Brad Brockbank
Brad’s path to the practice of yoga was initially about healing. A “do or die” attitude in surfing, motorcycles and hockey had left him with chronic pain. Like many people, this became normal, and it impacted him emotionally as much as it did physically. Yoga was his last-ditch effort, a Hail Mary that seemed unlikely at best – but the way things progressed surprised him. He felt less pain, had more range of motion, and soon, moving his body actually started to feel good. This process became transformational, leading to unprovoked smiling, spontaneous kindness, and even a growing sense of happiness. Because yoga was never easy for him, he developed a deep compassion for those who fall down, seeing that it’s not only getting back up that matters, but also how you get up. How you treat yourself affects how you treat the people around you. Combining this attitude with many years of apprenticeship with his teacher, Rusty Wells, has left him with an understanding of what it takes to undergo this amazing process and what it takes to support it. Brad was one of the founding teachers at Urban Flow Yoga, and his classes have been described as joyful, loving, and intense – full of cool music, nuanced alignment cues and hands-on assists. In an effort to offer back what has been given to him, he also leads classes for seniors and disabled adults.
Erika Van
Gemeren
I teach vibrant and devotional public yoga classes all around the Bay Area. Classes include heat built from the inside and often include live music from masterful artists.Expect mantra, asana, flow, and incredibly supportive assists.
These public classes are soulful, sweaty, and nurturing. I teach a Vinyasa Bhakti class that is fluid, sensual, vigorous, grounding and fun. Bhakti is a form of devotion and love expressed by mantra and chanting, so you’ll have the opportunity to dive right into the heart.
Janel Hathaway
Everyone has their own journey with their practice. I came to yoga in search of sustainable form of fitness. Coming from a high impact sport, gymnastics, I know how important it is to cultivate a balanced presence both mentally and physically.
For me, yoga opened up a direct path to listen to my body in a way I hadn’t previously known. I was surprised after practicing for a few months how much my body was telling me that I had not noticed before.
And yoga not only opened the door to a more spiritual and mindful way of being in my body, but also opened the door to a wider, supportive community grounded in this beautiful shared practice.
Now, I look forward to sharing the benefits of this practice with as many people as I can.
Jim Phillips
Jim started his yoga journey at the Ocean Studio and is thrilled to now be part of the team! He is a San Francisco native and has raised his family here as well. Jim is a high school physical education teacher with a degree in kinesiology and a masters in education. He has dedicated much of his life to teaching movement and sports. He is inspired by both his teachers and those taking classes alongside him. In his spare time you can find him walking his dogs or taking a class at the Ocean Studio.
Johanna Butterworth
Johanna Butterworth received her 200-hour certification in April 2018 from the JOY of Yoga School. She has been teaching full time for the Google corporate office. She received her BFA in Dance in May 2018 from The Boston Conservatory and found that yoga helped ground her during that intense process. She loves to play music and find the balance between breath and movement in her classes. Johanna loves to smile and finds the joy within doing yoga and teaching yoga!
Laura Jayne
Laura is a Yoga Alliance 200 hour registered yoga teacher with over 500 hours of training, and has been teaching since 2012. She came to yoga after a 20+ year background as a dancer and dance teacher; after sustaining several injuries in the dance studio, she had to find a new physical outlet. Before finding Vinyasa, she found most styles of yoga to feel rigid, but fell in love with Vinyasa movement because the flow, and ability to be creative with sequencing reminded her of moving freely in the dance studio. She teaches a light hearted, yet challenging, Vinyasa flow that encourages students to reframe their thoughts, focusing on gratitude, and searching for the lessons in life’s day to day challenges. She believes there is always something to learn, and deeper to dive, if you can still the mind and get out of your own way (both on, and off, the mat). A forever student, she has trained with many teachers over the years including Pete Guinosso, Jane Austin, Rusty Wells, Mark Stephens and Dana Damara. She finds those who show up on the mat in her classes to be both her greatest inspiration, as well as her greatest teachers.
A California native, and dog lover, Laura enjoys spending her free time outdoors, in nature, and can be found most weekends either hiking in the redwoods, barefoot at the beach, or taking groups out for hiking and yoga adventures!
Linda Souders
As a dancer, Linda was initially drawn to yoga for the graceful physicality of the asanas. Yet,
like many people, was captivated by the deep, healing dive into the richness of the 8 limbs,
and the body/mind/soul connection.
Linda’s classes, steeped in ritual and ceremony, emphasize breath and alignment in flowing
motion to build balance, flexibility, and strength in body, mind, and soul. She enthusiastically
teachers all 8 limbs of yoga in order to help students realign with their authentic self, and then
move off the mat, out in to the world, living a life of personal integrity. Her commitment to
honesty, collaboration, and love enables students of all levels to find what works best for their
unique body in any given moment. She guides students on a powerful exploration of listening
to the body with honor and reverence.
Linda aspires to be a wise elder, passing on the wisdom teachings of the many who have
gone before, in order to help those following to navigate this wild path, called life.
Meg Maitreya
Meg Maitreya has studied and practiced yoga for over 10 years. Her teaching is informed by compassion, inclusion, and attention to detail. Meg’s love of yoga led her to Nepal, India, and back to her native San Francisco, where in 2015, she received her 200hr teaching certification from the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. Blending a mix of nonviolent communication, alignment based anatomical understanding and fun, her teaching is heavily influenced by Judith Hanson Lasater, whom she worked for several years as personal assistant and continues to assist on the mat. Follow her @meg.maitreya.
Restorative yoga is the practice of doing less and going inward. With the use of props and the gift of time, we will learn comfortable positions of ease to facilitate health, healing and deep relaxation. This class is open to all levels of practice and ability. Rest and discover your true nature!
Molly Barber
Molly is a seeker. At age 20, she discovered meditation and the teachings of the Buddha, which essentially ended up saving her life. These teachings of truth and vipassana, along with Bhakti and the 5 elements, have profoundly shaped her approach to yoga.
Molly holds space for students to drop behind the logic and into the truth of their own direct experience – through chanting, dynamic movement, stillness and Dharma.
Neil Wadhawan
Neil Wadhawan was exposed to yoga by his father at a very young age. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy and studied western and eastern music at an undergraduate and graduate level. Neil’s classes are playful and fluid, with the heart of each class featuring Neil playing a Djembe drum while simultaneously instructing. The Djembe plays the rhythm of the breath called Ujjayi, an ancient yogic breathing technique, which allows the practitioners to breathe and move in sync. Neil has been a teacher in several trainings in San Francisco and all over the world. He continues to share his love for the practice locally and beyond. Neil believes that in any art or discipline, one can only be a great student and never a master. There is always something new to learn and the only way to continue to grow is to remain a student.
Patsy Leung
I am 500hr+ certified and have studied with amazing instructors such as Jason Crandell, Briohny Smyth, Dice Ilda-Klein, and Jane Austin. My range of studies include Advanced FitFlow, PTSD, to Prenatal/Kids yoga. You can find my classes to be focused on alignment, breath, mindful movements, and an overall strong Vinyasa based flow. I’ve been told that I have great verbal cues, am very welcoming, have a strong clear voice, good pacing, and have a great playlist!
How did yoga come into my life? One year I started experiencing massive headaches for months. I felt like my head would explode every time I worked out; eventually, I had to stop. Long story short, that is when I found yoga or yoga found me. I tried several yoga classes and finally found an instructor that I connected with and most of all loved their style of teaching.
I got certified to deepen my practice; with no intentions of teaching. Soon after, my friends were referring people to me and I started teaching private lessons; needless to say, the rest is history.
The biggest blessing within my yoga journey are my students. When people tell me how I have impacted them and/or their practice, it means the world to me. That is what inspires and motivates me to keep teaching and become a better instructor.
As the saying goes, “Teaching is rewarding”.
Pudji Lestari
I strive to share the benefits of yoga with adults and children, to nurture the body, mind, and spirit through yoga practice that is safe, challenging, informative, and fun. My personal yoga journey began in a small apartment. That tiny physical space was the starting point for my inner journey. I want to help every student find the key to their own yoga room and fall in love with the practice.
My style is Hatha and Vinyasa Flow, focusing on mindful movements, Pranayama breathing and alignment. I am an experienced, 500-hour Certified Teacher with Yoga Alliance through The Mindful Body San Francisco and Jason Crandall Yoga Method, as well as a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher with Trauma-Informed Focus through Yoga Ed.
Rachelle Banares
I’ve always felt connected to the beat and movement. As life brought on its challenges it was this place I felt most whole and free. With the commitment to do the inner-work, I immersed myself in preventive health and self-development. This led me to find yoga, taking my love of movement to a whole other level.
Yoga is a major part of my own healing process. Although it wasn’t love at first stretch, through consistent practice I began to feel the healing magic of yoga. It was on the mat I first breathed deeply, found the sweet solitude of a quiet mind, connected breath and movement and found the beauty in the challenge. All these experiences led me to pursue a degree in Psychology, Health Education, and eventually aspire to be a yoga teacher. In 2019 I pursued my teacher training at Yandara in Mexico and furthered my studies by joining The Advanced Mentorship Teacher Training at Yoga Flow, SF.
I’m excited to provide a supportive space along with great beats and even greater vibes, merging my love of music and movement.
Let’s learn together, breathe, stretch, sweat, challenge ourselves and have a good time. Hope to see you on the mat!
IG: @VibewithRachelle
Rick Seher
Yoga has been a part of my life for over 10 years. My practice has helped me grow stronger, livelier, and less fearless, both on and off the mat. Yoga inspires me to live each moment more mindfully.
I completed my 200-Hour Vinyasa Flow training with Yoga to the People in San Francisco in 2014 and worked towards advanced yoga training with Rose Erin Vaughan and Science of Self in New York City. Most recently I complete a 300-hour teacher training with Laura Burkhart Yoga in 2022.
I am deeply grateful for the loving wisdom my teachers have shared with me. I will always be a student of this practice of yoga.
In my classes, I love to combine creative sequencing, a spirit of playfulness and a dose of inspiration to help you deepen your practice. I seek to help others thrive to live by nurturing your body, mind, and soul with yoga. As a practitioner and instructor, I have a special affinity for the new and beginning student, seniors, and anyone fearful of yoga.
I am here to help others find this release so that they can be comfortable and competently move their bodies through life. My hope is that you step off the mat feeling refreshed, nourished, and balanced.
Sydney Waters
“As a student, yoga gave me the space, time, and tools to heal and repair the relationship I have with my body. It has been a process of gaining a clearer understanding of the ways that my body carries me through life–the ways it stores my emotions and experiences in all of its nooks and crannies. It is a practice that helped me turn my body from a battlefield into a home.
As a teacher, my purpose is to guide students through this practice so that they can discover what yoga can be for them. It’s different for everyone, but to truly practice yoga on the mat is to honor our bodies, their needs, and their quirks. We do not roll out the mat to change ourselves. We may become stronger or more flexible–sure, there are physical benefits–but the real heart, the nectar of the practice, is the connection you forge with yourself.
The quality of your yoga practice is not based on what you do when you are on the mat, but how you do it. The value lies in the intention. When we approach our practice with compassion and curiosity, it flourishes.”