Instructors
Austin Barry
Embodied Asana
Austin aims to ignite the transformative potential of yoga through mindful alignment and fluid breath. Yoga is a practice that happens out in the world, not simply on the mat. Austin invites students to remember the intuitive instruments they already possess in order to cultivate more balance in their day. Her classes focus on steady flow and safe alignment while encouraging students to find their own authentic expression through the embodiment of each asana and breath. With more than a decade of practice and over 500 hours of teacher training, Austin is grateful to be able to contribute vinyasa-inspired yoga here in the high desert of Santa Fe.
Tom Hunter
Ashtanga Influenced Vinyasa, Mysore Ashtanga
With a Doctorate in physiology and a specialization in orthopedic massage, Tom's profound understanding of the body's mechanics forms the foundation of his holistic approach to yoga. Trained under esteemed yoga mentors including Tim Miller, Maty Ezraty, and Chuck Miller, his journey blends diverse teachings into a harmonious whole. Tom's own pursuit of yoga began as a means to heal martial arts injuries, which ignited a lifelong commitment to its transformative power. With over three decades of experience in Aikido and a steadfast meditation practice, Tom's classes radiate a unique energy. Teaching Ashtanga yoga, his sessions seamlessly weave breath and movement, interconnecting asanas through fluid vinyasas. A fusion of Iyengar alignment principles and prop-assisted postures enriches his teaching style, reflecting his dedication to crafting inclusive practices tailored for every age and level.
Courtney Love
Vinyasa
Courtney Love is an empowering yoga and meditation teacher who encourages her students to reconnect with their inner teachers and reclaim their sovereignty. Courtney’s classes are energizing, grounding, and holistic. Through moderately paced movement, breathwork, and meditation, she mindfully guides students to a deeper connection with self. Courtney completed her TT in 2011 in Nosara, Costa Rica. She is also an astrologer, mindset coach, facilitator, and event planner for yoga and self-growth experiences.
Sharone Pomeranz
Pilates Foundations, Pilates Sculpt
Sharone Pomeranz is a nationally certified Pilates Instructor and a member of the Pilates Method Alliance. Sharone has lived in Santa Fe since 1996 and loves the mountains, the sky, the beauty and the arts and culture of northern New Mexico. Sharone completed her comprehensive teacher training at To the Core in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2009. Prior to studying Pilates, Sharone earned her Bachelor of Arts at Emory University and her master’s degree in exercise physiology at New Mexico Highlands University. As a Pilates teacher, Sharon has witnessed people build strength and flexibility with Pilates and believes in the benefits for both body and mind of the practice. Sharone is certified to teach Barre, Board30, and TRX and has experience teaching small group Pilates and privates. Sharon has two grown daughters and spends her free time in nature, hiking, soaking in hot springs, and adventuring.
Bonnie Bennett
Nia
Bonnie is a Black Belt Nia instructor, also licensed in 52 Moves, and Nia Free-Dance, she came to teaching from a personal practice 12 years ago and has been teaching in our Santa Fe community for almost a decade. She started her Nia teaching journey here at BODY and is thrilled to be back at BODY sharing this practice with this community. With a background in yoga her practice integrates the sensations of Nia, combining dance, martial arts and wellness practices into a fun holistic experience. She uses movement, music and sensation to facilitate in others the exploration to unleash and enhance the potential to live a healthy and energized life in their body. Bonnie is also a vibrant and active member of our community and showcases her love of and passion for chocolate with her husband in their business, Kakawa Chocolate House.
Eric Stauffer
Mysore Ashtanga
Eric’s discovery of yoga was prompted by a fateful moment on a pristine snow-covered mountainside deep in Rocky Mountain National Park. In the blink of an eye, a high-speed skiing fall broke the trance as he was catapulted into an advanced yoga posture, a move that he was neither ready for nor capable of handling. The search for relief from the resulting imbalance and chronic pain led to his first yoga class. What began as a quest for momentary relief evolved into a lifelong practice, offering a sense of clarity and peace that had long eluded him. Guided by wisdom from teachers like Richard Freeman, Tim Miller, Pattabhi Jois, and Sharath Jois, Eric delved into the subtleties of Ashtanga Yoga. After multiple journeys to Mysore, India, he earned a level two authorization to teach. Now, Eric strives to share the transformative potential of this practice, offering students the understanding that yoga can similarly enhance their lives.
Kat Sawyer
Classic Vinyasa, Yin Yoga, Hatha Yoga
Kat brings a sense of humor and thirty years of teaching experience to her Classic Vinyasa class. She emphasizes the body-breath connection and explores the idea that yoga is a lifetime practice that continues even after stepping off the mat.
Note: Students should be familiar with basic vinyasa.
Kai Ayers
Prenatal & Postpartum
Kai began teaching yoga in Los Angeles in 2012. Since then, she has traveled the world learning various modalities of healing and integrating them into her practice. After noticing the medicinal nature of yoga in terms of mental health and regulating emotions, Kai grew to depend on yoga as a tool for moving through life’s challenges. Kai has dedicated her life to teaching others how to transmute resistance (or tension) into acceptance (or expansion) through breath and mindful movement. Outside of yoga, she works as a birth doula and is studying to become a midwife — forever learning ways to transmute resistance into acceptance.
Sonja Radvila
Mysore Ashtanga
Originally from Colorado, Sonja's journey with yoga began in 1999 while studying Indian classical dance in Chennai, India. A dedicated Ashtanga yoga practitioner for nearly 24 years, she holds an authorization from KPJAYI in Mysore, India, and has been teaching internationally since 2010. Beyond yoga, Sonja is a student of Sanskrit and Vedic chanting and the author of "Young Yogi and the Mind Monsters," an illustrated storybook version of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. In her practice, Sonja brings a holistic and trauma-informed approach, emphasizing collaboration and lightheartedness to meet the unique needs of each person.
Angela Kristiansen
Radiant Flow, Candlelight Yoga
Angela’s passion for yoga was ignited in 2004 when she entered a career in Finance. Stress was wreaking havoc on her health so she enrolled in an introductory yoga course out of curiosity. She fell in love and eventually made a full career pivot into Yoga and Holistic Health Counseling. Angela completed Yoga Teacher Training in Vinyasa with Chris and John Yax in 2012 and graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2013. For Angela, yoga is medicine for life optimization and Higher Self-alignment. As a teacher, her voice, cadence, and theming create energetic, expansive shifts in the nervous system. Her classes are therapeutically sequenced to clear energetic congestion as well as open the myofascial lines of the body. The intention is to create more freedom, peace, and abundance on and off the mat. Angela is known for her soft yet powerful nature, her grounded authenticity, and her soul coaching.
Emily Haliday
Ashtanga Influenced Vinyasa, Mysore Ashtanga
Emily has been a dedicated Ashtanga yoga practitioner for more than 20 years and has taught and assisted other teachers for portions of this time. She has attended over 200 hours of teacher training with senior Ashtanga teachers. Among these senior teachers, her main influences are Tim Miller and Maty Ezraty. Emily is drawn to teaching to pass on the gifts she received from these teachers and to facilitate the safe, balanced, non-dogmatic practice of Ashtanga yoga so that all who are interested can experience the mental, physical, and spiritual benefits of this meditative practice. Emily’s teaching is informed by an openness to the lessons of other yogic traditions and to experimentation and dialogue with students about their experience in the practice.
Edward Kwicklis
Mindful Flow
Ed Kwicklis is a long-time yoga practitioner and meditator who received his 500-hour yoga teacher training at BODY in 2014. That training included a 100-hour module in pranayama techniques which transformed his understanding of yoga as a primarily physically based practice to a more complete experience of mind, body and breath. Ed’s classes are intended to help students explore their inner energetic landscape and share his experience of what yoga asana can be when coupled with conscious breathing and focused awareness.
Joan Isbell
Mysore Ashtanga
For close to 40 years Joan has explored yoga as means to nourish her body and life—opening a gateway to somatic intelligence, self-awareness and deeper embodiment. Early influences were Kundalini, Hatha, and Iyengar classes, and after a transformative encounter with Ashtanga, that became her primary practice. Joan's journey has been guided by luminaries including Richard Freeman, Annie Pace, Tim Miller, Pattabhi Jois, and Sharath Jois. She became an authorized instructor in 2010 and, alongside her husband Eric, led a Mysore program in Denver for 20 years. Beyond yoga, Joan is a bodyworker and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). Joan cherishes the unique space of the Mysore room, where individuals gather in the morning to breathe and move. Accommodating practitioners of all levels, she supports seasoned yogis seeking minimal guidance, beginners desiring traditional learning, and those curious about therapeutic or trauma-informed exploration.
Lena Gutierrez
Yin Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Yoga Basics
Guided by the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, Lena sees yoga as "a journey of the self, through the self, to the self." Her approach transcends the physical postures (āsana) to embrace the holistic essence of yoga.
Lena's yoga journey commenced in Hong Kong in 2005. Her expertise is woven from the teachings of numerous yoga luminaries across the states, including California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Hawai'i, New Mexico, and New York. Her practice is an amalgamation of the ancient yoga sūtras and the diverse influences she's gathered along her journey. Lena completed her Yoga Teacher Training with the Hawai'i Yoga Institute on the enchanting Big Island. Additionally, she's generously shared her knowledge as an Assistant Instructor at a 200HR YTT with HYI on O'ahu. Beyond yoga, Lena is attuned to the healing art of Reiki and holds Reiki II Training in Usui Shiki Ryoho.
Lena considers it an honor and privilege to impart the transformative gift of yoga to the community at BODY. Her classes resonate with inclusivity, offering a multifaceted yoga experience that goes far beyond the physical practice. Join Lena on the mat for a holistic approach to well-being.
Kai Headley
Yin Yoga, Vinyasa
Kai has been teaching yoga for 8 years and practicing for 15. Her depth of wisdom is embodied and she is able to guide classes that lead the mind through meditative movements. Her skill comes directly from experience and dedication. She has studied with many great teachers and is always an inspiration to her students. She truly loves yoga and shares that love through her teaching style. As an acupuncturist and well-studied yogi she has cultivated a beautiful synergy of Chinese Medicine and Yoga which shines through her Yin classes. Her Hatha classes are rooted in authentic teaching of yoga and meditation from years of involvement in a yogic lifestyle.
Sarah Holmes
Pilates Foundations, Pilates Sculpt
Before beginning her career as a dance educator, Sarah Holmes worked as a national and international teacher trainer with Peak Pilates and Balanced Body. As a lifelong dancer, she believes in the body’s capacity to heal through movement and creative expression. She holds a Ph.D. in Dance History and Theory from the University of California, where her research examined issues surrounding race, class, and gender in Pilates practice. She received an M.A. in dance from Mills College, Oakland, CA, focusing on choreography and the history of 20th-century choreographer’s use of space as a political response to a turbulent social climate. Lastly, she holds a B.A. in economics from Scripps College, Claremont, CA, and, as an undergraduate, researched the national and local economic benefits gleaned from government funding for the arts. Following her graduation from Mills College in 2002, she pursued a career in Pilates. She started working in Eugene, Oregon as an apprentice instructor. She later moved to Los Angeles where she began her work with Peak Pilates as a teacher-trainer. In 2009, she developed a low-cost private Pilates program at the Santa Monica, CA, YMCA. From 2008-2014 she worked with Peak Pilates as an “MVe” Teacher Trainer, and more recently, as a Master Instructor teaching both nationally and internationally. Currently, she works with Balanced Body as a Master Instructor, training students in the Pilates method. Over the years, she has worked with hundreds of clients, Pilates instructors, physical therapists, somatic practitioners, and dancers. In 2014, she returned to the American Dance Festival (where she began her formal Pilates training in 2001) as a Pilates teacher. Dr. Holmes continues to be passionate about spreading the benefits of the practice. Her scholarship has been published nationally and internationally, and her recent book, The Pilates Effect (2019) grew from her life experiences and out of her doctoral research. She has taught modern dance, dance history, dance kinesiology, and Pilates as an Assistant Professor of Dance at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. Currently, she is working towards an MFA in Dance at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where her research examines the intersection between choreography, self, empathy, technology, transference of labor, and neurological disease.
Wendy Tremayne
Vinyasa
Wendy Tremayne is a passionate and dedicated yoga teacher, who has been practicing yoga for over two decades and has studied and practiced many different styles of yoga, including Hatha and Iyengar. Her classes are a dynamic, and mindful approach to movement and breathwork. Wendy's dedication to yoga, Sufism, movement, writing, and painting is a reflection of her belief in the power of these practices to transform individuals and communities.
Elise Waters Olonia
Glowing Vinyasa, Vinyasa
Elise creates an accessible practice that is both challenging and restorative, welcoming to a diverse group of students. Having grown up as an athlete, yoga brought into sharp focus the discipline of developing a non-competitive, internal practice. For the past fifteen years, Elise has explored many styles including ashtanga, yin, Hatha, hot yoga, and restorative. In 2016, she obtained her RYS 200-hour yoga and continues her education, focusing on meditation and pose breakdown.
Blair Anderson
Dynamic Alignment
Blair began practicing yoga over 20 years ago as a college student. The art of the asana and the beauty of the practice captured her attention. After studying with various teachers and being a regular student at local Mysore classes, Blair decided to take a deeper dive into yoga and do a teacher training with Tias and Surya Little. She finished her 300 hour teacher training in 2011 and still continues to take classes and work with the team at Prajna yoga. Prajna’s beautiful dedication to the lineage of yoga and philosophy of tradition, along with Tias and Surya’s fine attunement to the body in postures, have greatly influenced how Blair practices and teaches. Her classes are strong and guaranteed to get you moving but most important is making sure the students understand why they are practicing and how their bodies and minds are benefiting from the asanas and time spent on the mat. Blair is also a certified health coach and loves to cook and teach people how to cook nourishing vegetating meals. She loves nothing more than cooking a meal for her husband and two daughter, dinner time is always her favorite part of the day.
Shannon Brady
Shannon is an experienced Certified Yoga Teacher (RYT500/E-RYT200) with 10 years and 1,000+ instructing hours at top-rated studios around the country. This includes full-time heated and unheated vinyasa flow instruction in Boston, Philadelphia, and Hilton Head. She is skilled at teaching students of ALL levels. Shannon enjoys helping students learn how to adapt the practice to meet their individual needs in a group setting. No student gets left behind. Shannon has led/co-led several teacher trainings and workshops. A new resident of Santa Fe, when not teaching yoga Shannon has been spending lots of time outdoors with her husband and rescue pets hiking, biking, and discovering the area’s amazing culture. She is also a passionate animal welfare advocate, and volunteers regularly at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter.
Megan Velasquez &
Daniel Bruce
Everyday Mindfulness
Megan has been a student of mindfulness meditation since 2006. Her entry into practice was through a secular mindfulness course, and she has also studied in the American Vipassana tradition. She is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher in addition to a social work professor and clinician. Her practice centers on mindfulness techniques accessible to people of diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and to those who have experienced trauma.
Daniel has been a student, practitioner and teacher of Mindfulness meditation since 1987. Now retired from clinical work as an Acupuncturist and Somatic psychology practitioner he continues to teach Mindfulness-Based Meditation and Mindful movement in the form of Tai Chi Chih and Qigong.
Guest Instructors
Kate Trainor
Vinyasa
Kate's love of yoga has evolved and deepened since moving to New Mexico in 2006. Her bright and cheerful style lends a sense of fun to the asana practice. Her classes integrate breath and body awareness, yoga philosophy, and conscious movement intended to satisfy students of all levels. Kate's sequences are designed to promote flexibility of body and mind as well as a playful exploration of the poses at a lively pace. She believes in the transformative power of breaking a sweat to enhance connection with self, community and spirit and credits yoga with converting her from a type-A personality to a solid B-plus. Kate is a registered nurse and incorporates her knowledge of anatomy, physiology and diverse healing approaches into her teaching.
Scott Stabile
Breath and Belonging
Scott Stabile is the author of Big Love: The Power of Living with a Wide-Open Heart, and Just Love. He leads personal empowerment workshops around the country and world, focused on themes like self-love, facing our fears, living authentically, and the power of intention and visualization. Scott is passionate about breathwork and believes breath is perhaps our most powerful tool for growth and healing. He completed all five levels of David Elliott’s Healer/Breathwork Training and is thrilled to guide BODY clients into their hearts, bodies and spirits through breath.
Mark Wax
Mindful Flow, Yoga For All, Vinyasa
Mark has been a dedicated student of the art and science of the Yoga tradition for over a decade. His classes emphasize mindfulness and religious philosophy. Mark received a 500-hour teaching certificate through the Mindful Yoga and Meditation Training (MYMT) at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and a training certificate from The Himalayan Institute. Mark is a certificated Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, and received Yoga 4 Youth training. Mark teaches meditative movement on teen meditation retreats for a non-profit called iBme.