Amey Mathews is one of the owners of Yoga Within. She has been a student of yoga since 1993, and her love for the practice grows deeper every day. She began studying yoga as a student at Stanford University, and is always searching out ways to continue her yogic education. Over the years she has studied Iyengar, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Anusara, and Jivamukti styles of yoga – but Iyengar Yoga has been by far the greatest influence. “My goal as a teacher is to create an environment in which students feel safe, challenged, and enthusiastic about the many riches that yoga has to offer. Yoga is an optimistic discipline, which asserts that we all have vast potential beyond our current state.” Amey teaches with an emphasis on the philosophy and concepts behind the postures. She received her first certification from the White Lotus Foundation in 1999, and in 2004 she completed a 110-hour teacher training program with her primary teacher, Kofi Busia. Amey offers her humble gratitude to the many amazing teachers who have guided her practice; most notably Kofi Busia.
831.419.0716 ~ ameyfm@yahoo.com ~ www.yogawithamey.com

Denise Wendler has been studying yoga since 1985 and teaching since 1996. She is an Intermediate Junior I certified Iyengar teacher and a graduate of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. She was fortunate to go to Pune in 2005 to study with the Iyengar family. Denise teaches classes in the Santa Cruz/San Jose area, and workshops and retreats in California and Hawaii. She enjoys teaching students of all ages and abilities and her classes draw faithful students who appreciate her encouraging spirit and patient instruction. Denise is available for private lessons.
408.506.0996 ~ yogablossom@yahoo.com ~ www.denisewendleryoga.com

Jane Freedman says: “Yoga is the most profound relationship I have ever known. The practices of yoga have held my attention and my heart with curiosity and demand that I respect and cherish. I attribute this to my current teacher of 22 years, Kofi Busia. His teaching is impeccable. His patience and yogic knowledge are second to none. I am inspired to teach with consistency, clarity of purpose and joy in honor of my teacher.”
 www.janefreedman108.com

Karen Zelin is one of the owners of Yoga Within.  She has been a student and teacher of Yoga and Meditation since the mid 1990’s.  She trained at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco, Judith Lassater’s Relax and Renew Certification program, and the Spirit Rock Yoga & Mindfulness Certification program, and is deeply involved with Insight Santa Cruz, a Buddhist meditation center.  Her long-time yoga teacher is Kofi Busia.

Karen’s teaching draws from her extensive training, years of experience and deep grounding in her own practice. Classes are designed to bring compassion to the body/mind, while increasing strength, flexibility and  awareness.  In her yoga classes, you will learn the poses, and as well as  a taste of philosophy, functional anatomy, and mindfulness—that’s yoga! It’s all connected.

Karyn Bristol is one of the owners of Yoga Within. An Intermediate Junior 1 Certified Iyengar teacher, Karyn continually studies with senior Iyengar teachers to deepen her own yoga practice, expand her knowledge, and become a more effective teacher. Karyn took her first yoga class in 1986 and her practice had such a powerful, transformative effect on her life, she decided to become a yoga teacher. During the hours she spends each day in her home studio, Karyn uses her own body as a lab to explore how different sequences affect the body and emotions, discovers new approaches to work with injuries, and troubleshoots problems faced by her students. Karyn holds a certification in Yoga for Scoliosis, regularly travels to India to study with the Iyengar family, and is particularly grateful to her primary teacher, Kofi Busia. Karyn teaches beginners and intermediate students, offers specialized back care classes, and loves introducing her students to the path of yoga. Karyn also teachers private students at her yurt studio in Live Oaks

Kofi Busia is one of the world’s foremost teachers in the Iyengar tradition. He has been teaching for nearly 40 years, and has held his Advanced Certificate for 35 years. He has taught, and is recognized, all over the world. He began yoga as a student at Oxford and has taught professionally ever since. Throughout the 1970’s and up until the mid-1980’s, he studied regularly with B. K. S. Iyengar, and directly from him on a regular basis at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, Maharashtra, South India. Although he has lived most of his life in Oxford, England, he is currently based in Santa Cruz, California, where he is putting the finishing touches to three planned books, one of which is an original translation and commentary, direct from the Sanskrit, of the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. Until this work is complete he will continue to offer only a skeleton number of classes and workshops mainly in the Northern California area.
 www.kofibusia.com

Laurie Broderick-Burr has been practicing and teaching yoga for 30 years. She has been deeply influenced in the Iyengar tradition by Judith Lasater, Aadil Palkhivala, and Kofi Busia. Laurie considers herself a life-long learner and consistently seeks to deepen her knowledge of human movement patterns. Currently enrolled in a Masters of Kinesiology program, Laurie expertly integrates principles of functional movement, anatomy, biomechanics, balance, and stability into classical asana instruction.  One of Laurie’s long-time students says, “Laurie’s approach to yoga combines ancient teachings with contemporary science in a way that makes asana practice meaningful in the modern world. With sensitivity and a good sense of humor she blends her deep and growing knowledge of the mechanics of the human body with the traditions of hatha yoga to provide practices that extend beyond the yoga studio into daily life.” Laurie’s Website: http://www.yogaburr.com/

Michael Leannarda-Dini is a Certified Yoga Therapist and Ayurvedic Health Counselor. Yoga has been a part of my life for over 30 years. It has brought me much joy which I attribute to the many and varied fabulous teachers I have been fortunate to study with. My goal is to make yoga accessible to everyone. We all have our strengths and our challenges. Classes taught in the Viniyoga approach, a therapeutically oriented style of yoga that emphasizes safety and adaptation, promotes personal awareness, and facilitates connection with yourself. By learning to relax deeply, breath completely, stretch and strengthen the body; we get to luxuriate in that peace and joy that lie within. yoga4urback@icloud.com