Denise Benitez, Founder of Seattle Yoga Arts, has been fascinated by the human body ever since she realized she had one! She has spent much of this lifetime delving into the curious phenomenons of embodiment and consciousness, beginning with candle-gazing at the age of 13. When she found the practice of yoga at age 16, which combined these two great passions, she was instantly and forever in love with its artful and profound approach to movement and being. She has studied yoga for over forty years, and has taught since 1985.

Denise is inspired and informed by multiple streams of yoga. She studied Iyengar yoga beginning at age 16 with many esteemed teachers of that method, and since 1992, she has been galvanized by the Anusara principles of alignment and by the study of Tantric philosophy which informs her teaching of hatha yoga, and her mantric meditation practice and instruction. She looks to nature, animals, her students, the great mystical masters of embodiment exploration and her own observations of the life of the body and soul as resources for her teaching. Lessons are everywhere in the way that life gracefully and abundantly renews itself.

Denise founded Seattle Yoga Arts in 1990. She thinks that being a yoga teacher is a high calling, and takes her student's well-being and development seriously, while also appreciating a good joke and loving to laugh. The greatest students and teachers in Seattle (probably the world) continuously stream to the studio, creating a vibrant, amazing, and big hearted yoga community, to which she is happy to welcome you.

206.440.3191 Info@SeattleYogaArts.com

Desiree Jordan, Director of Marketing & Community Relations graduated in 1997 from the University of Washington where she studied Communications and English. Since then, her work history has been in marketing and promotions. Desiree is thrilled to bring her marketing project management, design, and implementation skills to Seattle Yoga Arts. When she decided to stay home with her two children in 2008, she still wanted to be part of a community outside her home. She never dreamed that it would be such a relaxed, inspiring place like SYA to continue her marketing experience. The opportunity to work with the Yoga Arts teachers & reception has been a true blessing for Desiree, both personally and professionally.

206.440.3191 desiree@seattleyogaarts.com

Aimee Bebeau, Studio Manager, came to yoga as a true skeptic, doubtful that it would really help her….but surprisingly, she learned otherwise! Aimee has practiced Anusara yoga in Seattle regularly since 2004. With the intention of deepening her practice and her knowledge of yoga, she completed the 2009 Anusara Immersion and 2010 Teacher Training program at Seattle Yoga Arts. After working for over a decade in Office Administration & Human Resources she made the choice to leave the corporate world in search of something new, which landed her on the Seattle Yoga Arts staff in 2010. Aimee’s past experience provided her with skills to grow in this new environment and she is grateful for the opportunity to be of use to our students and staff. She is excited to be part of such a welcoming and vibrant community that continues to challenge her and enrich her experience of life!

206.440.3191, aimee@seattleyogaarts.com

Elizabeth Rainey, E-RYT 500 is a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher and Director of Advanced Studies at Seattle Yoga Arts. She actively serves on the Anusara Certification Committee, mentoring teachers as they deepen their skills. She sees her extraordinary life as a testament to the transformational power of yoga and its invitation to experience ourselves as whole and holy. She has been practicing yoga over several decades and teaching for over ten years. She teaches public classes and private sessions in Seattle, as well as workshops and retreats nationally and internationally.

206.499.8255 www.elizabethrainey.com

Meg Agnew, M.A.is an Anusara-Inspired teacher who has enjoyed teaching at Seattle Yoga Arts since 1993. With carefully sequenced instruction and a light-hearted approach, Meg encourages students to experience the powerfully affecting principles of Anusara yoga. She believes that yoga is an exploration leading to self-acceptance, healing, and an ever-deepening experience of freedom and Love.

206.525.9349 mtagnew@comcast.net

Bianca Raffety, LMP is an Anusara-Inspired Yoga Teacher, Director of Therapeutic Studies at Seattle Yoga Arts and a Licensed Massage Therapist. Having experienced the penetrating healing and balancing effects of a regular yoga practice, Bianca has felt compelled to share the possibilities available through yoga with as many people as possible. Bianca believes we all have deep inner wisdom which can be cultivated by the willingness and courage to explore yoga. Her classes are supportive, playful, and encourage curiosity and self-trust. She is graced with the guidance and support of her mentor, Denise Benitez, and other fabulous teachers. 206.391.9834 www.biancaraffety.com

Beth Award In 1991, Beth took two summer classes: DOS Programming and Yoga. The computer information didn't stick, but yoga captured her attention from the very first class: she felt taller and quieter (miraculous!). Since 1994, Beth has been a student at Seattle Yoga Arts and how she evolved to wear a leotard to work is still a bit of a joyful mystery to her. What she does know is that the practice of yoga opened her from the inside out. Inspired by Denise and Anusara, Beth left her corporate job to teach yoga in 2003. Since then, she has completed Level I & II Anusara Teacher Trainings with John Friend and is an Anusara-Inspired teacher. Beth offers a warm and compassionate instruction style that stems from her love and enthusiasm for the practice. She continues to be inspired, pulled, and prodded by life in all sorts of directions. 206.949.7084 www.bethaward.com

Jane Hitti, MD took her first yoga class at age 35, looking for a form of exercise to help gain back the flexibility she had lost with years of running, gym workouts and an intense work schedule. She soon fell in love with asana as a gateway to the meditative and spiritual dimensions of this amazing practice. Jane is an Anusara-Inspired yoga teacher and is known for her creative and dynamic sequencing as well as her sweet, attentive and nurturing teaching style. She is deeply grateful to all of her teachers on this path, including Denise, Rainey and John Friend. Her teaching is informed by her love of nature and a wealth of experience related to motherhood and the practice of medicine. She believes that human embodiment, in all of its ever-changing beautiful imperfection, is a fabulous gift to be enjoyed in every moment. From this perspective, yoga can bring all of lifes sweetness right into focus and help us connect with a sense of ease and beauty present within and all around us. jhitti@comcast.net

Grace Meyer, RYT After a decade of individual study and Iyengar training, Grace spent the last four years intensively training with Anusara's founder John Friend and certified teachers Sianna Sherman and Noah Maze. She's completed Level I and II Teacher Trainings and has advanced training in yoga Therapeutics.
Deeply aligned with the tantric philosophy of innate goodness, Grace believes our bodies are miraculous and sophisticated vehicles. With the breath as our seasoned guide, we become more intimately aware of our own Divine nature. In practicing yoga we become explorers and artists, deeply knowing and courageously expressing our Truth. We live more fully in each moment.

When she's not teaching yoga, you can find Grace singing and giggling, cooking up something tasty, bathing in the full moon light, and otherwise joyfully engaging in the extra-ordinary pulsation of Life.   You might also find her studying for a nursing exam.  Grace invites you to come to the mat to celebrate your gifts, realize your challenges, and dance on the edge between with playful curiosity. 206.949.6424 www.gracemeyeryoga.com

Rebecca Denk has been a student at Seattle Yoga Arts for more than a decade and is honored to join her teachers and mentors in offering classes. Rebecca completed Anusara Yoga Teacher Training with Denise in 2006 and with Denise and Rainey again in 2008. She has been teaching weekly yoga classes in her Central District neighborhood for the past 2 years. Rebecca's classes offer playful exploration of and gratitude for yoga's gifts of ever-increasing mindfulness, deepening self-love and -wisdom, and the amazing experience of physical embodiment. 206.427-9764 rebecca.denk@yahoo.com

Erin Goldman comes to yoga from a threefold path. Years of dance training and performance drew her to the physical challenge and grace of yoga; graduate studies in counseling and a Masters Degree in social work drew her to the psychological aspect of yoga; and intensive meditation training and practice drew her to the spiritual aspect of yoga.

Erin studied and was certified in Hatha Yoga at the Pyramid Yoga Center on the island of Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand. She was recommended as a Licensed Anusara Inspired Instructor in 2011. She has experience in both group and private instruction and is a Registered Yoga Alliance Instructor. It is Erin's goal to guide each student in returning to Health, Happiness, and Balance. www.chakrabodyyoga.com

Ellen Boyle MFA, RYT500 has been dancing since the age of 3. A natural extension of the joy that moving her body brought her was to earn her BFA in Musical Theater and Dance and her MFA in Acting.  During her graduate training 26 years ago, she was introduced to the art of asana and has been delving into the practices of yoga ever since.  She completed her 200-hour teacher training with Kathleen Hunt at Samadhi Yoga in 2002 and started teaching right away. In 2007 she completed her 500-hour training in the Vini Yoga tradition with Robin Rothenburg and is currently enrolled in the 2011 Anusara Immersion. Ellen's heart blew wide open during her first Anusara class in 2007 and since then she has been studying and applying the methods of Anusara yoga in all of her classes. With a deep bow she respectfully honors her teachers Denise and Rainey and with a generous heart she welcomes her students to start where they are and dance with our humanity and our soaring, soaring spirit. Ellen is also a professional actor and an Associate Professor in the Theater Department at Cornish College of the Arts where she teaches Voice & Speech and Yoga.  yogainspires1@gmail.com

Jorge Sevillano's first experience of yoga was in 1995 when he was introduced to Siddha Yoga. One year later he became very serious about his yoga practice under the loving guidance of his guru, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda. Initially, his spiritual practice consisted of meditation, chanting, and the study of yoga philosophy. However, he was soon drawn to hatha yoga and has been practicing ever since.

Jorge began teaching Hatha Yoga in 2001. He is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance and California Yoga Teacher Association, and has received training in the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Ananda yoga styles. Since 2003 he has exclusively studied Hatha Yoga with John Friend who founded Anusara Yoga. In Anusara yoga, he has found a form of hatha yoga that connects to his heart at the deepest level. 206.790.3468, www.jorgesevillano.com

Laura Prudhomme is inspired by any practice that strengthens the heart-body-mind connection. Her passion for movement, years of dance training, and a perpetually inquisitive mind led her to the path of yoga. Laura teaches an alignment-based class emphasizing breath awareness and ease of movement. Her wish is to engage students in a practice that invites curiosity, playfulness, and full-hearted vision. Laura completed her first teacher training under the auspices of Kathleen Hunt and mentor Jenny Ingwersen at Samadhi Yoga Center where she continues to study with Yvonne Crouteau. In 2009, she was introduced to Seattle Yoga Arts and the brilliance of Anusara. Laura has since found a home in the vibrant community of Seattle Yoga Arts where she studies with Denise Benitez and Elizabeth Rainey. Laura will complete the Anusara Yoga Immersion in Fall 2011. She deeply and graciously bows to her teachers both past and present for passing on their wisdoms and traditions. 901.487.4193