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home > teachers
JEAN
GRANT SUTTON, Bodyworks Director, is a certified Integrative
Yoga Instructor and Massage Therapist and has practiced yoga for over
20 years. Jean has an extensive background in various bodyworks modalities.
She founded BodyWorks Yoga in Petaluma in 1994 and offers classes, workshops
and private yoga therapy sessions locally and throughout California.

ANITA DIMONDSTEIN has been studying and teaching Zhineng Chi Gong, also called Wisdom Healing Chi Gong. Anita is the Director of Hill Park Medical Center and is a licensed Physician Assistant. She has been learning a variety of energy healing systems and believes that practices such as Chi Gong are important in healing from any illness and will be integral in the future of health care.

CARMELA CARLYLE, M.A., Clinical Psychology and Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, is an experienced, dynamic teacher and a professional facilitator who integrates Laughter Yoga into all aspects of her full-time counseling and yoga teaching practice. Her specialization is working with "Boomers and Seniors" who might need support and guidance in creating a yoga practice to suit their individual needs. She has practiced yoga and meditation for over 20 years and has an extensive background in the expressive arts and therapeutic movement which she likes to integrate into her classes. Exploring laughter and the chakras is an energetic aspect of her work and French Chocolate Tasting sometimes plays its part at her Laughter Yoga and Chocolate Tasting sessions for parties. She delights in teaching beginners as much as introducing long-time yoginis to the powerful joy and immediate effects of Laughter Yoga. For more information, please visit her website at www.carmelacarlyle.com.


CAROL HARVEY MFT is a licensed therapist with a private practice in Petaluma. She has run a body image and eating issues support group at Sonoma State University and has a life-long interest in eating issues and emotional eating in particular.


CLARA GRAY teaches Adaptive Yoga at the College of Marin, the Marin YMCA and on a private basis. She is a certified Integrative Yoga Teacher.

ELISA PEREZ started her practice of yoga in 1991 and has studied various styles of yoga from Iyengar to Ana Forrest Yoga. She began teaching in 1996 with a style of teaching that is a flow style, connecting the breath with the postures, leading to the discovery of intention for each individual student.

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ELIZABETH SHELTON is a certified yoga teachers from Bodyworks Integrated Yoga Therapy Program. She has found that the integration of yoga with the 12 steps has deepened her spiritual practice and she is passionate about sharing this process. Elizabeth has been practicing Vipassana yoga since 1992.

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GAILA NEWBURG’S education has been both traditional and experiential. Of note is her background as a teaching nurse and actor, with a long involvement with women’s groups. Expressive movement is her passion, as is finding opportunities to be of assistance to others. She is presently in “Circlework” training with Jalaja Bonheim

GANGADHAR (MARK GERHARD) is a longtime kirtan musician and a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba, the yogi mystic featured in the book “Be Here Now”. He has performed with many of the prominent Western kirtan artists of our time including Jai Uttal, Geoffrey Gordon, Diana Rogers and Uma Reed. He has toured and performed with Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das and Allen Ginsburg, playing the tabla on such seminal recordings as “Love, Serve, Remember” and “Swaha”. A student of classical North Indian music, Gangadhar has studied tabla and vocal music with Ali Akbar Khansahib, Jnan Prakash Ghosh, Shankar Ghosh, Zakir Hussain and other great Indian musicians. He has performed with G.S. Sachdev and Krishna Mohan Bhatt and is a student of Bengali Baul music, performing yearly with the spiritual messenger Babukishan Das Baul, playing the khartals and gubgubi.

HOLLY BRUCE is certified as an Integrative Yoga therapist. She practices "Sukyo Mahikari" Universal principles and the art of Divine Light and has studied music composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Go to www.imagroup.com, search Holly Bruce in Mill Valley for info.

J.T. BYMASTER is a local bodyworker, somatic counselor, and martial arts instructor. He has been studying martial arts and bodywork for over a decade and enjoys helping people feel more comfortable and alive in their bodies.

JEAN JOHNSON has been a student of yoga, the human potential movement and experiential education for over 20 years and has taken a multitude of classes, workshops and retreats in many different styles of yoga. Her style can be described as “Slow Spiritual Flow.” She is currently enrolled in the BodyWorks Integrative Yoga Therapy 200-Hour Teacher Certification Program and will graduate in November 2007.

JESSE RYAN CPT has been practicing and teaching fitness training, holistic nutrition, and positive lifestyle changes for over two decades. She is the founder of Sustainable Health™ and Integral Fitness, a comprehensive fitness program for individuals and groups. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies in Exercise Science, she was certified as a Physical Fitness Specialist by Kenneth Cooper, MD at the highly acclaimed Cooper Institute, gaining extensive experience while on staff there for two years. Currently, she teaches ongoing individual/small group fitness training and facilitates weekend retreats for women.

JESSICA NAYTHONS is a certified yoga instructor. She has been teaching movement education for the past 19 years at College of Marin. Along with traditional postures, Jessica's focus is on the healing and restorative aspects of yoga. She helps her students discover their strength, flexibility, stress relief and ability to relax on a very deep level.


JOHN RECORDS has been practicing meditation and allied disciplines since the early 80s. He has advanced trainng in Yoga Nidra/Integrative Restoration and has taught at numerous universities. He works at COTS.

JULIA CLOTHIER is a certified Relax and Renew Trainer and Ananda Yoga and Meditation Teacher. Her teaching style emphasizes safe body alignment and quiet introspection. She encourages students to explore the clarity that deep yoga practice can bring to every aspect of daily life.

KATHLEEN COMPAGNO took her first yoga class in 1988 at Heartwood Institute where she completed the Transformational Therapy program. She is a certified yoga teacher from BodyWorks Integrated Yoga Therapy Program. Kathleen believes that yoga is a way to integrate all facets of ourselves: body, mind and spirit. She is passionate about the benefits of yoga for overall nourishment and long-term well-being in our lives.

LISA FLATO is a certified Hatha Yoga and Pre Natal & Post Partum instructor from the Integral Yoga Institute of New York. She has been practicing yoga for the past 10 years although the love affair began many years before as she unknowingly practiced asanas and pranayama in classes while studying for her B.A. in Theater Arts from SFSU. Her lighthearted approach to the practice aims at keeping the student engaged in their body, awake in their mind, and alive in their spirit. She has been teaching for the past 4 years and is a happy transplant back to her native home of California. Here are some comments from Lisa: “My family and I have very recently relocated back to our home state of California from New York. Having lived in San Francisco for years, I knew when we were considering where to move that Northern California was the place for us, but not sure where. Petaluma simply called to me. The healing vibration here is undeniable. Since the first class I took at BodyWorks, I knew right away the depth that the community felt for the studio and everyone I have met has welcomed me with open arms and hearts. I’m very excited to be a part of BodyWorks and look forward to serving others in their practice as we all walk this path of yoga together. Om Shanti Om Peace.”


MARA YETTER is certified in Integrative Yoga through Bodywork's first teacher training program. Her formal academic studies at Sonoma State University focused on somatic psychology, anatomy/physiology and the mind-body connection. As a massage therapist of 28 years, an assistant in physical therapy and in private practice, Mara provides guidence to calm the nervous system and promote healing. Individual attention towards modifing and adjusting poses and transitions are an integral part of her teaching method. Classes include Viniyasa flow, Pranayama, Feldenkrais and Hanna Somatic techniques.

MARJORIE RICHARDSON is a certified Integrative Yoga Instructor & Massage Therapist who has been teaching yoga in Petaluma since 1997. Her gentle style supports the process of letting go of tensions, worries and habits by using breath and movement synchronized together.

MELANIE HEYSEK has been studying yoga since 1993, massage therapy since 2000, and Ayurveda since 2002. She is a Certified Yoga Instructor, Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher, Certified Massage Therapist (including Thai Yoga Massage, Marma Therapy and Ayurvedic Body Therapies), and Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist (intern). She's completed teacher trainings with Anne O'Brien, Clare Venet, Richard Miller and others; Kofi Busia; and Shiva Rea's Rasa Vinyasa. Melanie incorporates into her yoga classes her experiences with dance, meditation, and bodywork therapies. She is passionate about yoga, and continues to be inspired by it's healing and life transforming abilities. Melanie teaches a blend of hatha yoga styles, creates a balanced practice, and honors each individual's personal journey.

NICOLE WARD is a certified and registered Yoga Alliance instructor (RYT) serving northern California for the past 4 years. Using Integrative Yoga Therapy, she has helped hundreds of beginning students learn how yoga can work for them. Her classes are fun, informative, and challenging—yet playful...More information is available at www.yogawithnicole.org

RENTIA HUMPHRIES: Rentia Humphries Ph.D, RPP has been practicing and teaching yoga and the healing arts since 1978. She is currently in private practice in Petaluma, offering Polarity Therapy, body-oriented psycho-therapy and yoga.

RHONDA GERHARD is a Licensed Marriage, Family Therapist and Certified Integrative Yoga Therapy Teacher. She has a psychotherapy practice in Petaluma, and brings the integration of mind, body and spirit to her work with others.

TAMARA GROSE, MFA, CMT, combines 30 years international experience as a professional classical dancer, master instructor and choreographer with 15 years practice of Buddhist philosophy to enhance her Hatha yoga classes. Tamara’s style of teaching emphasizes body awareness, alignment and the integration of mindfulness and ease in practice and daily life. Tamara currently teaches yoga, classical ballet and dance aerobics for Santa Rosa Junior College.

TERRIANNE GUTIERREZ spent many years off and on living in an ashram in Southern India. She has had her own center for meditation and healing and has been teaching people how to meditate since 1985. A lifelong student of dance, she has been studying and performing Middle Eastern Dance for over thirty years. Her television appearances include "Bay Area Backroads". Among her solo dance achievements was being asked by the San Francisco Egyptian community to dance for the Egyptian Consulate to the United States on his visit to San Francisco. She is the director of the dance company, Joweh.

TRICE
BONNEY is a certified yoga instructor and bodyworker with an
in-depth knowledge of physiology and anatomy, who also brings 25 years
of spiritual study and practice to create a fun, relaxing and inspiring
learning environment.

VAIRAGYA EIGER began her study of yoga in 1970 at the age of 4 years. She eventually found her way to India in 1979 and spent almost 5 years living in an ashram and studying yoga. She finds a deep well of gratitude and connection to all things through this practice. Vairagya is currently studying in the Advanced Teacher Training program at the Iyengar Institute in SF. In addition to teaching yoga, she has been a personal trainer in Pilates and the Gyrotonic systems for the past 9 years and brings this knowledge to her yoga practice and teaching. How we live in our bodies, our habits and holding patterns are a source of deep investigation and learning. She looks forward to sharing her love of the vast and amazing subject of yoga with new and experienced students alike. 707.280.4428 veiger@eigermethod.com

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