SAY Instructors

Asha started teaching for SAY in 2006 and we are very excited to be able to introduce her hip hop class to our program! Asha is a 25-year-old Psychology PhD student from Bonaire, Georgia. She enjoys a variety of activities ranging from volleyball to sewing. Dancing is one of her greatest passions!

 

Kelly is an American Council of Exercise (ACE) certified group fitness instructor and has been with SAY since she began teaching in 1999. She currently teaches yoga and Cardio Dance. Kelly has a PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Humanistic Medicine. Along with being a yoga teacher trainer, the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, and a frequent presenter at national fitness and yoga conferences, Kelly is also a research and academic program officer in the department of psychology at Stanford. She began teaching for SAY as a graduate student, as a way to find balance and community during the challenges of graduate school. For more information about Kelly, please visit her website. Kelly says: Find a class you love, and do it for the joy it brings you.

Kerri has taught for SAY since 2003 in the early morning timeslots (kickboxing, step, and conditioning), and is certified by AFAA. She is working toward her PhD in electrical engineering, focusing on Mars atmospheric dynamics and spacecraft communication systems. She is a cheerful morning person, and will guide you from waking your body up through a energizing workout to start your day. Before participating in and then teaching aerobics, she was a collegiate rower, and also enjoys swimming, cycling, and running.

Lauren has been teaching group exercise since 2000, including with SAY since 2005, and loves every minute of it! Lauren has a cycling certification through AFAA, a kickboxing and pilates certification through both AFAA & the YMCA, is an ACE certified personal trainer, and is currently working towards a dual master’s degree in sports medicine & fitness management. Lauren loves anything having to do with sports or fitness! “Fitness for Life” is what she lives by but also thinks you have to give yourself a break occasionally and have some real fun! She loves being spontaneous and is always trying to learn something new. Lauren says:

In life, if you don’t take risks you may be passing up a great opportunity to meet someone great or learn something extraordinary... Exercise until you feel great! You’ll want to keep exercising because you feel the way you do. When you’re stressed, run around and even do something totally out of your realm like running up a hill, roller blading, or outdoor cycling. You’ll be surprised by how good you feel!

 

Lisa has been teaching for SAY since 2005 and has been teaching group exercise since 2001. She is certified through American Fitness Professionals and Associates (APFA) and Yoga Alliance and teaches hatha yoga, vinyasa flow yoga, and yoga for athletes. Lisa is in the Sociology PhD program and is studying the role of music in social movements (for example, rap music in the LA riots). She is also researching women’s sexuality using game theory. More information on her yoga teaching is on her studio website. One of Lisa’s favorite quotes:

The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh. I sure hope he makes the finals.

–The Big Lebowski (1998)

Rachel was trained as a group fitness instructor at Georgetown University, where she taught kickboxing, core conditioning, and group cycling for two years before moving to Palo Alto to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurology at Stanford. In addition, she is a member of the Stanford Triathlon team and has been practicing Ashtanga yoga for several years. In her SAY classes Rachel strives to provide a dynamic, challenging workout for all participants.

Susan has been teaching group exercise for SAY for 2 years. She is certified in Pilates through the National Exercise Trainers Association, and she studied with SAY’s Kelly and received her 200-Hour Yoga Alliance certification through Avalon Yoga in Palo Alto. She also has a Yoga Ed certification to teach yoga to kids in grades K through 8. Susan holds an MBA in Finance/International Business from NYU, and is a mom to two budding yoginis, Emma (7) and Kendall (3). One of Susan’s favorite quotes:

Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.

–Buddha

 

Tal has been teaching yoga since 2002 and with SAY since 2003. She is completing her studies at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco and was previously trained also as a Sivananda instructor. Her practice integrates a number of yoga traditions that she’s been inspired by through her teachers here and while traveling in India. Tal was raised in Israel, holds a PhD in biology, and is pursuing a post-doctoral fellowship in cancer research at Stanford.

Tal says: Yoga promotes my own health and well being, frees my body and fills my heart with joy; I just love sharing those benefits by teaching.

A favorite quote:

Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.

Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who's there.

Rumi

Kanaka began teaching fitness and dance classes as a college student. In her capacity as chair of  Harvard Aerobics, she pioneered a training program for student fitness instructors.  She taught group fitness at several health clubs in Boston and ran the Boston Marathon.  Graduate school brought her to Stanford and she continued to teach group exercise in the peninsula bay area.  Dance has been a lifelong passion of hers and she trained as a Bharatanatyam dancer at Kalakshetra. She served as Treasurer and Vice President of the Stanford Ballroom Dance Club and has taught ballroom, swing and latin dance classes.  She enjoys mixing elements of dance into fitness routines and vice versa.  She also enjoys challenging her students but if you bribe her with chocolate, she might let you off easy! One of Kanaka’s favorite quotes:

It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor..

–Marcus Tullius Cicero

 

LaToya teaches yoga with SAY. LaToya is a PhD student in 
Sociology and will also be attending Stanford Law School as part of their joint JD/PhD program. When she is not spending time with her husband and kids, she enjoys going to the gym, reading, doing crosswords and singing karaoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bridgette teaches Advanced Step and has taught with SAY for over 5 years! She also works in the Psychology Department at Stanford. Bridgette loves teaching and taking all sorts of classes, and encourages SAY participants to embrace new challenges: "We are often afraid to try something new at the risk of messing up and looking like a fool. But if you don't mess up, then it means you aren't learning anything! Remember that it took you a year, and many stumbles and bruises, just to learn to walk. So try a new class; feel uncoordinated for a while; stay determined when you mess up; and take joy in how much you learn and improve over time.

 

 

Candice teaches Pilates with SAY.  She also works in the Life-span Development Lab in the Psychology Department at Stanford. Outside of the lab and the studio, Candice enjoys exploring the Bay Area, trying out new cookbooks, and laughing at her kittens' antics. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marja is a PhD candidate in the chemical engineering department.  She teaches circuit training and would one day like to teach strength training and step aerobics.
Soon, she will be an ACE-certified personal trainer.  Marja is originally from Kingston, Jamaica, but has spent many years in Marietta, GA.  When she is not spending time at school or teaching with SAY, she enjoys trying out new recipes, reading good books,
hanging out with her fiancé and catching up with old friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lynny really enjoys teaching cardio conditioning with SAY. :)  She's been teaching group exercise since 2004. She's a firm believer that the phrase "Woo Hoo!" has healing/rejuvenating powers...that and it helps you remember to breathe in class. :) When she isn't wandering around randomly woo hoo'ing at people, Lynny spends her time in the basement of Bldg 120, where she highlights as a PhD candidate in Sociology.  You can easily get trapped listening to her gush on (and on and on...) about group attachment, social roles, and her cat. :)

 

 

 

Nancy is a certified Nia instructor at the Brown Belt level who has been teaching Nia since 2003, and Nia for SAY since 2005.  She also works for the University Libraries at Stanford as a Data Analyst in the Digital Libraries Systems and Services Department. When she is not spending time helping to build digital libraries or teaching Nia, she  enjoys dancing, hiking, gardening, birdwatching, and skiing.  Nancy believes strongly in the concept of dancing through life, and experiencing the joy of movement in whatever she does.  As a teacher, she strives to provide opportunities for others to experience their own joy in movement. 

 

Brandy began her training in southern California under the tutelage of Naader Shagagi in traditional hatha yoga.  Since then she has looked to enrich and deepen her knowledge in both the states and abroad.  She has gone on to complete the Yoga Institute of India’s teacher training.  Additionally, she has completed teacher-training intensives with such as notable teachers as Shiva Rea, Baron Baptiste, and David Swenson.Brandy is a fifth year PhD student in the Sociology Department. She is currently studying how shared information within communities promotes trust especially for precarious economic situations.