INSPIRATION RETREATS
INSPIRATION POEMS
MOUNTAIN YOGA PODCAST
IN CONVERSATION W/ KENNAN ROSSI
Our monthly podcast is hosted by the incisive, conversational and oh-so-charming Mountain Yoga teacher Kennan Rossi.  Enjoy conversations between Kennan and our teachers, students and other sources of inspiration!  

APR 2025  MAHEA UCHIUYAMA | MBIRA SOUNDBATH
"[The first time I heard mbira] I was transported into a different place, I was visiting with relatives who had passed on, I was having visions...it was trippy.  I had never experienced anything like that in my life...I signed up for lessons the very next day ." 
~ mahea uchiyama

Many of us at Mountain Yoga know Mahea Uchiyama as one of the an authority on polynesian culture.  But Mahea is also an ordained Ifa priestess and player of the mbira, the African "thumb piano" used in the sacred and healing ceremonies of Zimbabwe.  Hear more about this transformative music and Mahea's new book on mbira -- then come experience the magic for yourself at this month's Raise the Vibe event!
Restorative Yoga + Soundbath
​Friday April 18, 6-7:15PM. 
​Register now.
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JAN 2025  SARA SABERI | SOUL SERENADE
"Persian music has the power of transforming and bringing the listener to a spiritual state of mind, a special space of mystery." ~ sara saberi

The sublime is rare and powerful stuff. Yoga teacher and classical Persian musical artist Sara Saberi brings yoga and Iranian classical music together to create sublime states.
Restorative Yoga + Soundbath
​Friday January 31, 6-7:15PM. 
​Register now.
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DEC 2024  ROY REMER | ON BEING AN END-OF-LIFE COMPANION
“What people approaching death need most is a very receptive listener — and beauty.“ ~ Roy Remer

To accompany a loved one as they approach death can be both hugely challenging and deeply meaningful. Roy Remer shares about his work accompanying the dying with the Zen Caregiving Project, his new book on the subject and his upcoming workshop at Mountain Yoga.
Roy will be teaching "Walking Each Other Home: On Being an End of Life Companion" on Saturday December 14 2-5PM in-person or via zoom. Register now.
OCT 2024  DEVRA LANER | ON THE ROPES
“You can completely find traction for your back using the ropes...it feels amazing. “  ~ Devra Laner

Mountain Yoga teacher and former dancer, Devra Laner points to the grace and ease of hoofer Gene Kelly as an unlikely inspiration in her yoga.  Learn more about Devra's fascinating perspective on movement, the history and benefits of using ropes for yoga  and her love of a long savasana in this conversation with podcast host Kennan Rossi.
​Devra teaches the popular Ropes + Restorative Class  in-person on Tuesdays at 6PM

​PAST INTERVIEWS
SEPT 2024  MYOGA COMMUNITY | ON BEING A FOREST DWELLER
“That is very special... and has certainly increased as I’ve aged, that sense that it’s all kind of astonishing. “ ~ Claire Cunningham

Our Fall Season's celebration  "Life in the Third Season" is well on it's way.  Listen in on this zoom conversation with Mountain Yoga members where they share their experience with life and yoga as "Forest Dwellers"  Spanning in age from their 50's through their late 70's,  Claire Cunningham, Candy Applegate, Christina De Souza and Marge O'Halloran chat with host Kennan Rossi about  this stage of life.
​Read more about our fall programming theme on yoga and aging at We Are the Forest Dwellers: A Celebration of Life in the Third Season
AUG 2024  BAXTER BELL ON YOGA FOR HEALTHY AGING 
"How do I expand my health span so  that I am as healthy as I can be, for as long as I can be, for the length of time I am going to be around?"

​Dr. Baxter Bell, co-author of the book "Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-being", speaks with host Kennan Rossi about his decades of work supporting middle-aged and older students live longer and better through yoga. This fall Baxter brings together the best of modern science and traditional yoga in four brand new Y4HA workshops. In this exciting new quartet of offerings Baxter shares ground-breaking new research about aging and new ways of practicing yoga to rid us of old assumptions and awaken us to new, bright possibilities for longer, more vital lives.  

Join Baxter for his quartet of brand new monthly Yoga for Healthy Living Aging this fall.  
JULY 2024  MICHELLE FLIEGAUF, OWNER/DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL YOGA
"I  wanted to share my passion for the combined power of yoga and travel to transform. Travel charges my battery like nothing else."

Michelle Fliegauf's company International Yoga celebrates 15 years as the world's first and leading yoga travel company. She and MYoga director Ann Dyer have worked together creating retreats for our community to international destinations like India , Cuba, Morocco, Japan, and this year's upcoming  destinations of Mallorca and Mexico. "We do all the travel coordination for you so you can be present with your practice, with others on retreat and with the culture and people around you," Michelle explains.  "We care a lot, we want the experience to be as good as it can be."
Upcoming retreats co-created by Michelle and Ann for our Mountain Yoga Community: Yoga Retreat in Mallorca September 30-October 6 and Yoga + Chanting in Mexico, December 7-14.
JUN 2024  NICOLE BECKER
"The biggest misconception about surya namaskar, or sun salutation, is that it was designed to be a workout... It is a Nature prayer. To the sun coming up, to the light within."

Nicole is one of those rare teachers who can go deep, then send you out the door with a giggle.  Get to know why we think Nicole is so special, and more about her 20 years teaching the devotional origins of the sun salutation .
​"Invoking the Sacred: The Origin of Surya Namaskar" June 15, 2-4:30PM in-person at OYS or via zoom + 14 day recording. 
 
MAY 2024  CILLESA ULLMAN
"Cillesa is great at getting the blood moving early in the morning for a safe and invigorating wake-up to start the day!"~ MYOGA STUDENT

Roller skating, yoga bunnies, interior design, and a new life in France —  hear how yoga has been a guiding light for MYoga teacher Cillesa Ullman's fascinating life in this fun and informative conversation with podcast host Kennan Rossi.
Cillesa teaches "A.M. YOGA WORKOUT" Tue/Thu 7-7:30AM via Zoom 
APR 2024  SABRINA CHAUMETTE
"Better could mean a more open heart. Better could mean bringing more gentleness and less judgment to a pose. Better might also mean being able to tolerate a difficult thought, emotion or sensation and still find a way to keep coming back. " ~ SABRINA CHAUMETTE
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Sabrina Chaumette and Kennan Rossi discuss  the challenges of living stress and trauma,  how yoga can help, her work in the Chronic Pain department of Kaiser Oakland, and the changes she's seen in her 20+ years as a Mountain Yoga Member.
MAR 2024  KENNAN ROSSI
"I want people to leave class feeling better than they came." ~ kennan rossi

​This month the MYoga podcast turns the tables, with our monthly host, Kennan Rossi, now the guest!  Learn more about Kennan's many talents and loves including music, poetry, yoga philosophy and teaching in this conversation between him and studio director Ann Dyer. 
Kennan Rossi is the host of the Mountain Yoga podcast and teaches a weekly Hatha 1-3 class Thursdays 5:15pm via zoom.
FEB 2024  MICHAEL WERTZ
"It's a way of letting everything else slide away, and really surprising things start to happen." ~ michael wertz
Artist, yogi, musician, deejay and the Chair of the illustration department of CCA , Michael shares what drawing has to do with yoga, his views on AI, and his love for Lynda Barry.
Michael Wertz will teach "Meditative Drawing" Saturday February 3 2-4PM
in-person in his home and via zoom.
JAN 2024  HARSHA JAISINGHANI
"When you have been through some ups and downs in life, some of the yoga concepts and theories start to have a real practical application — it feels very rich."  ~ harsha jaisinghani
From a childhood in Mumbai with early morning sun salutations with her dad to moving to the U.S. and studying yoga in American studios, Harsha's lifelong relationship with yoga is inspiring. Learn more about Harsha on this month's Inspiration Podcast.
Harsha teaches Wednesdays @ 5:15PM via zoom.
 DEC 2023  RECORDED LIVE! FROM HARAMARA RETREAT CENTER
"We may be in paradise,
but it's not a Utopia."
~ ann dyer cervantes

Join Mountain Yoga students at this year's Yoga in Mexico Retreat  held in the seaside jungle of Haramara for an informal and entertaining conversation on  the benefits — and the challenges — of going on retreat.  Inspired?  Check out our upcoming retreats with studio director Ann Dyer Cervantes.
2024 RETREATS
MOROCCO march 16-24  details
MALLORCA sept 30-oct 6  registration opens after jan 1
MEXICO dec 6-13  registration opens after jan 1
NOV 2023  PERRY CHATTLER
"I teach what I know..."
​~perry chattler

Perry is one of our most beloved teachers, known for his  gentle way and soothing voice in his Yoga for 50+ classes at Mountain Yoga.  Hear Perry's take on teaching yoga, yoga therapeutics and his work using trauma informed yoga to teach veterans. a 
Perry teaches Yoga for 50+ on Mondays  + Tuesdays at 3:30PM via zoom 
OCT 2023  AMELIA PUDOFF
​"to me it's almost like a spiritual practice being in awe of our bodies and what we are capable of... " 
​~amelia pudoff
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Amelia loves working with the body, and sees anatomy and kinesiology as a path toward the more the subtle aspects of yoga.
SEP 2023  MARGI YOUNG
​"As a dancer, I was always more happy at the yoga studio." 
~margi young
​
Margi is  one of those people who lights up every room.  A yogini who walks the walk, talks the talk and brings a bit of sparkle  with her.  
AUG 2023  JESSICA SAMUELS
​"Part of having a mind is to struggle with one's mind." 
~jessica samuels

Jessica helped forge our stalwart meditation community during the pandemic when students turned to a.m. meditation for comfort and solace.  A brilliant mind and a gentle soul, Jessica  shares her perspective on the benefits and challenges of meditation in our modern lives.
​Jessica teaches Mindful  Meditation Tue/Thu . 8am by zoom.
JULY 2023  SARA KENWARD
​"This is a symbiotic relationship I’m really glad to have in my life." 
​~sara kenward

​Sara holds all the answers to your questions.  As the studio's longtime manager and as a teacher with some of the studio's most loyal students, Sara knows what's happening in the classroom and behind the scenes. 
​
 Sara teaches "Yoga for Every Body " Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
JUNE 2023  DARI LOVE SYLVIA
​"I feel I was born to be
a yogi, in many ways " ~dari love sylvia

Dari, the newest member of Mountain Yoga's stellar staff,  has been prominent figure on the East Bay Yoga scene for more than 20 years,  as a teacher at Namaste Yoga, and later as owner of Loka Yoga.  Learn  more about Dari's take on teaching yoga, the usefulness of yoga philosophy, and how sweaters can be like sculpture in this upbeat conversation with host Kennan Rossi.   
Dari teaches Sunday Mindful Flow and Friday  Yoga for Strength + Balance classes.
MAY 2023  MYOGA MEMBERS TEACHER TRAINING GRADS
​"… there’s a deepening of  relationship that is happening." ~ ~ ~ kennan rossi

Six of the twenty recent graduates of Nest Yoga's inaugural teacher training program are Mountain Yoga members.  They recently got together at director Ann Dyer Cervantes' home to celebrate  their accomplishments and share what going deeper meant to each of them.  Listen in!
APRIL 2023  LESLIE HOWARD, teacher 
​"I'm not embarrassed to talk about it. I think we should all need talk about it, and it's an important thing to talk about." ~ leslie howard

Leslie Howard is an Oakland-based yoga teacher, specializing in all things pelvic. She leads workshops and trainings worldwide, has written a book about the female pelvis, Pelvic Liberation,  and is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal magazine.  She has designed two very successful studies for UCSF on yoga to alleviate incontinence and pelvic pain.  
​www.lesliehowardyoga.com
MARCH 2023  JULIE McDONALD + CANDY APPLEGATE 
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"I just love when I go to zoom classes and see people I know personally, especially when I get to see my baby sister... the energy is so yogic.” 
~ candy applegate
Like most sisters, Julie McDonald and Candy Applegate are a lot alike — and couldn't be more different!  Julie lives in Oakland and Candy in Hawaii, yet the two sisters  come together most every week via zoom in Mountain Yoga classes.  Enjoy this charming chat filled with love and humor about two  amazing yoginis.
FEBRUARY 2023  GAIL WALLACE + MARY ARMENTROUT

​"Why don't we just set up the situation so people can feel this?”
~ mary armentrout
This month's podcast is a particularly lively one, as guests Gail Wallace and Mary Armentrout banter with tremendous insight, warm humor and  clear fondness and admiration for one another on how bringing yoga and Feldenkrais together  benefits of their lives and those of their students.
JANUARY 2023  BETT BOLLHOEFER

​“Yoga saved my life.  That's not hyperbole.  That really is real.”
~ bett bollhoefer
Mountain Yoga teacher Bett Bollhoefer went from a full-time tech profession to following in her mother's footsteps to become a yoga teacher.  Passionate about her yoga and her teaching, Bett has been practicing daily yoga for over 600 days and recently released her self-published book coming out of that experience, "Daily Yoga: Creating a Practice for Life."  
DECEMBER 2022 BETHANY HOBBS + MINDI MARCUS

​“To find in the dark what matters most to our soul, to our community, and to our times.”
~ mindi marcus
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​Enjoy this fun and funny, profound and touching, surprisingly intimate conversation between two Mountain Yoga teachers who just happen to be the closest of friends.
NOV 2022 RICHARD ROSEN

​"The development of a Witness.  I think that's a very important part of practical life, a practicing life."    
​~ richard rosen
Richard Rosen  began his practice of yoga in 1980 at the Yoga Room, in Berkeley, CA, went on to open Piedmont Yoga in 1987 with his good friend Rodney Yee and has authored six books, his most current, Richard teaches workshops on yoga philosophy and monthly pranayama classes at Mountain Yoga.
OCT 2022 DR. BAXTER BELL
"I'd love to the see the benefits of our yoga practice support more social outreach and action...yoga can be a great way to light a fire and give us the energy to move in that direction." ~ baxter bell
Dr. Baxter Bell has taught at Mountain Yoga for almost two decades.  His background in Western medicine and yoga therapeutics ensures a safe and healing yoga experience, always entertaining as it is informative. He is co-author of the book Yoga for Healthy Aging.  www.baxterbell.com . 
SEPT 2022 ANN DYER CERVANTES

​"Together we are creating a wholesome space that helps us be our best selves and live our best lives." ~ ann dyer cervantes
Ann Dyer Cervantes  is the owner/director of Mountain Yoga.  and a teacher on its staff.  In  inaugural Mountain Yoga podcast Ann talks about the studio's 20th anniversary — where its been and where its going.
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​Kennan Rossi has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 25 years and is a Staff Teacher at Mountain Yoga. He loves making music and photographs, writing poetry, and backpacking in the Sierra Nevada. After more than 30 years working in technology, he is currently Director of a global technical communications team at Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation®). 
​ Take class with Kennan Thursday evenings @ 5:15pm via Zoom