Kimberly Allcock, PhD, RYT
Since her introduction to yoga in 2002, Kim’s practice has encompassed athletic vinyasa, pre-and post-natal practice, and the spontaneous joy of sharing yoga with her three children. She completed a 200-hour instructor training with Kimberlee Orenstein in 2005, and prenatal yoga teacher training with Deborah Jordan in Grass Valley CA in 2008. Her classes draw from numerous influences (including Viniyoga, Iyengar, Ashtanga and Anusara), integrating breath and body mindfulness, postural alignment, and yoga philosophy in a flowing and exuberant practice. She delights in sharing her love of yoga with students of all levels and is unceasingly grateful for their wisdom and energy.
"Read an Interview with Kim"
Denise Barclay
Denise began teaching Yoga in 1998 and has completed a teacher training with Doug Swenson, and the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training with Kim Orenstein. She has been practicing Vipassana Meditation since 1995 and in May of 2012 finished the Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training with Phillip Moffitt and Anne Cushman through Spirit Rock Meditation Center.
She is a wife and mother and brings her two loves, the philosophy of Yoga and Buddha Dharma, to her more than 14 years of teaching. In addition, what she brings to her life coaching is her own personal experience of 30 years in self-exploration, healing and mindfulness. You can learn more about Denise at www.denisebarclay.yoga.com.
"Read an Interview with Denise"
Mandy Colbert, RPTY, RYT
As a mother of three, Mandy knows first hand that the practice of yoga is one of the most effective ways a woman can prepare to bring her baby into the world in a calm, mindful and more comfortable way. Mandy completed her yoga teaching certification with Kim Orenstein in May 2004. She then went on to receive her pre/postnatal and HypnoBirthing certifications in 2006. Her classes create a safe, supportive and informative envirionment. Mandy's web site is www.cultivateyourbirth.com.
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Anne Domagala, RYT
Anne has found yoga to be a consistent source of balance and strength in her life over a number of years. She found its initial benefits on a physical level, helping heal knee and back pain, and restoring her ability to run and be active. Through further practice she discovered that it brought a quality of awareness to many other areas of her life. Interest in a deeper study led her to become certified as a yoga instructor under Kim Orenstein’s 200 hour training. She is inspired by the philosophical and physical aspects of yoga, and as an instructor she hopes to assist others in exploring what yoga can be for them.
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Jen Donovan, RYT, RCYT
Back in 1999, Jen was looking for a healthy way to relieve stress, as well as an enjoyable way to develop her spirituality. Her answer was yoga, and she's been practicing it ever since. "I began this journey by taking Power, Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Vinyasa Yoga classes and soon found that I was in love with yoga."
In addition to relieving stress, yoga has led Jen to change her lifestyle to include a healthier raw vegetarian diet, the use of natural homeopathic remedies, and an awareness of the power of one's thoughts, actions, and spoken words. "I am grateful to be able to share a practice that leads to enhanced physical strength, improved breathing, a pure internal body, a quieter mind, and an overall feeling of peacefulness." Jen is a registered teacher through the Yoga Alliance.
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Taylor Donovan, Chiropractor and Nutrution Consultant
Taylor brings over 20 years of dedication and research into the workings of the human body. His understanding of cellular communication, integrated systems of the body, and an appreciation for the role of the mind in health allows his patients to achieve optimal health quickly. As a practicing yogi and student of life these workshops reflect the cutting edge of science tempered by the wisdom of the healing arts both new and old. He has been asked to speak at national conferences and integrates functional nutrition and health coaching in his chiropractic practice. To access articles and newsletters visit http://www.themeridianreno.com/articles.html
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Mary Dugan, RYT
Mary's personal practice began in 1995 with meditation, based on the method of her spiritual teacher, Sri Eknath Easwaran. Over the years, she started dabbling in asana (posture) practice, eventually studying with Yoga Loka Director Kim Orenstein and local teacher Sally Schuster, completing Kim's Teacher Training in 2003. Mary finds that meditation and the use of a mantra provide a spiritual foundation for each day. Asana practice builds on this foundation, developing not only stamina and strength, but also providing a release for the tension and frustration that daily life can bring. Yoga, in total, provides Mary a haven from her other professional life as an attorney. And yoga, she says, is teaching her, or trying to teach her, patience. "I don't have too much trouble being patient with others, but being patient with myself is another story." Mary loves teaching and the opportunity it brings to share her commitment to yoga with others. She also credits yoga, in all its forms, with enabling her to maintain a sense of balance in her life and juggling a professional career, four children, a husband and her yoga practice puts this to the test daily!
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David Funk
David began practicing yoga in 2000. His interest in yoga originally began as a way to improve his flexibility but he soon realized that the practice of yoga is a powerful and transformative way to live your life. David leads an active lifestyle, participating in activities such as cycling , running, snow boarding and long distance backpacking. Yoga helps him to remain strong and healthy while pursuing these passions. He has completed the 200 hour teacher training course with Kim Orenstein. David hopes, through his teaching, to share his love of yoga with others and to guide and inspire them on their journey.
"Read an Interview with David"
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Heidi Gabelman
Almost 20 years ago Heidi was curious about yoga and decided to give it a try. Originally, she wanted to practice yoga to increase strength and flexibility of the physical body. She immediately discovered that there was a lot more to this yoga stuff!!! Not only did yoga help her body, it helped her mind and brought happiness to her life. Yoga has and continues to take her on a journey of mindfulness on her yoga mat and out in the world.
In 2011 she completed teacher training with Kim Orenstein at Yoga Loka. She is grateful for and inspired by the amazing, loving people and the experiences that yoga has brought to her life. It is her hope that by sharing what she knows about yoga with others that they may, themselves, be able to experience the amazing benefits yoga has to offer.
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Emily Hammer
has a B.A. in Music with an emphasis on Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. She is a classically trained singer and reformed perfectionist when it comes to her own voice. Emily discovered toning a few years back, and has used it in her personal life to heal and balance energy blockages, relieve muscle tension, express repressed anger, release unnecessary negative energy and access and gain amounts of personal power she never knew existed within.
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Phyllis Henderson, Ph.D., RYT
Phyllis started practicing yoga when she was 14 years-old. After 30 years of teaching anatomy and physiology at the college level, she became seriously committed to yoga as a healing art and therapy. She received her certification for teaching yoga under the direction of Kimberlee Orenstein and is a certified teacher of LifeForce Yoga for depression. Her teaching style focuses on correct alignment, kinesiology, and the breath. It is Phyllis’ hope that she may assist others in discovering the transformational potential offered by the practice of yoga.
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Amber Jesch, RYT
Amber’s journey on the hatha yoga path began in 2002 when she took her first yoga class at UNR with Kim Orenstein. She was initially drawn to yoga purely as a form of physical exercise because she already followed another path that nurtured her mind and spirit. Amber was fortunate enough to have been raised an initiate of a branch of jñana yoga: Transcendental Meditation. She quickly discovered that this physical asana practice complemented her 15-year meditation practice perfectly. As she further embraced the yogic philosophy, she found it was one and the same as her TM background. As Amber began to expand her practice, incorporating more vigorous disciplines such as Power and Ashtanga, her love of movement and her need for a healthy lifestyle expanded as well. Admittedly, she was never the athletic type, but through her asana practice, she has found joy and fulfillment in other activities, including hiking, cycling, and skiing. While completing her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Kim Orenstein at Yoga Loka, she garnered a new passion for the science and mechanics of movement and the body that complements, however diametrically, her university education in the language arts. Her personal practice has evolved tremendously in a short while but she has never forgotten the gift her first class gave her: a love of precise movement coupled with challenging effort, a gift which she offers to all her students.
"Read an Interview with Amber"
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Monica Limon
In 1999, the always on-the-go career gal and avid runner, discovered yoga and began practicing Ashtanga yoga to add physical strength and flexibility. Now Monica nurtures her yoga path by practicing mindfulness, compassion and loving-kindness. She teaches yoga for kids, teens, adults and is passionately working with women who are preparing for pregnancy... mindfully encouraging us all to move our bodies, to breathe in life and to sit with calmness. She is a certified kids yoga teacher and completed her 200 hour advanced study/teacher training program with Kim Orenstein in May 2011.
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Katie Louvat
Katie fell in love with the practice of yoga in 1998. She began teaching in 2000 following an apprenticeship with Kim Orenstein and has since graduated from Yoga Loka’s 200-hour teacher training. The quality and character of her vinyasa-style practice is a reflection of her playful nature and love for creative movement. Through movement, breath, and guided introspection, Katie supports and empowers her students to live more balanced, healthful, and joy-filled lives. Off the mat, you'll find Katie gliding down a glassy wave on a surfboard in northern CA; mountain biking over a curvy section of Tahoe single track; running with her little black dog, Ruby; and generally loving life.
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Helen Marotta
Whether it be tennis, golf, tai-chi or yoga Helen loves to teach and has been teaching since she was a teenager. She has been practicing yoga, tai-chi and meditation for the past 12 years and upon moving to Reno 2 years ago,she began teaching Tai-chi Long Form at Yoga Loka. Helen completed the Yoga Loka Teacher Training with Kim Orenstein and is also a certified Reiki Master Level Teacher under Reiki Master Laura Bruno. Through Tai-chi (moving meditation), Reiki (energy healing) and yoga Helen practices walking softly and gently on this planet, being fully awake in each and every moment, enjoying all she encounters as a student and as a teacher, on this wonderful journey of life.
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Mery Mares, RYT
Mery held her first asana pose in an Eastern Philosophy class at the University of Southern California in 1998. This class inspired her to take Yoga from the Sivananda Center in Madrid, Spain where she lived and completed courses for her degree. Mery has also practiced Ashtanga and a style of vinyasa yoga taught by Gabriel Hall in Long Beach, CA. After spending most of her college career working with children and teens of all ages through tutoring, nannying, and volunteer camp counseling and mentoring, she was led to the profession of teaching. In Long Beach, she taught Social Studies at an at-risk alternative high school for both teens and adults. She was blessed to start a yoga program there. Mery says, "My students needed a refuge from their gang-ridden world. Somewhere, where they could find peace and melt into their yoga mats.” Mery attributes Yoga to giving her a more, healthy, fulfilling, and spiritual life and to also being able to balance her most important job as a wife and a mother of 2 children. She completed the Yoga Loka Teacher Training from Kim Orenstein in 2006 and most recently has been trained through Global Family Yoga in kids and family yoga. www.yogawithmery.com
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Sally McGrew
Sally McGrew is a contemporary yoga teacher who practices the art of stillness and teaches yoga both in US and Mexico. Her passion for the evolution of herself and humanity has lead her to study how the biological body and the energetic body relate to each other. She became a certified yoga teacher under Kim Orenstein of Yoga Loka. She has studied under several yoga teachers in the US and is certified to teach and practice EMF Balancing Technique an energy modality to assist the etheric body through its own transformation.
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Andrea Mesple
"I completed Nancy Ruby's YogaMotion 280 hr TT in Missoula, MT, April 2010. I have been teaching group and private lessons ever since. My curiosity about human anatomy and movement inspired me to attend two massages schools, becoming a Licensed Massage Therapist, specializing in Traditional Thai Massage. I am very excited to be joining the Yoga Loka team and sharing my love of yoga with all of you!" ~ Andrea
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Iva Neveux
Iva started practicing yoga in her early twenties. When she began noticing the inner transformations yoga had brought to her life, she decided to expand her understanding of this ancient art and science of living. As a yoga instructor she enjoys encouraging students on their journey to consciousness, helping others improve their body awareness and posture, as well as quality of life through all that yoga has to offer. Her favorite styles are Yin, Iyengar, Hatha and Restorative yoga.
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Justin Nielsen
In 1998 Justin sustained a serious sports injury which led him to exploring a path of self-healing and to becoming a health and fitness professional. Justin has been teaching health and fitness since 2000 working in health clubs and fitness studios providing wellness programs for people of all ages. He is a Certified Personal Trainer with National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and is a Holistic Lifestyle Coach through the C.H.E.K. Institute He is also held certifications International Fitness Professionals Association (IFPA) and Apex Fitness Group and Dot Fit.
In 2002 Justin was hit by a drunk driver on an auto accident reinjuring his body. He spent the next two years doing physical therapy and other western medicine and was not seeing the result he was hoping for. For Justin, this meant further study and as a result a new way of life emerged.
Justin started participation in Native American Ceremonies with a Lakota Sun Dance Chief including Sweat Lodges (Inipi), Vision Quests (Hanblecheya) The Spirit Dance (Ghost Dance) and Sun Dance. He also started training in the Chinese healing arts Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Meditation. In 2006 Justin became a Wu Dang 26th generation Long Men lineage holder student and disciple of Master Yun Xiang Tseng (Master Chen), who is a 14th generation Wu Dang Zhang San Feng Taoist Priest. Justin is as also a student with Master Zong Xue Chao (Master Bing) a disciple of the 15th generation of Wu Dang San Feng Kung Fu. During this time Justin lived with Master Bing trained extensively with both masters 6 days a week 4 to 6 hours a day for 15 months in the Taoist Healing Arts of Wu Dang Mountain Internal Alchemy, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and the principles of moving and still meditation.
Through this journey Justin healed his body and has a unique approach and gift working with people to improve the quality of life. www.fourdirectionshealingarts.com
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Kimberlee Orenstein, M.S., E-RYT 500
Kimberlee Orenstein, has been a student of yoga since 1993 and is a Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 hour level. She is the Founding Director of Yoga Loka, Director of Advanced Study TeacherTraining, holds a Master's degree in Exercise Science and has 30+ years experience teaching. Kim’s yoga practice began following a knee surgery that suspended her mountain bike racing and professional dancing. She teaches a style of yoga that developed through her many years of study with some of the most well respected western yoga masters of the Krishnamacharia tradition (Astanga, Iyengar and Viniyoga), Lorna Benedict, Shiva Rea plus Forrest Yoga, Yin Yoga (Sarah Powers), Pilates, and Continuum Movement. She is also a certified Yoga of the Heart® instructor, a program that adapts yoga for people with heart disease, cancer and other debilitating disease. Currently Kimberlee's mentor and meditation teacher is Camille Maurine, a world authority on women's creativity and self-care. Kim's classes emphasize the linking of movement and breath and her intention in teaching yoga is to inspire people to discover how to move through life effectively and gracefully by learning to dissolve the disconnections to themselves and others. Her teaching expresses her love of movement and provides opportunities for people to explore themselves - in motion and in stillness.
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Denise Patterson, RYT
Denise took her first yoga class in 1997 and has been a student of yoga ever since. She completed Anusara Immersion in May 2010 and the 200 hour teacher training program with Kim Orenstein in May 2011. She is very interested in alignment based styles such as Iyengar and Anusara, but frequently can be found enjoying (and teaching) a relaxing and restorative Yin practice. Denise believes that yoga is a powerful tool for achieving both physical and mental well-being and wants to share it with students of all abilities.
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Meghan Ruiz, RYT
Meghan first stepped on the mat in 2001 during a summer course in college. She instantly knew that yoga would be a part of her life one way or another for the rest of her life. She
loves yoga’s ability to help one lovingly move inward, addressing physical, mental, and spiritual needs as well as revealing the heart’s desire. M eghan delved deeply into yoga and eventually went through a teacher training in 2009. She gravitates towards a vinyasa-style flow, focusing on the breath and alignment to expand awareness throughout the body and mind. She is grateful to the practice, which is a life-long journey, and especially to all the teachers in her life.
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Chris Scally, RYT
Chris has been practicing yoga intensively for three years. She completed the 200-hour yoga teacher-training program with Kim Orenstein and is currently working toward her 500-hour certification. She has practiced various yoga forms including Ashtanga, Bikram, Anusara and vinyasa flow. A college professor who has taught English for many years, Chris is delighted to now be combining her experience as a teacher with her love of yoga. She strives to help her students realize yoga’s power to transform mind, body, and spirit.
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Katina Silver, RYT
Katina Silver has been a member of the community since 1994 when she moved to Reno to attend the University of Nevada Reno. Receiving a Bachelor of Art's in education, she went on to teach middle school and has developed a passion for assisting others. Katina understands the patience it takes in explaining and guiding individuals into asanas. As an active mother of two, she has used yoga as a tool to help relieve stress, anxiety, and empower herself both physically and mentally. Having practiced yoga since 2000 (with a brief hiatus), Katina went on to complete her 200 RYT with Kim Ornstein at Yoga Loka, during which she began teaching yoga to a group of people working to overcome addictions who now use yoga as a tool in recovery.
Katina has a desire to bring yoga into the lives of others to help them reach their full potential. Whatever your goal, Katina will help motivate you and empower you to be your best.
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Jen Thomas, RYT
The time came for Jen to develop a yoga practice at a crucial time in her life. A time when she felt she was loosing everything she was working for in her life: career, home, and daughter. To her surprise, her yoga practice gave her so much more than she anticipated. She learned how to be in the moment and stay grounded and centered in the daily chaos. The strength and flexibility she built, mentally and physically, as well as the deepening of her spiritual life led her to a 200 hour teaching certificate with Kim Orenstein in May 2010. Yoga has become a way of life for Jen. It has inspired her to get over her fears and become a center of attention as a teacher with the intention to help others gain a practice of insight into their journey with yoga.
"I feel so blessed to be a part of the Yoga Loka community with all the beautiful, soulful, loving teachers and students who inspire me to be my higher Self. I have only just begun. I look forward to a richer and deeper practice with you all. Namaste." Jen Thomas
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Irene Tudor
At age 21, Irene’s first influence regarding physical fitness was Jack LaLanne,-- yes, Jack LaLanne and his dog. He coaxed television viewers to get out of their chairs and get up on their feet and somehow or other, the simplicity of those words worked. He inspired a love of exercise that has lasted for years. At age 40, Irene took an Iyengar yoga class for the first time and knew immediately that yoga would also become a part of her life. The asana practice which focused on details and alignment was demanding and yet the outcome was freedom, a quieting of thoughts. At age 60, Irene completed the 200 hour teacher training at Yoga Loka and now wants to encourage students of all ages and abilities to try this gift that works our bodies and soothes our minds.
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