Meet the Team

Our Class Guides

BeFriend Yoga is a consortium of dedicated and experienced yoga guides. Our team is passionate about yoga and dedicated to delivering classes that enhance your well-being and help you feel great, regardless of your experience or fitness level. Join us for an encouraging yoga experience, where you can be yourself and feel the support of our welcoming, non-judgmental community. We approach yoga in an accessible, sustainable way and empower you personalize your practice by…

  • offering choices ✨
  • encouraging you to explore using props ✨
  • helping you focus on what you’re experiencing in your body and mind ✨
  • empowering you to practice in a way that’s right for you ✨
  • recognizing that everyone’s body is different and prioritizing self-care ✨

Learn more about our instructors below!

Genevieve G (GG), RYT® 500, Reiki Master

Genevieve Guadalupe (GG) is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, holding an RYT® 500 certification. She’s taught classical ballet and fitness classes since her early 20s, and yoga became her daily companion in 2010.

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She now specializes in Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, Restorative, and Gentle yoga. Her Restorative and Yin classes are known for creating stillness and deep relaxation. Her other classes are known for their fluidity and challenging yet playful nature. Her training and experience with Sound Healing, Nidra, Reiki and Thai Yoga massage allow her to offer a unique and holistic experience to her students. GG’s mission is to guide students toward a greater self-awareness, inner peace, and mindfulness. Fluent in English, Spanish, and French, her classes and workshops are offered globally and, frequently, to underserved populations.

You also can find GG on Instagram at @studiocibouletteyoga and https://studiociboulette.com/yoga/

Jacquelyn, E-RYT® 200

Jacquelyn is an E-RYT 200® with over a decade of teaching experience. She found yoga was a lifeline after she witnessed, up-close, the traumatic shooting of her former boss, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and the loss of her colleague, Gabe Zimmerman.

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Inspired by her own profound healing journey, she chose to share the transformative benefits of asana (postures), breathwork, and visualization to help others navigate their trauma. Jacquelyn trained as a yoga teacher at the renowned Kripalu Yoga Center and at Yoga Connection. She also earned her LifeForce Yoga Practitioner certification from Amy Weintraub and completed further training in Restorative Yoga. Jacquelyn’s yoga classes incorporate breathwork, imagery, and asana practices thoughtfully tailored to meet the needs of her students.

Joy E, RYT® 200

Joy spent 30 years as an elementary school teacher and during her career she began taking yoga classes as a way of dealing with a busy and chaotic schedule. Yoga gave her a place to regroup and reconnect in a mindful way.

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She also has a lifelong love of movement in many forms including dance, hiking and swimming. After retiring from teaching in 2020, she decided to complete the 200 hour yoga teacher training at Barefoot Studio with the initial goal of learning more about yoga in order to deepen and enrich her own practice. After completing the training she realized that she missed practicing the art of teaching and interacting with students. She began teaching yoga classes at Barefoot, focusing mainly on gentle, hatha and flow classes.

She likes to use her background in dance to create yoga classes with a strong sense of connection and flow between poses. Joy strongly believes that yoga has the power to make a positive difference in every person’s life and she is honored to be able to teach and share that gift with others.

Kim B, RYT® 500

With over 30 years of experience as a master’s level RN, nurse coach, and nurse instructor, Kim is dedicated to self-care and integrative healing.

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In 2013, she discovered that yoga was the most effective therapy for managing her own chronic conditions, including depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.

By 2023, she earned her RYT® 500 certification. Kim believes that yoga can serve as a healing path for individuals of all ages and health backgrounds. In her calming and nurturing classes, participants will find an ideal environment to unwind and rejuvenate.

Kim H, RYT® 200

Kim’s love for Yoga began nearly 10 years ago while she was working in the corporate world. She had the most amazing instructor who would come to the office and guide them through the most beautiful practice on their lunch break.

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She will always remember how those classes made her feel. This inspired her to become a Yoga instructor, so that she could share this same type of experience with others. She completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training with Barefoot Studio in July 2023 and is loving this new chapter of her life. Her goal is that you will leave her classes feeling recharged and revitalized. Movement is medicine for the soul!

Melissa C, E-RYT 500, YACEP, Usui Reiki Master / Holy Fire III Reiki Master

Melissa is a seasoned yoga teacher and seeker who creates welcoming, encouraging spaces for self-discovery through accessible asana, pranayama, guided meditation, and yoga philosophy for the modern world. Her teaching style is rooted in loving kindness, and she offers practical tools to help balance body and mind, cultivate inner calm, and build resilience.

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Melissa’s yoga journey began in 2012 as a way to manage job-related stress and relieve middle-age aches, and it worked! Her amazing, 70+ year-old Iyengar teacher–Bishnupriya–taught her the value of accessible, sustainable asana and pranayama. Melissa remains deeply grateful for that foundation, which is at the heart of her practice and teaching.

Today, Melissa is E-RYT® 500 certified with specialized training in accessible yoga, restorative yoga, yin, chair yoga, pranayama, trauma-informed practices, and yoga philosophy. In addition to empowering students through classes and private yoga sessions, she supports the next generation of teachers in 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher training programs.

She also is a certified Usui Reiki Master / Holy Fire III Reiki Master, offering private Reiki sessions that promote deep relaxation, ease stress, and support energetic balance and overall well-being.

Outside of BeFriend Yoga, you can catch Melissa teaching a Cat Yoga class at Hunter’s Kitten Lounge, find her on a hiking trail, or spending time with family. She is @lifecohnectionyoga on Instagram.

Nicole M, RYT® 500, Reiki

A licensed cosmetologist for 10+ years, Nicole is passionate about helping others see the beauty they possess, inside and out. She is blessed to witness the big impact little things can have. To that end, she utilizes her intuition to tailor the emphasis to the unique needs of each class.

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As a result, she hopes to impart every participant with a sense of their own amazing energy.

“When I was introduced to the life-changing experience of yoga, I truly understood the depth of inner beauty, gentle strength, and the importance of balance. I fell in love. The fact that simple poses and breathwork can transform physical, emotional, and mental states is awe inspiring.”

Nicole believes that yoga provides amazing benefits for everyone, body and soul. She loves to see clients’ transformations, and her journey to assist that transformation continues to expand.

Nicole currently teaches Yin classes. At the end of class, she provides Reiki to assist the healing of all four levels: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Susan S, E-RYT® 200

Susan began her hot yoga journey in 2006 to improve her strength, flexibility, and well-being. She discovered a passion for vinyasa and became a dedicated practitioner, leading her to complete teacher training at The Arizona School of Yoga in 2011.

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An E-RYT® 200 certified instructor, she teaches in Tucson and beyond, offering challenging yet nurturing classes that often include short meditations and bits of yoga philosophy. For Susan, yoga is a lifelong practice that happens one step at a time. As we grow and change, we must first understand and accept where we are. Outside of yoga, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, hiking, gardening, kiteboarding, stand-up paddling, e-foiling, cooking, reading, traveling, and exploring drawing and painting.

David K, RYT® 500

Our co-founder, David, currently is on medical leave.

David’s yoga path is a little different than most. His 32-year career in law enforcement included assignments in SWAT, Air Rescue Paramedic and Rope Rescue Technician, Police Academy instructor in Defensive Tactics, Motorcycle patrol, and Special Investigations Detective.

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Participating in a variety of styles of martial arts and competing in open matches left him with numerous injuries. Competing in triathlons, eco challenges, and anything else where potential for injury was high compounded these injuries. Realizing this was not a path he could continue on, he began to take yoga classes. The calm and quiet of yoga helped him change the way he treated his body and his mind.

In 2017, he finished a 200-hour yoga teacher training program at Barefoot Studio and started teaching classes. To enhance his skills, he pursued additional training in Trauma Informed Yoga, Chair Yoga, and Yoga Nidra. He wrapped up his 300-hour yoga teacher training at Radiant Spirit School of Yoga in the fall of 2024.

In addition to his classes at BeFriend Yoga, David also leads Yoga with Cats at Hunter’s Kitten Lounge, Yoga in the Park, Hike & Yoga, and Pints & Poses. You can find him @catintreeyoga on Instagram.