After many years of working in entertainment and traditional career fields, Sharon realized that her life path was to lead a holistic lifestyle and help others through the practice of yoga & meditation.

Sharon has been practicing yoga & meditation for eleven years and has had the good fortune to learn and train with excellent yoga instructors & meditation masters. She is a graduate from the American University of Complementary Medicine and the Ritam School of Healing Arts; and obtained a Bachelors Degree in Holistic Health and a Yoga Certification. With her combined knowledge of health, experience of dance, meditation and yoga her classes are focused on body-mind connection and your innate abilities to thrive. Sharon's classes range from gently restorative to spirited flow highlighting proper alignment, mindfulness and breath throughout.

Sharon greatly enjoys sharing the yoga space with others and to witness them become inspired by their own connections and abilities. Her warm, light-hearted nature will put you at ease for a joyfully enriching experience.

Contact info:
Phone: 310-963-0269
Website: InformedHealing.com.

Lucien Demaris is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner (GCFP) and Change Your Age™ (CYA) teacher, as well as a California Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) with a Master's degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine and Chinese Herbology (MTOM). He is also a Nationally Certified Bodyworker (NCTMB) trained in a variety of physical therapies including Craniosacral Therapy, Myofascial Release and Visceral Manipulation. He has been an explorer of human potential through somatic studies and embodiment practices for 20 years. He served as Director of Wellness at RakSa, where he also held his private practice.

Lucien grew up among the indigenous peoples of Ecuador, where he apprenticed in ancient healing practices with traditional healers and shamans (curanderos, yerberos, and sobadores), both with Kichwa Yachags in the Andean highlands and with Shuar Uwishins in the Amazonian jungle. He later moved to Los Angeles to learn from renowned anthropologist and shaman Carlos Castaneda and his associates. While immersed in their teachings, Lucien continued studying other natural healing modalities, and ultimately became immersed in Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais's fascinating and revolutionary perspective on human motion and learning.

Today, Lucien brings to his practice the jewels of all these experiences: self-sensing, conscious touch, and experiential movement for a deeper experience of well-being and humanity. He helps his students and patients regain an intimate connection with themselves by the experience of physical joy and pleasure in their day-to-day movements and activities. Once that is set in our bodies, Lucien believes it is easier to reconnect with our innate ability to direct our own healing and achieve our full potential.

Contact info:
Phone: 310-367-8156
Website: DemarisWellness.com.
Email: lucien@demariswellness.com

I first came to Yoga as a musician and young adult, falling in love with the art and science of listening to and moving with the rhythm of the breath. Since then Yoga has become a way of life, teaching me that spirituality comes from within when we take time to consciously unite our body, mind and spirit. Being on the mat is a journey, an opportunity to turn inward, listening to one’s own inner voice and intuition.

I am very passionate about sharing the beauty and experience of Yoga with my students. Inspired by classical Hatha, Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow asanas, my focus is on developing greater inner and outer strength, flexibility, alignment, awareness and breath while still having fun exploring and honoring the body’s strengths and limitations.

I’ve been practicing Yoga for 12 years, completed my 200-Hr. Teacher Training with YogaWorks and hold two certifications from MiniYogis teaching Kids and Teen Yoga. I have seen and experienced the transformative power of Yoga and it is with joy that I share this ancient tradition. I currently teach the early bird classes on Tues/Thurs 7:00am.

Contact info:
Phone: 949-939-4108
Website: LinlingHsu.com.
Email: ling31@gmail.com

David Hurwith has made more than 80 dances since 1981. His choreography has been presented at theaters in the United States and Europe. David has trained as a facilitator in Authentic Movement and spent the last twenty years researching methods of healing, training and nourishing his body and psyche. Body Mind Centering® and Contact Improvisation are the anatomical visions that Mr. Hurwith has immersed himself in and that remain profound and inspiring.

Contact info:
Email: antediluv5@gmail.com

Cedar Laughingbrook Landsman is a community organizer, healing arts practitioner and lifelong dancer and mover. The daughter of a professional modern dance choreographer, Cedar began dancing at age 5 and has since trained and performed in ballet, modern, West African, and Middle Eastern folk dance. Cedar has also studied healing movement practices such as Alexander and Feldenkrais®, completing intensive trainings in both during her Bachelor's studies at Hampshire College. She began practicing yoga at age 15 and studied and maintained a daily practice for over 10 years. Today Cedar is an original cast member of the Critical Mass Dance Company in Los Angeles.

Through ecstatic dance practices Cedar has found that deep connection with her most authentic self can be arrived at through freely expressive spontaneous movement. Her classes are an invitation for participants to delve into their own unique movement expression and discover the immense healing power inherent in their dance.

Cedar is a Licensed Massage Therapist and practitioner of the Arvigo Techniques of Mayan Abdominal TherapyTM. She also holds Masters' degrees in Latin American Studies and Urban Planning from UCLA and works as a consultant on healthy community food systems when she is not teaching and working with clients in her healing practice.

In 1989, after logging countless hours in over fifteen years as an executive chef in hotels and restaurants around the world, I realized my life lacked boundaries and a spiritual compass. When I was seriously injured running the New York Marathon, I knew the time had come to shift my focus inward. I had always wanted to study yoga, so I tried many different schools of philosophy and asana. When I found the Iyengar method, my life changed. The focus on the integration of mind, body and spirit has had a profound influence on my awareness, presence of mind and ability to balance the various aspects of my daily life.

After practicing for a few years at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles, I decided to deepen my understanding of yoga and enrolled in their three-year teacher-training program. During my education, I began teaching and have continuously taught since 2005. I have also had the opportunity to study with the Iyengar family in Pune, India at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in 2007 & 2009.

While studying anatomy, I developed an interest in Ayurveda. The relationship between the basic energies of the universal elements, the physical gunas in our environment and the energetics of the food, spices and herbs has been a natural complement to my long-term experience as a chef. After graduating from yoga teacher training, I enrolled in the California College of Ayurveda in Grass Valley and completed my education there in 2011 with certification as a Clinical Ayurvedic and Pancha Karma Specialist with advanced accreditation in Pulse Diagnosis, Marma Therapy and Herbology.

I am a professional member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and The California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine. I have certification as a Massage Therapist from the California Massage Therapies Council and continue to be employed as a chef, informed by my knowledge and practice of the ancient science of Ayurveda.

Contact info:
Phone: 310-330-8639
Website: ThreeSeasonsAyurveda.com.
Email: threeseasons@me.com

Michael has been practicing yoga for 12 years and completed his 200 hour teacher training in December of 2010. With yoga, Michael discovered a much welcomed method of stress relief from his work as executive director of a Santa Monica architecture firm. For Michael, yoga is not just an incredible physical workout, but also a path to healing: physically, mentally, and ultimately, spiritually.

"Yoga is a means to releasing old habits, negative programming, and in time, deep-seated tension stored in the body. It opens new ways of thinking about yourself and your world, and allows you to be at your best for those you care about. What could be more important?"

Michael designs his classes to suit the needs of his students. Most classes will incorporate a vigorous flow, deep stretches, breath control exercises (pranayama) and meditation.

Michael has been inspired by many teachers during the course of his practice. He is especially grateful to Brian Kest, Mathew Crowder , Govindas, Alyson Khan, Vytas, Rudy Mettia, and Travis Eliot for illuminating the path.

Contact info:
Website: Facebook Page.

Kiyomi completed her 500-hour teacher training with Annie Carpenter at Yogaworks in 2007, and has been teaching variety of classes ever since ranging from Gentle Yoga to strong Vinyasa Flow classes.

Her teaching style is based on her understanding of the principles of physical movement and alignment, and their inseparable connection to the human psyche. Kiyomi offers precise instruction and creative sequencing in a supportive light-hearted atmosphere. She adapts her teaching style to the needs of the individuals present in each class. Kiyomi also finds inspiration in surfing, travel, hiking, art and the beauty of nature.

Contact info:
Phone: 310-400-4419
Website: KiyomiYoga.com.
Email: kiyomiyoga@gmail.com

Susy has an extensive background in movement. At age 4 she began her training at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica under the direction of Yvonne Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire. Susy continued her professional training at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School and The Rock School on scholarship. By age 16 Susy was already a company member of the Pennsylvania Ballet. Susy’s professional experience includes the Pennsylvania Ballet, California Contemporary Ballet, City Ballet of Los Angeles, California Riverside Ballet and Coast City Ballet and Napoles Ballet Theatre.

Susy earned a bachelor degree from the University of Southern California majoring in both communication and philosophy. In 2008 Susy completed over 500 hours of training through the Yoga Works professional program to become a certified yoga instructor studied with some of today’s most sought after instructors including Annie Carpenter, Lisa Walford, Erich Schiffman, and Heather Seiniger. Susan is also on the faculty at the City Ballet of Angels.

Susy’s creative passion for movement fueled the inception for her blog soyouthinkyoucanyoga.com. As editor-in-chief Susy blogs on topics relating to yoga, movement, philosophy, dance, overall healthy living, and the daily musings as experienced by a ballerina yogi. Susy empowers students teaching them to move with purpose to facilitate physical, mental, and spiritual wholeness.

Contact info:
Website: SoYouThinkYouCanYoga.com.
Email: susy@soyouthinkyoucanyoga.com

"I believe yoga is a transformational and healing practice that all students, of all ages can benefit from. Although I am a teacher of Yoga, I see myself as a forever student, and my personal journey is filled with only love and passion for this practice. I am constantly learning, always challenged, and ever evolving. The more I learn about Yoga, the more I realize there is still, much more to discover; and herein lies the beauty and passion I find. My students are my constant inspiration and radiant light.”

Virginia’s classes are well rounded, delivering a good balance of strength and play: dynamic sequencing delivered with detailed instruction and a mindful softness, along with a keen eye on proper alignment.

Regardless of what level a student may be at, Virginia makes the class accessible and fun. She cares about her students on many levels, and likes to encourage them to challenge themselves, allowing them to receive all of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of this practice.

Virginia is a 500-hour certified Yoga Alliance teacher with training from Yogaworks, Santa Monica, CA. She also carries additional training in Children’s Yoga, as well as Restorative and Meditation. She has been enormously enriched by the tutelage of teachers such as Annie Carpenter, Jeanne Heileman, Chad Hamrin, Kia Miller, Jerome Mercier and Lisa Walford and many more.

Contact info:
Phone: 310-741-8685
Website: VirginiaWeiss.com.
Email: virginia01@prodigy.net

Edward Yu is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner®, 7th generation lineage holder of Gao Bagua under Masters Guoliang Ge and Xueyi Li and author of The Art of Slowing Down: A Sense-Able Approach to Running .

From his early 20's to his late 30's, Edward taught English in China, Taiwan and Japan. During his time overseas, he studied Taichi and Bagua, along with Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Tianjin College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. To supplement his Taichi and Bagua over the years, Edward also studied other martial arts (including Thai kickboxing, Western boxing and judo) and in the process of trial and much error, came to the conclusion that when confronted, it is generally better to run for your life.

Edward's interest in how people learn and process information has led him to bring the disparate fields of martial arts, dance, kinesiology, somatics, psychology, cognitive science and physical education into both his teaching and writing. The impetus for The Art of Slowing Down, for example, came years after Edward quit running and triathloning and discovered that conventional approaches to training are not so effective in turning people into better athletes (though they are quite effective in making them discouraged and neurotic).

In his free time Edward likes to roll around on the floor, walk in circles and stare into space.