the importance of NOT taking themselves too seriously. Jenny Ward received her M.F.A from New York University, is a licensed Life Coach and Registered Yoga Teacher. Some of her most memorable certification classes were at OM studio in NYC and Hatha/Iyengar training in California with Cindy Gibbons. Jenny uses yoga in many therapeutic settings with Teens and women all over the country. Jill Glikbarg Vinyasa Jill Glikbarg has been practicing yoga since 1986 in the Hatha traditions of Ashtanga, Iyengar, Power and Vinyasa. She recently completed her teacher's training in Vinyasa Flow with Mark Stephens of One Yoga Center, and has completed intensive teacher workshops with Rod Stryker (Pure Yoga - Tantra), Susie Aldous (Viniyoga), and Shiva Rae (Vinyasa Flow). Her empahsis connects breath and body in a progression of sequences culminating to a peak and gradually relaxing into release and stillness. Practicioners are led with verbal cues and hands on adjustments into safe alignment while deepening their practice and experiencing the subtle energies that lie within us all. John Berg Vinyasa John, an artist, musician and yoga explorer has studied under many teachers and styles, each one contributing a facet to John's style. A foundation in Iyengar yoga (Ben Thomas) brings an emphasis on safety and alignment; studies in traditional Hatha yoga, philosophy and Sanskrit (Anirudh Shastri); the art and power of creative vinyasa sequencing (Max Strom), and the integration of meditation into the physical yoga experience, creating one's own yoga (Erich Schiffmann). A graduate of teacher trainings at Avalon Yoga (Palo Alto, CA) and Sacred Movement (Santa Monica, CA), John is on the faculty of Avalon's training program teaching methodology. Emphasis is on the enjoyment of yoga as a personal expression; physically, spiritually and mentally. Kimberly Paul Vinyasa Completed three yoga teacher trainings and certified in two. Her eclectic teaching style draws from the many masters with whom she has studied: Dona Holleman, Kofi Busia, Ana Forrest, and Edward Clark, just to name a few. Her current teacher is Edward Clark and who teaches Tripsichore Yoga; a highly fluid, and lyrical practice that involves breath, bundhas, strength and grace. She conducts a practice designed to challenge you at your own level and bring about tranformation and empowerment in your life. She produces and hosts yoga retreats worldwide. Krassi Davis Intro to Yoga, Kid's Yoga, Vinyasa Krassi, BBA, CYT, CMT, has been involved in dance and theater since childhood. In 1996 she discovered yoga and has been an avid student of the art ever since. In 2001 Krassi took a trip to India where she experienced many different approaches and teachers of yoga and received her teacher-training certification from Vivekanada Prashanti Kutiram Yoga Institute in Bangalore, India. Krassi's training was focused on integrating the spiritual, emotional and mental aspects of yoga within a physical practice. Laura Noss Jivamukti and Vinyasa Laura Noss is a Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher who studies under the guidance of yoga masters Sharon Gannon and David Life. She has been practicing yoga informally since she was a teenager, formally since 1998, and teaching since 2002. An activist on and off the mat, Laura shares with students the power of yoga as both a physical and spiritual practice to awaken and experience freedom in this lifetime. She infuses her classes with humor, a sense of community, and an enthusiastic attitude and passion for yoga ? union with the higher Self. Laura helps students seek a stronger relationship and trust with themselves in a safe, engaging, interactive environment, and guides students to find simple ways to take their yoga off the mat and into daily life. Classes focuses on a theme, often incorporating chanting to help students find their voices; spiritual lesson with commentary; a challenging but light-hearted asana class; and the tranquility of meditation. Each class is set to a different playlist of great music, from Tibetan bells to Coldplay to hip hop to the Grateful Dead. She is a student of Vipassana meditation, and volunteers her time at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. When Laura isn't teaching yoga, she practices karma yoga through her company, Social Planets, which offers PR and marketing to progressive nonprofit organizations and socially responsible companies, and hikes with her partner Christopher and dogs Wilma and Shasta. Laura offers thanks and pranams to her primary teacher Ruth Lauer Manenti, who consistently inspires her from afar to practice with integrity and intention. Laura is grateful to all of her teachers, who remind her of the power of grace, lovingkindness, and staying on the spirit path, and and offers her efforts to the beautiful lessons they have brought to her life. More information can be found at www.onewithintention.com Lindsay Amrein Hatha, Vinyasa Lindsay graduated in 2007 as a registered yoga teacher from Avalon’s teacher training program in Palo Alto, studying closely with her inspiring and dynamic teachers, John Berg and Anirudh Shastri. Built primarily off of foundational postures, Lindsay's classes offer a strong and fluid physical practice with an emphasis on breath-synchronized movement (or Vinyasa). Lindsay believes in the power of yoga to heal and transform lives. She recently received her M.A. in transpersonal counseling psychology and she is now working as a counseling intern toward her MFT license. She enjoys integrating psychological ideas in her yoga teaching, demonstrating how practicing yoga regularly can become a transformational journey toward personal healing and self-discovery. Lisa Haley Vinyasa Lisa was drawn to yoga through her meditation practice as a teenager in high school. She learned of yoga as moving meditation: which seemed a natural combination of her meditation practice and training as a competitive ice skater. She has trained in a variety of styles of yoga including Vinyasa Flow, Jivamukti, and Bikram. Lisa also teaches yoga at Stanford University, where she is completing her PhD in Sociology. At Stanford, her classes include Hatha, Vinyasa Flow, yoga for athletes, mom and baby yoga, as well as a relax and renew class. Lisa's yoga practice helps her maintain a natural and balanced lifestyle. Her goal as a teacher is to nourish thebody, center the mind, and help students find their own physical and mental balance. Marly Cardozo Vinyasa and Yin Marly's teaching is at once rigorous and playful, and derives from an intuitive and highly-developed understanding of the human body and psyche. Her vision for her students is that they transfer the strength and flexibility gained through yoga practice into their lives - the strength to define one's boundaries and to act consciously, tempered with the flexibility to approach life with equanimity and to acknowledge another's truth. Yoga is the practice, the performance is life! Marly Cardozo received her certification in yoga instruction from the White Lotus Foundation. Her interest in the psycho-physiology of yoga led her to Tias Little, with whom she has completed advanced teacher training, and to TKV Desikachar, with whom she has studied yoga therapy. Marly leads local and international workshops and retreats. She is also a student and practitioner of bio-energetic healing, and is currently studying for certification in Healing Touch. For more information on Marly, please visit www.rasavinyasa.com. Mercedes Cooper Delaney Hatha, Restorative, Intro to Yoga Mercedes was introduced to yoga in 1998, at the beginning of her graduate school career. Fortunately for Mercedes, graduate school only lasted three and a half years, yet the threads of yoga continue to inform her life. She received her certification from Avalon Art and Yoga Center in Palo Alto in 2007 and is currently enrolled in Mindfulness Training for Yoga Teachers, offered through Sprit Rock Meditation Center. Mercedes? teachings guide us to find our foundation in the breath and the teachings of the yoga lineage, opening in the mind and heart, and surrender in the process of letting go. Nicole Montague Vinyasa and Prenatal Nicole began her yogic path in early childhood when she trained for years as both a gymnast and a musician. After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and then practicing law for four years, Nicole returned to her passion for exploring the mind, body and breath. She has a strong foundation in both Iyengar and Hatha yoga traditions, and continues to train closely with masters such as Ben Thomas and Anirudh Shastri. In her own practice and teaching, Nicole views Vinyasa as poetry in motion and seeks to use the body, breath and music to fuel an experience of inner peace and harmony with the Self. She has a unique style that infuses the playfulness of life?s energy with a grounded and meditative spirit. Nicole is a certified yoga instructor through the Avalon Yoga Teacher Certification Program in Palo Alto, California. Nicole Perkins Yin, Vinyasa and Prenatal Nicole is the founder of DEVI yoga. She discovered yoga while traveling through South-east Asia in 1995. In 1998, Nicole returned to India to study traditional Hatha yoga in an intensive month-long retreat at the Sivananda Ashram in Kerela, India. She has also completed teacher trainings with Sarah Powers , Erich Shiffman and a prenatal training with Judith Lasater. As a teacher, Nicole embraces a powerful vinyasa style with an emphasis on allowing your breath to be your guide through the practice.? She encourages students, with yoga, to take the journey inward to find our true self, to be present and to live in the moment. Open An instructor has not yet been chosen for this class. Phuong Tran Yin and Vinyasa Phuong began her yoga practice in 1995, and immediately took to the yin practice when she trained with Sarah Powers and Paul Grilley. She continues to study with Jill Miller, Tias Little, Samantha Matthews, and Phil Lynch. Phuong is a CMT and graduate student of bodymind psychology. Her in depth training in diverse body disciplines allows her as a teacher to delight, inform, and challenge her students to join her on an ever-deepening awareness of the anatomical and energetic aspects of yoga. Susan Brochin Restorative Yoga Susan was introduced to yoga in college and became a serious practitioner in 1996. She began teaching in 2000 after having received her 200 hour Ananda Yoga Teacher Training in Ananda at the Expanding Light Retreat in Nevada City. This practice, based on the teachings of Parmahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi) is a gentle practice focused on energetic awareness and affirmations. Since then, she has been blessed to study with Shiva Rae (Vinyasa Flow) and Judith Lasater (Restorative Yoga). A local schoolteacher in public education for over 25 years, she has a strong interest in yoga as a transformational tool for young people. She has worked with many local teachers on methods of teaching yoga in the classroom. Her style is continuously evolving, constantly looking to expand her awareness of many disciplines. She has worked with all ages from small children to seniors always focusing on integrating the teachings of yoga into daily life. Theresa Tomlin PilatesTheresa became a professional dancer at age 17 and continued dancing for ~10 years for such companies as Paramount Great America, Disney on Parade, and MTV. She first came to know the work of Joseph Pilates in 2001 when she began taking Pilates classes to help her maintain and improve her dance technique. Almost immediately, Pilates proved to be highly effective at increasing her body's core strength and flexibility as well as being an ideal complement to dancing (or any other cardio exercise). Theresa completed beginning and intermediate Pilates Mat training in 2005 and recently completed advanced Mat and Apparatus work. When not teaching Pilates or dance, Theresa can be found attending Hatha yoga classes or practicing acrobatics at the Circus Center in San Francisco. |
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