Instructors

Alex

fell in love with 4th Avenue Yoga in 2013 as a student and soon heard my calling to teach, focusing specifically on Hot 26 since 2015. I am a local Tucson native to the core, which probably explains my affinity to the heat!I love being a part of my community, networking, bringing people together and supporting small businesses. My classes concentrate on the physical hatha asanas that promote healthy organ function, and increase strength, balance, and flexibility. Come check out Hot 26! It always makes my day when I have the honor to teach someone’s 1st class. So if that’s the only thing holding you back- cast aside any apprehensions and come on down. Yee haw!

Alexsey

Alexsey fell in love with yoga with his first class at 4th Avenue Yoga, and hasn’t stopped going since. After six years of consistent practice, he went and received his 200 hour teacher training from the Devotional School of Yoga, Belize, under the tutelage of Kali Kennedy. Interested in active meditation through a powerful asana practice, he is excited to help others build strength both externally and internally!

Amanda

Amanda was first introduced to the world of yoga in 2014 and never stopped exploring! The practice as a whole was life changing and allowed her to cultivate self-love. Her compassion grew exponentially after finishing her 200-hour teacher training from the Devotional School of Yoga, in Belize, under Kali Kennedy. Restorative has a place in her heart because of its surrendering quality. She finds that letting go and allowing your body to restore its natural energy is beautiful. She has personally grown from yoga and hopes you will join her in finding what calls to you!

Ann

Ann Chihak Poff, E-RYT 200, CYT 500.

Ann has been practicing yoga since 2007. She went through the Deep Yoga teacher training at Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, Calif. and has been teaching since June 2014. In July 2019 she completed HeartSong Yoga’s 300 Hour Advanced Teacher Training and Teaching Mentorship Program in Portland, Ore. Whether you are a beginner, recovering from an injury, needing a slower pace with strong alignment cues, gentle adjustments and some humor this is the class and teacher for you. All levels in her classes are supported and welcome. She is from Tucson and has a degree in journalism.

Brandy

Brandy found yoga by accident; 11 years ago, she joined a friend for class and fell in love with the practice! A light came on that just continued to grow brighter every time she came to the mat. What began as solely a physical practice has blossomed into a deeper awareness of mind and spirit. She is an E-RYT 500 teacher inspired by ashtanga, power, and vinyasa teachings.

Student first, teacher second: expect to be challenged mentally and physically in Brandy’s classes. She believes strongly in the power of “possibility;” we don’t know until we try! “Only by passing through resistance do we become stronger,” a quote by Sri Swami Satchidananda that she often shares and teaches from. Her classes offer a strong breath connection with powerful flows to tap into our internal strength!

Caleb

I’ve been practicing yoga sine 2010 and enjoy many different styles. I am currently a 200 hour RYT and have also trained in Acro Yoga and slackline as well. I believe yoga is one of the most effective and powerful practices for a healthy and well balanced lifestyle. I’m honored to be guiding others through this special practice.

Casey

Casey Shaw is passionate about helping others discover true soul alignment and embodied bliss. She has formally studied over 700 hours of ancient and modern Yoga philosophy, mindfulness based stress reduction, healing modalities in India and beyond. She is a trained Life Coach and Spiritual Teacher. Casey has over 9 years of experience supporting others to relax, get unstuck, understand and befriend their inner critic, set boundaries and keep them, find ease in their bodies, be kind to themselves, and have more fun.

David

David Kleinman is a retired police officer/paramedic who came to yoga late in life. After a few years of doing Bikram he found Hatha and Vinyasa more to his liking. He received his instructor certification at Barefoot Yoga in Tucson. You can usually find him practicing at any of the beer and yoga classes around town or wine and yoga or whiskey and yoga with his wife, Kathe.

Pat Albuquerque

Emma

Emma Bell became a 200hr RYT through Yoga Oasis in 2015, after being introduced to the practice a few years earlier while still in high school. She then became one of the first All Bodies Rise Yoga (ABRY) teachers in 2016, and has been teaching this style of revolutionary yoga that focuses on healing internal and external oppression, ever since. The practicing and teaching of ABRY allowed her to recognize her own body as a friend, not an enemy. She teaches the way she likes to do yoga: pretty chill and with no judgement allowed. Her classes aim to be accessible through the use of props and variations, and she always encourages students to focus on what feels good in their bodies above all else. She loves to use yummy sounds and dim lighting to allow students to connect deeper with themselves.

Grace

Grace (RYT-200) has a passion for yoga that stems from the ways it has helped and changed her life since she began practicing in 2005. She has shared yoga in her hometown of Tucson, while traveling in East Africa, and during her studies in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has led yoga in a variety of settings and loves to practice outdoors. Grace began her yoga journey practicing Ashtanga yoga and completed her teacher training in Hatha yoga. Her classes incorporate both styles and seek to find a balance between active flow and calm relaxation. Her other interests include travel, cycling, and craft beer.

Gretchen

Gretchen Abbott has been practicing meditation and yoga for over 15 years. She graduated with her 200hr TT from Yogaville where she was trained in Integral Yoga and lived on an Ashram. Integral Yoga is a complete practice of yoga with pranayama, meditation, chanting, asanas, and yoga nidra (or deep relaxation). Although, Gretchen enjoys teaching this class, she is also well versed in Yin yoga, chair yoga, Vinyasa,Hot yoga, Partner yoga and yoga for children.

Gretchen’s approach to yoga is fun, easeful, and creative. She advocates and encourages “mindful movement” a practice that she continues in her own day as well as with all her classes and workshops. Listening to the body and practicing the mantra “no strain, no stress” Gretchen’s classes are filled with variations for all levels. She incorporates light hearted humour, and encourages the awareness of the self, the breath, and the body. Integrating mind, body, and spirit in a practice to tone and strengthen the body in a subtle but powerful way!

Hope

Hope completed her 200 hour teacher training in 2017 with Kali Kennedy at the Devotional School of Yoga. She teaches a variety of flow classes, making her classes accessible to everyone and every body. Through her classes, she hopes to bring awareness to the body and the self. Hope believes that through the physical practice of yoga, yogis can delve deeper into their mind, body, and spirit. Along with yoga, Hope enjoys painting, running, and writing.

Jessica

Jessica Kind has been a regular part of the Tucson yoga community since graduating from a local teacher training in 2015. Her classes are marked by a focus on alignment and a commitment to helping students build a healthy foundation for their yoga practice. Aware of her more western approach to yoga, students looking to explore the physical practice will appreciate her no fluff approach to teaching!!

Johnny

Johnny received a 250 hour Government of India certification in Hatha over the summer of 2010 at the Yoga Vidya Gurukul, a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2011, and a YogaHour* certification from Darren Rhodes during 2012. During his undergraduate honors thesis he conducted an experiment examining a yogic breathing technique, which led to being hired as a Faculty Research Associate in the Psychophysiology department at UofA following graduation. His classes are a synthesis of the knowledge pertaining to meditation and physiology he has been exposed to, coupled with the various Western and Eastern traditions he has encountered throughout his yogic studies. Students that frequent his class tend to be anyone looking to have a good time while spending a little extra time on foundation alignment, regardless of whether they practice often or never have before.

Josh

It was in 2014 yoga practice became a part of my daily life. In 2017 I took my 200 hour training and have since been teaching classes. I practice Ashtanga yoga and my teaching style reflects this discipline. In my classes, we work on breathe, drishti, and alignment. You can expect to be challenged and work on these various aspects of yoga. I often approach students during class to provide adjustments that are suited for the particular student, helping them to understand the poses better, and allowing them to move deeper in their practice. I believe that yoga is meant for everyBODY, whatever shape, size, color, or gender. There is a great number of benefits to yoga, but they all require you to show up, with your yoga clothes on, and your ego left at the door. See you in class!

Kali

My life changed when I discovered the power of yoga at seventeen. The practice has enriched all areas of my life physically, mentally, and spiritually as I found an immediate vocation to teach. I have primarily been teaching Vinyasa classes since 2010 in the Tucson community but I deeply enjoy, respect, and hold space for all styles of yoga. More recently my practice has shifted to understand therapeutic approaches to yoga and encourage mindful healing to accommodate those bodies with injuries or chronic pain. In an effort to revolutionize yoga education, I founded The Devotional School of Yoga, a destination training and retreat school. I have since trained several people in the art and science of teaching yoga, including many 4th Avenue Yoga teachers. I encourage an open-minded and openhearted perspective as we move through yoga practice, and ultimately life.

Leah

When you show up to practice, the practice shows up for you. I discovered the balancing effects of yoga asana from the first time I stepped on my mat in 2009. My practice helped me heal and cultivate inner and outer strength as I went through a very challenging time in my life. My asana practice culminated with heart-centered meditation, which resulted in a complete transformation of how I thought of myself and lived my life. What was once a time of pain is now realized and rejoiced as the catalyst of my personal renewal. I believe we each have the capacity and capability to continually recreate ourselves. Through the times of growth, through every experience of triumph and surrender, your practice will be there to support the infinite you, every breath of the way.

Lily

A 200 hour teacher training through the Devotional School of Yoga opened me up to the abundant power of healing, accomplished through intention and breathing with meaning believing that we are all yielding an essence so true, so light and so bright we deserve to be beaming. Passionate beings in-tune with your true being and seeing what you intentionally seek out to see. Through mindful flow of letting go we can divulge into the unknown; finding comforts in places we didn’t even know. From head to toe we’ll release samskaras and that of which does not serve us anymore. Guiding you through your intentions relaxing into new inventions of self redemption by choosing to learn alongside acceptance.

Mickey

Mickey has been practicing yoga for the better part of a decade, starting the way many do, with a desire to be more flexible, more “zen.” In 2014, Mickey was awakened to the power the asana practice has to bring one to higher self awareness through meditation. Since then, she’s been passionate about experiencing, learning, and growing through a high energy Vinyasa asana practice, a practice that leads one to focus on nothing but the here and now. Finally, Mickey sought to teach this same high octane, butt-kicking practice, and received her RYT200 from the Devotional School of Yoga. Mickey’s interests outside yoga include backpacking, dogs, and making art.

Naveena

Born and currently located in Tucson, AZ, I was raised in New Jersey in a traditional Hindu household. During my childhood, I was introduced to the spiritual concepts of yoga by my parents who regularly read Hindu scriptures and integrated the practices of the eight limbs of yoga into their lifestyles. At the age of thirteen, I sustained a chronic injury. In an effort to strengthen and restore mobility, I began a daily yoga practice. With time and commitment, my spirit, soul, and body gained strength and mobility returned.

In 2015, I received my RYT 200 in traditional Hatha and Vinyasa style flow. I believe that every form of yoga presents its own benefits to students depending upon their varied needs. I have since obtained certifications to teach Childrens, Yin, and Yoga Nidra and have gained thorough experience teaching a wide variety of styles with diverse populations and bodies. I strive to bring an equal balance of awareness and tranquility to my students and classes. My classes aim to infuse alignment based, intuitive, and joyful movement with reverence for our bodies and the eight limbs.

Nychole

Nychole found appreciation for yoga a few years back after sustaining a running injury. She practiced yoga consistently and was able to be restored both physically and to her discovery, spiritually. She decided to deepen her appreciation for yoga by completing the RYT 200 certification through Session School of Yoga in 2014 and is now a registered member of the Yoga Alliance. At the end of RYT certification Nychole left corporate life to follow her passion and to help others through the power of yoga. Her classes are designed to help fellow students explore their own potential by guiding them through powerful, playful, and mindful sequences. Nothing makes Nychole happier than seeing a class full of sweaty and smiling yogis.

Pam

Pam Ronstadt began studying yoga at the suggestion of her doctor and began to immediately see the benefits of a regular yoga practice to her overall health and well-being. The impact of a regular yoga practice led Pam to take her 200-hour teacher training at the Yoga Connection in Tucson. Pam practices and teaches Hatha Yoga in it’s many forms as well as Yin Yoga. She strives to bring a level of joy, peace and fun into each of her classes.

Phoebe

Phoebe, RYT200, has been practicing yoga since being a baby with her mama. Passionate about wellness, she is also a Health Coach, fitness instructor and Licensed Massage Therapist. Her classes are a way to sweat, shine and unwind, while igniting your inner glow through beats, bends and breath. Come play on the mat!

Sam

When I first began exploring yoga I was in awe of the movement, the alignment required to safely practice asana and the potential to build more patience and love within myself. After 10 years of humbling connection to body and mind, everyday I am grateful for the gift of MOVEMENT. I believe when we strengthen the physical body, we strengthen the emotional body and there is always something to discover-on and off our mats. Let’s explore together Tucson! See you soon….

Sara

Inspired and driven by the discovery of yoga at the age of 16, Sara has not stopped practicing since. Drawn to yoga for its mindfulness, deep mind-body connection, and community, Sara received her RYT 200 in December of 2016. The opportunities for self-love and empathy for others makes yoga unlike any other activity for her. Connecting to breath on a daily basis, as well as learning to laugh at yourself and accept your present body, allow yoga to release stress and build confidence. Spreading the healing capabilities of yoga to others only makes teaching sweeter, as well as always remaining a student herself. Sara loves to connect her passion for yoga with her love for the outdoors with wilderness yoga, SUP yoga, and hikes as often as possible. She is working on a degree in conservation biology with hopes to go on to environmental law.