I initially came to yoga in response to a very stressful work environment. Rather than take the western path to stress reduction I decided to try yoga and was hooked from the very first class. The vigorous physical expression yet calming and meditative qualities of yoga helped and continues to help me weather the challenges that life brings us. After practicing yoga for 7 years, I thought it important to share the benefits of yoga with others, so completed a 2-year teacher training program at Inner Dance Yoga Studio. I’ve now been teaching and learning from my students for over 13 years, with over 975+ hours of teaching experience and 350 hours of additional training. Having come to yoga at the age of 48, I understand the challenges of practicing with a mature body and the essential need to keep moving to maintain one’s health. I specialize in teaching students over the age of 50 that may have some physical limitations but want to remain vital and energetic as they age.
Join Lynne on Thursdays for Grandma’s Doing Yoga, 2 - 3 PM
Karen Lease
Hello Everybody! I am looking forward to doing kid yoga and/or Music Together with you. I have an extensive teaching background, and have taught everything from high school Geosciences, to kid yoga, to Music Together. But more importantly I like kids; I even have three of my own (all boys). So come stretch, sing, dance and wiggle with me. Three words that best describe me: ukulele, latte, Karen (it actually means loving, pure in nature).
(Core Power 200hr TT 2008; Shiva Rea Pre-Post Natal TT 2010; Radiant Child TT 2012, 2013; Houston Pregnancy Massage and Doula Care intern 2010, Mother 2013; Music Together TT 2017).
Open Space is thrilled to bring Karen back to our space. Look for Music together and Kids Yoga with Karen in January, 2024
Sebastian Eckmann
In 1961, my parents and I came to Alaska as German immigrants. Growing up bilingually, it became apparent to me that language is a limited way to understand culture and other people. As a result, I have been attracted to non- verbal forms of communication like cooking, carpentry, movement and yoga. I started my yoga journey in the early 1980’s with Kundalini Yoga and Nirvair Singh Kalsa at UAA. More recently I did my 200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Certification in Anchorage with Margo Sorum and Marggi Clifford.
Yoga, for me, is taking time to be present and connected to my optimal self in order to give more authentically. What I bring to yoga is being present, open and mindful.
In my quest to understand and communicate, I have:
Hitchhiked from the Pacific Northwest to Key West and back
Apprenticed as a chef outside of Frankfurt, Germany
Worked in a health resort in Austria, focusing on water therapy
Obtained a Bachelor’s of Art in Philosophy
Apprenticed as a carpenter and worked in construction for 30 years.
Linda Hulen
I have been a student of movement for most of my life through dance, martial arts, and yoga. I got serious about yoga in 2016, doing Yoga and Social Justice training with SarahJoy Marsh in Portland, then receiving my 200-hour Yoga Alliance teacher certification in 2018. This led to more learning about trauma-sensitive yoga and teaching classes for incarcerated women. During this time I also was teaching elementary school, taking workshops with Margo Sorum and others, and leading occasional community yoga classes.
Jill MIller’s Roll Model Method using therapy balls showed me interesting ways to explore anatomy through myofascial release. As a certified RMM Practitioner, I use sequences to target areas where many of us experience aches and pains.
Recently retired, I'm loving this new chapter with more time to study and regularly practice various yoga styles with knowledgeable teachers in person and online. With renewed dedication to my home practice, I'm reflecting more on embodied yoga, with awareness of alignment and breath to stay present and move toward optimal health amid the chaos of daily life. I continue my journey with gratitude to my many yoga teachers and students who share their wisdom along this path.
Leigh Lubin
I am an exceptional yoga teacher and a seasoned guide who has a gift for teaching people how to access their inner teacher. I studied and practiced Iyengar, Anusara, Flow, Hatha and Forrest yoga for over 25 years. I lead insightful teacher trainings, workshops, and group classes in Valdez, Alaska and abroad. I am dedicated to offering yoga that creates space, ease, stability, and appropriate challenges while making yoga accessible and exciting for all bodies.
In my practice and teaching, philosophy stems from my belief that the inner expression of a yoga pose is the most powerful and effective path towards personal growth and a strong asana practice. I thrive on helping people by guiding practice from the the inner body, optimal alignment, and play.
I have guided sea kayaking, ice travel, backpacking, team development, and naturalist adventures for all ages over the last 25 years. I trained Outdoor Professionals in the Prince William Sound College Outdoor Studies program and taught 6th-12th grade Science for many years. I bring this educational background to yoga instruction by using a multitude of ways to connect people to their bodies, environment, or the subject matter at hand. I create a space for self development, community, and growth. The results are deep understanding, integration, and inspiration in my clients and students.
My passion for wilderness, the outdoors, and adventure brought me to Valdez, Alaska. I grew up in Los Angeles, California and traveled, studied, and worked all over the world before building my home in the Chugach Mountains. I continue to explore and play in the mountains and on the ocean with my husband and Alaskan wonder dog.
907-831-0939 / info@yogacurrents.com / https://yogacurrents.com
Betsi Oliver
Seven years ago I hit rock bottom - broke, out of work, couch surfing with friends (aka basically homeless), crippling back pain I couldn't afford to treat, and stuck in toxic romantic & friend relationships. I realized that I needed to follow my intuition if I wanted to become who I wanted to be. I made a deal with my intuition to start following it's wisdom, even when it was hard.
In the beginning, that meant taking action that felt out of character, but over time I learned what parts of “me” were actually false personality traits I used to make other people happy or play it safe. Now when I act on intuition, I have complete confidence every time that it is 100% authentic me.
Amy Conklin
In 1998 I graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic. In my practice I use low force chiropractic adjustments to align the spine and increase immune response. My sessions include scanning all levels of imbalances (structural, electromagnetic, nutritional, emotional, allergies and toxicity) and implementing related therapies into my treatment protocol. I am trained in using the worlds most researched 3LT Lasers. These low-level lasers are non-invasive and are used to help the body heal a variety of different conditions. I have a dedication and passion for education and care for my patients. I love to work with infants, athletes, elderly and overall family care. I am a certified Zero Balancer, and often use Cranial Sacral Therapy, Visceral manipulation, and myofascial release to help facilitate the body’s own ability to heal.
Amy offers monthly Elemental Breath Work sessions at Open Space.
Keith Martinez
I am a lifelong Alaskan and raised here in Anchorage. I have been a student of mind/body arts for approximately 20 years including Tai-chi, Qigong, meditation and energy healing.
I came to yoga 4 years ago in search of healing and deeper meaning after a very challenging period in my life. In yoga I found deeper connection to self and universal energy as well as a true sense of community. It was in yoga that my own personal recovery truly began. I have recently completed my first 300 Trauma informed YTT. My passion and desire is to eventually work in the field of trauma and substance abuse recovery using the science of yoga.
Join Keith Sundays, 5-6:15 for Deep Stretch & Restore
Annie Moylan
My yoga practice in 2023 has a few of the most precious remnants of my earlier Forrest Yoga mixed in.
But so are some of the strengthening pieces I learned from massage therapists and kinesthetic practitioners I have known from New York to Anchorage. I added Yin and Restorative from Yandara Institute and further expand my practice locally when time allows.
Practicing yoga today is about dichotomies – the yin and yang. The stuck shoulder and the willingness to work within the means. Zoom classes revealed our tenacity--we gathered; yet in person yoga classes deliver interconnectedness. I have expanded my own repertoire of yoga to include more breathwork / pranayama, but, I exhibit less concern for one’s position within the breath.
I am excited to come back to the place (Open Space) where I first began my practice. I call it my Yoga Home. It was a life saver for me. Revealing the other side --I am in service to those who wish to return, or want to try it for the first time, or begin to nurture that seed of the self.
Let’s meet, in a space where we practice and, oh yeah, we laugh, and grow our curiosity in body, mind and spirit.
In kindness-
Annie
Join Annie for All Levels Yoga on Saturdays, 9 - 10:15 AM
Justine Weitzman
I am dedicated to the path of embodied living, of deep soul diving, of getting curious—
By learning to trust that our breath and body are messengers, our greatest guides, we uncover an ancient knowing, a potent and transformational ability to be present with whatever it is that is showing up, offering infinite opportunity to transmute challenge, to metabolize and process stress, and to arrive at embodied wisdom, mental freedom, and true belonging.
My passion lands at the intersection of spirituality, ecology, and authentic expression. My practice gives me tools to experience deep embodiment and living in right relationship to self, other, and the material world. Currently enrolled in my third year in an accredited Yoga Therapy program, I have received advanced trainings from a wonderfully diverse and experienced group of yoga, Ayurveda, and holistic wellness professionals. My studies have covered chronic illness, depression, trauma, grief, sleep disorders, prenatal and end of life yoga practices. In the years to come, I plan to deepen my studies of land and place, mental health, and social justice with the intention of collaborating with like-minded facilitators to offer nature-based retreats and workshops in the far North.
My group classes focus on dynamic, fluid, and therapeutic movement inspired and informed by the ancient practice of yoga and our my understanding of the human body as a living, breathing ecosystem, and indigenous ways of knowing and relating to earth as an extension of our body and spirit. I strive to weave together the grace of Vinyasa with the stability and science of Yoga Therapy. Through each guided class, you are invited into conscious and kind relationship with yourself and your body, learning to trace your own inner topography and tap into the limitless, intuitive wisdom within. Together, we will explore through movement, breath, meditation, and guided self-inquiry.
Join Justine every Monday, 6 - 7:15 PM for Flow & Restore Yoga and every Tuesday, 12 - 1 PM for ALL Levels Yoga
Margo Sorum
I am the Adjunct Instructor of Yoga at UAA, a Certified Yoga Therapist, C-IAYT, and a Licensed Massage Therapist, LMT. My trademarked style of yoga, Spinal Floss, has touched thousands of students and how they move, think, and breathe in their daily lives. I am the director of yoga for Anchorage Radiation Therapy at Regional Hospital for cancer patients and survivors. You can practice with Margo through several new online platforms: 30 Day Yoga Program, Healing Chair Yoga Library and Margo Sorum YouTube Channel.
Margo is snow-birding down in New Mexico and looks forward to sharing her gifts with the Open Space community once again next summer.
Contact Margo directly at blissyogawithmargo@gmail.com or (907) 947-2030.
Kelly Harvey-Roe (Dance Alley AK)
I was born in England in the U.K. where I began dancing at a very young age. Although I loved performing, I knew teaching dance was what I wanted to do most. During my teacher training and getting certified with the IDTA initially in 2006, I taught classes for all ages from 2 years up-to adult classes. Although ballet is my favorite, I have taught many styles including modern jazz, tap, theater craft, musical theater, street and also strengthening classes such as limbering and dance based exercise. Since moving to Alaska I am very excited to be getting back to my passion of teaching dance to new students in my own studio.
Sohara
I have been belly dance performing and organizing shows for years. I have studied with many recognizable teachers with different backgrounds, but my biggest influence is American cabaret and Turkish style dance. I cross train with ballet and have placed several times in national competitions as well as one international, in Turkey. I welcome all dancers of all abilities.
The dance community is a wonderful community and very supportive for women from all walks of life. This dance is for all ages and sizes as it is by women and for women. I am looking forward to seeing you in class and growing the dance community in Alaska!
Melissa Sundberg
PT, DPT, OCS, COMT
I graduated with honors from Pacific University with my Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree in 2001. After graduating from Washington State University with my Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. I obtained advanced board certification through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties in Orthopedics and am certified through the IAOM in orthopedic manual therapy. My interest in pelvic health peaked after the delivery of my daughter over 10 years ago. With extensive training in pelvic health, I have become passionate about pelvic health and postpartum education. I maintain a special interest in treating women seeking pre- and post-natal physical therapy, female athletes, men and women with pelvic pain, and bowel dysfunction. I have been teaching a postpartum Pilates class for over 5 years, and I love to help moms return to daily activities and exercise with less pain and leaking.
Through a combination of skilled manual therapy techniques and specialized training in movement re-education. I am passionate about helping patients achieve their individual goals. I enjoy spending my free time running, hiking, cross country skiing, kayaking, fishing and camping with her husband, two children and their labrodoodle.