It is the duty of the teacher to know what to teach, why to teach and how much to teach.
Amaia
 I began practicing Yoga at the Sivananda Center in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2004 and continued my journey during my first pregnancy in 2005. In 2007 I decided to complete a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Shanghai and a year after that I was fortunate to attend the second level Teacher Training course therefore fulfilling a 500-hour certification. I finished my training one month before giving birth to my second child.
I also was honored to be part of the first 9-month online Yoga Anatomy course led by Leslie Kaminoff, 2010-2011.
Yoga asana and pranayama have awakened physical and energetic parts of my body that were well hidden before and have taught me to focus on the quality of the breath and on the benefits of optimizing how we move in space with the breath.
I encourage students to cultivate a sense of themselves, to focus on what they are doing at a specific moment in time. I grow from my students, my fellow teachers and my surroundings. I smile as I encourage my students to sit on a yoga mat and reduce this moment to themselves and their breath, catching a momentary glimpse of the beauty and simplicity in life.
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Bettina
 I started practicing in Shanghai in 2001, attracted by the intensity and challenge of Ashtanga Yoga. As my personal practice has matured it has become more gentle, a quality I find essential in navigating through the joys and challenges of motherhood. In 2003 I completed a 200 Hour Teacher Training with Yoga Arts in Bali, under the tutelage of Louisa Sears. I have been teaching in Shanghai ever since, with a primary focus on using yoga to help women in various stages of the journey of motherhood.
Bettina specializes in teaching Pre-Natal Yoga.
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Dela
 I started my yoga practice by chance many years ago. After studying Yogic Arts & Ashtanga Yoga with Duncan Wong, I began to search for other great yogis to feed my hunger for yoga knowledge. Along the journey so far I have been fortunate to get instruction from several yoga masters including David Williams, Petri Raisanen, Danny Paradise and Rolf Naujokat.
My classes are traditional Ashtanga Yoga.
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Dom
 Dom was introduced to yoga as a child observing her father sitting in the lotus position, meditating or doing breathing exercises. She started to learn and practice hatha yoga seriously when pregnant with her 4th child, 28 years ago.
She is a certified Sivananda Yoga instructor and has been teaching in Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Austria, Japan before coming to Shanghai.
Dom is also a Doctor of Naturopathy. |
Jo
 Jo (Josephine) is an internationally certified Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance and the Sivananda Vedante Training Academy of Chennai, India, as well as a certified Yin Yoga Teacher. She has several years of teaching experience, preferring to focus on the healing and nurturing aspects of Yoga.
Jo uses her intuition and passion for the discipline to assist her students develop. |
Kasia
 Kasia was born in Poland. Growing up surrounded by lakes and forest, she believes in harmony with nature.
Kasia studied at the Academy of Physical Education and graduated with a Masters degree in sports and recreation management. She is also a graduate of the Iyengar Institute in Pune with a teachers certificate issued in Poland after an intense 3-year teacher training course.
Kasia enjoys developing herself while learning more about body, mind and spirit. She has a passion for teaching and sharing her positive energy and knowledge with her students. Kasia teaches classical Iyengar Yoga classes. |
Lorraine
 For me yoga is simply a celebration of life today - a challenging, rewarding and fleeting gift.
I have been teaching for about 14-years and am a qualified Hatha yoga teacher, Ashtanga yoga teacher and a Mindfulness Meditation teacher. I am also currently part of the Iyengar Yoga teacher training program - the longest, most rigorous yoga training available. More importantly, I am a committed student of yoga - constantly working to improve myself through study and practice.
In my classes students are encouraged to face the challenges that arise so that clarity, humility and strength of mind can develop, and fears can recede.
Before coming to Shanghai to teach public classes, workshops and teacher trainings, I taught extensively in the United States, Hong Kong and my home country South Africa.
'Be mindful because this moment will pass and if you are not present, you will not have lived it.'
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Nirina
 Nirina comes to Yoga 109 to teach the Pilates method in the most authentic way.
The Pilates method is a full body workout, based on the knowledge that your body is controlled from its core, the powerhouse. With a regular practice and proper care, you can improve your body alignment, balance, strength and flexibility, no matter what your fitness level is.
After years as a professional contemporary dancer, she was trained in Paris in the first French Pilates certification center. This center belongs to the True Pilates network, under the supervision of Romana Kryzanowska, the heiress of Joseph Pilates. Nirina is fully dedicated to teach her students the very principles of Pilates, to help them build their powerhouse in the safest and most efficient way. |
Sarah
 I was brought to yoga by my older sister seven years ago, and have not looked back.
My classes explore movement infused with clarity and confidence. They are in the vein of Flow and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, with a playful, soft flavor. I also teach PreNatal Yoga, and my educational background is in gender studies and writing. |
Sean
 Sean has been teaching Yoga for 7 years. His teaching technique draws from the traditions of Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Yin Yoga, and TaiChi. His main teachers are Matthew Cohen, Max Strom and David Swenson. Sean has been working with Matthew Cohen for over 5 years as his assistant when he teaches Teacher Trainings in China.
Sean’s classes offer a unique balance of being dynamic, flowing, steady, graceful and challenging. He specializes in guiding students to explore the potential energy of the body and encourages them to actively strengthen and open themselves at the same time. |
Yama
 An Art Teacher for many years, Yama was also trained in Classical Music since childhood. He started his yoga journey in 1994 with a passion for Philosophy, Mysticism and the Spirituality of ancient India. Having studied with several masters and completed different levels and styles of Yoga teacher training, he is experienced in teaching the whole spectrum of yoga.
Yama joins Yoga 109 from time to time as a guest teacher.
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