About Us

Octavia has been a devoted student of lyengar Yoga since 1995 and a full time teacher since 2003. Her teaching encompasses both rigorous and gentle sequences of classic postures, and in-depth therapeutic work for injuries and health conditions. She holds a Senior I Iyengar teaching certification (Level 3), and is a Certified Yoga Therapist. Octavia has studied in depth with several Senior Iyengar Teachers who have guided, challenged, and inspired her: Patricia Walden, Gloria Goldberg, and Stephanie Quirk. She studied with and assisted Manouso Manos for many years prior to his dismissal from the Iyengar System.

Due to her interest in therapeutic applications of yoga, she has twice completed Stephanie Quirk’s three-year course on Asana and Therapeutics. Over the past 25 years she also traveled repeatedly to Pune, India to study with the Iyengar family, and attended numerous conferences, workshops, and intensives with Senior lyengar Teachers from around the world. Octavia was born and raised in Boulder, has a BA from Brown University, and worked in non-profit management in the Bay Area prior to becoming a full time yoga teacher.

Tam is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher at Level III (Junior Intermediate III), and a Certified Yoga Therapist. She is a student of Senior Teacher Patricia Walden, and studied with and assisted Manouso Manos for many years prior to his dismissal from the Iyengar System. She has traveled regularly to Pune, India for extended periods of study with the Iyengar family.  Tam’s teaching reflects compassion, humor, and her commitment to deepening awareness and applying practice in daily life.
Tam is also an Insight Meditation practitioner and teaches meditation classes at Yoga Shala. You can find her meditation bio and get info about her classes here.

A marathon and triathlon competitor, Jayne’s active-driven lifestyle came to a hard stop when she contracted chronic fatigue syndrome. Iyengar yoga became the only way she could participate in the realm of the physical without succumbing to fatigue and illness, and as its healing effects became manifest in her life, she immersed herself in its practice. She has now been teaching yoga for more than 20 years and is Iyengar certified at the Junior Intermediate III level, as well as being an assessor. She has studied with the Iyengars during six extended stays in Pune, India. Jayne is passionate about sharing with students what she continues to learn about restoration of mind, body, and spirit, injuries, aging, and connecting yogic philosophy to everyday life. In addition to teaching in Colorado she greatly enjoys conducting workshops and teacher trainings around Mexico. Jayne, who has an M.S. in Education, taught in the Boulder public schools and at C.U.

Karen is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT) and a dedicated Iyengar yoga student since 1999. In 2014, she traveled to India to study at the Institute in Pune with the Iyengar family. She has also studied with senior teachers Leslie Bradley, Craig Kurtz, Nancy Stechert, Elise Miller, Patrica Walden, Dean and Rebecca Lerner, Gabriella Guibilaro, and Stephanie Quirk. In her teaching, Karen shares the joy, precision, and creativity of the Iyengar practice through dynamic sequences and new variations of the poses. She teaches with an emphasis on alignment and awareness, encouraging focus and balance for mind and body.

Since his first yoga class in 1970, John has delved into yoga and other wisdom traditions while pursuing a career as a psychologist and meditation teacher. In 1990, he was introduced to Iyengar yoga by Francois Raoult, went on to complete Francois’ teacher training in 2003, and traveled to India to study with the Iyengar family in 2006. In 2008, he became a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher under the mentorship of Leslie Bradley, Craig Kurtz, and Laura Antelmi. In 2015, he completed a three-year course in Yoga Therapeutics with Stephanie Quirk. He has also studied extensively with Patricia Walden and other senior Iyengar teachers.

A seasoned Zen practitioner, John has explored how asana, pranayama, and meditation can be woven together to manage stress, mobilize energy, and spawn creativity. In recent years, he completed a graduate degree in creative writing, wrote a book of poems about yoga, and started to bring Indian devotional singing and mantra chanting into his yoga practice. John enjoys teaching all kinds of students, regardless of their level of experience, physical fitness, or flexibility. Students appreciate his calm, gentle manner, attention to individual needs, and sense of humor.

Lisa Jo holds a Senior I Iyengar teaching certification and is a Certified Yoga Therapist. She teaches in her private home studio and at Yoga Shala in Boulder, Colorado. She has been a Yoga practitioner for 40+ years and a certified Iyengar Yoga instructor since 1994. She has traveled to Pune, India, to study with the Iyengars.

Navigating physical challenges from a previous professional dance career and active lifestyle, Lisa Jo has benefited from the pioneering work of BKS Iyengar’s Yoga Methodology & Therapeutics. She is devoted to helping others, regardless of circumstance or condition, connect with the core of their being and integrate this intelligence within all layers to inspire great well-being. Lisa Jo brings the wisdom of philosophy to her students in a practical way to ignite new pathways for transformation.

Lenore Kitani attended her first meditation class in 1990 and started meditating in the Vipassana tradition in 2001. Since then, she has been a dedicated practitioner as well as an earnest student of Buddhist philosophy. She participated in a three-year women's dharma study and leadership training with Amma Thanasanti. She is also a physical therapist and yoga teacher, both of which incline her toward "embodied" meditation practice.