INSTRUCTORS
Marti Yura
Marti continues to integrate what she has studied and learned for over forty years as a health and well-being professional.
Her journey has come full circle, from her first fitness studio in Charleston, SC in 1982, to the 2009 “birth” of Vista Yoga in Atlanta. Since 1979 her passion for physical and spiritual well-being has led her from teaching various forms of fitness, including personal training, to her discovery of Yoga in 1998. Since then, Yoga has become a fundamental practice from which to live life from. She is grounded in the tenets and distinctions of Yoga, and utilizes her classes, workshops, and in-depth teacher trainings as a powerful medium with which to support students in fulfilling more than they could expect from their practice. Both dynamic and therapeutic,
Marti’s classes are infused with a thorough understanding of the body, ancient wisdom, her nurturing spirit and a touch of humor.
She is a 500-hour ERYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance. After studying with a wide variety of Yoga teachers, she has been studying extensively with Tias and Surya Little, of Prajna Yoga in Santa Fe, New Mexico since 2008, achieving her 500-hour certification with them.
Marti also offers private Thai Yoga Massage therapy.
Marty Yura
Marty brings over 30 years experience working with individuals and groups in a wide variety of training environments. His talent is his ability to communicate precisely so that students understand and are able to implement. Applied to Yoga, this enables one to practice correctly, learning and improving in a structured environment.
“I’ve always been involved in the empowerment of people. It was usually in the domain of having them discover possibilities for themselves that they weren’t able to see before. After beginning to practice Yoga with some regularity, I realized that I was able to quiet my mind and focus on what was going on right now, without the distractions that seemed to often accompany whatever it was that I was doing. My commitment is to provide people with the possibility of what Yoga can be for them.”
Marty completed his initial 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher Certification from Peachtree Yoga Center, as well as another 200-hour RYT Certification from Prajna Yoga in Santa Fe, NM. He is a 500hour E-RYT and Senior Prajna Yoga instructor. He has an MA and BA in Psychology from California State University and UCLA. He has studied Mindful-Based Stress Reduction at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and offers such programs to organizations. He has also been trained in Mindful Yoga Therapy for veterans with post-traumatic stress, and currently teaches at the Emory Healthcare Veterans with PTSD Program. Marty also offers “Yoga Coaching for Life” as a one-on-one program at Vista Yoga.
Shonali Banerjee
Since 1995 I have found solace, strength and profound expansion through yoga. In 2002, after a bicycle accident, still recovering from injuries, I joined the 500 hour teacher training at Be Yoga with Alan Finger where I also became Director of Yoga Teacher Training programs. Alan teaches a style of yoga called ISHTA yoga (the Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda), which is a rich multi-faceted vinyasa practice. Simultaneously, I studied as an herbal apprentice, and explored rituals of chanting and aligning with the seasons and the moon. This fusion of healing through yoga while consciously connecting to universal rhythms is at the heart of my teaching. After moving to Paris, France in 2004, I did intensive study focusing on therapeutics and women’s issues with T.K.V. and Kausthub Desikachar. I built a yoga business in Paris (shonaliyoga) which allowed me enough experience to register as E-RYT-500.
Everyone can do yoga! My classes are grounded in breath and alignment for steady and safe exploration. We will flow and hold. We will strengthen, expand, soften, and nurture. With reverence for the unique process of each individual, I encourage students to make the practice their own. Be prepared to fuel yourself and to learn tools which enable you to move through life with a bit more ease and centered connection. In perpetual gratitude to the many phenomenal teachers who have inspired me: my students, my children, my husband, Alan Finger, TKV Desikachar, Carrie Wykoff, Robin Rose Bennett, Erich Schiffman, Mark Whitwell, Sarah Powers, John Friend, Michelle Jacobi, Hillary Cohen, among others! … Namaste
Theresa Barnett
Theresa Barnett is a certified yoga therapist, craniosacral therapist and wellness consultant. She has been in private practice since 1985, and teaching yoga since 1994. Theresa began her journey in the early 1980s. Led by her quest for inner knowledge and a better understanding of the mind body connection, she was introduced to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in 1991. This innocent weekend retreat, unfolded into an “inner knowing” that she would return to Kripalu to become a certified yoga teacher. This knowing became a reality, and in 1994, Theresa opened her own yoga studio in Dunwoody. Throughout this time she continued to deepen her pursuit of yoga and studied with some of the most prominent teachers in the country. Through great good fortune, she encountered her teacher Diane Long. Diane possessed the gift of accessing and understanding the body’s innate beauty and intelligence beyond anything that she had previously experienced. With this, Theresa has created her own unique approach to teaching yoga that integrates physical movement of the body with a deep spiritual and meditative practice.
Gina Burke
Sharing the benefits of YOGA kids on their own level of understanding can reduce stress and anxiety, improve focus and attention and give them tools needed achieve inner calmness and peace so that they can be healthy and happy kids with a lot of love, kindness and compassion to share with others.
Gina Burke has been teaching yoga since 2017 when she received her CYA-RYT300. Coming from an educational background, it became her passion to work with kids, tweens and teens. She received her certification to teach kids and another one specific to teach teenagers from Kidding Around Yoga International.
Patricia Schmidt
Patty is both 200 and 500hr YA-Certified, and is an IAYT Level 1 certified yoga therapist. She holds additional qualifications in Pre/Postnatal Yoga, Yin Yoga, Yoga for Cancer Survivors, and Yoga for Hypermobility. Those who know her recognize that all roads lead to the pelvis; she is committed to pelvic health and wellness for women and men, at all stages of their lives. She trains other yoga teachers, as well as health and fitness professionals, to orient themselves to the pelvis in space, and raises awareness of pelvic health and wellness in public speaking and educational events. A recent transplant to Atlanta, Patricia infuses each class with wisdom, strength, and surrender.
Stacey Beth Shulman
Stacey Beth Shulman came to yoga because she was looking for a softer way. For years Stacey had pushed herself hard – physically and emotionally. When the results weren’t as swift or certain as she thought they should be, she would quickly become frustrated and move on to the next big thing that was supposed to fix it all. In her world, if it didn’t happen immediately, it was probably because I wasn’t trying hard enough or doing it the right way. Yoga helped her slow down, find acceptance in the moment, and begin to release her leanings toward perfectionism. This gentle unwinding brings Stacey to an ever deepening understanding of herself and her physical and emotional patterns.
For Stacey, practicing and teaching yoga is an act of creativity and joy. Her classes are a gentle, meditational style with longer held postures using props for support, in order to gain new insight and release old energies in the physical, emotional, and spiritual planes. Stacey believes there are many, many layers to yoga – and in any given class, no two people are ever at exactly the same place. She welcomes students who are new to yoga as well as those with more experience, in the hope that everybody will discover something new about themselves and their abilities.
Stacey received her 200 and 500 hour certifications from Yoganand Michael Carroll. In addition, she is a Certified Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator under the supervision of David Emerson. When she is not on the mat, Stacey enjoys reading, art, backyard birdwatching, and, of course, chocolate.
Susan Mittleman, E-RYT500, C-IAYT
After many years of practice, Susan has developed her own intuitive and personal style of teaching that includes a focus on breath, mindfulness, sensations in the body, strength, movement and stillness, with lightness and laughter thrown in.
Susan is a 500hr E-RYT, and a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). She also holds certifications in Yoga Nidra and two levels of Thai Yoga Massage. She has studied trauma-sensitive yoga and started the yoga program with Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. She has taught at an addiction rehab center, and works with various populations, ranging from able-bodies and athletes to people with adaptive needs. She holds additional certifications in Pre and Post Natal Fitness and Barre.
Susan has practiced yoga for more 25 years, with teachers from the Kriya, Kundalini, Sivananda and other traditions. In 2008, she began more serious study with Yoganand Michael Carroll, founder of Pranakriya Yoga (Kripalu lineage of tantra hatha yoga,) and earned her certifications in this tradition. She loves to discover new aspects of yoga and how modern science and yoga philosophy find ways to compliment each other. Her goal as a yoga teacher and yoga therapist is to share the wisdom from her experience and to guide students to a place of discovery, joy, peace, strength and healing within themselves. She teaches classes, workshops and retreats around town.
Fabiana Pimenta
Fabiana Pimenta received her 200-hour teaching certification at Vista Yoga in 2017. Currently, she is working in her 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training also at Vista and continuing her studies with Prajna Yoga teachers. She holds additional qualifications in Yoga for Cancer Survivors and is a certified Y12SR (Yoga for 12-Step Recovery) leader under Nikki Myers. She is a registered Yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT-200) and for two years teaches little yoga bites at lunch time for her co-workers. She is a passionate learner, try to have a beginner mind, study yoga asana, texts, and is discovering somatic movement. Fabiana practices yoga for more than 10 years, and since 2016 embarked on a consistent daily yoga practice to overcome fibromyalgia pain and life/work related stress. In addition to teaching yoga, she has a fulltime job as a researcher. Yoga allows her to breathe, keeps her focused and improves her physical and emotional wellbeing. It is her honor and privilege to share her yoga practice, which is grounded on breath, mindful movements, strength, softness and fun. She is committed to make yoga accessible to everyone! She is your guide, but she always will remind you to listen to your body, your inner teacher! To be kind to yourself, avoid pain, find your boundary, follow your intuition and find your own shape in each pose. She invites you to take a break, make a conscious choice to pause, and engage in a yoga practice. Her motto is: “No matter one’s condition, yoga has something to offer to us all”. She is grateful and blessed to belong to Vista Yoga community and will be honored to share her practice with you!
Jimmy Rabb
After his first yoga class 8 years ago, Jimmy knew right away he wanted to help grow yoga’s presence in the world. A practice that began as a way to relive tension and relax soon grew into a method of increasing strength, mobility and awareness of the subtly body. Jimmy completed his teacher training at Vista Yoga in 2017 and is now 200hr Prajna Yoga certified instructor. He has taught at studios, schools, and even island resorts. In Jimmy’s class you can expect to dive deep into every posture and sequence. His pace allows students to experience the nuances of each pose, while his anatomical queuing ensures students are building on top of solid fundamentals. Whether you are just getting started, or a lifelong practitioner, there is something for you in Jimmy’s class.
Sheila White
In 2007, Sheila found herself the sole caregiver of an aging parent. Coupled with years in a high stress position in the financial industry, she began searching for physical and emotional grounding. In doing so, Sheila found an amazing individual who practiced Rolfing and Yoga. Upon introduction to the practice, she realized that Yoga was exactly what her body and mind needed. Through yoga, Sheila experienced a wonderful transformation in her body’s alignment and her emotional well-being. Wanting to share this life-changing practice, she took the next step and received her certification in Restorative/Yin Yoga through Asheville Yoga Center in 2010. In 2012, Sheila completed her 200 hour Teacher Training with Marietta Yoga and Well-Being and is certified through Yoga Alliance. She is currently working on her 500 hour Teacher Certification with Prajna Yoga in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sheila’s practice and teaching both are based in alignment and breath, using these techniques to achieve optimum results and to ensure each student reaches their individual goal.
Sheila is also a Reiki Master. She continues her training in various areas of the practice and with some of yoga’s most highly regarded teachers.
Aruna Padmanabhan
Aruna is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner (CM) who offers lessons from the Feldenkrais Method®. Centered around slow, gentle movements and guided attention, these lessons create a space for us to listen to ourselves, in a way we may not have since childhood. This creates an opportunity to let go of habits that create stress and anxiety in our lives. During the lessons, movements done with awareness engage the neuroplasticity of the brain to create new patterns, new habits and new ways of being in the world
Aruna encourages students to be curious about themselves and notice small, largely unconscious patterns that restrict movement and influence behavior. Often, we make even the smallest of tasks hard on ourselves. By doing Feldenkrais Method lessons we give ourselves the opportunity to take away all the unnecessary work we attach to everything we do. Through her lessons, Aruna has helped many students regain ease in their activities, whether it be sitting in front of the computer or going for a run.
Carter Jenkins
Carter has been teaching and working with individuals for over 38 years.
Through practicing yoga, she has found ease with some health issues, especially pranayama or breath practices.
Carter graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in English, and continued her studies at Georgia State University where she earned her teaching certificate. Her work experience has ranged from from teaching middle school and high school English to teaching her own five children and many others in a variety of settings.
Most recently she had the privilege of completing her 200 hours of yoga training at Vista Yoga. Carter has an attitude of never ceasing the learning experience.
Carter weaves together elements of both pilates and yoga, drawing the strengthening and healing that both offer. These traditions complement each other and bring joy, calm, and assurance in a sometimes fast paced world where we can be strengthened and yet catch our breath.
Pilates and yoga offer many benefits such as joint range of motion, core strength helping to reduce back pain, injury recovery. They are a wonderful segue from her dance background.
She also enjoys the love of her life, Ed, her husband of 33 years, their five children, and two beautiful grand babies. She enjoys swimming and cycling, in addition to spending time outdoors with hiking and other activities. She looks forward to beautiful possibilities and living a life of learning.
Tracy James
Tracy is a Yoga Alliance E-RYT and a Licensed Massage Therapist who brings more than 20 years of experience in therapeutic structural bodywork, anatomical alignment, and functional movement into her teachings. She has earned 200-hour trainings through both Vista Yoga and Prajna Yoga of Santa Fe and continues her studies with a plethora of gifted teachers across multiple movement disciplines.
An abiding faith in the healing energetics of yoga practice and a joyful knack for connecting with students are the cornerstones of a teaching style that encourages ongoing reverent fun and curious exploration on the sticky mat. Her classes are designed to support students as they learn to more deeply inhabit their bodies in a safe and welcoming learning environment. Tracy lives, works, and plays in Decatur with her husband and three rescue cats.
Dan Ellis
Dan’s yoga journey began at age 9, following along to Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Athletes on VHS tapes with his mother. Those precious moments in the living room helped Dan to prepare for the rigors of football and sparked understanding of the Mind-Body connection. After several major injuries & orthopedic surgeries, Yoga was at the forefront of his therapeutic interventions across nearly every joint in the body. In 2017, Dan trained at Peachtree Yoga Center’s 42nd annual teacher training program for his 200 hour certification. In 2018, he acquired an additional qualification for Yin Yoga and was initiated into Anubhava Meditation. He has been teaching in Atlanta-based studios and internationally ever since. He attends quarterly ceremonies at Sanctuary of the Divine Heart and Mandala Meditation retreats to infuse an ever deepening spiritual practice into his classes. He holds a container for his students to explore the depths of their thoughts & emotions safely. Dan weaves his background of Tai Chi, Meditation and Energy Work into every class. It is not just moving the body itself, but the energy through it that distinguishes his approach. Students find his class deep & healing, with the right blend of challenge and grace.
Michelle Blair
Michelle Is a mother of two, yoga teacher, and lifelong learner who specializes in prenatal and postnatal practice.
Her teaching style is heart centered, empathic, and nurturing.
Michelle believes in building community through movement and healing and strives to bring lightness and ease to all of her classes.
Michelle is Prenatal and Restorative yoga certified through “The Root Yoga Ctr”, Sacramento California, is a Certified Trauma Informed Postpartum Doula and 200 hour RYT through Peachtree Yoga, Atl.
She also holds a BA in journalism from San Diego State University.
Paula Anderson
Paula earned her Masters of Science in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training from GSU in 1998 and is credentialed through ACSM as a Certified Exercise Physiologist. She came to Emory University in 1999 as full-time faculty in physical education where she taught a variety of fitness and special interest classes. She began teaching yoga at Emory in 2009 as an outgrowth of her personal practice and background in health and fitness. Before teaching at Emory she spent 10 years as a sports massage therapist in private practice specializing in injury treatment and prevention for recreational and professional athletes.
Paula completed a 200-hour Prajna Yoga certification program at Vista Yoga in November 2015 and earned the E-RYT designation in 2020. She has continued her education in the Prajna Yoga lineage with Tias and Surya Little in Santa Fe, NM, along with other Prajna Yoga teachers. “The commitment of everyone at Vista Yoga to continually develop every aspect of their practice is awe-inspiring. My aim as a teacher is to provide a safe and healthy way for our students to find ease and joy in movement and repose, and maintain vitality throughout the lifespan”. A homebody who loves to travel, she also has a weakness for plants.
Anna Leo
As a professional ballet and modern dancer and teacher with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Choreography, Anna Leo has spent most of her life studying the body in motion. She imbues her yoga classes with the vivid imagery of a choreographer, helping both beginner and more experienced practitioners better envision and create the sensation of the asana they are studying. She began her Iyengar yoga training in 1983 with Ellen Saltonstall in New York City, and she continued her studies with Kathleen Pringle at the Stillwater Iyengar Studio in Atlanta, where she also taught from 2000-2020. In addition, she has studied with Geeta and Prashant Iyengar at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India. Leo completed a 200-hour Prajna Yoga certification program at Atlanta’s Vista Yoga in November 2021. Associate Professor Emerita at Emory University’s Department of Theater and Dance, she continues to teach yoga privately and online in Atlanta.
Liana Fiallos
Liana’s journey with yoga began at the age of 12, guided by the pages of a Yoga for Kids book she found at her school book fair. Her passion for movement, nurtured by years of dance, found a new expression when she started taking yoga classes at her college’s local rec center suggested by her rheumatologist. Here, she began to delve deeper into the profound connection between mind and body. Facing the challenges of a disability linked to stress, Liana embraced yoga as a sanctuary of peace and relief.
Years later, when she moved to Atlanta, Liana’s dedication to her practice led her to complete a 200-hour certification at Peachtree Yoga Center’s 43rd teacher training. This experience sparked a consistent meditation practice, anchoring her commitment to growth and seeking. She holds additional certifications in Prenatal Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga, and Reiki Energy Healing. She further deepens her practice by attending meditation retreats each year, ensuring she remains centered and connected as a yogi.
Liana finds immense joy in guiding others mentally, physically, and energetically on their yoga journeys. She encourages her students to explore their bodies, to observe the shifts that occur before, during, and after, and to carry the balance and alignment they find on the mat into their daily lives. A lifelong learner and passionate teacher, Liana integrates philosophical wisdom into her classes, making them both restorative and engaging.
Her classes promise to leave you feeling refreshed, gently challenged, and profoundly connected to yourself.