TEACHERS

 

Andrea Matros

Andrea embarked on her path of yoga in 1978 when she joined the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organization. Enthusiastic about yoga from
the start, she came on board at the Sivananda Yoga Center by quickly becoming a staff member. There for almost two years, she devoted herself completely to the unfolding and embracing path of yoga. Practicing karma yoga — the path of selfless service, bhakti yoga — the yoga of devotion, hatha yoga — the practice of asanas and pranayama, meditation, the philosophy and study of teachings, and ancient yoga texts. Certified as an instructor through the Sivananda Organization, Andrea has continued on this journey of learning and teaching to this present day.

Andrea primarily teaches hatha yoga, the branch of asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques) which is a vast study in itself, and encompasses many forms and styles. Having now studied and practiced yoga with many well known names in the field, she has diversified her practice, complemented her style and broadened her approach to teaching yoga. Yoga as a path and hatha yoga as a metaphor to life, continues to expand and enrich not only the physical but all aspects of her everyday life and it is this philosophy that she teaches her students. Along side yoga and Buddhist meditation practices Andrea enjoys dance, hiking, music,
and movies.

Andrea Matros is the founder and proprietress of Living Yoga Center, a licensed massage therapist and a reiki and healing touch practitione

Britta Becker-Thomas

Britta has been practicing yoga since 1989 and enjoying teaching since 1998. She is grateful to have had Tim Miller as her primary teacher for Ashtanga yoga since 1991. Tim’s wonderful teaching has inspired Britta to keep practicing this style of yoga, which has had a profound impact on her life. Britta began teaching Ashtanga yoga after moving to Murrieta in 1996.

In addition to teaching yoga, Britta practices acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. As a health care practitioner, Britta believes strongly in helping people heal themselves. She believes that if more people did yoga they would be healthier and happier, and less likely to need her help as an acupuncturist!

Born and raised in the Canary Islands, Britta was lucky to be brought up to very adventuresome parents who traveled all over the world. Britta has many interests outside of yoga and alternative medicine, the main ones being sailing, hiking, traveling and anything that involves adventures outdoors! She loves her cat, her garden, cooking, playing her guitar, reading and writing. Most importantly Britta loves to be with her friends, family, patients and students!

To learn more information about Britta's acupuncture
practice please visit: www.californiaoaksacupuncture.com

Ashley Fiala

Ashley connects deeply with the practice of Anusara Yoga.  Anusara is a practice developed by John Friend. Translating to “flowing with grace,” it is a unique approach to hatha yoga where the spirit of the heart powerfully blends with the precision of bio mechanical alignment. 

First introduced to yoga while in college, it took Ashley many years to truly experience for herself the wonderful benefits of a continuous practice.  After moving to Los Angeles in 1999, Ashley was able to explore many different yoga styles and philosophies. She has benefited from each and every class.  It’s in our own experience that we can truly understand the wonders of practice.  She ultimately thanks her teachers, John Friend, Naime Jezzeny, Anthony Benenati, Diana Beardsly, and Greta Hill for helping her on her journey to the divine within herself.  She hopes in her teaching that she is able to help her students see the inherent beauty within them, and continue to share laughter and playfulness. 

Ashley is an affiliated Anusara teacher working towards certification. She lives in Lake Elsinore with her beloved new son Zeke and husband Chris, along with their two dogs, Rasta and Mika.

 

Stephanie Gilliland

Doreen Wolf

Doreen was born in Berlin, Germany. At a very young age, since the second grade, regular training in different sport disciplines has been a part of her life. When she reached 23 she became an aerobics instructor and discovered a love for teaching.

Doreen believes that health needs to be nurtured and strengthen from within oneself, that is why she loves to serve people whom are responsible for their own body, mind, and spirit. As an aerobics instructor she taught a lot of "stretching" classes and discovered yoga in 2001. After healing a knee injury simply through regular yoga practice, she made a decision that yoga and yoga therapy would be her journey. Doreen took yoga teacher training at the White Lotus Foundation and has been teaching at the Living Yoga Center ever since. She is especially grateful to Andrea and Ashley at Living Yoga for all their trust and support. Through Ashley, Doreen was introduced to Anusara yoga and immediately fell in love with this style. It is playful, inspiring and you learn to see and feel that "life is good".

Ansusara yoga and yoga therapy will continue to be an important part of Doreen's on-going education. Yoga has changed her life on many levels in a wonderful way and with this deep devotion she would love for you to experience some of the same. Doreen lives with her husband Kai in Hemet . She is also a skydiving parachute rigger , likes cutting hair , hiking trips through the mountains and loves asian food.

 

Vicki Durst

Vicki has been teaching Hatha Yoga since 1974.

A graduate of San Diego State University with a BA in Physical Education, Dance and Art History, Vicki first studied Yoga at the University of Oregon while earning a Master’s Degree in Dance and Art History.

In San Diego she trained and taught at the Yoga Institute for two years and then traveled to Pune, India to study at the B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Institute. For the past 30 years Vicki has trained with many Yoga masters, including Erich Schiffmann, Rodney Yee, Ramanand Patel, Julie Lawrence, Richard Schactel, Roger Cole,
Aadil Pakhilava, Tracy Rich, Ganga White, Angela Farmer, Victor Van Kooten and Kali Ray.

Prior to moving to Temecula in March, 2006, Vicki was a full-time Instructor at Clatsop Community College, where she served as the Director of Dance and Physical Education and was Coordinator of the Arts on Stage performing and visual arts program for 23 years. She also spent seven years living on Catalina Island where she taught scuba diving and yoga. She is a licensed massage therapist and holistic health practitioner.

Vicki uses the teaching of B.K.S. Iyengar as the basis for her classes, which emphasizes strength, flexibility, endurance, proper alignment and breathing techniques to help the body achieve it’s true, balanced state. Vicki’s fluid, relaxed style reflects her background in dance, and is appealing to students of all ages and abilities.
Sophie Malahieude

Sophie (RYT) discovered Hatha Yoga as she was living in Germany in 1997. She knew after the first class that yoga was what she was looking for in her life. Her experience of yoga in Germany was very spiritual and as she moved to the United States, she discovered other styles (Iyengar, Sivananda, Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow) and other ways of teaching. She loved it and continued her experience until she decided to become a teacher. Sophie attended Asheville Yoga Center, NC to be part of Stephanie Keach Teacher Training Program and completed her basic 200-hour certification registry with Yoga Alliance.

Her style is a mix of the different styles that have influenced her practice. She enjoys bringing students into a flow and focus on alignment, breathing and be present… in the pose… in the class...in the moment. She believes that there is time for everything. The body tells us what to do and when to do it; you just have to turn inward and trust.

Sophie is French and lives in Temecula with her husband, Remi and their 2 boys (Axel and Henri). She likes to walk in the nature, cook, read, play with her boys and “let the world go around”.

 

 

WORKSHOPS / EVENTS

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200 Hour Certified Teacher Training
Inland College of Yoga has joined with Living Yoga Center to offer 200 hour teacher training courses that meet the requirements specified by Yoga Alliance. This means when you graduate, you will receive a certificate from us and can register with Yoga Alliance, stating that you have met the requirements and are now a certified yoga instructor. We can offer training programs because we have highly skilled, certified, and experienced yoga instructors participating in this program.

The Next Informational Meetings are:

Sunday May 4 at 1 PM & Sunday May 18 at 6 PM
(this will be a dinner meeting prior to the Kirtan with Shantala)

The course begins onJune 28 & 29, 2008 and will continue for ten consecutive
months, meeting on the last Saturday and Sunday of the month.

Heal Your Low Back:
A Therapeutic Viniyoga Workshop
with Suzanne Gilliland



Saturday, May 3

1:00 - 5:00

$65



You will learn:

>A practice designed to reduce discomfort in the low back and improve function
>The fundamental principles of movement that protect your spine
>Your specific movement patterns that create your pain/restrictions
>A meditation to help you relax more deeply
>Breath work to re-mobilize the spine

Suzanne Gilliland, RYT, CYT is an American Viniyoga Institute certified yoga teacher and yoga therapist who has been teaching for 11 years and specializes in the art and science of therapeutic yoga. This workshop is based on The American Viniyoga Institutes protocol for relief of low back pain (designed by director Gary Kraftsow) which was proven to be effective for improving function and reducing chronic low back pain. The Viniyoga approach to the treatment of back health was recently validated in a clinical study sponsored by the National Institute of Health and was documented in the Annals of Internal Medicine in December 2005. Participants of this workshop will receive a copy of this protocol and the 2005 article.

This workshop will be limited to 15 people to allow Suzanne to give students individual attention. Please call or email to register early. People with serious back injuries, bulging discs or serious disc degeneration should speak with their physician before registering for this workshop.

An Evening of Kirtan -Sacred Chanting
with Shantala
(Benjy and Heather Wertheimer)

 

Sunday, May 18

8 PM

$20 advance / $25 door

 

Sacred chanting concert (kirtan) that features Indian music and participatory devotional singing.


Sacred chanting (kirtan) has its roots in the sacred music of ancient India. It is growing rapidly in popularity in the West along with the rise of yoga in American culture. Chanting events involve active audience participation and are open to people of all religious backgrounds. The music carries the audience through a journey of etheric beauty, ecstatic percussion, and singing with the devotion of the heart. It is a celebration of life, love, and the beauty of the human spirit.

Award-winning international artists Heather & Benjy Wertheimer as Shantala open hearts around the world with their passionate music. Shantala creates a sublime sound-scape of musical harmony between East and West with soul-stirring vocals, sacred lyrics, and exotic instrumentation. Call and response chanting with Shantala is fun, uplifting, and inspiring.




www.shantalamusic.com        www.benjymusic.com



************Click here to view event poster*******************

Introduction To Yoga Course

May 13 - June 17

Tuesdays, 7:45 - 8:45 PM

$60

 

This is a six week course designed for beginners. If you think you are too inflexible, too old, too
out of shape, too anything, this is perfect for you. This will be a playful six-weeks of yoga for all types of people. In this course you will learn the basics of Anusara yoga alignment covering basic standing poses, forward bends, back bends, twists, and maybe an inversion or two! The classes will be comprehensive so when you register you will register for the entire six weeks. At the end of the course you will feel comfortable going to any Level I - II class at the Center -- maybe even a level II.

Yoga for Kids
Ages 4 - 9 years

May 9 - June 20
(no class on 5/23 & 6/13)

Fridays 4:00 - 5:00pm

Fun and delight in your kids love for yoga. They will practice what being a "good yogi/yogini" means, postures (asanas), breathing for calm and steady focus, and more.

$40 one child (5 weeks)
$70 two siblings (5weeks)


Foundation - Yoga Basics Workshop
If you are new to yoga and want to understand the basics this workshop is for you. Individual needs will be addressed as well as what to expect in a class. This workshop is also very appropriate if you’ve been to class and want more personal attention and specifics on postures, form and breath work.

Next date to be announced

12:00 – 1:15 pm

$20.00

Preregistration required
E-mail Andrea for more details: andrea@living-yoga.com
or call LYC @ 951-676-2206

Community Yoga Class
In support of expanding yoga throughout our community, we are offering an on-going class at a discounted rate. This class will be held every Wednesday & Friday from 1:00 - 2:30pm for $7.00 per class.



Come and join class, no preregistration required.
All levels welcome