Gianna
An asana mechanic, movement specialist, Ayurvedic counselor, doula, musician, and forever student, Gianna (she/they) continues to practice, learn, and spread the techniques that have been shared with her over the past 15+ years.
Gianna starting practicing yoga asana in 2006 while working as a hair stylist in Chicago. By 2009, she knew it was time to quit her job in Chicago and share a more holistic offering to the world. She quit the salon and moved to India, and has been a dedicated seeker and spiritual aspirant ever since. The simplicity and complexity of living a life of yoga is what drives her to constantly adjust her life, offerings, and her ability to express.
Her quest for understanding and unification met her fight for equality and justice through the manifesting of the Siddhi School of Yoga, a radical center for expressive healing meant for every human.
Gianna is bikram, hatha, ashtanga, yin, and vinyasa certified teacher, an E-RYT and continuing education provider with Yoga Alliance, and an educator for the OHYA. She is an FRCms, death doula and coach, and Ayurvedic Consultant. She visits India yearly to learn and support her friends and family in India, spends time regularly with her teachers, has a close working relationship with her professor and vaidya for Ayurvedic study, and continues her studies with the Bihar School of Yoga, Maharishi International University, and the Function Range Conditioning system.
(sher/they)
Libby Cox
Philosophy
Libby Cox (she/her) is an E-RYT 500, a mother of twin boys, an educator and a dedicated student of the body. With degrees in art, dance and education, a 19-year yoga practice, and a penchant for storytelling, Libby’s teaching approach is compassionate, and witty.
Teaching yoga since 2004, Libby has served on faculty in yoga teacher training programs in the US and abroad since 2010, drawing upon her studies from numerous styles of yoga and teaching approaches in order to meet the needs of yoga students and aspiring teachers alike. Most notable are Libby’s studies with Patty Townsend, Judith Lasater, and Douglas Brooks.
Townsend developed ‘Embodyoga’, an approach to movement steeped in anatomy-driven, developmental movement principles of Body Mind Centering (BMC). Libby uses these principles to help students discover and release underlying causes of dysfunctional movement patterns. Libby’s studies with Judith Lasater have given her the skills to work individually with students on shoulder, hip and lower back health. Dr. Douglas Brooks introduced her to Rajanaka Tantra, a body of ideas that emphasize the invaluable education of everyday human experience. Libby works with students, using the vision of yoga philosophy, to help them gain perspective, presence and resilience through life’s joys and challenges. Libby recognizes that to be a knowledgeable instructor one has to understand the world of yoga as a whole and not be closed off to any yoga experience, knowledge or practice. It is through this knowledge, Libby discovered, she stays grounded in her personal practice.
his combination of studies has sustained Libby’s long time love of connecting the exploration of body-mind and breath to invigorating, well-informed creative movement. She also loves the support and inspiration that grows out of being part of a yoga community, and seeks to share her love of yoga as a philosophy that nourishes the capacity for creativity and resilience on life’s paths.
A recent transplant from Austin, TX (& Yoga Yoga) to Eugene, OR, Libby is the director of Two Birds Yoga Training, and teaches for Balanced Hot Yoga.
(she/her)
Erin Frank
Anatomy
In search of a new sustainable form of exercise, Erin (she/her) began practicing yoga in December of 2005. She had broken her pelvis, leg, and neck in an accident two years earlier. Noticing immediate physical and mental therapeutic benefits after her first class propelled her into a regular practice which has lasted fourteen years to date. She attained her teaching certification in the Spring of 2011. Teaching turned out to be just as fulfilling as practicing and, being a lover of knowledge, she began her anatomy studies in 2013. This in turn has led to her current pursuit of a doctor of physical therapy degree. The pillars of Erin's teaching passion are service and observation; helping people feel better and the discovery of places where different cultures agree upon the ways of the body and mind are two of her greatest joys. Erin encourages raising the bar of yoga asana to a more universally accepted method of physical therapy and injury prevention and sees this endeavor beginning with the yoga teacher.
“My yoga practice gives me calm energy and has relieved a myriad of ailments but first and foremost brings me awareness and gratitude.”
Relevant degree(s), certification, or substantial education:
Bikram Yoga Certified Teacher (2011)
University of Texas, Austin, BA in philosophy (2005)
University of Manchester Sotheby’s Institute, MA in Contemporary Art (2008)
University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, Austin, TX (2022)
(she/her)
Afton Carraway
Asana & Prenatal Specialist
Having both practiced and taught yoga for well over a decade, I have rediscovered myself over and over again through my experiences with yoga. My journey from discovering yoga, to becoming a yoga champion, to becoming a mother, has made me realize that my practice is so much more than asana.
The control, clarity, and contemplative art that accompany my physical practice have expanded my mind, increased my emotional awareness, and tapped into my creative abilities. In addition to Bikram training in both the beginners and advanced series, I am 500 RYT certified under Yoga Alliance in advanced teaching methods with Christina Sell and Gioconda Parker and am a level 3 Original Hot Yoga Association certified teacher. I have also studied prenatal yoga under the YoMama Yoga teacher training, completed an Ashtanga Vinyasa training course under David Swenson, and have studied Yin Yoga teaching methods with Gioconda Parker.
I view the practice of asana as a modality to gain inner awareness and clarity in oneself. I intend to continue my education in yoga studies and philosophy to learn more about the infinite possibilities of the practice. Through my teaching, I hope to encourage students to take on a keen interest in themselves to empower and help them realize their fullest potential beyond perceived capabilities.
(she/her)
Charles Staples
What was at first just a way to relax quickly became a regular part of his life. After being inspired by the amazing teachers at the yoga school he first practiced with, as well as the changes he noticed within himself, he packed up for 9 weeks of teaching training in L.A in 2012. His mission and matra is love love love. Charles is a certified Amrit Yoga teacher, massage therapist, facilitates yin, yoga nidra meditation, and leads weekend retreats and public classes.
(he/him/his)
Kathy Durham
Ayurveda & Asana
Earth Mama, KD!
Deeply connected and rooted to the earth, this lady continues to step into her wisdom every day! Her appreciation for order and integrity are evident in all that she does. Her class is precise and intentional, her workshops methodical and memorable, her meditations mystical and magical.
Her yogic journey has woven an amazing path for her to fully embrace self-study. She has done it all: teach a ba-zillion classes, compete, help manage studios, develop teachers, train competitors, host women's circles, retreats, and teacher trainings. She resides and teaches regularly in Bend, Oregon where she enjoys all there is to love of the outdoors. Asana, astrology, ritual, yoga philosophy, and backpacking fuel her fire.
Once you meet her you'll understand why we all tell her she is 'older than the sun and moon'...she knows things... or will steer you in the right direction to find an answer.
(she/her)
J Whisky Northrop, LAc, MAOM
From a young age, Whiskey developed an empathetic way of connecting with others. Acting as her disabled mothers caretaker, she was challenged and also gifted with the deepest gratitude for those who are unable to care for themselves physically, mentally, spiritually, and/or financially. After obtaining a BA in Film, Whiskey realized that though she loved working in an artistic industry, she was lacking a sense of greater fulfillment. In 2014, she obtained her Masters degree from Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Stepping into someone's life as they navigate their health needs and concerns is a profound privilege and it is Whiskey's goal to support her patients in their natural process of healing and transformation.
(she/her)
Emily Ridout
Emily Ridout is an AstroYoga, astrology, and yoga teacher. She teaches how to understand the astrology of your physical and energetic bodies in a way that radically empowers you to heal repetitive cycles, move through challenges, and create optimum mental/physical wellbeing.
She cultivated her AstroYoga techniques for over a decade and holds an M.A. and B.A in folklore with an emphasis on the esoteric, yogic, and astrological. She is one of few AstroYoga experts in the world teaching classes and training yoga teachers in this distinct style of yoga, and you can find her work in Yoga Journal, Yoga Digest, Reader’s Digest, and other publications.
(she/her)
Érica Alcocer
Érica Alcocer (they/she) is a queer non-binary femme living on occupied Yanawana • Somi Se'k territory, also known as San Antonio. Their focuses are radical social and self-awareness, abolition, decolonization and organizing community in liberation of colonized folks that centers queer•trans Black women/femmes/folks and queer•trans non-Black Indigenous women/femmes folks. More of their work on de-centering settler ego can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/ericaelizabethalcocer/home
Erica currently studies at The University of Texas, San Antonion (UTSA) with a double major in Spanish + Mexican American Studies and a minor in Gender, Sex and Sexuality Studies. Erica is a 2019 Presidential Inclusive Excellence Scholar and recipient of the Linda J. Rassmussen Memorial Annual Scholarship in Women's Studies at UTSA.
(they/she)
Sheetal Kandola
Sheetal (pronounced like lethal) is a Leo sun sign in Western and Vedic philosophy, vegetarian, and speaks 5 languages. She enjoys teaching and playing tennis, ecstatic dancing, biking in the Himalayas, and is a nature and dog lover. She is born a Sikh, which means student, and has taken on the role of a life-longer learner combining her Sikhi principles, Shakti & Stories from Sanatan Dharm & Buddhist philosophy.
Professionally, she is an global mental health consultant, certified embodiment & life coach, sex educator and traditional Himalayan Hatha yoga and Ayurvedic practitioner. Although she was born in the US and has roots in Punjab, North India, she considers herself a citizen of the world. She has lived, studied and worked in 3 different continents. She currently is based between the USA, Goa and the Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh).
She earned a Masters in Science (MSc) in Global Mental Health from King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Interestingly, she went to high school in Alabama and attended college at Emory University based in Atlanta, GA.
She has worked in the global mental health field in India, the UK and the USA for the past 10 years. She became a certified yoga teacher through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center and a certified Ayurvedic therapist through the Ayuskama Ayurveda school based in Himachal Pradesh. In addition, she completed a trauma sensitive yoga training in the USA to work with survivors of abuse, violence and trauma.
Upon completing her degree, she ran back to India to start working and sharing her skills and knowledge. Sheetal claims whilst her mind has been educated in the West her heart belongs to India. She has solo traveled around India by motorbike from southernmost tip in Kanyakumari to the highest peak in the snow-capped Himalayan mountains.
Sheetal is passionate about guiding women and people of color who feel stuck and confused about their dharma (life soul’s purpose) to feeling clear, aligned, inspired and in divine flow. She is also ardent about decolonizing yoga in West to help people understand the deeper meanings of her indigenous spiritual practices. For Sheetal--yoga is more than just an exercise--it is a way of life and a tool to transform and realize the true self.
She combines her life long experience with yoga and her expertise in coaching and mental health to offer comprehensive private and group coaching packages, global mental health consultations, 1:1 Ayurvedic consultations, Hatha yoga classes, workshops and private sessions.
(She/Her)
Learn more about Sheetal here!
Ganesh Thakur
Ganesh Thakur lives in Vashistha, Himachal Pradesh where he was born and raised. Taking his first ever yoga class from his father, Ganesh learned traditional Hatha Yoga his guru and the many master teachers of Vashistha and Rishikesh. He has been teaching yoga all over India conducting retreats, classes, and workshops to travelers from all over the world. Ganesh works with his father Chappe to take people trekking, camping, and exploring all of India at their company Open Lotus Retreats. He as been working with Gianna and the Siddhi School of Yoga since 2016 as a trekking and travel guide and leads mantra and pranayama for the groups.
(He/him)