Source Yoga values gratitude, respect, compassion, and trust. You can expect your teachers to uphold these values in a professional manner, attending to your individual needs and offering guidance through skillful instruction. They bring many years of experience, training, and heart to their teaching.
Erin Joosse and Melissa Paz (owners)
Melissa Paz and Erin Joosse founded Source Yoga in Tacoma’s North End in 2005, and their second location in University Place in May, 2011. They have been working together since 1998, when they were Modern Dance students at the University of New Mexico. The seed for their future business adventure was planted then, when they co-produced their Senior Honor’s Dance Concert together, and discovered their ability to seamlessly collaborate with each other. Both have been practicing yoga for years and teaching for a decade, focusing on a basic, flowing style of hatha yoga, and mindful awareness. Through the physical practice of asana (postures), pranayama (breathing practices), and meditation in our classes, you will begin to access the whole of yoga. Erin and Melissa also lead annual fall yoga retreats to Harmony Hill Retreat Center on the beautiful Hood Canal.
Siân Davies-Vollum
Siân Davies-Vollum has been practicing yoga since 1997, studying a variety of styles including Vinyasa, Iyengar, Kripalu and YogaFit. She holds fitness instructor certification with the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance. Siân loves to share her enthusiasm for yoga. Her classes guide participants in a flowing, inclusive style of yoga that emphasizes the union of breath and movement while building body awareness in a safe and supportive environment.
Siân also has a Ph.D. in geology and is a professor in the environmental science program at UW Tacoma.
“You must be the change that you want to see in the world” Mahatma Gandhi
Angi Donovan
Angi Donovan has been practicing yoga and meditation since 2000 and teaching since 2004. She was first trained and certified through Radiant Health Yoga in Olympia, WA and has also completed the two year Immersion and Teacher Training program of Anusara Yoga in Seattle, WA. With much inspiration from Anusara Yoga, Angi’s classes offer a transformational experience of going beyond the surface of the physical practice to dive deep into the intelligence of the heart. She believes there is a greatness in each of us and Yoga is a path for tapping that Source. You will leave her classes feeling empowered, open and renewed!
“What if our religion was each other,
If our practice was our life
If prayer, our words.
What if the temple was the Earth,
If forests were our church
If holy water – the rivers, lakes, & oceans.
What if meditation was our relationships,
If the teacher was life,
If wisdom was self-knowledge,
If love was the center of our being.”
–Ganga White, White Lotus Foundation
Morgan Dunn
Morgan first found yoga through a lifelong involvement with dance. After graduating from college, her yoga practice became a central part of her life. She became passionate about the movement, grace and creativity that she encountered on her yoga mat, and found a renewed spirit and centered sense-of-self through her yoga practice and has been hooked ever since.
Morgan became certified as a yoga teacher through CorePower Yoga in San Diego, CA in 2008, and has been teaching in the vinyasa style since then. In her classes she loves to offer her students the following: a creative practice, a focus on strength, and an overall enjoyable experience – yoga doesn’t have to be too serious!
Through her yoga practice, Morgan has been blessed with both an integrated and holistic understanding of her body, mind and spirit and an incredible community of yogis. It is her hope to be able to serve her students from that place, and bless them with the same benefits that she has received from her yoga practice.
“It is my deepest belief that, only by giving our lives, do we find life.” – Cesar Chavez
Kate Fontana
Kate Fontana came to the practice of yoga in 2002, and after joining the Source Yoga community in 2008, was inspired to become a certified teacher in 2009. For Kate, yoga is a way of learning how to show up for life, to be attentive, fully present, and unified in body, mind and spirit. She has been influenced by Ananda, Ashtanga and Anusara yoga.
Kate enjoys making yoga accessible to all body types and skill levels, especially those who are new to yoga or think that they “can’t do” yoga. She believes that, in yoga, there is something for everyone, and encourages people towards developing and discovering their own practice. People come to yoga seeking something–and Kate loves to provide the quiet space for each individual to hear their inner wisdom.
“Keep knocking and the joy inside will eventually open and window and look out to see who’s there.”—Rumi
Mary Garza
Mary Garza is a mother of two young boys, a business owner, Yoga Instructor, and Personal Trainer. She is a level 2 YogaFit Instructor with additional certifications in Prenatal and Seniors yoga. She has been in the Health and Fitness Industry for over 16 years and has a personal training certification through Personal Training Systems with an emphasis in nutrition, anatomy and alignment.
Mary finds that through teaching yoga, she can come to a place that allows her to be with honor and respect for all beings. She teaches a slower more strength-based class for all levels and abilities. Regardless of your background, you will find gentle guidance in her classes and a place of peace and power within.
“Let go and give yourself permission to simply ‘Just Be’ and breathe”
Patrick Good
Patrick teaches yoga because he believes that when we become more embodied we become more connected with our deep sense of integrity and authenticity. When we align our lives with these two things we are better able to navigate the world in a harmonious and serving way. His classes have an emphasis on safety through proper alignment, playfulness, community, seeing the good first, and trying things you never thought you could do.
His pursuit of yoga training has led him around the world. He did his teacher training in Mexico at the Yandara Institute, continues to study Anusara Yoga and Thai Yoga Massage Therapy in Thailand, and has taught at the Omega Institute for Holistic Learning in New York. His classes are weaved with teachings from many different styles of yoga and bodywork practices such as Acro Yoga, Anusara Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, and Thai Massage.
All these styles are accessible to anyone and there is always an opportunity to deepen our embodiment. So bring your willingness to experience your body and inspire yourself.
“Yoga is about finding inspiration and enthusiasm from within.”
Erin Joosse
Erin Joosse discovered yoga in 1993, and in her very first yoga class, knew that she was home. She believes that a healthy body at ease provides an experience of overall well being, and a true sense of freedom. Freedom from restriction in our bodies, and freedom from the constraints that have us not be our fullest selves. Through yoga, Erin has encountered a path that offers the freedom to develop and grow in all ways.
Erin has been teaching yoga since 2000, and in her classes, you can expect a flowing, mindful style of hatha yoga. She emphasizes breath, healthy alignment, and creating a balance of effort and ease. One movement often flows into another, or you might flow in and out of one repeated movement that prepares the body for more intricate variations of yoga poses. Meditation, focused breathing, and deep relaxation are always included, as well as the reminder to be mindful and present in each moment. Erin is great with beginning yogis as well as advanced practitioners, and each class she teaches is fun, challenging, and unique. In her class, you will be encouraged to work at your own pace, and begin to cultivate a deepening awareness of your own body and mind.
“Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is the Now so to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation. It is to relinquish inner resistance to what is.”–Eckhart Tolle
Jeannine Maxwell
Jeannine has been meditating since 1974 and knows several techniques, but prefers the space between kirtan songs in which our minds are suspended in deep silence. Kirtan is Bhakti yoga, chanting the repetition of the names of God in the ancient language of Sanskrit. Jeannine first learned to play ektar and sing kirtan in the late 1970′s when she lived for a few years in a San Francisco ashram headed by Krishna Das. She continues to collect kirtan songs wherever they are sung – on CDs, in concerts, on the internet. As with other yoga disciplines, kirtan became a life practice and a tool for getting through life’s rough spots, as well as a gift to share with others. Using a call- and-response method, the group echoes the leader’s song and learns to toss the simple phrases back and forth until everyone is focused on the sounds of the words and participating in kirtan’s flowing energy. It’s a mental and spiritual activity that aims to focus the individual on the true essence of reality. No singing experience required.
“It takes a lot of will, effort, wisdom and intention to reach that moment when we can sit down to sing. It shows a desire to free ourselves. One of the results of chanting is that we begin to experience the freedom that comes from within.” -Krishna Das
Bryan Michel
Practicing yoga since 2004, Bryan quickly realized that yoga helped improve his physical ability in all activities. Additionally, he noticed the mental clarity and calm yoga provided to everyday life. In 2008 Bryan trained through Corepower Yoga in San Diego, CA to receive a Yoga Teacher Certification. In 2011 Bryan began Anusara Teacher training at Seattle Yoga Arts in Seattle, WA. Bryan has been teaching since 2009 and his credentials are Yoga Alliance certified.
Bryan teaches a mixed style of yoga, with elements of Anusara, Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow and Power yoga, focusing on strong, flowing movements and centered mental focus. Bryan provides an athletic, but meditative class for all experience levels. Whether for sports cross training, serious yoga practitioners, or those in need of rejuvenation, Bryan can provide the instruction for a profound experience.
“Love is my religion.” – Ziggy Marley
Melissa Paz
Melissa finds that her yoga practice is a constant unfolding and cultivation of patience, compassion, acceptance, and self-reflection. It provides her the sacred in everyday life and the ability to settle into whatever arises. She believes that through commitment, willingness, and inner wisdom we can all come to know ourselves as graceful, empowered beings living life to its fullest.
Melissa a registered instructor at the E-RYT level with Yoga Alliance has been teaching since 2001, and teaches a fluid hatha yoga class focused on body awareness, and proper alignment coordinated with the breath as a means to stay present. In her classes, she provides various options for all abilities as each individual is respected and encouraged to develop at their own pace. You will discover on your mat, the sacred and the playful as a means to find freedom and joy in your life, and leave her classes feeling nourished, relaxed, and grateful. She has a BA in Modern Dance and is certified in both Ananda yoga, a gentle spiritual practice, and in 2008 received additional certification from Pacific Yoga in Seattle, WA with instructors, Theresa Elliott, and Kathryn Payne. In addition to her teaching she annually co-leads yoga retreats to beautiful Harmony Hill in Union, Washington. Melissa is also a mother of two boys, and a lover of dance and music.
“There is a vitality, a life force that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.” -Martha Graham
Amy Petty
Amy’s yogic journey is full of gratitude and joy. In her teaching, she strives to support and encourage others on the yogic path no matter what level or ability. Practicing since the mid 90’s, Amy is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance at the E-RYT level. Teaching in a vinyasa style; she focuses on breath awareness, strength, flexibility, core alignment, mindfulness, and also draws inspiration from her own pranayama and meditation practices. Her passion is in cultivating bliss and revealing inner radiance through the wisdom of yoga.
Amy has a background in French literature, is currently pursuing her Masters in Arts in Teaching at USC, and is the co-owner of yogaJOYproject. An eclectic mix of yoga styles informs her teaching, with trainings which include certification through the Hatha Yoga Center in Seattle/Bali, Integrated Movement Therapy Basics with Molly Kenny, Reiki certification, and additional teacher trainings with Lisa Black and Shiva Rea. She has been inspired through practice with many other master teachers including Seane Corn, Erich Schiffman, and Kathryn Budig, and is currently training with Noah Mazé. Also, she will be offering yoga retreats in Bali in the near future—stay tuned! Amy will always consider herself a student of yoga and continue to expand her training and practice.
“You are infinite consciousness erupting specifically as you.” ~ Erich Schiffman
Paula Schwary
Paula was looking for a way to improve her health when she took her first yoga class in 2000. She discovered her passion for yoga and it changed her life. In 2003 she took her first teacher training with the intention of learning more for her personal practice and was quite surprised to find that she enjoyed teaching.
Paula teaches a flowing class focusing on breath and gives options allowing you to practice at the intensity that feels best for you. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance.
Tiffany Speir
Tiffany started ballet at age 4 and has not stopped moving since. A dance and fitness instructor for 20 years, she started her yoga journey in 2004 in the Ashtanga style, and began teaching yoga in 2006. She is Yoga Alliance certified and teaches vinyasa flow with a focus on mental peace as well as physical safety, balance and well-being. Tiffany offers options and modifications to each practice so students are able to fully enjoy each session and bring yoga to their body on that day. Namaste.
Ian Vollum
Born and raised in England, I’ve been a window cleaner, gardener, professional climber, ski instructor, company buyer, electronics technician and pre-school teacher. At no point along the way did I expect to find myself as a yoga teacher!
I came to yoga later in my life and got my yoga certifications through YogaFit. I have enjoyed guiding a wide range of classes with adults, but my degrees in Early Childhood Education and Psychology have kept me firmly connected to kids yoga too.
Variety, as in most things, is the spice of life! I have found my practice and my classes to be more genuine and grounded than ever before. I continue to travel extensively and seek out yoga wherever I go. Repetition for repetition’s sake no longer suits me- so don’t be surprised if you end up Salsa dancing in my class!
“Let the spell of limitation and illusion be undone”-Mike Scott
Rebeca Wadsworth
Rebeca has been practicing flow-style yoga since 2002. She loves the practice of Yoga because it gives her and her students an opportunity to explore the body through movement. Each posture, in concert with the breath, allows the practitioner to find acceptance and their inner truth.
Rebeca teaches a flow style with the emphasis on alignment, breath work and self-study. Her vision is to make Yoga accessible to all students by structuring classes that contribute to each student’s unique form of expression. Rebeca has received training and certifications through YogaFit and has continued her studies through Flow Yoga & Health of Hood River, Oregon.
“Whether one believes in a religion or not and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.”–His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Sherry Williams
Sherry practiced yoga “as a child of the 60′s” and returned to the practice in 1999. She has a BA in Philosophy, an MA in Creative Arts Therapy (Dance/Movement), and worked for a variety of outdoor education and wilderness adventure programs before moving to Tacoma in 1987 for law school. She is an attorney employed in Tacoma, and has been a teaching assistant for Lisa Black at Shakti Vinyasa Yoga in Seattle.
Sherry is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, and has trained with Kim King Zamoff, Lisa Black, Aadil Palkhivala, and Baron Baptiste, among others. She has had additional professional training through the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and she teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction classes locally, based on the original program developed at UMass Med by Jon Kabat-Zinn over thirty years ago. She is currently a student in an eighteen month Mindful Yoga and Meditation Training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California.
“I personally believe yoga practice builds strength, balance, flexibility and as healthy a body as is reasonable given our individual differences…and this physical practice prepares the body for meditation practice, where we can begin to understand and experience how the mind works…with greater awareness we can learn not to believe everything we think…and we practice yoga and meditation so that we can live with as much presence as possible, with wisdom and compassion, contributing whatever is ours to contribute in this very brief experience of being human…”
Her favorite quote is “Resolve to Evolve!”…. Come join her and take what you learn on the mat out into the rest of your life!
“I love that they obviously care about the whole of yoga & not just the physical movement. Also, unlike some of my personal experiences at other places, they’re also very knowledgeable for those of us with a need for modification of poses!” –Kelli B.
