See Class Schedule Watch Video
Ariel has studied movement since a very young age. She believes that movement is not a particular form or body shape, it is an entire human experience. This belief led her to yoga and she has been a dedicated student to the practice for 10 years. She got certified to teach in 2002. She has studied various styles with many gifted and knowledgeable teachers. Her class is a fusion of vinyasa, dance inspired inspection of the lived experience. As a way to practice Karma Yoga, in the year 2000 she joined the Peace Corps which took her to South Africa and Tonga. She created a women’s yoga class focusing on embodied being. She has her MA in Somatic Psychotherapy and has a practice in Noe Valley. She is also a certified massage therapist.

See Class Schedule Watch Video
Britt’s greatest joy is found in sharing her love of yoga with a wide variety of people. She encourages her students to approach yoga as a way of life, to practice with a beginner’s mind, with loving kindness and with sincerity. Her unique style of teaching places a strong emphasis on alignment, sequencing, breath and inner awareness, while her approach is imbued with warmth, humor and honesty. Since 1993, Britt has studied primarily Iyengar Yoga, though she weaves influences of other traditions, especially Viniyoga and Vipassana (Buddhist Insight) Meditation, into her teaching.

Her specialty lies in working with pregnant women and new mothers, where she also employs her skills as a photographer, birth doula, and body worker. Along with being an avid surfer, Britt loves to do headstands on mountaintops and beaches all around the world. After witnessing tremendous healing within herself through Restorative Yoga, Britt was inspired to become certified to teach Restorative Yoga by Judith Lasater. Though she now enjoys an active practice as well, Restorative Yoga continues to be the foundation of her well being.

See Class Schedule
Chrisandra is a dedicated student of hatha yoga, tantra, meditation and Ayurveda. Her teaching skillfully weaves the practices of hatha yoga to awaken fire and remove obstacles within so that you may remember your natural state of meditative awareness and ease of heart.

Her Teachers

Practicing since 1996, Chrisandra was granted a certificate to teach by Piedmont Yoga Studio under the guidance of Rodney Yee, Richard Rosen, Clare Finn, and Patricia Sullivan in 2002. She has trained in Universal Freestyle Yoga with Ukranian yoga master and mentor, Andrey Lappa, and spent five years in the Shadow Yoga School with Zhander Ramete and Emma Balnaves.

She bows to all the teachers who have greatly inspired her path and revealed the gems of dedicated sadhana and deep surrender – Krishna Das, David Nichtern, Arlene Griffin, Thomas Fortel, Jamie Lindsay, Peter Sterios, Richard Freeman, Ana Forrest, Angela Farmer, Dharma Mittra, Gary Kraftsow, Tony Briggs, Sarah Powers, Paul Muller Ortega, Robert Svoboda, Scott Blossom, Chandra Easton, Rinpoche Choje Phunsok of Lekshy Ling Monastery, Katie Silcox, Jill Leslie and Barbara Gabriel.

She studies presently with great devotion and gratitude to Yogarupa Rod Stryker, founder of ParaYoga.

Chrisandra is the founding Mama of The Heart of Renewal Retreats which informs and inspires life-affirming transformation through relationship to practice, food, Nature, creativity and community.

She is an E-500 RYT registered with Yoga Alliance and trains and mentors aspiring teachers. Chrisandra models and writes for Yoga Journal, and is the voice of Yoga Journal’s Livemag. You can practice with her in Gravity & Grace DVD with Peter Sterios and Yin Yoga DVD with Paul Grilley.

See Class Schedule
Cindy began learning about the power of the body-mind connection, and the potential for healing as a gymnast and dancer at age 5. Years later, while attending the University of Illinois attaining her BFA in Dance, she suffered a herniated disc in her lower back. Through receiving bodywork, energy work and practicing meditation, she completely healed, and went on to dance professionally. She was a founding member of Scott Wells and Dancers Modern Dance Co. here in San Francisco 20 years ago.

Cindy is a 1995 graduate of the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences in New York City – the oldest massage therapy school in the country. The focus of her practice is to support each person’s optimal health, and to facilitate the highest level of harmony in one’s body, mind and spirit. Her work aims to help each person communicate with their body, and their being, at a very deep level, facilitating vibrant health as well as deep peace and tranquility. She is also a lifelong student of Yoga and Meditation, continually exploring and learning on an inner level.

Cindy has training and experience in the following modalities: Therapeutic and Sports massage, Medical Massage, Pre and Post Natal Massage, Shiatsu, Reiki Master Level, Acutonics®,Himalayan Bowl Healing, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, and Zero Balancing. In addition, she is a Certified Amrit Method Yoga Nidra Facilitator, offering private and semi-private sessions.

See Class Schedule
Debbie Steingesser is an inspired Vinyasa Flow Yoga teacher and creator of Dansa Vinyasa ™. Common Ground Magazine recently named Debbie “An Exceptional Bay Area Yoga Teacher” for her dynamic and innovative teaching style.

Debbie’s heart-opening Vinyasa classes are infused with musicality and breath awareness. Her fluid sequencing, nurturing adjustments, unique playlists, and sweet savasana lullabies connect students to their inner sense of joy and rhythm. Her classes often feature live musicians and unite the practice of yoga with an authentic connection to daily living.

Dansa Vinyasa ™ is Debbie’s original blend of Flow Yoga, Traditional West African Dance, Kirtan, and Live African Percussion. She has been a featured presenter of Dansa Vinyasa ™ workshops at a variety of studios and conferences including: Earthdance, Harmony Festival, Yoga Tree (SF), Exhale Center for Sacred Movement (LA), Wild Lotus Yoga (New Orleans), and Bhakti Fest.

She is certified with Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour level through Saul David Raye and the Ritam School of Healing Arts. She continues her studies of yoga, kirtan, harmonium, and West African dance, with her mentors Jai Uttal, Dana Flynn, Baxter Bell, Denise Kaufman, and Alseny Soumah.

“The shining spirit known as Debbie Steingesser is an activated and soulful being who will inspire you to find your inner light and wisdom, because she has found hers! Her positive healing spirit is infectious and I recommend her work to all those seeking healing, joy and playfulness.” –Saul David Raye, Master Yoga Teacher and Sacred Activist

See Class Schedule Watch Video
Deborah Lee moved to San Francisco from Boston, where she taught her creative and challenging vinyasa flow style of yoga for the Baron Baptiste and Exhale studios.

After many previous years studying and teaching health and wellness in NYC, Deborah completed her first yoga teacher training with Alan Finger at Yoga Zone (now Yoga Works) in 1999. A perpetual student, she has since completed over 1000 hours of certified teacher training in many styles including Anusara, Astanga, pre and post natal, hatha, & Baptiste Power Vinyasa.

Deborah feels blessed to have studied with and been inspired by so many wonderful teachers, including Baron Baptiste, Barbara Benagh, Sianna Sherman, Rodney Yee, Tias Little, and Patricia Walden. During the last two years, she has traveled extensively to study the heart-centered style of Anusara, completing over 300 hours with Anusara founder John Friend. She finds inspiration locally at Yoga Tree with Rusty Wells and Stephanie Snyder.

Deborah teaches a challenging Anusara-inspired vinyasa flow, set to music, to strengthen and calm the mind and body while connecting to the heart and spirit.

“If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.”

(Thich Nhat Hanh, “Being Peace”)

See Class Schedule
Dina Amsterdam began teaching yoga in 1994. She is certified by Kripalu (1994) where she gained her spiritual yogic roots and by Rodney Yee (1998) with whom she studied alignment oriented Iyengar yoga intensely for 3 years in his Advanced Teacher Training program. Since 1998 Dina has been practicing and studying Buddhist meditation and Yin yoga with Sarah and Ty Powers as well as other renowned teachers in the Buddhist lineage. Dina is a certified Yoga Therapist and works with individuals and groups on transforming psychological and physiological constrictions. Her approach with clients is guided by healing principles from the yogic and Buddhist therapeutic traditions. She did her graduate research in physiological psychology at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention and values an integrated approach of eastern and western modalities for optimal psycho-physiological and spiritual well-being. Dina leads yoga retreats (many of which are held in the Buddhist tradition of silence) in beautiful places in nature around the world.

Dina listens to her body more accurately and sensitively than almost anyone I know. This connection, combined with her great communication skills, makes her a phenomenal talent in the world of yoga. I give Dina my highest recommendation to anyone looking for a yoga teacher.”

—Rodney Yee

Dina skillfully guides people toward a richer inhabitation of the emotional life . . . while leading them toward the potent art of meditative awareness.”

—Sarah Powers

In her public yoga classes, Dina weaves together mindfulness, alignment, strength and softness in a slow paced flow practice. She guides students in a rhythm that allows them to move in harmony with their breath and to discover the obstacles / opportunities that are waiting to be met. Her teaching blends together the Hatha yoga traditions of yin, Iyengar, vinyasa, and restorative yoga with the wisdom of the Buddhist path and invites students to cultivate a courageous and kind presence of wakefulness within themselves on and off the mat.

Best Classic Yoga Teacher in San Francisco for 2007
—The San Francisco Magazine (p.138)

Featured Teacher Profile in Yogi Times 5 Year Anniversary Issue
- July 2007.

See Class Schedule
Elise Lorimer teaches workshops and teacher trainings, as well as travels worldwide, exploring her own boundaries inside and out. Blending graceful flow with healthy alignment, Elise’s classes are anatomically mindful while infused with a playful spirituality that empowers students to openly explore and find freedom. She inspires a greater compassion for the self, cultivating a strong and flexible foundation, enabling students to live fully within their juicy potential. Based in the Bay Area, she continues her yoga study with Shiva Rea, Ramanand Patel and more, inspired by the array of gifts Life continues to offer, wherever she is.

See Class Schedule Watch Video
Elizabeth feels most at home in the outdoors. She finds inspiration for her yoga practice while connecting in with the natural world. Her classes offer a rigorous blend of creative sequences designed to warm and open the body while uplifting the spirit. She has been teaching yoga throughout the bay area since 2001. Initially influenced by her Ashtanga roots, her teachers also include Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest, and Steph Snyder. Dancing, singing, and acting since she was young, Elizabeth brings a melodic blend of chanting and flute playing to her classes. Come prepared to breathe, sweat, and open.

See Class Schedule
Estee Fletter is a compassionate and inspired Vinyasa Yoga Teacher based in San Francisco. For Estee, the practice of yoga was initially a reminder to quiet the mind and simply be still. Over time, it transformed into a moving meditation of gratitude and devotion. Estee’s classes are a graceful experience blending chanting, music, and intelligent sequencing with emphasis on safe alignment and breathing techniques. Estee’s grounded and motivating energy provides all levels of practitioners the opportunity to work safely towards their edge while exploring their own unique possibilities. Estee has completed over 500 hours of teacher training and has been teaching yoga since 2007. Eternally a student, Estee continues to find divine inspiration in all of life’s many teachers, both seen and unseen. esteeyoga.com

See Class Schedule
Passionate about yoga and the transformative power of motherhood, Jane specializes in working with pre and postnatal women. She has been involved with the birthing community since 1990, working as a homebirth midwife, doula (labor assistant) and childbirth educator. Jane is a certified yoga teacher and enjoys working with all populations. Her teaching has been influenced by many teachers and traditions, including Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Anusara. She continues to study asana (postures) with Tony Briggs and yoga philosophy with Kate Holcombe. Among her most inspirational teachers have been the many hundreds of pregnant women and couples she has worked with over the years. Her own children and her experience of motherhood have been a huge influence on her teaching as well. She weaves her experience into her classes in a humorous, yet thoughtful way.

Jane teaches the pre and postnatal component of the Yoga Tree teacher. She has developed a teacher training for those interested in specializing in prenatal yoga instruction. Jane also volunteers at here daughter’s elementary school, teaching a weekly yoga class to the teachers and staff.

As a lifelong student, Jane continues to study the many facets of yoga. Although yoga provides the framework for her spiritual practice, it is her life as a mother that has given her true opportunity for spiritual growth.

See Class Schedule
Jeremi McManus is a passionate lover of life and it shows in his exuberant, playful, and wholehearted teaching style. He is also a Relationship Coach and holds a Masters in Counseling, which he draws on to fuse mindfulness and a connection to the whole self in his classes. Jeremi loves mentoring new teachers and finds it is one of the greatest ways to stay curious and maintain a beginner’s mind. His union with yoga began in its birthplace of India, where he spent 10 years as a child, so don’t be surprised if you hear him chatting with someone in Bengali. “I am incredibly grateful to my many teachers, including Keith Borden, Jasmine Tarkeshi, Darren Main… and my five year old niece.”

See Class Schedule
Nationally recognized by Yoga Journal, teacher/author Jill Abelson joined Yoga Tree in 2009 after moving to San Francisco from Washington DC where she taught yoga alongside a busy career in environmental advocacy. Her training and teaching spans Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Jivamukti Yoga, and she is renowned for her expertise in hands-on assisting. Jill is on Yoga Tree’s 200 and 500-hour Teacher Training faculty, and she is passionate and generous about sharing Yoga with students of all levels, from beginners to aspiring/experienced teachers. Her book series is called Extra Love: The Art of Hands-on Assists.

Teachers wanting to work with Jill can find her in Yoga Tree’s new Mentorship Program.

See Class Schedule
Julie offers a deep, powerful, heart-felt, Vinyasa flow. By linking breath with movement, Julie inspires students to open their heart, connect to their truth, and ignite their inner brilliance. Initially drawn to yoga to help balance her athletic lifestyle, and busy nursing career, in which she specializes in Cancer treatment, Julie continues to be astounded by the magnitude of yoga. She feels her yoga journey has only just begun, and remains open to its continued evolution. Filled with gratitude, Julie shares her passion for yoga, teaching, and healing, with others.

Julie attributes her zest for life, courageous spirit, and open heart, to her awe-inspiring Cancer patients. She feels that her patients, along with the ever-powerful Mother Nature, are her greatest teachers. Julie completed her 200-hour Vinyasa YTT with local great, Pete Guinosso.

“Find your truth and rock it. Life is too short to do otherwise.”

See Class Schedule
John graduated from Yoga Tree San Francisco’s 200-hour teacher training program in 2010, where he studied under the guidance of Les Leventhal, Elise Lorimer, Stacey Rosenberg, Christopher Tompkins, Jane Austin, and Darren Main, among many other amazing teachers. John deepened his knowledge of Restorative Yoga at Yoga Tree through an apprenticeship with Darren Main. He has completed continuing education training focused on teaching yoga to beginners with Jason Crandell, and is certified from It’s Yoga, Kids in San Francisco to teach yoga to children aged 3-13. In addition to yoga teacher training, John has completed training on teaching mindfulness through a 7-day Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teacher Training retreat in early 2009 with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli of the UMASS Medical Center. John has also completed training on teaching mindfulness to teens with Gina Biegal at El Camino Hospital. John is currently deepening his understanding of the neurobiology and application of mindfulness through online classes with the Mindsight Institute.

See Class Schedule Watch Video
Since 1998, Lauren Slater has been a joyful practitioner of yoga, and continues her studies with Arkady Shirin in the Krishnamacharya lineage. Past teachers include Jennifer Morrice in Restorative and Stephanie Snyder in Vinyasa styles, as well as Ashtanga and Iyengar lineages with teachers throughout California. Currently an Ambassador for lululemon and The Art of Yoga Project, outreach within various populations is a passion to spread the joys of yoga to all. Another passion is wildlife rehabilitation, in which Lauren has been an active advocate, volunteer and intern with WildCare Bay Area since 2007.

A trained Classical dancer since childhood, Lauren danced professionally with the San Francisco modern dance company, LEVYdance and uses her knowledge of dance, Pilates, and physiology to enrich both vigorous and passive teachings of asana.

“I believe anyone can be transformed through yoga, with each path unique and to be cherished as a gift of an enlightened life.”

See Class Schedule
From a young age, Maralle has been drawn to movement and self expression. Starting with ballet, basketball, then swimming and crew, she has enjoyed moving, breathing, being active, around friends and nature.

Maralle is a 500hr Certified Vinyasa Yoga Teacher and a Certified Yoga Life Coach. She has completed over 500 hours of training and apprenticeship with her beloved teacher Baron Baptiste. In September 2012, Maralle has continued her journey by starting her second 500hr certification with Yoga Master Sri Dharma Mittra. Maralle teaches yoga in San Francisco and the South Bay, and has coached beautiful beings from around the world. She is also an experienced guide and coach for the 40 Days to Personal Revolution program.

As a student and teacher of yoga, Maralle is always reminded of the powerful practice of removing the blocks from our way of being and living our True and Fullest expression of our Selves. “I believe that the power of yoga is in cultivating a deep listening in and connecting to our inner wisdom to uplift everyone around us. Everything that we are seeking; happiness, love, richness… is already within each one of us! Through the practice, we connect in to our essence, and share and express from that source out into the world fearlessly and generously!” Maralle’s teaching is filled with breath, self expression, devotion, community, fun and sweat!

See Class Schedule Watch Video
Connect into your inner yogi with Pete Guinosso. Known for his joyful energy, compassionate guidance, sense of humor, skilled touch, and spiritual yet light-hearted approach, Pete creates an environment for his students to uncover the deeper benefits of their yoga practice.

Pete began his own practice after thirty years of running, cycling, and contact sports. Motivated by a desire to connect his mind, body, and spirit through movement and breath, he spent several years and over 600 hours training with Ana Forrest, including assisting her 24-day Foundation Teacher Training course.

It is through this experience that he learned how to compassionately guide students of all levels through a vigorous asana practice with integrated breath work and awareness. Pete resides in the Bay Area and makes yoga and the depth of the practice available to students in group classes, workshops, and retreats. He is also available for private consultations.

See Class Schedule
Sean Haleen (RYT-500, ERYT-200) is a celebrated Hatha yoga teacher and practitioner. Having practiced yoga from a young age, his understanding of the practice runs deep both on the physical and philosophical levels. Having taught thousands of hours of public classes and workshops, yoga is his full time job and passion.

Sean’s classes are noted for their humor and depth. Focusing on alignment, students wishing to learn about their bodies and the different concepts of yoga philosophy in detail will enjoy his public classes.

Sean teaches classes, workshops, and privates across the Bay Area and beyond. He has taught yoga to a variety of people including high schoolers, homeless groups, recovering drug addicts, and queer youth. He offers deep gratitude with each class to his main teachers, Katchie Ananda, Christine Price Clark, Chris Chavez, Brent Kuecker, and Paige Faraci.

See Class Schedule Watch Video
Wendy K Yalom practices yoga because life is much more fun when she’s dancing, singing and sweating. Her playful, vigorous flow classes encourage students to tap into their own creative potential and to have a good time NOW. The insight of teachers from Rumi to Rusty Wells to BKS Iyengar infuse the practice with devotion & tradition.

“Everytime I unroll my mat and step on to it, I’m reminded that this short, sweet life is a celebration! Join me and see what is possible in your life right now!”