the yoga loft

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	Jane Dobson (Co-Director) Jane is the director and co-founder of The Yoga Loft with over 12 years experience as a student of yoga, and 4 years as a teacher. Devoted to the life-affirming process of yoga, she blends a traditional understanding of the practice with soft, creative sequencing to inspire aliveness in the body and quietness in the mind. Jane's foundational yoga teachers include Patricia Walden, Barbara Benagh, Angela Farmer, Tony Briggs, and most recently Sofia Diaz. She is a graduate of The Yoga Loft's Teacher Training program and holds an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she wrote a thesis titled "The Yoga of Embodiment (2002)". Together with Hakomi therapist Kim Francis, Jane offers seasonal Women's Circles that weave therapeutic process with yogic technique.

	Meg Whitbread (Co-Director) Meg Whitbread, director and co-founder of The Yoga Loft, grew up with a variety of Eastern practices, including yoga, but only began formally studying in the last ten years. She sees an embodied approach to yoga as an effective tool for personal development and believes that bodywork can often help to heal the separation between body and mind. Her interest in bodywork and Ayurvedic medicine grew out of a desire to help students have more ease not only in their practices but more importantly, their lives. Meg has studied with Pratichi Mathur, an Ayurvedic practitioner who hails from a 900-year lineage and also studies and apprentices with Dr. Ron Harwin, both of whom consider the body as a vessel waiting for transformation.

	Laura Arrington A dancer all her life, Laura believes in the power of movement as a way to link body, mind, breath,and spirit. Laura's asana class is born from her practice. Her classes are often made up of creative sequences with a strong sense of flow. She believes everyone's yoga is unique and tries to encourage her students to work in the way that feels the most uplifting, opening, and freeing for them. She tries to facilitate a space where one feels free and safe to simply enjoy being themselves. She is certified through Laughing Lotus and is endlessly grateful to all of her teachers.

	Tony Briggs Tony Briggs (www.turtleislandyoga.com) teaches age-old Hatha yoga in a modern, humorous and hard-hitting way, without compromise or new-age veneer. He encourages his students to tread the path of self-discovery with a cool head, a wide heart, and a warm belly. Tony has been practicing and teaching yoga for 25 years, including studies in India and the U.S. He is founder and director of Turtle Island Yoga in Marin County, where he offers ongoing public classes, workshops and retreats, as well as teaching internationally. He has also written for Yoga Journal. He is the director and chief instructor of the Yoga Teaching Apprenticeship Program at The Yoga Loft.

	Lauren Brown Lauren teaches yoga in a playful and accessible way. She spent the last few years teaching in Chiang Mai, Thailand to the international community and infuses Buddhist elements of mindfulness into her classes. Her poetic style draws from the alignment based traditions of Iyengar yoga, the modern day flow of vinyasa, and the grace of the breath. Lauren continues to be inspired by her teachers and learn from her students, deepening each day, her passion for yoga. She is also a practitioner of Thai Yoga Massage, which aids in her awareness of anatomy. Lauren strongly encourages students to take the blissful elements of the yoga practice into their daily lives for the betterment of all beings. "Let the beauty you love be what you do." -Rumi

	Melissa Capezutto Melissa is known for her devotional teaching style, encouraging students to connect with their spiritual hearts finding their inner truth and self. Yoga has been a part of her life for over ten years and immediately become her life after meeting her teacher Sri Dharma Mittra. Melissa has been fortunate to fully immerse in yogic life through Dharma Mittra's advanced 500 hr. teacher training. She is extremely grateful to be a student and an assistant of a living yoga master. Her classes are filled with advanced Asana, scripture, chanting, Pranayama, Dharana, and Dhyana. She reminds students that the true purpose of Yoga is Self-realization. "Everything is an offering to the Divine." D.M.

	Jason Crandell Jason Crandell (www.jasonyoga.com), teaches hatha yoga in a compassionate, knowledgeable and accessible manner. He is a faculty instructor at Yoga Journal Magazine, a regular presenter at Yoga Journal Conferences, and is featured in Yoga Journal's Home Practice Video series Step-by-Step. He will also be the For Beginner's columnist for Yoga Journal in 2005. Jason loves the practice of yoga and has apprenticed extensively with Rodney Yee.

	Karl Erb Karl Erb's (www.yoganexus.com) passion for yoga has gone through many stages in the 23 years since he began the study of yoga. While Karl has explored many forms, his primary training has been in the Iyengar method of Hatha and Ashtanga yoga. Students say Karl inspires a depth of feeling and focus that is increasingly rare in the current Yoga market, aiding students in revealing awareness they never thought possible or even knew existed. Practice with Karl is a celebration of the gift of breath, the gift of yoga, a time to touch your truest nature, while deeply immersing yourself in ever deepening knowledge of the asanas, the body, mind, and senses. To learn more about Karl, visit yogaNexus.com.

	Floyd I spend a lot of time at The Yoga Loft. I'm really good at downward dog and my upward dog is coming along. My best friends are a kitty and a bird and I mostly love bread and long walks on the beach. One time I pooped in Studio B, and for that I'd like to apologize. Anyway, I really like it here. Thanks for letting a four-legged hang around. If you're interested in checking out my Friendster Page, click here. To watch my practice at The Yoga Loft, click here.

	Garrell Herndon Garrell is a graduate of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco and is also trained in the Rolf Method of Structural Integration. He considers himself fortunate to have studied with many sophisticated Bay Area teachers, but is primarily influenced by Mr. Ramanand Patel- with whom he apprenticed for five years. In his classes, Garrell uses verbal cues, props, and physical adjustments to help students find their greatest potential in the poses.

	Patricia P. Jiron Patricia has been teaching yoga since 2000. She received her yoga certification from the Piedmont Yoga Advanced Studies Program. She is currently studying with Donald Moyer and Jin Sung: and has studied with Rodney Yee, Richard Rosen, Patricia Sullivan., and Ramanand Patel. Patricia brings a unique perspective to her practice with over twenty-five years of experience as a modern dancer, dance teacher, and massage therapist. Her love and respect for the mind body connection sustains her curiosity and appreciation for the healing arts.

	Lawrence Kampf Lawrence has been practicing yoga since 1990 with an emphasis in the practice of the breath in sitting meditation. He uses his work in the practice of Energy Medicine and the building of Sacred Spaces to inform his journey on the cushion as he guides students through a unique form of breath-centric somatic meditation. Each session is a deeply healing experience as the he weaves the material presented by the people in the room into a powerful internal exploration of the breath, consciousness and depth of being.

	Dmitri Kotenkov Dmitri began practicing martial arts in 1976 in Moscow, Soviet Union. He studied Shotokan and Kiokushinkai Karate with variety of teachers available at that time.� The search for a more internal and health-oriented discipline brought him to T'ai Chi Ch'uan.� After receiving a Certificate of Instructor of Oriental Physical Fitness Arts in 1989, Dmitri taught T'ai Chi as a full time instructor within the Center of Oriental Fighting Arts in Moscow.� In 1990 the Inner Research Institute in San Francisco extended an invitation to Dmitri and his wife Elena to join the IRI School of T'ai Chi Ch'uan as an Intern Assistant. Since that time he has served in this position, learning advanced aspects of the art. Combining over 25 of years of uninterrupted training, Dmitri has obtained numerous certificates in Chinese martial and healing arts. Dmitri understands the practice of T'ai Chi to include the healing aspects of Yoga, the challenging and exciting aspects of rigorous martial training, and the wisdom of the Taoist philosophy.

	Sabine Kuehner Sabine Kuehner (www.namaste-yoga.com) came to San Francisco from Germany in the early 1980s to study with Ana Halprin, and at the San Francisco Dancer's workshop. A friend introduced her to Iyengar Yoga shortly after her arrival. Having been plagued for much of her life with tremendous stiffness in her spine and structural imbalances due to a shorter leg, she recognized at once, that Iyengar Yoga would give her the means to improve her condition. After graduating from the Advanced Study Program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in SF, she became certified by the National Iyengar Yoga Association in 1995. Since 1991 she has made yearly pilgrimages to Pune, India to study with BKS Iyengar and his daughter Geetaji Iyengar, whom she considers her primary teacher. For the last few years during her stays in Pune, she has furthered her studies in Ayurveda and has assisted in the medical classes offered at the Iyengar Yoga Institute for people suffering from a wide range of complaints and diseases; she graduated from the California College of Ayurveda in 2003. Sabine is co-founder of the Namaste Yoga Studio, which flourished here in San Francisco from 1993-2002. Sabine is deeply committed to both teaching and practicing yoga, because she has observed the profound transformation that yoga has brought to her own life and body, as well as her students. Sabine is known for her highly personalized style of yoga instruction, assisting each and every one of her students on their individual yoga journey. Her highly developed ability to see and adjust students in their asanas is also derived from her 20 year practice as a therapeutic bodyworker. In addition, her strong sense of humor and her light heartedness mixed with her sometimes very funny use of the English language make her classes a lot of fun as well as therapeutic.

	Villard Martin Villard has been practicing the Iyengar yoga for over 20 years and teaching for the past 8 years. He is a Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, a graduate of the Teacher Training Program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. He keeps his practice current through frequent and extended visits to India to study with the Iyengars. In addition, Villard has studied with most of the senior Iyengar teachers over the years including Ramanand Patel, Kathy Alef and Manuso Manos. Villard's precise and patient approach, combined with his extensive knowledge of the Iyengar tradition make his teaching appropriate for beginning and advancing students.

	Janet Macleod Janet Macleod (www.jmacleodyoga.com) has been a Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor for 20 years. She teaches classes to the general public in San Francisco; teaches in the Teacher Training Program at the Iyengar Institute of San Francisco (IYISF) and conducts retreats and workshops worldwide. She continues to study in the U.S. and in India with the Iyengar family. Janet has been an active community member holding positions on both the local and national boards. She was Convention Chair of the BKS Iyengar Association of the U.S. during the Iyengar Yoga Odyssey in 2001. She has relinquished these duties and is now happy to dedicate her life to the practice, study and teaching of yoga.

	Maritza Embodying 28 years of living and exploring yoga in its many forms, Maritza brings the gift of presence and inspiration along with a rare wealth of experience to her teaching. Originally from France, she trained and worked professionally as a young actress in Paris and later in NYC with members of the prestigious Actor-Studio before heeding a profound calling in 1981 that sent her on a life-changing journey to India where she underwent a profound awakening that subsequently led her to dedicate her life to metaphysical studies. An intuitive iconoclastic learner and truth seeker with a passion for the mystical, she has traveled extensively and trained intensively for over two decades in Asia, Europe and the US. She was honored with former certifications in both Iyengar-Yoga ('89) and Anusara-Yoga ('00) while her core practice has been steeped in body-centered Vipassana meditation since ?81. Today Maritza's richly textured and eloquent presentation is a creative and deft integration of the profound knowledge she has acquired from nearly three decades of discriminative yogic studies and psychospiritual inquiry, while also strongly reflecting her deep artistic soul and intuitive journey of growth, healing and transformation. A well-loved, prominent teacher?s Teacher registered with The Yoga Alliance at the highest level, she has been leading and co-leading reputable Advanced-studies /Teacher Trainings for over ten years and is the Award-Winning creator of two best-selling home-practice Videos/DVD produced by Gaiam.

	Ravi Nathwani Ravi was raised in a conservative Vaishnav Hindu family where Hindu rituals where integrated into daily life from a very young age. Ravi was steeped in Hindu and Yoga tradition by his father's deeply spiritual man with a daily yoga and meditation practice, as well as through his maternal grandmother who meditated daily for extended periods, and paternal grandmother whose spiritual practice involved memorizing the scriptures of the Bhagavat and The Ramayana. As a child, Ravi regularly engaged in morning walks with his father that ended with the traditional satsang, occasionally led by luminaries like Swami Sivananda, Swami Ramdas and others. By the age of seven, he was being trained in the Hatha Yoga tradition and has had a daily practice since 1981. Before moving to the United States Ravi studied the writings of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda, and other spiritual exponents of Hindu philosophy and regularly attended discourses on the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chinmayananda and lectures by J. Krishnamurti. Ravi continues to follow in his family's spiritual traditions and has become a modern day messenger of a variety of Vedic studies through his lectures and workshops. Most recently, Ravi has been a faculty member of both Tufts University and Tufts University Experimental College in Boston where he taught such courses as "Hindu Yoga & Buddhist Meditation".

	Athena Pappas Athena is a certified Iyengar teacher. Her instruction is clear and concise, emphasizing alignment and awareness; encouraging focus and balance for mind and body. She teaches with skill, confidence and a sense of humor. Athena shares with her students the benefits of yoga for physical and emotional well-being. She strongly believes that yoga is more than a physical discipline; it is a many faceted gem offering us the tools necessary to achieve true and lasting transformation. Athena appears in The Body Shop's yoga book and in The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health. She teaches full-time in San Francisco and can be contacted through her website, www.athenayoga.com.

	Ramanand Patel Ramanand (www.yogirama.com) is regarded as a leading yoga instructor for students and teachers around the world. When he was twelve his father initiated him into yoga practice and philosophy. After meeting a few other teachers, he started more serious study under Guruji (Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyengar) in 1968. Since 1984 he has studied Vedanta philosophy under H.H. Swami Dayananda Saraswati. He has also learned from sharing his knowledge with a vast number of students and teachers since 1964. He has a special interest in the effects of sound on yoga practice and offers a number of workshops in this subject with his friend and a world class musician in the North Indian classical style, Pandit Mukesh Desai. Ramanand is respected as an innovator in the use of props and working with students who have special needs.

	Tal Rachleff Tal is currently a leader for What's Your Tree and Off the Mat, Into the World, which create small group circles for sustainable social change as sectors of the Engage Network. Over the past year, Tal's most significant and intensive study has been with esteemed eco-philosopher, engaged Buddhist, poet, activist, and scholar Joanna Macy, founder of The Work That Reconnects (and yes, this class is named in homage to Joanna and the Work). Tal seeks to bring this much-needed Work for healing, community-building, and transformation to the yoga world through The Yoga That Reconnects and by leading Yoga In Action circles.

	KT Rae KT took her first yoga class in 1996, & starting teaching five years later in 2001. After teaching and traveling extensively for four years, she landed in Hawaii. Where she connected with her teachers Nicki Doane & Eddie Modestini. Their teachings reflect the beauty of the Krishnamacharaya lineage. While living, working, and practicing with Nicki & Eddie for three years, she completed two teacher training's, and two three week asana intensives. In 2005 KT also travelled to India with the family to study with Sri K Pattabhi Jois. KT has been touched beyond words by her Sanskrit teacher Bhavani Maki. She views the knowledge within the Yoga Sutras as an important key for us all to truly live our practice. She enjoys weaving this information into her classes. Her teaching style is born from her studies with Nicki and Eddie, and from her own practice and experience. She gives information, and adjustments so that students form a foundation based in impeccability of alignment. This ensures that people learn to move their bodies in an integrated, and intelligent way. She has a warm, and compassionate style. It is her intention to continue to teach, study and practice in joy, and for life.

	Betty Roi Betty Roi, a native of Paris, France, moved to the Bay area in June, 1983, to study jazz vocals and music. She then discovered yoga in 1986, and has been practicing and studying since then, and teaching internationally since 1989. Betty attended the advanced studies program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco, where she learned from many senior Iyengar teachers. Additionally, she has studied Astanga yoga since 1991, Anusara since 2001, and is a certified Integrative Yoga Therapist (1995). Betty's background includes 20 years of dance, theater and voice training, performing both in Europe and in the Bay area. She released her first cd entitled "Enchante" in 1999. Betty's teaching is richly influenced by her life experiences in the performing arts, as well as nourished by her lifelong commitment to being a student and to heal. Betty is also inspired by her practice of Buddhist vipassana meditation, primarily with Jack Kornfield and Ajahn Amaro. She has been blessed to study with many great teachers, including Ramanand Patel, Rodney Yee, Richard Freeman, T. K. V. Desikachar, Rod Stryker, Aadil Palkhivala, Donna Farhi, Sarah Powers, Judith Lasater, Patricia Walden, Ana Forrest, Joe LePage, Manouso Manos, Shandor Remete and Desiree Rumbaugh. Betty is currently a dedicated student of John Friend and Sianna Sherman. Betty's classes blend the precision of Iyengar yoga, the flow of vinyasa and the heart-filled tradition of Anusara into an asana program of self-exploration and discovery. Most of all, Betty loves to teach and believes that love is the real teacher.

	Jennifer Rodrigue Jennifer Rodrigue uses practical experience to inform the language and direction of her instruction while honoring the authority and teachings of classical yoga. Classes are physically vigorous, although often at a much slower pace than typical vinyasa or flow classes, offering students the opportunity to observe the alignment and synthesis of mind, breath, and movement. Detailed attention to the dynamic characteristics and qualities of this synthesis is offered, along with varying levels of technique and challenge in order to encourage individual development. Jennifer currently teaches in studios and privately throughout the Bay Area.

	Geoffrey Roniger A dedicated practitioner since 1996, Geoffrey Roniger (www.geoffreyroniger.org) graduated from Piedmont Yoga Studio's 18-month Advanced Studies Program and has apprenticed extensively with his primary teacher, Rodney Yee. He serves on the teacher training staff at The Yoga Loft in San Francisco, leads regular retreats to Mendocino and is widely-regarded for his unique ability to fuse alignment, movement and metaphor.

	Anne Saliou Anne Saliou, a certified Iyengar instructor, has been practicing Yoga for more than two decades and teaches all levels of students. Anne keeps her teaching and her own practice fresh through frequent trips to India to study directly with the Iyengars. Anne's own back injury has made her sensitive to the needs and limitations of each individual. Her classes are thematic and invigorating with instruction that is thorough and precise. Anne enjoys sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge of Yoga to help her students achieve greater health, peace and harmony through a balanced Yoga practice.

	Marni Sclaroff Marni has taught yoga since 2001 as an extension of her own practice and self-reflection. An artist and dancer, she loves to share in the joy of movement and creative expression. She is deeply inspired by art, nature and Buddhist philosophy. In her yoga classes, she blends metaphysical and physical elements, with teachings from yogic scripture and a personalized focus on fundamental alignment principles. A perpetual student, she has devoted myriad hours to studying with gifted yoga teachers, including the 300 hour Jivamukti Yoga teacher training. In 2000, she received a Master's Degree in Art Education, and later, designed and co-taught the Dhyana Yoga teacher-training program in Philadelphia. She has been blessed with the finest teachers—Sharon Gannon, David Life, Kofi Busia, and Geshe Michael Roach—who are always reminding her of the importance of compassion, laughter, and paying attention.

	Dannielle Smith Dannielle has been practicing Iyengar yoga for over 16 years. As a beginner, she studied with Pam Field in Santa Rosa; she currently studies with Tony Briggs at Turtle Island Yoga and at The Yoga Loft. In 2002, Dannielle completed Tony's teaching apprenticeship and has been teaching yoga since. Working as a high school teacher serving "at risk" students for 15 years, Dannielle has developed and taught yoga classes for teens of all backgrounds. She also teaches recovering addicts in Marin County, as yoga has been an integral component of her own 17 years in recovery. Dannielle offers a serious commitment to the practice and teaching of yoga, yet maintains a light heart and sense of humor.

	Brick Thornton Brick began his spiritual path in 1994 by spending over a year at a Tibetan Buddhist healing center. In the years that followed, he studied yoga and internal martial arts, culminating with a 4-month trip to India that led to a 4-year journey. In India, he immersed himself in traditional forms of yoga and meditation with an emphasis on viniyoga, studying at the source at Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram led by TKV Desikachar. Brick�s classes are a unique approach to vinyasa yoga � the breath feeds directly into fluid, aligned movements that foster core strength and suppleness, weaving together a playful sequence that focuses the mind and enlivens the spirit. See www.yogayana.com for more info.

	Valerie Velardi Valerie Velardi has been practicing Iyengar Yoga intensively for the past six years. She has been studying the teaching of the Iyengar method at the Iyengar Institute in San Francisco and became a Certified Instructor in 2002. Valeries renews her teaching and her own practice through visits to India to study directly with the Iyengars. Her teaching style is quiet, patient and uplifting while still maintaining precision and attention to detail. Prior to her Iyengar studies, Valerie practiced Hatha Yoga and studied dance. After earning a Masters Degree in Dance Art, Valerie also taught modern dance for many years.