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All teachers at Yoga Shala are certified in the Iyengar method.

It takes years of practice and study to become a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT).  There is a rigorous certification process with multiple levels, where candidates are evaluated on dozens of specific aspects of teaching. Some teachers invest additional years to pursue higher levels of certification, enabling them to teach more advanced poses and therapeutic yoga.

CIYT – Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher
CYT – Certified Yoga Therapist, International Association of Yoga Therapists

Co-Director - CIYT, CYT

Octavia Morgan

Octavia has been a devoted student of lyengar Yoga since 1995 and a full time teacher since 2003. Her teaching encompasses both rigorous and gentle sequences of classic postures, and in-depth therapeutic work for injuries and health conditions. She holds a Senior I Iyengar teaching certification, and is a Certified Yoga Therapist. Octavia has studied in depth with several Senior Iyengar Teachers who have guided, challenged, and inspired her: Patricia Walden, Gloria Goldberg, and Stephanie Quirk. She studied with and assisted Manouso Manos for many years prior to his dismissal from the Iyengar System. Due to her interest in therapeutic applications of yoga, she has twice completed Stephanie Quirk’s three-year course on Asana and Therapeutics. Over the past 25 years she also traveled repeatedly to Pune, India to study with the Iyengar family, and attended numerous conferences, workshops, and intensives with Senior lyengar Teachers from around the world. Octavia was born and raised in Boulder, has a BA from Brown University, and worked in non-profit management in the Bay Area prior to becoming a full time yoga teacher.
Co-Director - CIYT, CYT

Tamarie Spielman

Tamarie is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher at the Junior Intermediate III Level, and a Certified Yoga Therapist. She is a student of Senior Teacher Patricia Walden, and studied with and assisted Manouso Manos for many years prior to his dismissal from the Iyengar System. She travels regularly to Pune, India for extended periods of study with the Iyengar family. In addition to yoga, Tamarie maintains a daily meditation practice. Her teaching reflects compassion, humor, and her commitment to deepening awareness and applying practice in daily life.
CIYT, CYT

Jayne Satter

A marathon and triathlon competitor, Jayne’s active driven lifestyle came to a hard stop when she contracted chronic fatigue syndrome. Iyengar yoga became the only way she could participate in the realm of the physical without succumbing to fatigue and illness, and as its healing effects became manifest in her life, she immersed herself in its practice. She has now been teaching yoga for more than 20 years and is Iyengar certified at the Junior Intermediate III level, as well as being an assessor. She has studied with the Iyengars during six extended stays in Pune, India. Jayne is passionate about sharing with students what she continues to learn about restoration of mind, body and spirit; injuries; aging; and connecting yogic philosophy to everyday life. In addition to teaching in Colorado she greatly enjoys conducting workshops and teacher trainings around Mexico. Jayne, who has an M.S. in Education, taught in the Boulder public schools and at C.U.
CIYT

Karen Haden

Karen is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT) and a dedicated Iyengar yoga student since 1999. In 2014, she traveled to India to study at the Institute in Pune with the Iyengar family. She's also studied with senior teachers Leslie Bradley, Craig Kurtz, Nancy Stechert, Elise Miller, Patrica Walden, Dean and Rebecca Lerner, Gabriella Guibilaro, and Stephanie Quirk. In her teaching, Karen shares the joy, precision, and creativity of the Iyengar practice through dynamic sequences and new variations of the poses. She teaches with an emphasis on alignment and awareness, encouraging focus and balance for mind and body.
CIYT, CYT

Lisa Jo Landsberg

Lisa Jo holds a Senior I Iyengar teaching certification, and is a Certified Yoga Therapist, teaching in her private home studio and at Yoga Shala in Boulder, Colorado. She has been a Yoga practitioner for 40+ years and a certified Iyengar Yoga instructor since 1994. She has been to Pune India to study with the Iyengars and serves on the Executive Council of the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States. (IYNAUS).
Navigating physical challenges from a previous professional dance career and active lifestyle, Lisa Jo has benefited from the pioneering work of BKS Iyengar’s Yoga Methodology & Therapeutics. She is devoted to helping others, regardless of circumstance or condition, connect with the core of their being and integrate this intelligence within all layers to inspire great well being. Lisa Jo brings the wisdom of philosophy to her students in a practical way to ignite new pathways for absorption.
CIYT

Jessica Miller

Jess began practicing yoga in 2005 and found Yoga Shala in 2012. She is drawn to the freshness and variety of Iyengar Yoga and enjoys that she will never finish exploring all there is to learn. In her teaching, she shares the joy, precision and creativity of this practice through dynamic sequences and new variations of poses. She encourages students to dive into the physical and mental challenges yoga offers. Jess is certified at the Junior Intermediate I level and continues her studies with her primary teachers Tamarie Spielman and Octavia Morgan. In addition to yoga, Jess enjoys quilting, birding, camping, and bluegrass music.
CIYT

John Steele

Since his first yoga class in 1970, John has delved into yoga and other wisdom traditions while pursuing a career as a Psychologist and meditation teacher. In 1990, he was introduced to Iyengar yoga by Francois Raoult, went on to complete Francois’ teacher training in 2003, and traveled to India to study with the Iyengar family in 2006. In 2008 he became a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher under the mentorship of Leslie Bradley, Craig Kurtz, and Laura Antelmi. In 2015 he completed a three-year course in Yoga Therapeutics with Stephanie Quirk. He has also studied extensively with Patricia Walden and other senior Iyengar teachers.

A seasoned Zen practitioner, John has explored how asana, pranayama, and meditation can be woven together to manage stress, mobilize energy, and spawn creativity. In recent years he completed a graduate degree in creative writing, wrote a book of poems about yoga, and started to bring Indian devotional singing and mantra chanting into his yoga practice. John enjoys teaching all kinds of students, regardless of their level of experience, physical fitness, or flexibility. Students appreciate his calm, gentle manner, attention to individual needs, and sense of humor.

About BKS Iyengar

BKS Iyengar (1918 – 2014) is recognized as one of the principal yogis responsible for introducing yoga to the West. Today, the Iyengar style of yoga is one of the most widely practiced forms of yoga worldwide.

Mr. Iyengar is known for his extraordinary personal practice, his genius as a teacher, and his lifelong dedication to disseminating the ancient art of yoga around the world. A consummate teacher, his distinctive style includes specificity of instruction, innovative sequences of poses, and a profound understanding of the connection between mind and body. He introduced the use of props, including the sticky mat, block, strap, and many more, to help all practitioners experience the essence of yoga poses (asanas). His deep understanding of the effects of yoga asanas led him to be a pioneer in the field of yoga therapeutics, and he is arguably the foremost practitioner of yoga therapy today. He is the author of many classical works including Light on Yoga, the seminal text on yoga postures.

Mr. Iyengar remains unsurpassed in his practice and teaching. Until a few weeks before his death at age 95, he practiced in public every day in the main hall at his Institute in Pune, India. Anyone who witnessed his practice could see the vitality and intense discipline that permeated every pose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pIgs03TYo4
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Iyengar's Practice

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