Michiko Fjeld

Michiko was first introduced to yoga while traveling through India where she fell in love with the movement and integration of mental and physical aptitude. Upon returning to the US, she began studying Ashtanga Yoga in Wilmington, N.C. with Amy Sulva. Michiko decided to return to Washington State to attend graduate school, and began studying at City Yoga in 2002. Michiko has completed Teaching Intensives with David and Catherine Garriguesat the Ashtanga Yoga School and her 200hr certification through the City Yoga Teacher Training Program. Yoga has opened her mind, body, and spirit to a more peaceful and less resistant path through life. Michiko hopes to share this beautiful practice and way of being with all who are interested in and perceptive to the art of yoga. Of late, Michiko has begun to integrate the practice of motherhood into her life with her new baby Clay - congratulations!

Katie Gehn RYT 200

I began exploring yoga during my last years of competing on the US Women's Rowing Team. I had read a book called Thinking Body, Dancing Mind by Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch in 1994. The book had a huge impact on my thinking about the psychological side of my athletic performance. It was my first experience with yoga. The practice of asana (poses) came later when I began taking a "Power Yoga" class at a local gym in Portsmouth, NH with Mimi Louriero. I am so grateful for that class, and for Mimi who had begun to study Ashtanga Yoga and was able to point me towards that practice.

My first weekend workshop was at Yoga Vermont with Beryl Bender Birch. I was in this huge studio, with all these people and they began the "Vande" - the opening invocation of Ashtanga Yoga. I had never heard it before and I was mesmerized. I was so taken by the aspect of both discipline (tapas) and what I know now to be the aspect of love or devotion (bhakti) that came from Beryl's teachings, as well as from the other students and especially Kathy McNames, who is the co-owner of that studio. After that workshop I went to Vermont any chance I could to take classes from Kathy. I also began teaching at O2 Yoga in Portsmouth, NH during the summer of 1999. Soon after I moved to Boston where I taught at and managed the O2 Yoga in Somerville, MA.

Over the years I have had the priviledge of studying with and have been influenced by strong teachers like Kathy McNames, and Dave Oliver who challenged me to rise to the occasion of practicing Ashtanga Yoga in its true form, with dedication, discipline and light heartedness. When I moved to Spokane in July of 2002, there was little or no Ashtanga Yoga being practiced or taught. So my teacher Dave convinced me to "find a room and hang up a sign" and City Yoga was born. Also, since moving to the Spokane I began taking trips to Seattle to study with David Garrigues at the Ashtanga Yoga School. I am extremely grateful to have David, one of the few teachers certified to teach the entire Ashtanga system so close. David has been to City Yoga several times and has become a teacher to many students here..

Shannon Neeley

Curiosity and a need for something different brought me to City Yoga in December 2003. Like many, always looking for an answer to both life's real and self-created difficulties, in combination with being burnt out from traveling Coast to Coast every week for work, tired of lifting weights, cardio, and whatever else the gym could offer – I finally decided to look into this thing called YOGA. I mean if it works for so many celebrities and they all look great, then I could too, right? And if there is a method of getting or staying fit and in a means that is also being kinder to my knees and other joints that have been beaten up over the many years with sport – even better! My first months at the studio, although the “feeling” is hard for me to remember, what I do remember from being a beginner at one time – is why do my wrists hurt, why do my ankles hurt, and why is downward dog and upward dog so difficult to hold for 5 breaths, and what the heck is Chatturanga? So putting some blind faith into the system and looking at what it was doing for the people around me in the class – I decided to keep with it. I started with only going 2-3 days a week to supplement an on-going gym routine, having to take breaks for injuries (sometimes just modifying and working through them) as well giving birth to my son.

Yoga eventually evolved into a regular 5-6 day a week practice, the City Yoga Teacher Training course and working towards my 200 Hour Certification, all part of a commitment that developed over time. Struggling for as long as I can remember with body image and self-esteem issues, my Yoga – asana practice has empowered me in all aspects of my life giving me strength in both body and mind. Since practicing yoga I've come to believe that with an open mind, heart, and time, yoga can work for every willing body. It is not a quick fix to all of life's ailments, but as many times told – a “de-aging” process. So as Yoga continues to weave into all aspects of my life – I have found the need to share it's plentitude of benefits with as many people that will allow me to do so. I've left my corporate professional job from a full-time perspective so I can have more time to hopefully share with other students what positive and powerful benefits Yoga can provide. I hope that when you come to a class that I am blessed to teach – you will leave feeling more empowered, lighter in heart, and free of mind. I hope that you feel both challenged and energized while finding comfort and self-respect on your mat, all the while having a strong desire to come back and ask for more. I hope that you feel the support & encouragement needed to allow for experimentation in learning more about yourself which will lead to your body opening up and letting you in if you are patient and allow it. You will often hear me say “accept your body for where you are at today, in this moment, in my class.”

I am extremely grateful for my family and friends that both love, support, and encourage me in my life's journey. I am especially grateful for a husband who unconditionally loves and supports me and for God's gift to us, our son Sam. Sam is my heart and reason for striving to always be true to myself and therefore him.

Judy Sugg MA, RYT 500

I have been practicing yoga for 25 years and teaching for 14 years. I've studied different styles (Iyengar, Ashtanga, Tri-yoga), and I strive to incorporate the most effective aspects of each for my classes.
My primary teachers are Bobbi Goldin in Miami, and Shari Hamik Friedrichsen in Washington & California. I studied Ashtanga for four years with Dave Oliver in Phoenix . I have attended numerous workshops, including ones with Angela Farmer, Tom & Beryl Bender, Judith Lasiter, John Friend, Kali Ray (Tri Yoga), and David Swenson. I completed Teacher Trainings with Sherry Friedricksen and Holiday Johnson, assisted Holiday for over a year with her university classes, and attended trainings with Kali Ray. I am registered with Yoga Alliance at their highest level, RYT-500.

I believe the practice of yoga is fun and energizing, and that the peacefulness of a regular practice flows into others areas of life. In my other life, I am a counselor, adjunct faculty, and trainer. Right now I'm finishing my PhD in psychology, and am incorporating aspects of philsophy and psychology of yoga into my dissertation.

Karen Vielle

It's hard for me to remember when I started practicing yoga, because it's hard for me to imagine my life without it. I believe it was 1997. As a result of an interest in Eastern philosophies I read an introductory book on yoga. Immediately, from the first short practice, I noticed relief from the back and neck problems I had from an automobile accident 10 years before. I loved the feeling of being able to care for myself physically, emotionally and spiritually all in one practice. Then I read Beryl Binder Birch's book, Power Yoga, and was introduced to the Ashtanga yoga system. I began taking Iyengar yoga classes and continued the Ashtanga practice on my own. During the summer of 2001, I took an Ashtanga yoga teacher training course with Larry Schultz at "It's Yoga", in San Francisco. Prior to City Yoga, I've taught classes at Harmony Yoga. I also teach private groups and continue to work full time as a School Psychologist.