Meet the Heartbeat of Our Community

Our Teachers

REBECCA BELL

FOUNDER & YOGA TEACHER

Rebecca Bell has been a lifelong student of yoga, beginning her journey in search of deeper meaning and answers to life’s big questions. From a young age, she found those answers both on her yoga mat and in nature, through her climbing adventures across the United States, Mexico, and the Himalayas. Her yoga path has taken her to the ashrams of India, where she studied with world-renowned teachers, including Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and Mr. BNS Iyengar in Mysore. Her education also includes the wisdom of teachers, Richard Freeman, Jeanie Manchester, Gabriel Halpern, Sianna Sherman, Rod Stryker, Larry Schultz, and Rusty Wells.

With 28 years of teaching experience, Rebecca approaches her practice with a beginner’s mind and compassionate curiosity. The practice of being present has been instrumental in her personal journey, gifting her 37 years of sobriety and supporting her roles as a mother, wife, and dedicated teacher.

Rebecca has been leading 200-hour yoga teacher trainings for over 18 years and regularly offers workshops, immersions, and international yoga retreats. In 2022, she combined her passion for yoga and adventure by launching Ruby Rides Bikes, a unique retreat that merges mountain biking with yoga for women. In January 2024, Rebecca founded The Yoga Shala Bend in historic downtown Bend, Oregon, where she continues to share her love of yoga with her community

Rebecca’s teaching is rooted in service, presence, and the joy of sharing the transformative power of yoga with others.

OUR TEACHERS

Shriman, a passionate yogi and dedicated teacher, has spent years honing his craft under the guidance of Dr.Yogrishi Vishviketu in India, embracing the transformative power of authentic yoga. Hailing from Brazil, Shriman's journey into the depths of yoga has been intertwined with his rich musical heritage, creating a unique fusion of ancient wisdom and contemporary understanding. Immersed in the vibrant culture of India, he has delved deep into the traditional teachings of Yoga, spending the last seven years fully immersing himself in its ancient wisdom. Shriman believes in the healing and enlivening potential of a disciplined yogic lifestyle, both individually and collectively. As a world traveler who has shared the light of yoga on 5 continents, he brings a global perspective to his teachings, caring deeply about the well-being of his students and the communities he serves.
Whether guiding students through a blissful yoga class or leading a soul-soothing sound bath journey, Shriman's powerful gift with music and his deep understanding of yoga create an immersive experience that fosters inner harmony and bliss.
Shriman’s message is one of balance. He believes Yoga includes discipline, surrender, effort, and fun. In his class you have the opportunity to experience many of the various aspects of yoga: Asana, Pranayama, Mudras, Meditation, Cleansing kriyas, Yogic Philosophy, Sound healing and Vedic chanting. Through his teachings, Shriman empowers others to embark on their own journey towards physical, emotional, and mental well-being, inspiring them to connect with their inner joy and true nature.

Lauren was trained as a classical ballet dancer and found Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in college. Her first training was in Palo Alto, California where she studied with Ben Thomas, Dr. Kelly McGonigal, Anirudha Shastri, and later on Richard Freeman, Doron Hanoch, and Max Strom. She has traveled through India, Thailand, and Indonesia for both training and teaching in yoga and her style is strong, fluid, creative and sustainable. Her teaching is designed to emphasize the strength, stability and grace that can feel like home on the mat when the body and mind are committed to the dedication and beauty of the practice. Her classes are challenging, fun, engaging and designed to leave you feeling refreshed and present. Expect dynamic movement and sequences that incorporate both traditionaly poses and unique transitions. It is valuable in all ways to learn to move the body in different ways, to challenge ourselves and shift perspectives on the mat and in our lives. The mat is the perfect practice ground to learn how moving our physical body intentionally with the breath, and reflecting on the inner landscape of ourselves can positively change our life.

Favorite quote:”Move a muscle, change a feeling”

Molly began her yoga journey in 2020 with her first 200 hour certification in Baptiste Power Yoga. She went on to teach in Northeastern Pennsylvania and then opened her own studio, Melt Hot Yoga, in 2011. After selling her studio in 2018 she moved to Bend with her husband and dogs and landed at Yoga Shala in 2024. She also worked for several years as a consultant for The Yogapreneur Collective, which advises yoga studios throughout the world how to grow their businesses. She most recently completed her 300 hour training with Dr. Yogrishi Vishveketu and the Akhanda Yoga Institute.

Molly’s classes are a combination of asana, breathwork and meditation but also wants her students to be able to laugh and have fun on their mats, to not take ourselves too seriously.

Molly lives by the words “move a muscle, change a feeling.” Whenever times are tough, or our mood is low, we simply need to move our bodies to start shifting those feelings within us.

Deanna is passionate about music, movement, ritual, travel, authentic human connection, and the healing intelligence of nature. She is deeply inspired by both ancient Eastern healing systems — including Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, & Yoga — and modern approaches to nervous system regulation and embodied wellbeing. Her work bridges timeless wisdom with present-day practices that support people in feeling more connected, resilient, and at home within themselves.
Teaching since 2009, Deanna began her yoga studies in India, where she was first introduced to meditation and Ashtanga yoga. Over the years, her path has expanded through studying with many teachers and exploring diverse lineages and modalities. She is particularly inspired by the Bowspring practice and teachings of John Friend and Des Springer, which emphasize postural alignment, primal movement, vitality and embodied empowerment. Her work is also deeply informed by Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing approach, bringing awareness to the nervous system and the body’s innate capacity for healing and regulation. She also integrates Qigong as a major cornerstone in her Somatic work.
Deanna teaches from a trauma-informed perspective and currently works as a mental health professional while completing supervised hours toward clinical licensure. Her approach integrates movement, breath, mindfulness, somatic awareness, and compassionate inquiry to support individuals navigating chronic stress, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions.
She regularly guides alignment-based Hatha Flow yoga, Yin, Restorative, Yoga Nidra (NSDR), conscious breathing, meditation, mindfulness and somatic practices. Her classes invite students into deeper presence, curiosity, and connection with themselves.
Deanna believes that “Yoga is a continual unfoldment — a practice that illuminates the parts of ourselves that may have gone unseen, gently guiding us back toward our inherent wholeness.”

Kent Bond is the owner/operator and senior instructor at Willow Glen Yoga which he established in 1996. He holds several advanced certifications in a variety of yoga lineages.

His extensive studies at the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara with Ganga White and Tracey Rich culminated in his leading teacher trainings at this prestigious institution for over 20 years. He has also trained with Erich Schiffmann, Robert Brook, Glenn Black and Duncan Wong. He is a certified Yoga Tune Up instructor.
Kent has developed a signature teaching style that is uplifting, informative and challenging. His classes fuse classical hatha yoga, astanga based flow with bio-mechanical alignment and somatic principles.

Find your mojo as you set aside outmoded beliefs and patterns of movement. Upend your notion of the physical practice as you go beyond alignment and tap into an evolutionary approach to yoga.
Kent has lead focused workshops and trainings nationally and internationally since 1998.

Meg Tuazon Shemai shares a grounded, playful, encouraging, and technical focus on her teachings. Inspired by her lineage of teachers-Vinyasa (Baron Baptist), Ashtanga (Josh Vincent-student of Richard Freeman and Tim Miller), Bowspring (John Friend and Desi Springer), and Yin Yoga (Bernie Clark), Meg incorporates bits and pieces of her passion for yoga and movement with her teachings. Over the past two decades of sharing yoga, Meg has taken a holistic approach to her teaching with the philosophy of, ‘the forever-student.’
While exploring creative sequencing, restorative poses, and pranayama, she continues to find balance in her life, driven by her passion for the outdoors, while consciously ushering in the next generation of two little humans. She brings a light and joyful presence, and encourages all students to find their individual light and creativity. As a current resident of Bend, (with roots in California and New Mexico), she looks forward to integrating into the lively community!

Nicole Williams, a restorative yoga expert and 500 RYT certiﬁed yoga instructor, began studying zazen meditation in Japan in 1988. She went on to get a BA in dance/movement therapy at Evergreen State College in 1992. Nicole has been teaching for over 25 years studying with the senior teachers of Iyengar yoga, yin yoga, her restorative yoga training and structural formulas are inspired by body based mindfulness gurus: Judith Lasater, Pema Chodron and the Feldenkrais method.
In 2000, Nicole created Sundog Yoga in Sedona, Arizona where she created programs at Mii amo Spa. She moved to Bend in 2006 and brought this unique style of restorative yoga to Bend. She is the author of “Awake and Calm” a restorative practice manual used for trainings at Central Oregon Community College, on her YouTube channel and yoga sanctuaries. Nicole brings playful inspiration to her students.
She has created a unique series of restorative yoga formulas that blend movement and stillness. These formulas and the extensive use of props like sandbags, bolsters and blankets are the hallmark of Nicole's classes. 500 RYT

Jessica Jones is a proud Oregon native who grew up in Eugene and has called Central Oregon home for nearly two decades.
Her journey in health and movement began early in life and has remained a constant driving force throughout her personal and professional endeavors. Her military career instilled in her the discipline and fortitude that continue to guide her approach to fitness and training today. After transitioning out of the service, she channeled her knowledge and passion into a career focused on helping others build both physical and mental strength.
In addition, she is a 350+ hour certified Yoga Teacher with specialized training in trauma-informed yoga, Yin, Vinyasa, Primal Yoga, Yoga Nidra, and the neurobiology of yoga. Her holistic approach to fitness emphasizes balance, integrating strength training with yoga and mindfulness practices to empower the body, mind, and spirit.
She believes true transformation begins with reframing the mind and cultivating self-connection. Whether teaching yoga, leading group classes, or personal training, she designs every session to help others tap into their own resilience, discover balance, and move toward whole-body strength.

Anna moved to Bend in 2016 from Minnesota. She brings with her years of experience teaching various yoga styles. A long time Ashtanga practitioner and dancer, she finally decided to become a certified yoga teacher at The Yoga Center of Minneapolis. She also completed Ashtanga teacher training with David Swenson.

As a dancer, Anna loves to bring the beauty of movement into her yoga classes, finding that perfect balance between strength and flexibility.

Growing up in Latvia, Anna traveled the world extensively before moving to the US.
Anna loves to help students grow in their individual practices, helping them get stronger and more confident in their bodies with each class.

Kim Hoover is a 500 hr YTT teacher and a devoted student of yoga for almost 15 years. Her training has mainly focused on Power Vinyasa and the classical system of Ashtanga, which all vinyasa stems from. She has also intensively studied structural intergation, fascia, and anatomy through the lens of yoga. Her main teachers include Stacey Vespaziani (Baron Baptiste method), Christina Martini, Bhavani Maki, and Rebecca and Keith Bell.
Kim loves to provide a welcoming learning environment, while encouraging the freedom that comes from transcending our limits--body, mind, and soul. In vinyasa classes, you can expect progressive warms ups and cool downs with classic Ashtanga asanas, as well as spicy and creative transitions to build toward peak postures. Expect slower and juicier floorwork in soulful flow!

Emma is a dynamic facilitator for the inquisitive spirit to arrive to moments of presence and vibrational resonance with the natural world expressed through body, mind, and sense of source. With 20 years of practice and over 10 years of teaching, she attributes her practice and offerings to the grace and guidance of her teachers and teaches from a place of devotion and service that guides her. Never fully stepping out of studentship, Emma’s studies are dedicated in meditative bodywork, yoga as a therapeutic resource and the transformative power of mantra and sound. All that she can offer is accredited to the grace of the Guru—the teachers along this path.
Her background in bodywork studies and training span Swedish, Thai, somatic integration, reflexology, biodynamic craniosacral, Ayurvedic modalities of abhyanga, shirodhara, marma and external basthi. Within her private practice, Ritual Wisdom, her work with clients finds emphasis in Ayurvedic bodywork, digestion, birth and postpartum support. Emma works with students and clients to help reestablish balance while promoting new expansion from previous conceived limitations. She approaches bodywork and yoga in a therapeutic way to help reformat previously held unsupportive patterns of movement, breath and thought. Within this space, she works with touch, meditation and sound to offer a platform for self transformation and healing.
Outside of her private practice, Emma teaches Ayurveda, bodywork and yoga locally as well as abroad in the form of retreats and trainings. She teaches from the heart space of her own sadhana; offering classes rooted in the Bhakti tradition with creative asanas informed by Ayurvedic wisdom and a prayerful intention. Known as a vibrant, joy-filled and often comical speaker, instructor and counselor, Emma offers up an energy that is truly contagious. She will remind you that lightness is found in the spirit through her approach to this practice and life in a reverent but playful way.

Cassidy completed her 200-hour teacher training in San Francisco in 2022 and soon after began teaching vinyasa and yoga sculpt. Since then, she’s lived in New Zealand, where she expanded her teaching to include yin and hatha, while also guiding meditation and mindfulness at a wellness retreat.
Cassidy has found joy through movement for as long as she can remember. Originally from San Diego, she grew up dancing and discovered yoga in her teens while recovering from physical injuries. She was immediately hooked, not only by the movement, but by the emotional calm the practice brought her. She's now been practicing yoga for over 12 years.
A fan of twists, heart openers, and inversions, Cassidy’s classes invite creativity, play, and joy. She encourages students to tune into their bodies and return to the simplicity of the breath. She teaches yoga as a reminder that we’re already whole, and that the practice is simply a way of coming back to ourselves.