Every instructor at the Shanti has her own unique style of sharing yoga.
Take a look at our schedule, read through the bios, get to know us a little (better yet, come to the Shanti and visit with us in person), and as you discover who is teaching what, you will get a feel for which levels, times, and instructors might be right for you.
We seek to enrich lives (yours and our own) through the study of yoga in its many forms, (Hatha, Mantra, Raja, Karma, and Bhakti), and are eager to assist you in finding a great fit. We invite you to drop by in between classes to chat with us, feeling free to call or e-mail with any questions—we are here to help you find the best class for where you are right now…
Sundari SitaRam
I began the practice of yoga at an early age, turning to playfully serious study in the late 1980’s. In 2003 I opened the Shanti Yoga Center to share the mysteries and diversities of yoga that continue to intrigue, amuse and inspire me. Inspiration comes in so many forms (music, poetry, nature, animals, people, ancient texts and modern discernments), and my teaching style is an ever-evolving combination of them all.
My background is of mixed lineage, embracing an eclectic blend that weaves together many facets of the practice to create a well-balanced and heart-centered approach to the art of yoga. I teach what I practice, and believe that students will find classes to be a unique mix of yoga philosophy, active asana, celebratory chant, pacifying pranayama, and guided as well as intuitive meditation.
Yoga reminds me with every breath that if it is not feeling like a great day, I can start it over with the next inhalation, and I hope that is passed along to every student in every class. Classes are a playground for a challenging but nourishing mix of movement and stillness, of inward and outward turnings, and of a devotion to a yoga that encourages us all to embody our individual spiritual practices. The classes I teach are informed and inpired by my joyful devotion to a daily practice, by the blossoming yoga of Shanti Students, and by teaching alongside all of the loving, passionate teachers I play and work with at the Shanti.
Rumi, one of my favorite poets, wrote: “Feel yourself being quietly drawn by the deeper pull of what you truly love.” Yoga is that love, and it is my deepest intention to integrate the discipline of a physical yoga practice with the devotion to self-study to unlock the boundless possibilities for peace in our compassionate hearts. May our practice be a prayer that all beings everywhere be happy and free.Lokaha Samastaha Sukhino Bhavantu. Om shanti shanti shanti.
Julie McCoy-Cox
When I began my yoga practice in college, it was all about the physical practice. The heat, the strength the sweet release of long stretches. As my practice continued through the years I have come to see the full spectrum of yoga’s benefits. The unfolding of the body, mind and spirit. It has transformed the way I view myself and the world in which I am blessed to live. This is your one wild and precious life. Are you going to live it? (Thank you, Mary Oliver)
I respect form and alignment, along with opportunities to mold and sculpt the poses to meet individuals needs. I know the importance of pushing our edges, but also value the skill of listening to the body and cultivating compassion for ourselves. Expect to move and challenge yourself, unfolding into the person you are meant to be. I call the Shanti Yoga Center home because here, these ideas are honored.
Shanti teachers offer guidance and put forth ideas for contemplation, but this special studio is a place to start to uncover your own inner peace, the calm that resides within. Rilke says it like this, “I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not complete the last one, but I give myself to it.” Jai, Jai, Jai, come play and explore.
Jerri Clark
I found yoga 13 years ago as a new mom moving back into my body. After a lifetime of dance training, I wanted a gentler approach to fitness and health. Yoga provided that and much more as the practice started to permeate my life. I learned to pause, breathe and experience my days with greater clarity, intention and joyfulness. I am blessed to now share this life-enriching practice at the Shanti Yoga Center.
In my classes we値l carefully align our poses to awaken lines of energy that generate power and self-confidence. At times we値l wiggle and dance the poses to loosen habits of tension or holding, and sometimes we値l seek breath and mental stillness in restorative poses. I値l share readings and poetry that pertain to our session topic, and we値l briefly discuss ways that yoga influences our lives outside of class. Through sharing, breath and movement, we値l tap our strengths while softening our holding places so that we can leave class feeling lit from within.
Heather Jolma Fray
"It is a joy to be able to share my enthusiasm for yoga with all who come to investigate the vastness of this practice! Whether we come into the Shanti looking for our physical and/or mental edge- and maybe to even push beyond, or a little bit of sweet time to re-connect with ourselves, I hope to always offer in my classes an opportunity to relax, let your hair down, and dive into the spaciousness that the comfort and sometimes discomfort a practice such as yoga offers us.
I enjoy sharing and dialoging about the profoundness, supreme depth, and simplicity that is the dharma. I also love to bring in music to the practice I find inspiring. I have come to understand that often, life on the mat mirrors life off of the mat, and what a gift then, giving ourselves the time to check out the "within" is! I thank and honor my teacher Sundari for her steady, loving commitment to supporting me on this journey as a teacher and student of this most gracious practice. Jai Ma!"
Jenna Eckert
Having studied a variety of yoga styles (Iyengar, Kundalini, Kriya, Ashtanga) over the last 15 years, what I find most helpful are practices that give us a foothold outside our thought forms and thinking minds-ways to discover a deeper sense of connection and devotion-and the Shanti Yoga Center lovingly encourages us to do just that.
In particular, I enjoy sharing a vinyasa/flow style class infused with mudras and mantra, allowing for a wide exploration of what appears through our body and breath.
Donna LaFaye
As a yoga teacher I seek to provide a safe, relaxing environment where students can experience how the breath inspires the body to move, in a way that is unique and personal to each individual. My classes tend to move at a relaxed rhythm, allowing students to develop their abilities to listen for and honor their own inner guidance. Students are encouraged to discover what a fascinating and evolving universe we each are, if we will only slow down enough to notice and become appreciative.
As a yoga student, I have been very fortunate that all of my instructors taught from a broad spiritual based perspective that placed the vehicles of breath and body into a larger context. For me, this larger spiritual context is the lasting appeal of yoga. It is an honor to teach and learn at the Shanti Yoga Center, where we are nourished and respected both as individuals and as a community in our physical, mental and spiritual explorations of yoga.
CJ Sanders
As an apprentice and new instructor at the Shanti Yoga Center, you may find me teaching the Restorative class, working at the Welcome Desk, subbing classes, or leading a workshop.
I discovered Sundari’s gift of teaching over a decade ago and have continued as an avid student ever since, having apprenticed with her for almost 2 years now.
My personal yoga practice has been my companion through many life changes: births, illness, deaths, and many joys. This vast landscape of yoga offers a refuge for body, mind, and spirit. Whether through asana, personal study, chanting, or silence, there are so many doorways available.
I joyously look forward to many opportunities to share the benefits of yoga, both on and off the mat, with our beautiful Shanti Kula.
The last line of the Stanley Kunitz poem, The Layers, reads,”I am not done with my changes.” -May we all carry the remembrance in our hearts that lessons of impermanence are vast, and we, too, are not yet done with our changes.
Michelle Baumann
I've been studying yoga with Sundari at the Shanti for the last 8 years and am so excited to get to teach my passion (working with kids!) in my Yoga Home. I've been a teacher of young children for over 20 years, teaching Art, Spanish, Preschool, Maiden Spirit (program for 9-13 year old girls) and Roots and Wings (a nature awareness program for children), and Yoga! I'm also a mother of two, a massage therapist with a private practice in downtown Vancouver, and I can hardly wait to share Yoga with your kids in the safe, nurturing environment of the Shanti.
Deb Veach-White
Can you imagine my surprise? Here I am, well into my second half of life and I find myself in a new beginning here at the Shanti! It was in my 50th year that this yoga journey started as "something that would be good for me." What followed is unimaginable! Very quickly this "good for me" yoga practice, wasn't just on the mat and didn't stop at the end of class. It was everywhere, in every breath, life changing and life giving. If this could happen for me…I must find a way to share. Spread the word!! Pass it on!!! Practice!! Let the studying begin!
I have been sitting side by side with my kulamates and upa gurus in classes several times a week now for several years, I've retreated with you, laughed and cried with you. What I've learned through the richness of our Shanti community runs through me. At my age, I've had a lot of teachers, but these past two years apprenticing and studying with Sundari, is a gift and honor I never expected.
It is with gratitude for these gifts and all of this that has come before and all that is yet to come, I begin teaching yoga for people who might have considered a yoga practice unimaginable, honoring that we all begin right where we are. I look forward to sharing this in our Try Another Way class.
Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, may all beings everywhere be happy and free.