• Instructors

    Brandon Ward

    Brandon Ward, RYT- is the proprietor of Yoga Shala and also teaches several classes at the studio. Brandon has been a lifelong seeker and was introduced to Yoga while attending Central Michigan University in the spring of 2006 . Since this introduction Brandon has continued to delve in to deeper studies of Yoga and Self-Realization. The opportunity to share this love and knowledge of yoga with others is such a gift. Brandon’s passion for life and self exploration shine through his yoga teachings. Yoga Shala and Brandon’s classes offer the freedom for individuals to find their own authentic expression of themselves through Yoga.

    Cheryl Walters

    Cheryl Walters is the Director of Yoga Shala’s Yoga Teacher Training. She is certified through Yoga Alliance as a 500hr E-RYT. Cheryl is also a certified Anusara Yoga instructor. She has been teaching in the Prescott, AZ area since 2001. Cheryl has been in the field of integrated therapies and healing arts for 22 years. Her life was deeply enriched when she discovered Anusara Yoga, falling in love with the unique blend of Universal Principle of Alignment and the philosophy of Intrinsic Goodness. Cheryl has a remarkable gift for inspiring her students to embody the practice of yoga, not just on their mats but also in their lives- to truly live their yoga. Cheryl shines with her joy for life and love of people, and is passionate about the transformation that exists within the practice of yoga. Her classes enliven the body, mind and heart; celebrating beauty in all its diversity.

    Amber Aten

    Amber Aten Follow your bliss, live the life you love and love the life you live.  Every moment is a miracle, each day is a blessing, breathe into the beauty around you and inside of you, remember Yoga.  Get on the mat, find your center, settle in and feel the peace inside and out.As a teacher Amber Aten is dedicated to holding the space for you to remember yoga, to reconnect, if even just for moments, to the beauty of the breath and the wonder of practice.  The practice she shares is centered on honoring your heart, as your inner teacher. With each movement and each breath, she hopes to inspire a playful awakening of Sattva; the quality of light, love and life, in balance where healing can happen.  Amber Aten has been a Certified Yoga Teacher since 2002.  She has been a student of Mukunda Tom Stiles since 2004, studying Classical Yoga,  Structural Yoga Therapies, Tantra and Ayurveda.  In 2006 she completed the 700 hour Structural Yoga Therapy Training program with Mukunda Stiles (yogatherapycenter.org). Amber is not currently a registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance as she is awaiting the upcoming standards and registration with the International Association of Yoga Therapists.“Amber’s classes are soothing, exploratory, and expansive. Amber’s voice perfectly calls you to open and deepen into new areas of your body. Amber amazingly facilitates letting go while inviting you to gently explore your body with your breath.”                                                                                                                                           -Taryn Kennedy

    Breanna Rogers

    Breanna Rogers has been teaching yoga throughout the Boulder, CO area for the past 4 yrs and just recently moved to Prescott with her family. She is certified through the Denver Institute of Yoga and also holds a BA in Dance and Performance from Sonoma State University. Her practice explores the art of making choices and uncovering the extra-ordinary hidden in the darkness of the ordinary.

    Breanna is deeply influenced by the precise alignment of the Iyengar teachings, the fluidity of dance and the heart of Anusara. Her classes are about restoring neutrality and balance to the nervous system by utilizing the breath with deep, slow moving sequences of asana, always paying attention to the structural integrity of each pose. Breanna is experienced in teaching to people of all abilities providing support and creative alterations for those with injury or any other seeming limitation. She hopes that her work will inspire herself and others to bring creativity to all of life from doing the dishes, to singing in the shower, to helping someone change a flat tire.

    Cassandra Tamis

    Cassandra Tamis took her first yoga class in 2003, on a whim, in a gym, to see what it was all about and possibly relieve some stress. After a few classes, she realized that she felt really good and began seeking out and attending more classes, in an actual yoga studio, where she began to experience both the profound and subtle effects that yoga has to offer. Although her first class and most of her experience is in the Ashtanga method, she appreciates and enjoys other styles as well! She loves the way yoga is an endless journey of easing and challenging the mind and body while nourishing the spirit. About a year ago, she decided to make yoga a more significant part of her life so she enrolled in the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training program at Yoga Shala. She is a student of the 2010 class!

    Cathy Davis

    Cathy Davis MA, RYT is both a registered yoga instructor and certified teacher of students with learning disabilities. She is truly committed to inspiring people to reach their full potential—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. She was certified at Jan Hauenstein’s Therapy, Yoga & Reiki Teachers’ School and has developed a practice that draws on various styles of yoga, such as Baron Baptiste, Jivamukti and Anusara yoga. Through breathing techniques and movement, students are encouraged to release tension and remove the sources of ill health so that they can overcome challenges and achieve more than they ever thought possible. Her Vinyasa flow yoga class offers students the opportunity to explore their uniqueness and to heal the belief systems that have been disempowering them so that they can liberate themselves and reclaim their power, their brilliance and their purpose.

    Kathy DeFreitas

    Kathy DeFreitas’ interest in eastern ways and philosophies was ignited in her visits to Nepal, Japan and China in her early twenties. She began practicing yoga in a Hollywood, FL. Bikram studio over 15 years ago and has explored various styles, including Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Anusara, since moving to Prescott in 1998. In 2003, she completed her Yoga Teacher Certification Level 1 with Carlyn Sikes at the Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, AZ. Having recently completed her 200 Hour Teacher’s Training with Cain Carroll, Kathy has decided to merge her love of yoga with her love of people through a class geared to those over 50, “Yoga Over 50.” Kathy explains “My focus is to show and help introduce people to the concept that yoga can bring vitality and rejuvenation into the body at any age.”

    Krystal Priniski

    Krystal Prinisi began her yoga practice in 2003 when she found she needed more than a good workout to feel healthy. She alternated between the gym and her yoga practice for almost four years before deciding to dive deeper into yoga and leave the gym equipment behind. A back injury in 2007 changed her practice and taught her many ways to modify yoga poses and to listen to her body. Shortly after, it was clear that yoga was her path to mindfulness as well as strength and flexibility. She completed her teacher training in 2010 and continues her journey teaching at Yoga Shala.

    Misha Bell

    Misha Bell eRYT- is an accomplished yoga scholar and an internationally expirienced yoga teacher known for her depth of knowledge and inspirational teaching style. It was during Law School at Columbia University that Misha prioritized a yogic lifestyle. Full-time pro bono work in New York City combined with a full academic course load highlighted  the lack of balance epidemic in modern life. Determined to find balance and inner serenity in the middle of Manhattan while maintaining her responsibilities, Misha turned to an intense yoga sadhana. After earning her law degree, Misha traveled to India where she studied and taught yoga for several years in the Himalayas and South India, specializing in Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Tantra and Ayurveda. Today, Misha is an established wellness practitioner, providing yoga training to students of all levels and ages. in addition to Ayurvedic lifestyle counseling and life coaching to yogis and non-yogis. For more information visit Misha’s website at www.anantwellness.com

    Mary Pat Azeveo

    Mary Pat Azevedo was introduced to yoga in 2000 and started teaching in 2002. She is a certified instructor, trained under Jeani Mackenzie of the Davenport School of Yoga in Davenport, Iowa. MaryPat has continued her practice to include training in Iyengar, Hatha, Ashtanga, Barkan and Bikram methods at various locations including Kripalu in Lenox, Massachusettes. MaryPat is an empathetic teacher that honors all students at all levels. She has a calming voice which encourages students to gracefully work to their edge of physical performance while maintaining consciousness in the present moment. MaryPat’s “hands on” adjustments and verbal guidance are appropriate for beginning students as well as regular practitioners.

    Merina Lippis

    Merina Lippis’ love for yoga began 8 years ago when a friend took her to a Bikram class. She fell in love and began her yoga journey. After graduating from CU Boulder, CO, with a bachelor in Integrative Physiology, she took her first teacher training course (CorePower Yoga in 2008). She taught yoga in Mexico a little under a year before deciding that she must study more in India.  She then traveled to Kerala, India where she lived in the Sivananda ashram for one month while taking the intensive 200-hr teacher training.Merina’s desire is to be able to share all that she has learned from this wonderful practice of yoga with others to help bring love, joy, serenity and flexibility to their lives.  Merina has experienced that yoga goes far deeper than the physical. Therefore, her classes are balanced to bring physical, mental and emotional benefits. They focus on deep breathing to cleanse and bring energy to the body and to connect you to the present moment. Her classes include a variety of postures to strengthen and open the body and mind. Merina also incorporates meditation and relaxation techniques to release stress and help her students let go of anything they no longer need.

    Mike Cole

    Mike Cole received initiation into siddha yoga from Gurumayi Chidvilasananda in 1998.  He became more interested in hatha yoga some years later due to severe back problems.  Soon after he met Mary Kay West, who coached him in various styles of hatha yoga. In 2008 Mike completed the 200hr teacher certification program at Yoga Shala studying under Mary Kay and Cain Carrol. Mike loves being part of the yoga community here in Prescott. A recent trip to India affirmed Mike’s belief in the power of yoga. Mike’s goal is to prepare his body through hatha yoga for a more integrated life experience.

    Rachel Peters

    Rachel Peters is a Certified Anusara Yoga instructor who has been teaching yoga in Prescott since 2001. Anusara Yoga is a unique method of hatha yoga that incorporates biomechanical principles of alignment with the celebration of heart and spirit. Anusara yoga and Rachel’s classes offer students an uplifting, life-affirming experience that integrates asana technique, yoga philosophy and the support of the community.

     

    Skye Anicca

    Skye Anicca‘s classes reflect her belief that yoga is a blend of divine work and divine play. Through creative, dynamic, heart -centered teaching, Skye guides students to seek their personal edge with great persistence and a sense of wonder. Her classes invite students to challenge and surprise themselves, and ultimately, to recognize that the wisest teacher lives within. Skye is certified (RYT200) with Yoga Alliance and has completed trainings in yoga anatomy, philosophy, and therapeutics. She holds an Anusara prenatal yoga certification and is enthusiastically working towards full Anusara certification. She is deeply grateful to be walking the yogic path and honors her Anusara teachers: Desiree Rumbaugh, Ross Rayburn, Jessica Jennings, and Rachel Peters; she extends special appreciation for her primary teacher, Bea Doyle and the founder of her tradition, John Friend.

    Barb Gitlin

    Barb Gitlin is excited to once again be teaching at Yoga Shala.  Barb has been living and practicing yoga for over 20 years. She has been trained in the Iyengar Method of Yoga. Expect a traditional Iyengar class from Barb, focusing on alignment and deep stretching. Her Iyengar class is suitable for all levels of yoga practioners. Barb’s compassionate and genuine approach to yoga make her classes a joy to attend.