Ten years ago Aimee Echo was living the rock star life – literally - singing in a band, living in Los Angeles, when a search for something deeper led her to yoga. While she’s still a rock star, playing in Los Angeles and all over the world – her yoga practice has given her tools to keep her body and spirit more balanced and healthy. Yoga's made her happier in every way. “I’m more compassionate, more responsible and definitely wiser – people even say it’s made me stop aging!” Aimee has been a gymnast, a competitive equestrian and a fitness instructor. She learned Ashtanga traditionally, Mysore-style, one pose at a time, nine years ago with Noah Williams and Kimberly Flynn in Los Angeles and immediately knew she wanted to teach. “I wanted to share this transformational medicine. Every area of my life has been enhanced – except maybe not getting enough sleep!” She’s still trying to balance the rock star life and early morning practice.

Aimee has been practicing since 2004 with Diana Christinson. While she feels the practice itself is the best training a teacher can have, she’s completed the YogaWorks 200-hr Teacher Training and both the Primary and Intermediate Ashtanga Teacher Trainings with Tim Miller. She’s made two extended trips to Mysore, India to study with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute and has spent hundreds of hours in workshops with master teachers Richard Freeman, David Swenson, Anthony Carlisi and more. She has also studied Sanskrit and the Yoga Sutras with various teachers including Sanskrit Scholars Laksmish at AYRI , Dr. MA Jayashree and Dr. John Casey.

Triathlete Dave Kiff walked into his first Ashtanga yoga class hoping to prevent injuries while training for his first Ironman. He was not expecting to leave the class thinking that it had “kicked his behind! Returning day after day helped him complete the 140.6 mile race injury-free. Dave encourages endurance athletes to work on flexibility and to not be intimidated by the “Bendy Gumbys” in class. He tells students, “I was stiff as a board and couldn’t even touch my toes when I started.” Ashtanga has taught him to appreciate the journey, accept his body for what it is, where it is, both the flexible days and the “wet cement” days. Dave still enjoys racing but his priorities have shifted – yoga is now first on his list. “I can’t say my cycling or swimming gets much faster each year, but my yoga practice keeps improving and that gives me something cool to look forward to as I grow older.” Aside from racing and yoga, Dave is the Assistant City Manager for the City of Newport Beach. He has completed four Ironman races and teacher training at Tim Miller’s Ashtanga Yoga Center in Encinitas. His class is great for endurance athletes or anyone “less-bendy” offering easy modifications while assuring you’re still going to sweat.

Not having started yoga until her late 30’s, Kathleen Morgan understands the difficulty of working with a body that is set in its ways. She tells new students, “If all you can do is mindfully breathe with us for an hour – you’ve done your practice.” She began her yoga practice in an attempt to improve her conscious contact with a Higher Power. What people notice most about her is the way she radiates a soothing calmness. She has a passion for life and the discipline of the practice has motivated her to pursue a career in Psychology with an emphasis in the field of addiction. She's completed the Yoga Works teacher training program, is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance at the 200-hour level and has completed the Primary Series teacher training with Tim Miller at his Ashtanga Yoga Center in Encinitas, California.

Sherrie Papa, D.C. considers it “a great fortune” to be able to focus her chiropractic practice on yoga students. While earning her degree, she became a licensed massage therapist and still incorporates massage into her medical practice. “Massage can sometimes enhance tension release and improve effectiveness of chiropractic adjustments.”

Her ability to read the physical body brings a special awareness to her teaching. Along with giving wise, comforting adjustments and modifications, she has a genuine respect for the more subtle transformations a student can experience off the mat. Sherrie started taking yoga at age 17 as an elective in college. She loved it so much she took the class every semester until she graduated. But, she really fell in love with the practice when she found Diana Christinson in 2000. “That’s when I felt it begin to transform my life.”

Sherrie completed Tim Miller's Ashtanga teacher training in 2001 and spent the summer of 2004 in Mysore, India studying at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy. She loves teaching new students and watching their lives and bodies change. “It is such an inspiration to witness and be a part of that excitement.”

After 9/11, Yvette Wang decided something within her needed to change. She turned to yoga hoping to improve her outlook and found the constant source of wisdom she was searching for. She reminds students of the advice given by Pattabhi Jois, “Practice and all is coming” - you’re here for yourself, there’s no need to prove anything to anyone, leave your ego behind and progress will come. In addition to teaching yoga, Yvette launched her own IT consulting business in 2005. While she loves her work, she’s all too familiar with the stress sitting at a desk can cause our bodies. Practicing with back pain has taught her to let things on and off the mat unfold naturally rather than push. “We learn more when things are difficult than when they come easily. Yoga teaches you to let go. It’s about the journey, not the end goal.”

Yvette has studied with Diana Christinson since 2002. She completed teacher training with Tim Miller at his Ashtanga Yoga Center in 2005 and traveled to Mysore, India to study with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in 2005 and 2007. She has also studied Sanskrit, meditation, loves her cats and traveling the world.