Kelly Valenzuela
More than 13 years ago, I began my career as a yoga teacher within the walls that are now Lila Yoga. A future that I could never have predicted has unfolded as I returned to this space in 2011 to help build a new yoga studio. I am deeply humbled and grateful for the opportunity to bring Lila Yoga to you! In my life yoga has been, and continues to be, a journey of self discovery, deepening awareness, and a return again and again to my own heart. In my teaching I invite students to meet themselves exactly where they are, to balance effort and ease in their bodies and their minds, and trust their own unique process. In our time together, we work to create and maintain a healthy, strong and stable body that is relaxed and open. I remind students to cultivate loving kindness for themselves and all that arises while on their mat. There is nothing that cannot be met with breath and kind attention.
I have recently completed a 200 Hour Teacher Training in the Viniyoga lineage with Tracy Weber at Whole Life Yoga in Greenwood. In addition to being a Certified Yoga Teacher I am a Master’s Level Therapist with an M.A. from Bastyr University, and have teaching certificates from Mount Madonna Center and Sarah Powers, and a BFA in Modern Dance.
Adi Turner
Adi found yoga when a friend suggested it as a great compliment to his Zen meditation practice and running. He had a question many of us share: can you meditate if you have a hard time sitting still? Adi has completed six yoga teacher trainings and over 500 additional hours of continuing education. He has been practicing meditation since 1995, and yoga since the late nineties. He began teaching in 2003 and has over 8000 teaching hours. His primary teachers have been Shiva Rea, Melina Meza, SarahJoy Marsh and Katerina Wen.
Adi’s teaching style originated in the intensity of Baptiste Power Yoga, but has been filtered through several more alignment based, therapeutic traditions. The result is a strong, flowing practice that is very attentive to the meditative aspect of the body in motion. His classes are often core focused, featuring held poses for strength building, flowing movement sequences for balance and grace, and breathing practices for increased lung capacity, concentration, and peace of mind. Adi also sprinkles in self-inquiry for those interested in meditation.
Comments from students:
“His teaching style is very calming and grounding, while his classes are physically challenging and very well-rounded. Adi is an inspiring, energizing, and uplifting teacher.” – D.M.
“I’ve had both group and private classes with Adi and find his teaching style to be very knowledgeable, thoughtful and caring. He always brings passion and energy to the class.” – B.K.
“He has been a role model for me in how to be a more positive, calm person.” – M.C.
Darcy Stewart
Darcy is a certified yoga therapist and instructor with Gary Kraftsow and the American Viniyoga Institute. Her studies include 600 hours of yoga therapist training, 200 hours of instructor training, and various continuing education hours in workshops with Leslie Kaminoff, Sonia Nelson and others. Darcy began her yoga journey over 10 years ago in the bay area exploring a variety of styles before focusing her studies and personal practice on the individualized applications of yoga. Her work as a mental health counselor supports her desire to facilitate others’ personal exploration and transformation through yoga. A love of yoga philosophy and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali informs both her teaching and lifelong personal exploration of how yoga supports living to our highest potential.
Emily Trenkner
Ever since I could stand on skis or hold a tennis racket, my parents have encouraged, and I have enjoyed, athletics. When I was a teenager I realized the strong connection between being physically active and feeling good. I began to exercise before school because that led to better days and also better sleep. Eventually I started running long distance, even completing one or two marathons per year, finding that running helped calm a busy mind and brought a sense of challenge and accomplishment. In my early twenties, an Ashtanga yoga studio opened near my home and became very popular. When I tried it I found my over-used muscles appreciated the stretching and relaxation. My mind appreciated the calm. As I continued to practice I found inspiration in teachers and students who had been doing it for years; their poise and grace was what I hoped for in myself.
I also realized the systematic, experiential approach of yoga had the potential to ameliorate the depression and anxiety I had been cycling in and out of since I was very young. I embarked upon a year-long teacher training course and when I met my guru, Swami Kriyananda, I felt absolutely certain yoga was the path for me. I committed to daily practice, confident and hopeful that I would find what I was looking for.
Nearly ten tears later, I still practice daily and I still feel certain yoga is the path for me. Teaching is a large part of how I learn and grow in the practice, and the community I find through teaching is a great joy.
I have been teaching in Madison Valley since 2005 and am very grateful for all of the students and teachers I have in my life. Namaste.
Jen Mullholand
Jen Mullholand, CYT, discovered the power of yoga when she stepped onto the mat in 1998 at her local health club. Yoga provided Jen with a refuge after working long hours holed up in a cube, pursuing a career in asset management that gave her little joy. After two life-changing layoffs and a Masters degree in Journalism, Jen decided it was time to pursue a new path in life. That path lead her directly to Moksha Yoga Center in Chicago where she received her 200-hour Yoga Alliance certification in 2005 under the training of Daren Friesen. In 2006, she met her primary teacher, Gabriel Halpern, director of the Yoga Circle in Chicago. She studied extensively with Gabriel in the Iyengar system, with an intense focus on therapeutics and alignment. Jen has also been blessed with the opportunity to study in-depth with Tias Little and Aadil Palkhivala. In 2012, Jen completed a 100-hour Anusara Immersion with Sarah Starnes and has been deeply influnced by the teachings of Tantric Hatha Yoga.
Jen’s classes are a challenging and fun mix of Vinyasa (breath-synchronized movement) and alignment-based practices. She encourages students to listen to their bodies and find the practice that is right for them. She hopes to provide students with a practice in which they can explore and cultivate a deeper connection to themselves. Jen relocated to Seattle from Chicago in June 2012 with her husband Eric. When she’s not on her mat, you can find her biking, hiking, traveling, eating good food, drinking great wine and living life to it’s fullest.
Megan Carroll
Megan has been studying yoga since 2001, and teaching yoga since 2005. Her teaching style reflects a deep love and understanding of movement and the human body that has been developed through her extensive studies in yoga, dance, physiology and anatomy.
Megan feels incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to work full time as a yoga instructor and therapist. She works skillfully with a range of populations that includes beginners, experienced practitioners, as well as those suffering from both acute and chronic health conditions.
Megan is a graduate of Bastyr University’s exercise physiology program. She sits on the health and wellness advisory committee for the Seattle chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and is a peer reviewer for the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She delivered a presentation detailing her work with individuals suffering from chronic pain at the third annual Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research.
Megan brings joy, humor, compassion and a sense of unconditional acceptance to all of her work.
Natalie Mackie
To put it simply, Natalie believes that yoga makes life better. The more you learn about yoga and practice it’s philosophical implications, the more ease you will have when dealing with the ups and downs of life. Natalie’s movement style marries the precision of Hatha with the grace of Vinyasa. Beyond posturing, in yoga class with Natalie you can expect pranayama practices, chakra awareness to explore the connection between the body and mind & meditation practices to quiet and focus the mind.
A lover of all things active, Natalie has a rich background in dance, and can be spotted weekly communing with nature on Washington’s trails by summer & slopes by winter. Natalie wholeheartedly agrees with Albert Einstein when he said, if you look at nature you will understand everything better. So she keeps in tune with the natural world and shares what she has learned from the seasons, her teachers and her personal practice. Natalie has a B.A. in Psychology and is a RYT 200 Level Instructor of Yoga.
Rebecca Denk
Rebecca Denk, RYT 200, has been a dedicated yoga student for over a decade and began teaching yoga in her Central District neighborhood 5 years ago. She teaches weekly classes at Lila Yoga in Madison Valley, Seattle Yoga Arts on Capitol Hill, and Studio Arcadia in the CD. Rebecca primarily trained in Anusara Yoga with Denise Benitez and Elizabeth Rainey, and in Prenatal Yoga with Jessica Jennings. She continues to utilize the wisdom and beauty of the Anusara method in her classes. She is currently studying Foundations in Movement Systems Balance to enhance her understanding of anatomy and balanced muscle/skeletal action.
Rebecca’s classes are characterized by warmth, humor and a focus on physical alignment. Her study of Buddhist meditation and appreciation for each student’s unique path greatly inform her teaching.
Sonia Weirich
Throughout my life physical movement has always given me peace in body, mind, and spirit. In my teens I was involved in all kinds of sports particularly running, swimming, and cycling. In my early twenties, inspired by my spiritual practices, I studied martial arts and obtained my black belt in Shotokan karate. In my early thirties my spiritual practices drew me to the familiar practices of yoga which I had been exposed to by my mother in my childhood. My study of yoga intensified over a number of years and in 2007 I began teaching Hatha yoga.
I have explored many forms of yoga including Vinyasa, Asthtanga, Iyengar, Kundalini and Bikram. I am currently inspired by Viniyoga, a style of yoga originating from Sri. T. Krishnamacharya. In this style of yoga the breath plays a central role, guiding and inspiring each movement. Poses are explored through repetitions and stays, as well as adaptations to suit the unique needs of the individual. Sequences are designed with safety in mind as the body is properly prepared and restored before and after each yoga pose.
I am a Viniyoga 200 RYT. I recently moved to Seattle to deepen my studies with my spiritual teacher. I am honored to be a part of the Lila Yoga community. The name, Lila, resonates well with me as I feel my life is and has been a Divine Play unfolding with each breath. What will the next breath bring?
Shelly Thorn
A class with Shelly often includes elements from power vinyasa, viniyoga, Iyengar, general Hatha. The result is a thoughtfully designed, fluid class with clear options for all levels of students. She is respectful and supportive, creating a space where students can feel at ease as they refine their efforts, try new things and open deeply to their experience. Students share that they appreciate the mix of effort and relaxation, focus on breathing, inspirational readings, and effectiveness of the chosen postures to ease their pain and tension and inspire an overall ease in body and mind.
Gianna Carotenuto
Teaching ~ Gianna is an accomplished healer and yoga teacher with over 20 years of combined teaching and practitioner experience.Her foundation is classic Forrest Yoga and she has taught as a senior Forrest Yoga instructor for over a decade. Specializing in classes that are tailored to the student’s present that day, Gianna works mindfully and creatively to build group energy and individual transformation through carefully designed sequences derived from a multiplicity of healing modalities ~ Forrest, Vinyasa flow, Iyengar, Yin, Kundalini and meditation.
Training ~ Gianna completed her Teacher’s Training in 1999 with Ana Forrest and remains committed to the principles and techniques of Forrest Yoga. Her mindset is that of a perpetual student seeking wisdom and insight from a variety of teachers to continue deepening and growing her teaching skills and yogic knowledge. She has attended numerous workshops and training sessions with many of today’s first lineage yoga masters: Ana Forrest, Max Strom, Rod Stryker, Rodney Yee, Gary Kraftow, Richard Freeman, Shiva Rea, and has been assisting workshops at Esalen with Yogini Micheline Berry since 2010.
Beyond the Mat ~ A practicing Buddhist, Gianna leads mediation classes, reads Sanskrit, is an ongoing student, practitioner and some-time resident at Tassajara Zen Center, and has participated in five week-long teachings with the Dalai Lama from 2000-2006, influences that bring a deep tranquility and mindfulness to her yoga classes. For the past 20 years Gianna’s “other” professional life has centered on various aspects of the arts. She is a curator, private art consultant, and art history professor. She completed her doctoral degree in the art of India and South Asia at UCLA in 2009. She currently a visiting professor of South Asian Art at the University’s of Washington, Seattle.
Ellen McCown
Ellen has been practicing Insight Meditation since 1985, including completing several intensive retreats and serving on the staff of the Insight Meditation Society. Ellen is a long-time yoga practitioner, a founding board member of Seattle Insight Meditation Society and actively participates in sangha life. She works in research at the University of Washington and is currently in chaplaincy training.