Membership Includes
Unlimited Classes
20% discount on Bodywork Sessions
Neighborhood Discounts for Barefoot Movement Members
Ongoing Membership, Auto Pay using a debit or credit card
Ongoing Membership, with Auto Payments using your debit or credit card
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Terms for Automatic Recurring Payments for Ongoing Membership hereafter referred to as “Auto Payments” are as follows:
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Annual Membership
$840 / year Annual Membership
There are no refunds on this purchase, it is non-transferrable. One hold is allowed; holds are in increments of one month, up to 3 months.
Yoga at Your Workplace
If you have enough space and interested students, have Barefoot Movement come to you!
Situations vary, but usually off-site classes (on-site from your point of view?) cost $75 per one hour class. Billing minimums are: one hour, once per week, for 2 months.
We usually supply props (mats, blocks, blankets and straps) to be kept at your location.
Send an email to inquire further. Email links found at the header and footer of the site.
Why Yoga at work?
Yoga in the work place makes it easy for employees to join in and eliminates travel times to and from a yoga studio. Corporate yoga promotes self care and stress relieving techniques during the workday.
How does this benefit the company?
Offering yoga classes at work is a low-cost and innovative solution for companies wanting to relieve workplace stress and promote employee well-being. The performance of a corporation depends on the performance of its key assets—employees. Healthy employees are more productive.
Class Descriptions
Fundamentals
These classes are for absolute beginners, practitioners with physical restrictions, and those with more experience who want to work at a basic level to reinforce their foundation.
Emphasis on fundamental asana (poses)
Introduce linking breath with movement
Learn modifications to poses
Restorative classes include deep relaxation practices
Intermediate
These classes are for those familiar with asana and transitions commonly used in basic vinyasa or flow-style classes who are looking to increase their proficiency and clarity at an intermediate level.
Incorporate intermediate asana
More vigorous flow to build fitness
Continue to develop strength and flexibility
Increase total body awareness
Advanced
These classes are for students who are already comfortable with asana and transitions, and who are prepared to challenge the fitness and strength aspect of the practice as well as delve into the more subtle aspects of a yoga practice.
Explore asana that require more availability in the body
Refine control of breath to support asana
Develop more subtle body awareness and alignment
Increasing use of bandhas and pranayama
Instructors
Alek Trail
Alek came to yoga in her late teens, and since then has been exploring and experimenting with the physical and mental practice as a way to stay curious, humbled, and connected. With a background in modern dance and improvisational movement, yoga has provided her different perspectives to approach and refine the body and mind in subtler ways.
With her teaching philosophy rooted in authenticity, kinesthetic awareness, and inquiry, her classes give her students a deeper sense of their inner landscape into which they can dive deeper intellectually, spiritually, and physically. She creates an experience for her students that allows them to hone awareness, drop in, and gain more mindful insight into their own unique personal practice. Alek received her 500-hr certification with Leah Gillman in 2014. Though she is now based in Austin, TX, she is currently a co-owner of Barefoot Movement and travels back frequently (keep your eyes peeled for her on the schedule!). She continues her personal studies in Shadow (Hatha) Yoga with Mark Horner in Berkeley, CA.
- Instruction style: slow-paced, alignment-focused vinyasa
- Alek’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students looking to find physical clarity and refine intentionality with breath
- Classes taught: Fundamentals, Intermediate, Advanced
- Available for private lessons
Alicia Mandac
Alicia has been practicing hatha/vinyasa/flow yoga since 2008 and instructing since 2018. She originally came to yoga for the fitness elements, but stayed with the practice because of its ability to transform the soul from the inside out. Alicia decided to pursue teaching yoga as a way to help others learn how to be kinder to themselves and to cultivate a greater sense of mindfulness through the physical practice. She trained under Anuja Chaudhri at Alamden Yoga in San Jose, with a focus on hatha and vinyasa styles. Alicia is grateful for all of her yoga teachers, past and present, and honors them with every class she teaches.
- Instruction style: slow paced, compassionate, and accessible; focused on building strong foundation and alignment on the mat
- Alicia’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students who are newer to yoga, students who prefer a slower practice
- Classes taught: Fundamentals
- Available for private lessons
Emily Borthwick
Emily Borthwick has been practicing vinyasa yoga since 1998 and instructing since 2010. She received her 500hr teaching qualifications with Leah Gillman and is a registered teacher with Yoga Alliance.
Emily’s career as a dancer and teacher of classical ballet drew her to the disciplines of yoga but in particular Vinyasa Flow Yoga where the synchronization of the breath and movement come together giving the practice strength and fluidity. This is a prominent feature of Emily’s class along with emphasis on alignment and posture.
In addition to teaching yoga at Barefoot Movement Emily is a member of the faculty at Contra Costa Ballet Centre.
- Instruction Style: Vinyasa Yoga with attention to alignment.
- Emily’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students striving for challenge in their practice while improving on flexibility, strength and physical awareness as well as maintaining breath and movement.
- Classes taught: Fundamentals and Intermediate.
- Available for private lessons.
Gordon Jonas
Gordon has been practicing vinyasa and hatha yoga since 2009 and instructing since 2014. He stumbled upon yoga as an elective PE course in college, and found that it was a perfect counterbalance to his other physical pursuits - martial arts, basketball, and cycling, et al - as well as a catalyst for meditation and achieving a flow state. Gordon completed his 200-hour training at Barefoot Movement, and has cultivated his style from many of the teachers there, especially Leah Gillman, with whom he shares a martial arts training background that is very influential to his approach to movement. His sequencing is also very informed by a study of calisthenics and functional movement patterns, with an emphasis on balancing the development of strength and mobility. Gordon continues to develop his yoga practice at Barefoot Movement and throughout the wonderful East Bay yoga community.
- Instruction style: vinyasa with emphasis on breathing, alignment, and dynamic transitions
- Gordon’s classes will be particularly interesting to: people who enjoy a slower brand of vinyasa, strength work, and challenging transitions
- Classes taught: Advanced
- Available for private lessons
Hanna Malm, talar svenska
Hanna has been practicing Vinyasa yoga since 2000 and instructing since 2010. The birth of her first child was the life changing event that brought her deeper into yoga. After the birth of her second child, she invested in herself and took the Barefoot Movement Yoga Teacher Training with Leah Gillman who has greatly influenced her teaching style. The experience of the teacher training made her realize she had just scratched the surface of a lifelong journey with yoga. Teaching yoga allows her to share her experience with the practice: one that connects all aspects of self – body, mind, and breath – and by connecting to oneself on a deeper level we also connect to the world around us in a more true way. Her teaching style is encouraging, supportive, and honest, creating a space, a safe and grounded environment in which to grow and learn where you can get to know your body and expand its capabilities. Hanna has enjoys continuing education with Jason Crandell as well as with Jane Austen. Ultimately, Hanna’s students inspire her and teach her new things every day.
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- Instruction style: Vinyasa, Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga with a focus on breath and alignment.
- Hanna’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students looking to explore and expand the capabilities of their body.
- Classes taught: Prenatal & Postnatal
- Available for private lessons
Henry Lu
Henry has been practicing Vinyasa yoga since 2005 and instructing since 2010. After training in the martial arts in his early years, Henry found yoga to be an ideal progression of body discipline and body awareness. He completed his 500-hour certification at Barefoot Movement in 2015 and has been heavily-influenced by Leah Gillman.
- Instruction style: Vinyasa yoga with focus on mindfulness.
- Henry’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students looking for a Vinyasa class with a emphasis on movement, mindfulness, and exploration.
- Classes taught: Intermediate
Hilary Near
Hilary has been practicing yoga since 2000 and instructing since 2017. She found a yoga home at Barefoot Movement in 2013. As many Western practitioners, Hilary was drawn by the stress-reduction and physical benefits. Since deepening her personal practice through the support of the Barefoot Movement Cultivate Your Practice and Teaching Skills training 2015-2016, she embraced a more comprehensive practice of yoga as a spiritual path. She is currently a student at Shunyata shadow Yoga.
- Instruction style: vinyasa yoga with attention to alignment
- Hilary’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students who appreciate a balanced practice, incorporating mindfulness and breathwork
- Classes taught: Foundations & Intermediate
Joivida Ross
Jovida has been practicing vinyasa flow yoga (and similar styles) since 2006, and instructing since 2012. She was first introduced to yoga as a child by her mother, who practiced Sivananda yoga. As an adult she turned to yoga as a holistic practice for steadying the body-mind and understanding oneself. Jovida completed 500 hours of Flow Yoga Teacher Training with Leah Gilman and other Barefoot Movement faculty between 2012-2013. Since 2014 she has studied intensively with Mark Horner at Hatha Yoga Shala East Bay. Additional yoga influences include Leah‘s alignment-attentive vinyasa flow that incorporates insights from martial arts and dance, and vigorous vinyasa teachers such as Stephanie Snyder and Naushon Kabat-Zinn. Jovida also practices 60-40 Stance, an applied mind-body technology that incorporates aspects of Mu-i Tai Ji Zen, with guidance from Norma Wong of the Institute of Applied Zen.
- Instruction style: Grounded flow with clear sequencing and support to explore subtleties.
- Jovida’s classes will be particularly interesting to: Someone who wants to dive deeper into the common building blocks of asana, within a well-rounded practice.
- Classes taught: Fundamentals, Intermediate, Advanced and occasional workshops.
Kara Contreary
Kara has been practicing vinyasa flow yoga since 2002, and instructing since 2017. Injuries from a lifetime of sports that focused on strength and speed brought her to yoga, which has provided patience, humility, and a sense of wonder about the human body. She found Barefoot Movement in 2015 and was captivated by Leah Gillman’s synthesis of yoga, martial arts, and dance. In 2016 she completed Barefoot Movement’s 200-hour teacher training program. She believes yoga is both physically transformative and a rich path towards knowledge of self and compassion for others. She continues to learn and is influenced by her teachers at Barefoot Movement, Mark Horner Yoga, and Shunyata Yoga.
- Instruction style: vinyasa flow
- Kara’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students looking for a balanced practice with creative sequences and plenty of opportunities to explore
- Classes taught: Fundamentals & Advanced
- Available for private lessons.
Karen Johnson
Karen has been practicing hatha and vinyasa yoga since 1980 and instructing since 2008. Yoga classes led her to a career in modern dance. Dance injuries led her to the deepening of her yoga practice. Karen completed her teacher training with Barefoot Movement founder Leah Gilman in 2007. She is inspired by the neuroscience and inner connection of trainer Bo Forbes; the creative pulse that connects the rhythm of the breath with the rhythm of heart & brain waves taught by Shiva Rae; and the alignment principles taught by Leslie Howard. Karen’s classes are designed to develop the 6th sense (interoception - a mindfulness that is expressed in the body) and proprioception strength training using playful balances and inversions to soothe the nervous system.
- Instruction Style: Mindful Flow
- Karen’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students who want to become more present and melt into motion while riding a wave of breath and asana
- Classes taught: Intermediate
- Available for private lessons
Katie Issel Pitre
Katie Issel Pitre has been practicing Vinyasa and Jivamukti yoga styles of yoga since 1999, and instructing yoga since 2016. Katie has also trained in Modern Dance, Ballet and Hip Hop in CA and NY at the pre-professional level until a knee injury took her out of dance. Wanting to keep movement in her body Katie came to Jivamukti Yoga, a combination of Hatha, Vinyasa and Ashtanga and found the movement home she was looking for as a former dancer. Jivamukti Yoga offered her spiritual, physical and social community that nourished her and set her on her yogic path. Inspired by the teachings of Sharon Gannon and David Life, Jivamukti founders, Katie trained with Rima Rabbath, a Jivamukti senior teacher, and her mentor Lady Ruth in NY. Katie also trained with Dharma Mitra in NY helping her learn more advanced asana variations. Personalized instruction, authenticity, chanting and a deep personal practice informed their classes - and provide inspiration to Katie in her classes. An egoic pursuit of an outer shape caused Katie to sustain an lower back injury during her NY training - which prompted her to look more deeply at the teachings of yoga, and how she could deepen her practice towards proper alignment and support. Katie currently trains with Barefoot teachers, and various other teachers in the Bay Area when she can. Mostly, Katie develops her own style blending her technical training as a dancer, and yoga in her home practice. Having birthed two children at home, Katie’s pursuit of genuine experiences inform her body knowledge and physical expression both in prenatal and open level classes. Katie’s classes focus a lot on transitions between the asanas - weight exchange, stabilizer muscles, core and parallel strength, movement informed by back body awareness - as inspired by the teachings of Leah Gillman and Alek Trail. Katie keeps the class dynamic incorporating gentle, pedestrian and asana-informed vinyasa flow style. Katie plays music, and encourages students to connect with her and each other to build yoga community. Katie trained Prenatal Yoga with Cybele Tomilnson in 2016, and with Alek Trail in a 7 week mini-teacher training in 2017.
- Katie’s classes will be particularly interesting to: A yogi who wants to deepen his or her own practice, gain deeper understanding of alignment, personalize the asana in their own bodies, find a graceful dynamic flow between asana, and connect authentically will find a home in Katie’s classes.
- Classes taught: Prenatal, Fundamentals, Intermediate, & Advanced
- Katie is available for private lessons.
Leah Curran
Leah has been practicing vinyasa yoga since 2001, and instructing since 2015. She took up yoga during college to supplement her training in ballet and modern dance. The attention to alignment, breath, and building strength and flexibility was great cross training and helped greatly with injury prevention and recovery. Over her years of her practice Leah has deepened her practice beyond just a physical expression, also using yoga to work through life’s ups and downs, manage anxiety, and prepare for the birth of her son. She has found a passion in teaching prenatal yoga, which she began in 2015 while pregnant with her son, and loves nourishing soon to be mothers’ bodies and spirits during their pregnancies. She trained in yoga instruction with Barefoot Movement. Her primary yoga influences are Leah Gillman‘s vinyasa flow, which incorporates martial arts and dance; Cybele Tomlinson’s prenatal yoga training, Neferititi Phillips vinyasa and hatha yoga which incorporates chakra balancing, and countless others. Leah’s classes are athletic - engaging the full body and breath - and incorporate elements from her dance and somatic trainings.
- Instruction style: vinyasa yoga with attention to alignment and breath
- Leah’s classes will be particularly interesting to: those who are pregnant and students interested in building or refining their yoga practice and technique through a focus on alignment.
- Classes taught: Prenatal, Fundamentals with restorative
- Available for private lessons.
Leah Gillman
Leah has been practicing yoga since 1994, she began teaching in 1999. She originally took up yoga after college as a way to maintain and improve her physical abilities as a modern dancer. With that goal in mind she also developed practices in Barefoot Bodywork through Edward Spencer and a form of Indonesian kung fu through Peter Ajemian. In 2008 she began leading teacher training programs and in 2010 opened the Barefoot Movement studio. In 2018 Leah sold her share of the studio and is now enjoying her role as teacher and Barefoot Movement community member. Mark Horner has been her primary yoga teacher since 2010. Her teaching incorporates insights from her dance, martial arts and bodywork practices.
- Instruction style: Leah aims to offer an accessible, potent practice that will improve students’ bodies and sense of well-being.
- Leah’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students who prefer a mindful, engaging and challenging practice that will, with regular practice, make a fundamental difference in the way they move through their days.
- Classes taught: Fundamentals and Advanced
Leonora Willis
Leonora has had a regular vinyasa flow practice since 2008 and has been instructing Yoga since 2010. Leonora graduated from Barefoot Movement’s Flow Yoga Teacher Training program under the instruction of Leah Gillman, founder of Barefoot Movement. Leonora believes that Yoga is a disciplined practice that can be used to help uncover the intricacies of the self. Leonora is influenced by the teachings of the outer and inner world, those in her own sphere -her daughter, her colleagues, friends, family, partner and from her Yoga students. There is something to learn from every experience, and Yoga provides a methodology or template from which to do so. Leonora’s other Yoga teaching influences come from those with more experience and wisdom in the ways of movement, energetics, history, philosophy, anatomy, body mechanics and life-long disciplined practices - Leah Gillman, Cybele Tomlinson, Kristyn Marshman, Scott Blossom, Jonny Nobleza, Ekabhumi Ellik and her Kumu Hula, Mahealani Uchiyama.
- Instruction style: vinyasa flow yoga with calm centering, attention to joint opening with alignment cues with hands-on adjustments, sequencing set for the time of day, month, year. Leonora will sometimes play music in her classes.
- Leonora’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students who want to delve more fully into themselves in a full body practice that builds strength and flexibility in a compassionate, self-reflective manner.
- Classes taught: Prenatal, Fundamentals, Intermediate, Advanced, Yin.
- Available for private yoga lessons
Lita D'Acunto
Lita attended her first yoga class on her university campus in 2011. She was initially drawn to yoga because she found that the postures and mindful breathing calmed and cleared her mind, offering an inner stillness that she had not previously experienced. Lita began practicing in earnest in 2014 after graduating and moving to the Bay, and she received teaching instruction at Barefoot Movement in 2016. Her primary yoga influences are the many wonderful teachers at Barefoot Movement, among them Leonora Willis, Leah Gillman, and Alek Trail.
- Instruction style: vinyasa and restorative yoga
- Lita’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students looking to cultivate a deeper awareness of and connection to their own body, beginners, and students interested in foundational yoga alignment
- Classes taught: Fundamentals and Fundamentals with Restorative
- Available for private lessons
Mary Beth Ray
Mary Beth began practicing yoga in the early 1990s and has been teaching since 2009. While over the years she has practiced various styles of yoga, in 2006 she began practicing in the Ashtanga Mysore tradition of Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois with Magnolia Zuniga. Under Magnolia’s tutelage MB was drawn deeply into the moving meditation and self-discovery of the Ashtanga Vinyasa practice. As a lifelong learner, she studies Sanskrit, yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and meditation with wonderful teachers from India and the West. MB is endlessly inspired by all her teachers most of whom come from the breath-centered and alignment-based traditions of Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, and TKV Desikachar, all rooted in the lineage of Krishnamacharya. In 2009, she received her yoga teaching certification through Barefoot Movement. Her intention with teaching is to share the exploration of yoga practices and philosophy in an accessible manner to help others hone a more graceful engagement with their everyday life. She is registered with Yoga Alliance as E-RYT500 and YACEP. She is also a certified holistic nutritionist and Functional Medicine health coach.
Contact her at www.mbryoga.com or www.3greencircles.com for nutrition consultation and health coaching.
- Instruction style: practical vinyasa yoga with emphasis on breathing and concentration techniques, subtle alignment cues with gentle hands-on adjustments, and suggested ways to customize the practice for your own body and mind. MB does not play music in her classes.
- MB’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students who want a full body practice that settles the mind and builds strength and flexibility over time.
- Classes taught: All Levels; note that her Advanced focuses on exploring the traditional sequence of postures of the Ashtanga Primary Series in a flow style
- Available for private yoga lessons
Natalie Russell, se habla espanol
Natalie has been practicing various styles of yoga since 2001 and instructing since 2012. Though initially drawn to the physical aspects of the practice, she continues to return to her mat for yoga’s many intrinsic lessons in self-awareness, honesty, vulnerability, and dedication. Her formal training began at Barefoot Movement with Leah Gilman and Mary Beth Ray, and she has continued her training at Yoga Tree and Love Story Yoga in San Francisco. Natalie’s practice and teaching are influenced by her experience as a student of Jason Crandell, Garrick Peters, Leah Gilman, and Mary Beth Ray. Her teaching is further influenced by her education as a physical therapist. Her classes emphasize focus and precision while maintaining a light-hearted approach. Natalie’s pronouns are she/her.
se habla espanol
- Instruction style: Vinyasa
- Natalie’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students who are interested in a steady-paced class with a technical focus
- Classes taught: Fundamentals, Intermediate, Advanced, & Prenatal
- Available for private lessons
Rikki Tan
Rikki has been practicing vinyasa yoga since 2014 and instructing since 2017. She fell in love with the movement and began a consistent practice soon after graduating uni and transitioning to the Bay Area for work. A former gymnast, tennis and track/field athlete, she found AH-sana (postures) and pranayama (breathing) offered gentle yet new and exciting explorations of mind, body and spirit. She was especially intrigued by Leah Gillman’s articulation of martial arts, dance and alignment-focused principles, completing a 200-hour teacher training with her studio soon after. Rikki continues to expand her studies via Barefoot Movement’s classes and workshops, visiting other studios around the East Bay and incorporating teachings from ashtanga, restorative and shadow yoga as well.
- Instruction style: vinyasa with attention to alignment and breathing
- Rikki’s classes will be interesting to: students wanting a well-rounded full-body practice
- Classes taught: Fundamentals, Intermediate and Advanced Yoga classes
Tako Oda
Tako took up asana yoga in 2006 to support his martial arts and meditation habits, and found vinyasa flow yoga in particular was helpful in developing flexibility and connection to the breath. As his practice grew, less tangible benefits became evident in other facets of his life. As an educator, he resonated with Barefoot Movement’s philosophy of building skills from the foundation up, and completed his Barefoot teaching apprenticeship under Alek Trail in 2017.
- Instructional style: Integration of vinyasa flow sequences with mindful breathing. Breaking down of new/challenging poses. Students are encouraged to foster curiosity, joy, and a sense of humor about their practice.
- Tako’s classes will be of interest to: students intentionally growing their skills — As Tako gets to know you and your practice, instruction will become more personalized, meeting you where you are. You will be invited to expand your yoga practice beyond the mat.
- Classes taught: Fundamentals, Intermediate, & Advanced
- Available for private lessons with martial artists interested in preventing injury from repetitive movement patterns.
Vanessa Pratt
Vanessa (she/her pronouns) has been practicing mostly vinyasa yoga since 2003 and instructing since 2018. She started practicing because of a $30 for 30 day deal, then drifted between different states and teachers for many years thinking yoga wasn’t really for her. During a time when she most needed it, she decided to give yoga one more shot — and fell deep, hard, in love. It was just what she needed to navigate that bewildering time called the early 20s. Yoga showed her what strength was — first and foremost, what kind of strength she had, what kind she needed, what kind she wanted - as well as the strength of relationships — with her teacher, with her class community. Yoga was often the most constant part of her life. It provided security, a home base, constant reassurance that she would be able to navigate what was to come. She took her first teacher training, Barefoot Movement’s former 200 hour program, because of a desire to deepen her practice and cultivate a yoga community (and she sure lucked out in that department, wow). When she felt ready to teach, she was part of Barefoot’s inaugural Cultivate your Teaching program in 2017. Prior to finding Barefoot, she was most influenced by teachers Gene Pacelli of Boston and Jody Hahn of San Francisco. She feels so privileged to be able to call the Barefoot teachers colleagues, and learns so much from each of them and their classes. What she is currently invigorated about yoga is how it serves as a mirror; a mirror of your embodiment, your self-compassion, and and your presence that day.
- Instruction style: vinyasa flow (usually medium speed)
- Vanessa’s classes will be particularly interesting to: students desiring an introspective practice that invites a conversation with the body and listening to the teacher within. Vanessa hopes her classes feel accessible, and to that end, encourages questions before, during, and after class to deepen students’ experience.
- Classes taught: Fundamentals and Intermediate