Gary Reitze began practicing Iyengar Yoga in 1986 to rehabilitate a number of injuries, including 5 shoulder surgeries. He deepened his practice as he became intrigued with the spiritual aspects of Yoga. He has been teaching regularly since 1990. Gary continues to study with the Iyengars in India as well as Manouso Manos, Patricia Walden, and other senior teachers. He is certified as an Intermediate Junior Level II teacher, and teaches with a joy for the physical postures, devotion to the spiritual path of Yoga, and gratitude to the students. He also practices and studies Ayurveda, the ancient system of medicine from India. Gary has a love of nature, climbing peaks in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Donita Reitze began practicing Iyengar Yoga in 1986 because of arthritis in her thoracic spine. With continued practice her spine became more mobile, and she has grown 1 ½ inches due to good posture. She began teaching in 1992 and is an intermediate level certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. Donita, along with her husband Gary and their partner Craig, is one of the owners and founders of the Iyengar Yoga Center of Denver. She teaches with enthusiasm, joy and the passion to help others get as much out of Yoga as they can, so the students can take responsibility for taking care of themselves. Donita continues to study with senior teachers in this country as well as the Iyengars in India. She also has a love of the mountains and enjoys skiing and hiking.

Craig Kurtz became interested in yoga as a teenager, studying out of books in South Dakota. He was attracted to the concept of a practice that joined and utilized the body, mind and spirit. Craig came back to yoga after a severe car accident in 1983. Iyengar Yoga helped him rehabilitate his back, manage chronic pain and reconnect with his soul. Craig is deeply grateful to B.K.S. Iyengar and all his teachers and students for helping to shine the light on the path of Self-discovery, healing and peace of mind.

Kila Kaohele Lau, native Hawaiian, is an intermediate certified Iyengar yoga instructor. His first Iyengar yoga teacher is Manouso Manos. He has been to the Pune Institute 4 times, to study with the Iyengars. He has been to Swami Dayananda’s Rishikesh ashram twice to study yoga and sound with Ramanand Patel and Mukesh Desai. He has been involved in healing/massage, movement arts and yoga for over 28 years. Kila continues his life’s intention of “Know Thyself.”

Leslie Bradley is a certified Intermediate teacher in the Iyengar tradition. B.K.S. Iyengar was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in 2004 in the category of heroes and icons for his in depth pioneering work with yoga. Leslie has studied directly with B.K.S. Iyengar through four trips to India and each time he’s visited the U.S. since 1990. She trains teachers and is an assessor in the teacher certification process. She also regularly assists senior teachers in this method, most recently Patricia Walden at the Yoga Journal Convention. She is known for her clarity of instruction, compassion, and humor.

Emma Brown began the yogic journey with mantra & asana in 1972, learning Transcendental Meditation & later, in 1976 being initiated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a teacher/governor of Transcendental Meditation. In 1982, she began the study of Iyengar yoga & started teaching in 1985. Emma is an Iyengar intermediate certified teacher & travels every 2 years, since 1998 to Pune, India to study directly with the Iyengar family.`
Complementing her yogic practices, Emma is an avid practitioner/ student of Ayurved & its many adjuncts, such as cooking, self-maintenance tips, & marma point therapy. She has been practicing therapeutic massage with a variety of techniques, for over 17 years.

Kevin Durkin has practiced yoga since 1976 and has taught since 1991. He is an intermediate certified Iyengar yoga teacher. He has been to India five times to study with B.K.S., Geeta, and Prashant Iyengar. He has assisted in the medical classes at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, and studied at the International Iyengar Institutes in New York, Manchester, Zurich, London and Paris. In celebration of the Silver jubilee of the Iyengar Institute, he was one of the 65 Americans invited to the Yoga Teachers Guidance Course taught by B.K.S. Iyengar in January, 2000.

Denise Johnson has taught Iyengar Yoga since 1990 and received her Iyengar Yoga Intermediate teaching certification in 2002. She regularly attends workshops by senior Iyengar instructors, and she has attended all national conventions with the Iyengars since 1990, as well as the intensive with Mr. Iyengar in Estes Park in September of 2005. She studied in India at the Iyengar Institute the month of October, 2001. Denise received her B.A. in Contemplative Psychology and Buddhist Studies from Naropa University in 2001.  Denise teaches at the Iyengar Yoga Center of Denver and in Littleton, is a board member of the Inter-Mountain Iyengar Yoga Association, and is President of The Yoga Group, a non-profit providing free Yoga classes for people living with HIV/AIDS. Her teaching style is joyous and enthusiastic.

Jayne Satter has been practicing yoga for over 30 years and has been a yoga teacher for more than 15 years. She is a certified Iyengar Yoga instructor at the Junior Intermediate II Level. Jayne is a former marathon runner and triathlete. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education and has taught in elementary and middle schools as well as at the university level. When she contracted chronic fatigue in the late 1980’s, her yoga practice intensified, leading to renewed health and balance in both her practice and her teaching. Jayne has made three trips to study with the Iyengars in Pune, India and one trip to Rajpur to study with the Chanchanis, Iyengar’s senior teachers. She teaches weekly classes, workshops, and private sessions in Boulder and Denver. She has taught in parts of Colorado, the East Coast, and in Costa Rica. Jayne’s teaching is precise and addresses individualized needs. She interweaves philosophical and spiritual aspects of yoga with everyday life. Jayne helps students break free from their self imposed limits with her enthusiasm and her sense of humor so that they are able to deepen and strengthen their yoga practice in a supportive and fun environment.

Juliet Sherwood moved into the Iyengar discipline while teaching yoga in Los Angeles before moving to Denver in 1998. She studied here under Nancy Crum Stechert and Leslie Bradley and was Iyengar-certified in 2001. She has studied with BKS Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar and most of the highest level Iyengar teachers in the United States, and in France  with Faeq Biria. Her early training was in the Sivananda tradition from which she received certification in 1993 in Kerala, India. She holds a bachelor’s degree in French from the University of North Carolina and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado. She is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School and is a certified ski instructor. She lived and taught English in Kathmandu, Nepal and has trekked extensively in Nepal’s Himalayas. A grandmother, Juliet advocates lifetime yoga practice for a healthy body, mind and spirit.

Nancy Stechert is one of a handful of people to achieve Senior Intermediate certification in 2003, and was an instructor at the 2004 Iyengar Convention. She has studies numerous times with the Iyengars in India, originally founded the Colorado School of Yoga and the International Yoga Center of Tokyo, and has taught at the Iyengar Institutes of San Francisco and New York. She has served as an assessor several times in recent years. She brings long term, in depth knowledge of the Iyengar method and certification process to her teaching.

Scott Thomas began practicing Iyengar Yoga in 2000 and found that it improved his physical performance while skiing and mountain biking. After time, the discovery of the spiritual aspect and the noticeable changes occurring in his body led to the desire to share with others. He has taken teacher training courses with Leslie Bradley, Nancy Stechert, and Craig Kurtz, as well as, many of the senior teachers. He has been teaching since mid 2005 and encourages his students to explore their own capabilities and bodies.

Laura Golub began practicing Iyengar yoga when she was 16 years old to heal tendonitis in her hip from running and biking. 12 years later, Laura continues to heal her body, mind and spirit through the wisdom of Yoga. Laura is a Clinical Herbalist and maintains a strong private practice utilizing the techniques of Mayan Abdominal Massage. Her focus is women’s reproductive health and fertility. A teacher at heart, Laura offers community classes on herbal medicine, nutrition and Iyengar yoga. Laura brings forth the knowledge of traditional healers by emphasizing the importance of self-care. When not working, Laura can be found in the mountains studying botany, soaking in hot springs or tele-marking through deep powder.

Lisa Beckwith Wolf started practicing Iyengar Yoga in 1997 in an effort to heal runners’ knees. In 2001 Lisa attended a 4 week Yoga intensive in Blacons, France with Faeq Biria. Her experience in Blacons kick started a 3 year teacher training program in Paris, FR which included instructing at the Centre de Iyengar Yoga de Paris, assisting in the medical (including prenatal) and level 1 classes taught by Corine Biria. In August 2004 she received her Introductory Level 2 certificate. Then in September 2004 she traveled to Pune, India, where she studied under Geeta and Prashant Iyengar. Lisa’s yogic path continues in her home town of Denver, Colorado where she resides with her husband, daughter, dog & cat.

Diane Goldstein was introduced to yoga while studying social work in the 1970s. After graduation from law school, she moved to Colorado and began practicing Iyengar yoga with Leslie Bradley. She has used yoga to strengthen a weak back brought on by the demands of mothering three young children. Diane has deepened her knowledge of yoga through the Advanced Studies and Teacher Training Program taught by Nancy Crum Stechert and Leslie Bradley, as well as training with various senior teachers who visit locally. She enjoys helping students discover the strength and peace a yoga practice can bring.

Steven Norber was introduced to yoga as academic study in 1976 during high school. Unaware at the time of how significant yoga would become in his life, he pursued dance as a spiritual path until a traumatic brain injury received in a bicycle accident moved him ever more inward. While attending a workshop taught by Francois Raoult in 2002, it became clear to Steven that the path of Iyengar yoga had been waiting for him. Deeply grateful for the guidance and support from the Iyengar community, Steven intends his teaching as a reflection of this gratitude and inescapable joy.

Kelly Moore was introduced to Iyengar yoga at a studio in Bellingham, Washington in 1995. Experiencing a state of bliss while driving down the road after her 3rd class, Kelly was clear yoga would be a part of her life path. Little did she know at that time, while doing social service work with at-risk-teens and families, that years down the road she would be teaching yoga to others, and loving it. She is grateful for the strong Iyengar yoga community here in Denver with all of the wonderful teachers here who share their wisdom and experience, along with the many senior teachers who come to town. Kelly, and husband Steven, traveled to India in 2006 to study with Swati and Rajiv Chanchani and studied with Geeta Iyengar in Las Vegas in 2007. In addition to teaching yoga, Kelly has a full time therapeutic massage practice, since 1997, and teaches bodywork and anatomy.

Dana Hanizeski began exploring yoga in 2001 at home by practicing poses out of books. Right away she was struck by the way yoga connected her to her physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies.  When she went to her first Iyengar yoga class, she was certain that this yoga had to play an integral part in her general well-being. She is grateful for what yoga has done for her, and teaches because she passionately believes that this gift of yoga can help others as well!

Alice Rasmussen began studying and practicing yoga in 1975. She began teaching at Ina Hambrick’,s yoga studio in 1979 and taught for several years. She was one of the founding members of Yoga Teachers of Colorado. She withdrew from teaching to have more time to spend with her family, but continued to practice. She is now hoping to become certified in the Iyengar method. She has studied with the Iyengars in Pune and with many senior Iyengar teachers in the United States as well. She credits Debra Ann Robinson for introducing her to study of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. When not involved in yoga, Alice enjoys cooking, tending to her many orchids and house plants, gardening,  sewing, and playing bridge. 

John Steele embraced yoga as a spiritual path in 1970 and began practicing Iyengar yoga in 1990. John’s personal experience of yoga’s transformative power led him to start teaching in 2001. He is a Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher working toward certification in the Iyengar teaching method. John has studied under B.K.S. and Geeta Iyengar, Patricia Walden, Manouso Manos and other senior teachers in the United States. He has also traveled to India to take classes at the Iyengar Institute.

John is a Licensed Psychologist in private practice. He specializes in body-centered and mindfulness-based psychotherapy. He is an adjunct professor in the graduate Psychology Program at Naropa University. His longtime practice of Zen meditation and his work as a psychotherapist influence his teaching style. Students appreciate John’s calm presence, clear and precise teaching, sensitivity to individual needs and his ability to inspire them to go deeper in their practice.

Linda Skarrup is President and sole owner of Vajrakilaya Corporation, dba Windhorse Yoga in Denver, Colorado. She has been working in the alternative health care field for nearly 20 years and teaching yoga much longer. Linda specializes in the treatment of chronic pain and other symptoms resulting from accidents, trauma, and complications affecting the nervous system. She has held a continuous certification from the Iyengar Yoga National Association since 1990, perhaps the most respected and sought after designation in that field of work, and has since continued to update her studies with the Iyengars in the US and in India. Additionally, she successfully completed the 700 hour professional training in Craniosacral Biodynamics and holds a diploma from Karuna Institute in Devon, England. This professional training was held in conjunction with the Colorado School of Energy Studies, which is approved and regulated by the Colorado Department of Education.

Additionally, in 1991, Linda completed a program at Harvard Medical School created for doctors and other clinicians that was the culmination of a ten year collaboration between Dr. Herbert Bensen and His Holiness The Dahlia Lama. This was a study of the metabolic effects and electroencephalographic changes which occur during Buddhist meditation.

In the spring of 2007, after lengthy consideration, Linda closed her studio and left Denver for a sabbatical in New Mexico during which she reevaluated her life, and her work, in order to discover the next step in serving others and assisting them in uncovering the power held, not only in these life-altering events, but in the ordinary, and seemingly mundane, day to day experiences of our lives. She has always believed that it is important for yoga students to have a variety of class offerings to choose from, a situation she was not able to create in a manner she found satisfactory; therefore, she is now pleased to be affiliated with the Iyengar Yoga Center of Denver.