Akasha Yoga brings together some of the finest talent in San Diego. Each instructor brings unique gifts to their teaching, and there are a number of qualities our staff share: a genuine passion for our craft, an eagerness to share with others, and a belief in each student’s ability to grow and blossom through patience and practice. You are always welcome. Come Join Us!
If you are looking for a place to belong, then you have found it. At Akasha Yoga & Wellness Center, we have the community to make every person feel welcome and comfortable.
We Offer:
- Gentle Yoga
- Vinyasa Flow Yoga
- Yoga for Backs
- Restorative Yoga
- Meditation Techniques
- Relaxation Techniques
- Sculpt/Cardio
- Mindful Strength &Stretch
- Yoga Classes for all Levels
- Community Classes
- Prenatal (check schedule)
- Medical Discounts ~email Stephanie directly @stephanie@akashayoga.com
Alison Scola~All Levels
It was the gift of chronic back and neck pain that brought Alison to her yoga practice 14 years ago. After the first class she knew she had found a powerful tool to return her body to its natural state of health. As her practice unfolded, she also found that her body would provide a road map to emotional, energetic, and spiritual healing as well. Inspired to share yoga with others and a desire to go deeper in her own practice, Alison completed her 200hr certification in 2006 at the acclaimed White Lotus Foundation with Ganga White and Tracey Rich. Following her passion to share the healing qualities of yoga with others, Alison has gone on to pursue her Professional Yoga Therapy certificate from Integrative Yoga Therapy with Joseph & Lillian Le Page and received her500hr certificate in April of 2009. Over the past six years, Alison has seen the world as she has taught internationally as a professional swing dance instructor. In need of a more rooted lifestyle, she is excited to shift her focus toward offering dynamic yoga classes and working with individuals in a therapeutic capacity. Her perspective on yoga as a holistic experience inspires her to teach awareness of the physical, energetic, emotional and spiritual elements in her classes. She views yoga as a way of life that connects us with our innate inner wisdom and endless capacity for compassion and self-love.
Dani Becker~All Levels Vinyasa
Dani started her yoga journey in 2009 when she moved to sunny San Diego from Wisconsin after graduating college. She wanted a deeper connection to her body in a way that she hadn't been able to find before, that's when she turned to yoga. Being a long time athlete, she was prone to injuries and needed to find balance. In yoga she found a new love for her body and an awareness for the energy within and around her. She wanted to further her yoga journey and completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at Akasha Yoga Studio in 2011. Now that she is an official teacher, she wants to share her love for yoga with students. Dani focuses on Vinyasa style yoga--movement with breath through asanas. Her classes can range from gentle, calming and relaxing to turning the heat up and allowing students to strengthen and challenge themselves. She also focuses on the connection between the mind, body and spirit through yoga practice. She hopes to learn and grow with students as she teaches. She also is a biochemist who understands the connection between the science of our bodies and the science of happiness that is yoga.Xenia Brat~All Levels
My teaching style is simple, down-to-earth, and heartfelt. I teach what I practice. I use sense of humor to create an environment where people feel light and free to explore.My yoga
classes area consistent, relentless, and compassionate search for thatnew edge --physically, mentally, and emotionally. I see the yoga mat as a safe environment to be messy, and disciplined, as we test our limits. I enjoy incorporating yoga philosophy, anatomy, pranayama, and meditation into a flowing vinyasa class. My practice and teaching have been greatly influenced by my journey through life, by nature, relationships, and by very dedicated teachers. I have about 1000 hours of Teacher Training. The bulk of my training has been at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, in Massachusetts, and with Rusty Wells (Bhakti Flow), in San Francisco, CA. I'm also grateful for teachers like Baron Baptiste, Janet Stone, Duncan Wong and Doug Swenson.
Anna Holden~All Levels
I started playing with yoga asana in 1999 as a way to recover from intense physical activity. In 2005, I started a regular Ashtanga practice, settling into a vinyasa flow practice in 2007. Even as an active person, I’ve struggled with back pain all my life and now specialize in helping people with low back pain. I’ve learned that the breath is the bridge between the mind and the body, and through the breath we can start a conversation of healing with our bodies. My teaching style often mixes the breathing of Ashtanga/Vinyasa yoga with the anatomical principals of Iyengar yoga, along with the Viniyoga principle that the practice should fit the student. I work to hold a space of playfulness and amusement in my classes, so that we may more easily move the mind inside ourselves without fear.I most recently studied with Gerhard Gessner of Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla, California. I also study closely with Rachel Krentzman, founder of Embody Yoga Therapy in San Diego. Other teachers I’ve had the honor of learning from include Aadil Palkhivala, Kori Flechner, Robert Birnberg, Lorin Roche, Dennis Dean, Stacey McCarthy, Sienna Sherman, Shiva Rae and my dear friends, the YogaSlackers.I am certified at 500 hour level through YogaWorks. To continue to offer more self-healing techniques to myself and my clients, I am enrolled at the California College of Ayurveda to study Ayurvedic Medicine and will be ready and able to offer Ayurveda to cleints in 2012.
Terri Josten~All Levels
When I began practicing yoga on a regular basis 6 years ago, I realized the physicalbenefits right away. I found I no longer had chronic back problems and felt stronger and more balanced than ever before. I was able to do things I couldn’t even imagine doing 20 years prior. My Ashtanga teacher showed me there was more to yoga than just the physical aspect. Her words of wisdom brought deeper meaning when she included the spiritual aspects with each class. As I began to practice other forms of yoga, I found I was inspired by many more yoga instructors along the way. Eventually I decided this was something I wanted to do too. My vision is to help people realize the benefits of regular yoga practice not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. I truly believe the world would be a better place if everyone took a few hours a week to be in the present and practice yoga. I want to inspire people to get out there and do yoga with no fear and to open their minds to all the possibilities practicing yoga has to offer. As one of my past instructors used to say, and I now like to tell my students, “this is nobody-cares yoga”. I am a member of the Yoga Alliance and will continue to take workshops and trainings to further my study of yoga to strengthen my ability to guide others through new and exciting practices. I am currently pursueing my 500 hour advanced certification.Simone Ressner~All Levels
Simone’s passion for yoga began in 2003, dabbling in different styles of Hatha, Bikram, Iyengar, Kundalini, and Acroyoga until she fell in love with Vinyasa’s flow technique of dancing with your breath. Like so many others, she turned to yoga at first for the physical benefits when she incurred low back injury. Over time, her appreciation for yoga grew deeper into a philosophy that applies to every aspect of her life. She is grateful for all the wonderful influence that was channeled through teachers, friends, and family. And following that gratitude and thirst to know more, she expanded her practice to teaching privately to help those with physical therapy needs and to guiding expecting mothers. In 2007, her trip to India deepened her respect for and practice of the ancient art of yoga. Simone’s classes offer a non-competitive and nourishing environment for students to explore their breath work, flexibility, and strength. She believes not only that yoga is healing for the body, but that yoga opens doors to lessons about acceptance and gratitude which allow you to experience the joy of life through being present. Yoga is so much more than poses - it's about breathing through moments, on the mat or off it and then thanking yourself for showing up. Simone is currently studying traditionalChinese Medicinewith aims to further channel the ability to help and heal.
Liz Fitzgerald~Yoga 101, Yoga for Backs
After many years of high intensity aerobics, Liz sought out yoga wanting something that would be kinder to her body. She fell in love with yoga the first time she hit the mat at Akasha Yoga in La Jolla, CA. Just months afterwards she enrolled in Akasha’s six month, 200 hour teacher training, and became a certified instructor of Hatha and Vinyasa yoga in August of 2011. As much as she enjoys the physical practice, the spirituality has brought her great peace and happiness which she is eager to share with others. Since it was healthy aging which first brought her to the mat she is enthusiastic to share this with others facing the same dilemma. She is continuing her education by obtaining her 500 hour certification to deepen her knowledge and ability to teach others.
Marguerite Tyrell-Restorative
Marguerite has been traveling the yoga path as a teacher and student for the past 35 years. She has found that yoga serves as her base for physical fitness, mental and emotional stability, and spiritual connection. Her teaching approach favors the Iyengar style in the use of props and attention to alignment and detail. She also emphasizes the conscious use of breath to facilitate the natural opening of the body. In addition to teaching yoga, she is a registered dietician, passionately exploring what's new on the nutrition scene, and offering classes and personal consultations in nutrition and weight management. Marguerite's yoga classes draw from decades of training across many styles of yoga. So her classes provide extensive variety and ample opportunity to draw from her depth of wisdom and experience.
Helen Cloots~All Levels
Helen started practicing yoga as a way of balancing life as a grad student in New York City. After spending most of her life as a dancer, she was initially drawn to yoga by the physical benefits of the practice and the similarities to dance. Helen quickly found herself returning for the total sense of calm and wellbeing that yoga delivers and her goal is to help her students find peace and balance in their own lives through yoga. Helen teaches a fun and challenging vinyasa flow class, focusing on breath and alignment and incorporating creative sequences and adjustments to address each student’s personal focus and goals. She completed her 200 hour Yoga Alliance certification from the Rasa School of Yoga under the direction of Carolina Vivas in 2010. Helen is also a corporate wellness consultant, nutritionist and wellness blogger (www.BalancingWellness.com).
Jen Logan~ All Levels
Look inside to see if what you are asking for is already there. " Osho For many years I looked outside to find the answers to my needs. Yoga has taken me on a journey of reconnection with my body through movement and stillness to find I always had everything I needed within it. All bodies contain a special light. Through my teaching I hope each person can establish or reconnect with their body on an individual level to find that answers that they have always had. I have been blessed on my path to have many teachers that have inspired me but my first teacher Stephanie Pafford will always be the water to my seed. In an effort to remain on the path of rediscovery with my students I have taken my 300 hr advanced teacher training through Sundara College yoga teacher training program at Soul Of Yoga in Encinitas. 500 HourMichael Mollenhauer~Meditation and Healing
Michael Mollenhauer is an intuitive energy healer, teacher and writer. Through his practice, teaching and study of martial arts over the last 24 years, Michael was drawn to look for "something more". In his search he discovered his love, passion and affinity for healing. Michael also realized that by healing ourselves within, we not only heal our bodies but also our relationships and life situations. "Discovering that we create everything in our life is so exciting - no longer are we victims - we can create whatever it is that we desire." Michael's approach to healing is unique, loving and powerful and you will find his easy demeanor enables you to immediately feel comfortable. Using his energetic and intuitive abilities Michael focuses on any physical or emotional areas that need attention enabling the healing to begin from within. Stephanie Pafford~All Levels
