Instructors, FYTT II
Carrie Adams
Carrie came to yoga via a circuitous path. Her first occupation was as a student of Nature. This grew from a childhood love, where she raised a wide variety of critters in her very tolerant parents’ garage and yard, into a passion and a career. Her love of the outdoors led her to learn to scuba dive, which led to a degree in biology from UCSC, which in turn led to a Masters degree in Marine Science. She has been fortunate enough to have worked at the Long Marine Laboratory in Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz City Museum, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Oakland Museum.
A combination of a deep belief in the interconnectedness of nature and a love of dance and movement led Carrie try her first yoga class in 2001. Since then she has been been a dedicated practitioner, and received her first teaching certification in 2002. In 2006 she became a certified Anusara Yoga teacher.
Carrie has taught people of all all ages and levels of fitness in a variety of locations in the Bay Area, including studios, senior centers, the Berkeley Public School System, and the YMCA. She believes in the power of yoga to change people’s lives, as is grateful to be able to offer back what she has so graciously been given from her teachers.
Carrie lives in Berkeley, with her husband, a 14 year old son, and a Guinea Pig. In addition to practicing and teaching yoga, she enjoys telemark skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, and dancing of any kind.
Cybèle Tomlinson
Cybèle Tomlinson is a teacher and the co-director of the Berkeley Yoga Center where she offers classes and workshops. Her yoga journey began in her twenties when she discovered Kundalini yoga; later she studied Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vini and Yin Yoga. Yoga has enhanced Cybèle’s life in so many ways-by supporting vibrant health, emotional balance, and mental clarity-and ultimately leading to lasting inner transformation. It has acted as an essential support for living well in a complex, changing world, while also providing a refuge. Mostly, her practice has led to a life that is more authentic and free.
Cybèle’s teaching is directly inspired by her own experiences with yoga. She teaches in a clear, simple way, inviting students to skillfully explore and work their own “edge.” She provides an open, nonjudgmental atmosphere in which to become more aware of the various layers of inner experience. Teachers who have most influenced and inspired her practice and teaching are T.K.V. Desikachar, Erich Schiffmann, Sarah Powers, Richard Miller, and Donald Moyer.
As well as teaching, Cybèle also writes; she is the author of Simple Yoga and Ayurveda Wisdom. She is currently deeply immersed in the Diamond Approach, a contemporary spiritual teaching. She lives with her husband and two sons in Berkeley. Email: [email protected]
Eric Shaw
Eric Shaw is a scholar and yogi. He shares his unique and innovative style of asana and lecturing on the history, philosophy and science of yoga with dynamic multimedia presentations worldwide. Eric offers students knowledge of the ancient yoga tradition attuned to the modern experience in upbeat, energetic classes informed by excellent knowledge of posture, meditation and breathwork. With certifications from Kripalu Yoga and Yogaworks, he is an E-500 Registered Yoga Teacher. A PhD candidate in Hindu Studies, Eric also has an academic background in graphic arts and was a special education teacher for nine years. He is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal and other magazines, and consults, researches and writes for movies, phone apps, yoga teacher training manuals, and other worthy projects in the field. For more information about Eric and Prasana Yoga click here.
Joan Marie Passalacqua
Joan Marie “JM” Passalacqua, founder and instructor for the Applied Anatomy Institute, has studied anatomy and bodywork formally and informally all of her life. She has taught human anatomy and developed educational programs in various California institutions since 1981.
JM’s experience includes 13 years of clinical injury recovery and rehabilitation and 2 years in dissection labs. The author of numerous study guides on anatomy, she also wrote a series of articles on sports massage for the San Francisco Chronicle. A certified massage practitioner since 1983, JM is known for her injury recovery work with professional athletes.
“I enjoy making the subject of human anatomy come alive! The biggest reward is seeing complex technical information put to practical use through the hands of my students.” - JM Passalacqua
Kristyn Marshman
Kristyn is a long time student of Richard Freeman, having studied at the Yoga Workshop for 7 years where she assisted Richard regularly and completed Richard’s first teachers training in 1999. She lived in India for one year. She has taught Mysore style Ashtanga yoga in Boulder, New York City, San Francisco and Berkeley. She refined her understanding of alignment and giving adjustments by developing a “listening touch” through the study of Rosen Method Bodywork. Her touch contacts the students physical blocks in a pose, while also honing in on the aliveness that occurs in the moment the student is accessing the inner form. She continues to be passionately interested in the way the body holds to protect and minimize our experience as a way of coping with life. And she deeply values the practice of yoga, psychotherapy and Rosen method for accesssing these deep rooted protections that infringe on our aliveness.
Kristyn resides in Berkeley with her three children and husband and is a Rosen Method Practitioner.
Leah Gillman
Leah is the coordinator for the FYTT 500 program but not an instructor.
She will be your ‘go to’ person during your participation in the program.
Leah Gillman, director and founder of Barefoot Movement, established the Barefoot Movement Headquarters in January, 2010. She has been certifying yoga instructors through the Flow Yoga Teacher Training Level I program since 2008. Leah has been teaching yoga since 1999 and has a background in modern dance, competitive cycling, Barefoot Bodywork, parenting and martial arts.