Instructor Bios

Donna Lanni
As a teenager in the 1970s, Donna Lanni first began yoga movement in front of her stereo while listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Initiated and named Devaki by the  Acharyas of Ananda Marga, Donna began teaching yoga and leading kirtans from her home in the late 1980s. In 1991, she was asked to teach yoga at a women’s martial arts retreat which led to 20 years of martial arts training in both Kung Fu and Shudokhan karate. Years of studying movement and trainings  brought her to her Maha teacher, Shiva Rea, founder of Prana Flow® yoga with whom the rivers of her trainings blend into an ocean  of discovery.  She is blessed and grateful for the teachings of Dr. Charles Scott and yoga and movement mentor,  Teri Vierick. Her other influences have been through the works of Emily conrad, Gabrielle Roth and Beth Rigby, creator of Yoga Meets Dance (TM).
Currently, she holds a 4th Dan in Shudokhan karate as well as a 1st Dan in Kung fu. She has a 100hr certification in Yoga Meets Dance. She has recently earned her 200hr certification to teach Prana Flow® yoga from  Shiva Rea and the Samudra School of Living Yoga .  Through this work , she is also certified to teach Yoga Trance Dance®, an integrative fusion of yoga merging to free flowing dance. Always the student, Donna is currently enrolled in the 500hr teachers training program with Shiva and the Samudra “tribe”.   www.shivarea.com She is also certified 200 hour RYT with Yoga Alliance.

Donna lives in Fairbanks with her beloved, Ron and blended family of five children. She is a lover of 3 dogs and an Amazon parrot. She brings to her classes humor and the spiritual alchemy and integration of seasonal, solar and lunar rhythms, poetry, and music.

Marsha Munsell

Marsha began her yoga journey in 1975 with Richard Hittleman’s book 28 Days of Yoga. Taking the book to live in the bush with her husband, Jim, she established a daily practice of yoga and meditation that has served her to this day. After moving to Fairbanks she became involved in several Mind-Body disciplines. She has studied the art of Shudokan and Gosoke Ryu karate for 22 years and holds a 6th degree blackbelt in Shudokan karate and 3rd degree blackbelt in Gosoke Ryu. She has enjoyed Tai Chi for about 13 years and the past couple of years had made time to practice the ancient art of Qigong.  She has been able to present Spring Forest Qigong in workshops in Fairbanks and Juneau. In addition to her passion for the martial arts, she has returned to pursuing yoga passionately for about 10 years, instructing the last 5. She has taught yoga classes at the International Karate Association, one summer as a twice weekly private instructor, for seniors in the OLLI program and currently conducts weekly classes at the Senior Center. Her teacher training has come about primarily through Sundari’s Anusara teacher trainings and Lynn Minton. She is grateful for the influence of Susanne Lyle and Teri Vierick. Her certification process has been through White Lotus Yoga with Ganga and Tracey White.

She brings to her classes a love of alignment, the beauty of a quiet center, and the joy of inner discovery.

Lucy Kerhoulas                                                                      She has devoutly practiced yoga  since 1999.  Initially dabbling in Bikram, Yin, and various Hatha yoga practices, she found a “home” with Ashtanga Yoga.  Although certified to teach Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, and Anusara Yoga, my true passion and belief system reside in Ashtanga.  She started teaching yoga in 2002 and has had a strong student following in both northern California and Flagstaff, AZ where she lived prior to moving to Fairbanks.  Here in Fairbanks she is writing her doctoral dissertation on water and carbon cycles in southwestern ponderosa pine forests.  Throughout her yogic and academic educations she has studied human anatomy and physiology extensively.  Blending these two backgrounds in yoga and anatomy, she brings to her teaching a solid understanding of human anatomy, physiology, and asana.  A long-time runner and mountaineer, her introspective side comes out in her teaching in the sense that she believes each student’s relationship with yoga will be unique.  She strives to provide students with the tools to develop their own asana, pranayama, and meditative practices so that they can independently connect with their own true nature, their own inner refuge.

Her classes are focused on giving students the tools to find their own inner truth through the marriage of breath and body movement. She will gear her teaching to all levels by giving extremely articulate and descriptive directions on how to enter and exit poses, as well as what to focus on when in poses.  Her extensive anatomical and physiological understanding of the human body helps students reap the maximum benefits from practicing yoga.  She teaches Ashtanga-based vinyasa classes geared towards students who aim to deepen their physical and meditative yoga practice.

(photo credit: Simone van Hove)

Linda Thai                                                                                   Meditation has many definitions: removing the fluctuations of the mind, elongating the space between thoughts, thoughtless awareness in this eternal moment. It is a state that we all naturally gravitate towards. I most certainly did, using drugs, sex, intense physical activity, work, food and television to blank out into the moment. So even though I grew up in a household of Buddhist meditators, I came to meditation for practical reasons: I needed to find other ways to deal with being me.

Through the practice of Vipassana meditation, I learned to slow down the rampant mind-stream and gain insight into my inner workings. In the overcoming of stress and finding that inner peace and balance, the space was then created for a spiritual experience. I am not my body, my mind, my ego or ego projections, my conditionings, my emotions or intellect, but something of an eternal nature which is always residing in the heart in a pure, undisturbed state – the Self or Spirit. Slowly slowly, as I became connected to the pure eternal stillness within, I slowly slowly stopped doing things that caused ripples in that pond.

While the human condition really is universal, there are many ways to climb mountains, and all paths lead to Rome. I plan to teach various styles of meditation with various intended purposes. These meditations include: breath-work and breathing meditation; grounding meditations; visualisations; contemplation and focus on specific concepts and virtues; using mantra. The intended purposes will range from: calming emotional storms, slowing down the mind-stream, being with your fears, insight into your inner workings, connection to your spiritual self. Your experience is yours and yours alone. Please take what works for you, leave the rest.

I have just recently returned from Radiantly Alive’s 300 hour Level 1 Yoga Teacher Training, which emphasized a multi-disciplinary approach to yoga, a multi-style fusion of several great forms with heavy vinyasa influences, which covered Ashtanga (Kino McGregor and Tim Feldmann), Jivamukti (Daniel Aaron), Baptiste Power Yoga (Phillip Urso), and other creative vinyasa forms (Simon Borg-Olivier, Edward Clark, Nikki Durrant).

Vinyasa is more than simply linking breath to movement. The breath is the foundation, the breath exposes and expresses each yoga pose. The fluidity of each inhale and exhale becomes a meditation, facilitating continual awareness through deliberate breathing.The yoga pose simply becomes another shape in which to breath, in which to challenge the breath to remain steady, calm, strong and graceful. From this perspective, the transition between poses is equally as important as the poses themselves.

I  plan to teach multi-level power vinyasa classes which allows students to have their own personal experience of breath and body awareness ie. . .no music, minimum relevant words, preference for physical adjustments. In this way, I hope to facilitate each person’s unique inner journey. As Rumi says,”There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” The physical practice of yoga is one, and it is a powerful one that I am so grateful to have been gifted with, and feel incredibly humbled to share.

Katelin Avery                                                                                 Yoga Philosophy                                                                          The main philosophy of yoga is simple: mind, body and spirit are one and cannot be clearly separated. I deeply believe that people need to experience life on a mental and physical level. For me yoga is the perfect expression of both. I want to teach yoga to help people discover themselves, to connect with their breath and their inner sanctuary of peace. I hope to guide students to see that there is power in softening, grace in stability and that life is in every breadth.

Experience

Yoga student: I found a sanctuary at Yoga in the Pearl, Portland, Oregon and became a dedicated student of Power Yoga. My teachers included the Lauren Ingram, Tiffany Cruikshank, and Sarah Lakey.

Yoga Certification: Yoga Union, Portland, OR 2009

A three-part Vinyasa teacher training designed to give a full skill-set for teaching yoga. The program focused on developing tools such as thematic class design, fluid sequencing, creative flow, authentic heart language, powerful adjustments, clear anatomy instruction, and therapeutic yoga for private clients.

Sophia May                                                                                            As a year-round competitive athlete for over a decade, Sophia knows what it is to struggle against  and also to exalt one’s body.  Over the course of her ten consecutive years of swimming, Sophia experienced – among her personal successes – overuse injuries of every flavor, multiple accidental acute injuries, and two knee surgeries.  It was a combination of stress, anxiety and the rehabilitation of her knees that brought Sophia back home to yoga after a four-year hiatus.  Yoga provided a way for Sophia to move and express herself in flow – without pain – healing her mind and body.  After reinvigorating her being through regular practice, Sophia made the decision to attend her 200-hour teacher training at Frog Lotus Yoga in Massachusetts.   The training inspired Sophia to teach from the soul, sharing her light and appreciation of movement with anyone and everyone.  After training, Sophia taught in her central Minnesotan community.  However, in December 2011, whisperings of the heart brought Sophia back to Alaska.

Certified to teach both Hatha Interdisciplinary and Vinyasa Flow yoga, Sophia melds her extensive experience and training in anatomy, philosophy, asana and meditation to create dynamic classes that are accessible to all skill levels and physical abilities.   Practices are guided through clear anatomical direction into and out of each pose, intelligent modification offerings, and breath and alignment cues.  Through yoga, Sophia began to understand the unbounded power of intention.  Through diligent practice and cultivation of understanding of mind and body, there is no end to the healing and transformational capabilities of yoga.

Sophia feels blessed to be part of Heart Stream Yoga – the perfect avenue through which to share her love of teaching, body movement, and embracing all that is yoga.  Sophia brings to classes a warm heart, good-natured humor, and an honest interest in her students’ individual development. When not teaching, she enjoys running, biking, climbing, knitting, cooking, and studies natural sciences and linguistics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Kathleen Hook                                                                             Before we talk about yoga, we first must talk about pies.  Kathleen loves making pies.  There is something about the exact measurement and technique required to achieve the perfectly flakey crust that appeals to her scientific background.  And through the precision of the pie making process the result is a warm luscious dessert. Kathleen married a Colorado cowboy, so it was first out of love that she began to experiment.  But found that through her own passion she continued, perfected, and now can easily be lost in the measurement of flour, shaping the perfect pea size chunks of fat, gently adding the liquid not to toughen, which all together produces a flakey crust.  And then there is the choice of selecting either fruit or a cream filling.  This decision depends on her mood and season.  This decision depends on listening to what inspires her.

Making pies is much like the practice of yoga.  Through the precision of the practice, and the practice of listening, the result is also a warm luscious dessert.  Kathleen was looking for relief from her daily aches and pains along with the pressure of her Environmental Management day job when she discovered Batiste Power flow in 2009.  She still remembers her first class when everything changed for her.  She loves the structure, the discipline, and the sweat.  She found it as a pathway not only to heal both her body but calm her monkey mind.  Practicing power vinyasa flow is much like making a pie.  It’s two parts sun salutations, one part twists, one part balances, toss in a wheel and you have a perfect recipe for a transformation.

Kathleen is a runner, a cyclist, completed triathlons and marathons.  She is a Master Gardener, and has used fly fishing has been an excuse to travel the world.  She has been a Certified Spinning Instructor since 2007.  To better understand and deepen her own practice, she completed 200 hours of Baron Baptiste’s Level I & II Teacher Training.   As she was already a fly fishing and Spin instructor, it was a natural process to extend her practice into teaching yoga.  Also, Baron encourages his students to share the transformation.

Kathleen’s approach to teaching yoga weaves together a mindfulness of movement for anybody, any condition, any age.  Kathleen’s philosophy of yoga is to engage what works while creating balance in order to move freely in your body. She communicates with humor and laughter.  Kathleen’s classes have been described athletic, if you come, plan to breathe, maybe even laugh. Come ask her what her current pie inspiration is.  She credits the Fairbanks yoga community as a constant source of learning and inspiration in both the practice of yoga and eating of desserts!

Alyssa Rogers                                                                                       Growing up as a gymnast and now an avid athlete and outdoor enthusiast, Alyssa Rogers Began her interest in yoga as a method of cross training for runing, hiking, and strength training. Over time, yoga practice paired with an inquisitive mind and determination carved a path to where her true passion is found today in teaching Yoga. “Through my yoga practice, the sense of true wholeness, balance, bliss, equilibrium acquired is like a runner’s high times ten.”

A life-long student of yoga, Alyssa aims to share the art and science of yoga to all. Her teaching approach weaved together the mindfulness of alignment in postures with the importance of breath to promote a complete mind/body understanding.

Alyssa recently completed the 200-hour Interdisciplinary teacher training certification at the Nosara Yoga Institute led by Don and Amba Stapleton in Nosara, Costa Rica. Alyssa is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance.

Jessica Christenson
I have been enjoying the benefits of yoga for over 14 years.  I attended the University of Northern Colorado, recieving a BA in both acting and directing.   I moved to Alaska after graduating, 10 years ago, thinking I would only be here for 2 months.   I fell in love, and never left.   Here I have learned to communicate not only with my body and mind in a deeper sense than could have ever been taught in the university setting, but also with my surroundings and my fellow humans.  Yoga has been there through it all.  I have spent time exploring, time writing and time growing into the woman I am  to this day.  I trained in Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art for some time.  With Capoeira and yoga my body grew to be strong, happy and healthy.   I then met my mate and became pregnant. In 2007  I was lucky to give birth to a beautiful girl in my green house with my beautiful girlfriends present.  Close to 2 years later I became pregnant with my son.  He came into this world through water at the birth center.   I loved the the entire process of pregnancy, labor and birth.  I believe the relationship that was created with my inner self through yoga was the reason these birth experiences are so fondly looked upon. This inspired me to help women have wonderful, empowering birth experiences.  I became certified as a Physical Therapist Aid through Pennfoster University then  as a Pre/post-natal Exercise Specialist through AFPA (American Fitness Professionals Association).  This certification covers the many Fitness activities that a woman may be involved in during and after pregnancy….including YOGA.  I can help a woman at any fitness level, be it a beginner to a professional athlete.  I had been doing in-home personal training for women and realized that I was not involved with the support process that was needed during labor.  I am now a certified doula, through Childbirth international. Currently, I am  in the process of becoming certified as a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist.  This is a wonderful gift that a woman can give to herself post birth to aid in the recovery process.  And now I am here, at Heart Stream Yoga studio, teaching, what I believe to be the most important element in the birth process……… Yoga, Breath, Life.

DharmaDeva
Born in Fairbanks in the year 1989, and grew up in Ester, he will soon be a father, and is very glad to be in this life with these conditions, and this great opportunity. Darwin was introduced to Yoga in 2006 by a school teacher.  The asanas gave more stability and clarity to daily life, assisting health along the way.  Darwin then sought the traditions of his ancestors and became a Druí Daltaí (student Druid) experiencing and recognizing the forces of nature, seeking harmony with them.  Feeling the need for tested techniques and Intense Sadhana (practice), upon turning 21, Darwin Travelled to the Scandinavian Yoga Tantra and Meditation School in Sweden for a transforming 3 months.  He was deeply struck when his teacher in Sweden responded to insult from a student saying with such feeling, “I have given my entire life to sharing this gift, it is a gift!”  He, of course, was speaking of Yoga and the invaluable practices of his tradition.  Firmly believing teachings can only be shared from a tradition when a blessing is given, Darwin sought to share the gift by teaching, and so joined in the Sivananda Yoga Teachers training program in 2012 becoming a Yoga Siromani (teacher of Yoga).  Darwin received his diploma from the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy, the 200 hour Yoga Alliance Certification and the new name DharmaDeva (God of Righteousness).

Believing harmony and synergy is essential in self discovery, his own teachers and traditions do not contradict each-other, they show distinct ways and methods to experience the whole.  This holds true for Yoga, for it is not just asana, but a way to seek union using many complementing Yoga paths.  The statement ‘an ounce of theory is worth tons of practice’ holds true, because theory just burdens the mind.  It is truly best to start with practice, have faith in its methods, and keep that practice sacred and ongoing as it a dire necessity in modern life. DharmaDeva has been given the blessing to share the simple approach of Swami Vishnu-Devananda: Proper Excersize (Asanas), Proper Breathing (Pranayama),  Proper Relaxation (Savasana),  Proper Diet (Vegetarian), Positive Thinking (Vedanta) and Meditation (Dhyana).  The classes have an inward focus, always begun with chanting and finished with prayer, having Pranayama, and the same 12 asanas each time.  This consistency builds upon itself, and becomes a remarkable journey.  The goal is to bring about the True World Order of Peace, through inner peace…
Lead us from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to light, from mortality to Immortality. Salutations to the Gurus and teachers, and the practitioners!  Om Tat Sat Om Shanti Om Peace!

 Jasmine Johnson-Kennedy                           Jasmine invites her students to approach the body with compassion, to observe the self with out judgement, to open to the experience of being infinite, eternal, and whole, and to live gracefully in the present moment with gratitude for the abundance that surrounds us.  Her classes include asana, pranayama, meditation, and philosophy.  Her mindfulness-based approach to yoga translates into the “life asanas” we all experience off the mat, and she hopes to share the transformative power of this practice with her students.  She is a 200hr certified Kripalu yoga teacher.  Kripalu means “being compassion” in Sanskrit.  Kripalu Yoga engages body, mind, and spirit, and encourages the student to seek their own inner teacher.

Jasmine is a skillful and compassionate teacher who brings a sense of awe and joy to the exploration of living an embodied human life. She is fascinated with the interface between the energetic and the physical body, and how the mind’s thoughts and emotions manifest within this framework.  Her focus on alignment and the individuality of each student make her classes accessible and appropriate for beginners as well as for those interested in deepening their dialogue with their bodies.  She invites her students to learn to listen to the deep wisdom within while integrating mind, body, and spirit.

Jasmine has been practicing yoga for more than 7 years and looks forward to a lifetime of dialogue with her own deepening wisdom.  She sees the body as a means for artistic expression and has an extensive background in movement for the theatre, dance, butoh, and a bit of martial arts.  She has worked as both a movement director and a choreographer. She is honored and humbled to have worked with such teachers as Brahmani Leibman and Jashoda Edmunds, SarahJoy Marsh, Maya Salganek, Kara Golux, and Susanne Lyle. She is a weaver and theater artist who lives on an off-grid homestead 20 miles out of town with her husband and her husky.

Kripalu Yoga: From the Ground Up This gentle-to-moderate class is perfect for beginners and for those interested in a deepening dialogue with their body.  We will build the foundation of an integrative practice which focuses on alignment and breath while building body awareness, strength, and flexibility. We will invite a quiet mind and melt away stress.  Each class includes asana, pranayama, meditation, and philosophy. Kripalu means “being compassion” in Sanskrit.  Kripalu Yoga engages body, mind, and spirit, and encourages the student to seek their own inner teacher.

Russell Walker   Russell has been involved in movement since a very young age.  A lifelong athlete and the accompanying injuries brought him to experiment with different mind/body practices such as Qigong and Yoga.  This exploration led him to his discovery of the Feldenkrais Method.  He enjoys the Feldenkrais Method not only because “it makes everything better,” but also because it creates a more complete and whole use of himself.  He feels a more complete use of himself translates into better athletic performance as well as better performance in his professional and personal lives.  Russell feels becoming a more complete human being leads to a more enjoyable life and is happy for the opportunity to share the Feldenkrais Method with others.

The Feldenkrais Method: Awareness Through Movement emphasizes the coordination of muscle movement rather than the typical regimen of stretching and strengthening.  Moving in an enjoyable way allows us the chance slow down and learn something new about ourselves without the strain associated with repetitious exercise.  While on the surface we might be moving our bodies, at the core we are learning how to pay attention to ourselves. When we learn how to pay attention to ourselves we come to know ourselves better and this leads to a more complete use of our whole selves.  A more complete use of our whole selves enables us to perform better in all aspects of our physical, professional, and personal lives. “When we know what we do, there is little difficulty in doing what we want.” – Moshe Feldenkrais

Molly Tedesche  Molly’s yoga experience started in 1999 in upstate New York, where she spent her first years of practice delving deeply and whole heartedly into the alignment-based, detail-oriented styles of Iyengar and Anusara yoga asana, traditional yogic philosophy, and meditation; learning from several experienced teachers. After finishing her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, a move out west to California in 2004 for work with the park service in the Sierra Nevadas opened her world to all sorts of new possibilities, including big mountains and Ashtanga yoga.  She then landed in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2007 to earn a master’s degree in Snow Hydrology, and subsequently, to Crested Butte, Colorado for work as a snowboard instructor and forest ranger. Living in the vibrant and spiritual yoga community of Colorado further deepened her practice in Iyengar, Anusara, and Ashtanga yoga, and she also discovered Shiva Rea’s Prana Flow and loved it.  In 2010, she traveled to Mongolia as a Fulbright Scholar to study Snow Hydrology, and she was invited to teach her first yoga classes in Ulaanbaattar’s first Hatha yoga studio. She then moved to Alaska for work as a hydrologist in Anchorage, and eventually made her way up north for a PhD degree in Civil Engineering and Snow Hydrology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She has studied at the Center for Buddhist Studies in Ladakh, India, and just recently took vows with the Nyingma Tibetan Buddhist group here in Fairbanks.

Molly also found her way to the wonderful yoga community at Heart Stream Yoga where she teaches an eclectic style of yoga, integrating detailed instructions on physical alignments, elements of Eastern philosophy, and invigorating vinyasa flow. With an emphasis on physical practice as a means to quiet the mind and body for meditation, she offers a challenging but sustainable yoga practice.  She hopes to help students discover the possibility for connection with the divine universal consciousness, to find joy in their practice, and to not take themselves too seriously! She has an appetite for endurance sports and backcountry adventures in her spare time, like climbing mountains, snowboarding, nordic skiing, mountain biking, backpacking, kayaking, and trail running, and she will be attending the teacher trainings at the Heart Stream this summer 2013.

Megan Gooding was born and raised in Fairbanks, and received her initial 200hr certification at Sonic Yoga in New York City in 2005. She continued her training with instructors such Joanne Lucy, Shiva Rae, Janice Clarfield, and many other amazing teachers in NYC, Portland, L.A., and of course her favorite place, Alaska. Megan challenges her students to let go, have fun, and hopefully find a little space of peace within themselves during her Energetic Ashtanga Vinyasa flow style class.

 

Shelly Yoshida  Bikram Yoga is a system of yoga that Bikram Choudhury synthesized from traditional hatha yoga techniques.  All Bikram Yoga classes run for 90 minutes and consist of the same series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Bikram Yoga is practiced in a heated room, and isoften referred to as the “original hot yoga”. Shelly is a certified Bikram Yoga instructor, and has been teaching full-time since 2011 in Detroit, MI.  She started practicing Bikram Yoga in Redondo Beach, CA, and has been practicing  for over a decade.  This yoga practice has changed her life tremendously and truly believe  that it is the most effective preventive medicine for one’s overall health.  Come and let your detoxification start at Heart Stream Yoga in Fairbanks this summer. We want you to try Bikram Yoga!!

Please remember to bring 1) yoga mat 2) full size towel (you WILL sweat) 3) work out clothes (wear as little as possible – it WILL be HOT).  For first timers, please refer to http://www.detroitbikram.com/how-to-prepare/first-timers

Former Instructors

Hisako Ito                                                                                 Born in Tokyo, Japan. Studied Journalism at the Nihon University, worked as an editor at production companies until her visit to Alaska in 1986 for few months. Ended up staying in Alaska. Moved to Clear, Alaska in ’88 and raised two daughters.

After driving 80 miles to Fairbanks to learn/train massage school and martial art, weekly, Hisako moved to Fairbanks in 2002. Then became a full time licensed massage therapist. At same time, she found Shiatsu teacher in Japan. Ongoing training of “Do-Zen (moving Zen) Shiatsu” still continues every time she visits to Japan. Hisako’s modality is integrated —both massage and shiatsu techniques— like blending West and East cultures. One of reason she became a massage therapist and Qigong instructor is “return to help people”.

After becoming a black belt in a martial art, Hisako shifted her energy toward healing art to help people through her hands. Hisako trained Shaolin Qigong in Tokyo from Chinese Kung-Fu/Qigong grand master as well as Shiatsu training, then went to China to be certified as a moving Qigong instructor. Since 2004, Hisako has been introducing Qigong to the Fairbanks community. Besides her regular classes, Hisako has taught few years at OLLI (UAF Life Long program) and given introductive classes as the hospital and the Women’s Affair. Since she started to teach Qigong, her terrible stage fright syndrome has disappeared. Hisako’s mission: Through moving Qigong exercise, open up blockage then draw on own healing energy to maintain body/mind. Qigong for health, Qigong for a happy and healthier community.

Before moving to Fairbanks, Hisako had published two books in Japan. A translated children’s picture book, “Blow Me A Kiss, Miss Lilly” (Nancy White Carlstrom) and 14 years of her rural Alaska life experience, “My Alaska Day Dream”. Hisako enjoys spending her time now on body work rather than writing these days.

Tracy Lease  Tracy started doing yoga as a young child.  She loved dancing, twisting, moving and breathing across the lawn or living room.  Like most young kids, she felt and celebrated the union of mind, body and spirit. Her parents were worried she would hurt herself as she continued to balance and pretzel, so signed her up for gymnastics and modern dance.  In Salt Lake City in the 1970s her parents had never heard of yoga!

Years later Tracy received The Iyengar Way while living in St. Michael, Alaska.  After days of running and handling dog teams, Tracy and her partner would try yoga poses.   She later learned much from great Alaskan yoga teachers including Maya Salganek and Lynn Minton. She also studied with Anusara Teacher, Sundari, at her small studio in the Teton Mountains.  This led to other Anusara workshops where she met her long-time teachers Todd Norian and Ann Greene from Lenox, Massachusetts. Tracy has attended many weeklong yoga immersions with these centered and inspirational teachers and completed her 200-hour YTT with them in 2009. Since then she has been registered with Yoga Alliance.

Throughout most of her life Tracy has had a personal body movement practice which has led her to believe her role as a yoga teacher is to enhance knowledge and to nurture students as they tune into their own intuitive mind, body, spirit connection.  Tracy believes yoga is intensely personal and that as we get to know ourselves better, we feel happier and healthier in our bodies and communities.  Tracy believes yoga is one avenue for connecting with ourselves and celebrating our unique existence and presence in community on this planet.

Tracy loves teaching! When she isn’t teaching yoga, she is teaching middle school. Tracy also loves being a student, so her teaching is inspired by many approaches to yoga, her interest in anatomy, pranayama and meditation.  Tracy focuses on alignment as she guides students through poses.  She likes leading students through vinyasa flow and also enjoys time focused on specific poses or muscle groups during a class session.   Tracy’s classes incorporate pranayama, the yamas and niyamas and often have a meditative quality.  She ultimately loves to assist students in moving towards a more independent and self-guided practice.

Tracy is happy to have joined the community of teachers and students at Heart Stream Yoga!  She hopes you will join us too.

Brad Clark                                                Brad’s lifelong appreciation of strength, flexibility and the grace of movement began with his study of Uechi-Ryu Karate back in Plymouth, Massachusetts and subsequent exposure to many kung-fu forms at tournaments in Boston. In 1998 Brad began his study of yoga with Kay Hackney at Interior Yoga and found his way to the Saturday sessions of the UAF Yoga Club. Brad’s practice has continued and deepened over the years being fostered and enriched by many wonderful instructors here in Fairbanks including a UAF course taught by Maya Salganek and classes with Kara Golux.

Brad enjoys a vigorous vinyasa flow and loves incorporating inversions into his private practice. “For me, yoga is a way of uniting physical discipline with the interior disciplines of the spirit.” He has recently returned from his 200 hour teacher training certification at Yandara Yoga Institute near Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico. He is also certified 200 hour RYT with Yoga Alliance.

Yoga for Athletes:As a lifelong runner and a cross-country skier I know the challenge of tight hamstrings and the benefits of yoga for cross-training. This class is designed for yoga students who have a foundational knowledge of a basic vinyasa flow series but are also active in other sports and want a class that will spend some time addressing the classic “tight spots”: hamstrings, quads, shoulders, etc.