Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco (IYISF)

Meet Our Teachers

We’re proud to introduce our Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers (CIYT). Every teacher at IYISF continues their studies with teachers in the direct lineage of B.K.S. Iyengar and is certified in the Iyengar Method. Earning an Introductory level of certification represents approximately 800 hours of training. Achieving Junior and Senior levels constitutes thousands of hours of dedication, study and practice.

Valerie Velardi

As a child, I enjoyed all forms of movement. I received a Masters Degree in Dance Arts from Mills College and I danced and taught until 1983 when I found... more

Anne Barbaret

I got interested in yoga when I saw someone practicing yoga on the beach with the San Francisco Bay as the background - she was an Iyengar teacher, who like... more

Mimi Pajo

I was amazed when I found that my yoga practice helped manage both my depression and my chronic tendonitis and bursitis. Iyengar Yoga is for everyone and I... more

Athena Pappas

I began practicing yoga when I was 18. Feeling better physically and mentally keep me coming back to my mat day after day. Yoga has brought me inner peace and... more

Jeanne Elliott

I wrapped my arms around Iyengar yoga over 20 years ago. I am grateful for my excellent teachers who inspire me. The excitement I feel in practicing yoga... more

Rita Cruz

My first introduction to yoga and to the teachings of B.K.S Iyengar was in 1993. It was what I found to be the best method of healing for my back issues due to... more

David Sirgany

The conjunction of the seer with the seen is for the seer to discover his own true nature –Yoga Sutra II.23. I am inspired by the inner light that practice... more

Magi Khoo

Yoga has brought joy, ease, and freedom to Magi’s life: balancing a hectic corporate life and grad school over a decade ago, to recovering from a motorcycle... more

Janet MacLeod

I fell in love with Iyengar Yoga while living in London, England. I moved to California in the late 70’s and enrolled in the teacher training program at the... more

Renee Razzano

I am inspired by a quote from Bessel van der Kolk, MD: “Once you start approaching your body with curiosity rather than with fear, everything shifts.” I... more

Jaki Nett

I took my first yoga class in 1975 and received my first certification in 1977 with Indra Devi, the only non-Indian female who studied under Tirumalai... more

Anne Saliou

By sharing my experience and knowledge of Yoga, anatomy and philosophy in a precise, creative and supportive fashion, I strive to help my students achieve... more

Maria Calabria

I fell in love with yoga in 1985 and began studying Iyengar yoga in 1996. From my native Argentina, I also hold degrees in physical education and Expression... more

Nora Burnett

I bring to my teaching a warm heart, knowledge of anatomy and well-being informed by 30 years of practicing and teaching Iyengar Yoga, plus an intention to... more

Yelena Faynburd

When I was a child I had a hand typed book about a sickly boy, who ran away from his home village in India to live with ascetics. They taught him to meditate... more

Chad Balch

I bring to my teaching an enthusiastic belief in yoga as a practice that can infuse each moment of our daily lives and bring gifts of personal transformation,... more

Victoria Austin

I began practicing yoga in 1971, after a near-death experience showed me some home truths about my limitations and delusions. In 1983, I came to IYISF to do... more

Theresa Marks

Nothing makes me happier than finding new ways to transform myself. Always a seeker, I lived in a commune for years, became a Registered Nurse and then a... more

Julia Sterling

I discovered yoga after a long relationship with dance and movement and was immediately drawn to its rejuvenating properties. I’ve always been inspired by... more

Kathy Alef

I am inspired by the profound and sensitive teaching of yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar and his children, Geetaji and Prashantji. My regular visits to Pune enrich... more

Ana-Mari Hamada

“There is only one Creation and we are its members. “ Wendell Berry The practice of yoga for me is a daily exploration and remembrance of the... more

Brian Hogencamp

I aim to bring a spark of yoga to each student through the teachings that I’ve received in the Iyengar tradition. These teachings have been filtered through... more

Sachiko Nishizawa Willis

As a teenager in Japan, I was fascinated by a yoga book my mother gave me, but it took 20 years and a foreign land for me to begin the practice in earnest.... more

Teacher Education

Take a Workshop! Join a Community Event!

Yoga Sutras Study Group with Rita Cruz

March 21, 2019

In this 4 session series, we will focus Sadhana Krama or Method of Practice, in B.K.S. Iyengar’s Core of the Yoga Sutras.
With a focus on Sutra II.1 (Kriyayoga) and the four aspects of practice:
-Purification both inside and out.
-Absorption an

Yoga for Emotional Stability with Athena Pappas

March 23, 2019

Emotional stability comes when skills to face the inevitable ups and downs of life are developed. When these resources of resilience are lacking it can feel like being buffeted on a stormy sea between extreme emotions of anxiety, elation to depr

Yoga for the Shoulder Girdle with Nora Burnett

March 30, 2019

Our shoulders are constructed for a large range of motion and complex actions. Healthy, balanced action in the muscles that move the bones of the shoulder girdle (clavicle scapulae, humerus ) is developed progressively in practice so that increa

Spring Introductory Course with Ana-Mari Hamada