Darren Rhodes
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Bronwin King
My yoga practice is a dear friend that has infused power into my body, both physically and on levels most subtle. As I look back over the last 14 years, I see that yoga has seeped into my being as I am, revealing my life's particular sweet light (ananda) and dark juiciness (that often becomes the fertile seed for unimagined transformation and growth.) As a dedicated member of the YogaOasis (YO) team, I assist our studio in everything from the down and dirty details, to helping to bring YO's highest vision, step by step, into action. I LOVE this group of excellent staff, skilled teachers, and community of individuals, who playfully and steadily transform along in their unique yogic paths. I am honored to be here. A few influential yoga teachers in my life are Darren Rhodes, Rachel King, Krishna Das, John Friend, Sianna Sherman, Wah!, Benjy & Heather Wertheimer, the amazing yoga philosophy teachers we host, and many more. Highlights of working at YO: Listening to stories of hope; physical health and inner strength being restored to students by their own desire for—and commitment to—themselves and their yoga practice. Buying maha mounds of recycled toilet paper for the studio, and having the check-out person make some mischievous comment about whose house I may be toilet papering next (it happens almost every time!) Leading the now monthly Kirtan (chanting) along with our band at YO Sunday night at 7:30 -- see our schedule under events for upcoming dates. Also check out, listen to, or purchase my CD Bhavana through www.bronwinmusic.com, and stay tuned for my newest yoga CD, to be released soon!!!
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Rachel King
I have managed YogaOasis for ten years now. I think that everyone needs at least two living spaces, and the little area behind the front desk at Central is my happy second! Since this time, I have discovered the wonder of Anusara yoga. I am continually stunned by the causal relationship between my own mind and body; and how somewhere in the middle of this dance, my heart keeps unfolding. Thus, for me, Anusara yoga has become quite a phenomenal tool for deepening self awareness, understanding, and love. sign: scorpio. year: monkey. favorite yoga pose: handstand! | |
Guy Atchley
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Lara Blommer
I took my first yoga class at YogaOasis East in July of 2003 in search of a better way to deal with depression. At the end of that very first class I knew yoga would be a part of the rest of my life, although I never would have imagined what a huge role it would play. In fact, since that date, yoga has become one of the great loves of my life! My practice reminds me of the strength and courage I already have available to me and inspires me to allow those same things to grow and expand. Anusara reminds me that I’m not alone in wanting to live in a way that encourages looking to the good, the auspicious, the beauty in life. My teachers are honestly some of the best in the world, and they remind me of my own goodness with each class I attend. Yoga has changed my life in so many ways, I can’t help but get excited. I tend to ‘geek out’ at least once a class, and I’ve been told my enthusiasm is contagious. and at the very least it provokes a smile or two. I strive to show my students that they can do things they never imagined they could do in the right setting, with the right intention and with the support of the Kula. I absolutely believe that there is no ‘off the mat’ when it comes to our yoga, and encourage my students to use their asana practice as a safe place to explore the inner workings of their lives outside of class. I learn at least as much from them as they do from me in each class, and for that I am truly grateful. I am also endlessly grateful for the support and wisdom of Darren Rhodes, and to my first teacher Claire Murphy who absolutely insisted I give teaching yoga some real thought. I’m a Cancer, and am absolutely in love with the Moon. I have at least 108 favorite yoga poses at any given time, but they always include Hanumanasana, Urdhva Dhanurasana and Navasana. Oh, and Eka Pada Rajakapotasana… partially just because I like to say it. | |
Bruce Bowditch
I took my first yoga class many years ago while working as an advertising Creative Director in Melbourne, Australia. Since my teens I had practiced a lot of martial arts and developed a lot of injuries in the process. By contrast, yoga was so much kinder and loving—it felt so healing. I immediately appreciated these qualities, yet I also liked the physical challenge. I later found Anusara yoga and began studying closely with John Friend, establishing a relationship that has changed my life in very deep ways. My specialty is yoga therapeutics. I’ve taught many national and international workshops, intensive courses, teacher trainings and therapeutic sessions, and most recently served as Senior Practitioner and Head of Teaching at SPACE yoga studio in Taipei, Taiwan. During classes and workshops my goal is to create a lighthearted atmosphere where each student can safely push his or her boundaries, reaching beyond perceived limitations to a more expanded, more creative experience of themselves. One of my guiding principles, which I strive to instill in my students, is that when we know how to make our bodies feel better the effect ripples through us, powerfully influencing our state of mind and heart. We actually feel happier, more enthusiastic and brighter about life as a whole. | |
P.J. Casey
I wandered into a yoga studio in Austin Texas, 1989, looking for somewhere to continue my interest in meditation. The studio owner had just said good bye to the student who was taking care of the property gardens in exchange for classes. He asked me if I would like to take her place and I agreed despite knowing nothing about yoga and even less about gardening. Something clicked on that worn wood floor and my love of yoga began to grow and has continued to do so into the present. Unfortunately the studio gardens followed a somewhat different trajectory. In 1998, after practicing Sivananda and Ashtanga yoga, I took a class with John Friend at a national yoga conference. I forgot about the rest of the classes I had signed up for and followed John around for the rest of the week. I was touched by his kindness and desire to serve. I've continued to study Anusara yoga for its heartfulness and for its clear articulation of alignment principles. I began teaching yoga in 1999. Inspired by my continued interest in meditation and stillness, I try to cultivate an environment of contemplation in my classes. Periods of fullness of action, periods of quiet emptiness. May our practice lead our hearts and minds into stillness. | |
Jacqueline Chu
An impromptu move from California to Tucson left me looking for something to which I could yoke myself. I’ve always described myself as having been grabbed by Anusara yoga, when I attended Darren Rhodes’ class and he encouraged me to open my heart, physically & energetically. As I’ve begun to clear the physical energy channels so have varied aspects of life become clear. Sharing this path with my family, friends and the Yoga Oasis Kula is such bliss. In class I emphasize moving with the breath and being in the moment with asana. When the alignment principles and balanced energies of Anusara are invoked our bodies are safe from injury and even therapeutically supported. From here, heart expression & radiance—flowing with Grace—follow naturally. I also support maintaining balance through a contemplative off-the-mat yoga practice; I’m finally in a place where I enjoy my dynamic relationship with balance! | |
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Melisa DeNinno In January 2006, I moved home to Arizona after living seven years in Spain. As soon as I got here, my dear sister gave me a month pass to Yoga Oasis. That was one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received.
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Will Duncan I first started studying meditation seriously in 1985. That was the year I met what they call in the east your "heart lama" or "heart teacher." I was an awkward, pudgy 14-year old and my teacher began to teach me what a spiritual life, a life of sadhana looked like. He taught me Hindu, Buddhist and Christian scripture, meditation and some of the physical yogic practices of moving prana that he learned in his many years in India and China. Since those early days (with the exception of a 3 year exploration in mild debauchery) I have continued to study seriously with a variety of teachers. I really love teaching yoga and meditation and passing on the things my teachers have taught me. Because I am not overflowing with will-power and self-discipline my interest in teaching is to take the wisdom found in the deep traditions and make it really applicable to an ordinary worldly life. | |
Kathy Edds
Yoga has always been a part of my life, woven in and out of time and moments that eventually brought me here. It became a consistent practice in late 2000 after a running injury and my focus turned to yoga. When I returned to Tucson in 2003 I discovered Anusara Yoga. A friend in Minnesota told me to go to YogaOasis because they had the best classes. It is amazing what the Universe holds for us, a few words; a nod and a smile; a connection; it took me down this path. So here I am in great company and practicing what feels right. Thank you! | |
Susan Frank
My first yoga class was in college, almost 20 years ago. Although at the time I thought I was just stretching, I now realize yoga was a significant factor in getting me through my last grueling semester of Architecture school. Since then, I only dabbled in yoga until 2002 when I moved back to my hometown of Tucson, Arizona, from Los Angeles. In Tucson, I found Anusara Yoga at Yoga Oasis and began my life-long practice. Anusara Yoga has allowed me to begin the process of understanding myself. It has been the most humbling and the most enlightening endeavor I have ever undertaken. My yoga practice expands every time I take a breath and for this I am eternally grateful. I am truly honored to be passing onto others what I have learned from my teachers. I have studied extensively with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga, Douglas Brooks of the Rajanaka Tantra lineage as well as Darren Rhodes, my primary teacher in Tucson. I am certified through Yoga Alliance and on the extensive and powerful journey towards Anusara Yoga certification. I am also a product designer and have my own company, Fresh Design Inc. We design products for the home. Check out our website atwww.freshdesigninc.com. My sun sign is Leo. Not surprising, as I have the world's largest volume of curly hair that many often refer to as a "lion's mane." My other passions include cycling, videography, and most of all hanging out with my friends. | |
Laura Greenlaw
It was here that I met my beloved teacher and friend Rachael Laing. She taught me it was ok to have fun at yoga. Her inspiration and encouragement brought me to Anusara yoga. I took my first teacher training with another of my gifted beloved teachers, Darren Rhodes, in Nov.-Dec. 2002. The rest of my story is a continuation of my mad passionate love affair with the "Divine Beloved" guiding me to my next extraordinary teacher and heart expanding experiences. I have been gifted with many extraordinary teachers. Therapeutics with John Friend, workshops with the magnificent Noah Maze and Sianna Sherman, 200 hour teacher training with Martin and Jordan Kirk. At home my practice is overseen by the gifted teachings of Bruce Bowditch and Chris Coniaris. My personal practice is a constant deepening of the Presence that breathes me. How many ways can I surrender my heart into the ever deepening Ocean of Bliss, and bring it back to the world as an offering of gratitude to my sweet Divine Beloved? | |
Permelia Harden
I fell into yoga to find answers to the many questions of life. I quickly became passionate about this practice and knew I had found my life‘s path. Registered within the Yoga Alliance at the 500 Level, I am also certified in Sivananda and White Lotus Yoga. My classes are a reflection of my gentle and mindful nature, emphasizing the deeper meaning of the practice. I have been greatly influenced by John Friend, Anusara Founder whom I first met and studied with in 1991. I have seen many changes in this great art since I began my practice, practically after John‘s development of Anusara Yoga. As I absorb much from the teachings of this ongoing wisdom I continue to offer simplicity in my classes. I love teaching and have been on staff at Yoga Oasis since 1996. I also manage a full yoga program within the SaddleBrooke Community, and pursue ongoing education in the areas of eastern philosophy, alternative medicine, Tai Chi, and Reiki. | |
Rachel (Howard) MacAdam
My first taste of Yoga came from an unlikely source. When I was about ten or eleven my middle school drama teacher, Mr. Pona, used Sun Salutations, dragon breathing and lion pose (with the tongue out) as a warm-up/centering activity before acting class. Even then I felt very much at home in a yoga pose. It was not until my sophomore year of high school that I was first exposed to an entire yoga sequence. I have been practicing ever since. Darren Rhodes' mother Roxanne was actually one of my first yoga instructors! Both Roxanne and Michelle Synnestvedt introduced me to the concepts of Anusara Yoga, which I quickly learned could help prevent injury, promote health and flexibility in my own body, as well as connect me to a deeper spirituality. About a year or so before moving to Tucson I came to visit my dear friends Stephanie Eden and Rachel King and to practice at Yoga Oasis. I fell in love with the sense of community as well as the intensity of practice I could achieve by attending Darren's classes. Largely because of my desire to connect with the Yoga Oasis Kula I moved to Tucson in 2003. In total I have been practicing yoga for over eleven years, and don't see myself stopping any time soon. Yoga has forced me to look at some very difficult blocks emotionally and physically, and through these challenges has connected me to a deeper place inside of my heart. I have often said that Yoga is what keeps me sane; it is what keeps me searching for the highest version of "me" which is ultimately connected to all things. My classes are generally upbeat, both vigorous and gentle at times, and always connected somehow to spirit. I believe the students who end up in my class on any given day are each an essential aspect of the whole energy of the sequence. Together we work to expand in a new way each time we congregate.
Lori Huggins Five years ago, I was given the gift of yoga by my first yoga teacher, Rachel Laing, when she was teaching at a local gym. After years of experimenting with different forms of exercise, I felt as though I had finally found something that I loved. During the next three years, I developed a sometimes consistent, sometimes inconsistent practice. My family and I left Tucson in 2007 and I found myself in a very challenging situation. Miraculously, I found an Anusara studio in Jackson, MS. Yoga then became not "an exercise" but a real practice, a practice that saved me from my increasing depression. It showed me that wherever my life took me I would always have this gift - this practice that was given to me. It was here that I decided I had to give this gift to others as Rachel had so lovingly given it to me. I hope to give my students what all of my teachers have given me - the beautiful gift of this practice that helps me to love myself and others, to challenge and push myself, and meets me where I am, often providing exactly what I need at the moment. | |
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Rachael Laing
Yoga filled a great, missing space for me from the day, over 15 years ago, that I stepped into the practice. The gym I worked at in New Zealand began offering "stretch" classes that were really yoga classes in disguise. They were the hardest classes ever! Bound hips and hamstrings from years of teaching aerobic dance, and an often anxious mind have been challenged and confronted time and again on the mat, bringing lessons in softening and in opening fully to life. While I had been doing "yoga" for sometime with a regular meditation practice, the asana, and especially Anusara Yoga, has drawn me deeper into my heart, and has given me priceless gifts that I turn to time and again. Darren Rhodes, who I met in 2003, was my first Anusara yoga teacher, and his inspiration stays with me whenever I practice and teach. Darren's teaching, and the teachings of John Friend, of Noah Maze, and of Chris Coniaris serve me time and again, and I am so grateful for the endless offerings that these teachers have given and continue to give. For me, this yoga has become a dance of the Divine, where the heart and mind and spirit meld as one. Stepping onto my mat is a conscious act of letting go and opening up. The first breath as I sweep my arms overhead becomes an act of receiving, fully, the many gifts that life brings. | |
Stephani Lindsey At age 20 (2001), I started yoga, when the very popular class at Northern Arizona University had an opening. The yoga offered me an opportunity to be with and work through recent injuries from a car accident. For many years I defined myself by my injuries and limitations. Now through embracing myself with my own strong muscles, my own solid bones, I find my inner strength, and I define myself by the light from within that connects me to all others. I sincerely wish to offer back that which continues to transform me from within. Yoga was extremely challenging for me, and I fell head over heels (literally!). I remember being dumbfounded when my teacher insisted I straighten my back leg which I just knew was straight... and it wasn't. Yoga continually offers me new insights into myself. I wanted the light that I saw in my inspiring teachers, and of course I wanted to be able to do those cool things that they could do. I dove into my first yoga teacher training in 2004 with Naime Jezzeny and Noah Maze. It began an ongoing adventure that I'm actually happy to say, never ends. I am continually inspired and awed by Anusara's proficient teachers. I aim to be one of them. I am ever grateful for the desire and willingness in students, for it helps to keep those same fires burning within me. | |
Elizabeth Little
I practice yoga for the love of it, and in turn it gives me strength and heart. The most senior teacher I study with is John Friend. For my day-to-day maladies and questions I ask Darren Rhodes and Chris Coniaris. As a yoga teacher, I continue to appreciate the endlessness of yoga philosophy, and I am constantly seeking ways to integrate it into every moment. This is THE moment; why are we running from it? In turn I share my practice with my students who, in turn, end up laughing at me a lot. | |
Michael Longstaff "MiLo"
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55... I am back to teaching! - a yogahour class at the new downtownJulieBrown studio (Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m.). milo@yogaoasis.com Check out my work online: | |
Ilana Markowitz
Yoga has been a faithful companion since I started practicing as a teenager in New York City’s upper west side. While still in high school I had the auspicious opportunities to learn from both Swami Satchitanada and Swami Muktananda. I experienced John Friend at conference in 1997, and knew I had found my hatha yoga path. Everyone’s life is an exquisite mandala. Mine is colored by so many things including my Judaism, background in psychoanalysis, my MSW and work as a therapist, meditation practice, and all the challenges I have grown through. I truly know that my yoga (asana and beyond) practice has saved me and has taught me how to live my life with more faith, grace, curiosity, open heartedness and aliveness. My yoga practice is continuing to expand from my mat into my whole life. I have been blessed with a beautiful family: my two children Zakkai (age 5), and Aliya Malka (age 4) and my beloved partner Neil. I wish to honor all my teachers and to express my deep gratitude for the privilege of being an Anusara yoga teacher. | |
Rachelle Robin
I am a double Scorpio with my moon in Taurus. | |
Mira Shani
Yoga and I fell in love with each other in the mid '90s when I was in college. Like for many, it was love at first feeling and we've been close companions ever since. Sure, there have been ups and downs, like the time when I came down with Valley Fever and I felt like Yoga just didn't understand me at that time in my life. Or like when I was feeling very pressured to choose my favorite Yoga and didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. But every time, Yoga has arisen, always, in the highest; always made it so clear that it has no agenda with me. All Yoga wants is for me to be my greatest. All it wishes is for me to feel deeply alive, purely peaceful and perfectly at home in my body and my heart. And each time I come to my mat, Yoga offers me something new with which I can embrace the deepest parts of me and then turn around and offer it back. I hope to challenge my students to use Yoga to be self-empowered and encounter their own greatness. My classes offer a blend of humor, Tibetan Heart Yoga techniques and Anusara principles. My main Teachers are the splendid Geshe Michael Roach and the glorious John Friend. I'm a double Taurus, Pitta Vata, with an affinity for dark chocolate, which is actually a pre-requisite for teaching at YogaOasis. When I'm not yogaing (as my father calls it) I study at a nearby Buddhist university called Diamond Mountain. I also do the graphic work for YogaOasis and coordinate all of our many incredible events.
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Annie Smith
I took my first yoga class when I was 17 and the moment it was over I knew that I would practice the rest of my life. I studied many styles of yoga over the next few years until I found Darren and Yoga Oasis and have been there ever since. Since then my practice has continued to expand and I am deeply grateful to Darren and all my teachers, yoga and non-yoga, who help me continue to grow through their wisdom and guidance. I try to make my classes fun, interesting and challenging! I also enjoy kirtan and sing sacred “lullabies” in each class during Savasana. My debut cd “Live” came out this year which is available at Yoga Oasis and on my website atwww.anniesmithmusic.com. | |
Marcia Tullous
My formal introduction to yoga began in 2000 with Ulla Lundgren at the Yoga Experience in Flagstaff, Arizona, but it was curiosity that led me up the stairs, through the door and into my first yoga class. During my first class, I recall feeling uncertain and nervous at the start but by the end I felt intrigued and excited. Ultimately, I left my first class with a feeling of bliss and wholeness that made me take notice. That feeling of completeness I experience when I practice is what continues to bring me back to my mat. As my practice developed, my desire to feel a deeper connection to that truer part of myself and others encouraged my exploration of yoga further. In 2003 I attended my first Anusara immersion and teacher training with Christy Burnette. My decision to immerse myself in Anusara put me on a surprising new path. I continue my travels on this amazing and challenging path as I work towards Anusara certification. I feel incredibly grateful and and fortunate to have studied with such gifted teachers as John Friend, Christy Burnette, Ulla Lundgren, Desiree Rumbaugh, and Darren Rhodes. Over the years, I have learned that the practice of yoga is both an artistic expression of essence and a way of life. I firmly believe that the practice of yoga brings us back to the heart and reconnects us with our true nature, our blissful, joyful self. I believe that from that place of heart, all things are possible! | |
Scott Turpin
My mom was my first yoga teacher. By the time I discovered that yoga was offered in a public class format, she had simply and skillfully helped me to integrate asana and breathing into daily life. I first recognized yoga as a distinct practice in my early twenties. I enjoyed the complexity and simultaneous simplicity of asana practice and dove in headfirst. Since then my continued practice has repeatedly asked me to face myself and offered feedback, opportunity, and occasional glimpses of possibility as I strive to become most fully who God has created me to be. I have been truly blessed with many amazing teachers along my path. I am eternally grateful for their guidance and insight as I humbly do my best to realize the entirety of what each of them has glimpsed within me. | |
Vivianne Uyeda
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Anjani (Ginny) Visan
I began my yoga practice in 1996 with an inquisitive mind. I found myself practicing whenever I could, and wanted more, and more information. My curiosity morphed into a strong devoted home practice that would propel me to my first yoga class in Tucson… I moved to Tucson in 2000 and found YogaOasis online, but didn’t have the courage to step foot in the studio. I would finally take my first class in 2002 and felt like I belonged at the studio instantly, and have ever since considered it a home away from home. I happened to be going through some very difficult times when I arrived, and found that yoga not only helped me be more in my body, but also allowed me to process the long seated feelings of grief and anger. Those first three years were some of my most challenging and without yoga I wouldn’t be in the same seat that I am currently. Through Yoga I become more of the person that I want to be and ultimately already am. Teaching at YogaOasis has been such an honor and I look toward my students, teachers, and life for inspiration. My class tends to be on the fun side but with monkey-like seriousness. I would like to thank my yoga teachers, Darren Rhodes, Bruce Bowditch, Elizabeth Little, Shelly Cohen, and to all the other yoga teachers that have been so supportive. A great thanks goes out to John Friend who developed this highly refined and beautiful system. Most especially, thank you to all of the students that show up day after day to practice and help create this strong and vital part of our community. I enjoy dark chocolate, making pies (cherry and pumpkin), baking anything, hiking, dancing, biking, and eating chocolate, pies, and baked goods My astrological info is slightly confusing as in Western astrology I’m a Virgo with a Scorpio rising, and in Vedic astrology I’m a Leo with a Libra rising. I guess that means I get to choose? | |
Jenn Waugaman Curiousity drew me to Yoga Oasis in 1997 and I was hooked from the very first class. Over the years I moved across the country, but continued to practice and study various styles of yoga. Not satisfied with my day job, I decided to take a Hatha Yoga teacher training class at N.U. Yoga Center in Chicago in 2002 in case the opportunity ever arose to make a change. In 2004 I moved back to Tucson and the opportunity did arise. I began teaching, while I was 9 months pregnant. Returning to Tucson brought me back to my roots at Yoga Oasis, and I was introduced to Anusara yoga. In 2005 I attended a transformative teacher training with Desiree Rumbaugh that drew me deeper into the teachings and allowed me to connect more fully with the practice. Yoga is a grounding element in my life, for which I am deeply grateful. I strive to engage my students in a way that challenges and affirms their own practice. I offer back what my teachers have so generously and thoughtfully shared with me to perpetuate the love. | |
Amber Whittier I discovered yoga while teaching English and Dance in Thailand. I ran to Chiang Mai’s nearest department store and a foam camping pad became my first yoga mat. The extra padding lovingly cushioned those early headstands on the cement platforms in Thailand’s train stations! 5 years after my first Hatha Yoga class, my first taste of Anusara Yoga came through Rachael Laing’s classes at Gold’s Gym. Her lovely presence and gifted way of teaching connected me to the feeling of “coming home” to my authentic self. I took my first class with Darren Rhodes on the celebration of my 30th birthday. A Radical Expansion Class, nonetheless. I had no previous knowledge of the syllabus, only the thought that a class with such a fiery name seemed appropriate for my summer solstice birthday. In that first meeting, Darren asked me to demo something I had never done: an assisted drop-back. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “I know you can do it. Follow your breath.” Setting aside any self-limiting thoughts, I summoned the softness of self-belief and did my 1st drop-back, and my 2nd, and my 3rd. Ah… the sweet meeting of one’s potential! I am inspired by the power that yoga has to transform and enhance my life and the lives of other beings and creatures. I am grateful for all of the wisdom that continuously flows through this practice. Some of my influential teachers are Bruce Bowditch, Darren Rhodes, Rachelle Cohen, John Friend, and Rusty Wells. In my YogaHour classes, I strive to lead fun big-hearted practices, supported by purposeful alignment within creative sequencing. My yoga “off the mat” includes playing with my best friend and husband Read, as both the bassist in our band The Ghost Dove, and as a co-creator of greenray, a green clothing company, which we will launch in early 2010. The Vitals: Sun Sign: Gemini, Moon Sign: Scorpio. Affections: Read, Music, International Traveling, Dark Chocolate (preferably raw), Adventurous Vegan and Raw Food, Big Red Wines (Cabs, Zins, Malbecs). My Favorite Asanas: Handstand, Headstand, Eka Pada Koundinyasana I & II, Eka Pada Galavasana. |
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