Yoga and Fitness Instructors

Kati Reszegi

Lead Yoga Instructor

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Coming from a traditional yogic background Kati is a student of Ashtanga Yoga. One of our awesome yoga instructors, she has a deep respect and reverence for yogic tradition and finds the greatest sense of purpose in introducing people to this ancient healing art. Ongoing study with Tim Miller is by far the biggest influence in Kati’s teaching style. Over the past ten years, she has also studied with other great teachers like Dennis Dean, Dominic Corigliano and many others. Her classes are challenging and fun, grounded in intelligent sequencing based on her knowledge of the Ashtanga system. Adjustments are an important and integral part of her classes. With a gentle but firm touch and a deep knowledge of the body, Kati guides students through practice helping them achieve their personal best in yoga.

Michelle Hackett

Yoga Instructor

Michelle grew up watching her mother teach dance. It was only when Michelle became interested in pursuing tap dancing that she was advised to begin practicing yoga to improve her posture. After one yoga class taught by Natasha Teran, she was hooked. Michelle pursued her love of yoga, and continued to refine her yoga practice. Through her practice, she was inspired to become a teacher. She has been teaching yoga since 2006 and continues to study Asthanga yoga under Natasha Teran and Tim Miller.

Brent Skeen

Yoga Instructor

Brent’s not committed to any particular school of yoga, nor can he claim any specific lineage, or to have studied under a famous instructor or guru. Instead, Brent has a strong desire to grow freely along any path that resonates with him at the moment. He’s committed to the growth of you, the Student, however you define growth in the present. If you take Brent’s class, he promises to expend as much energy as you do. His classes offer strong asanas. Moreover, he incorporates pranayama, a strong philosophical theme, meditative elements, and perhaps a little chanting/kirtan. As the Buddha himself said, “If you see a Buddha, kill him.” That is, don’t just accept what is offered to you as ‘Truth.’ Try it on for a while, in earnest, see what works for you at this point on your path, and file the rest away for later. As Brent himself says, “I thank all my teachers, particularly the ones I could not recognize as such in my moments of weakness. Namaste.”

Paisley Close

Yoga Instructor

The two things Paisley hears most from students is that they feel safe and supported in her classes and that they can feel the deep love she has when she teaches. Paisley loves the connections made during practice, with our most authentic selves, with our bodies and with each other. She feels it’s a gift to be able to teach full-time, to watch students unfold and to be inspired by seeing their practices evolve and advance. It is what motivates her to be the best teacher I can be. It’s really important for Paisley to do her own yoga homework and come prepared when she teaches—it is this, she believes, as well as her clear intention to hold a supportive space for students that gives them the sense of safety and support. As a result, we all accomplish things on and off the mat that we never thought possible! This is the power of yoga done in “kula” or community and the best part is that we have fun and even look and feel better doing it! As for the details: Paisley started practicing yoga in 1996 and began teaching in 2000 after taking her first teacher’s course with Roger Cole, Ph.D. In 2005, she connected deeply with Anusara yoga and has been dedicated to the style ever since. Hundreds of hours of training in Anusara yoga later, which includes many immersions, therapy trainings and teacher trainings, Paisley is 99% of the way through Anusara’s rigorous certification process. In the meantime, she holds the titles Anusara Inspired and Yoga Alliance E-RYT. Her main teachers have been the founder, John Friend, as well as Noah Mazé and Desiree Rumbaugh.

Check out Paisley’s:

Personal Website
Blog
YouTube Channel

Heidi Hagen

Yoga Instructor

Heidi has been a passionate and dedicated student of Ashtanga Yoga since 2003.  To deepen her study of yoga, Heidi moved to Encinitas, CA from Grand Rapids, MI in 2007 to practice with Tim Miller, a well-respected and long time practitioner and teacher in the community.  She has had the privilege to assist Tim in weekly classes and several Primary Series Teacher Trainings as well as teach at the Ashtanga Yoga Center.  Heidi’s nurturing touch, clear verbal cues, and practical insights gained from daily practice accentuate her natural gifts as a teacher.  Her goal as a yoga instructor is to help her students cultivate a greater awareness of themselves and their intricate relationship to the world around them.

Tamara Schreyer

Yoga Instructor

Tamara Schreyer has been a yoga teacher in San Diego County for over 12 years. She has trained with several well respected yoga teachers, such as: Tim Miller, SRI K. Pattabhi Jois, Richard Freeman, Shiva Rea, Rodney Yee, David Swenson, Doug Swenson, Erick Schiffmann, Bryan Kest, David Life and Sharon Gannon to name a few. She is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance and is currently working towards her 500 hour RYT. Tamara also produced a “Yoga Fusion” DVD a couple of years ago that currently sells on Amazon.com. In addition to Tamara’s yoga experience, she has also has a Master’s degree in Psychology and a background in fine art.

Tamara’s style of teaching is lighthearted, versatile and adaptable to all students. Her classes have ranged anywhere from 30 minute guided meditations, 60 minute Vinyasa Flow, two hour heated Ashtanga Yoga, 75 minute Power Vinyasa Yoga, “Shakti” (or energetic yoga) and yoga with live music! However, her true passion is evident while teaching a Vinyasa Flow or an Ashtanga improvisational class.

Tamara’s classes are a fusion of Ashtanga yoga, Vinyasa Flow yoga, and Power Yoga all accompanied by an exciting and entrancing mix of contemporary music. Tamara’s classes are physically challenging; however, a powerful practice that anyone can enjoy with modifications and adjustments. The focal point is exclusively on flow, movement with breath, core strength and balance. Rather than using the same fixed or static postures, she uses continuous movements that flow and prevent the body from locking off the muscles or disrupting the blood flow and increase flexibility.

If you’d like to contact Tamara you can reach her on Facebook here

Melissa Karolides

Yoga Instructor

Melissa finds yoga and rock climbing the perfect combination—moving meditations that create an oasis of calm amidst the stress of life. She took her first yoga class in 1989 while pursuing a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and began teaching meditation while working with Deepak Chopra in 1996. Through the yogic path she experienced tremendous transformation—settling inner storms, lifting lifelong depression, bringing weight balance, and opening to joy and peace of mind.  After completing yoga teacher training in 1998, Melissa informally offered yoga weekend mornings in Joshua Tree at Hidden Valley campground. After a long workweek, or day on the rocks, nothing felt better than a good stretch and dose of mental focus!

Melissa’s yoga teaching style is a meditative blend of vinyasa and yin yoga with focus on connecting deeply to the Self through movement, breath and attention, to reach the “flow” where blissful alignment of desires, dreams, values and talents naturally arises. In her spare time she cooks, travels, skis, backpacks, skates, runs in the park, and writes about life transformation.

Website:  www.createyourdream.net
Blog: www.thetaoofhitchhiking.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/CreateYourDream

Paul Puey

Programs/Clinics Manager + Instructor

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One of awesome rock climbing instructors, Paul first started rock climbing in 1998 in the now defunct City Rock climbing gym in Emeryville, California. The experience of man vs rock, the great outdoors, and camaraderie of the climbing community changed his perspective on values, life, and career. Dedicated to pursuing a career in the climbing world, Paul became an AMGA certified Climbing Wall and Single Pitch Instructor and WMA certified Wilderness First Responder. His climbing addiction brought him to various parts of the world on varied terrain, from sandstone, granite, limestone, and even radiolarian chert in locations throughout the Western US, Canada, Mexico, and even overseas in Greece, Germany, and Thailand. In addition to managing the instructional programs at Mesa Rim, Paul also guides outdoor rock climbing trips and volunteers with youth on climbing, mountain biking, and snorkeling trips with Outdoor Outreach. His favorite climbing hot spots are the long multipitch trad routes of Yosemite, Tahquitz, and Red Rock.

Buck Branson

Climbing Technique 103 + Bouldering Clinic Instructor

With over 15 years of climbing under his belt, Buck has been a sponsored climber for almost 6 years and a full time route setter with multiple national and international events under his belt (ABS, TEVA, USCCA, and others). He’s been a personal coach and also worked for multiple junior teams in bouldering, sport climbing, dynoing, and speed climbing disciplines on the national and international world cup level. For a limited time, he even held the world record for dynoing. Most importantly, Buck can instantly speak almost any word backwards!

Allyson Boyd

Boot Camp Instructor

Having grown up all over the world, Allyson’s hobbies have varied as much as the locations she’s lived in. Rock climbing, horseback riding, dance, and amateur boxing are just a few of the sports she participates in. When her friend brought her to a CrossFit class in 2006, she was hooked. Allyson became a CrossFit Certified Instructor in May 2008 and has been teaching ever since. As one of our awesome fitness instructors, her goal is to teach enjoyable and challenging classes to people at every fitness level.

Josh Higgins

Lead Clinic + Crack Climbing Instructor

Josh has been climbing for 11 years, and his experience spans 14 countries on 4 continents. He’s mentored dozens of people, one who now leads 5.13 trad. Josh loves long, hard, free routes, as apparent by his climbing of The Nose in Yosemite in a day. Josh has put up new routes across the world from Vietnam, to the High Sierra, and in his home crags in the San Diego backcountry. His current goals mostly consist of free climbing big walls previously ascended only by use of aid equipment. He’s an excellent addition to our climbing gym.

Nick Norris

Campus Board + Core Clinic Instructor

Nick started climbing in 2000 while attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis MD. He spent the first three years climbing on plastic, and was introduced to outdoor bouldering after moving to San Diego in 2003 to attend Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL training. After three deployments, he successfully constructed two campus boards and three Moon Walls in locations across Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Southern Phillippines in order to keep him sane while away from the United States. The significant time that he spent away from San Diego during deployments enabled Nick to really focus on developing training programs that allowed his climbing fitness to continually progress. He has incorporated aspects of yoga, traditional fitness training, and climbing specific training methods into a comprehensive training philosophy which he continually refines to maximize gains climbing. Above all else, Nick has learned that staying injury free is the most effective method to getting stronger.

Michael Dong

Aid Climbing Class Instructor

Michael Dong has been rock climbing since the mid 70’s, starting along the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After joining the Army, he learned proper and safer techniques, along with travels to many venues to climb. Over the years, Michael has gained experience in virtually all aspects of climbing, including; Big Wall, Big Mountain, Alpine, Ice, and Soloing. Being a former member of Denali High-Alt SAR (featured on Nat Geo Life and Death on Denali), having spoken at International Alpinist Meetings, along with 20+yrs as a radiographer and combat medic, adds a depth of authenticity to Michael’s instruction and stories. Currently residing in San Diego, he still keeps a plot of land in Joshua Tree for climbing outings.

Roberto Gutierrez

Climbing Instructor: Technique 101 and 102

Roberto began his climbing career eight years ago in Seattle Washington, when he got a job at the Vertical World climbing gym. He began to climb with anyone who would take him and the first few people he met would shape his outlook on the sport. They were highly motivated and VERY strong climbers who relied on technique to climb at their limit. Roberto is not a strong climber, but has sound technique and unlimited amounts of “TRY HARD”. At Vertical World, Roberto was surrounded by elite climbing coaches and youth climbers. One year after beginning to climb Roberto moved to San Diego, CA and has been involved in in the San Diego climbing community ever since. Prior to climbing, he was a kayaking guide and instructor, and for a couple of years a professional kayak-er. Roberto has nearly 15 years of experience in outdoor instruction and coaching. No matter his pursuit Roberto finds the greatest enjoyment in sharing the experience with others.

Ben Willams

Boot Camp Instructor

Coming Soon!