IYI ENDORSED TEACHERS
Elissa Ballard
Elissa was first drawn to spiritual teachings in her early twenties, reaching for “The Tao of Pooh” without any other influence but a strong inner prompting. After years of seeking and studying she met her primary teachers and mentors, Sarah and Ty Powers, and joined the Insight Yoga Institute in 2010. Elissa is an experienced educator, living and teaching internationally. Currently, she is an Instructional Coach in Abu Dhabi. Elissa also leads trainings and workshops internationally for teachers and schools integrating Mindfulness, as she aspires to bring practices of awakening into the mainstream. Quieting the mind and softening the heart to listen evermore deeply, continues to inspire her practice and teaching.
Location:Abu Dhabi, UAE
Raminta Bendikas
Raminta has been teaching yoga since 2005, but it was only when she met Sarah Powers and discovered Insight Yoga that she experienced a transformative change in both her personal practice and offerings. Studying at IYI was a journey towards more awareness, acceptance, and living more fully. Endorsed in 2023, she feels deeply grateful to her teachers Sarah and Ty, as well as to all her teachers and sources of inspiration and wisdom.
Raminta believes in a lifelong, regular, and adaptable practice for the body, mind, and heart. In her classes and workshops, she loves intertwining Yin yoga with Buddhist mindfulness, TCM & Meridian Theory, Qigong, and myofascial release. With a background in biology, she finds functional anatomy and fascia science very fascinating, which she studied intensely with her teacher Jo Phee. She is a certified 500-hour #Yinspiration teacher in 2022.
Originally from Lithuania, Raminta has spent almost half of her life living in Denmark. From 2017 to 2022, she embarked on an adventure, exploring and managing her yoga studio in Greenland. Currently, she resides in Sønderborg, DK, and offers teachings online
Raminta admires and appreciates the diversity of the spiritual sangha that, despite geographical distances, nationalities, various yoga practices, etc., can (inter)connect, unite, and embrace us all.
Location:Sonderborg, Denmark
Lana Bright
For more than 20 years Lana has been coaching, mentoring and facilitating. In 2004 she trained in New Zealand as a yoga teacher and in 2014 she attended a workshop guided by Sarah. Lana was instantly struck by Sarah’s wisdom, eloquence and embodiment of the teachings. Consequently she dedicated the next 2 years studying full time with Sarah and Ty. Lana teaches classes, workshops and retreats. She owns SPACE Studio – a beautiful architecturally built studio, overlooking the sea and mountains above Wellington harbour.
Location:Wellington, New Zealand
Marie Capron
RYT-500After an international corporate career, Marie’s inner journey has been enriched and illuminated through yoga, meditation, and IFS (Internal Family System) thanks to her mentors Sarah Powers and Carly Forest and the Insight Yoga Institute program.
Registered RYT-500 yoga teacher, endorsed Insight yoga teacher by Sarah Powers, trained in the Power of Awareness with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield and in Taoist inner alchemy, Marie proposes a holistic approach of yoga infused by Advaita, Taoism, Mindfulness, neuroscience, and psycho-spiritual inquiries. Marie offers Yoga and meditation classes, workshops and retreats to reconnect and open body, heart and soul.
As a certified IFS practitioner, Marie has a private practice offering a space of presence and loving-kindness to accompany each person in the discovery and richness of their inner system and relationship to Self.
Full of wonder and gratitude for life and the Universe, inspired by her spiritual mentors, Marie continues to integrate teachings and insight practices into her spiritual journey. Through her intuition and inspiration, Marie guides with dedication towards a life of greater harmony, authenticity and soul connection.
Location:Tournefeuille, FRANCE
Jennifer Ciarimboli
Jennifer was first introduced to yoga in 1999 and fell deeply in love with the practices. She was first authorized to teach in 2007 under the guidance of Jennifer Allen and has been teaching and leading yoga and mindfulness communities ever since. Over the last 17 years she’s logged thousands of hours of study with master teachers and led workshops, retreats & teacher trainings both in person and virtually..
Jennifer founded Balance yoga studio in 2008, Riverfront Yoga Project in 2009 and studio BE in 2019. She has been most influenced by her teachers Sarah and Ty Powers and has been a student of the Insight Yoga Institute since 2014; completing her training and receiving endorsement in 2024. In 2021 she completed the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certificate Program (MMTCP) led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Jennifer is currently studying under Phillip Moffitt at the Life Balance Institute to become a Change & Transitions Strategist. Deeply transformed by Yin Yoga and Buddhism, Jennifer considers herself a lifelong student of the practices and holds the deepest regard for all of her teachers while deeply trusting the innate capacities and transformative potential within each human being that she serves.
In addition to yoga & meditation, Jennifer loves hiking, trail running, skiing and cooking and lives in an old red farmhouse nestled in the country in Pennsylvania that she and her husband lovingly restored. She, Ed and their four children, two grandchildren, three dogs and two cats enjoy both the refuge and chaos of a full and fulfilling life.
Location:Pennsylvania, US
Olivia Clarke
200 hours Yoga Alliance, Yoga TT and Advanced TT, Sivananda YogaOlivia is a mother of two daughters and long-term practitioner of Yoga and Buddhist Mindfulness. She runs a private retreat in Wales (http://www.thecoachhouseretreat.co.uk/) and loves to work in an intimate and personal way with individuals and groups. Her teaching style is slow, mindful, insightful and deep and will appeal to those who wish to integrate psychological and spiritual teachings, in an embodied and nuanced way. She helps individuals to craft a consistent, intelligent and personal practice, that feels relevant, potent and intentional, empowering others to become their own Healing Master. She has been teaching since 1998 and trained with Sivananda Yoga (Teacher Training & Advanced), Mandala Yoga / Bihar, Shiva Rea, Simon Low (RYS 200), and since 2011 Sarah and Ty Powers, her primary and most transformative teachers. Originally a Healing Shiatsu practitioner (MRSS) she studied TCM, Five Elements and Meridian Theory with Chris Jarmey and Sonia Moriceau.
Olivia Clarke, 200 hours Yoga Alliance, Yoga TT and Advanced TT, Sivananda Yoga
Location:Wales, UK
Laila Dajani
Laila’s first encounter with yoga was a class she attended with her seeker mother in 2002 which sparked up a curiosity in her. Laila began teaching in 2007 yet still felt disconnected somewhat in her own practice until she sat in her first workshop with Sarah in 2009. Since then she has been a part of IYI with Sarah and Ty as her primary teachers, completed her Mindfulness Teacher Training and trainings in 3 Levels in the Internal Family Systems Model. With a background in Education she also facilitated Mindfulness trainings at various schools in the Middle East where she used to live. Laila’s intention when working with students and clients is to offer a space to feel and heal using these integrated practices that continue to support her in navigating a life of awareness.
Location:Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland
Hedi De Vree
Hedi believes that we can all lead more fulfilling lives when we take refuge in the paths of awareness and let ourselves become curious to see what they have to offer us. Through her writing and teaching she hopes to inspire others to find their way tohappier healthier mind and heart space, and she is committed to helping seekers from all walks of life understand the simple truth of union of mind, body and heart, and presence in the here and now. Her classes are filled with poetry, storytelling and metaphors as she shares both ancient wisdom as well as modern day scientific and psychological insights in equal measure.
Over the past twenty years Hedi has completed numerous trainings with renowned international teachers in a variety of yoga and meditation styles and practices ranging from Ayurvedic studies to Pranayam and from Astanga to Yin Yoga. She is a dedicated practitioner of meditation and is deeply influenced by Buddhist studies. Hedi believes that lasting transformation is available through the integration of Buddhist practices and philosophy with spiritual psychology and yoga, as taught at the Insight Yoga Institute.
Location:Hague, Netherlands
Georgina Evans
Georgina gained a 500 hour British Wheel of Yoga teaching certificate and professional registration in 2006. Her growth as a teacher has spanned various styles and been influenced by leading Yoga teachers: Astanga Vinyasa Yoga with Hamish Hendry, Yin Yoga with Sarah and Ty Powers, and Restorative Yoga with Judith Lasater. She incorporates particular attention to breath, physical alignment and strength when teaching dynamic classes and encourage inner reflection and self-healing through more restorative approaches and sharing of Yoga and Buddhist teachings. She works both as a Yoga Facilitator and Health and Care Professions Council Art Psychotherapist in London, offering individual and group sessions.
Location:London, UK
Cass Fairweather
Cass is a relational psychotherapist (UKCP/CPJA). She is based in London and works for the NHS, in adult mental health services and in private practice. Cass is interested in the intersection between the personal, interpersonal and transpersonal. She uses mind, body and heart-based practices to help individuals, couples, groups, and organisations navigate these spaces, cultivating a greater capacity to be with one’s parts with greater clarity and compassion and also the parts of other. At the heart of her work (personal and professionally) is inclusivity – all parts are welcomed and all experience is part of the Path. In order to be able to work in this way, Cass completed her Insight Yoga Institute Teacher Training in 2023, Yoga Therapy training with the Minded Institute in 2016, MBCT training, she has completed all levels of Internal Family Systems Training 2019, diploma in Intercultural Therapy ( Goldsmiths 1999), and is in the process of becoming a Hoffman Process Teacher.
Location:London, UK
Erinbell Fanore
MFA, E-RYT 200, and RYT 500Erinbell’s practice and teaching is one of inclusiveness and compassionate acceptance. “Each day is precious and with each practice/sit/breath we begin afresh to open-heartedly meet ourselves just as we are.” Erinbell honors our individual uniqueness through teaching yoga asana with a functional approach. Mindfulness and self inquiry are the base of her teaching as is laughter and openness. She encourages her students to be brave and feel for themselves what’s going on and to meet what’s there with tenderness and kindness.
In the tradition of the Insight Yoga Institute, Erinbell teaches a modern fusion of Yoga, Buddhism, meridian theory, fascial anatomy, and psychology. She is very grateful to her teachers, Sarah & Ty Powers, Martin Aylward, and Paul & Suzee Grilley. She has also studied with Daniel Siegel and trained intensively in Internal Family Systems.
Born in Vancouver, Erinbell now lives in Berlin where she offers yoga and meditation classes/workshops/retreats in the city and in Europe. She also teaches weekly online classes and offers mentoring.
Location:Berlin, Germany
Carly Forest
Nourished by the wisdom of her mentors and her decades-long personal practice, Carly Forest has led thousands of students through foundational practices and trainings over the past 20 years. As an accredited Enneagram teacher and endorsed Insight Yoga teacher she supports and guides others through the delicate work of self-inquiry towards a life infused with curiosity, courage and care. Her teachings and healing work constellate around the central task of supporting others to wholly inhabit their lives: to embrace the full spectrum of their humanity and skillfully greet the paradox of life.
Carly has been studying and applying the Enneagram for the past decade, and completed her teacher training in 2015 through the Canadian Institute of Enneagram Studies under Dr Penny Whillans. Her studies of spiritual psychology, reverence for poetry, dedication to self-inquiry, and relationship with the natural world have all left deep impressions and continue to inform her work. Her teachings and private practice have also been influenced by the work of Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Sandra Maitri, Marion Woodman, Bill Plotkin, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Noel Taylor and Terrance McKenna.
Over the past 20 years Carly has also sat on regular retreats in both the Vipassana and Tantric Buddhist traditions, and continues to have ongoing mentorship from her teacher Sarah Powers. She has completed extensive trainings in mindfulness yoga and meditation at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Yoga Institute in California, and has been training with the International Institute of Medical Qigong since 2013. Carly was the Yin Yoga and Mindfulness instructor to the Canadian National Women’s 7s Rugby Team, winners of the Bronze Medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Carly is incredibly grateful to live and work on the traditional territory of the Lkwungen-speaking peoples, the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada).
Location:Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Ayala Gill
Ayala Gill has been teaching yoga, meditation and psychospiritual enquiry for over twenty years. Her work draws on in-depth studies in Iyengar yoga, yin yoga, Buddhist meditation, mindfulness and body-based therapeutic modalities. She combines physical precision and meridian theory with stillness and reflection, to liberate all levels of body, heart and mind from unconscious and destructive patterns. Her qualifications include Iyengar yoga to intermediate level, accredited Mindfulness teacher and mentor, and endorsed Insight Yoga teacher and mentor. As a mother of 3 children, she is passionate that insights into the true nature of reality act not to remove us, but to catapult us back into the fullness of our lives, as stronger, more receptive, and ultimately more alive human beings.
Location:London, UK
Dianne Harris
CYA, E, RYTGOLDA yoga practitioner most of her life, Dianne left the corporate world to share the joys and discoveries of yoga with others. Based on her studies with Sarah and Ty Powers Insight Yoga, she interweaves Buddhism, yogic philosophies and meridian theory into her offerings, to encourage you to ‘get more from your yoga’. She invites you to explore and discover the richness of yourself in the present moment. To develop clarity of mind and discover and live from the beauty or your heart, in all of its’ states.
Owner operator of happyheart Yoga, Dianne conducts Teacher Trainings, workshops and classes internationally. She is an Insight Yoga Institute Endorsed Teacher, is certified CYA-E-RYTGOLD, and has also trained extensively with Paul and Suzee Grilley and Ahimsa Yoga.
Location:Port Perry, Ontario, Canada
Trine Hedegaard
E-RYT 500, CERTIFIED IFS PRACTITIONER LEVELS 1, 2 & 3Trine has been practicing and teaching yoga for two decades. When Trine met Sarah back in 2008, there was no turning back. She received her Insight Yoga Institute endorsement in 2012 and continues her studies in body-heart-mind integration to keep deepening her own practice and teachings. In her heart-centred, functional approach to yoga, Trine interweaves her studies in embodied Mindfulness, Dharma, Self-compassionate inquiry from Internal Family Systems, somatic embodiment, and nervous system regulation. Over the past 20 years, Trine has followed her passion and taught thousands of students to unwind physical, emotional, and mental patterns, and investigate how to live a freer and more inspired life.
“Yin Unwind” is also the name of her 200-hour Yin training, where she combines yin yoga, mindfulness, functional anatomy, and somatics.
Location:Copenhagen, Denmark
Sarah Jane Shangraw
MA, E-RYT 500, YACEP, IMTASarah Jane studied religion from an anthropological perspective well before discovering Wisdom teachings as a source of personal support. Now, in her classes, workshops, and coaching sessions, she weaves together yogic and Buddhist methods with psychospiritual inquiry as a means to nourish the body, heal the heart, and train the mind. She believes that freedom is possible, in moments, and even amidst difficulty, when we take life as the path. By retreating annually, paying attention to the evolving relationship of Buddhism and psychology, and working to uncover her unconscious bias, she keeps her practice and teaching fresh and responsive. Sarah Jane is also a stepmother, book editor, and musician. She offers deep gratitude to her teachers and spiritual friends.
Location:Boston, MA, US
Regina Kerschbaumer
Location:Norwich, UK
Nathalie Keusseoglou
Nathalie was immersed into yoga and meditation at a very young age observing her grandfather who dedicated his life to the practice. She merges her profound interest and enquiry in Buddhist practices with western psycho-analytical techniques and body work. An eternal student she has travelled around the world to practice and retreat with gifted teachers. Nathalie practices and teaches in Monaco where she has been instrumental in creating Yoga Shala Monaco. Her passion for Awareness continually encourages and nurtures us to come into contact with our genuine nature and keep connecting to our depths of kindness, fearlessness and an open heart.
Location:Monaco
Bryony Lancaster
E-RYT 500Bryony has been teaching yoga for 20 years and is inspired to find ways to guide her family and life from the inside out, and allowing all that she creates to be an extension of her practice.
For over 12 years Sarah and Ty Powers have been her primary teachers. She is forever inspired by the depth and dedication of the way they bring their practice to life! And the poetry, wisdom and heart that Sarah weaves into her teaching. She resonates with them as examples of a wonderful and loving partnership alongside their profound understanding of self-inquiry, Buddhism, Yin yoga and meditation.
Bryony teaches Vinyasa flow, Yin Yoga and Meditation and continues to be inspired by the transformational capacity of yoga when we allow the process to move inward; not only to unveil a stronger and more supple body and unbinding of the breath, but also to reveal a more accepting and relaxed way of being. She aims to share her passion and insight with her students through classes, one to one work, workshops, retreats, and teacher trainings.
Location:Byron Bay & Sydney, Australia
Sarah Lo
E-RYT500, YACEP, PCC, ICFSarah Lo is an E-RYT 500 & YACEP trainer with Yoga Alliance USA and is a Certified Professional Life Coach (PCC, ICF New Ventures West). She has lived and taught internationally in the US, Singapore, Australia, Europe and the UK and teaches YA accredited Yin Yoga & Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Courses at triyoga in London and online. She has studied extensively in anatomy and somatics with Donna Farhi, Paul Grilley, the Hoffman Process, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, and Birthlight Pregnancy and more recently online with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. She owes her life’s transformation and deepest gratitude to Sarah and Ty Powers.
Location:London, UK
Tripti Mahendra
RYT-500Tripti began teaching yoga in 2008 after 18 years in corporate life. Her yoga practice began very early in her childhood and has been a source of ongoing support for her body, heart and mind. She completed her initial 200-Hour yoga training at White Lotus in Santa Barbara and then went on to complete a 700-Hour graduate level training with Sarah and Ty Powers. She was endorsed by them through their Insight Yoga Institute.
In her lifelong commitment to inner exploration and learning, she comes to her yoga mat and meditation cushion daily, formally attends meditation retreats with her teachers and takes time for self-led personal retreats. Her curiosity and interest to continue to develop her mindfulness learning and teaching led her to a year-long course of study with Mark Coleman and Martin Aylward through their Mindfulness Training Institute. She extends her heartfelt gratitude to all of her teachers.
Location:Oregan, US
Suzanne Marlow
M.F.T., E-RYT 500Assisting clients in personal healing and transformation is Suzanne’s passion and purpose in life. Her trained specialties—Clinical Psychology, Insight Yoga and the practices in mindfulness—form a powerful triad. Suzanne has been helping her clients live a healthier, and more heart-based life for over 25 years. Her true passion is helping students truly heal by finding a practice to suit their needs. She is inspired by the physical strength gained through yoga, but her primary interest lies in transformational capabilities of the mind through a regular practice.
Location:Santa Barbara, California, US
Tracey Meyers
Psy.D, E-RYT 500, C-IAYTDr. Tracey Meyers is a licensed clinical psychologist in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. Tracey has a strong commitment to integrative medicine for mental health and wellness and leads mindfulness and yoga programs for groups, individuals, and professionals in the workplace, retreat centers, and yoga studios. Drawn to the quiet and contemplative traditions of Buddhism, Yin Yoga, and Psycho-spiritual inquiry lead by Sarah and Ty Powers, she completed her 500-hour Insight Yoga Institute Teacher Training in 2012 and became an endorsed teacher and mentor. Tracey completed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Professional Training Program at UMASS Medical School in 2008 and The Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield in 2020. She is also a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) in 2018 and certified iRest teacher (2019) through Richard Miller and iRest institute.
Location:Connecticut, US
Alison Melvin
E-RYT 500Location:Coimbra, Portugal
Theresa Murphy
Yoga Therapist (IAYT), E-RYT 500, RYS200 & 300, Senior Prajna TeacherIn teaching yoga, Theresa’s deepest intentions are to expand minds, open hearts, and be a catalyst for discovering the wisdom and wonder of an embodied life. She offers a varied approach to practice, including soft somatic work, individualized alignment, wisdom teachings, sounding, and open exploration of physical and mental awareness. As a certified Yoga Therapist (IAYT), she believes in doing what works for the individual while recognizing that all approaches which cultivate self inquiry and wisdom are worthy of respect. In all aspects of her life, she makes a sincere effort to “walk the walk” and recognizes that Yoga & Dharma aren’t things to do, but a way to live.
Location:Massachusetts/Rhode Island, US
Stephanie Nosco
Fascinated since childhood with the questions that grow out of life’s paradoxes, Stephanie began exploring spiritually at 15. Early seeking grew into a passion for demystifying traditional teachings into a language the modern practitioner can understand. Integrating yoga into everyday life in a way that is compassionate and practical sets the foundation for her programs. She is particularly inspired by Theravadin and Tibetan Buddhist traditions and has learned most from her time spent on retreat. Stephanie has also studied Medical Qigong and incorporates these concepts into her practice and teaching. Her most recent interests surround how spirituality and psychotherapy intersect and is working towards her masters in counselling psychology.
Location:Alberta, Canada
Siobhan O’Neill
MD, CGPSiobhan O’Neill is a part-time Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and faculty member at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she serves on the Steering Committee for the Center for Group Psychotherapy, and previously served on the hospital’s Physician Wellness Committee. She received her medical degree from Northwestern University and graduated Harvard Medical School’s residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital, at one time serving as Chief Resident of MGH. Now, in her therapeutic groups and mindfulness classes for physicians, Siobhan draws on advanced training in psychoanalytic and group psychotherapies, and psychosynthesis, all undertaken as part of her medical training.
In the past several years Siobhan has leaned on a practice that integrates yoga, meditation, and psychology for support, experiential insights, and spiritual growth through life’s challenges. Specifically, she has engaged with Phillip Moffitt’s Nine Bodies teachings, undertaken yoga and dharma training with Sarah Powers, and received mentoring from Ty Powers. Siobhan is a long-time dedicated member of a Belmont, Massachusetts–based sangha in the Plum Village Tradition, and more recently of the Insight Yoga Teachers Sangha with the other endorsed Insight Yoga teachers. She has retreated with both communities many times, and plans to continue doing so, for her own and others benefit, as part of her life-long path.
Location:Boston, Massachusetts
Jennifer O’Sullivan
E-RYT 500, Certified IFS Practitioner, Levels 1-3Jennifer O’Sullivan believes deeply in the power of yoga to heal the body and mind and to nurture the human spirit. She sees the mat and cushion as laboratories for self-discovery and transformation. With an emphasis on mindful movement, she strives to illuminate paths to awareness and wakeful living. Jennifer has been teaching in the Washington, DC area for more than a decade after completing her first teacher training in 2004. She has studied with exemplary yoga teachers from a number of disciplines but is most influenced by Don and Amba Stapleton of Nosara Yoga Institute and Sarah Powers. Jennifer is also greatly inspired by the mindfulness teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and Bhante Gunarata
Location:Northern Virginia/Washington DC, US
Sarah Owen
Sarah Owen was first introduced to yoga as a teenager, at the same time inspired by a strong interest in lucid dreaming and the psychological realms. She went on to study Spanish and to live in Southern Mexico for 3 years in her early twenties before returning to yoga with a passion in 2005. Her love of yin yoga, mindfulness and lucid living was discovered when she met her principle teacher, Sarah Powers, in 2007. Sarah Owen leads yin yoga teacher trainings and workshops in Australia as well as being a mentor to incoming IYI students. Her workshops can be found at numerous well-known yoga studios in Sydney. Sarah’s principle teachers are Sarah and Ty Powers, B. Alan Wallace and Maty Ezraty.
Location:Sydney, Australia
Marije Paternotte
E-RYT 500 and YACEPMarije’s teaching style is understated and compassionate. She has the ability to present complex concepts, and an in-depth knowledge of yogic anatomy and philosophy, in a simple and approachable way, for which she is loved by beginning and advanced practitioners alike.
Marije was born and raised in Amsterdam where, after her training to be a professional ballet dancer, she studied law and worked as a corporate lawyer. She currently lives in a small beach town in New Jersey with her husband and 2 cats and teaches yoga and meditation around the world.
After her foundational and professional level yoga teacher certification at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health (MA), she found Sarah and Ty Powers who she considers her most important teachers. Marije is honored and grateful to share and teach Insight Yoga.
Location:Manasquan (NJ), US
Sasha Patterson
MA, RYTSasha has been practicing yoga since 1997, teaching since 2002. As a practitioner, she is inspired by the varied strands of the yogic path, as a teacher, she offers an integrated practice for the body, heart, and mind.
She began studying Insight Yoga with Sarah Powers in 2005, and is a mentor with the Insight Yoga Institute. Her approach has been shaped by nine years of serious Vipassana meditation practice, in the American Insight tradition, and by a seven-year mentorship with Jennifer Welwood—whose work integrates Western-style psychological inquiry with spiritual practice. Sasha is currently part of a two-year community Dharma leader training program and has a master’s degree in integral counseling psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
She has a private practice in San Francisco and Los Angeles as a psycho-spiritual therapist and teaches workshops and retreats in Northern and Southern California, integrating yoga, Buddhism, and psychological inquiry.
Location:California, US
Liry Resnik
In 2017, she discovered Insight Yoga Institute online, leading her to enrol in a Level 1 course with Sarah and Ty Powers. The course ignited her passion for Yin yoga, Buddhism, and meditation, motivating her to pursue endorsement from IYI. As a social worker, Liry contributes as a therapist for treatment and wellness centre towards and sexual assault survivors on the Israeli border with Gaza, and has developed therapeutic yoga and mindfulness sessions for children with learning difficulties and ADHD at the elementary school where she teaches.
In addition to studying with Sarah and Ty Powers, Liry completed a two-year program in Buddhist psychology in 2021, enabling her to integrate Yin yoga, Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, mindfulness meditation, and Buddhism into her teachings. Liry loves to explore and teach energy work (prana and chi☺), and inner inquiry. Her favourite asana is handstand, and she loves teaching it with Yin yoga and mindfulness meditation in workshops and retreats.
Liry is also a yoga therapy student- and integrates the different teachings in classes and therapeutic sessions.
Liry’s life work is to benefit others with the teaching and personal experience of her practice.
She is a mother of two boys, and lives in the kibbutz in southern Israel
Location:Revivim, Israel
Marie-Daphné Roy
Marie-Daphné started teaching yoga in 1999 during a two-year residency program at Kripalu Center, under the supervision of her first teacher, Yoganand Michael Carroll. A retreat with Sarah and Ty Powers in 2003 marked the beginning of the integration of Buddhist meditation and Yin Yoga into her practice, as well as an ongoing source of inspiration, connection, and learning. She is delighted to be a member of the Insight Yoga Institute as an endorsed teacher. Deeply grateful, Marie-Daphné has studied with many dedicated teachers over the years, including Hart Lazer, Ramanand Patel, Ken McLoed and Paul Grilley
Marie-Daphné is a certified Yoga Therapist, Restorative and Yin Yoga Teacher Trainer, Massage Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Sexologist. She has degrees in religious studies, specializing in Hinduism and in Theravada Buddhism. She also studied the phenomenon of contemporary yoga during her master’s studies in sociology, has a certificate in mental health and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical sexology.
She devotes her time to teaching yoga retreats and teacher trainings, as well as her private practice as a somatic trauma therapist and trans health sexologist.
She truly believes that our overall health benefits from an integrative approach, and that yoga, mindfulness, chi cultivation practices, embodiment methods and caring relationships can play a unique role.
Location:Montréal, Québec, Canada
Sam Sather
Sandra “Sam” Sather is an Endorsed IYI Teacher, RYT-500, and Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). Sam specializes in seniors, fascia, functional movement, mindfulness, cancer, brain trauma, and yin yoga. She provides training as a YACEP (YA) and APD (IAYT). Sam has two businesses. Dogwood Studios, a yoga therapy studio, through mindful movement and meditative balance, provides services to help empower individuals to progress toward greater health and well-being. And Clinical Pathways, a clinical research consulting and training group, dedicated to supporting high quality. Sam is thrilled to have the ability to integrate mind, body, heart practices in both. Sam and her partner Chuck live in Chapel Hill, NC, USA. She has two delightful grown children, Rob & Sarah.
Location:Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA
Sandi Sharkey
My life continues to be transformed by yoga and meditation practice, that is why I dedicate my energies to sharing these practices with others. We live in a time of so much change and speed, and urgently need to calm down and wake up. By living wisely, we can care for the Earth and each other. Practice gives us so many resources to deal with life’s challenges and also offers us spaces for inner-exploration and contemplation. The repetition of simple ritual can help us develop a sacred outlook, so we may transform, heal and live artfully. It is my intention that we collectively view our experiences in a way that leads to greater aliveness and wisdom, living into the opportunity for a deepened life together; growing more compassionate and whole together.
Compassion, Loving Kindness and Gratitude are qualities that connect us to care and nurture and create shelter for ourselves, each other and the world around us. Practice is an opportunity to cultivate these ancient qualities and feel how they liberate us to live more skilfully and joyfully! A sustainable yoga practice is liberating and nourishing to our bodies, hearts and minds, knitting together our intentions with conscious movement and breathing, we can breathe and unhook… and ultimately transform.”
Sandi teaches and mentors in the UK and is one of the original founders of Yogamatters. She combines the practices of yoga, pranayama, mindfulness and relaxation to promote deeper self-connection and community.
Sandi has been teaching for over 30 years and holds certificates in Insight Yoga; Iyengar Yoga; BWY; Birthlight Diploma’s in Well Woman, Pre and Postnatal Yoga; Baby Yoga & Massage; and an ITEC Diploma in Holistic Massage Therapy. She is a Sound Healing Practitioner and supports trainings & retreats, as well as mentoring and offering support for post retreat integration.
Location:London, UK
Adam Stonebraker
E-RYT500, MAAdam has been a student of contemplation and the mysteries of life since he can remember but took up formal training in Buddhist meditation and Yoga in1999. Adam’s principle teachers are Sarah and Ty Powers; in addition, he has studied extensively with Paul and Suzee Grilley, Joe Barnett, Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche, Maty Ezraty, and in 2019 entered a two-year dharma training program with Kittisaro and Thanissara. Adam’s teaching combines his love of contemplation and ancient wisdom with an emphasis on the full embodiment of the whole person, here and now.
Location:Cincinnati, OH, US
Janine Tandy
MPH, RYT-500Location:Cambridge, UK
Annemieke Van Noort
E-RYT 500, YACEPAnnemieke is an E-RYT 500 & YACEP teacher with International Yoga Alliance and a certified IFS-practitioner level 3.
She started teaching in 2009. In 2011 she met Sarah Powers, whose teachings and personality had a transformational impact. Throughout the years, Annemieke found her strength and inspiration in the yogic as well as Buddhist & Taoist teachings. Combined with her keen interest in psychology, she developed her own style of teaching, where she focusses on the interrelatedness of our physical wellbeing, as well as our emotions, thoughts and beliefs, in the way we live our life.
Annemieke is in private practice working as a certified IFS-practitioner. She also teaches Yin-Yoga, Vinyasa yoga and meditation classes. Additionally she develops and teaches workshops, leads silent retreats and is a mentor for IYI-students.
Location:Naarden, Netherlands
Valerie Vanthournout
Valerie Vanthournout took a detour from fitness, dance and movement classes, to finding yoga. She was hooked from the first moment an Australian friend introduced her to it in 2003. Valerie dove in deeply, taking every course she could.
Thanks to inspiring teaches like Sarah and Ty Powers, Paul Grilley, Jennifer Welwood, it has become her answer to a healthier, happier, mellower life. Yoga is a way for her to gather energy when she is missing some and a way to transfer energy when she has way too much. The best side effect is the way yoga focuses her mind, bringing her fully into the moment, fully into her body.
Location:Begins & Arzier, Switzerland
Amber Wilson
Introduced to Yoga as a teenager sparked an interest for Amber that has become a lifelong journey of inquiry into the nature of mind, self and what it means to live a truly authentic and healthy life. She has been fortunate in having many opportunities to study and retreat with wonderful teachers who fully embody their interest in the path of awakening, including, Sarah and Ty Powers, Richard Freeman and Bhante Gunaratana. She is currently living and teaching workshops in NZ.
Location:New Zealand