Yoga Teachers Biographies | Yoga Society of San Francisco

Briksha Mahendra – Breathwork, Vinyasa

Mahendra Briksha born in the small village of Himalayas, is a yogi, a certified Rebirthing Breathwork practitioner, Integral coach and raw vegan chef. Mahendra Briksha combines Vedantic-Yogic practices, Buddhist wisdom and Integral insights in his teaching. He has been teaching and leading breathing sessions and meditation classes for 10 years.

He is a graduate of the yoga teacher-training program at the Vivekananda Yoga Research Center in Bangalore, India and holds certificates in Integral Yoga from California Institute of Integral studies, and Yoga Therapy from Purusha Yoga, and has over 200 hours of Yoga Teacher training through Urban Flow with Rusty Wells. Briksha is a resident teacher and manager of the Yoga Society along with co-teaching the 200hr TT. He also co-teaches the 200hr TT for Seaside Yoga Sanctuary.

Briksha’s main mission to share his knowledge and experience is to help people awaken in their body, breath and mind and learn to live a peaceful, and evolutionary life in the midst of busy world.

Hari Harananda – Traditional Hatha

Hari Harananda Jorge Cal was drawn to the practice of yoga for health reasons. As a student of Yogiraj Swami Venkataraman S. Buaji, he learned the combined technique of conscious breathing and dynamic posture flow that characterizes his teaching style. In Swami Buaji’s very traditional style, he also discovered a vital method of realizing and abiding in one’s cosmic consciousness by means of guided visualizations during relaxation (yoga nidra) and meditation. It is his greatest desire to share the experience of abiding in that unified field of consciousness and wholeness with his students. As a result of his yoga practice, Hari has developed a deep and rich understanding of the holistic healing process. He practices as a certified massage therapist and Reiki master in San Francisco.

Marcelo Carvalho, M.A. – Pranayama

Marcelo Carvalho began teaching yoga in 2001. His yoga classes include asana (poses,) pratyahara (internalizing the focus of the mind and the senses,) and pranayama (expansion of primordial energy – prana.) He emphasizes meditation, yoga psychology, and Self-knowledge as principle tools for personal transformation and healing. Marcelo studies Sanskrit with Dr. Ram Karan Sharma and the Yoga Society Sanskrit faculty. An active member of the Yoga Society of San Francisco, Marcelo has been on the board of directors since 2000, and is elected Board member for the term 2012-14. Although he did not meet Shri Brahmananda during his lifetime, he has embraced him as his Guru.

Mirtha Carballo – Gentle Hatha Yoga

Mirtha began yoga practicing in 2006 after recovering from a devastating surgery. The healing effects of yoga changed her life. She transitioned from student to teacher after receiving her 200 Hour Teacher Certification from SchoolYoga Institute on May 2015. She also holds a Certification in Nutrition and Physical Fitness from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mirtha teaches a traditional style of Gentle Hatha Yoga in Spanish and English. Her classes are spiritual, focused, slow-paced, and mindful using postures and breath to slow the mind and body. It is well– suited for beginners and intermediate students.

The transformation she felt in her life by practicing yoga inspired her to share the gift of yoga with others to help them reach the transformation they are seeking to improve their overall health and well-being, expanding their horizons physically, mentally, spiritually and energetically. Her favorite part of the class in seeing students smiles after a practice.

John Paul – Yoga Foundations, Yin & Restorative Yoga

John Paul is a constant explorer who has been studying various body-mind, movement and healing practices since 2005. In his studies, yoga has remained a constant source of fascination. He finds that yoga allows him to flow with the ever constant changes of life, allowing him to “ride the waves” rather than be consumed by them. He hopes to impart on his students a similar feeling of openness and fortitude on many levels of their being.

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Molly Trad – Restorative & Hatha Yoga

Molly became a serious yoga practitioner during a break from performing stand up comedy, hoping to find peace and balance in herself. Now a certified yoga teacher she hopes to bring peace and joy to all her classes. She specializes in restorative yoga because she believes it provides the space for deep relaxation and comfort so often lacking in our day to day lives and sometimes even in our daily rest. She is also a student and practitioner of traditional hatha yoga, vinyasa, pranayama, and laughter yoga. She believes that bliss is our natural state, that the best way to get there is to practice, and that yoga can bring us there.

Stephen O’Leary – Vinyasa Flow

Stephen learned the practice of transcendental meditation from a man in Cork, Ireland. Practicing this technique regularly was a huge revelation and caused a complete shift in his approach to life. By way of mediation – experiencing the mind and its constant fluctuations – and witnessing he learned to calm down in life. Some four years later, a woman in Dublin taught Stephen breathing exercises as passed down through Swami Sadhanananda Giri . This technique allowed a deepening of his practice which facilitated the growth of his spiritual earnestness. Stephen discovered the beauty of asana after his arrival in San Francisco in late 2016. Now, as he nears the completion of a yoga teacher training course with Brahmananda Ashram, he offers to share what he has learned. His asana class is inspired by breath and its purpose is simply fun.