Rakta Hot Yoga Steamboat

Sandy Fallon

Owner/Instructor

A Boulder native, Sandy first stepped onto her yoga mat 18 years ago and was immediately hooked. Her back pain from running disappeared and she felt more calm, focused, and centered. This change in energy and perspective served Sandy well as a Physician Assistant working in one of the busiest emergency departments in Colorado. Trained as a pediatric Physician Assistant in Denver, Sandy was accepted at Yale as a PA surgical resident and continued working in Yale’s vascular surgery services. Missing Colorado, Sandy came back to the Rockies to Lutheran Hospital’s emergency department. She was also a clinical professor at UC Denver, where she taught emergency medicine in the PA program for 14 years.

As a PA, Sandy saw firsthand the tolls of stress, unhealthy lifestyles, and poor nutrition and became frustrated with writing prescriptions for conditions that needed more than a pill to fix. She chose to move away from the western medicine disease based model to focus on preventative medicine with a holistic approach.

Sandy studied nutrition theory and coaching with Precision Nutrition, learning habit based lifestyle and health coaching. She was in one of the first classes of certified PN-2 “supercoaches.” She became a holistic health coach through IIN and is currently pursuing functional medicine practitioner studies under Mark Hyman, MD.

Sandy is an ERYT yoga instructor, a level 1 wall yoga instructor, and an aircat aerial instructor. In addition, she is a barre instructor, NASM certified personal trainer, kickboxing instructor, and Lagree Pilates instructor. She is humbled by the profound impact of yoga, breath work, and mindfulness on our health. She loves teaching and watching the magic of yoga in her students.

Kady Kocik

Instructor

Kady is originally from Nashville, Tennessee but has been a Steamboat local for over 17 years. You can find her fishing the rivers, running in the desert, skiing in the backcountry, and even dancing the Texas Two Step to raise money for kids. Kady earned her Bachelors in Exercise Physiology and her Masters in Nursing, and she delivers a well-rounded knowledge of health and wellness. Kady’s dance experience and passion for fitness compelled her to take a Booty Barre Sculpt training in Denver in 2013. She also completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2016. With her charismatic energy, unique versatility, precise expertise, and southern charm, Kady will smile while she kicks your booty!

Karen Nann

Instructor

Athletics have been part of Karen’s life for as long as she can remember. She participated in and taught tennis, horseback riding, and skiing. She first became interested in yoga after a tennis injury in high school. While attending the University of Colorado at Boulder for her undergraduate degree in 2002, she became certified in Ashtanga Yoga before obtaining her CorePower Yoga certification in vinyasa and sculpt.

Yoga was not easy for Karen. Years of tight muscles made asanas tough to work through. Her personal and physical evolution helps her relate with yogis of all levels and abilities and allows her passion for yoga to grow. Her classes incorporate an athletic aspect and she guarantees a workout for the body and the mind.

In 2008, Karen began working at Better Bodies and fell in love with spin and kickboxing. She was trained in these disciplines and is excited to bring her kickboxing 20/20/20 class to Rakta. When she’s not teaching, Karen is skiing or hiking with her canine sidekick Callie or working as a veterinarian at Pet Kare Clinic. She attended Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine where she also taught vinyasa land yoga, paddle board yoga, and kickboxing 20/20/20. While finishing her veterinary studies at Colorado State University, she taught yoga at Raintree Athletic Club. Karen feels blessed to practice veterinary medicine, yoga, and kickboxing in the Steamboat and Rakta communities.

Trigg Gerber

Trigg Gerber

Instructor

Trigg Gerber is a farmer, mom, neighbor, friend, and guardian of bees. She’s a spiritual seeker, passionate learner of life, and health and wellbeing advocate. As a professional, Trigg has been a classroom educator and teacher of special needs children, an interior designer, a marketer, a potter, and, for the last 10 years, a bodyworker/massage therapist here in Steamboat. Trigg has a passion for helping adults and children with their physical bodies and nervous systems. She loves to provide clients with the education and tools to support themselves and their loved ones. She blends traditional massage with energy work to support her clients’ bodies, minds, and souls.

Trigg has studied yoga for almost two decades. Most recently, she has studied with Libbie Mathis and explored Sridaiva yoga in Denver. Trigg completed the Rakta 200 Hour Path of a Yogi Teacher Training in September 2018 and brings a love and knowledge of alignment, Iyengar, wall yoga, and intuition to her teaching. To book sessions with Trigg, call 970.846.9772 or email [email protected]

Narisa Wild

Narisa Wild

Instructor

Narisa Wild is originally from the UK where she was a dedicated student of Bikram yoga. In 2007, Narisa moved to NY with her family and fell in love with hot power yoga and vinyasa. After the arrival of her third child, she took the plunge to complete her YogaWorks 200RYT Teacher Training in 2013 in NYC and hasn’t looked back. In 2014, she moved to Colorado and was drawn to SUP yoga (water is her happy place) and Barre.

Narisa focuses on health, wellness, self-improvement, and education. She believes in curiosity, the never-ending journey of learning, and the process of improving the self through helping others. Working full time in a demanding corporate job, Narisa seeks balance and rejuvenation through community practice as she explores new ways to shape and develop her mind, body, and breath.

Jaqueline Harrell

Instructor

Jacqueline is a long time wellness enthusiast and mother of five. She is a certified yoga sculpt and Les Mills Bodypump instructor. Jacqueline believes that motherhood is just one of the many journeys upon which women can embark and that the female identity is not defined by this one beautiful role. She believes all women can be stronger and more radiant than they ever imagined after childbirth, no surgery or mommy makeover required.

Jacqueline has a keen interest in and expansive knowledge of primal health, which is health and nutrition founded in evolutionary biology. She is currently pursuing a primal health coach certification so she can help people looking to be the best version of themselves. Jacqueline also holds a BA in International Studies and enjoys embracing other cultures and viewpoints. Ultimately, she believes fitness, nutrition, and connection to nature are paramount to elevating the spirit. Her classes reflect this philosophy with a mix of strength and power balanced with kindness.

Rakta Hot Yoga Steamboat

Sara Peterson

Physical Therapist/Instructor/Wellness

Born and raised in Chicago, Sara moved to Steamboat in 2013 after receiving her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Northwestern University. Sara is a level II trained Pelvic Health Physical Therapist. She specializes in treating pelvic floor dysfunction and is particularly interested in treating women during pregnancy and postpartum. Sara fell in love with barre workouts several years ago. Inspired to teach, she completed her barre training in 2016. Sara’s goal is to provide a fun, safe, and effective workout for students of all levels.

Becky Kuhl

Instructor

Becky is a fitness enthusiast and enjoys water skiing, snow skiing, and mountain biking. She worked in massage therapy and on ski patrol for 13 years. Once her children went to school, Becky decided to pursue a career in fitness and became a personal trainer. She felt she was missing the flexibility and mind-body aspect and ultimately found yoga sculpt. She was trained as a yoga sculpt teacher in 2015 and feels sculpt rounds out her fitness offerings with strength, flexibility, and a beautiful mind-body connection. Her passions are being fit and helping others achieve their fitness goals.

Rakta Hot Yoga Steamboat

Sarah Kostin

Instructor

In 2003, Sarah moved from Pennsylvania to Steamboat Springs to learn how to snowboard for “just a few months.” More than a decade later, Sarah is proud to call this community home. An outdoor enthusiast, Sarah is an avid hiker, mountain biker, snowboarder, and former ultra-runner. She connected with yoga as a way to build strength, enhance focus, improve balance, and recover from injuries.

A curious lifelong learner and graduate of the Outlaw Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training, Sarah continues to deepen her study of yoga and thrives on sharing newfound knowledge with students. Because yoga has helped clarify her voice and develop a strong sense of her authentic self, Sarah’s mission is to help each student along their own path of self-discovery. With humor, compassion, and a focus on great music, Sarah creates classes that uplift and challenge students. Off the mat, Sarah works as the Children’s Librarian at the Bud Werner Memorial Library, bringing her passion for stories and movement to weekly family programming.

Jennifer Johnson

Instructor

Jennifer Brie Johnson views yoga as a conscious space to feel, heal, and come alive. Yoga came to her as a physical exercise after years of competitive sport but transformed into a practice of finding balance in both mind and body: strength and flexibility, stillness and fluidity, intensity and softness.

Jen has practiced everything from Iyengar to Acro-Vinyasa but finds her center in alignment based vinyasa flows and workshops. She teaches to inspire, to empathize, and to explore where we can be in the present moment and potentially in the future.

Jen receive her 200-hour yoga teacher certification from Yoga Medicine under the guidance of Tiffany Cruikshank and completed a 300-hour Fit Flow Fly teacher training with Briohny Kate Smyth and Dice Iida-Klein.

Valerie D'Ambrosio

Valerie D’Ambrosio

Instructor

Inspirational Connection Coach, Yoga teacher, and Founder of Hanuman Festival, Valerie D’Ambrosio’s passion lies in guiding individuals to connect with their emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual bodies in a healthy and conscious way. By blending movement, breath, and meditation along with self-inquiry, she believes the practitioner creates a doorway to deepen their intuition and profound self-love.

Valerie’s infectious living-large nature encourages people to discover their greatness and play big in the world. Her wish is that people become more connected to the wisdom of their bodies and to the guidance that is within and around them.

Sabra Severinghaus

Sabra Severinghaus

Instructor

Sabra began her yoga practice as an outlet to reduce stress and build muscle tone. It wasn’t long before she recognized many additional life altering benefits, including: personal empowerment, courage, vulnerability, boldness, patience, gratitude, unity, and most importantly community. After two years of persistence on the mat, it became clear that she was passionate about sharing this wonderful practice with others. She completed her 200 hour teacher training through Outlaw Yoga in July of 2017.

Kaela Miller

Kaela Miller

Instructor

Kaela is a certified instructor for Hot Yoga, Hot Power Fusion Yoga, and CorePower (Vinyasa) Yoga from CorePower Yoga. She is a registered yoga instructor (RYT-200 and RYT-300) with Yoga Alliance and has been practicing yoga for over 15 years. After having her daughter Lyllah, yoga helped Kaela get back into shape and create a work, life, parenting balance. Kaela is the master of the 90 minute Fire Hot Series!

Cristen Malia

Cristen Malia

Instructor

Cristen’s passion for the practice of yoga and more than a decade of teaching experience are apparent in the classes she offers. Her flows are invigorating and dynamic, moving with the breath, and challenging for the body and mind.

Cristen teaches weekly public classes in Steamboat, mentors new yoga teachers as they embark on their journeys, serves on Rusty Wells’ Bhakti Flow Yoga teacher training staff, and has been a spiritual teacher for the Foundry Addiction Recovery Center. She considers herself a lifelong student of yoga, philosophy, and consciousness and she provides an inviting and compassionate platform for students to make lasting connections to an intrinsic source of joy and inspiration, encouraging all to new heights.

Jeannine Logue

Jeannine Logue

Instructor

Jeannine is originally from a small farm town in Connecticut. The woods of New England cultivated her love of nature and the outdoors. In 2001, her adventurous spirit led her out West in search of bigger skies and better snow. After a winter in Steamboat, her heart sang and she began planting her roots here. She quickly fell into the valley’s mantra (work hard, play hard), and found passion in snowboarding, rafting, mountain biking, hiking, and feeding her love for flowers through Landscape Design.

The physical demands of her work and play sent Jeannine in search of something that offered balance, eventually bringing her to discover yoga. On her mat, Jeannine found more than she was seeking. The surprising sense of play, love, and healing that she discovered in yoga kept her returning to practice again and again.

In the fall of 2017, Jeannine completed her 200 Hour Teaching Training at Yandara Yoga Institute. Most recently, Jeannine received her Wall Yoga Certification from Amanda Neufeld of Yoga Studio Satya here at Rakta. Jeannine has always led with her heart and teaches with a passion that comes from the same source. On her mat, she practices forgiveness, discovery, humor, and honoring the self; in her teaching, she encourages the same.

Mandy Leonhardt

Instructor

A warrior of light carries a beacon to connect the mind, body, and spirit to a path of growth and transformation. I aspire to bring this light of healing energy through yoga and body work to harmonize the physical body and expand the emotional and mental spirit.

Finding the true, authentic self is yoga. I am yoga and yoga is me, consciously and constantly engaging in this life practice. I am a forever, lifetime student seeking pathways to a higher wisdom and vibrancy. When I am connected to the emotional, mind, and body practice, I find inner stillness and intuitive wisdom. By being a steward of my own soul, I want to impart this gift to others, helping them connect to their true essence that already lies within them.

The body is more than a structure. It’s a complex network, a global community containing channels and rivers of nerves, blood, muscles, organs, ligaments, joints. On a cellular level, signals to our nerves inform our bones and muscles. Answers truly already lie within us–within our DNA. As we come to know our physical structure, we cultivate this extraordinary path to our true self–our Atman.

Body work and anatomy is my zone of genius. I hope to teach students through yoga asana, mediation, pranayama, and energy work to know themselves inside and out like a map, a favorite trail, a familiar home–all allies on the path to growth and transformation.

I have been studying yoga since 1996 and am a certified E-RYT 900 hour Hatha Kripalu yoga instructor, massage therapist, Reiki master and transformative energy worker. My classes are inspired by an integrated approach focusing on the power of the breath, safe softening/opening of the heart, and trusting in one’s own strength, while being compassionate, intentional, and present. Yoga inspires me to share its benefits with the whole community, regardless of age, body type, skill level, or injury. I believe everybody can benefit from the mindful, healing effects of yoga.

Ashley Kaszynski

Instructor

Ashley moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Colorado in 2005 to pursue her dream of becoming a river raft guide. She spent her summers on the river and winters in the mountains. Shortly after moving to Colorado, she was introduced to yoga. Immediately, she was blown away by how powerful, effective, and transformative the practice was and how much it affected her off her mat. Ashley was craving to learn more.

In 2007, she attended the Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica and received her 200 hour yoga teacher training certificate. As soon as she returned to the states, Ashley began teaching on a regular basis. She continued to study bodywork in Crested Butte and received her Reiki 1, 2, and 3 attunements. She traveled to Thailand in 2009 to train in Thai yoga massage and worked in Malaysia as a raft guide. She attended the Crestone Healing Arts Center for a three month intensive training where she graduated and received her license for massage therapy in Colorado.

For the past three years, Ashley has been loving life in Steamboat teaching yoga and doing massage throughout the valley. She is extremely passionate and dedicated to helping people feel better in their bodies through the practice of yoga, meditation, and massage. She brings to her classes a specific intention or special quote, something to invite the wandering mind back as students move through practice. She creates a space where people feel safe and comfortable, yet challenged at the same time. “I believe the practice of yoga is a journey and we come to class to have an experience, to explore, and to get to know ourselves on a much deeper and intimate level. I strongly encourage students to take their teachings off their mat and into the rest of their world and the rest of their life.”

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