Instructors
Each instructor here at Pilgrimage of the Heart Yoga brings his or her own love, style, compassion, and expertise for the practice to the students of yoga. With instructors of various backgrounds and techniques, we’re able to offer a full range of classes and are excited to have you discover your own individual practice. Learn more about our instructors below.
Sujantra McKeever
Sujantra was born in San Francisco in 1962 and moved to San Diego in 1980 to attend UCSD. He is the founder and owner of the Pilgrimage of the Heart Yoga Studio. He first became interested in hatha yoga as a young boy and used his practice of asanas (the yoga postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques) as a stepping stone into the “inner aspects” of yoga: concentration, meditation and contemplation.
Sujantra has authored five books on eastern philosophy, success motivation and meditation. Two of his books were used by major universities to teach wellness, stress reduction and comparative religion. Over the past 20 years, he has delivered over one thousand lectures on meditation and yoga in over 25 countries.
Sujantra opened the Pilgrimage of the Heart studio in 2006. In each of his yoga classes, Sujantra offers the complete yoga experience by teaching all eight aspects of yoga and exploring the relevance of this ancient art in our modern lives. He teaches Beginning / Gentle Yoga; Yoga for Children and Hatha Levels I and II, which includes Sun Salutations, shoulder stand and headstand. He encourages students to practice both at home and at the studio.
Sujantra has studied meditation with spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy since 1980. Sujantra is an ACE certified Group Fitness Instructor.
Please visit Soul’s Delight to purchase Sujantra’s books and CDs:
- 7 Secrets to Super-Health
- Paths are Many, Truth is One: Exploring the Unity of All Religions
- Learn to Meditate
- Strategies for Success: An Outline for Personal Growth
- Focus – Relax – Peace (60 min. CD)
Courtney Yezzi
Courtney’s love for teaching started at an early age. In the 6th grade, she had the privilege of being an assistant teacher for her small town dance studio. Her love for teaching movement and helping others grew as she observed that when our attention is in the present moment with our physical bodies, our state of mind is more focused and relaxed.
On a search to find the world and get out of the cold, Courtney moved from Ohio in 2005. Shortly after arriving she discovered yoga and San Diego’s awesome yoga community. As her practice developed, she knew she wanted to share yoga with others and help them seek out the wondrous benefits that it brings to all aspects of life.
Courtney completed her teacher training in 2007 and has loved every moment of her journey. To her, yoga is finding enjoyment as we connect mentally and physically through our breath. We are funny humans and knowing that we can delight in that is an amazing thing.
Leela Moghadas
Leela Moghadas has been a student of Yoga since 1978; she has practiced many styles of Yoga for the past 30 years. Yoga, meditation and Ayurvedic practices have been a vital part of her life’s journey. Leela has had the opportunity to study with many highly regarded Yoga teachers and has come to know the many healing and transformational benefits Yoga offers and is both inspired and determined to share this 5,000 year old science with others.
Leela is a compassionate and nurturing teacher; her classes are dynamic and fun, with attention on the cultivation of Prana through the breath. She also has the steadiness of her roots in classical Hatha to create a balanced sequence of postures, easily modified to fit all levels of practitioners. Her classes are designed to relieve tension, create strength, flexibility, and encourage an overall state of bliss. Leela is a caring teacher who seeks to help her students find a Yoga practice that can be both challenging and accessible for their strengths, goals, and needs. She helps students to see the joy and fun in the practice of Yoga.
Brent Skeen
Hello fellow seeker. My name is Brent Skeen. I am not committed to any particular style or lineage of yoga. Instead, I have a strong desire to grow freely along any path that resonates with me at the moment. I am also committed to the growth of you, the Student, however you define growth in the present. If you take my class I promise to expend as much energy as you. I promise a class that offers strong asana. Moreover, I incorporate Pranayama, a strong philosophical theme, meditative elements, and perhaps a little chanting/kirtan.
Please don’t ever accept what I offered to you in my class 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. I thank all my teachers, particularly the ones I could not recognize as such in my moments of weakness. Namaste.
Marney Jensen
Marney has been practicing yoga since 1996. She became a Certified Yoga Teacher through the Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course at the ashram in Grass Valley, California. Marney seeks to enrich the lives of students through a gentle and informative teaching style, incorporating postures or asanas, breathing exercises (pranayama), relaxation (savasana), positive thinking and meditation. Her goal as a teacher is to help students to discover and embrace their true nature, happiness and inner peace.
Miranda Knox
Miranda enjoys yoga as a lifestyle. It helps her keep balanced and teaches her to enjoy the endless realms in human potential. It has helped her surrender to the old be and alive with the new.
Her classes incorporate mind, body and spirit. The body becomes aligned, the mind is freed and quieted. Spirit keeps you living your life with complete awareness, concentration and meditation.
Miranda has received certifications in Nosara, Costa Rica (Hatha Yoga) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (Chris LaValle Yoga, Water Yoga). Miranda believes Yoga brings about a deep focus and a strong sense of community health. She loves to read, learn and experience all forms of yoga. The energy she seeks out comes back to her, helping her inner senses find harmony with the communities around her.
This is her sixth year living in San Diego and she enjoys teaching Yoga.
Nikole Fortier
Nikole is amused by the poetic irony of pop culture introducing her to yoga: “I went in looking for ‘yoga butt’ and walked out profoundly changed–physically, mentally, psychically.” Nine years later, she’s dedicated to creating space in her classes for students to experience something similar.
Nikole has a 200 hour certification from UCSD training with Arturo Galvez in the Iyengar & Astanga traditions, and recently completed a 100 hour interdisciplinary flow certification from Yoga One with Amy Caldwell & Diana Beardsley. She’s been blessed to have studied with many amazing teachers, and often credits her students for teaching her most. In her classes, she likes to incorporate chanting, pranayama, Sanskrit, philosophy, still and moving meditation through asanas with emphasis on the breath so that students can experience the spectrum of transformational yoga expressions. Foremost, she encourages students to practice loving kindness, truth, peace and acceptance on the mat as these qualities invariably translate into life.
Linda Martone
Linda Martone was drawn to the practice of yoga in 1997 with the hope of increasing her flexibility as she prepared for an upcoming Black Belt test in Karate. It wasn’t long before she realized that this ancient practice of yoga could affect her on a much deeper level. She says, “Yes, yoga has helped me to become more flexible, but over the years it has taught me something much more valuable. It has helped me to connect with an inner source of peace, something which I believe is accessible for everyone.”
As a Certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor since 2000 and a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2001, Linda brings a solid knowledge of anatomy and physiology to her teaching. Her classes reflect the variety of styles of yoga that she has studied. They are a fusion of the gentleness and compassion of Kripalu yoga, the flowing quality of Vinyasa yoga, and the precision and detail of alignment of the Iyengar and Anusara traditions. Linda’s intention is to have her students emerge from her classes with a feeling of freedom and ease in their bodies and a deep sense of inner peace.
Paisley Close
Paisley Close has been teaching yoga since 2000 and practicing since 1996. She is a teacher dedicated to uplifting and empowering her students through classes full of knowledge, heart and humor.
Paisley has an in-depth understanding of the body’s mechanics. She has over 500 hours of yoga training and mentorship. One of her true gifts is to take her students safely into a deeper place in their bodies and spirits. Paisley enthusiastically integrates the mental, physical and spiritual journey into the practice of yoga creating a doorway for transformation.
“What is especially dear to me about yoga is that it teaches us to love ourselves. It is so much fun to come together with others in the true Union that is yoga. The light we kindle in our practice makes us happier and healthier and I love that this makes the world a better place.”
For more about Paisley go to www.loveyoga.us
Drisana Carey
Drisana fell in love with yoga and the many benefits a little over 7 years ago. She is currently a studying Acupuncture in Mission Valley at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. The joy of living and studying a lifestyle of wellness and health has inspired a turn to help guide others in the growth and development of their own individual yoga practices. Her practice has deepened over the years at different teacher training retreats and workshops around California, most recently including the White Lotus teacher training in Santa Barbara.
She truly enjoys sharing this beautiful, dynamic, enriching practice with new faces, and hopes to see you soon!
Tyler LaVigne
Tyler incorporates the natural organic movements of the body and breath to open the heart, and create avenues to relax the everyday activity of the mind. He believes yoga is a wonderful physical practice, creating a spiritual connection and oneness with the mind, body, and breath. Practicing yoga for over eight years at various studios in Santa Cruz, Honolulu, and now here in San Diego, Tyler has had exposure to a variety of yoga styles and different methods of teaching. He focuses strongly on the correlation between movement and breath, incorporating the individual needs in an effort to reach a feeling of inner peace, relaxation and complete surrender.
“Continuing to gently bring your awareness back to the breath, brings the mind back to the present moment.”
Tyler has a strong foundation in the health and fitness fields through his education. He is a graduate from SDSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology (the study of muscle & joint movement). Tyler’s focus on subjects such as anatomy, physiology, and nutrition strengthens his background in physical alignment, cellular benefits, and healthy organic eating habits. In 2007, he received his yoga teaching certificate at a workshop in La Jolla through YogaFit.
“I am inspired to share the joy of yoga, and to make yoga a way of life for others to enjoy.”
Nicole Pisciotto
Nicole teaches self-love and self-healing which allows students to discover and embrace their true nature, happiness and inner peace. Discovering Yoga in 1995 and embracing its unique quality of balance and tranquility she instantly appreciated what Yoga brought into her life. Moving from the sunny shores of Florida to the golden radiance of California marks the turning point in Nicole’s journey and spiritual pursuits.
Exploring different types of Yoga has led her to focus on an Inner Peace based practice where she encourages her students to embrace a vibration of love, peace & unity. It is through her open-minded approach to life that she encourages others to see the positive as she strives to be a vehicle for growth, self-understanding and overall peace of mind. In her Gentle & Hatha classes, students will integrate Universal Teachings of Love, Light, and Unity as well as connection with Mother Earth, Divine Spirit and the Inner Light within.
If there is a theme for Nicole’s life it would be the cultivation of an eternal state of happiness by helping others and enjoying the inner-connectivity of like minded beings. Her work with non-profit organizations and participation in a variety of community events improves exposure of yoga out in the World.
Her goal as a teacher is to help students to discover and embrace their true nature, happiness and inner peace while immersing themselves in a perpetual state of Love…
Nicole also owns Shanti Spa & Gallery, a peaceful retreat of beauty and wellness, located here in Normal Heights.
Karen Koumjian
Karen has practiced and worked in the field of health and fitness for over 20 years. She first began exploring Eastern philosophy and the practice of yoga and shiatsu massage in Pennsylvania. Since arriving in San Diego in 1984, she furthered her studies and practice including massage therapy (1988 HHP graduate of the Institute of Professional School of Bodywork -sports massage emphasis) and fitness studies (1988 graduate of UCSD extension: Fitness Instructor/Health Management Certificate). Within a few years of concentration in weight training, Karen received the 1990 NPC San Diego Bodybuilding Women’s Novice Overall Champion. A few years later after nurturing a shoulder injury, she was inspired to work with individuals with orthopedic injuries. She worked in an outpatient physical therapy orthopedic clinic for 9 years focusing on therapeutic exercise and manual therapy as a physical therapist assistant (A.S. degree, Mesa College).
In 2006 Karen had the inspiration to resume regular yoga practice. She then began study in the Anahata Yoga Awakening Heart teacher training returning to her love of sharing the benefits of the health/fitness field. Karen subsequently started teaching women’s yoga at the Pilgrimage of the Heart Yoga studio in the fall of 2006.
Michelle Laxton
Michelle’s journey on the path of yoga began after developing the chronic autoimmune disease lupus. As part of her treatment plan, Michelle’s physical therapist recommended a gentle yoga practice to redevelop her muscles and regain confidence in her body. Thanks to yoga, Michelle feels physically, mentally and spiritually healthier than ever before, free from medication, and happily embracing her new path in life.
Michelle was certified in the Deep Yoga Mastery of Life Teacher Training program through Bhava and Sundari Ram of San Diego, and enjoys teaching Hatha and Vinyasa style classes infused with light-hearted fun and Yogic philosophy. As a yoga instructor, Michelle’s intention is to help students grow a peaceful mind, a strong body, and a joyful heart, thus unleashing yoga’s transformative healing power.
Heather Fenwick
Heather Fenwick first practiced yoga on the beach in 2002, after migrating to San Diego from the East Coast. Her first teacher training in 2005 (Yoga Works, Orange County,) sparked a deeper interest in the art of yoga. She spent most of the following year traveling solo though India and Thailand, diving into the roots of the tradition, as well as massage and holistic medicine. After a couple of years of teaching in San Diego, she took another hiatus to return to the motherland for a deeper immersion into yoga ashrams and meditation retreats.
Her classes range from shanti shanti (peaceful and relaxing) to energetic, sweat-inducing vinyasa flows. She infuses her passion for yoga in each posture, giving gentle but encouraging cues through each pose, with a particular emphasis on the breath, playfulness, and enjoyment of the present moment.
She has also attended vinyasa flow, Anusara, and Deep Yoga teacher trainings. In addition to teaching yoga, she practices massage.
Zoe Lane
Zoe feels yoga in her heart. She was introduced to the practice at the age of fifteen, and as she grew into herself, yoga remained a constant inspiration for inner change and awareness cultivation. Throughout college, she found that yoga became her sanctuary, with each class deepening her own understanding of her light and her path in life. After graduating college with a BA in a field with which she had become dispassionate, Zoe knew intuitively that her life path must be one of healing. Upon becoming certified and registered with Yoga Alliance, she began giving donation-based classes on San Diego’s beautiful beaches for any and everyone. She continues her outdoor practice whenever possible, because feeling connected and grounded into the Earth is a large part of her personal yoga practice.
Zoe infuses her classes with her spirit and love, encouraging her students to feel invigorated and peaceful. She emphasizes the importance of deep rhythmic breath, and asks her students to carry the lessons from their yoga mats into the rest of their lives. Zoe is also a passionate musician, and sometimes will share her musical talents with her students, softly serenading them in savasana. She feels so grateful to be able to share her love for and knowledge of yoga with other yogis and yoginis following their path, and is excited to see how her healing path unfolds.
Timothy Weir Schultheis
Timothy’s approach to yoga is very practical and down-to-earth. He strives to create an environment that liberates his students’ sense of curiosity and self-exploration, instilling a keener sense of body-awareness. His classes focus strongly on the nuances of alignment, stability and balance. He values elements that enable others to develop the strength to move with more grace, confidence and flexibility. He seeks to provide a supportive and creative class where gems of inspiration are unearthed when we least expect them.
Julianne Pedersen
Julianne has been a follower of Yoga since the 1990’s, studying with master teachers in the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara traditions. As a former professional modern dancer and Professor of dance, she has taught the joy and power of moving and being moved for decades. She holds a 200-hour Yoga Alliance teaching certificate, a Master of Fine Arts, and a certificate in Laban Movement Analysis. Her classes explore the beauty in moving as well as the joy of stillness; focus on aligning to layers of inner and outer space; and strive to offer a place of openness, support, and deep connection.
Melissa Mitschele
Melissa has been practicing yoga for 15 years. After completing her BA at Rutgers College, she moved to New York City to become a yoga teacher, where she completed the teacher training program with Cindy Lee at OM Yoga Center. For ten years she taught yoga full time in Manhattan. Between 2004-2006, she was the co-owner of the Flow Yoga Center in New York’s West Village, with a concentration in Vinyasa and Pilates. Melissa’s yoga classes are dynamic, spontaneous and fun with an emphasis on alignment and slow deep breathing.
To deepen her knowledge of the body and energetic healing, she entered Pacific College of Oriental Medicine where she studied in NYC before moving to San Diego. Melissa earned a Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, CA and is certified and licensed by the California Acupuncture Board. As part of her clinical education, Melissa had the unique opportunity to intern at Rady’s Children’s hospital in the oncology and pain departments. She also practiced at the Owen Clinic for HIV/AIDS treatment at UC San Diego Medical Center.
Dave Macek
Dave’s goal is simply, To Serve. A native of Massachusetts, he has been living in San Diego for the past 5 years. During his ‘pre-yoga’ college days, he played football and weighed 90 pounds more than his present weight. After encountering some back problems from years of power lifting, Dave decided to give yoga a try thanks to the encouragement of his dear friend, Melissa. After taking just one class, Dave knew he was home. Although the initial benefits he experienced were mainly physical, the mental, emotional, and spiritual transformations that followed are beyond words.
Upon returning from backpacking Europe last summer, where he worked on an organic farm/yoga retreat center in Greece, Dave knew his next step was to enroll in teacher training. Dave’s focus when teaching is to help students experience in their yoga practice what we each look for in every moment of our lives: Joy, Peace, and Love. Having the opportunity to instruct yoga students has been one of the most precious joys of his life.
The main vehicle that he has found to live out his life’s purpose is serving as Executive Director of Red Lotus Society (www.redlotussociety.org), an educational non-profit organization in downtown San Diego Promoting Peace Through Meditation. Pilgrimage of the Heart currently supports this movement through participation in RLS’s Community Partnership Program.
Judy Bauerlein
Judy Bauerlein first stepped onto a yoga mat in 1995 at Jivamukti Yoga Center when she was living in NYC and pursuing a career as an actress. Inspired by the many wonderful teachers at Jivamukti, including David Life, Sharon Gannon and Ruth Lauer-Manenti, Judy committed to a steady path toward becoming a devoted yoga practitioner and teacher. In 2009 she completed the Pilgrimage of the Heart Teacher-Training Program lead by Haunani Chong, Nikole Fortier and Sujantra McKeever. Her classes focus on alignment, the integration of breath and movement, and the cultivation of ease and clarity in the mind and body. Off the mat, Judy is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at California State University where she teaches acting, theatre history, and theory. She continues to perform in plays, dance pieces, and independent films.
Maral Hadidi
Maral teaches both nationally and internationally and assists Michael Fukumura in his Anusara Immersions and Teacher Trainings, as well as assists Jenny Klein and Jason Nemer of AcroYoga in their workshops and Immersions worldwide. Maral’s primary teachers are John Friend, Michael Fukumura, Jenny Klein, Jason Nemer, Sianna Sherman, and Darren Rhodes. Teaching since 2000 and practicing since 1994 Maral has studied Iyengar, Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga, and in the last 4 years devoted herself to Anusara, and AcroYoga.
The devotion to community and peace on both a local and universal level are Maral’s intentions for herself and for humanity. The path of Yoga has given Maral tangible evidence and more importantly the energetic evidence to see and be involved in manifesting community and peace building through connection. Yoga is one of the paths to this peace.
Carolina Moreira
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” - Neale Donald Walsch
Since becoming a certified yoga instructor in August 2009 through Yoga Alliance, she has been teaching private and group Vinyasa Flow classes for all levels. This style of yoga is very energetic, consisting of linking breath with movement, as well as core and spine strengthening. Carolina feels blessed to be able to teach yoga, and help her students grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Carolina discovered yoga in 2008 with the intention to improve physical fitness, strength, and flexibility. However, she quickly found a powerful transformative effect through a daily practice, which brought her mental and emotional benefits beyond the physical aspects. Initially, yoga fed her inside with self-discovery, balance, and acceptance. Carolina knew that she had discovered her path through yoga, and she made a choice to passionately share it with others.
“Personal growth is what I believe life is all about, and what really matters at the end. From the depths of my heart, I thank all my family, friends and teachers for their lasting love, care, kindness and support. NAMASTE!
Honoring Former Pilgrimage Instructors
Blair Hartwell
Blair Hartwell moved to San Diego in 2002 to attend UCSD, and there discovered a love of yoga. As she practiced during those four years, she came to appreciate the peace that came into her life: mind, body, and soul. In 2007, she re-dedicated herself to the practice, attending Pilgrimage of the Heart regularly. Trained in Ashtanga at It’s Yoga in San Francisco, Blair learned to deepen her practice and returned to San Diego excited to share her excitement for yoga with others.
Incorporating a sense of balance between self, others, and the universe, Blair encourages her students to follow their own inner voice and lead a life full of compassion.
Blair is now embarking on a year long journey of travel and exploration with her husband Tom. You’re welcome to follow their blog at www.tomandblair.com.
Manel Rodriguez
Manel was born and raised in Portugal. He came to the U.S. 3 years ago where he found a divine recognition of karma through yoga. Coming from a self-spiritual path and a profound exploration for the unknown and beyond realms of existence like a lotus flower Manel flourished, opening up to a new life’s concept called yoga. The first divine manifestation of a long life’s process was the Bird Rock Yoga teacher training in 2006 that allowed him to reinforce and define more precisely his life’s purpose of devotion.
With a lot of discipline and commitment, Manel became a servant of unconditional love, wisdom and compassion.
Haunani Chong
“Be the change you wish to see in the World.”
Haunani Chong, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, is here to hug the World by Being the Change. Having danced the ancient Hawaiian Hula since the age of four (another form of yoga, uniting spirit, mind, and body)and studying natural forms of healing her whole life, Yoga & Ayurveda were natural progressions to discovering a deeper understanding of personal healing, transformation, self-realization, love, and unity with All That Is. As a certified Deep Yoga Mastery of Life Teacher through Bhava & Sundari Ram of San Diego and Radiant Child Yoga Teacher instructed by Shakta Kaur she loves to guide, share, and inspire kids and adults to discover, feel, and honor the Divine Love & Light within. She also shares her loving light through ancient Hawaiian massage and breathwork.
Her studies and travels from around the globe influences her integrative approach to Yoga, Ayurveda and holistic healing: “I don’t heal people, my intention is to guide and empower people to heal themselves.” Haunani best motivates others to live in their highest Spirit or Soul-realization by choosing to live a life in accordance with the divine nature of Oneness, Love, Happiness, Gratitude and Trust. She loves to laugh until she’s crying and cry until she’s laughing, cook with organic garden-fresh produce, read, travel, and be out in nature.
Within each body lies the endless possibilities of health, healing, happiness, and liberation from personal suffering. Yoga & Ayurveda is one way of tapping into those endless possibilities and innate capabilities, to free ourselves from our past, personal agreements, and contracts. Inspiring and guiding people to balance, happiness, and self-liberation through the cultivation of awareness and gratitude continues to be her service to the One Earth Family.
“Every journey of a thousand miles, begins with one step.” Whether you’ve begun that journey or need to start a new, it will be an honor to take that next step together.
Joshua Graner
Joshua Graner is a Teacher of Taoist Yoga, a system that focuses on reducing blockages in the body and mind. Joshua’s incorporates Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Chinese Medicine, Human Physiology and Biochemistry into his teachings. Joshua teaches it in a way that is accessible to anyone. He has a unique gift for making things simple while also paying attention to and teaching fine detail. Joshua spent ten years in all as a medic, medical instructor and fitness trainer for the Army, after which he spent six years studying nutrition, human physiology and biochemistry at the University of Nevada Reno.
For the past few years Joshua has been studying Chinese medicine at the Pacific College of Oriental medicine in pursuit of his Masters degree and eventually his doctorate. He now practices a form of healthcare called the Three Jewels of Health. This is a method of medicine and health education that helps people understand his or her body through a very simple three-faceted paradigm namely respiration, digestion and movement. He uses Taoist yoga along with Asian bodywork, nutritional counseling, herbs and meditation to help his clients better know their body and mind and how to activate the self-healing mechanisms of the body. Joshua is available for a Three Jewels of Health consultation by appointment.
Robin Oleata
Robin Oleata has been a Holistic Health Practitioner since 2003 and a Certified Yoga Teacher since 2004. She began studying yoga while in college at UC Berkeley. She has explored many different styles of yoga and enjoys blending different traditions to create her own unique yoga experience.
Robin especially loves to integrate a strong and aligned physical body, open heart center and meditative mind through yoga practice. She is versed in many traditional yoga chants which she incorporates into her classes. Her teaching certification is in the classical Hatha style of Sivananda. She has also studied Vinyasa Flow, Astanga, Kundalini and Restorative Yoga. Her other interests include surfing, traveling and walking her dogs. Robin is also fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
