Our Weekly Class Teachers

Brianna Politzer Stevens was the original founder of Eden Yoga and Wellness. A yoga practitioner since the mid 1980s, Brianna obtained her teaching certification through YogaFit. She began sharing her unique blend of yoga postures and relaxation techniques with students at Eden Yoga in March of 2002. Brianna believes that yoga is for everyone, regardless of age, body size, religious beliefs, or physical fitness level. She strives to de-mystify the practice and make it accessible to every student who enters her classes.

Ellen Bell discovered yogain 2002 as one of Castro Valley Yoga’s (formerly Eden Yoga) first students. Through passionate practice, she has experienced powerful personal transformation and spiritual awareness. A 2005 graduate of The Yoga Company’s 200-Hour Teacher Training Program, Ellen’s teaching approach weaves the fundamentals of yoga with breath awareness, introspection, and yogic philosophy, incorporating held postures with energizing movement. Her warm, compassionate, and playful nature create a safe environment for students to challenge the body, calm the mind, open the heart, and expand the spirit.

Eva Kastel was a student and teacher of rhythmical gymnastics and modern dance early in her life, Eva began taking yoga classes in later years to help, or cure her, of a back problem. Yoga became so important to her for her physical and spiritual health that she decided to take the teacher training at the Yoga Room in Berkeley in 1988. Since then, she has taught yoga in different areas, always continuing to take classes and attend workshops to improve her teaching, which she truly enjoys.


Jeffrey Fuchs taught his first yoga classes at the Richmond Branch of the San Francisco YMCA in 1996. He graduated from the San Francisco Iyengar Institute's Advanced Studies/Teacher Training program in 2000 and has been a C.V.Y. teacher since 2002



Julie Fracchia has been a student of yoga many years. She continues to learn about herself and others as a teacher. One important thing Julie has learned over the years is that, in "creating" a yoga pose, the intention of the mind is as important as the ability of the body. She enjoys practicing and teaching yoga in a flow sequence because it reminds her of nature, like the waves of the ocean, trees and the sun. Her focus is on the breath and how to use it to promote a connection between the mind and the body in yoga. Julie received her Yoga Teacher Training at Mt. Madonna Center in 2007.

Laurie Krause has enjoyed teaching Yoga for the last 5 years Laurie's training includes the Advanced Studies and Yoga Teacher Training at Diablo Yoga Center. She is currently adding to her studies through The Yoga Room's ASP program with the goal of becoming an RYT (Registered Yoga Therapist).


Marcia Newlin began practicing yoga in the late 1980's and has been studying Iyengar-style yoga since 2000. She enjoys sharing the benefits of the practice with her students - whatever their level - guiding them through challenging yet accessible classes to gain greater strength, flexibility and balance, along with a sense of lightness in the body and calmness in the mind. She is a 3 year student in the Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley, graduating June 2008. She draws inspiration from her own teachers; Donald Moyer, Mary Lou Weprin, and Sandy Blaine.

Nancy Leigh-Smith, M.A.,has been teaching yoga classes since 1999. Her background includes degrees in music and education, and experience studying and teaching in Europe, Asia, Australia and India as well as the United States. Following an automobile accident in 1997, she began to focus on the practice of asana and is awed by the opportunity yoga affords for healing mind and body, and renewing the spirit. She has studied primarily Iyengar-style hatha yoga, and has been influenced and inspired by her classes with Donald Moyer, Mary Lou Weprin, Judith Lasater, Roger Cole and John Friend, as well as her ten-month apprenticeship with Gay White and classes with Sandy Blaine. She is a graduate of the three-year Advanced Studies Program at The Yoga Room in Berkeley, holds a California State Teaching Credential in Health and Safety/Physical Fitness, and is an Advanced Relax and Renew Trainer. Nancy's teaching is deeply connected to her own experience of practicing yoga in the middle years of life.

Sonia (Swindell) Roberts has been studying yoga since 1997 and began teaching in 2001. She loves teaching yoga and sharing the joy and many benefits of yoga with all people. Her teaching style emphasizes body awareness, alignment, breath, and the integration of mindfulness. She is committed to helping her students deepen their understanding of themselves through their yoga practice. Sonia humbly relies on her own practice and intuition to influence her teaching. She is a graduate of Piedmont Yoga Studio's Advanced Studies Program and has a BA in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley.

Suzanne Kiehn has been practicing yoga since 2000. Her training is mostly Iyengar, while her practice is more wide ranging, drawing on teachings from Astanga, Ana Forrest, Tai Chi, modern dance, and restorative yoga. Alignment and flow blend together with emphasis on the breath. Suzanne sees yoga as a tool available to everyone for uniting mind, body, and spirit. She brings a sense of adventure and play to her practice and teaching.


Susan Child began practicing yoga in 1997 to gain flexibility and strength for dance competitions. After a few years, she realized she was enjoying her yoga classes more than the dancing. She is a graduate of Diablo Yoga Center's 200 hour Advanced Studies Program and continues her training with senior Anusara instructor Ulrika Engman. Susan focuses on alignment and strength with a bit of humor in her classes.

Our Visiting Workshop and Series Teachers

Andrea Spence has such fun with her teaching that you end up laughing a lot during her classes. She is a graduate of the 2005 200 hour program at The Yoga Company. She is continuing her formal education and will be teaching occasional workshops.



Loretta Denhart became a certified yoga instructor in 2005 through The Yoga Company 200 hour program after four years of personal study. Her classes are comprised of breath work, a balance between active and restorative postures, as well as connecting the physical practice to yoga philosophy in a reflective, exploratory, playful environment.

Sherry McCreedy is a registered Anusara inspired yoga teacher who has been practicing yoga since 1997, and teaching since 2002. She is a 2002 graduate of the Diablo Yoga Center Advanced Studies Program, and has completed Anusara Immersion and Apprenticeship trainings with certified teacher Ulrika Engman. She continues to study and practice the elegant alignment principles Anusara Yoga, toward eventual certification. Sherry also studies and practices Non-Violent/Compassionate Communication (NVC), as developed by Marshall Rosenberg, and delights in the deepening connection with self and others that yoga and NVC cultivate. Her classes weave asana flow, meditation and breath with heart-oriented themes and are designed to offer appropriate challenge and support to each student.

Karen Izzo has studied yoga for over six years and received her 200 hour Teacher Training Certification through San Francisco's, Greenpath Yoga Studio in 2004. Her teacher, Clayton Horton, trained in India directly under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the living Ashtanga Yoga Master. Karen believes yoga is for everyone. She teaches yoga from the heart with warmth and humor by inviting students to enjoy a mindful practice with awareness of breath in order to experience yoga as a form of celebration and an opportunity to discover greater joy and freedom within one's Self. Her light hearted and compassionate approach to yoga helps to create a supportive and encouraging environment where students may explore their full potential, both on and off the mat.

Jennifer Bruno is a recent transplant from the east coast where she taught and studied in the Hatha yoga tradition with David Newman (Durga Das). She is also a student of Movement and Dance Therapy at Goddard College. She works towards utilizing these tools to inspire the creative unfolding of greater health in people's lives.



Mary Lemmon has been practicing yoga since 1995, and is a graduate of OM's Road to OM teacher training intensive, and holds a National Yoga Alliance 500 hour certification. She held positions as senior teacher at Om Yoga Center, and Yogaworks (formallyYoga Zone) in New York City. Mary looks forward to sharing her enthusiasm and curiosity, which inform her teachings on the mind, body, and heart practice of yoga.

Connie Habash is a student of Dr. Sarasvati Mohan, founder of Sanskrit Academy, and has also studied Sanskrit with Vyaas Houston of the American Sanskrit Institute. She brings her love for the language and 14 years experience of teaching yoga to fill you with enthusiasm for Sanskrit! If you have questions, you can email her at connie@awakeningself.com. You can visit her website at http://www.awakeningself.com


Lauren Davis was one of the founding members of the Yoga Garden Dancers. It is a yoga dance company that has performed at the Yoga Journal Conferences in Colorado, at the Cowell Theatre in San Francisco, plus many yoga studios including in the Bay Area and in Arizona. Lauren is the Director of the Diablo Yoga Center in Danville. She has been practicing yoga since 1989, and loves to create classes that are fun and challenging.

Amanda Sharpe started practicing yoga in 1998 after working as a Physical Therapist for sixteen years. The study of Yoga has been a natural progression for her, building upon her knowledge of anatomy and human movement. She recently graduated from the 3 year Advanced Studies Program at The Yoga Room in Berkeley and is truly inspired by her teachers; Donald Moyer and Mary Lou Weprin. Her approach to teaching is one of sharing her experience and the sense of contentment and well being that the practice of yoga brings into her own life; and helping students find ease, comfort and space in their asana practice. Amanda teaches classes in Oakland, Castro Valley and Alameda, including classes for people with limited mobility at the Cerebral Palsy Centre in Oakland. She is also a Certified "Yoga for the Special Child" teacher. She worked as a physical therapist for 16 years prior to this and uses her knowledge of anatomy and movement analysis to help each student find alignment in their poses and create space and softness in the body and mind to take their yoga to a deeper level.

Patty Hirota-Cohen has been practicing yoga for over 15 years, and teaching for 5 years. She completed teacher training programs at Piedmont Yoga Studio and Yoga Mendocino. With an Iyengar alignment-based foundation, she works from the inner body and encourages exploration through use of imagery, poetry and breath. She is registered with the Yoga Alliance, a national organization for yoga teacher standards. She teaches at Piedmont Yoga Studio, in San Leandro, Chinatown and Downtown Oakland, and teaches adults with cerebral palsy or other disabilities. She is an avid student of Mary Paffard, Angela Farmer, and Donald Moyer, and has a daily zen meditation practice. She is the Project Director for the Cuba US Yoga Exchange and believes yoga can be a force for world peace.

Lydia Gonzales, aka Lydiagogo is a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, since 2003 by Dr. Kataria's School of Laughter Yoga (www.laughteryoga.org) and a Certified Laughter Leader from World Laughter Tour, (www.worldlaughtertour.com). Using these methods, Lydia promotes enjoying a healthy, happy life with laughter, laughter yoga, and and much, much more. For the last 26 years Lydia has promoted and facilitated laughter, joy and good old fun as a part of her life's work, taking it all quite seriously. Her laughter travels include Oregon, Northern California, Indiana and the Bahamas with appearances on National Television, The History Channel, Weird Medicine with Mark & Mark, workshops with cancer survivors and Dolphin Swim Trips, co-organizing World Laughter Day Celebration in Northern California, Senior and all kinds of group laughter events. Sharing the tools of laughter and playfulness have come to be the driving force behind her enthusiasm.

Gwen Eby began her yoga practice in 1994 when she was pregnant with her first daughter. Her love and passion for yoga grew until she was able to attend the Southern Institute for Yoga Instructors in 2004. The SIYI program is a 1,000 hour yoga teacher education and certification program (Yoga Alliance registered). Through this program Gwen was able to learn Iyengar yoga from Betty Larsen and John Charping, both long time veterans of the Iyengar Method. Gwen has also studied with Ramanand Patel, earning an additional 50 hrs of senior training with him. Gwen began teaching yoga to children as a substitute teacher in Missouri. Because her educational background was in Recreational Management and Youth Leadership the school district kept having her substitute for the P.E. coaches and Gwen would "substitute" with yoga! It was the beginning of her desire to "catch them while their young" and share the joy of yoga to children. Gwen Eby's yoga journey led her to Ayurveda, the "Sister Science to Yoga". She is currently an intern with the California College of Ayurveda, studying to be a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist. Gwen is currently seeing clients at the intern rates. For more information on Gwen Eby and her private practice with Ayurveda and Yoga, see her website at: Wisdom Ways AYURVEDA

Beandrea Davis is a certified yoga teacher, writer, and photographer. After training at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, she began teaching classes and workshops at several locations across Philadelphia. For her documentary photography and writing, she has received grants from Kelly Writers House and Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. She recently returned from Paris where she sat in cafés and worked on her forthcoming memoir Good Enough for God.