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Information for Instructors

Alison

Alison is an AFAA certified instructor and has been teaching aerobics and yoga since 2005. She originally trained at the University of Kansas and also worked an instructor trainer and personal trainer at the University of Notre Dame. In her spare time, Alison runs marathons with her dad, spends hours in the kitchen concocting new recipes, and attempts to make progress on her PhD in French literature. She also speaks Arabic, and some Japanese and German and is always looking to expand, so come by and greet her in any language!
Anya Anya started teaching for SAY in 2010. Before becoming an instructor, Anya was an eager participant in conditioning and step classes; her passion for exercise was fueled by her passion for baking (all those cheesecakes and macarons add up). When she isn't moonlighting in the kitchen or at the gym, she's a PhD student in Microbiology and Immunology. Her research focuses on how Toxoplasma gondii crosses different biological barriers, and she's happy to tell you all about it at any time (really). Despite being born during a frigid winter of St. Petersburg, Russia, and spending the last 14 years in NYC and Boston, Anya is still a very cheery and happy person.
bridgette

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 Candice has been sharing her passion for fitness through group exercise instruction since 2003. Before coming to Stanford, Candice taught all kinds of crazy classes at UNC-Chapel Hill. At SAY, Candice loves keeping her Pilates students challenged and checking out all the wonderful classes offered by her fellow instructors! Outside of Hacienda, Candice is a PhD student in the psychology department studying emotion, cognition, and health behavior across the life span. Although her blood will always run Carolina blue, Candice loves calling California home!
christine Christine is honored and grateful to teach vinyasa flow yoga at SAY and has been doing so since May 2011. Originally from the Northeast, she first experienced the immense benefits of Zen Buddhist meditation and hatha yoga practice during her college years as a means to be present and manage stress brought on by heavy coursework. During her years in a biomedical science Ph.D. program, yoga became a very important part of Christine’s life. Outside of the lab, Christine practiced hatha yoga primarily in the traditions of Kripalu, Vinyasa, and Asthanga yoga with many incredible and memorable teachers. She was fortunate to attend diverse workshops with excellent teachers including renowned Ashtanga yoga instructors David Swenson, David Williams and Beryl Bender Birch. In 2010, she packed four suitcases and her yoga mat and moved to CA for her postdoctoral work at Stanford. Since then, she has enjoyed practicing under the guidance of several senior vinyasa yoga teachers in San Francisco. Following her long-time dream of sharing the benefits of yoga with others, she completed her formal 200-hour yoga teacher training from Les Leventhal and Destiny Goldsbery through Yoga Tree in San Francisco. She currently assists Les Leventhal in his vinyasa flow classes at Yoga Tree Castro on the weekends.
jen Jen has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and has been teaching at SAY since spring of 2010. Jen’s classes link breath and movement in dynamic sequences that flow from one pose to the next. Students of all levels will be challenged to cultivate balance between strength and compassion.Jen is currently pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Stanford School of Medicine’s Psychiatry Department. Her research involves assessment and treatment of cognitive deficits related to medical problems, particularly cancer and heart conditions.
hattie Hattie is thrilled to be at SAY sharing her love of yoga. She received her teaching certification through Avalon Yoga Center, under the mentorship of Kelly McGonigal. Hattie's classes are breath-centered, and she hopes students leave feeling a bit more grounded, joyful, and at ease in body, mind, and spirit!
kellyh Kelly H. started teaching cardio kickboxing in 2004, shortly after falling in love with aerobic group exercise. She joined SAYas an AFAA-certified instructor when she came to Stanford for graduate school in psychology. Her classes are fun, challenging, and tend to rely on high energy music.
Khushboo is originally from Mumbai, India and has spent most of her life in Texas, with a short stint in Italy. With a degree in Marketing and a background in Consulting, she is currently pursuing her MA in the School of Education, focusing on International Education Administration and Policy Analysis. She went throughYA teacher training with Jennifer Buergermeister at the Jenn Yoga Studio in Houston.
marily Marily has been a personal trainer since 2000 and has just entered into the group ex world this year. She has always been passionate about fitness and promoting healthy lifestyles, and has worked with a wide range of people from patients in cardiac rehab to the general "wanting to get fit" public. She has her MS in Nutritional Science and is a Registered Dietitian, so she LOVES to answer nutrition questions (seriously!) She is wrapping up her doctorate in Educational Psychology focusing on motivation and health behavior change, or otherwise playing with her nephews and her awesome puppy dog. She wants everyone to be able to build their fitness, develop strength, and achieve their health goals so they can lead active and happy lives.
marja Marja is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering and intends to graduate by 2012. She is an AFAA-certified group exercise instructor, an ACE-certified personal trainer and received a Pilates certification from SCW. Marja enjoys teaching Pilates and creative classes that combine multiple muscle group strength and cardiovascular exercises. She would like to highlight the importance of taking time out for yourself and your future with daily fitness activities and to also listen to your body to reduce the potential for serious injury.Marja is originally from Jamaica but has spent many years in Marietta, GA. When she is not spending time in the laboratory depositing and characterizing interesting materials for semiconductors and alternative energy applications, she enjoys a variety of hobbies including cooking, knitting, crocheting, reading and enjoying the fine arts.
mary Mary started teaching group exercise classes at SAY while working on her PhD, and now, six years after graduating, she's thrilled to be back! In the meantime Mary opened a restaurant and taught cooking classes, and her passion for food complements the aerobics classes she teaches. Mary enjoys teaching classes with fun, frequently-changing choreography to keep participants engaged. She teaches each move with different options and modifications so participants can choose their own level.
monica Monica is a Dancer & Choreographer from London & NY. She has studied dance since the age of 3 and is trained in various principles, including Tap, Ballet, Modern, Jazz, West African, Hip Hop and Zumba. Since relocating to the Bay Area, Monica has performed in numerous festivals and venues with her funky Modern Dance company, U Dance Electra, including the West Wave Dance Festival, Women on the Way and the Choreoproject at SJSU, where she was nominated a top choreographer to watch! In 2008 she joined forces with SF based Fashioner Designer Joui Tourandot and choreographed and performed in her Deployment in Wonderland fashion show at the Workspace in SF. She is incredibly passionate about Dance and loves teaching. Her classes are fun and known for the diverse mix of music she plays, featuring everything from Pop, Rock, New Wave & everything in between.
nancy Nancy instructor at the Brown Belt level who has been teaching Nia since 2003 and 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, she enjoys dancing, hiking, gardening, birdwatching, and skiing.
neta Neta teaches yoga at SAY since 2008. She received her certification as a yoga teacher through the Avalon Art and Yoga Center teacher training program, and was mentored by John Berg. She also teaches yoga to teen girls in the California Justice Juvenile System through The Art of Yoga Project. Neta writes her dissertation in cultural anthropology, focusing on cultures of stress and the ethics of self care. As a teacher of both yoga and anthropology, Neta believes that good things happen when we are willing to question what we take for granted.
rona Rona has been doing Zumba, a Latin-based dance fitness program, since 2007, and got licensed as a Zumba instructor in 2011. She now does Zumba almost every day. She loves the music, the exercise and most of all the fun of it, quoting their motto: "Ditch the workout, join the party!" She goes to as many SAY classes as she can and is thrilled to be an instructor. Rona received her MD at UCSF and did a fellowship at NIH before joining the Stanford department of psychiatry in 1998. Since she is part of an academic faculty she will often cite sources or inspirations for the choreography in her class. As a mom she enjoys biking, swimming, and walking the dog with her family.
tony Tony teaches muay thai kickboxing at SAY. He has been training in mixed martial arts, boxing, jujitsu, and muay thai for many years. He's won four championship titles and now fights professionally. When he's not training, he is usually eating chocolate, or playing with his Persian cat,Steve. He has a passion for animals, especially dogs and reptiles. His biggest fears are spiders and cloudy water. The worst thing that could ever happen is if he were wading in cloudy water with spiders crawling on his head. He hopes for the successful return of the once famous soda,Surge.