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, and Pints & Poses. You can find him @catintreeyoga on Instagram.

She’s taught students since 2017 from her own toddler granddaughters to Special Education classes in public schools to those students in their 80s. She offers a wide variety of cues to support modifications to make yoga your own practice. She is excited to be a part of the BeFriend consortium community!

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.

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.

She delights in offering classes that are rooted in traditional yoga philosophy while also fun and relevant to our current times. Jyoti teaches accessibly and holistically, emphasizing benefits for mind and spirit along with our physical bodies. She believes yoga is for everybody, all people through all ages and stages of life. In addition to her passion for yoga, Jyoti enjoys spending time in nature and with her family, friends and Daisy, her loyal canine. She can also be found listening and dancing to live music, especially the blues.e able to teach and share that gift with others.

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.

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’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.

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.

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.