Elizabeth Freeman,
Co-Founder and Studio Director, began studying yoga in 1986 and completed the teacher training
program at The Yoga Tree (www.pacificyoga.com))
in 1999. She is especially grateful for the inspiring teaching of Theresa
Elliott, Kathryn Payne and Dona Holleman. Elizabeth’s practice is strongly
influenced by the Iyengar tradition, combined with vinyasa and pranayama. She
believes the benefits of yoga are available to anyone willing to give it a try.
Kathryn Payne,
Co-Founder and Program Director, has taught yoga for over 20 years and considers mentoring those
who want to learn and teach yoga one of her great joys and priorities in life. Kathryn’s
regular meditation and pranayama practice began in 1985, soon followed by an
Ashtanga vinyasa practice at Yoga Works in Santa Monica when it was a small “walk-up”
studio and her teacher, Chuck Miller, served the students tea before class.
These early imprints continue to influence Kathryn to this day – yoga is
personal and its aim is to reveal one’s core being through meditation.
Her greatest understanding of
yoga comes through her study of Sanskrit with master teacher Vyaas
Houston. In 2000, Kathryn started teaching Sanskrit through the American
Sanskrit Institute and conducts study groups on a regular basis. She is
always seeking ways to bring yoga’s ancient wisdom to light in the context of
today’s culture and lifestyle.
In asana class,
Kathryn uses eight vital principles* and methodical sequencing to elevate an
awareness of alignment, breath and subtle energy. Her classes are
unhurried and she encourages students to find their way by watching “from the
inside”. Kathryn has studied with the Iyengars in India, is certified by
Dona Holleman and continues to study asana with Orit Sen-Gupta, John
Schumacher, Patricia Walden and her longtime business partner and friend,
Theresa Elliott.
Kathryn is a founder and Director
of Island Yoga Center on Vashon Island and Pacific Yoga Teacher Training
in Seattle and is registered with the Yoga Alliance at its highest standard,
ERYT-500.
* Not doing of the
mind, not doing of the body, intention, rooting, bodyscape, awareness of hara,
breathing, elongation
Ronly Blau earned her teaching certification from Kathleen Hunt
in 2000 and has been teaching on Vashon since 2001. She brings extensive
experience as a dancer into a flowing practice that weaves together yoga
philosophy, pranayama, and meditation into the asanas. Her teaching is strongly
influenced by her current study and practice in Ayurveda(the native healing
system of India) and vipassana meditation. Her intention is to create an
accepting space that nourishes self-transformation in sangha(good company). Please
visit her website at www.meadowheartayurveda.com
James Cullbertson discovered
Hatha yoga in 1995 and expanded his interest to Raja and Jnana yoga in 1999. He
completed the Samadhi Yoga Teacher Training with Kathleen Hunt in 2003. His
practice blends asana, vinyasa, and pranayama, to focus the mind, soften the
heart, and energize the body.
Andra DeVoght "I believe that everyone can benefit from yoga.
My goal is to teach yoga in such a way that students of all levels of
ability may uncover the wisdom in their bodies.” Andra has been a
practicing physical therapist since 1995 and yoga instructor since 2004.
She teaches therapeutic yoga classes for those experiencing pain or
physical limitation due to injury, illness, or childbirth. Her classes
combine western knowledge of anatomy and health with the ancient wisdom of
yoga. Her approach to yoga is influenced by her training as a physical
therapist, her studies in public health, Vipassana meditation, and the
teachings of Iyengar and Anusara yoga traditions.
Marcie Hamrick,
M.D., is an
integrative family medicine physician and an instructor at the Seattle
Institute of Oriental Medicine. she has practiced yoga for 16 years and
has taught for the past 3 years in the viniyoga tradition, a style, which is
gentle and therapeutic. Marci enjoys bringing yoga to everyone, even those how
never thought it possible to participate and believe that yoga i practiced on
the mat in order to facilitate grace and ease in our everyday lives.
Cynthia Perkins has practiced yoga for over twelve years and sees yoga as a
form of moving meditation. She uses alignment as a tool for guiding the
student's attention to remain present in the body. Students stretch, strengthen
and find balance in her class through gentle instruction and her attention to the
individual's need.
Nicole
Grey has been teaching yoga since 2002. In 2010 she completed a
200-hour teacher training through Tiffany Cruikshank in Portland and is
currently working her way through the advanced 500-hour teacher training
program. With a background in dance, her evolution to yoga was a natural shift.
Nicole considers yoga her primary spiritual practice. She specializes in
vinyasa flow, prenatal and postnatal yoga, fertility yoga, yoga therapeutics,
and Yin Yoga. When she is not teaching yoga, she is honored to be mommy to two
amazing girls, as well as teach childbirth preparation classes. Nicole believes
in the power of personal transformation through the practice of yoga, and she
feels strongly this practice is accessible to all who seek it. Nicole is
registered with the Yoga Alliance at the RYT-200 level.