Our Teachers
Briksha Mahendra
Tantric Breathwork, Vinyasa Yoga
Mahendra Briksha born in a small village in the Himalayas, is a yogi, a certified Rebirthing Breathwork practitioner, an Integral coach, and a vegetarian chef. Briksha combines Vedantic Yogic practices, Buddhist wisdom, and Integral insights in his teaching. He has been sharing and leading breathing sessions, yoga asana, meditation classes, and stress management/wellness courses for 12 plus 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 the 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 the busy world.
Schedule:
Monday: 5.45 pm-7.00 pm Melow flow yoga, Beginners, and intermediate. in-person only with RSV
Wednesday: 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm, Vinyasa flow yoga, Not for beginners (all levels )- in-person only with RSVP )
Tuesday: 8:15 pm – 9:15 pm – Tantric Breathwork (In-Persona and ONLINE )
To know more about Briksha`s classes and breathwork go to his website and meet up
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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 Yoga Scriptures 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.
Schedule:
Monday, Wed and Friday: 5:00 am – 6:00 am – Pranayama (Online only)
Tuesday, and Thursday: 5:00 am – 6:00 am – Hath Yoga (Online only)
Friday: 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Patanjali Yoga Sutras Readings (in the temple online or in-person for vaccinated members)
Saturday: 9 am-10 am: Fundamental of Yoga, reading and study ( IN Sanmskrit room, online or in-person for vaccinated attendees_
John Paul Gautier
Weekend Warm-Up 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.
Warm-up to your weekend with a short meditation, gentle stretches and classical hatha yoga poses, like Downward Facing Dog, Triangle, and Sun Salutations. Class is taught in a non-competitive and welcoming way that allows you to stretch, discover how your breath affects your experience and start your weekend off right.
Schedule:
Saturday: 9:00 am – 10:15 am – Weekend Yoga Nidra (Cancelled)
Sharon Hawley
Beginner’s Iyengar Yoga
“Balance does not mean merely balancing the body. Balance in the body is the foundation for balance in life. In whatever position one is in, or in whatever condition in life one is placed, one must find balance. Balance is the state of the present – the here and now. If you balance in the present, you are living in Eternity.”
~ Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar, 2006
Profoundly influenced by the referenced book, I began studying the eight limbs of yoga in the method of B.K.S. Iyengar shortly after its publication. In the ensuing years, I have been privileged to study with numerous senior teachers in the system as well as with members of the Iyengar family here and in India. I continue to apprentice with several highly knowledgeable and gifted teachers to whom I am indebted. But my greatest debt of gratitude goes, ultimately, to my students who teach me the most. To quote the 16th-century poet Louis de Camoes, “the more I give you, the more I owe you.” Namaskar.
http://www.sharonhawleyart.com/yoga.html
Schedule:
Tuesday: 5:45 pm – 7:15 pm – Iyengar Yoga (Cancelled)
Shane Scaglione
Ashtanga Yoga
Shane Scaglione teaches a breath & alignment-based Ashtanga Vinyasa class that is tailored to the individual, making the rigorous practice available to almost everyone. Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga is a simple yet profound hatha yoga tradition that was taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009) for 70 years in his home in Mysore, South India. Ashtanga is a practice that synchronizes breath with a series of postures or asana.
Shane studied 10 years with senior Ashtanga teacher Richard Freeman & his wife Mary Taylor in Boulder, CO, eventually teaching at their yoga studio there. He spent three years abroad in India over the course of eight Winters including a year of daily practice with senior Ashtanga teacher Rolf Naujokat & his wife Marci in Goa, India.
Schedule:
Thursday: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Yin Yoga – all levels (Online or in-person)
Sunday: 8:45 am – 10:15 am – Ashtanga Yoga – all levels (e or in-person)
Carol Whitney (Ragani Devi)
Yagya Ceremony and Kirtan
Carol Whitney is a mystic and healer who practices and teaches ancient multi-dimensional healing called Pranashakthi Mahavidya. She is a humanitarian who works with animals or people remotely or in-person to balance and transform emotional or physical illnesses. Through her training, she has a fine-tuned understanding of the whole from deep stillness. Yoga Society is where she met her healing guru Sri Yogacharya Arun Kumarji of Chennai upon requesting a powerful modality to heal her father’s metastasized cancer. This ashram is a pivotal hub for transformation in her life, drawing in teachers and important connections. This meeting alone has completely altered her life and the lives of those who benefit from her medical intuition and classes.
In 2011 Carol had the good fortune of meeting Classical Hindustani and vocal master Kankana Banerjee who has taught her yearly at Yoga Society since then. Currently, she continues her training weekly online from India. As synchronicity would have it Kankana showed up at the ashram to teach two weeks after Carol purchased her first harmonium.
For the last 8 years, on Thursdays, she was able to share her voice and devotion in the temple during the Agni Hotra and through kirtan, she hosted after the ceremony. She now will host a Saturday healing Yagya and Kirtan to ground in frequencies of deep peace, devotion, and hope for the collective called Shakti Saturdays which will begin in June 2021.
During her last pilgrimage to India in 2018-2019, Carol was individually trained for Yagya by a Himalayan Brahman Sadhu in the tradition of Jagad Guru Adi Shankaracharya. He has resided in sadhana in Varanasi, Vrindavan, Kamakhya, Sarayu Mool, Badrinath, and in Gangotri caves. He is dedicated to Yagya, Sanskrit, and Vedic knowledge and is currently doing tapasya in Haridwar in Juna Akhada for his moksha and everyone’s progress.
Brahmananda Sarasvati’s teachings and understanding resonate without Carol regarding the benefits of sound healing, vibrations, Sanskrit, Vedic philosophy, healing, mysticism, mantra, Agni Hotra, and devotion. The impactful connections she has made at the Yoga Society she attributes to Brahmananda Sarasvati.
Besides her healing and teaching, and musical exploration, she creates high fired porcelain ceramic art with mantras and light language drawings which are infused with Pranashakthi out of Ruby’s Clay Studio.
Pranashakthi Healing, Yagya, and other classes can be arranged by contacting Carol Whitney and are currently held online until further notice. https://carolwhitneyji.com/
Schedule:
Saturday: 6:30 pm – 8 pm Shakti Saturday- Yagya Ceremony and Kirtan(online only)
Ian Mair (Sasi)
Dynamic Restorative Yoga
Schedule:
Friday: 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm Dynamic Restorative Yoga (Cancelled)