Rhonda Gardinier
Rhonda was introduced to Iyengar yoga by her mom in 1984. She began taking classes regularly in Juneau from Iyengar teachers Wendy Hamilton and Jane Terzis in 1991, apprenticed with them for a year, and began teaching at The Juneau Center for Yoga in 1994.

In the summer of 2004, Rhonda attended a 90-hour Teacher Training with Donna Farhi in Vancouver, B.C. This has greatly influenced both her practice and teaching. However, the students who attend her classes each week continue to be her best teachers.

A guiding thought for Rhonda comes from a spiritual leader at Kripalu Institute via friend and teacher Megha Buttenheim:

”The greatest spiritual practice is self-observation with compassion.”

Bev Ingram
Bev took her first yoga class at the YMCA while in high school and remembers feeling good afterwards. This experience kept drawing her back to yoga classes over the years and she has been practicing regularly for the last 15 years.

Bev started teaching yoga in 2000. She took teacher training in 2001 with Theresa Elliot, Kathryn Payne, and Emily Navar at the Yoga Tree in Seattle. Her style is influenced by many wonderful teachers including John Friend and Anusara yoga, with a focus on opening the heart, alignment and intention, the Iyengar tradition with attention to detail, and core work. She brings awareness of both inner and outer alignment and breath to her classes. Teaching has given her an opportunity to grow out of her comfort zone, open her heart to students, and share her love of yoga.

Bev serves on the board of directors at Rainforest Yoga.

Tammy Davis
Tammy started practicing yoga in 1992 and began teaching in 2003. She teaches flow-style yoga, combining vinyasa flows with attention to balance, breath, intention, and alignment to help the student move beyond the status quo. She emphasizes dynamic, breath-driven movement with focus on sustaining poses to build isometric tension and strength; and to exhilarate, release toxins, set intentions, and heal.

Tammy is the president of Rainforest Yoga.

Carol hopes to share the joys and benefits of yoga with others, and invites you to explore the uplifting qualities of your being. Many thanks to the support and guidance of local teachers. Carol serves on the board of Rainforest Yoga.

Gretchen is a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher and a nationally registered yoga teacher. She has studied the anatomy of yoga and movement, Anusara yoga, and Yogafit, and also teaches from knowledge gained in workshops with Glenn Black, Thomas Fortrel, Lynne Minton, and the writings of Donna Farhi.

Gretchen is available for private sessions and enjoys working with individuals new to yoga who want to build a safe yoga practice designed for their capabilities. Gretchen serves on the board of Rainforest Yoga.

Steve Wolf
Steve's teaching is based on hatha yoga in the Iyengar style. He has been affiliated with Anusara yoga of John Friend and thus emphasizes alignment in the expression of poses.

Steve began practicing yoga in the late 1950s as his annual preparation for downhill skiing. He began formal training in 1989 and has been practicing since then on a fairly regular basis. The more he has gotten into yoga, the more his practice has deepened. He has taught yoga since 2000 in the Juneau area: at The Alaska Club, UAS, and our Rainforest studio. He teaches mostly level I/level II classes, and since 2004 has enjoyed teaching an immersion class that meets 3 mornings a week for 6 week sessions.

His primary influence has been John Friend. He has attended over 200 hours of workshops conducted by John. But he has also drawn from the workshops and classes of Lynn Minton and Thomas Fortel. He has attended workshops by a number of other yoga luminaries and has drawn from them. Locally, he has greatly benefited from the classes of Shar Smith and Rhonda Gardinier.

What inspires Steve most are his students; he's thrilled at the opportunity to share what he has learned with them, and watching them benefit from all yoga has to offer. He's also inspired by his wife, Bev Ingram, who also teaches and keeps him alert in his own practice.

Swarupa Toth
Swarupa has been practicing hatha yoga since she was as a commodities trader on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in the '80s. In 1991, she became a staff member at an ashram in New York where hatha yoga, meditation, chanting, scriptural study, and volunteer work were the daily focus. There, Swarupa was introduced to world-class hatha yoga teachers. She left the ashram for Gustavus, Alaska, where she has been teaching hatha yoga since 2002.

Her teacher training is rooted in the Temple of Kriya Yoga, as well as a strong Anusara influence from retreats and weekend workshops with John Friend and Sarahjoy Marsh.

"Hatha yoga integrates all aspects of life: the mind, the body, and the spirit. Moving the breath deeply through various poses brings deeper understanding and meaning to the many flavors of our self. Our inner and outer world come into balance. Our life becomes a play of consciousness."

Drawing on her own life experiences, Lindsey teaches challenging classes balanced with a gentle focus on healing physical and emotional injuries.