Staff

Geri Portnoy

Geri Portnoy is a certified Anusara Yoga Teacher who has been studying yoga since 1995. She holds a Masters Degree in Peace Studies from Notre Dame and, after teaching subjects ranging from outdoor education to math and science for over a decade in public schools, became a full time yoga teacher. Her classes weave detailed alignment principles with basic yoga philosophy. She is a compassionate, articulate, and dynamic teacher who emphasizes the connections between the mind, body and breath. She is grateful to her many teachers including John Friend and Tim Miller for sharing the gift of yoga with her.

Roger Cole

Roger is also an accomplished scientist. He began studying sleep physiology at Stanford University in 1975. He earned his bachelors degree in Psychology from Stanford in 1979 and his doctorate in Health Psychology from the University of California, San Francisco in 1986. At UCSF he investigated the human relaxation response and the effects of posture on sleep and brain waves. He co-founded Synchrony Applied Health Sciences of Del Mar California in 1987. Synchrony is an innovative provider of health promotion services and products. At Synchrony, Roger is currently developing products, conducting research on sleep and biological rhythms and consulting to industry.

Katie Beroukhim

Katie Beroukhim has been practicing hatha yoga for more than a quarter century, and teaching since 1997. Her classes are fun and dynamic. She teaches the Anusara principles of alignment with a focus on individual discovery and expression, blending what is most appropriate in the moment with what she’s learned from her own practice and the amazing wisdom of her teachers. With meditation as the soul of yoga, she supports her students in building strength, erasing tight spots, finding stillness, and cultivating joy. Katie completed Anusara Teacher Training with Sherry Schreck, and Advanced Anusara teacher training with Noah Maze. Her teaching is influenced by continuing studies with John Friend, Betsey Downing, Ross Rayburn, Desiree Rumbaugh, Sianna Sherman, and Carlos Pomeda. She also has an extensive background in fitness, and brings a rich understanding of anatomy and yoga, a strong meditation practice, and the desire for all students to align with their own innate freedom. Her lightheartedness is contagious.

Michelle Bouvier

Yoga first found Michelle in 1994, and her passion for the practice led her to start teaching in 2000. Her mission is to connect people to themselves, to each other, and to the beauty of the world we live in through playful and sacred experience.  Certified at the 200 hour-level through Tias Little’s Prajna Yoga, Michelle is currently flowing towards advanced 500-hour certification in Prana Flow with Shiva Rea’s Samudra Global School of Living Yoga. Michelle is also one of the first-generation of AcroYoga teachers, and has been blessed to share this practice of trust, connection, playfulness and healing across the country.  Perhaps most dear to her heart, is also the offering of Yoga Trance Dance, a community movement-ritual-prayer that unites our past and our present power through the power of rhythm, embodied prayer, and dance.

A mover and student all her life, Michelle loves to keep the fire of inspiration fresh and bright!  She has completed eight yoga teacher trainings, and continues to deepen her studies of Anusara yoga (mainly with John Friend, Noah Maze, and Sianna Sherman), Kaishmir Shaivite Tantra (having studied with Paul Mueller-Ortega, Douglas Brooks, and Lorin Roche), Thai Massage, Therapuetics, aerial circus arts, and the all-encompassing love of her life, teaching and performing Hoop Dance (www.hoopnectar.com)!

Past intensive study has included seven years advanced Ashtanga practice with Tim Miller, in depth-study of Iyengar, Forest Yoga, Modern Dance (six years daily), Capoeira (four years daily), Transcendental Meditation, Ecology, and a life-long path of Herbalism and Native American spirituality. Michelle is fascinated by psychosomatics ~ the power of our thoughts on our bodies and experience, as well as the power of our embodiment on our deepest held beliefs. She is inspired by community, authenticity, playfulness, and dreaming together to co-create a sustainable world full of beauty, self-expression, and respect for Mother Earth. May we all honor our place in the Circle~ Live, Learn, Love, Fly! Blessed Be.

Paisley Close

Paisley has been in the mind-body field since 1996 when she began practicing yoga. As a dedicated practitioner and an instructor recognized both by Yoga Alliance (E-RYT 200) and Anusara (Anusara-inspired), Paisley is a yogini who inspires dramatic deepening and transformation in all of her students. Her technical knowledge, shining heart and sense of play make her an exceptional leader. With over a decade of teaching experience, Paisley and her classes have a profound and lasting effect. She is a vibrant light in the Anusara yoga community where she is in the final stages of certification with one of the highest levels for teachers across the globe.

Jeannette Cohan

Jeannette began practicing yoga at the age of 39 to reduce the stress levels in her job as a paralegal and to relieve sciatica. The positive effects were immediate and changed her life not only on a physical level, but also opened her heart and eyes to a whole new world yet to be explored. After many years of practice and study with Geri Portnoy, Betsey Downing and Noah Maze, Jeannette realized she wanted to share the benefits of yoga with others so that they too could experience the peace and contentment that come from the regular practice of yoga. Jeannette has been teaching yoga since 2005 with an emphasis on the universal principles of alignment as established by Anusara Yoga and a focus on the breath as a path to opening the mind, body and spirit.  Jeannette is a native San Diegan who brings to her teaching her love of travel and scuba diving, and her passion for quilting.

Beth Corrick M.S., MFT, E-RYT

Beth began practicing yoga in the seventies and returned to yoga in 1994. She completed teacher training in Integrative Yoga Therapy, which emphasizes therapeutic yoga for varied populations. She completed the Ashtanga teacher training with Tim Miller. She has been practicing with Geri Portnoy, her primary teacher, for nine years and has taken Anusara teacher training both with Desiree Rumbaugh and Noah Maze. She has taken immersions with John Friend. Currently, she is pursuing teacher trainings in Prana Flow with Shiva Rea and the Anusara teacher training with Geri Portnoy, both of which she hopes to complete in 2010. With her counseling background, she brings sensitivity in meeting students in the ground state of their own experience and facilitating a sense of joy at the constantly changing flow that is the embodied experience.

Anna Laramee

Anna Laramee, E-RYT has been an avid student of yoga since 1998, with extensive training in Iyengar and Vinyasa Yoga. She started teaching in 2004 after receiving her certification from Erich Schiffmann. Anna is registered with the Yoga Alliance at the E-RYT 200 level and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Theater from SDSU. Anna teaches with vivid detail and candor to uncover the quietude found at the core of yoga practice. She teaches primarily in studios, businesses and private residences in the North County area. For more information, please visit: www.VitalityAndRenewal.com

Nikyta Palmisani

Nikyta has been teaching yoga since 2000, and was first trained in Indra Devi Hatha and first taught at Camelrock Yoga Center. She then did a year long apprenticeship with Chris Allen in Ashtanga Yoga at Ashtanga Yoga East Studio. She still had a feeling that there was more to learn about sadhana and karma yoga, so she went to live at the Mount Madonna Center and studied with Baba Hari Das in their Yoga Service and Community Program in 2001. After returning, she began teaching all levels of yoga at the Golden Door where she taught all levels to an high end clientele both in groups and privately nationally. She also taught Expressive Arts, meditation, and Labryinth facilitation.

 
Although Astanga was her first love, Nikyta has been deeply influenced by Iyengar yoga with Roger Cole, and did a teacher training with him in Restorative Yoga. She currently studies with Geri Portnoy in Anusara Yoga at Yoga Del Mar where she also teaches. Nikyta is also the founder and Coordinator of the Expressive Arts Therapy program at San Diego Youth and Community Services where she works with at risk youth. Her love of the arts infuses her yoga teaching with poetry, and she often teaches with live music. Nikyta’s one prayer is to be a channel for the divine in all that she does, combining humility with wisdom and creativity to hold a space for students to come to their own highest selves.

Jenn Smith

Jenn discovered yoga in the year 2000 just at the perfect moment, when she needed it most.  Soon after, she was introduced to Anusara yoga by her teacher, Geri Portnoy.  Yoga soon became an integral part of her life and she has since been inspired by the teachings and talents of Geri, Michelle Bouvier, John Friend, Betsey Downing, Noah Maze and Desiree Rumbaugh.  Anusara Yoga has reinforced the importance of being open to experience what is all around us and within us, what the world is offering us and what we have to offer to the world.  Jenn stepped into teaching in 2007 and hopes that her students will come away from yoga class with a strong sense of self, a great sense of gratitude and a huge smile on their face.  In addition to teaching yoga, Jenn is following the pull of her heart towards all things Latin American, and is currently pursuing a dual Masters degree in Public Health and Latin American Studies at SDSU.

Sara Tobin

Sara has her degree in theatre and speech Communications from the University of Minnesota. She has taught acting and voice for over 20 years privately and for a wide variety of venues: The Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and Lamb’s Players to name a few. Yoga has a symbiotic relationship with Sara’s and many professional artists’ approach to theatre.

With the guidance and encouragement of excellent yoga teachers, Sara began teaching yoga in 2002. She currently studies with John Friend and is an Anusara Inspired teacher. Sara has also completed Tim Miller’s teacher training coarse and a multitude of workshops with other master teachers. The styles of yoga Sara has studied include Ashtanga, Anusara, Iyengar, and Kundalini.

Also a student of Vipassana meditation, Sara incorporates the philosophy of being in the moment connected to one’s breath and non-judgmental awareness towards oneself during practice. She is thankful for her wonderful teachers and dedicated students who share the gift of yoga with her.

Margaret Vanasse

Margaret is grateful to have found enormous healing benefits by practicing yoga while she was battling Stage IIIb Breast Cancer several years ago.  She feels very fortunate now to be able to pass on to others some of the numerous health benefits and life enhancing qualities of yoga.  She has done several teacher trainings and is very grateful to all her teachers including Tim Miller, Shiva Rea, Roger Cole, Ana Costa and Hari Das.

She’s enjoying passing on to others the opportunity to experience relaxing inner peace along with increasing a sense of strong embodiment through a combination of traditional asanas and free flowing movement.  She also enjoys incorporating sound and music in her classes.

Jill Van Meter

Jill Van Meter is a certified yoga instructor with over 500 hours of training. Along with her many hours of yoga training, Jill also brings her experience as a licensed Acupuncturist to her yoga classes. As an anusara-inspired instructor, Jill focuses on alignment in the asanas in order to allow the body to unfold into its natural grace. It is Jill’s true joy to create a playful space where students can comfortably explore yoga.

Josh Vincent

Josh began his study of mind, body and spirit as a musician, studying classical operatic technique. Upon completion of a Master of Music degree from the University of Indiana in 2001, Josh moved to Chicago to join the chorus of both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Symphony. In Chicago Josh devoted himself to a disciplined study of Ashtanga Yoga with Jodi Blumstein, Quinn Kearney and Tom Quinn. At first, yoga was simply a welcome relief from the relentless drive for perfection demanded during his study of Opera. Soon thereafter, it became clear that the beauty and awakening of spirit Josh felt in his yoga practice was something he wanted to share. Since then Josh has studied in-depth with senior teachers such as Richard Freeman, Gabriel Halpurn and Tim Miller. Josh teaches both the traditional Ashtanga vinyasa method , as well as more contemporary vinyasa-flow style with an emphasis on precise breathing technique and alignment.

Julie Wright

Julie is a certified yoga teacher and has been passionately teaching yoga since 1998. She received her 200 hour teaching certification at At One Yoga in Scottsdale, AZ with her teacher, Kat Myers, who is Anusara-inspired. She also has completed several advanced teacher training programs with Erich Schiffman, Peg Cleve, Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest, John Friend and Thai Yoga Therapy certification with Saul David Raye. She holds a degree in psychology from Arizona State University and is also a certified life coach. Julie has taught several yoga teacher training programs and conducts yoga workshops on various topics throughout the U.S. She teaches all levels of hatha yoga and advanced vinyasa flow yoga, which are a blend of precise alignment, breath awareness and simple yoga philosophy. Her inspiring, knowledgeable teaching will guide you on your journey to total well-being.

Valerie Zverina