OUR TEACHER TRAINERS
Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life, and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.
He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco, and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U.S., Europe and South America. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI) which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.
Swami Vimalananda Ma, RYT500, is an Integral Yoga sannyasi – monk. She has been involved with Integral Yoga since 1971 and Director of the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute from 1992-2011. She specializes in teaching yoga philosophy and spiritual counseling.
Swami Divyananda Ma, E-RYT 500, has had a wealth of experience teaching Integral Yoga around the world since 1973. She has taught at corporations, universities, the Commonwealth Cancer Center, and for the Dr. Dean Ornish Reversing Heart Disease programs. She has also served as one of Integral Yoga’s Basic Hatha teacher trainers.
Swami Divyananda Ma took monastic vows in 1975 from the great saint and yogi, Sri Swami Satchidananda. Over the years she has served as the director of the Integral Yoga Institutes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and as Ashram Manager at Yogaville. She also served for ten years as the director of the Integral Yoga Institute in Coimbatore, India; this immersion into the South Indian culture has given depth to her understanding and practice of Yoga.
Now an itinerant monk, Swami Divyananda is constantly “on the road.” She leads the annual Sacred India Tours to sacred sites in India in addition to international Yoga retreats and trainings. Learn more at sacredindiatours.org.
Diana Meltsner, C-IAYT and e-RYT500, has been teaching yoga in the Bay Area since 2001. The classes she teaches include prenatal, gentle, various levels of Hatha yoga, and yoga workshops. Diana is a lead teacher trainer for 200hour Basic Yoga Teacher Trainings at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco. She is certified yoga therapist and offers individual therapeutic sessions with focus ranging from stress reduction to injury recovery. Her classes include physical postures, breathing, guided relaxation, meditation and other yoga teachings which help people to find deeper sense of well-being and ability to move through life with increased ease, intuition, and stress resilience. www.dianameltsner.com
Snehan Born has four decades of experience with yoga and has been teaching since 2000. Snehan resides at the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco. He has led teacher trainings here and at Satchidananda Ashram, Yogaville, Virginia and The Integral Yoga Institute, NYC. Snehan is certified in all levels of Integral Yoga Hatha and has received additional certifications in Pranayama, Meditation, Raja Yoga and Stress Management from Integral Yoga and “Life of a Yogi” in 2008 from Sri Dharma Mittra. In 1997, and again in 2001, Snehan studied with Deepak Chopra in India and taught an Integral Yoga class to 250 participants in Agra. Also in 2001 he received “Conscious Eating”, a live foods certification from Dr. Gabriel Cousens at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona.
Snehan has lived and traveled extensively within India. He has taught yoga all over the US, in India, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan and Europe.
Mia Velez, E-RYT 500, entered Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) in 2016 through the kitchen as a volunteer cook at their silent retreats, teacher trainings, and weekly community lunches. In 2018, she was certified as an Integral Yoga teacher to learn more about the IYI approach and be part of the lineage. Mia is a disciple of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lineage and is highly influenced by her martial arts training. After completing her first 200-hour teacher training in 2008, she saw undeniable parallels in Yoga and Kung Fu. She started teaching Kung Fu in 2014, incorporating Yoga insight and principles in her classes. Her goal in teaching is to facilitate a safer space for self-inquiry that hopefully leads to liberation. She shares her joy and knowledge of yoga as a co-trainer for the Basic Teacher Trainings at IYI, including the BIPOC Yoga Teacher Training; she teaches the healing properties of yoga to incarcerated men and provides stress management techniques to new parents. Yoga and Kung Fu are integrated into her daily life as a mother, a preschool teacher, and an advocate for gender, race and class equality through multiple non-profit groups.
OUR TEACHING STAFF
Amanda Vigil is a San Francisco-born and raised filmmaker, educator, and performance artist. Her work has been seen locally and internationally. Amanda believes in the power of the audience, through her work as a facilitator, director, and curator. Amanda is a recent graduate of the Integral Yoga 200 hour BIPOC Yoga Teacher Training program. She proudly focus her talents on making art/film, intergenerational impact and healing in the city of San Francisco.
Amaran began his yoga journey in 2003 in NYC after taking an introductory workshop at Integral Yoga NY. In 2005, when he moved to San Francisco, he started practicing at IYI and felt right at home. After several months, he began to volunteer at reception and has been involved at the ashram ever since. He has also volunteered in the kitchen and managing email campaigns. In Fall of 2011 he completed Yoga Teacher Training and began teaching the week after graduation. Amaran specializes in teaching Gentle, Chair and Restorative Yoga.
Andreína (She/her) is a Venezuelan interdisciplinary performing artist and registered Integral Yoga practitioner based in Yelamu, Ohlone Territory, colonially known as San Francisco, California. She currently teaches beginner level Hatha yoga in Spanish, and in English by request. She guides her students through the powerful practice of Integral yoga by centering mindfulness, joy, and self-care. Join Andreina in this fun and intentional class that will leave you feeling renewed, empowered, and more connected to self and others.
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Andreína (Ella) es una artista Venezolana interdisciplinaria y practicante registrada de Yoga Integral con sede en Yelamu, Territorio del pueblo Ohlone, conocido colonialmente como San Francisco, California. Actualmente enseña Hatha yoga nivel principiante en Español, y en Inglés a pedido. Ella guía a sus alumnes a través de la poderosa práctica del Yoga Integral al centrar la atención plena, la alegría y el cuidado personal. Acompaña a Andreína en esta clase divertida e intencional que le dejará sintiéndose renovada, empoderada y más conectada consigo misma y con los demás.
Graduating from the inaugural BIPOC 2021 cohort of Integral Yoga San Francisco’s 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training, Anjali, she/they, prioritizes creating safe spaces for personal practice. With over a decade of personal practice in meditation and energy work, Anjali specializes in intuitive healing, utilizing reiki, sound healing, and crystal work to address body imbalances and release unhelpful energies. Passionate about the transformative potential of sound healing, Anjali incorporates singing bowls and instruments to foster relaxation and balance. Believing deeply in the power of breathwork, she aims to be your guide as you embark on a profound journey within your own practice, facilitating exploration and growth.
Jen “JP” Andrews is a recent graduate of Integral Yoga Basic Teacher Training and current student of Raja Yoga Teacher Training. She found Hatha Yoga about 10 years ago and decided to deepen her spiritual practices after discovering Integral Yoga SF and the teachings of Swami Satchidananda. For the last 2 years she has been coaching clients to find their way to inner peace and joy by organizing and decluttering their space. This process allows her to apply yogic principles in her client sessions as a way to support and help reconnect clients to their True North. JP loves reading, dog walking, hiking and enjoying life at the beach.
My name is Arpita Roy, RYT 500. I am an Accessible Yoga Teacher Trainer living in Hyderabad, India. I am also a certified in Yoga Psychology, guided meditation and as a stress management coach.
In 2006 I lost both of my legs in an accident, from above the knee. I began practicing yoga in 2015 and became a yoga teacher in 2019. I believe that Yoga is for anybody and if I can practice it then anybody can.
My community is mostly amputees who need hope to get out from the trauma of their accident. I teach those with specially abled bodies, amputees, able bodies and kids. I have led workshops with the central reserve police force in India, taught for Yoga Alliance Teaching for Equity Program as well as other specially abled groups. In addition to teaching yoga I am a motivational speaker and have appeared in various colleges and Yoga conferences both virtual and in-person.
Sarah Asha Weidman, RYT-200. After completing her first triathlon at age 24, Sarah Asha finally walked into a yoga class that she had been wanting to attend. Her journey kept intertwining with Integral Yoga teachers, not knowing what Integral Yoga was exactly. Then, in 2010 she put it all together and spent a blissful month at the Integral Yoga Institute in Yogaville, VA earning her 200-hour basic training with Satya Greenstone. Her Yoga teacher training certifications include Intermediate, Stress-Management, and Yoga for Teens. She has been blessed to have lived at the San Francisco Institute and to have staffed numerous trainings in both the Virginia and San Francisco center. She continues to intertwine Integral Yoga practices in her everyday life and in her professional work with teens as a learning specialist and an executive functioning coach. She is forever grateful for the wisdom, inspiration and knowledge of her teachers Satya Greenstone, Swami Ramananda and Swami Divyananda and for the incredible sangha that she has found through Integral Yoga. Learn more about Sarah at sarahrweidman.com.
Ashoka practiced yoga for over two decades prior to becoming a certified Yoga teacher in 2010; he became an intermediate level instructor in August 2011. He has taught locally and internationally. He currently teaches Hatha I weekly (Saturdays @ 11:00am) at the San Francisco Integral Yoga and at the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Astrud has been teaching yoga since 2001 and sharing Kirtan internationally for the last 10 years.
She trained in NYC at Laughing Lotus, currently known as Body and soul Yoga collective and is a senior teacher and teacher trainer. She has studied the basics of yoga therapeutics and Vedic chanting with T.K.V. Desikachar in India. Her teaching has been inspired by her mentor and friend Mark Whitwell over the last 20 years. Astrud’s classes are warm, welcoming and all inclusive.
Her love and relationship to Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, is always illuminated in her teaching. There is always chanting in Astrud’s classes, awareness around the breath and mindful movement.
Astrud leads annual pilgrimages to India, teaches Bhakti yoga with teachers in training and currently lives at the IYI in SF.
Her slow flow class weaves together poses in a creative and mindful way using the breath as the bridge to deepen and explore the balance between effort and surrender and focus the mind.
I’ve been teaching Integral Yoga since 2002. I took Basic Teacher Training not because I longed to be a teacher but because I was told by my teachers that it would deepen my practice. They were right AND here I am still loving teaching after 17 years! I like to go deep in my classes, but with calmness. The vinyasas (sequences of poses) I teach are sometimes challenging but always slow. I like to stay in poses a while with eyes closed, hearing what the body has to say. I have always been deeply appreciative of how Integral Yoga combines attention to the body with peacefulness of the mind.
Rena Bhavani Ivy is a senior teacher at the Integral Yoga Institute who also facilitates a cognitive behavioral recovery group. She has specific training in therapeutic and accessible yoga, and also leads workshops in meditation. She has recently completed a forty-hour training in trauma sensitive yoga at Kripalu, taught by teachers from the Trauma Center in Massachusetts. She teaches privately, as well as at IYI.
Bernadette Milan, RYT-500, RPYT, AWC Bernadette’s path to yoga started innocently enough when she took a yoga class at a community center and heard the teacher give a dharma talk before the class started. Fast forward years later, when she became inspired to help guide others in their healing journey. She is currently working as a Yoga Therapist in training and Ayurvedic Health Counselor with the goal of becoming a NAMA certified Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist. She loves that yoga addresses the needs of the body, mind and soul. She is in the process of completing her Integral Yoga Therapy C-IAYT certification and her Ayurveda Practitioner certification from Kerala Ayurveda Academy to gain a more well-rounded foundation in which to help others.
Candi Reddick, RYT-200, is an artist, educator, and equity-focused tech founder focused on decolonizing healing in communities of color. Many years ago, she began her yoga journey on a sunny Florida beach and decided to deepen her practice in 2018 by completing the Living Yoga Training Program at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville.
A recent graduate of the inaugural 200-hour BIPOC yoga teacher training program at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco, she is committed to anti-oppression and justice work and has led workshops on racism, privilege, white supremacy, and allyship and advanced the mission of one of Georgia’s only yoga nonprofits as Operations Manager.
She studied plant-based nutrition at Cornell University and somatics, mindfulness, and trauma-informed outreach. Candi’s dreams of homesteading, permaculture, and building intentional communities with other heart-centered folks, along with her fascination with plants and fungi, recently led her to study medicine-making at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine.
Candi is a Center for Civic Innovation Fellow and the founder of Mindful Maroon, a tech-enabled platform and community that connects people to yogis, farmers, and healers of color and events that promote spiritual growth and wellness. Learn more and get rooted at mindfulmaroon.com.
Claudia Bartsch, E-500CYT, C-IAYT, has been teaching yoga for 17 years. With over 1,500 hours of training she offers an in-depth understanding of yogic practices and techniques and how to apply them for healing, integration and transformation. In 2011 she bridged her interest in Western psychology and the yogic path and became a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. Additionally, Claudia is a certified Stress Management Educator and a trained Shiatsu Practitioner.
In her work she offers a unique blend of the various branches of yoga, hands-on body and energy work empowering her clients to move towards greater resilience, well-being and health.
Please visit her website for more information: http://claudiabartsch.com
David “Dayalan” Clark, HHP, CMT, though originally from Kansas, is a long-time Californian, having resided in San Diego for 22 years before relocating to San Francisco in January 2012. David is a certified Yoga Instructor of “Deep Yoga”, a hatha-style yoga featuring asana, pranayama & meditation. He studied under Bhava Ram and Laura Plumb at DYSHA, The Deep Yoga School of Healing Arts in San Diego. David is also a certified Integral Yoga Instructor, having completed the Basic TT, Meditation TT and Therapeutic Yoga TT. He currently teaches Mixed-level hatha yoga at the Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco where he is a resident, and also serves as Head of Reception. “Dayalan” means compassion, and was received through IYISF in 2013.
David attended IPSB, The International Professional School of Bodywork in San Diego, attaining the HHP, Holistic Health Practitioner certification, with a specialization in Traditional Thai Massage. He is also a CMT, CA certified Massage Therapist. His business, 4d Bliss, is located in the beautiful Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, and offers a focus of Traditional Thai Massage, Deep Tissue & Swedish Massage, as well as Yoga Therapy. David offers yoga, meditation and traditional thai massage in retreat settings at different locales throughout California.
www.4dbliss.com
A native of San Francisco and a Board Member of the Integral Yoga Institute in his hometown, David Calef took his first yoga class in 1986 after a ski accident left him in a body cast flat on his back for three months. Yoga helped him walk again. David got certified at IYI New York in 2001 in Basic Hatha Yoga and in 2004 in Intermediate Yoga; and then in Meditation in 2017 at IYI San Francisco. David is a corporate executive who has taught lunch hour yoga to thousands of business people, and chair and gentle yoga in hospitals and senior homes.
Diana Meltsner, E-RYT 500, YACEP, C-IAYT, YACEP, has been teaching Yoga since 2001. Her focus is on healing aspects of Yoga ranging from stress reduction to injury recovery as well as personal and spiritual awakening. She is a certified Yoga Therapist and offers individual therapeutic sessions as well as group sessions. She offers classes and health education workshops for Kaiser Permanente. Diana is a lead trainer for 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings and a Meditation Teacher Training at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco, where she serves on the Board of Directors and also provides continuing education.
Diana has recently started writing poetry and a personal blog focused on meditation and understanding of the mind. www.dianameltsner.com
Health, happiness, and peaceful living have all been pursuits that led Bodhi to both Yoga and the IYI. Through experiencing the benefits of a dedicated Yoga and Meditation practice, he became attracted to teaching in hopes of passing on this wealth to everyone looking to discover more meaning in their lives. It is only through relationship with our own divinity can we transcend to new states of consciousness and being. He was certified to teach at the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, and aspires towards cultivating Love, Joy, and Playfulness in both his classes and the world. One Love
Eric Gustafson embarked on a yoga journey more than 25 years ago. It became a foundation from which his life thrives and he serves. Many years of solid practice on and off the mat allows him to draw from experience and share yoga teachings with others as a teacher and a mentor to new teachers. Spiritual study, meditation and loving kindness are at the core of his daily practice. It is the source of inspiration for him and others and a bit of silliness is never far behind.
Living up the street has made coming home to the Institute a no-brainer for Jayadevi. After five years as a Karma Yogi, she took a leap and traveled to India for Teacher Training in 2006. She completed the Raja Yoga and Gentle Teacher Trainings, and in February 2011 took mantra initiation. Drop in any Wednesday night and join Jayadevi for the familiar flow of Integral Hatha Yoga: deep attention to our breath, the joy of turning inward, and Gurudev’s guidance to our own peace.
Isha is a yoga practitioner certified through IYI’s BIPOC Yoga Training. Isha has also been trained as a Zen Buddhist mindfulness teacher and spent months studying yoga at Sivananda Yoga Ashram. She is a multidisciplinary artist, international activist and spiritual vessel who centers the psychological and somatic healing of marginalized people in her yoga classes. While Oakland based, Isha has spent the last 6 months in Ayiti learning about Afro-Indigenous history and culture. She is the founder of the Black Freedom Fellowship, an international movement liberating remembrance for us to live vital futures. Learn more about her and her life work at www.blackfreedomfellowship.com/founder
Jaymie Meyer, C-IAYT, NBC-HWC, ACC
Jaymie is the founder of Resilience for Life®. Over the past 19 years, she’s educated thousands of people in stress reduction and resilience. A National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Jaymie is a licensed HeartMath provider with certifications in Ayurveda, and yoga therapy (C-IAYT). A veteran yoga therapist and educator, Jaymie most frequently serves those in mid-life who have any combination of concerns including stress, anxiety, back pain, poor sleep, balance issues, heart disease, insomnia, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and chronic pain. In addition to teaching the Therapeutic Class on Wednesdays, Jaymie serves as a Yoga for Arthritis mentor. As a Health and Wellness coach, she works online with clients, focusing on stress reduction, weight control and optimal sleep. www.resilienceforlife.com
Judy Hubbell (Mirabai) teaches Mind Body Health for City College of San Francisco, online, and for Senior Centers. She loves to cross over the various Eastern Disciplines of Qigong, T’ai Chi Chih, and Hatha Yoga, Breath & Alignment. Walking to SFIYI for teaching or learning is always a joy! Mirabai is certified by SFIYI in several areas as a teacher, and particularly loves teaching Hatha I/II for the senior body.
Jyothi
Yoga is my life, and my lifestyle. I am a 20+ year practitioner, 15+ of that as an instructor, with 1000+ hours of yoga-related training, and an RYT-500 from the Integral Yoga Institute. My style of teaching is holistic and meditative in nature, with breath as the entry point. I create a sacred container for students to go deep in their practice, find their center, and access peace within.
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and resident of San Francisco since January of 1975. Married with one son and dog (Hana-Australian Shepherd/Chow mix). Love to sing (opera, musicals, art songs etc.), knit and crochet, and walk my dog. Completed Basic Yoga Teacher Training (6/2009), Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training (6/2010), and Gentle Yoga Training (10/ 2010) at Integral Yoga Institute, San Francisco. Currently teaching Yoga at Asian American Recovery Services and at IYISF. 
K. Muktidevi Demafeliz is a born and raised San Franciscan and has been a yoga practitioner for 16 years. Her yoga practice began with her mentor Tony Garcia who guided her in the study of yoga back in 2012 through the SFO Airport’s Wellness Program. He encouraged her to pursue yoga teacher training, which she did, in the Integral Yoga tradition. She is certified in Basic Hatha I, Intermediate Hatha II, Accessible Yoga (Gentle), and certified in Mindful Resilience Training through the Veterans Yoga Project to teach trauma-informed yoga. She wishes to pursue future trainings such as Meditation Teacher Training in addition to Yoga for First Responders as she is the Well-Being Champion for the San Francisco Police Department. YOGA IS HER PASSION, and she expresses her love and enthusiasm for the practice with those she comes into contact with, on and off the mat. Muktidevi mentors and supports teacher trainees as well as newly certified teachers to help them continue to develop and grow while on their yogic path. She also supports the BIPOC Sangha which was born at the Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco (IYISF) and continues to serve these communities to help create ripples for change to establish a space of healing and empowerment. With that, yoga has impacted and transformed her life in such a positive and healthy way that she truly believes it is the saving grace for all. For 26 years, Muktidevi has been living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and continues to carry out the practices of yoga to help her maneuver through life’s challenges when facing adversity. She is a lifelong learner and strives to become the best version of herself to live her best life, regardless of what life may bring.
Kalyani Carlee Cohen Barr first found herself at the Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) in 2001 and began teaching Hatha Yoga, Pranayama and meditation in 2005 after receiving her certification with Swami Ramananda at IYI Bacalar, Mexico. The name Kalyani is a spiritual name given to Carlee by Swami Ramananda which signifies a state of auspiciousness, recognizing blessings, and bliss.
Kayani has attended numerous workshops and trainings over the years, including Pranayama, meditation, Mantra, Mudras, Dharma, nutrition, Yoga for the Special Child (IYINY), Anusara Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. Kalyani has led classes and small group sessions for musicians of all ages at Interplay Jazz Camp in Vermont, has co-lead a retreat in Northern India, has led “Yoga Day” classes for 150 students and has appeared on Canadian public television. She co-founded Simply Yoga in South Florida.
“Yoga has many facets that contribute to a peaceful, happy, healthy life. Yoga has transformed my life on many levels, and my favorite thing is sharing this gift with others.” Join Kalyani to find your breath and balance, and enjoy the benefits of increased energy, health, and overall well-being.
Kayko has been involved in the Integral Yoga Institute community for over two decades. Having completed Basic Teacher Training at IYI earning her RYT200 certificate in the spring of 2019 and RYT500 successively in 2021, she continues her commitment to give back to the community of San Francisco and beyond through teaching yoga as a form of karma yoga practice (selfless service). Through serving, she strives to offer a safe and nurturing space for students where they can de-stress and be connected with their inner self.
As a strong proponent of the concept of “yoga for all” her passion is also to provide accessible yoga to people with age-related ailments, limited mobility and chronic illness. She is a certified instructor for Yoga For Arthritis® founded by Dr. Steffany Moonaz, and Yoga Therapy in Cancer & Chronic Illness (YCat) spearheaded by Jnani Chapman of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program, both of which are based in the Integral Yoga tradition.
Outside of IYI, Kayko teaches group classes online and in person. In 2021 she has become a regular instructor at Onlok Senior Center serving the elderly population through gentle yoga. Also, in 2021, she started a Hatha class in Japanese language for the residents in the SF Bay Area. You can learn more about her offerings at kaykowatanabe.com
Katharine Bierce RYT-200, is a yogi and a techie who begins her day with meditation and yoga. She likes supporting others in finding ways to integrate mindfulness and compassion into their busy lives. Although she started practicing yoga as a teenager, she really got hooked on the practice while putting in 12 hour days as a consultant in New York City. She completed her first 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2014. Katharine is passionate about guiding people in connecting more deeply with their inner peace, and she is also especially passionate about helping people with injuries to incorporate yoga as part of their healing journey.
Katie Narayani Hazard, RYT-500, is a certified Integral Yoga Teacher and is dedicated to the practice of cultivating inner awareness. A practitioner of yoga and Buddhist meditation for more than a decade, she spent 3 years in India and Bali studying at ashrams and monasteries. She was delighted to later discover Integral Yoga where she began to weave together her yoga and meditation practices. She completed the Basic and Intermediate Teacher Trainings at IYI and has enjoyed offering deep, clear, mindful classes at IYI since 2013. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training program as well as a certified Usui Reiki Master, and is the Program Manager of the Burning Man Art Department. Omm!
Laura Perlin (she/her) completed Basic Yoga Teacher Training at Integral Yoga San Francisco in 2008 and continues to teach, study, and practice hatha, Yin, and Yoga Nidra. In addition to yoga, she has studied body work, energy healing, herbalism, Ayurvedic medicine, and counseling. Her private practice is rooted in her ancestral indigenous cultural and ritual practices, and addresses questions of ancestral healing and development of intuitive skills. When she’s not teaching yoga, Laura facilitates collective ritual, sees individual clients for counseling and ritual healing work, produces events, teaches, and writes. Connect with her at lauraperlin.com
Kealoha has been part of the Holistic Health field for over 25 years. In addition to serving as an Integral Yoga Teacher (Levels I, II, III & Raja Yoga), he’s a licensed Massage Therapist, Skin Care Practitioner and Holistic Life Coach. He currently holds a Master of Divinity and a Ph.D. in Holistic Studies. Kealoha believes the foundation of Yoga is the Mind-Body-Spirit connection, and he brings all three elements into his teaching. One of the main goals of his class is for each of his students to achieve their own personal meditation experience, for he believes that “the art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” Kealoha loves teaching yoga because he learns as much from his students as they learn from him.
Marilyn Russel graduated from Integral Yoga Basic Teacher Training in 2016. An avid yogini for nearly 20 year, her Hatha practice serves as a touchstone in her daily life. Marilyn first attended the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) in 2012 and was immediately drawn to the teachings of Swami Satchidananda, an interfaith activist and teacher. Since then she’s enjoyed the sangha at the San Francisco and New York IYI centers and the Yogaville Ashram.
Mia Velez, E-RYT 500, entered Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) in 2016 through the kitchen as a volunteer cook at their silent retreats, teacher trainings, and weekly community lunches. In 2018, she was certified as an Integral Yoga teacher to learn more about the IYI approach and be part of the lineage. Mia is a disciple of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lineage and is highly influenced by her martial arts training. After completing her first 200-hour teacher training in 2008, she saw undeniable parallels in Yoga and Kung Fu. She started teaching Kung Fu in 2014, incorporating Yoga insight and principles in her classes. Her goal in teaching is to facilitate a safer space for self-inquiry that hopefully leads to liberation. She shares her joy and knowledge of yoga as a co-trainer for the Basic Teacher Trainings at IYI, including the BIPOC Yoga Teacher Training; she teaches the healing properties of yoga to incarcerated men and provides stress management techniques to new parents. Yoga and Kung Fu are integrated into her daily life as a mother, a preschool teacher, and an advocate for gender, race and class equality through multiple non-profit groups.
Marc Morozumi, E-RYT 500, CMT, Lead Yoga Teacher Trainer with Integral Yoga Institute, began his yoga training in 2001 as a student of ashtanga yoga while still dancing with Joe Goode Performance Group in SF. After a spiritual journey to India in 2007 along with life’s bittersweet unfolding by way of injury and heartbreak, he found Integral Yoga as a natural home. Since 2009, Mukunda has deepened his practice with teacher trainings through Integral Yoga and maintains a steady Hatha I/II class on Saturday mornings at the SF IYI. He has recently been a staff member on IYI silent retreats and will be sharing more teachings in workshops in the coming months. You can learn more about him at yogamukunda.com.
Nandini McCarthy, RYT-200, is originally from Ireland, moving to San Francisco in 1996. She has worked as an artist and in the hospitality industry for years. Yoga has always been a passion and something she has pursued and enjoyed. The love of nature is a guiding light, her biggest joy is to be outdoors, the vast and abundant wilderness of America offering endless delight. Art, nature and yoga intertwine so well, each experience bringing the spirit so much closer to peace and enjoyment of that precious stillness within. In the last few years the practice of yoga began to really inform and enhance all aspects of her life guiding her to take it further, being called to train as a yoga teacher. Graduating May 2020 from the Integral Yoga Institute, she is excited to share this love of yoga with more people.
Nalini Veronica Yunes been practicing Hatha Yoga since 2000 and completed her first teachers training in 2003 when she received her spiritual name, which in Sanskrit means “lotus flower the gentle one.” She is a 500-hour Integral Yoga-certified instructor in Basic and Intermediate Hatha, Gentle Yoga, Yoga for Children with Special Needs, and Therapeutic Yoga with Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal, all at SFIYI and Satchidananda Ashram, VA. Also, she has taken Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga training with Jane Austin at Yoga Tree and Anusara Yoga style Immersion and workshops. Nalini teaches individual and group classes to elders, teens, adults, and pregnant women. Her style includes asana, deep relaxation, breathing practices, chanting, visualization, and meditation. It is suitable for complete beginners as well as those with more experience. She also practices energy healing like Reiki and positive affirmations. Nalini is now teaching a new weekly Hatha II class on Saturdays at 11am.
Hi, I’m Nirmala. I’m from a beautiful little town in China, but I’ve called California home for the past seven years. I have enjoy practicing yoga most recently; I’ve completed the first Hatha Yoga teacher training in Beiing at 2012, completed Vinyasa Hatha yoga teacher training with Yogaworks in California at 2020. In 2021 and 2022, I’ve graduated Meditation Teacher Traning, Raja Yoga Teacher Training, and Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Part 2 at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco through online. When I’m home, I love to spend time with kids and cats, cooking a meal with my partner. Other times, I love to read scriptures and write, but my real passion is people. I’m here to find creative solutions to best supporting your yoga practice. Om Shanti
For the past 20 years, Yoga has been Paola’s strength in time of uncertainty.
Looking to deepen her practice she found home at Integral Yoga SF where she took the basic Teacher Training (TT) in spring 2014. Paola has completed the Intermediate TT, Therapeutic and Accessible Yoga TT. Knowing the importance of stillness in reducing general stress, Paola teaches Restorative Yoga at Integral Yoga SF.
Born and raised in Europe, Drazen Pranava finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Arts, and is an artist, teacher, and yogi. He was introduced to yoga as a teenager and continued to practice different yoga styles throughout his life. Yoga was an essential part of his life that helped him through different challenges. In 2019, he completed 200-hour yoga certification at Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco. The everyday practice has helped him grow stronger, more flexible and fearless, both on and off the mat. Yoga inspires him to live each moment more mindfully and to find the strength to help others. As a yoga instructor, he hopes to help beginner yogis feel comfortable in their practice, learn essential postures, and ensure a safe practice for everyone.
Marie Prashanti Goodell, C-IAYT & RYT-500, turned to yoga to manage stress more effectively while working as a high-tech, marketing manager in Silicon Valley. After experiencing improved health, Marie began teaching yoga in 2011. She offers Hatha and restorative yoga classes at IYI SF; wheelchair yoga at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, stress management for Ornish Lifestyle Medicine, gentle yoga at On Lok 30th Street Senior Center, Love Your Brain yoga at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and 1:1 yoga therapy sessions. Marie works with clients recovering from chronic fatigue, adrenal fatigue, traumatic brain surgery (TBI), stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, Ehlers-Danlos Disease, breast cancer, arthritis, and post-surgery. Marie incorporates many dimensions of yoga in her teaching to support healing and wellness including physical postures, breathing exercises, deep relaxation, meditation, imagery & visualization, energy work, gentle touch, mantra and yoga philosophy. In addition to teaching, Marie is Board Chair at the Accessible Yoga Organization and Board Secretary at IYI San Francisco.
Raisa Punkki, RYT-500, was introduced to Yoga in 1988, while studying at the University of Arts, Finland. Studying with various schools of yoga and after years of practicing and wandering on the quest of deeper knowledge, she found her spiritual home at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco in 2019. Classes with excellent teachers at IYI inspired her to do the Basic Yoga Teacher Training, Spring 2020 with Swami Ramananda, Swami Divyananada and Mukunda Morozumi. Since then she has been certified to teach at Intermediate level, Raja Yoga and Stress Management. Raisa has over 30 years of experience in teaching movement. She holds a BA in Dance Pedagogy and MA in Dance and is a Certified Pilates Teacher with 15+ years of teaching experience with various age groups and populations. Raisa is also a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP). She wishes to share the beauty of Integral Hatha Yoga’s healing, centering and strengthening power with others in their journey.
Raama Das is a former director of the Integral Yoga® Teachers Association and has been instructing Integral Yoga since 2009. He is a lead trainer for the Integral Yoga 200-hour TT at Yogaville and co-presents both the 200 and 500-hour Yoga Alliance programs at Heal Me Institute in Fredericksburg. Raama recently received certification as a Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), having studied Yoga programs for specific health conditions, including, anxiety, depression, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and addiction. He is also certified as a teacher of Intermediate Hatha, Raja Yoga, Meditation, Stress Management, Yin Yoga, and Yoga for our Elders.
Raama has studied and served extensively at the Integral Yoga Academy at Yogaville and currently manages the Integral Yoga Therapy Program. In addition, he has participated in many months of deep Tantric and classical Yoga sadhana (practice) at the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School in Sweden under the direction of Swami Janakananda.
Rasmi Lorrett, a San Francisco native, whose love for yoga began more than twenty years ago. Through consistent dedication to daily practice, she always found a sense of balance and harmony. In 2019, she completed her teacher training at IYI. It was during this transformative experience that she delved even deeper in her Hatha yoga practice and unlocked new levels of self awareness. Committed to lifelong learning, her purpose is to share the invaluable benefits of yoga with others, guided by the wisdom of Patanjali, ” If you can control the rising of the mind into ripples, you will experience Yoga”. She hopes to inspire and guide others in their own journey towards physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Bio – Coming Soon
Rev. Sadasiva Kurt Schroeder, E-RYT500, got involved in Yoga in the mid-1990’s and began his training at the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute. He has led beginning and intermediate level teacher trainings, both in San Francisco and Yogaville. Sadasiva completed his Master of Divinity studies at the Naropa Institute.
He was ordained as an Integral Yoga minister in the Fall of 2021, shortly after completing a program in professional chaplaincy residency and a fellowship in palliative care. He now lives in Boulder, CO, where he works as a chaplain.
Sarala Sue Evans, MBA/MHA, C-IAYT, RYT500 has been a yoga practitioner since 2000 after spending almost 20 years working in finance and administration in an academic medical center. In 2013 she took her first yoga teacher training and became a certified Integral Yoga teacher. As a full-time yoga teacher, she is now certified to teach Integral Yoga through the advanced level and Yoga for Stress Management. She has additional training to teach yoga to those living with cancer and chronic illness (YCat). She teaches a weekly chair yoga class through the local Comprehensive Cancer Center to survivors, those in active treatment, and those living with chronic illness and their caregivers.
As a yoga teacher, Sue has been involved with several federally funded research projects to measure the effects of yoga on fatigue, pain, and other symptoms in cancer-colon and GYN and for MS. In 2020 she became a Certified Yoga Therapist and works with clients privately and virtually. Sue teaches The Transformative Practice of Yoga as an Adjunct Part Time Faculty at Wake Forest University in the Department of Health,Exercise Science.
Sarala also works part time for Yogaville as the Center Manager/Mentor for the Integral Yoga Therapy training program and can often be found staffing a virtual training.
Melanie Saraswati Takahashi, PhD, RYT-500, has been a dedicated practitioner of meditation and yoga for many years. Having a keen interest in spirituality and how it’s expressed cross-culturally, she received her Masters in Anthropology in 1996 and a Doctorate in Religious Studies in 2004. She taught at the University of Ottawa and was a full-time professor at Heritage College before moving to San Francisco. Saraswati has been teaching yoga since 2008 and became the Head of Teachers at Integral Yoga San Francisco in 2009. She is trained in Gentle, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced levels of yoga. She encourages students to have an inward experience of the class by approaching yoga as a moving meditation that incorporates the breath. Saraswati is also a classically trained pianist and currently teaches piano full-time. She continues to research and publish in the discipline of anthropology which is her on-going passion..
Helen’s Yoga journey began in the 70’s in Amsterdam whilst studying dance, mime, & circus skills & working in a vegetarian cafe.
This piqued a growing interest in Alternative Living, & Yoga, in it’s many forms, has been a touchstone in her life & in her practice as a performer & teacher of dance & movement ever since.
In the 80’s having qualified as a Gestalt Therapist & Pilates Matwork instructor, Raja & Bhakti Yoga became a focus & she spent some time living at Bhaktivedanta Manor, an Ashram on the outskirts of London as a Karma Yogi studying Vaisnavism.
In the 90’s whilst volunteering at ‘Alternatives’, London’s leading platform for ‘Mind Body Spirit’ talks & workshops, she became inspired to combine her skills & developed a stress management workshop called ‘Don’t Just Do Something – Sit There’ which she teaches in both Corporate environments & Yoga Studios.
Helen took her Basic 200-hour Yoga Training at the Integral Yoga Institute in 2014, qualified in Accessible Yoga Teacher with Jivana Heyman in 2018. She is a certified Level 2 Reiki practitioner and Level 1 Energetic NLP.
Clair is a 2023 Integral Yoga Meditation TT graduate. She has also taken the Compassion Cultivation Training from CCARE at Stanford and completed their Applied Compassion Training and became an Ambassador of Compassion. She volunteers at WomenCARE, a center serving women with cancer in Central California, where she leads a regular mindfulness meditation circle and teaches workshops about Compassion and Meditation.
Sita Louise Chiodo, RYT-200, first fell in love with yoga in the mid-1990s at a small soulful studio in her home city, Melbourne, Australia. Over the years, Sita’s practice has grown from active and challenging to more inward and meditative, leading her to Integral Yoga in San Francisco in 2018. Here Sita found the magic of a more holistic tradition, complete with the subtle practices of pranayama and meditation and the importance of selfless service. Sita immersed in several teacher training programs through 2020 and 2021, including Accessible Yoga, Stress Management, Intermediate, Yin Yoga, and Foundations of Integral Yoga Therapy. She is grateful for the support and guidance of the wonderful team of Swamis and dedicated Yogis at the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco. Sita loves to teach anyone interested in slowing down, reconnecting with the body, and rediscovering inner peace.
Stephen McFarland, CNHP, RYT-500 at Integral Yoga for over 10 years. He grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania with his 9 siblings. Stephen lived in New York City for many years and did his initial Yoga Training at IYI NY. Since moving to San Francisco in 2012 he has worked as an actor, theater administrator, floral designer and yoga instructor. He often staffs the Basic Yoga Teacher Training at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco leading the anatomy and physiology portion of the training, mentors trainees, and leads a variety of Yoga workshops. He has taught at Integral Yoga in NYC and SF, Planet Granite, the JCC, Zomoti Yoga, Fitness SF and The Mindful Body. He continues to pursue his paths in theater, natural healing and teaching yoga. He teaches with an emphasis on alignment and a focus on both flexibility and stabilizing the body to achieve a sense of ease and balance.
Snehan Born, E-RYT 500, has over four decades of experience with yoga. He resides at the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco, where he teaches yoga classes and is a lead teacher trainer. Snehan is certified in all levels of Integral Yoga Hatha and has received additional certifications in Pranayama, Meditation, Raja Yoga and Stress Management from Integral Yoga. Chanting mantras and playing the harmonium are part of his regular practice and classes.
Snehan has lived and traveled extensively within India and practiced with many teachers there. He has taught yoga all over the US as well as in India, Nepal, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan and Europe.
While her entry to personal Yoga practice occurred 20+ years ago, Soizig Le Boulch, RT-200, has had a deep personal interest in holistic health; personal, spiritual development; & supporting others for as long as she can remember. In addition to being a Yoga Instructor and Prenatal Yoga Instructor, Soizig is also a birthworker, bodyworker/CMT, self-care educator, & wellness aficionado who loves to tap into and nurture the innate wisdom of the body and promote body-mind connection. In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche writes that through meditation and being fully present in each moment, “Slowly you will become a master of your own bliss, a chemist of your own joy, with all sorts of remedies always at hand to elevate, cheer, illuminate, and inspire your every breath and movement.” Soizig is on this journey to become a master of her own bliss and a chemist of her own joy. This is why she practices and teaches Integral Yoga and Breema® (“The Art of Being Present”). Her other well-being (TRE®, Self-Breema®, etc.) and birthwork (Doula, Prenatal Balance, “Mother Roasting,” etc.) services are further expressions of that journey, with the wish to also elevate, cheer, illuminate, and inspire others. To learn more about Soizig, please see Soizig.com.
Susan Ford, C-IAYT, RYT-500, began practicing yoga when she was 18 years old. Her first yoga teacher training was Accessible Yoga through Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) and began teaching in 2011. Susan has been an assistant trainer for the Basic Yoga Teacher at IYI since 2012. She specializes in Gentle Yoga and working with people with disabilities, heart disease, arthritis, anxiety, depression and asthma. Her focus is to help students to meet their bodies where they are by introducing and incorporating Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Pranayama and meditation. Susan has been certified in Yoga for Arthritis, Therapeutic Yoga, Raja Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training.
Sylvia came to yoga after turning 50, wanting something more than a gym membership could offer. After trying some beginning yoga classes at various studios, she came to Integral Yoga Institute and never looked back. The complete practice, including yoga Nidra, spoke to her. In her late 50’s, towards the end of her 30-year legal career, she believed it was time to deepen her practice and completed the Basic Yoga Teacher Training. The next thing she knew, without the intention to actually teach yoga, she started leading classes. She has subsequently completed the Foundations of Yoga Therapy Training course. Sylvia invites everybody to come as they are, from all walks of life, and meet themselves on the mat.
Swami Ramananda is the President of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 35 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of yoga into daily life, and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.
He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced level yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco, and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U. S., Europe and South America. Ramananda trains Yoga teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.
Trevor Eller has been teaching Yoga for 20 years. He is a C-IAYT as well as a Ayurvedic Consultant and Licensed Massage Therapist specializing in orthopedic joint assessment and treatment and Thai Massage. Trevor has a deep love for the Yoga Sutras and other yogic text. He enjoys leading kirtan and runs a 200 hour yoga teacher training at Schoolcraft Community College in the Metro Detroit area. He lives just outside of Ann Arbor Michigan with his wife Miriam and baby Anjali.
Tyagan Will Abel, RYT-500, began teaching Hatha Yoga in 2009 after completing the Basic 200 hour training at IYISF. Since then, he has continued to broaden his teaching skills with Integral Yoga teacher trainings that include Meditation, Raja Yoga, Accessible Yoga, Gentle Yoga, and Intermediate Yoga. Along his path of adopting Yoga as a lifestyle, Tyagan has been influenced by various spiritual philosophies, and the focus of his personal practice is Jnana Yoga and meditation. His approach to teaching Hatha Yoga is to provide a mindful class that encompasses strength, balance, flexibility, and mobility, with an awareness of personal safety and acceptance.
Uma Laura East, C-IAYT, RYT 500, E-RYT 200, ACE personal trainer. During her childhood she lived in movement and during her late childhood became a state champion gymnast. As a teen she soon discovered the 1946 book classic Autobiography of a Yogi. She continued her studies into fine arts at college exploring with ceramics, glass and modern dance. She was led to her first teacher training when she was stopped by her soon to be teacher for her bumper sticker that said Will Work for Peace. By 2003 after her first TT she began sharing the gifts of Yoga. She is an experienced teacher, has been serving in diverse populations, in hospitals encouraging those struggling with all kinds of health issues, in urban community centers, to rural communities in Appalachia, health employee programs, in medical spas, wellness studios, insurance companies, small groups and with private clients. Through Integral Yoga her training includes Cardiac Yoga®, Neuroscience, Yoga and Mindfulness, Yoga for Arthritis, and Intermediate Teacher Training. She lives and loves life close to the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia.
Verena RYT® 500 moved to the Bay Area in 2008 and began a regular yoga practice and found that it helped her regulate her blood sugar and manage her arthritis pain. Inspired by the transformative power of yoga, she felt a calling to deepen her knowledge and share it with others. Verena completed her yoga teacher training in 2020 and has been studying and teaching since, with a focus on gentle but also strengthening practices that are accessible to all. Verena has also studied Raja Yoga, which has deepened her understanding of yoga as a holistic system for spiritual growth and self-realization. With her background in nursing and passion for holistic healing, Verena did the Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist training and brings a unique perspective to her teaching, emphasizing the connection between the mind, body, and spirit.
Violeta Krasnic learned yoga in the late ’90 in Serbia from her love life David Calef. He broke his back in a ski accident and yoga saved him from a lifelong of pain. Yoga saved Violeta from the lifelong of all sorts of pain too. Violeta got IYI Basic certificate in 2001 in New York and IYI Intermediate certificate in 2018 in Coimbatore. In the meantime, apart from these institutes, Violeta taught Hatha Yoga and Yoga Nidra everywhere she studied and worked, from the Ivy League to human rights nonprofits. She is in love with Yin Yoga, for which she is a certified teacher at IYI San Francisco, and David, Val, Diamond, and Minerva.
Yogeswari Vonderheide completed Basic Teacher Training (BTT) in 2007. She has staffed numerous BTT’s at Yogaville, Sri Lanka, Portugal, and India. She completed Intermediate Teacher Training in 2020. She also has served as staff on Swami Divyananda’s Sacred India Tour since 2013.