About Us
We are located in the heart of Sellwood, just around the corner from Grand Central Bakery at the corner of 13th and Nehalem. At the top of the stairs you will find a warm, inviting space ideal for yoga classes and workshops.
We offer a full range of classes from beginning to advanced, taught by well-trained, experienced instructors. We also provide an array of classes for special audiences, including gentle yoga, yoga for the larger woman and a pre-natal/post-natal program. All of our classes are challenging, relaxing and fun. Come see for yourself.
Our Teachers
Vilma Zaleskaite, co-director. Get in touch with Vilma
Vilma’s father introduced her to yoga in late seventies in Lithuania, saying that she would be the fourth generation of yogis in the family. (The Russian Czar had deported her father’s grandfather to Siberia in the 19th century and when he was allowed to return home, he brought yoga with him.) But it would be two decades later, and now in America, before the yoga bug really bit her.
Practicing initially in an Iyengar style, her yoga shifted when she got to know Mary Paffard and experienced her softer, more fluid approach – which eventually led her to undertake, and complete, a 650 hour teacher training program (RYT 500) with Mary. The distinctive voice and meditative style she now brings to her classes – influenced also by Barbara Benagh, Rodney Yee, Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten – often provokes students to complain that she leaves them simply “too relaxed to get up and leave.”
Bill Walters, co-director. Get in touch with Bill
Bill took up yoga enthusiastically in 1992 and began teaching in the Portland area in 1994. He teaches asana and pranayama classes at the studio and also regularly conducts workshops in Eastern Europe (Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus). His practice and teaching is grounded in the Iyengar tradition. He has studied with many fine Iyengar teachers (Patricia Walden and Gabriella Giubilaro, for example), as well as with B.K.S. Iyengar. He has also studied with other equally fine teachers (such as Barbara Benagh and Mary Paffard) who sit somewhat outside the Iyengar mainstream. Most of all, for many years he has gratefully enjoyed the yoga guidance and friendship of Rodney Yee. Out of these influences comes an approach that combines an architectural analysis of poses with a sensitivity to subtle movements of the body.
Judy Jewell
Judy took her first yoga class in the basement of the Baltimore public library in 1973. She revived her dormant practice in 1993, and began teaching in 2002. Judy's teaching is primarily influenced by the Iyengar and Anusara styles. She has also studied Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga yoga. Her regulars appreciate her clear, adventurous approach.
Mary Ann Robinson
Mary Ann has been working with Bill Walters for nine years, during which time she has also studied with senior teachers such as Rodney Yee, John Friend, Mary Paffard and Judith Lasater. She is presently teaching sections of the Easy Does It and Larger Woman classes as well as a Level 1 classes. Her calm, clear presence is a wonderful asset to the studio.
Jocelyn Brown
Jocelyn comes to us from a teaching career in New York City. She is certified through OM Yoga Center, NYC and is registered with Yoga Alliance. She brings to the Studio a high-energy teaching style which emphasizes breath, alignment and compassion. She is also certified in pre-natal yoga, as well as a DONA-certified birth doula and a currently enrolled student at the Birthway College of Midwifery. Her pre-natal classes are challenging but safe, and help expecting mothers prepare physically and spiritually for childbirth.