Meet Our Instructors

Janina Abiles

Janina’s yoga journey began with enrolling in a college elective class! After many years of starting and stopping her yoga practice, she ultimately committed to teacher training. She has completed certifications in vinyasa, yin, and sound healing.

Outside of yoga, Janina is a mama to two active, rescue dogs and a lazy, senior cat. She has had a 15-year career in corporate learning and development and continues to travel for work. She lived in more than 11 different places before landing in Tucson.
Janina Abiles, RYT-200

Brea Agostino

Originally, Brea Agostino is from a small town in Indiana where the freedom to grow was limited. Brea graduated from GCU with a Bachelor’s in Marketing and Advertising in December 2022 where she realized she was missing a holistic type of education which is why yoga came into her life. In April 2023, Brea embarked on her first solo trip to Lakshmi Rising Yoga and Wellness School in Costa Rica for her RYT 200 for Hatha Yoga. Her yoga school primarily focused on learning from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga Anatomy, and Krishnamacharya.⁠
Brea soon realized upon arrival this was the education she has been searching for her whole life, learning to become in union with the mind and body. Throughout this experience, she discovered her interest in restorative and slow-flow practices compared to intensive ones. She found a mantra that she uses every day along with meditation techniques that she looks forward to sharing with her community.
Brea’s goal is to provide a safe, inclusive container for every BODY ensuring they feel their needs are met. Furthermore, she would like to work towards holding the true meaning of yoga present throughout the practice, removing some of the Western interpretations. Honoring the lineage of this spiritual practice is of utmost importance due to reducing the amount of appropriation seen.⁠
Brea would be honored to hold a space for every BODY that crosses paths ensuring it is done in a safe, sacred manner meeting you where you are.

Stephanie Amiess

Stephanie is a new graduate of Yoga's Arc Yoga Teacher Training Program. She is currently teaching Chair Yoga for YA Communities and loves to present the benefits of yoga to all body types.

Stephanie’s passion for yoga came after a major accident from which she fell 60 feet. The injuries from this accident have resulted in over 30 surgeries and a joint replacement.
Stephanie spent over 20 years in Law enforcement and since her retirement she loves to help people find ways to live and move better in their bodies. You will probably catch Stephanie wearing jeans and teaching ways to do Yoga anywhere, anyplace wearing everyday clothes.

Andrea Agersea

Andrea, a native to Arizona, began her weight loss journey 21 years ago and lost 60 pounds along the way! This experience morphed into an overall health journey which became a whole life transformation for Andrea.

While working to earn her degree in Human Nutrition, Andrea found a love of teaching as an instructional aide for ASU's Microbiology and Biochemistry labs. After graduation Andrea dove into reforming all aspects of her health. In 2016 she found yoga and it was love at first flow. She realized almost immediately the incredible shifts yoga provided her physically, spiritually and internally were something she wanted to share with as many people as possible. She decided to complete her RYS 200 Hour Yoga Certification in July of 2020 and immediately began teaching in August that year.

In addition to teaching and practicing yoga, Andrea enjoys climbing, hiking, cooking, and talking about nutrition (the only pursuit that rivals yoga!). She has a special passion for Ashtanga, hot yoga, vinyasa and power flow . Finding yoga not only helped Andrea heal her body, but it has been instrumental in helping direct her life. She hopes to strengthen her knowledge by focusing on helping those who currently face barriers doing yoga.

Carolyn Blackmon2.png — Carolyn Blackmon

Carolyn began exploring yoga ago after her Grandfather starting taking chair yoga classes to help him with his limited mobility due to a stroke and other health concerns. Yoga became such a big part of his life and helped him find the mind-body connection and movement that his body needed to carry on each day as best as he could. He encouraged Carolyn to try it. She fell in love with it!

Over the last decade, Carolyn has practiced all types of yoga and found that it helped her with soul healing, find community, rest for the mind, and nourishment for her body. Carolyn completed her 200 Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training Certification through Soma Yoga Institute in Hawaii with the intention to progress her practice and grow. She began teaching in the fall of 2017. She completed her 300 Hour Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training in the fall of 2019 through Soma Yoga Institute as well. She also received training in Yin Yoga, Trauma-Informed Yoga, and she looks forward to sharing yoga through a new set of lenses.

Carolyn enjoys teaching Mindful Movement and making yoga accessible for all levels while sharing wisdom through the incorporation of themes and infusing encouragement to all her students. Carolyn now teaches a wide variety of styles of yoga and programs at various studios around the valley.

Her passions include traveling, volunteering, hiking, eating vegan/vegetarian food, spending quality time with friends and family, listening to all kinds of music, journaling, connecting people, listening to and being interviewed on podcasts, taking care of people’s pets, nannying, and of course yoga!

**Lynnsey Bonin**
Lynnsey has spent over a decade practicing, studying, and teaching yoga. Her devotion to the path led to her homeland of India in 2015, where she earned foundational 200-hour teacher training in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains at Rishikesh Yoga Peeth in Uttarakhand. Afterward, she transplanted to Arizona to pursue another 500-hour teaching training and specialized certifications from the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.⁠
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With a background in massage therapy, aerial, and dance, Lynnsey facilitates her own growth and transformational experiences for others through an eclectic toolbox of movement arts, energetic modalities, and the power of mantra and meditation. Now in the teacher’s seat for seven years, she has cultivated various class and workshop offerings. As an artistic leader and international performing artist, she travels the world and works locally in Phoenix pursuing her purpose of creating connections.

Ashely Borys

Ashley is a Phoenix based, yoga and meditation instructor, sound healer and breath coach. With a passion for holistic healing and spirituality. Ashley strives to live a life of balance, happiness and love.

Ashley started her yoga career in 2016 in hot yoga. Ashley’s own healing journey led her to uncover healing modalities that have shaped and transformed her life. She battled the great darkness of addiction, depression, anxiety and negative thought patterns. She started to notice she was holding her breath and forgetting to breathe, both on and off the mat. This realization inspired her to dive deeper into her personal practice.

In 2017, Ashley completed her 200-hour YTT with Sumits Hot Yoga in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sumit Bangeree mentored Ashley on Vinyasa Flow and various breath-work techniques that she has integrated into her yoga classes.

In 2019, Ashley expanded her practice to Aerial Yoga at Elevate Yoga and Wellness in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.
After completing her 8-week, 50-hour apprenticeship she was asked to start teaching classes at Elevate. She continued her training by completing a 25-hour Trauma Sensitive Restorative YTT with Eleanor Bramwell, founder of BodyWise Foundation and furthering her Aerial Yoga practice by completing a 25-hour Aerial YTT with Holly Dison, owner of Three Queens Circus. Ashley has also incorporated Sound Healing into her classes. She utilizes crystal bowls, gongs and chimes to guide students through gentle meditations with sound healing frequencies.

Outside of yoga, Ashley is a mother, adrenaline junkie and nature lover. You will catch her rock climbing, snowboarding, surfing, and traveling the world with her family. Volunteering at Native American Connections, Ashley also works with people in recovery from drugs and alcohol. She has a deep passion for holistic healing and is thrilled to share the benefits of yoga and healing - connecting the mind, body and soul.

Becca Brink
Becca Brink started doing yoga for recovery after a severe neck injury when she was 15. She practiced Hot Yoga and Power Yoga for almost 10 years before finally taking the plunge and completing her 200-hour YTT with Yoga’s Arc. This opened her eyes to all that yoga has to offer past just the poses.⁠
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Becca loves to help others use yoga, breath work, and meditation to help relieve joint pain and anxiety, just as she does for herself. She adores the community she has found with Yoga and hopes to spread that joy wherever she can!

Holli Cagle

Holli Cagle is happily married, a mother of 2 amazing boys ages 13 and 15, and a full-time school counselor. Holli has always had some type of gym membership that ranged from step aerobics to Zumba, to HIIT classes, to Cross Fit, she’s done it all except for yoga. The word yoga always seemed intimidating and conjured up images of pretzel pose so it was not something Holli was drawn to.
Working as a school counselor, especially the past 3 years, has been a difficult time, to say the least. In the spring of 2021, a friend suggested that Holli should give yoga a try as a form of self-care. Holli decided to jump both feet in and not only try yoga but become a teacher. Yoga’s Arc was the natural choice since their focus is that yoga is for everyone, anywhere, anytime. It immediately put Holli’s fears of pretzel poses to rest.
Just 2 months into yoga teacher training, however, it was decided Holli needed a full hip replacement. What was first seen as something that would stall her yoga training only proved to help her recovery and provide her with more insight into others who’ve gone through the same surgery. Now Holli has added a Certified Yoga Instructor to her resume. She cannot stress enough how much yoga supported her recovery after surgery and her mind after a long day at work. She’s excited to be teaching for Yoga’s Arc.

Paige Carpenter-Swaim

Paige started her yoga journey in 2017 as a student at a studio in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Immediately falling in love with the practice she knew she wanted to share this with others. She fully believes that yoga is for ANYbody and that yoga can be beneficial to both the body and the mind.⁠
She has a Master's Degree in Counseling with a focus in Trauma Counseling. Knowing how important movement is for the healing process, Paige first started her journey as a yoga teacher by completing her 50-hour Trauma Informed YTT and 25-hour Trauma Sensitive Restorative YTT with Eleanor Bramwell, founder of BodyWise Foundation.⁠
Paige fell in love with the teaching side of yoga and went on to complete her 25-hour Aerial YTT at Elevate Yoga, led by Holly Dison, owner of Three Queens Circus followed by her 200-hour YTT with Vanessa Running, owner of Twine Yoga School. She continued her education with a 25-hour certification as a Mobility Specialist to complement her Aerial Yoga practice.
She is passionate about helping others not only find yoga but loves helping members through their own personal yoga journeys by teaching students at varying levels to meet them where they are on their yoga path.
Most recently, Paige completed her level 1 and 2 Reiki Practitioner training. She believes that Reiki is an art of healing one’s self and others. Falling in love with Reiki and its infinite power and wisdom that can support mental, emotional, physical, and relationship challenges. She is now sharing that love with others.

Sample Class Links: Yoga for Good Posture

Devnie Christias

Devnie graduated from ASU in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and knew she wanted to help people in their wellness journey. She began practicing yoga during her college years and completed her 200-hour teacher training at Authentic Yoga Teacher Training in 2022.
Through her yoga practice she recognized mind, body, and spirit as interconnected parts. She also observed as her anxieties, physical self and everyday living blossomed.
Devnie utilizes crystal sound bowls to guide students through sound healing meditations. She aims to bring awareness to those around her as to the power of yoga and sound healing and what can be found deep within oneself. She creates an environment that is welcoming, fun, energizing and supportive.
In her free time, you can find her spending time with her husband and 3 dogs, snowboarding, kayaking, camping, at music festivals and traveling.

Jessica Corrazco

Jessica Corrazco is a preschool teacher and has worked in education for seven years. Jessica values being part of the Tucson community.
Jessica’s goal is to help people feel their best so they can live their best lives. She has been practicing yoga regularly since 2018 and completed her 200 HR YTT in 2022 along with a 30HR yin training. She is passionate about teaching and creating a safe space for self-care and clarity.

Diana Barillari Croce

Diana’s yoga practice began in 2005 as a casual practice; she was initially drawn to yoga because of the similarities between the yoga asanas and her modern dance background. Yoga would always meet her where she was, and she found the practice to be grounding, balancing mentally and emotionally beneficial.
Over the past ten years, Diana’s practice deepened significantly and she knew that she had to find a way to share the joy and benefits of yoga with others. She received her RYT-200 certification through Yoga Pod Tucson in 2021 under the instruction of Shaelyn Delgado.⁠
Diana is particularly drawn to Vinyasa-style yoga. She loves the physically challenging practice coupled with the freedom to move the body fluidly syncing breath with movement.

Kristy Dohnel
Kristy began her yoga journey in 2017 following a series of knee surgeries from a sports injury. Initially, she was drawn to the practice because of the self-paced, patient environment the yoga ethos cultivates. After creating a consistent routine, Kristy quickly felt the benefits of yoga positively affecting nearly every aspect of her life mentally, physically, and spiritually. Now as a certified RYT 200, her intention is to give back and help others become the best versions of themselves through teaching the sacred practice of yoga.
Kristy has exceptional verbal, creative, and leadership skills that she has honed through her academic and professional Communications and Community Relations career. In addition, she has 10-plus years of experience teaching people from all backgrounds how to ride horses and hosting backcountry excursions working for her family's small business in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Kristy’s approach is compassionate yet encouraging providing students with thoughtful advice and a safe sanctuary.
She believes yoga should be non-competitive, rooted in mindfulness, and inclusive of all bodies, ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Her goal is to help students find and maintain a peaceful mind and healthy body. After leaving her class, she hopes her students feel inspired, empowered, and excited to take the gift of life!.

Sample Class Links: Yoga for Healthy Joints (Psoas Release)

Zenia “Z” Ellis

Zenia “Z” Ellis is a native Arizonan and truly loves life! From a young age, Z was an athlete living an intense and competitive lifestyle. Once Z reached 15 years old, her off-balance lifestyle finally caught up to her when she had to have surgery on her Softball pitcher throwing arm. After her surgery Z went through a serious mental decline due to haunting feelings of failure and loss.

At this point in time, a therapist recommended yoga to hopefully find mindfulness for mental health and support. Initially, Z was not amused by yoga, for it was completely different than the competitive world of athletics. Yoga did what it does best and found its way to her heart and opened her eyes to a whole new world of balance. After a few short months, Z developed a consistent yoga practice and found balance for the first time in her life. She could not imagine her life without yoga and she will never take it for granted.

Though balance was just the beginning in 2020, Z was so in love with the art of yoga that she wanted to share the light she had found with others. Therefore she earned her 200 YTT at Revive in Washington and will continue her education in July of 2022 for her 300 YTT at My Authentic Yoga in Scottsdale.

Sarah Flower

Sarah's yoga practice really started to take shape in 2016 with more consistent practice. This helped her learn about herself and her connection to the world around us through the movements fueled by her breath.
Yoga helped her slow down so she could appreciate the moments, and helped her reset her nervous system, finding health and harmony in so many different ways.
Sarah finally found her calling when she attended yoga school in India, changing the entire trajectory of her life. She realized yoga was her way to help make a positive impact on our world.
Sarah loves helping people cultivate their own inner peace so they can tap into their inner wisdom and take back their power.
Breath and meditation are two of her favorite tools to bring to class, so you can stretch your body and your mind while finding your way to your favorite, healthiest self.
Sarah has her 500 hour hatha and ashtanga, 85 hour pre and post natal, and is currently in Yoga's Arc's 300 hour.

Kalynn Frechette

Kalynn was introduced to yoga 10 years ago, but at that time she viewed it as more of workout than anything else. She never fully understood all of the benefits that could come from it until she found herself searching for a deeper understanding of herself, and more patience as a new parent.

After the birth of her first son in 2018, Kalynn started doing hot yoga regularly to lose weight and get back into shape. Along the way, she discovered that not only her weight was coming down, but that her anxiety was as well. Her mind was clearer and her overall mental health was getting better and better.

Over the last few years, Kalynn has found strength through yoga and meditations to confront and work on unresolved childhood issues. Yoga has helped her grow as a person and find her own self-love. This positive twist on her life also lead her to realizing that many things in her day-to-day no longer served her. She wanted to be more present as a parent, and teach others how to find balance through asanas, meditation, and self-awareness.

Yoga has become Kalynn's focus so much so that she closed the doors on a business that she had been running for nearly a decade, and decided to pursue her certification to teach yoga to others through Yoga’s Arc instead. Some of her areas of interest include yoga nidra, guided meditations, and yin yoga.

Kelly Gaona

Kelly has been practicing yoga since 2011. With a background in social work, she was quickly drawn to the healing benefits of the practice. She completed her 200-hour training in 2014 and went on to complete her 300-hour at Dave’s Ashtanga Yoga in 2016 under the direction of her teacher, Cheryl Oliver.
Kelly enjoys teaching many different modalities of yoga across the valley, including private sessions and small groups. She is privileged and honored to contribute her time and experience to yoga teacher trainings as well.
Kelly’s love of travel led her into a partnership with a retreat business in which she helped establish, plan and host yoga retreats across the world. Kelly is most passionate about Ashtanga Yoga and has a daily practice in Ashtanga vinyasa. She is continually taking workshops and classes to improve her knowledge of yoga.

Sample Class Links: Ashtanga Yoga , Vinyassa Flow

Jessica George

Jessica grew up with a love for sports and fitness, playing organized sports throughout her life. She found her path to yoga while serving her country in the U.S. Air Force abroad in Turkey. The first class she took was pilates; she loved it so much she began recruiting co-workers to take classes.When she returned to the U.S., she began Ashtanga classes in a studio near Washington, D.C. She fell in love with the asana, the physical movement of yoga, and decided to take her journey further by enrolling in the 600-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, Arizona, ultimately graduating in 2015. Through her journey, she discovered yoga is much more than physical movement; yoga is a way of living, thinking, and cleansing of the mind. It is a journey of the self, through the self, to the self. Jessica’s life has been transformed through yoga and she wishes to aid others in their path to yoga and self-healing.

Mel Gerard
Mel’s first Yoga class was in 2002 and she knew the Yogic life was her path. From asanas to Yogic wisdom and philosophy, she brings devotion and sensitivity to all her offerings. Her deepest wish is that everyone will listen to their heart’s whispers.
With every breath, Mel is a wife, mother, friend, Yoga teacher, and Bhakta. As an educator for a large healthcare organization, she continues to hone her teaching skills. As a Bhakta and Yoga student, she strives to provide her students an experiential and well-founded teaching. Mel weaves Yoga philosophy and mythology in her classes to inspire her students to embody the subtle energies in the asanas.
Mel graduated from Bhakti Nova School of Yoga 300hr in 2021. She continues to study and practice Yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and meditation. She draws inspiration from the writings of Yoga philosophy, Sally Kempton and Dr. David Frawley. Jen Lo, Angie Hall and Mel’s beloved mentor Maa Nubia Teixeria continue to influence Mel’s practice and teachings.

Sample Class Links: Partner Yoga

Betsy Gorges

Betsy finally realized that every time she would “leave” the practice, whether it was for a week or month, she was always aware that her yoga would meet her right where she was at that current moment upon her return. That is the beauty of this practice. It doesn’t matter what stage in life you are, whether you’re having a good day or going through a hard time, your yoga will meet you where you are at. Betsy has been a yoga practitioner for many many years. But it has only been since the beginning of her 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2014 that she has truly surrendered to her ever-evolving practice committed for life.

Sample Class Links: Kundalini Yoga , Yin Yoga for the Chakras

Julie Hoffman

Julie began studying yoga in 2002. Her teaching style is playful and inclusive. In addition to aerial yoga Julie has experience teaching prenatal, chair, yin, nidra, restorative and flow classes. She has completed 700-hours of yoga teacher training and will complete a yoga therapy program in 2024. Julie is passionate about making yoga accessible to persons of all ages and abilities. She believes that her purpose on this planet is to help others to heal. In her 200 hour YTT when asked where she planned on teaching Julie stated that she would be teaching yoga in prison. When asked what drove her to teach yoga in prison, she honestly answers that she has no recollection of making that conscious decision and that most likely the universe chose it for her.
In Julie’s personal life she is the matriarch of a large, blended family with three grown children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She loves cattle dogs and enjoys hiking and walking with them. She meditates daily and has been a vegetarian most of her life. Of course she practices yoga several times each week! Prior to teaching yoga Julie worked as a nurse, and a beadwork artist. When Julie isn't teaching yoga you will find her reading Tarot. She is a perpetual student and is always studying something, or several somethings. Finally, Julie loves to travel and has a goal of making it to all the continents, including Antarctica.

Sample Class Links: Yoga for Stroke Recovery , Yoga Nidra , Pre-Post Natal Yoga

Jennifer Hofmann

Though not a native of Arizona, Jen did move here as a child and has been here ever since. She grew up in the East Valley and then attended Arizona State University, where she graduated with a degree in History. She fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher, and spent 25 years working in the field of education.

Jen first tried yoga in the early 2000s while exploring different forms of exercise, and though her practice was inconsistent, she found herself returning to her mat any time she needed a physical and mental reset. A broken foot in 2007 led to severe back pain, but Jen’s doctors believed surgery could be avoided with a regimen of physical therapy and yoga. Thankfully, they were correct, so yoga has been a part of Jen’s self-care routine ever since.

Jen has always been passionate about educating and helping others. She had long considered becoming a yoga teacher, but when she learned about Yoga’s Arc’s teacher training program, she was finally ready to take that leap. The combination of experienced instructors and opportunities to bring yoga to the greater community proved to be the undeniable calling Jen needed to begin the next phase of her yoga journey. Through this training, Jen discovered a whole new world of breathwork and meditation, both of which have been life-changing for her. She is excited to share the benefits of yoga and meditation, and looks forward to seeing you on your mat!

Lizzie House

Lizzy was raised just outside Boston, MA by an engineer father and a hospice nurse mother, Lizzy carries her parents’ compassion, creativity, and desire to learn into her work as a yoga teacher, body worker, FP&A consultant, and transformational life coach. Encouraging, enthusiastic, fierce, playful, and always smiling, Lizzy merges light-heartedness with mindful, internal focus to help her students retrain their deep breathing and mindset. And she will sneak core work into every class, sometimes in the form of belly laughs.
Lizzy has called Phoenix home since moving here in 2009 for the breathtaking skies. Cheryl Oliver’s Authentic Yoga Teacher training opened many internal and worldly doors for Lizzy, who graduated in 2016 with deep respect for the Yoga Sutras and the power of mindful movement practice. Since then, she’s been honored to bring yoga to sober retreats, corporate retreats and wellness programs, and local non-profits and yoga studios.
Inspired and transformed by Ana Forrest’s book, Fierce Medicine, in 2018 Lizzy studied 200 hours of Forrest Yoga in Bali, Indonesia. Since her studies of Forrest’s exhilarating, grounding, expansive, and meditative methods, she’s devoured continuing education, mainly in trauma-sensitivity, creativity therapy, and anatomy. Lizzy is happiest singing, sailing, teaching, drawing, meditating, One Wheeling, backpacking, dreaming, collaborating, rock climbing, writing, dancing, officiating weddings, geeking out on human anatomy, and playing the guitar. And the piano. And trying new things. Emphasizing embodiment through experience, Lizzy inclusive, intention-centered classes are powerful and empowering for all bodies.

Noell Hyman

Noell came to yoga while recovering from a dance injury and found that the practice gave her many of the rewards that dancing gave her, but in a way that felt more healing and whole. Later, with the guidance and suggestion of a physical therapist, she used yoga to deal with some chronic breathing, nerve, and spine problems. ⁠⁠
Now she incorporates her knowledge and experience from dance training and physical therapy, along with her specialized yoga training in how to help chronic pain and conditions, to guide students through a balanced yoga practice that feels healing, strengthening, and meditative, and where appropriate, challenging and artful. ⁠
Noell infuses her passion for harnessing the power of breath and spinal movement to soothe the central nervous system and support a stronger, healthier spine; for relieving joint tightness in order to free the joints for deeper work; and for exploring the various paths our bodies can take as we grow into strengthening postures.
**Sample Class Links:** Yoga for Healthy Back,Yoga for Athletes (dancer focused)

Cassandra Johnson

Roughly 20 years into her forty years on this earth, Cassandra cultivated the beginning of a yoga practice through a stack of pre-natal flash cards she used during her first pregnancy. There was an overwhelming sense of gratitude and contentment she experienced from learning to use her breath to explore her changing body and to find comfort in that.
Although Cassandra did not continue to practice consistently, a seed was planted and over the next twenty years, she always found her way back. To Cassandra, Yoga is a fundamental practice that shapes her ability to communicate with herself and find her place of service collectively.
Cassandra teaches to inspire others to become familiar with how we talk to ourselves as well as to impress the priority of physical fitness. Cassandra is currently studying for her Bachelor of Science in Health at Grand Canyon University. Cassandra’s ultimate goal is to reach people through Yoga who don’t have access, and she feels strongly about implementing a Yoga practice for people in recovery.

Lauren Johnson

Lauren Johnson’s mission is to embolden others to fiercely seize their purpose, power, and potential. The drive for creating Atoms of Eve and for wanting to dive deeper into somatic healing is to create an environment for others to feel safe in their bodies.
Lauren’s current lifetime has been a journey of seeking peace and now she wishes to share resiliency techniques with others. Without her own journey through the darkness of depression, anxiety, and addiction, she would never be able to write this bio from such a state of blissful healing.
Without the darkness, Lauren would not know the light. She would not know vulnerability in the community, and she would not know the feeling of radical growth which now she feels so called to share with others.

Ketaki Joshi.png — Ketaki Joshi

Ketaki is an experienced and passionate Yoga Instructor with over five years of teaching experience and advanced training in Yoga Nidra, Arm Balancing and Vinyasa approaches.
Ketaki is committed to providing extensive instruction and support to her clients while motivating them to find true inner peace and their healthiest self.
Ketaki is adept at creating powerful teaching plans that aim to support and benefit EVERYBODY in EVERY BODY. She brings forth love and respect for the art of yoga, and all that it encompasses.

Eva Khan

Eva Orsak’s regular yoga practice began in college while looking for a way to manage her stress and anxiety. As a former athlete her whole life, Eva also fell in love with the therapeutic physicality of the practice. Eva currently teaches vinyasa, slow flow, restorative and yin classes. She strives to make her classes all levels and accessible for everyone.
Eva has spent about 10 years as an elementary school teacher. Since then she has chosen to follow her passion for teaching yoga full-time. Outside of yoga, Eva enjoys spending time with her husband, their dog, and three cats. She loves to spend time in nature, and you can probably find her running on the river path in Tucson during her spare time.

Jennifer Klemmetson

Jennifer Klemmetson first found yoga in high school at the local YMCA. After nearly 15 years of practicing (off and on in her free time), she rediscovered a passion for yoga after a challenging year, and committed to a regular practice. Two years later, she decided it was time to dive deeper and accomplish her goal of getting her yoga teacher certification. In 2020, she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Steph Ball-Mitchell of Yoga and Ayurveda Center. She has received additional certifications in chair yoga, restorative yoga and yoga for mental health. She enjoys introducing people to yoga and helping people find emotional and mental relief from life’s everyday stresses through yoga.

Elizabeth Leadon

Elizabeth Leadon started her yoga journey over 2 decades ago, in search of a calming and grounding practice to counter her running activities. In 2018, she enrolled in Alanna Kailvalya’s Yoga Teaching Academy and completed her 500-hour certificate. Originally wanting to deepen her own practice, Elizabeth soon found joy in teaching group and individual sessions over Zoom and in person.⁠
During the day Elizabeth works a corporate job at a brokerage firm and holds a BA from the University of Washington in Theatre. She lives in Southern Arizona with her husband, 12 dogs, 11 cats, numerous chickens, pigs, and goats.

Sophia Lou

Sophia is a certified yoga & fitness instructor and has been teaching internationally for over five years. A dose of inspiration accompanied by a balance of breath, mindfulness, & creative movement are the foundations for her classes. Whether it’s losing yourself in the meditative rhythm of a yoga flow class or finding the strength you didn’t realize you possessed through challenging postures, yoga can be both accessible and beneficial to everyone.
Sophia values creating a non-judgmental atmosphere where students can achieve growth & find freedom through connecting their mind, body, and breath. Sophia loves sharing her passion with others and wants to empower people to be their personal best on and off the mat.

Jessica Maxwell

Jess began practicing yoga when she moved to Arizona in 2013 from Illinois. After several years of practicing on her own, she received an opportunity to teach, and that is when she decided to start her yoga teacher training journey. ⁠
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Jess has always been active, enjoying hiking, kayaking, and outdoor adventures. Yoga has quickly become more than a hobby for her, it has become a passion of hers to help others and spread her knowledge of yoga. ⁠
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Jess specializes in teaching gentle yoga to everybody. She is working towards completing her 200-hour yoga certification and recently returned from her first of many yoga retreats. She believes everybody deserves to take time out for themselves to just breathe. ⁠
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Yoga is not a one-size-fits-all, it is something truly anyone may practice. When she is not teaching yoga she is spending time with her rescue dog, Nala. She also enjoys photography and loves to travel and capture the beauty in all of the places around the world!

Heather McCleester

Heather discovered yoga at the early age of 17 when she dedicated herself to a lifetime of spiritual exploration and body movement. Her goal is to bring the ancient practices of yoga to anybody that feels called to feel more at home within themselves. She has an RYT 200 in Power Yoga and an RYT 300 in Jivamukti Yoga.

Veronica Menjivar

Yoga started as an outlet for Veronica to relieve stress and get together with her girlfriends and has now transformed into a beautiful passion and practice that she gets to partake in daily. Veronica completed her 200-hour Hatha Flow training during Covid as a project to keep her mind occupied but soon found her calling is Vinyasa because of its mind-to-body connection and release.⁠
Forever looking to be the student, this practice has helped Veronica learn about her own spiritual journey, reconnect to her body, and grow more fearless in all her life's endeavors. She loves to make people feel comfortable in any setting and truly feels welcomed in this community as she was when she first started. Yoga is for everyone and everyone should be able to partake in this practice. ⁠
Veronica is here to gently push your levels of comfort while simultaneously welcoming you to explore the philosophy, spirituality, and community that accompany yoga!⁠

Joel Moorehead

Joel Moorehead received his 200-hour Yoga Certification from Balance Hot Yoga in Cedar Falls, Iowa in 2020. Joel taught there for a few months prior to moving his wife and 2 sons aboard Shadowfax, a 46 ft sailboat in La Paz Mexico.
Joel spent much of the next two years living aboard and cruising around Mexico with some time spent in WA and IA with family. He took this opportunity to teach at pop-up classes for cruisers; a resort in Mexico; and a recreational center in Iowa while spending time there in the summer of 2021. Joel currently teaches at Mountainside Fitness as well as for Yoga’s Arc.

Madison Miller

Madi is a recent graduate from Authentic Yoga Teacher Training and will be mentored by our Lead Instructors. We are each on a journey of discovering ourselves. Yoga is one modality to get there. A passionate yogi since 2015, Madison (Madi) has practiced in virtually every style but found a deep love for Astanga and general vinyasa. Always interested in becoming a yoga teacher, Madi pioneered a wellness program at her corporate job, which gave her the moral support and confidence to pursue yoga teacher training at Authentic Yoga Teacher Training, where she graduated from the 200-hour program in 2022.⁠
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Yoga is truly a passion of Madi’s and a way of life. Always smiling, seeing the silver lining, and ready to learn, Madi radiates positive energy of abundance that feels like you’re meeting a kindred soul. Her teaching style is best described as soft and flowy, yet challenging. Madi will guide you through a variety of asanas meant to stir up stuck energy and provide pathways of release by using your breath to feel into your body, deepening your sense of body awareness and⁠
transmutable energy.⁠
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Along with deepening her love for yoga over the years, Madi has found clarity through a variety of meditation styles, breath work, and sound healing. And she’s constantly exploring new paths to self-actualization and enlightenment. In addition to yoga and yogic philosophies, Madi is passionate about writing, reading, esoteric studies, deep discussions on the meaning of the universe, hiking, paddle boarding, exploring the outdoors, fashion, and trying new things.

Cindy Morrison

Cindy loves serving others, and one way she loves to serve is through yoga. Her goal through teaching yoga is to make you smile, feel good about yourself and your body. As a retired RN, fitness and wellness are a priority to her as the aging process continues.
Cindy is passionate about yoga because it stimulates our bodies, soul and mind. It challenges us and we can achieve it in a personal practice or in a group. No matter how you need to practice yoga to stimulate your body, Cindy will meet you where you are at. She is a wife, mom, and “Mimi” to 6 beautiful grandchildren. Cindy has her 500 hour yoga teacher training from Holy Yoga, and has been teaching yoga for a few years.

Sara Nakai

Sara Nakai is a RYT 500, earning her YTT 200 certification through My Vinyasa Practice and her YTT 300 certification through Yoga's Arc. She has loved practicing yoga for almost 25 years, and finds immense value in yoga's insistence to slow down and also tune into the breath. As a wife, mother, and mountain bike coach living in our culture that rewards speed, productivity, and busyness (usually at the expense of our physical and mental well-being), she appreciates how the slower pace of yoga highlights the importance of taking our time and being intentional.

Sabra Nuel

Sabra Nuel began her journey with yoga in 2012 at Gold's Gym in Phoenix, AZ. From the moment she stepped onto the mat, she felt an undeniable connection with herself and newfound inner peace. Her connection to yoga grew steadily over the years until she was aligned with the opportunity to complete her yoga teacher training in 2023.
Now certified as an instructor, Sabra shares her knowledge and love for yoga with others at Life Time Fitness in Tempe. She helps students of all levels find balance, strength, and tranquility through her harmonious teaching style, blending tradition with modern techniques. Sabra fosters a nurturing environment, promoting self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-expression. With her warm presence and unwavering dedication, she empowers her students to embrace their authentic selves and embark proudly on their own transformative journeys.⁠

Kelli Parker

Kelli Parker began her yoga journey in 2011. Over the years, yoga has helped her to release unwanted physical and emotional weight from her body and mind, allowing her the space to create a more peaceful, balanced life. As she deepened her practice and experienced the transformative power of yoga, she felt compelled to share these benefits with others. ⁠
In November 2021, Kelli Parker fulfilled her dream of becoming certified to teach; completing the 200-hour yoga teacher training. She is currently working on her 300-hour certification. When she is not on her mat, you can find her spoiling my family! ⁠
Kelli and her husband are the luckiest parents of 4 beautiful children and one very sweet Goldendoodle pup named Samwiches! They own a local restaurant in Chandler and they’re full-time cheerleaders for their kids’ sports teams on the weekends! ⁠
It is always Kelli’s intention to provide a safe and welcoming space for all students to grow through the power of yoga. Kelly believes that yoga is for every body, mind, and spirit. She hope is that every student will leave class feeling peaceful, strong, and inspired!⁠
We are so grateful for Kelli and the gifts she will be bringing to the Yoga's Arc Community! ⁠

Sample Class Links: Yoga With a Chair , Yoga With God , Yin Yoga (resting with God)

Catherine Pettitt

Catherine (Catie) Pettitt joins Yoga’s Arc as our new sales intern. Catie comes to Yoga’s Arc as a career educator and nonprofit charity director. Building partnerships for nonprofits is a passion of hers, and she shares that passion as an active member of the Arizona School-Based Health Alliance and National School-Based Health Alliance. Catie looks forward to building access to wellness and yoga programs with schools, healthcare, and community services. She’s enjoyed incorporating yoga into her fitness routine for the past 3 years, and despite having a magical arm, seeks to find creative ways to share yoga with others who can benefit from innovative techniques.

Renee Propps

In 2015, life changes found Renee looking for a way to get physically healthy, a way to “find herself” again. Little did she know Yoga was waiting around the corner. Beyond the physical challenge, she found a space of stillness and clarity in her mind. ⁠
Almost instantly hooked with the peace of presence the journey has never stopped since. Morphing into the desire to share, Renee became certified and loves teaching the practice of accepting what is, staying true to who we are without our self-limitations, embracing what was, and always looking up and beyond to what can be. Loving ourselves is a journey and sharing that journey is a precious gift.
Renee mostly focuses on teaching All Levels Yoga classes, while teaching through breath and connection. ⁠

Heather Reed

Before moving to Tucson, Heather served in the Army as a Human Resources Officer and was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. She’s currently in her first year of law school at the University of Arizona.
Heather started practicing yoga when shea was in high school as a way to manage stress but fell in love with the practice and the physical and mental benefits it offered. She continued her yoga practice through college and while she was on active duty.
Yoga was instrumental in Heather’s recovery from two hip surgeries that she had as a result of an injury she sustained while in college. Not only did yoga get her back to living an active lifestyle, but it also gave her peace and comfort during the difficult recovery process.
Heather received her 200-hour yoga teacher training from Hot Asana Yoga University in Southern Pines, North Carolina. She is passionate about creating challenging, dynamic sequences and alignment based cueing.

Mel Rzeznick

Mel began her yoga journey after the birth of her daughter. As a full-time new mom, yoga helped her work through severe postpartum depression and anxiety. She found a sense of peace and self-worth through the healing nature of the practice. She credits yoga for being the catalyst for major transformations in her mind, body, and consciousness. Mel strives to create a safe space where students can dive into their exploration of self-study. Blending playfulness and conscious movement, she encourages students to cultivate a powerful sense of presence, steadiness, and ease to take with them on and off the mat.
She is honored and humbled to share the wisdom of yoga with others. She has a steadfast belief in the healing power of yoga and considers it a gift to share her passion for the practice. She has the deepest respect and reverence to her incredible teachers, students, family, and friends who continue to inspire her and light her path. Mel completed her 200-hour yoga teaching certification under John Salisbury through Modern Yoga in Scottsdale, AZ. She continuously attends workshops and studies yoga scripture to expand her knowledge as a student and teacher.

Sarah Rohe

Sarah (200 RYT) has been passionate about yoga since the first yin class she attended in 2016. There she found inner peace, clarity, and comfort within herself. She’s been practicing ever since and truly believes there’s no place like your mat.
Last October, Sarah decided to quit her 9-5 job. She always knew that was not a space she saw herself in long term and decided to make the change. Since then she has gotten certified in yoga, meditation, and reiki. She is passionate about creating a safe and comfortable space for others to explore in their practice and healing journey. She enjoys teaching gentle, hatha, yin, and slow power. Those styles have helped her slow down and shift her outlook on life.
Her goal is to get people to practice for at least 5 minutes every day however that may look- on a lunch break, in front of a tv, before bed, going to a studio, etc. She believes just a few minutes of yoga every day can bring clarity, healing, peace, and love to one’s life.
Outside of yoga Sarah loves meditating, crystals, tarot, being with her dog Ralphy, traveling, and spending time with her nieces.

Sample Class Links: Yoga Flow , Yoga With a Chair

Yoga Instructor, Holistic Nutrition Coach

Angela Sanchez is a 5th-generation Arizona native. In 2009, Angela completed her Bachelor of Business Management degree through the University of Phoenix, all while raising her young family and working a full-time corporate job.

Over a decade ago, Angela started having minor health problems directly related to stress and poor nutrition, and that is where her fitness journey began. She started a regular fitness routine with a personal trainer as well as added yoga asana; she lost nearly 50 pounds. That was when she decided that she wanted to start helping people.
First, Angela received her Holistic Nutrition Coaching certificate from Southwest Institute for Healing arts 3 years ago.

Then, in April of 2020 (the “COVID class of 2020”), she completed her 200-hour RYT training at Inner Vision Yoga. Yoga, fitness, and good nutrition have been an important part of her life for well over a decade. She has grown stronger, mentally and physically, on and off the mat.

Angela Sanchez

Julie has been practicing yoga on and off for years. It began as a complement to her athletic career to help her find flexibility (something that does not come easily to her), but as her practice evolved, it became more of a spiritual journey. Julie practices Iyengar style, power yoga and vinyasa, yoga nidra, meditates/practices mindfulness regularly and dabbles in other styles to keep it fresh and find inspiration.

For her day job, Julie is a behavioral health therapist. The pandemic changed everything for Julie in terms of her professional life and therefore had to redefine self-care in order to be there for her clients. This is when she decided to deepen her practice by going back to school for her YTT certificate.

Julie is very quiet but enjoys sharing her practice with others. The peace, calm and grounded nature she has cultivated through her practice is what she intends for her students to experience on the mat. She also has a playful nature where she doesn’t take herself too seriously, which hopefully creates a space safe enough for students to understand that their teacher can be a firm leader, but that they can learn without judgment.

Julie Sapienza

Angela began practicing Yoga in 2015, and at the time Bikram hot yoga was her jam! She is from Dyersville, Iowa, and moved to Arizona in 2014 where she is a Licensed Optician and Vision Practice Manager.

Angela followed her yoga passion and received her 200 RYT certificate from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts with KC Miller and Will Zecco. She also spent 20 hours in Postures of Consciousness yoga at SWIHA with Jane Mayer. Angela enjoys teaching Vinyasa, power, Hatha, and gentle yoga while delivering to all levels. She loves to play with more challenging poses without pushing too far, your yoga is your yoga, no judgment, have fun!

In Angela’s free time, she loves to be active, often doing obstacle 5k's with her family, and do all things yoga. Yoga has given her purpose to life, and the ability to share her journey and learnings to teach others is a blessing! She believes that yoga offers others get to know their "true self", move their body, become more grounded in life, and help make the world a better place one downward dog at a time!

Angela Sauser

Kary has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to health, wellness, and education, and has been teaching and practicing yoga for over 25 years. Kary spent 20 years in Public Education, which she has since retired from to follow her passion for sharing yoga through her Yoga Delivery Company, Yoga’s Arc, LLC. As Founder and CEO, she loves to share the vision of Yoga’s Arc by "Providing Yoga for Everyone, Anywhere, Anytime”.

Kary's new passion is to mentor new Yoga Teachers while they begin their journey in their yoga teaching careers. Stay tuned as she is working on starting her own Yoga's Arc Teacher Training School, hoping to start in the Fall.

Kary will always have the passion to teach yoga even though she has taken a back seat, giving all of our Yoga's Arc Instructors a chance to shine. She will always encourage her students and has the ability to work with a variety of levels in a variety of classes. She truly cares and it shows in her ability to help her students and teachers feel comfortable in their yoga journeys while being challenged at the same time.