Instructors
THE YOGA TEAM
Jen Burk first experienced the transformative power of yoga in 1994 and knew she had found a more authentic way of being in the world. What began as a simple desire to balance mind and body quickly became a full-blown love affair. Jen has studied various styles of asana and continues to fall more deeply in love with the practice each day. As a heart-centered practitioner, Jen strives to bring love and compassion into each of her classes. Her Vinyasa style classes use the awareness of breath and the flow of movement to liberate body, mind and heart. A true believer in the power of yoga to heal the various ailments of a society living life out of balance, Jen hopes to ease suffering and cultivate the expansion of consciousness by sharing her practice wholeheartedly with everyone around her.
Keith Borden is a bhakti, an interfaith minister and a Senior Teacher at Laughing Lotus (New York & San Francisco). In addition to teaching asana classes, Keith continues to study, lead kirtan, and mentor and teach in the Laughing Lotus College of Yoga at Laughing Lotus in New York and San Francisco. Keith strives to live, breathe, and happily teach the devotion-rich yoga that comes out of his own daily practice. He offers an energetic and balanced asana class, infused with playfulness and creativity. As a classically trained singer, Keith emphasizes the importance of breath, chant and mantra. His goal is to help his students develop a content mind, a strong body, and a healthy, joyous spirit – to re-unite with their true self.
Mick Diener is a certified yoga instructor who has studied in Mysore, India with Pattabhi Jois, V. Shishadri and BKS Iyengar, among others. His background includes training in journalism and theater. He is currently a film and television commercial director in San Francisco. Mick’s IO class features great music and a supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere. “I’m very interested in finding the balance between a vigorous workout and staying very relaxed and at ease through rhythmic breathing,” remarks Mick. “In my class you’ll enjoy a flowing Ashtanga sequence that lengthens muscles, builds core body strength, and leaves you feeling purified, balanced and refreshed.”
Gizella Donald began her yoga practice in 1990 at the Sivananda Yoga Center in San Francisco. Since then she has studied many styles of yoga including Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Bikram and is a graduate of the It’s Yoga Teacher Training Program. Also a Massage Therapist for more than a decade, Gizella brings her knowledge of anatomy and healing into her vinyasa-based classes and emphasizes alignment, breath and ease of movement. She inspires students to approach yoga with an open mind and heart. Gizella brings the love and practice of yoga into her everyday life and encourages her students to do the same.
Kate Duyn is happy to be back in San Francisco after an eight year stay in New York City where she began teaching vinyasa yoga. Her love of movement and background in dance is evident in her flowing style and dynamic sequencing. She has taught all over New York City and is now a senior teacher and mentor at Laughing Lotus SF. Kate teaches from her ever-evolving practice that she is pleased to share with a generous sense of humor.
Allie Edison first discovered yoga in 2001, but it wasn’t until 2003 that the seed began to flourish and grow with a consistent practice. By continuously returning to her mat, her physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being became nourished and nurtured. She now begins each day with conscious breath and awareness to bring a sense of peace throughout her day. Her practice has created space for self healing and she believes that yoga can peel away the layers which no longer serve us, revealing our true selves. Her Thursday lunch hour class is playful and rejuvenating and reminds us that where we are on our journey is exactly where we need to be. She received her vinyasa training and certification under the love, light and wisdom of Jasmine Tarkeshi and Dana Flynn, creators and founders of Laughing Lotus in San Francisco. Allie has also been a Registered Nurse for over a decade and is currently coordinating care for seniors at Sequoias San Francisco.
Tim Floreen Tim first came to yoga looking for just another form of exercise to incorporate into his gym routine, but he soon saw the practice transforming his life in ways he never expected: he felt healthier, more relaxed, and more in touch with himself than he ever had before. He began teaching yoga full-time in 2000 and has taken teacher training programs with Bikram Choudhury, Baron Baptiste, and Rusty Wells. He has been on the teaching staff at studios in Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston and San Francisco, and he’s also appeared as a yoga model in several publications, including Yoga Journal. Tim teaches a vigorous, lightly-heated flow class, but always with the understanding that students should modify and take breaks as needed. He also makes sure to incorporate plenty of fun, humor, and music.
Tina Foster Tina’s classes are warm and mindful. She welcomes all kinds of people at all levels of experience. The content of her classes is drawn from her 20 years of practice in a broad spectrum of traditions, her life experience and the inspiration of her student. her guiding principles are simplicity, creativity, generosity and authenticity. Additionally her teacher is informed by continued study in Iyengar alignment, the yoga traditions of the Krishnamacharya lineage and the philosophy of J. Krishnamurti. She has studied with a wide variety of teacher including: Erich Schiffmann, Sarah Powers, Judith Lasater, Evlaleah Howard, Dharma Mittra, Sharon Gannon/David Life, TKV Desikachar and Pattabhi Jois. She has practiced meditation under the guidance of Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Ajahn Amaro and Jack Kornfield, among others.
Rosemary Garrison began her practice in the traditional Astanga style with Tim Miller. Devoted to the intensity and purity of Mysore, she spent years with the 1st and 2nd series. Over time, life called her to explore Vinyasa. Now… the free form creativity and expressive nature of Flow are the foundation of both her practice and her teaching. Like so many of us, Rosemary was drawn to the mat for inexplicable reasons. She soon realized that while her body was happily opening and strengthening… her mind, heart and spirit were also undergoing a transformation. Slowly, she became ever more intimate with a power greater than self, an energy coursing thru the body~heart~mind, and has since been devoted to the cultivation of that energy. It is her hope that, by aligning with this innate inner force, each practitioner will have the experience of his or her own divine, radiant nature.
Melissa Glorieux was initially drawn to yoga’s meditative aspects nearly 10 years ago. Yoga has since become essential for her mind, body and spirit, and she treasures the wellness, joy and compassion she experiences as a result of her practice. Melissa completed her teacher training in Interdisciplinary yoga, a form of yoga that draws from many styles, including Iyengar, Ashtanga, and vinyasa, and emphasizes focusing internally and listening to the body’s wisdom to bring greater awareness to one’s yoga practice. Recently pregnant with her first child, Melissa savored every minute she spent in her prenatal yoga classes. Being among other women on the same journey was truly one of the highlights of her pregnancy. Now, she enjoys working with soon-to-be mamas – guiding them as they stretch, strengthen, breathe and relax into motherhood.
Vanessa Greenfield is a certified Yoga teacher through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center. She has also completed Vinyasa Flow trainings with Shiva Rea and with Michael Gilbert at Yoga Sutra in NYC. She is eternally grateful for all of her teachers and feels blessed to have been introduced to Yoga by her sister at a young age in NYC, where she grew up. An internal flame was ignited inside of her after her first experience of practicing asana and she knew her thirst for spiritual knowledge and growth would continue to nourish and support her many endeavors. Her classes blend spirituality and physicality, so that the body becomes a temple, each asana, a prayer. By bringing mindfulness to our internal experiences and integrating movement with breath, Vanessa’s classes serve to invigorate the body and still the mind. By purifying body and mind, our hearts can open into the fullness of divine love that resides in all of us.
Kevin Hibbitt teaches Hatha Flow classes that are a dynamic mixture of Ashtanga yoga, pranayama, deep restorative asana, and the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras. He encourages his students to continually deepen their practice and to discover the subtleties of pranayama, bandhas, concentration, and meditation. His classes move from fast paced vinyasa to long moments of stillness and tranquility. Students can expect to explore their own limits in a manner that is both rigorous and compassionate. Kevin also supports students to relax deeply and to forge an honest connection with themselves as complex beings. He holds yoga as a discipline that addresses the whole person and aims to integrate multiple layers of experience including body, mind and spirit. Kevin is a graduate of the Greenpath Yoga teacher training program and holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Nadine Johnson began practicing yoga in 1994 at It’s Yoga. She was finally drawn to teach 10 years later. Safety, patience and inward focus are key elements of her practice which is grounded in Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in India. Taking yoga off the mat, into everyday life is a key inspiration of her teaching. Nadine has completed teacher trainings with Clayton Horton at Greenpath and David Swenson. She also continues her education through workshops and trainings with senior teachers such as David Williams, Richard Freeman, Ana Forrest and Sarah Powers. And, continues to develop her understanding of ahimsa and bhakti by assisting and practicing with Rusty Wells.
Jennifer Lewis draws from the Ashtanga yoga sequence developed by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India. She considers Devorah Sacks to be her main teacher but remains in debt to all of the wonderful teachers in The Bay Area that continue to inspire her. Jennifer’s classes aim to be a moving meditation, placing importance on synchronizing breath and movement. Her teaching style is both challenging and nurturing. Jennifer was certified by It’s Yoga in January of 2002.
Andrea Maltzer believes that music, movement, and playfulness are essential. She brings over 15 years of instruction in movement, a passion for eclectic music, and a deep commitment to the transformative benefits of yoga to her classes. Andrea strives to combine these elements in a fun, physically challenging and spiritually uplifting practice. Andrea graduated from the It’s Yoga Teacher Training program in 2000 followed by 2 months in India studying Ashtanga Yoga with Pattabhi Jois. Other influential teachers have been Bryan Kest, Anna Forrest, John Friend, Shiva Rae, David Life, Sharon Gannon and her current teacher, Rusty Wells.
Mia Matthews discovered Yoga in 1998 through her passion of dance and movement, Mia trained with her teachers Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane on Maui for 5 years before receiving her teacher training from them. Inspired by her teachers to honor the guru within, Mia leads others into deep listening and nurturing of the innate wisdom of their bodies, emotions, and spirit. Trained in both the Ashtanga and Iyengar lineage, Mia blends precise alignment with the cyclical flow of Vinyasa. She greatly enjoys leading a Restorative and yin-yoga style of class that guides students into deep relaxation and quietude. Her intention for each class is to infuse the body with breath while safely bringing forth a state of balance, union, joy and strength. She gathers inspiration and knowledge from studying with teachers such as Tias Little, Rodney Yee, and Aadil Palkhivala. Holding a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition, she is passionate about guiding others to making healthy and transformational choices that support us all living to our fullest potential as vital and fulfilled human beings.
Katharine Otis first encountered the Yoga practice through studying acting at NYU. Yet it wasn’t until after college that her spiritual hunger took her to the Laughing Lotus Yoga Center in New York. It was there where she met and fell in love with the colorful teachings of Dana Flynn and Jasmine Tarkeshi. Katharine attended the Laughing Lotus Yoga College in 2005 and was certified to teach Vinyasa Yoga. Her Yoga classes celebrate the shapes and breath as a way to daily experience our wholeness. She encourages her students to play their own edge, developing an awareness of how to move forward in life and in the pose and when to ease off. Katharine moved to San Francisco 2 years ago and considers San Francisco her new home.
Marcia Parrott fell in love with the mind/body aspects of yoga in 1990, and has since studied many styles, from vinyasa to restorative. She currently practices and finds inspiration in Anusara yoga, which is reflected in her teaching. Her classes are playful, life-affirming, and sometimes vigorous, but always with attention to alignment and safety. In addition to her initial hatha teaching certification and other on-going teacher trainings in Anusara and restorative yoga, Marcia received her pre/post natal yoga teacher training from Britt Fohrman through Green Path Yoga in 2006. Marcia is also a massage therapist and personal trainer specializing in working with perinatal women, and has trained as a postpartum doula though Natural Resources. She is constantly inspired by the strength, ability, and transformation of women in their birthing year, and she’s committed to supporting expecting and new moms as they continue to discover their own power.
Indigo Stray has studied and taught yoga in NYC and San Francisco since 1999. She is certified to teach Vinyasa through both Laughing Lotus College of Yoga and OM Yoga School. Her Vinyasa classes at IO are vigorous and inventive, inviting practitioners to dance at their edge and rest as they need. Indigo also works in the quieter side of the practice through restorative yoga, having received advanced certification in Relax & Renew from Judith Hanson Lasater. Her Mellow Flow class at IO incorporates gentle movement interspersed with deliciously held restorative poses supported by plenty of props. This class is perfect for beginners, those with injuries, and advanced practitioners seeking a more subtle way to move on Friday nights. Indigo loves all facets of the practice, including chant, meditation, and blending the yogic teachings into life. Currently, Indigo is a senior teacher and mentor for the Laughing Lotus teacher training program in San Francisco. She is also completing a master’s degree in Somatic Psychology at CIIS and hoping to take body-mind awareness to another level through these studies.
Chanda Williams first participated in yoga classes 10 years ago. As an overstressed and over-stimulated third-year mechanical engineering student, Chanda sought a healthy outlet for all of the frenetic energy around her. With a consistent yoga practice, Chanda gained focus, a greater awareness of self, and a stronger spiritual connection. Now as a teacher, Chanda strives to share those qualities with her students. Her classes are safe, creative, and peaceful. Chanda was certified by The Integral Yoga Institute in New York City in 2005. She has also completed a Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Intensive with Shiva Rea and is a certified personal trainer from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Kari Zabel has been interested in the philosophy of Oneness since she was a small child. She sensed the injustice and sadness that separateness caused in the world around her. Determined to bridge the separation forced on certain disenfranchised groups, Kari immersed herself in social justice work. Frazzled and overworked, she discovered yoga in 2000 while working at the ACLU in New York. She completed her first yoga teacher certification in Denver while on a hiatus from law school, intending to practice public interest law. Following her heart and intuition, Kari permanently retired from law school and flew back to New York to complete the Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Certification under the guidance of her gurujis Sharon Gannon and David Life. In the classroom, Kari infuses the playfulness of sequencing, the precision of technique, the beauty and vibration of sound with her passion for philosophy and devotion.
