Hi, my name is Adam and I am the founder of The Yoga Studio, and one of the teachers.

I started practicing Yoga in 1984 at sky.pro during a six year stay in India. I attended daily classes for two years with Rajiv Chanchani, a senior Iyengar teacher, the second year on a one-to-one basis. This gave me a deep appreciation and understanding of Hatha Yoga, as well as a firm foundation on which my later studies were grounded. I have continued studies with both him and his wife Swati, also a very senior Iyengar teacher, in 2000 and 2001.

On returning to England in '86 I took the 2 year UK Iyengar Yoga Teachers Association training that led to becoming a Certified teacher, and have since taught in several countries in Asia and Europe.

I've practiced other styles and approaches to Yoga over the years, drawing from them what seemed helpful, as well as studying at the Royal Homeopathic Hospital in London in Yoga for back pain. Among the teachers I value and have studied with are Mira Mehta, Pixie Lilas, Mary Dunn and Richard Ward (Iyengar style); Rolf Naujokat (Ashtanga); Kisan; and most especially I am deeply grateful to Clive Sheridan for his loving teaching of Pranayama and yoga philosophy.

I continue to study and attend retreats with my teachers.

To widen my understanding in body/mind energetics I've trained in Reichian massage forms, taken a 3 year training in Shiatsu and 5 Element Chinese Medicine, and had a 12 year involvement with the study and practice of Gestalt-based counselling work and Hakomi mindfulness-based psychotherapy, which I continue to practice with a passion that grows with each deepening appreciation of the great liberation self-awareness can bring. (For further information about this work please look at: www.hakomi.com or emal me:  live_at_ease@yahoo.com)

 I am currently studying Marshall Rosenberg's NVC (Non-Violent Communication) also known as Compassionate Communication, a method of Conflict Resolution.

MY APPROACH TO TEACHING YOGA weaves together mindfulness, breath awareness, anatomical understanding and precision, as well as a deep trust in the natural pace and rhythm of our unfolding. In a spirit of non-violence and self-compassion that is infused with joyfulness and a sense of fun.
As Pema Chodron has so beautifully said it: “Watering the seed of Practice with playfulness."

It is my pleasure and delight to teach Yoga.

 

Sara Avant Stover is an Anusara-Inspired teacher and RYT 500 and teaches at venues in the United States, Asia and Europe. In addition, Sara is co-director of a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certified teacher training course in Chiang Mai witih her partner, Jonas Westring.
Her primary inspirations include leading teachers of the Anusara tradition, Richard Freeman (Ashtanga-Vinyasa), Sarah Powers (Yin/Yang Yoga), Sofia Diaz (Women's Yoga), Gary Kraftsow (Viniyoga), Jill Satterfield (Vajra Yoga), Buddhist Meditation and The Wise Earth School of Ayurveda.
Her teachings celebrate presence, self-acceptance and kindness. Also a freelance writer, Sara is a frequent contributor to Yoga Journal and Fit Yoga magazines. She lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Visit Sara's website, www.fourmermaids.com, for more information.

 

 

Loren writes: Sawadi ka! My name is Loren, and I am excited to be a new addition to the Yoga Studio staff in Chiang Mai where I have lived for over 2 years. My passion for yoga led me to want to deepen my practice, so I took the 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher training in Bali under the auspices of Yoga Arts of Australia. There I studied with several great teachers, most especially pranayama and meditation with Emil Wendel whose wisdom and teachings gave me a greater appreciation of the ultimate manajetua of mind, breath, and body.

My teaching style is a fusion of various forms of Hatha yoga, including Iyengar, vinyasa, yin/yang yoga (created by Sarah Powers) chanting and mudras (hand gestures), with a dynamic emphasis on the sweet nectar of breath. Other studies in Thai Yoga Massage, Reiki, and chakras have helped me to further understand the inner workings of our bodies.

It is an honor and joy to continue studying under Adam and Sara and visiting teachers, while exploring innovative ways in which to impart my love of yoga and all its components to others. "Let the beauty you love be what you do." (Rumi)

When not on the mat, I can be found grooving with my band, the Funkin' Donuts, around Chiang Mai.

 

 

Jonas Westring, PT, E-RYT 500, is a licensed physiotherapist in his native Sweden and in the USA who began his yoga studies in 1981 at the Scandinavian Yoga & Meditation School (branch of Bihar school of Yoga). Currently a teacher of the Anusara Yoga system, Jonas has studied closely with John Friend since 1999. Other main influences include Ashtanga-viniyasa, Viniyoga, Kripalu and Iyengar yoga. A former core faculty member for Integrative Yoga Therapy and other training programs, Jonas now teaches at venues worldwide. With one foot rooted in the timeless teachings of yoga and the other in clinical environments, his teaching transmits the essence of yoga through clarity, precision, mindfulness and joy. For more information, visit www.shantaya.org

 

 

Sandra Caillet is French Swiss, fluent in English, and has lived in Asia for most of the last 16 years. She was the principal yoga teacher at the studio between July and mid-September 2005, and has now returned for the season until October 2006. We are delighted to welcome her grace and expertise, and her dedicated approach to Practice on it's many levels.
Sandra can be contacted by email at: tarayoganow@yahoo.com

During the winter season she teaches yoga in Goa (South India) where she holds open classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced students and organizes workshops focussing on specific Asanas, alignments , Pranayama and meditation.

?My spiritual journey started in 1989 when I first met the Dalai Lama and for a period of 6 years I had the privilege to study Buddhist philosophy and be taught meditation by renowned Tibetan Lamas in Dharamsala, India.

I came back to Yoga in 1999 through an intensive private teacher training in Varanasi , India, which inspired me to a regular daily practice. This was deepened by spending several months in the Sivananda Yoga ashrams at Neyyar Dam, Kerala, and Uttarkashi , where I undertook a second teacher training. I have also had extended periods of study and practice with highly experienced Iyengar teachers (both in Switzerland and in India) which opened me to a new dimension and understanding of Yoga for which I am very grateful.

My training in Thai massage in 1999 in Chiang Mai and the regular practice of it are very valuable and supportive skills in my teaching of yoga, providing a subtle sensitivity and understanding of each student's unique anatomy .

The Yoga I teach and am developing is a synthesis of Sivananda and Iyengar techniques. It allows the student to maintain a meditative and relaxed spirit while focusing on precision and alignment.

Yoga is my passion and I hope I will have the chance to share it with you.?

VISITING TEACHERS

            
Emil Wendel

Emil was born in Switzerland and has been living in Asia since the mid-seventies, studying Sanskrit and Indian Dharma on the Subcontinent, as well as Chinese Philosophy and Taoism in East Asia.

Emil advocates and teaches Hatha-Kundalini Yoga, a method of merging asanas, pranayama and dhyana to develop and deepen a yoga practice beyond the mere physical experience. The techniques used in his workshops are greatly inspired by his main teacher, friend and spiritual guide, Clive Sheridan.

The many years of residency in Nepal and India have allowed Emil an exceptional insight into the depth of Indian civilization and its underlying philosophical current. Apart from being conversant with some of the modern Asian languages, he has been involved with Sanskrit studies for more than 15 years. One of his major teachers was the late Professor Saraswati Prasad Ghimire. The affiliation with him and other pandits covered research in Hindu and Buddhist literature, philosophy and ritual, in their original context.

Emil?s pranayama and his instructions in kriya-yoga are essentially following the tradition and methodology of the Bihar School of Yoga, distilled through years of self-practice and experimentation.

The study of a variety of ashram traditions and treasured time with sadhus and living Buddhist masters have brought a strong appreciation of the subjects of mantras and mudras, as well as other methods of pratyahara (sense-withdrawal) and dharana (concentration), the ancient yogic tools which may, over time, bring about that delightful state of true meditation (dhyana).

An asana practice was developing along the way: his first teachers were Live Arts (Iyengar), Danny Paradise and Rolf Naujokat (Ashtanga), Clive Sheridan (Hatha-Kundalini), and Louisa Sear (Vinyasas).

He is presently conducting courses for teacher training programs of Yoga Arts of Australia and Purple Valley of India in pranayama, guided meditation and yoga philosophy, the latter a series of lectures encompassing the known history, the different disciplines and traditions, and the personalities and masters of Yoga.

When not in Nepal and India practicing, teaching, and researching, Emil is conducting his own workshops and retreats in Europe, as well as in Bali, Singapore, Australia and Japan.

 

Wade Imre Morissette has been practicing and teaching yoga for 12 years. In India, Wade studied the styles of Ashtanga?Vinyasa under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore. At the Osho ashram in Pune, Wade studied zazen, active, movement and sound meditations. He has completed an Iyengar teacher training at the Omkarananda Ganga Sadan in Rishikesh and is currently studying with T.K.V Desikachar in the teachings of Krishnamacharya or commonly known in the west as Viniyoga. He also studies Vedic Chanting yearly at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. Other formal trainings include a completion of the Classical Ashtanga teacher training at the Mount Madonna Centre, California under Baba Hari Das. He has also studied in the Anusara tradition with John Friend across Canada.

His Vancouver formal trainings have included an Ashtanga?Vinyasa teacher training with Elizabeth Peckham as well as David Swenson. He has completed studies in a Pregnancy yoga teacher training and has studied Kriya yoga with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in both India and Canada. Wade is a reiki master and a certified Phoenix Rising yoga therapist (non-diagnostic) and Viniyoga Therapist (diagnostic) He practices Vipassana meditation and leads teacher training/workshops/retreats/music dance evenings internationally. His first music recording came in the form of bhakti nada yoga with a kirtan cd "Sargam" Scales of Music. His Vinyasa Flow Asana Dvd-"Invigorate" is challenging yet mindful. He is completing his first book "Yoga Pilgrimage" Yoga in every moment of your life He is also working on his second upcoming Kirtan CD with DVD music video and a second Yogasana DVD.

Rama S. Khalsa is from the USA, and was raised from age 3 under the teachings of one of the great modern masters of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan. He practiced from a young age and spent his high school years in India studying and practicing Yoga and Meditation. He is a certified teacher of Kundalini Yoga, a certified teacher of Ashtanga Yoga by David Swenson and is also certified to teach Bikram's Hot Yoga. His life time has been dedicated to the study and practice of spiritual development. He has been teaching throughout the USA for 20 years. For more info contact Rama at: ramaskhalsa@hotmail.com

 

Mark Elsner has studied and practiced the eight limbs of Astanga Yoga for 31 years. He has trained with world-class teachers in India and throughout the world. His emphasis in his personal practice for the past 10 years has been Astanga Vinyasa Yoga as taught by Sri Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. He has taught extensively in India, the USA and Europe for 21 years. He makes his home in Delray Beach, Florida.