Dee Gard

Dee Gard is a 2014 graduate of the Wilmington Yoga Center 220 hour Kunga Teacher Training Program, and is a registered yoga teacher through Yoga Alliance. She originally began her yoga practice in 2007 to supplement her intense marathon training. She reaped fitness and well-being benefits very quickly, and soon began practicing yoga several times a week to enhance her running performance.

In recent years, her practice has flip-flopped. Dee now runs (bikes and skis) to support her strong vinyasa flow practice, which is most influenced by teachers, Tiffany Cruikshank and Dice Iida-Klein.
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Though she offers up an athletic practice, she does so with warmth and playfulness, encouraging her students to honor and celebrate their bodies and their strengths as they move on their mats.
She is known for her strong verbal cuing, paying close attention to the subtleties of postures, and guides her students to move mindfully from an intelligent place using sound body alignment and movement principles. Dee believes magic happens in the practicing of yoga, and is truly excited to share the magic with her students.

Devta

Devta Khalsa  is a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance and Kundalini Yoga Research Institute.  (RYT 220 hr)  She has been teaching yoga since 1978.  Devta’s studies have been directly under the world master of KY, Yogi Bhajan.  She has attended numerous 6 week “Women in Training” yoga camps in New Mexico.  She has also attended countless White Tantric Yoga workshops.  Devta has completed all five modules of Level Two trainings (300 hr) and is a certified teacher trainer of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan.

Devta has taught in numerous venues throughout the Fairbanks area and in the Lower 48 states.  She specializes in pre and postnatal yoga and KY for addiction and the Twelve Step Program.  She lived and worked in an ashram which was a live-in addiction rehabilitation and treatment center in Tucson , AZ based on the lifestyle practices of Kundalini Yoga.  Devta has advanced training in the Mind and Meditation. 

She has extensive studies in Naad Yoga – the psychology of sound healing, chanting and meditation.  She has traveled to London and Canada to study Naam Simran with the world masters, Bhai Ajit Singh and Simer Singh.   Devta has traveled to India to study the philosophy and history of ancient yogic traditions with master historian Yogi Amandeep Singh and experience the Udasi yogic practices given by Baba Siri Chand.
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Devta has learned to play the 30 inch, handmade symphonic Gong as a healing instrument and occasionally incorporates that into her yoga classes or conducts Gong meditations.

Dory Casper

​Dory is a lifelong Fairbanksan who fell in love with yoga in 2016.... so intensely she enrolled in a 200hr local teacher training less than a year later. Dory’s focus is as much non-physical as physical. Meditation, pranayama, deep stretching, essential oils, and some form of hands-on adjustment during savasana are all very common elements in Dory’s practices. Dory has taught yoga here in the interior and as far away as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dory is excited to go where this amazing yoga journey takes her.

Jacie Sturm

Jacie began her yoga journey over 10 years ago, right here in Fairbanks, Alaska. At 16, she attended her very first yoga class as a favor to a friend who was afraid to go solo. She had no idea at the time that this single class would lay the groundwork for her journey of self-discovery for many years to come. Since that first class, Jacie has spent countless hours exploring all different styles of yoga. From Hatha to Vinyasa, restorative to ashtanga; she makes it her personal mission to never stop learning. However, the one style that has really stuck with Jacie is Vinyasa, a flow-style of yoga that links breath to movement, which aids in building a deep mind-body connection.
 
In 2009, Jacie moved to California and stumbled upon CorePower Yoga. She immediately knew that this studio was aligned with everything she wanted out of a yoga class: intelligent sequencing, clear cues, and a practical approach to integrating yoga into daily life. Having always loved public speaking and connecting with people, teacher training was the next natural step in her yoga journey. In 2011, she competed her 200-hr certification with CorePower Yoga in Huntington Beach, CA, complimented by an additional 5-week extensions course. 
 
“Serving my students is my biggest inspiration as a teacher,” Jacie says, “I encourage students to approach life both on and off the mat by setting intentions and staying present.” Expect a creatively-sequenced flow in Jacie’s classes, filled with fun transitions, and hands-on adjustments to aid in deepening your practice.

Jade Bodenhamer 

Jade moved up from North Carolina about five years ago with an appetite for adventure. She hadn’t discovered yoga until she moved to Fairbanks. Yin & restorative brought stillness and awareness to her life like nothing had before. She has found a way to create a flow of self-awareness and self-love through yin and restoring practices. Sharing this practice and helping others find this loving awareness within themselves brings great joy to her.

Jane Reilly

Jane took her first yoga class at UAF in 2004.  What started as a whim became a lifestyle.  Influenced by Iyengar and Anusura yoga, she studied with Todd Norian at Ashaya Yoga in 2015-16 for her RYT training.  Registered with Yoga Alliance, she strives to teach mindful alignment-based asana with pranayama while encouraging strength and balance with an emphasis on the core.  Jane has taken 25 + semesters of yoga at UAF and has been active in the UAF Yoga Club for 15 years, enriching her own practice each week through the wonderfully diverse teachers of Fairbanks. 

Jody Hassel

Jody Hassel, M.F.A., E-RYT, TCTSY-F Jody Hassel is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 200) and is certified as a Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F) by the Justice Resource Institute’s Trauma Center in Boston. She is registered with Yoga Alliance in Iyengar-based hatha yoga, which roots her practice in a clear awareness of aligning breath, body, energy, and mindfulness. Jody is blessed to receive yoga through a diverse lineage. She has studied vinyasa yoga with Seane Corn, restorative yoga with Judith Lasater, yoga in balance with Jean Couch, Kundalini yoga with Devta Khalsa, therapeutic yoga with Sarahjoy Marsh, and hatha yoga with Lynne Minton and Teri Viereck--her first master teacher in 1985. She completed the 200-hour teacher certification program at Yandara Yoga Institute in Todos Santos, Mexico where she studied Iyengar-based hatha in 2007. Prior to her work at Yandara, she completed Seane Corn’s Vinyasa Teacher Training at Kripalu in 2006 and again at Santa Barbara Yoga Center in 2013. Her additional training with Divine Action and Off the Mat into the World has informed her practice of integrating yoga with social justice work. Jody loves sharing her practice of yoga with others and has also spent many years in the practice of dance, music, writing, theatre, healing, and esoteric arts.

Kate Avery

The main philosophy of yoga is simple: mind, body and spirit are one and cannot be clearly separated. I deeply believe that people need to experience life on a mental and physical level. For me yoga is the perfect expression of both. I want to teach yoga to help people discover themselves, to connect with their breath and their inner sanctuary of peace. I hope to guide students to see that there is power in softening, grace in stability and that life is in every breadth.
I found a sanctuary at Yoga in the Pearl, Portland, Oregon and became a dedicated student of Power Yoga. My teachers included the Lauren Ingram, Tiffany Cruikshank, and Sarah Lakey.​

Lisa Currie 

Hi I’m Lisa. I’ve been around the UAF yoga club for years and most of you know of me from there or from Yoga in the Park. I started yoga over 20 years ago taking class here and there but didn’t really get hooked until I found Brooke 17 years ago. She taught me proper form and challenged me to know my body and how it feels with all movements. Now, I was smitten and wanted to share, so next step, teacher training and 15 years later I still love sharing yoga with everyone. I have studied with various teachers over the years but power yoga was my first love. Now as I’ve aged I’ve developed what I call a modified power yoga practice with long holds and a little slower movements that I will love sharing with everyone.

Marsha Munsell

I began my yoga journey in 1975 with Richard Hittleman’s book, 28 Days of Yoga. Taking the book to live in the Alaska bush with my husband, Jim, I established a daily practice of yoga and meditation that has served me to this day. After moving to Fairbanks I became involved in several Mind-Body disciplines and yoga took a back seat. I studied the art of Shudokan and Gosoke-Ryu karate for 23 years and hold blackbelts in Shudokan karate, Iaido and Gosoke Ryu and a brown belt in Kung Fu with Dr. Charles Scott.  I presently enjoy Tai Chi and the ancient art of Qigong. In addition to my passion for the martial arts, I returned to pursuing yoga passionately in 2000, and have been instructing since 2005. I have taught yoga classes at the International Karate Association, as a private instructor, for seniors in the OLLI program and currently I teach weekly classes at the Senior Center and Heart Stream Yoga. My teacher training came about through Sundari’s Anusara teacher immersions and Lynn Minton. I am grateful for the influence of Susanne Lyle and Teri Vierick. My 200 hour certification process was through White Lotus Yoga with Ganga White and Tracey Rich and I am a 200 hour RYT  and a 200 hour E-RYT with Yoga Alliance.
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I bring to my classes a love of alignment, the beauty of a quiet center, and the joy of inner discovery.

Nani Saunders

Nani came from a rich multicultural background. Born in Germany, she was raised by Vietnamese immigrants. Ready to embark on a  journey abroad, she came to Fairbanks as an international student-athlete in 2014, where she studied and swam competitively at UAF. Overall, her competitive swim career spans over 18 years, with her biggest athletic achievements consisting of winning three national youth championships in Germany. In the US, Nani earned four-time All-American honors. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2018.

Nani’s journey to yoga began in Germany in 2011, when a friend invited her to one of her yoga classes. Feeling rejuvenated and drawn to yoga right away, she began to see yoga as a gateway to balance her rigorous swim training. Yoga slowly but surely became more than just practicing asanas. Nani appreciates the ancient history, philosophy and holistic approach that comes with yoga. However, it wasn’t until her sophomore year in college that she began to practice yoga more regularly. She took several yoga classes at UAF and found herself experimenting with different styles of vinyasa, hatha, yin, power, anusara, and kundalini yoga. After Nani retired from competitive swimming in 2017, she continued to experiment with different movement modalities such as MMA, BJJ, bouldering, and dancing. However, she always came back to yoga. Nani completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Donna Lanni and Marsha Munsell at Golden Heart School of Yoga in 2019. Additionally, she’s trained in trauma-informed yoga and is currently undergoing an in-depth 85-hour prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher training with Steph Ball-Mitchell at the Yoga and Ayurveda Center.

After years of traveling back and forth between Germany and Fairbanks, Nani is now finally able to settle down in Fairbanks, where she’s been excited to serve in her community. She enjoys practicing and teaching vinyasa, yin/restorative and prenatal yoga and has taught yoga in Fairbanks and in her hometown in Germany. Nani's vision for teaching yoga is to provide students with an opportunity to be mindful with themselves and their practice, to slow down and replenish the mind-body system through simple yet creative sequences that can also pick up a dynamic pace. Her yoga classes are designed with a holistic approach in mind, combining meditation, mindset work, breathwork and connecting it with movement so her students can experience wholesomeness in their practice. Most importantly, all of Nani’s classes are made available for all ability levels and everybody is welcome.

Besides yoga, Nani enjoys spending time with her newlywed husband and their two fur babies. She is passionate about all things health, wellness, adventuring, and attending to her little but growing garden.

Nicole Swensgard

Nicole is passionate about helping others find freedom and release through practicing yoga. Yoga can bring about the connection with the mind, body and spirit. Regular yoga practice has changed her life by allowing the space to find inner peace from her restless spirit by balancing upward and downward energy when moving through life. 

​Expect her classes to be moderately vigorous, inclusive, and playful yet complete with all seven classes of Asana. She has a non authoritarian compassionate teaching style with a background in trauma informed practice. Her flow practice is based upon the original style from the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, CA, that was established in 1968. Her yoga is based upon an alignment based Hatha/Vinyasa style. Nicole graduated from White Lotus in March, 2016. Mentored by Ganga White, Tracey Rich, Sven Holcomb, and James Morrison.