Teachers (click the "continue" links below to view the entire biographies)

yoga teachers | breathwork leaders | meditation leaders | other workshops

yoga teachers

Lauri Ashworth

Lauri AshworthFrom the age of four, I love to move my body. My mom tells a story of taking me to the Ice Capades, and how, throughout the show, I was leaping and spinning in the aisle. At 10, after years of pleading, mom enrolled me in my first ballet class. That was it. I'd found my path. Whenever home or school felt oppressive, it was dance that allowed me to connect to a place of joy within and helped me to fall in love with life. After high school, I was fortunate to study and earn my B.F.A. at the country's premier dance school, the Juilliard School in New York City. At Juilliard, I discovered more styles of movement and fell in love with modern dance; Graham and Ailey were my favorite styles. continue >


Barbie Baylis

Barbie BaylisHello Yogis! I've worn many hats throughout my life, but none so rewarding, intriguing, and fun as my service helping others feel good in their bodies through yoga and massage. I love everything yoga has to offer: movement, meditation, eastern philosophy and poetry, breathwork, music, and chanting. I have learned first hand how powerful the science of wellness is to create balance in our busy world, especially in my years as an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles and New York City. I appreciate that you, the students, know your bodies the best, which is why I customize each class to fit your individual needs, as well as the energy of the class as a whole. continue >


Gail Bennett

Gail BennettI became a yoga teacher because when I was pregnant, yoga was a godsend. Pregnancy was awe-inspiring. Like science-fiction. Looking down at my ballooning belly, there was definitely an alien life form growing inside me, and I had no control of the process. The beauty and the essence of pregnancy is that we cannot control the process. But we can learn to honor our bodies and let them do what they are perfectly designed to do. Pregnancy Yoga can transform these feelings of helplessness into the weightlessness of complete surrender, of pure bliss, and of letting go. I want to help the pregnant mother to consciously connect with her growing baby.
continue >


Jay Co

Jay CoI'll tell you what: I've been practicing yoga for eleven years and martial arts for another ten years on top of that, but I've never been able to figure out how to touch my heart center to the heavens or reach my roots down into the ashes of the Earth. Yeah, my feet are a little dirty sometimes. But roots? What I have been able to figure out with the help of Bryan Kest and many other instructors over the years is that yoga has made me a little more familiar with my body. It has made me a little more accepting of my weaknesses, and a little more comfortable with my life. At the very least, I just want to be able to pass some of that juicy goodness on to you.
continue >


Sarah Ezrin

Sarah EzrinYoga quickly became a way of life for Sarah when she noticed that the most significant impact of her practice was happening off the mat. Sarah began practicing in 2000 in North Carolina where she was completing her B.A. in Psychology. After graduation and upon returning home to her native Santa Monica, Sarah decided to take a different route and explore the film industry. While she was successful, Sarah constantly felt that something was missing. After many years and many Down Dogs, Sarah finally decided to listen to her heart and pursue her true passions- Yoga and Psychology. continue >


Stephanie Fish

Stephanie FishStephanie is excited to be a part of the Hub. Born into a family of medical doctors and scientists, Stephanie grew up with a commitment to service and community health. A former Ivy-League champion women’s soccer player at Dartmouth College , Stephanie’s athletic training fueled her inquiry into what allows the body to move, heal and thrive. Her quest for optimal health led her to become a certified Hatha Yoga Instructor and attain National Certification in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. She has since pursued in-depth trainings in therapeutic yoga, Egoscue™ postural alignment; Continuum™ movement; structural bodywork; Somatics; Sensory Repatterning; Watsu, continue >


Chad Hamrin

Chad started martial arts in 67' and that was his love until the early seventies when he started taking yoga at the local YMCA. From there on it was the two studies, yoga being the more dominant. Iyengar was the main style and kundalini and ashtanga were of minor study/interest. Chad's study of bodywork came in the late seventies: polarity therapy, shiatsu, trigger point, Trager work, neuru muscular/deep tissue and much more. These have been his three points of interest ever since.

Vicki Howie

Vicki HowieVicki found yoga over 14 years ago and has been teaching it with passion and compassion since 2000. Her classes emphasize the union of breath and movement in a sort of "dance" that calms the mind and allows one's spirit and self expression to emerge more fully. It is Vicki's intention to set a playful tone and to weave life-enhancing philosphy into every class as well as to recognize and encourage the deep individuality of everyone of her students. For further information check out Vicki's website: www.sacrdblissyoga.com

Doug Keller

Doug Keller Doug Keller came to teach hatha yoga by way of the yoga of meditation and years of academic study of philosophy, both eastern and western. In the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown and in my graduate fellowship studies at Fordham University, Doug gravitated toward the senior Jesuit scholars whose excellence, openminded intellectual zeal and personal spiritual fervor gave their work an integrity that inspired him to dig deeply into his own studies, particularly of the classical philosophers and Christian mystics. But as he completed my coursework for my PhD and taught at several colleges, he was increasingly aware that he was looking for more than ideas and systems -- he was looking for the experience the mystics were talking about. continue >


Amy Lombardo

Amy Lombardo As a Yoga Teacher, Life Coach, and founder of her own wellness company, Amy has spent the last decade of her life creating opportunities to restore the birthright of wellness to all people, regardless of their circumstances or background. Her Yoga students have ranged in age from 2 years old to 103, and her classes have ranged in size from 1 person to over 300 at a time. Trained extensively in Anusara Yoga, Amy has also received significant training in the Vinyasa, Hatha, and Yin styles of Yoga, as well as Tai Chi, mindfulness based stress reduction, aromatherapy, kinetic awareness, and empowerment and leadership techniques. continue >


James MacDonald

Amy Lombardo James MacDonald was introduced to Anusara yoga in 2001, and was immediately enchanted. It was what he had been seeking—technique for using the body to access deeper parts of himself—and was fortunate to be introduced to John Friend early in his yoga journey, for which he is grateful. Here was technology that used the body as a conduit for understanding deeper aspects of being. James loved the challenge of using precision of physical alignment to playfully create beautiful forms. continue >


Meagan McCrary

Meagan McCraryMeagan found yoga during one of her biggest transitions and is thankful to the practice for its loving support and acceptance as she has grown into the beautiful young woman she is today. She loves Anusra for its incredibly uplifting philosophy, playful practice, and knowledge of the body. Her classes are light-hearted and fun, yet challenging for all levels as she seamlessly weaves personal stories, shared insights and philosophy throughout. A very hands-on teacher, Meagan seeks to empower her students with the knowledge to align themselves, step fully into the currents of grace and recognize their own inner beauty. A student first and foremost, Meagan is grateful to all of her teachers and students for what they graciously offer as she continues down this incredible journey, also known as life.

Charu Morgan

Charu MorganCharu Morgan has dedicated her life to Tantra. Over the past 10 years she has studied and shared Tantra worldwide. Best-known for her candid Memoirs of a Tantrika blog and her down-to-earth approach, she is committed to educating modern minds on the ancient secrets of Tantra through events, sessions & home-study courses. If you would like to discover how Tantra can Transform your life, register online for the Memoirs of a Tantrika weekly ezine at www.embodytantra.com and receive your free audio report Better Sex, Richer Life through Tantra. Charu leads workshops about once a month.

Matt Pesendian

Matt PesendianMatt Pesendian has navigated life’s path as a hatha yoga practitioner, acupuncturist, herbalist, and teacher of medical qigong and Shadow Yoga. His depth of knowledge, holistic approach to teaching and love for this practice offer his students a unique opportunity to learn and grow according to their individual constitution/needs. “Shadow Yoga sounds dark, but it’s actually in reference to the harmonization of light,” he explains of this style of hatha yoga — one rooted in yoga asana, ancient martial arts, South Indian dance and ayurvedic medicine. Pesendian continues to present his findings on energetic anatomy and the art of the yoga in workshops and retreats worldwide. For more info: Bodhimanda.com.

Cass Phelps

Cass PhelpsCass offers workshops globally and holds a private practice working with clients with complex neurological disorders such as cancer, autism, brain damage and paralysis. His clients are students, facilitators, creative artist, actors, singers, writers, directors, teachers, healers, CEO’s, corporate coaches and inspired souls from all walks of life. Cass has been around the Sun 37 times, is a certified Reiki master, Sound Healing therapist and musician of 13+ years. He has been creating and performing movement-performance “Works Of Art” for the past 5+ years. His unique approach to sound and movement unifies the creative and healing arts as ONE. continue >


Tad Robichaux

Tad RobichauxTad began practicing yoga in his local gym. As fun as that was, it wasn't until he found Anusara yoga that he fell in love with yoga and discovered the world of possibilities that yoga had to offer. Tad has studied with some of Anusara's most beloved teachers, including Sianna Sherman, Noah Maze, Darren Rhodes, and John Friend, the founder of Anusara. It was his teachers' extraordinary generosity that inspired him to begin teaching yoga. Tad believes that the strength of yoga is in the people that practice it and the supportive community that surrounds them. His goal is to guide students in the discovery of their own strengths and to inspire them to make an openhearted offering back to their communities outside of the yoga studio.

Sarika Quach

Sarika QuachSarika first came to yoga after sustaining a shoulder injury in early 2001. She looked to yoga as a healing modality. She began taking yoga classes in various studios, finally stepping into her first Anusara class in 2007 and immediately fell in love with this style of practice and its teachings. She found Anusara yoga to not only be transformative and healing to her body, but also to her mind and spirit.

The life affirming teachings of the Anusara principles led her to delve deeper into her own practice and compelled her to share its gifts with others. continue >

Nita Rubio

Nita RubioNita Rubio was born and raised in Southern California in a liberal household. Nonetheless, women’s rights, women’s studies, and female empowerment were not things inherently included in this liberalism. Luckily, spirituality and creativity were highly regarded and served as the pathway for self-discovery and deep personal inquiry. At the age of 18, Nita began to read authors such as Carol Christ, Luisah Tesh, Riane Eisler and more. This impacted her deeply and it was incredibly exciting to know of these women who viewed the personal as political and that even the paradigm of patriarchy needed to be extracted from our spiritual beliefs. continue >


Edward Yu

Edward YuEdward Yu is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitionersm, former runner and triathlete, and founder of Radically Transformative Running (RTR) and Radically Transformative Fitness (RTF). After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University, he worked in Japan as an English and Chinese teacher. In 1996, he moved to China to study Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taichi, Bagua and martial arts. His interest in how people learn through movement has led him to bring disparate fields such as Taichi, martial arts, dance, kinesiology, Feldenkrais®, psychology and cognitive science into his teaching. continue >


breathwork leaders

Michael Baker

Michael BakerGuided by his devotion to serve others through his work as a healer, Michael Baker has dedicated his life to facilitating transformative breathwork in order to help people grow and transition through life’s invariable rough times.

Having been introduced to the work of David Elliot in 2007, Michael began working with the breath as a means to find balance within his own life as a successful mortgage banker hosting his own radio show, which offered advice on the turmoil of the banking industry. continue >


David Elliott

David Elliott"I help people heal by listening into their souls," he says. "I sense the many emotions and fears they're holding inside, which allows me to help them unblock and release the negative energy holding them back."

As a clairaudient healer, David "hears" purely through his senses. "Sometimes it"s sound and speech like in a regular conversation"mostly it"s a perception and awareness that lets me focus on the energy a person has locked up inside. By unburdening individuals of their negative energy, David creates an inspiring moment when they wake up from their spiritual crisis with "a bright new clarity about their lives," he says."Video About David Elliott’s new book, Healing


Jenny Miller

Jenny MillerJenny has felt a deep connection to spirit from a very young age. She has had many different spiritual teachers along the road, but it was the work of David Elliott and the pranyama breathwork meditation that opened Jenny's spiritual side and led to her desire to go out into the world and share this practice with others. Jenny has gone through the four levels of David's 'Healer Training' series, as well as attended numerous retreats led by him since 2005. She began leading breathing circles when she lived in Chicago and now has a following here in LA, where she has been living since January 2008. continue >


Nyei Murez

Nyei MurezNyei Murez is a certified healing breathwork facilitator, holding the David Elliott Hummingbird Healer Training Certificate; and she is an instructor of Tensegrity, the modern form of the shamanic practice from ancient Mexico known as the warrior-traveler's path with heart, which Yaqui seer don Juan Matus taught Carlos Castaneda, Florinda Donner-Grau, Taisha Abelar and Carol Tiggs.



Katrina Rivers

Katrina Rivers Katrina has extensive experience as a Spiritual Teacher and is a gifted intuitive healer. She has been certified by David Elliott to both facilitate and teach the breath work. Katrina leads groups and workshops throughout the U.S., including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Antonio, Mendocino, New York and San Francisco.

“Katrina is a passionate healer with a big appetite for truth and clarity. She has an immense inner fire that birns through skepticism, confusion, and fear. Spirit moves in a big way with Katrina; expect an exciting ride when you work with her!” – David Elliott

Scott Schwenk

Scott SchwenkWhen I was a kid in Rochester, NY, I was taking out books from the grammar school library on hypnosis, e.s.p., magic, and Dr. Seuss (it was the 70's!). I was "off to the races", and would become a voracious reader of anything that smelled like freedom and awakening (though I didn't know what was driving me back then). When I reached my freshmen year of high school I got really involved with the local Methodist church, running the youth group for a couple of years, going on regular mission trips to rebuild homes for disaster victims and poverty stricken areas. This was a really formative time in my life, when my self esteem started expanding. I saw that I could make a difference in the world. continue >


Laurence Walsh

Laurence Walsh discovered Pranayama Yoga Breathing meditation while following her passion for writing. A television writer for the last eight years, Laurence has written for such shows as CSI: Miami, NCIS and The Dresden Files. continue >


Suwon Weaver

Suwon WeaverSuwon's passion is to see beauty of the highest potential expressing itself in the journey of self-discovery. She did her first yoga teacher training in 2001 with Robert Birnberg in the Desikachar tradition, an approach that takes into account each student’s needs and adapts yoga to the individual student. Since then, she has been deepening her quest to enrich life in the here and now, learning from various meditation disciplines and well-respected teachers, as well as studying Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Vedic chanting and Reiki healing energy. Suwon is currently an instructor of a "Gentle Yoga" class for every body type at a local studio, teaching her students to trust and listen from the heart. continue >


meditation leaders

Lee Konecke

Lee KoneckeWith a Masters Degree from The Graduate School of Psychology at Pepperdine University in California, Lee Konecke (MA, MFTI) has immersed himself in aggressive self-study programs to deepen his understanding of the mind and human behavior, including the “Creative Mindset” and the field of “Deep Practice.” His endless curiosity for alternative paradigms offers him a unique and forward thinking approach to his work, which integrates the best of Western and Eastern psychologies, along side with peak performance modalities, to establish creative ways for people to “touch more deeply” their highest self.

After dropping out of law school in 1994, and enrolling in Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, Konecke felt his perception of the world become more expansive and creative than ever before. continue >



other workshops

Baylen Slote

Baylen SloteBaylen Slote is a California-licensed acupuncturist with a specialty in psycho-emotional processing. His practice includes counseling, acupuncture and guided meditation, depending on the needs of his patients, and he often uses essential oils, moxibustion, cupping and medicinal massage in conjunction with acupuncture therapies as needed.

While receiving his undergraduate degree at Bennington College in Vermont, where he studied music and acting from the perspective of personal and spiritual growth, Baylen became involved in the practice of Tai Ji and movement arts, including Qi Gong, Dao-In (Chinese yoga) and meditation. Sparked by an... continue >