Teachers

Who We Are

We love yoga! We live it, we practice regularly, and love to share it! We are all certified to help guide you through a safe and well-rounded practice. Our professional bios reflect a variety of influences, enriching the offerings we have at the Shala. In yoga, there is a beautiful balance between strength and surrender, between effort and letting go. As we encourage you to take your practice to new heights, we also honor your “inner teacher”, and encourage you to listen to your body at all times.

Lindsay Amrein

Lindsay Amrein has been a dedicated student of yoga since 2003 and graduated as a registered yoga teacher in 2008 from Avalon Art and Yoga Center, where she apprenticed with Anirudh Shastri and John Berg. Since then, she has studied yoga to understand the transcendental element which quietly accompanies her practice. Through a rigorous vinyasa-flow sequence and careful selection of music, she guides her classes towards a meditative state. She has completed some training at the Iyengar Institute in San Francisco to help her students achieve better alignment and form through the use of props. She also encourages physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation on the yoga mat by integrating her knowledge of transpersonal psychology to improve overall health and well-being.

Kelly Haller

Kelly began practicing yoga nine years ago while in college at UCSB.  She completed her yoga teacher training at the White Lotus Foundation, where she studied with Ganga White.  Her classes are vinyasa- based, with a strong emphasis on breath and intention.  She challenges her students, while at the same time providing options to make her classes accessible to all levels.  Kelly takes inspiration from her daily life to create a unique focus for each class.  In turn, she encourages her students to take their practice off the mat and into their daily lives. 

Paul Komarek

Paul grew up with sports, playing soccer from kindergarten through grad school and skiing in the mountains around Spokane, Washington. He took his first yoga class on the advice of a doctor, while recovering from a back injury. Instead of finding a quick-fix for pain, he learned to value and respect his body and himself through his yoga practice. After practicing Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga, and Yin, Paul trained to be a teacher under Mark Stephens. Later, he discovered the joy of northern California’s nature through hiking, biking, kayaking, and generally being outside in this beautiful part of the world. When teaching, Paul hopes to inspire awareness of your life through awareness of your body. When not practicing yoga, Paul is probably working as a software engineer or training for the next adventure race.

Nimmi Kovvali

A student of yoga since she was a child Nimmi completed a Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training program under the guidance of senior yoga instructor Mark Stephens in Santa Cruz, CA. Her love for the practice inspired her to share the benefits and joy of doing yoga with others. Nimmi’s personal practice is based on the principles of satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence) and aparagraha (not hurting), which she strongly emphasizes in the classes that she guides. She offers a safe space for her students to explore their practice through the use of props and modifications to asanas. Nimmi’s classes are choreographed to music that allows her students to explore not only the physical practice but also the practice that develops deep within. Nimmi has studied under the guidance of several well known instructors including Marti Foster, Jill Glikberg, Mark Stephens, Ben Thomas, Kent Bond, Janya Wongsopa and Srivatsa Ramaswami.

Jeffrey Lang

Completing Jill Miller’s Yoga Tune Up® teacher training gave Jeff the necessary knowledge for transforming the body in a systematic, accessible, and safe way. Using modern understanding and ancient techniques, Jeff’s classes provide a physical practice to heal and support mental clarity, emotional capability, and spiritual growth.Having gone through the Avalon Yoga teacher-training program in 2006, Jeff has studied the roots of classical yoga and the philosophies of this rich lineage. Jeff had the opportunity to learn from some of the areas best teachers; John Berg, Ben Thomas, Sam Matthews, Kelly McGonigal, and Anirudh Shastri. “My focus is to bring health to the tissues of the body and ensure their efficient function; providing resiliency and support for our well-being. When the body is properly nourished and balanced, the mind and emotions become more at ease, and exhibit the same resiliency and support as the body. We are able to carry on our lives in a perpetual state of wonder, joy, and ease – even at the most difficult of times we gain the courage to reach into the wellspring of our inner-being and experience peace. Know thy Body; Know thy Self.”

Tamara Lopez

Tamara Lopez is passionate about healing the mind and body through the practice of yoga. She is a government lawyer who understands how the body is compromised by work related stress and prolonged periods of sitting at a desk. She came to yoga later in life and enjoys working with students who are new to yoga. The importance of alignment is emphasized in her teaching so that the benefit of each posture can be fully experienced. She teaches yoga fundamentals as well as deeply relaxing restorative yoga. She earned her RYT certification through Joy of Yoga and has studied under Kofi Busia, Ben Thomas, Judith Lasater, Gary Kraftsow, and Joyce Anue.

Emily Lounsbury

Emily Lounsbury discovered yoga in 2001 and has been practicing ever since. She completed her 200+ hr Yoga teacher training with Jennifer Prugh where she studied many different schools, techniques, and yogic philosophies. She currently maintains a regular Vinyasa practice as well as being influenced by Anusara, Iyengar, and Yin Yoga. She is currently teaching Yoga Foundations at Reformation Studios in San Jose. She also has taught Kids Yoga as well as doing one-on-one therapeutic yoga sessions with private students. Her passion for the study of anatomy as well as experience with physical therapy gives her keen insight to helping people with their physical complaints or conditions. Emily loves studying Yogic as well as other Eastern Philosophies as a part of her daily Raja Yoga practice. Her dream is to help as many people as possible experience the joy and serenity that yoga has to offer.

Elena Milyukova

Through offering to her students a challenging and playful practice Elena encourages them to find their own boundaries. She believes that yoga helps to discover hidden powers, brings more self-confidence, helps to find inner peace and love within. Elena teaches the whole spectrum of yoga: asanas, pranayama, chanting, philosophy and meditation. She gives her students solid foundation with emphasis on safety, alignment, symmetry, and space.

Elena finished Avalon Teacher Training Program and 100-hours Anusara Immersion. She started her path of yoga under the guidance of her Guru, Ben Thomas. Elena considers him her main influence and inspiration. Elena’s teaching style and practice was influenced by other great teachers such as Ken Graham, John Berg, and Kofi Busia to whom she feels much gratitude and appreciation for everything she knows about yoga.

Lirio Ohlson

Lirio has studied Hatha Yoga for the last 20 years with Baba Hari Dass. She has been teaching various limbs of the Ashtanga Yoga system including meditation, pranayama (breathing practices), and yoga asana (postures) for more than a decade. Lirio’s focus is on making yoga accessible to people of different ages and abilities.

Jennifer Prugh

Jennifer Prugh R.Y.T. (500) is dedicated to guiding her students to a place just beyond where they thought they could go and discovering what is possible when we bring our whole selves to the moment, bringing meaning to the phrase, ‘with practice, the impossible becomes possible.’ Jennifer unites innovative asana sequencing with attention to alignment, breath work, chanting, partner work and meditation, whether it is a dynamic yoga practice or a practice devoted to stillness. A yoga practitioner for twenty years, she is the founder of the Yoga Alliance 200-hour ‘Joy of Yoga’ advanced studies and teacher training program. She works with people with cancer and their care givers and has a thriving client based practice in yoga therapeutics.

Amy Raichert

Amy‘s love for the process of Yoga has never ceased since her first class in 1995. Starting with an Iyengar based practiced, some flow and even bikram she now focuses her main studies to the Anusara Method of Yoga. She finds the principles of alignment and heart based philosophy well suited to her style. Yoga has been a transformational process for Amy since day one. She believes that yoga is a study of each person individual mind, heart and soul. On the mat it is you and you and with that there is so much to learn and discover about the deep roots of our own hearts and souls. She teaches with a soft heart and energetic smile helping to build strength and flexibility while holding the space for the individual experience of the student to arise. It is with this seed of intention that she teaches “to offer back a space of healing, energy and love to the students as it has been so gracefully offered to her. “ Amy is also fond of art and design and loves to sew, dance, sing and hike. She acquired her Yoga certification in 2004 and is currently licensed as an Anusara –Inspired teacher working toward completing her full Anusara certification.

Bob Riccomini

Bob teaches a playful yet vigorous vinyasa flow based class accompanied by contemporary hip music. Bob completed his teacher training at the Bhakti Urban Flow Teacher Training Center in San Francisco with Rusty Wells. Other influential teachers include Dharma Mittra, David Swenson, Desiree Rumbaugh, Ana Forrest, Shiva Rea, Eric Shiffmann, and Jennifer Prugh. Bob’s driving force in teaching yoga is his desire to give back to the local community where he has been so fortunate to live and work for many years. All proceeds Bob receives for teaching are donated to “Art of Yoga,” a non-profit organization whose mission is to lead teen girls in the California juvenile justice system toward accountability by providing practical tools to effect behavior change.

Charles Sheperd

Charles began his Tai Chi training in his mid-teens. He has trained in Yang and Chen systems, covering Spear, Straight Sword, Broadsword, Fan, and Ball. He has also trained in PaKua, Hsing Yi and holds a 2nd Degree Black Sash under Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé. Tai Chi Ch’uan is the gentle exercise practiced by children as young as six to seniors in their eighties. Tai Chi Ch’uan or simply Tai Chi, starts with easy movements to train and strengthen the body. With daily dedication, the practitioner becomes aware of their bodies and further develop; flexibility, awareness, and their personal Chi.

Matece Skow

Matece Skow, Yoga Instructor and Certified Massage Therapist, has spent much of the last 10 years exploring and teaching different forms of yoga, massage and movement. She has trained in various forms of Hatha yoga including Sivananda, Vinyasa, and Yin. Her background in bodywork and interest in holistic health and yoga philosophy led her to study Ayurveda, becoming an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor through the American Institute of Vedic Studies. Her understanding of the human body informs her sessions and she is focused to help bring the benefits of yoga into daily life. Her natural warmth and playfulness allow for a fun, safe, and nurturing environment.

Prajna Brianna Vieira

Prajna Brianna Vieira has been practicing meditation and bhakti yoga since childhood. Formerly a classical ballet dancer, she began a hatha yoga practice in LA in 1998, hoping to heal some dance-related injuries. Deeply inspired by her studies with yoga teachers Naader Shagagi, Shiva Rea and Gurmukh, Prajna (pronounced Pruhg-nya) completed teacher trainings in Classical Hatha, Vinyasa and Kundalini Yogas, and has been teaching since 2001. Her classes are playful, authentic, inspiring and spontaneous, with special attention to proper alignment, breath, and vinyasa krama (the art of sequencing poses). A sanskrit scholar, practitioner of Sri Vidya, and lead singer of the kirtan group “Mukti,” Prajna lives a life centered in yogic wisdom and tradition.

Cindy Walker

Cindy Walker, R.Y.T. (500) has been passionately involved in Yoga for over 20 years. She loves to teach Vinyasa Flow, and is known for eclectic classes that weave elements from Kundalini, Iyengar and Yin Yoga into her classes. You never quite know what she pull out of her sleeve, but you can definitely exact very cool tunes, a strong workout, and a deep zen stretch to finish. She creatively draws into each class the wisdom of the eight limbs of Yoga theory using breath, movement, imagery, humor, psychology and deep relaxation. Passionate about helping those in need, Cindy started the “Yoga for Cancer Program” at Stanford Hospital – Complimentary Medicine. Teaching restorative, gentle yoga and guided imagery techniques, she has lovingly worked with many people with life threatening illnesses and injuries of all sorts. Cindy and her family live in Los Gatos.

Janya Wongsopa

Janya is a devoted yoga practitioner who has been, since 2003, deeply involved with yogic philosophy and psychology, health, and healing. She completed yoga training at Avalon Yoga Center in Palo Alto, a 200-hour certification course in yogic meditation and Vedanta philosophy at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm, and a certification in Somatic Psychology at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, in 2006. Janya has been teaching yoga and meditation since 2006 and has worked as a pancha karma apprentice at Blue Sage Sanctuary. In her classes, Janya emphasizes body and breath awareness and weaves a spiritual teaching of yoga that connects with all aspects of body and mind and that allows students gain physical, emotional, and mental health. Her teaching is gentle yet challenging: with sincere guidance and support, she urges students to take an active role in creating optimum health and well-being.

Veronica Cruz

Founder of Downtown Yoga Shala, Veronica took a leap of faith when she left her successful high-tech career to pursue a dream. Living in Kathmandu, Nepal in her youth opened her mind and heart to yoga and eastern spirituality. Years later she pursued yoga again, as a complement to her marathon and triathlon training, which immediately rekindled her love for the practice. Veronica is a certified yoga instructor, having completed teacher training in Ashtanga from Larry Shultz, and Power Vinyasa with Baron Baptiste, as well as several workshops and seminars with respected yogis from whom she continually draws inspiration. A local San Jose resident for many years, Veronica aspires to create a welcoming environment that will bring the many benefits and joys of yoga to the Silicon Valley community. Veronica infuses her classes with warmth and sincerity, kindness and compassion. She gently encourages a mindful practice through deeper breath awareness and body alignment, while also honoring the inner teacher that resides in every student, allowing the freedom to express themselves more fully, joyfully, safely, in every pose.