Sandy Blaine
Sandy Blaine is the director of the Alameda Yoga Station. Sandy has a joyful devotion to her daily yoga practice, and seeks to bring these qualities to her classes, which combine her experience and training in the Iyengar, Ashtanga Vinyasa, and Kripalu methods. Her writing has been published in Yoga Journal, Yoga International and Ascent magazines, and she is the author of two books, Yoga For Healthy Knees and Yoga For Computer Users. Sandy is the longtime resident yoga instructor for Pixar Animation Studios, and as a wellness consultant, she has spoken at Kaiser and Google. Previously, she taught yoga at UC Berkeley for many years, and she is a faculty member of the Berkeley Yoga Room's Advanced Studies Program, from which she graduated in 1995. Find more information about Sandy’s work on her website, www.sandyblaine.com. Sandy is at work on a new book about establishing a personal yoga practice, and she blogs about her own practice at www.theyogaguidetohappiness.com. [back to top]
Dawn Adams
Dawn Adams has been practicing yoga since the mid-1990s. She took her first class at the Alameda Yoga Station in 1996 and has since studied under experienced teachers such as Sandy Blaine, JoAnn Lyons, Donald Moyer, and Jill Miller. Dawn graduated from the Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley in 2009, became a certified Level I Yoga Tune Up® teacher in 2011, and continues to deepen her personal practice. Yoga has become an integral part of her life, especially because of its nurturing and centering aspects. Through practicing yoga, she has found that undoing is just as important as doing. In her teaching, she hopes to instill a sense of adventure and exploration of yoga, with a focus on finding balance and joy through practice. Dawn can be contacted at yogadawn@earthlink.net. [back to top]
Erica Grevemeyer
A lifelong student of the breath, Erica Grevemeyer began practicing yoga as a support for her sitting meditation practice. Her playful and inquisitive nature comes forth in her classes as she supports her students in regaining dignity, balance, and perspective through the practice of yoga. A graduate of the Yoga Room’s Iyengar-based Advanced Studies Program in Berkeley, she continues to deepen and refine her practice, constantly exploring the question of how her practice reflects the rest of life. Erica draws inspiration from her teachers, both formal and informal, yogic and not. In the yoga world, these include Ada Lusardi, Sandy Blaine, angel Kyodo williams, and Donald Moyer. Contact Erica: http://yogaerica.com/contact/. [back to top]
Lylia Guion
Lylia Guion graduated in 2003 from the Feldenkrais Berkeley training under the supervision of Elisabeth Beringer, David Zemach-Bersin and Carol Kress. Her background as a professional violinist brought her to this unique approach back in 1996. The Feldenkrais method is a very gentle and safe way to regain flexibility, release tension, become more aware of ourselves and eventually feel better. She is delighted to offer this class. [back to top]
Dina Hondrogen
Dina Hondrogen has been teaching yoga since 1997 in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a certificate from the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco. She was drawn to yoga after the pain from a chronic neck problem and then injury became unbearable and she had to stop working and dancing. The use of props and in-depth instruction of Iyengar Yoga brought her relief and gave her the tools to heal herself. She became an enthusiastic practitioner, then attended the Iyengar Yoga Institute for two years. Soon after this, she studied other types of Yoga, Ayurveda, Pilates, and various forms of movement and meditation which she integrated into her teaching. Dina continues to be open to new tools and techniques, melding the best into her practice. She places emphasis not only on the body but also works with the mind and emotions which she feels are central aspects of yoga. She is the mother of two and wife of one. [back to top]
Barbara Lande
Barbara Lande is a graduate of the Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley. She studies with Donald Moyer, Sandy Blaine and Nancy Leigh-Smith, among others, and has 20 years of Pilates training, 11 years as a student of Jean-Claude West. Barbara became interested in movement as a teen gymnast and later taught gymnastics, flexibility and conditioning classes. She studied theatre dance in college with Broadway dancer Shamus Murphy. Her teaching style is patient and respectful. She breaks down the poses into attainable movements that add up to a stimulating and fun experience. She loves sharing her knowledge with her students. Contact Barbara via e-mail at barbara@downdogstudio.com. [back to top]
Katrina LaShea
Katrina attended her 1st yoga class in 1985 after experiencing a back injury and a need to increase her flexibility. Over the years, she has developed a passion for the art and science of yoga for self-healing. Her teaching is greatly influenced by the faculty at the Yoga Room in Berkeley, especially with her primary teachers Sandy Blaine and Mary Lou Weprin. In 2008 she graduated from the Yoga Room’s Advanced Studies program. She is currently the in-house yoga instructor for Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre Programs. She teaches an Iyengar-based class using props to discover the ease and peace that comes with one’s body when it is safely aligned and supported. [back to top]
Nancy Leigh-Smith
Nancy Leigh-Smith, M.A., has been teaching yoga classes since 1999. Her background includes degrees in music and education, and experience studying and teaching in Europe, Asia, Australia and India, as well as the United States. Following an automobile accident in 1997, she began to focus on the practice of asana and is awed by the opportunity yoga affords for healing mind and body, and renewing the spirit. She has studied primarily Iyengar-style hatha yoga and has been influenced and inspired by her classes with Donald Moyer, Mary Lou Weprin, Judith Lasater, Roger Cole and John Friend, as well as her ten-month apprenticeship with Gay White and classes with Sandy Blaine. She is a graduate of the three-year Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley, holds a California State Teaching Credential in Health and Safety/Physical Fitness, and is an Advanced Relax and Renew Trainer. Nancy's teaching is deeply connected to her own experience of practicing yoga in the middle years of life. Visit her site at www.yogainthemiddle.org. [back to top]
Jon Morgan
Jon accelerated his study of Iyengar yoga after it brought continued functionality while suffering through herniated discs in 1999. A graduate of the Berkeley Yoga Room, 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 informed by one's breath. [back to top]
Seth Schapiro
Seth began practicing yoga in 1993. The first 15 years was in the Ashtanga tradition which included studying in India with Patabhi Jois. For the past 10 years he has been studying with Mary Lou Weprin and more recently with Donald Moyer, both advanced and gifted teachers in the Iyengar tradition and founders of the Berkeley Yoga Room. Seth is a recent graduate of the Berkeley Yoga Room Advanced Studies Program. His sequencing and clear explanations make the practice accessible to those new to yoga and support those with more experience in deepening their understanding. He draws from over 17 years of spiritual practice in the Ridhwan School, an approach which uses inquiry and the cultivation of presence to more deeply connect with one’s true nature. He brings this sense of mindfulness and exploration to his teaching of yoga. [back to top]
Amanda Sharpe
Amanda started practicing yoga in 1998 after working as a Physical Therapist for 16 years, specializing in neurological rehabilitation. The study of Yoga has been a natural progression for her, building upon her knowledge of anatomy and human movement. She is a graduate of the Advanced Studies program at the Berkeley Yoga Room and a Certified ”Yoga for the Special Child“ Teacher ™.
Her approach to teaching is one of sharing her experience and the sense of contentment and well-being that the practice of yoga brings into her own life. She uses her knowledge of human anatomy and movement analysis to help students find ease, comfort and space in their asana practice.
Amanda teaches public classes and private sessions in Castro Valley and Alameda, including classes for people with limited mobility and special needs. [back to top]
Barbara Steiber
Barbara Steiber has been a student of yoga for 20 years, and has been teaching since graduating from the Yoga Room in Berkeley in 1996. Her teaching style is influenced by studies over the years with Rodney Yee, Angela Farmer, Mary Paffard, Pattabhi Jois in India (1992), and Anusara yoga. Most recently she has been in a 2-year training, Embodied Anatomy and Yoga, with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen.
In her classes Barbara focuses on a sequence of asanas to maximize the body's natural ease and aliveness in each one of the forms. She works with students to bring about a sense of enjoyment and balance, as well as a deepening of the connection between the body and mind. Barbara views yoga practice as system of body movements that will help the sustain and support the well-being of a person health and fitness, over the many years of one's life. [back to top]
Jen Strongin, RYT
Jen discovered yoga 3 years ago in an effort to become physically and mentally fit. 70 lbs overweight and suffering from depression and anxiety, Jen started practicing Hatha yoga at her local gym and began a life-changing journey that continues and evolves.
A native of Los Angeles, Jen has been a Bay Area resident for 20 years, earning her Bachelors Degree in Women Studies from San Francisco State University, and then she trained to teach Vinyasa Flow Yoga with Leah Gillman at Barefoot Movement in Oakland in the Spring of 2011. Jen is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, and in addition has received a specialized training certificate to teach pre-natal and post-natal classes. Jen's yoga philosophy is to lead mindful and gentle yoga with humor and an emphasis on balanced living through the inner strength of mind, body, and spirit achieved by practice and the guidelines of yamas and niyamas. She has a passion to share the tools of yoga to help lead the way to healthy weight and body confidence that have proven so beneficial in her own life. When not practicing yoga Jen enjoys vintage shopping, live music, creative writing, getting pedicures, occasional tiki drinks and San Francisco Giants baseball. [back to top]
Rebecca Trissell
Rebecca began practicing yoga 1998. In 2007 she completed her 200-hour training at Yoga Tree located in San Francisco, studying under Elise Lormir, Darren Main, and Janet Stone. Through her teaching she hopes to reconnect students with their divine spirit encompassing joy, love, laughter and tranquility in all her classes. She welcomes all levels and abilities. She can be reached at yogawomyn@yahoo.com. [back to top]