Our Wonderful Instructors
Ruth Graupner, Founder
(Anusara, Power Yoga, ABC Hot Yoga, Hummingbird HIIT, Restorative, Vinyasa Flow)
Ruth and her husband, Fred, are blessed to be raising their five children in the majestic, Teton Valley. Ruth grew up in Teton Valley, and after living in Australia and New Zealand, and traveling through India, she discovered the joy and unlimited benefits of yoga. Ruth has spent over 25 years in the studies of health, fitness, nutrition, body building, swimming and works as a health/fitness coach.
Ruth earned her 200 hr Yoga Teaching Certificate with Sundari at Yoga Off Little in 2015. She is now a registered Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) and holds a 200 E-RYT certificate (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance. Ruth is also a certified ambassador for Roots Tribe Yoga and her local Family Safety Network. She is an affiliate of Yoga Outlet and Joy Organics – Premium Grade CBD. Ruth has taught well over 3,000 hours training individuals towards a healthier lifestyle.
Now going on five years, she has been volunteering in the public schools, bringing her love of yoga to grades pre-K – High School. Ruth recently received a grant, offering income for her volunteer hours in the schools. She enjoys teaching Vinyasa Flow, Hatha Yoga, Restorative, Hot Yoga, Power Yoga for Athletes, Anusara Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, and Hummingbird HIIT.
Ruth teaches with a dedication to alignment, a compassionate heart, overflowing exuberance, and the desire to empower others to step into their highest potential with grace. Her own practice has become her backbone through discovering the joy and art of teaching yoga combining enthusiasm for life, and the nourishment of the breath for beginners, athletes, elderly, pre-natal, mommy/baby, and kids of all ages. Ruth is a lover/seeker of beauty, life, art, yoga, music, and fitness. Always seeking to make a positive difference in the world around her. Dynamic, always hopeful, looking at life as a never ending adventure!
Bria Gillespie (Hot Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Hatha)
Bria is a positive, uplifting, delightful woman! A fantastic addition to the Hummingbird Yoga staff. She completed her 200 hour YTT in Missoula Montana in 2017, with Sarva Rasa Yoga, and has been interning with them since then. As part of her internship, Bria has acted as an assistant educator and mentor to teacher trainees at two 200hr trainings where she taught classes as well as helped trainees build confidence while teaching, refine their cues, conduct pose studies, and understand anatomy as it pertains to yoga. Bria recently completed her 500hr YTT in Costa Rica, in 2019.
Bria’s yoga training is primarily in alignment based Vinyasa and Hatha yoga with major emphasis placed on anatomically correct cueing, safe sequencing and yogic philosophy. Academically, Bria has a strong background in anatomy and physiology, with a love of incorporating aspects of that into her yoga classes. Come enjoy a class with Bria as her love for life fill the classroom.
Christine Mock (Heated Vinyasa Flow)
Christine is a yoga teacher, herbalist and outdoor enthusiast, but first and foremost she is a student. The RYT 200 hails from the High Plains of Laramie, Wyoming and was certified in 2014 at Hot Power Yoga there. Christine recently completed her 500hr YTT in Costa Rica, in 2019.Since, she was taught hundreds of hours of yoga in three states. Passionately exhilarated by nature, music, art and wellness, she draws insight from all facets of life into her classes. Coupled with a reverent focus on body awareness, intelligent movement and a generous dose of compassion, Christine uses inspired self expression to make a variety of yoga styles accessible, engaging and fun.
“To me, yoga is the practice of introducing yourself to your true self. Sometimes that practice requires effort, and sometimes it calls for ease. Yoga is befriending the synergy between dark and light, calm and chaos, suffering and peace. It’s practicing the art of navigating with grace the waves of life, on and off the mat.” Using this philosophy, Christine fosters embodied power and grounded confidence through breath, asana and meditation. Curious for just about every type of yoga, she has gone on to teach hundreds of hours in a wide variety of classes constructed on our innate ability for self-healing, growth and transformation.
Leah Ronnow, (Pre/Post Natal Yoga, Mommy/Baby Yoga, Forrest Yoga, Women’s Support Group)
Originally from Utah, Leah was raised adventuring in the Wasatch mountains.
She began her journey with yoga 17 years ago as a means to cross-train for an already active lifestyle. Initially drawn to the physical practice of yoga, it was the spiritual and emotional aspect of the practice that changed her life.
After a rough battle in her twenties with her own mental health, she used yoga to claim her strength and her health. She wanted to give back to others what had touched her life, so she began studying under her closest teacher D’ana Baptiste. She began teaching group classes in Salt Lake City and Alta, Utah shortly after completing her first 200 hour teacher training. She then continued her studies with D’ana completing a 500 hour yoga therapy course. She began teaching private yoga as a certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists. A few years ago she completed an advanced Forrest teacher training under Ana Forrest and now also teaches Forrest inspired yoga.
Devin Dwyer, (HOT 90)
Devin has been practicing the Bikram sequence since she was 12 years old. The 26×2 sequence has helped her with injury, endurance, spirituality, strength and much more. Devin finds this practice to be both challenging and rewarding. In 2015, she became a certified Pilates instructor and has been teaching reformer pilates classes in Victor since November 2015. In May 2019, she completed her 200hr YTT 26×2 training at Inversion Yoga in Jackson, WY. Devin is looking forward to bringing Hot90 to Teton Valley. Hot90 will be held throughout the summer on Mondays, 8:00-9:30 a.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00-9:30 a.m. Devin also plans to add the Hot90 on Wednesdays, starting Fall, 2019.
Brandi VanSeters, (Mat Work Pilates)
Tired of the hustle of Salt Lake, Brandi and her husband moved to Teton Valley to enjoy all that it has to offer. What started as a summer of, “Let’s see how it goes?” Has turned into a love of a valley that has so much to offer. When she is not massaging or playing with Pilates you can find her in the mountains, on a river, or mountain biking.
Having spent the last 20 years working in the massage therapy field. She is constantly amazed at what the body can do. That amazement has evolved into not just massage but a love of movement and health. She has been practicing Pilates for over 5 years and recognized how important movement is to keep people young and healthy. Certified in mat and stability chair Pilates, she is currently working on becoming a Stott Certified Instructor.
Jen Werlin, Vinyasa/Hatha
Jen is an experienced 200-hour certified yoga instructor and has taught alignment-based Vinyasa and Hatha private and group yoga classes to students of all ages in Jackson, WY and in Teton Valley, ID since 2009. A student of yoga since 2003, her yoga background is influenced from the Iyengar and Anusara yoga traditions, thirteen years of dance training, as well as her vocation as an educator with the University of Idaho. Jen graduated from the Shambhava School of Yoga’s RYT 200-hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Program (a Yoga Alliance® Registered Yoga School) in Colorado in October 2009. She also completed an additional 160 hours of CEU’s as part of an Anusara Teaching Training program with RYT-500 teacher trainers Cate Stillman, Neesha Zollinger, and Bridget Lyons. A true believer in continued education, Jen regularly studies with advanced yoga teachers and has taken workshops with teachers such as Rodney Yee, Noah Mazé, Desirée Rumbaugh, and Shiva Rea.
Miranda Jacobsen (Hot fusion, post powder hot yoga, teaching in the winter months)
Miranda has spent 20 years studying all different types of yoga when she is not skiing, biking, surfing… you get the idea. In Park City, Utah, she first found Anusara and fell in love with the alignment principles. Miranda got to study with John Friend and many of his colleagues who would frequent the Shop yoga studio. She then studied with and helped her favorite local teacher start a studio that is still welcoming students and workshops ten years later. She did her preliminary Anusara Teacher Training in Park City and finished with Yoga Mitra Vinyasa Yoga in Costa Rica and Hermosa Beach, California.
In 2007 Miranda and her husband, Brooks, decided to move to their little house on the beach in Costa Rica. To help support their dream, Miranda studied body work and began doing massage and teaching yoga at the yoga retreat center next door, Tierra de Milagros. One of the many benefits of the job was studying with yogis and body workers from all over the world. From Vinyasa Flow to Anusara, Ashtanga, Power Yoga, Bahkti Yoga and more— the yoga abundance arrived in a new form every week!
After falling in love with the Teton Valley, Miranda moved here with Brooks and their two boys in 2017. When she’s not playing outside she loves to share the joy of yoga!
McKenzie Genin (Instructor, Hatha Yoga)
McKenzie’s life intention is to expound and expand a more loving, interconnected and empathetic worldview through embracing the lessons she has learned in her yogic journey. McKenzie is a free spirit, traveller, and lover of extreme sports and adventure. Her travels led her to India in 2015 to study hatha yoga and meditation at Rishikesh Yog Peeth. During her time in India, she practiced and lived yoga 24/7 for two months. She discovered a level of well-being within herself that she had never experienced before. Peeling off layers of ego and becoming more aware of her authentic self led her to continue studying and teaching yoga with dedication in America.
Over the last several years, McKenzie also experienced a growing struggle with feelings of depression and anxiety. As she looked for a treatment for these growing emotions, she noticed that when she was regularly practicing yoga and spending time in nature her symptoms of mental illness would subside. This observation has furthered her passion for the practice and desire to spread the joys of yoga to others facing similar struggles.
McKenzie currently studies literature produced by the Bihar School of Yoga and embraces the interconnectedness of all yogic aspects. Having personally experienced her potential vitality and fearlessness through the earnest practice of yoga, she is happy to now put her energy towards sharing the practice, and facilitating and co-leading adventure yoga retreats for others – in the hopes they can find a similar boundless potential.
McKenzie’s long term dream is to direct her energy into a yoga and adventure wellness center in the mountains.
Angie LaRosa (Substitute, Power Yoga)
Angie found yoga a personal introspection, a fluid way to connect the body, soul and mind as one. Everyone has the ability to reflect light and love to being open to new experiences. Yoga is the vehicle to personally connect on and off the mat. Yoga is not only an amazing physical benefit, she found yoga moving her into a deeper discovery of mind and spirit through meditation and breathing. After moving to Vail in 2004, she knew becoming an instructor was in her path.She received her yoga instructor certification from Yandara Yoga Institute in Todas Santos, Mexico; where she formally studied under Shane Perkins and Genevieve Laquerre. Her additional inspiration comes from training with Seane Corn, Baron Baptiste and Bryan Kest.
While Angela enjoys high energy, flow classes that challenge the dynamics of the body, she always encourages students to listens to their intuitions, tap into their sensations and cultivate an awareness of what their bodies need. She thinks yoga is the most beneficial thing she can do as a mountain enthusiast to keep her mind and body balanced year round. She looks forward to living every moment to the fullest and challenging her students, her teaching, and her practice every day. Yoga is a lifelong journey we are on together!
Connie Tyler (Substitute Instructor, and Yoga Basics)
E-RYT, Cerified Ayurveda Wellness Counselor
We are thrilled to have Connie on our sub list and look forward to more of her offerings at our studio in the future. Connie has been a student of yoga for over 30 years taking classes, workshops, and seminars from many teachers including Saul David Raye, Shiva Rae, David Belz, John Friend, Baron Baptiste, Aadil Palkhivala, Coral Brown, and Sean Corn. After studying Hatha yoga with Mateo Mandani of Montreal and Molakai, she received her yoga teaching certification (CYT) in Hatha yoga in 2005 and began teaching yoga privately and at studios in Salt Lake City and Kauai. Connie is a 200-RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance and maintains this status through continuing education hours annually in specific area concentration including senior/gentle/chair yoga with Sherry Zak Morris of Vista, Ca. She has attended and worked at most of the Yoga Journal Live conferences.
Although Connie began practicing yoga to aid in flexibility required for her horseback riding hobby, her study led her to a deeper connection of mind/body/spirit and investigation into the alternative therapies of Herbology, Bach Flower Essence, Lymphatic drainage, Meditation, Chakra Balancing and energy work. While living on Kauai, she studied the science of Ayurveda under the direction of Dr. Thomas R. Yarema, MD, LAC and Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar, BAMS, MD (Ayurveda) at the Aloha Ayurveda Academy of Kauai (now Kerala Ayurveda Academy) receiving her Diploma of Ayurveda Sciences in 2007. Her studies also include learning Transcendental Meditation and Ayurveda cooking with Ayurvedic chef Johnny Brannigan. Connie credits her recovery from a near-fatal disease to her Ayurvedic lifestyle.
As Vice President of Marketing for Hugger Mugger Yoga located in Salt Lake City, Utah, Connie developed yoga products and an understanding of yoga-specific businesses and services. Her approach to teaching yoga incorporates this education and life experience to bring a greater understanding, gratitude and love to the body that does so much for us daily. Closely linked with Ayurveda, Hatha yoga is one of its main healing modalities. While Hatha yoga implies rigorous discipline, the physical asana is not a means to an end but rather a journey toward self realization and sense awareness. Her teaching is a combination of traditional Western yoga which focuses primarily on the body and Eastern yoga which emphasizes devotion, purification, and meditation. We’ll move to music together from these powerful methods of internal cleansing while honoring our own life circumstances. Connie looks forward to leading you to your next level.
Katie Woodward (MOTR/L, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Kids Yoga Instructor)
Katie has been working to improve the quality of life of children for the past ten years. In 2014 she graduated with her Masters in Occupational Therapy, and was working in Dallas, TX at the time. Katie found her heart longing to move back to the Mountains. She was going to begin looking for a job back in Colorado, but an offer in Idaho fell into her lap before she even started to search. Being familiar with the area because of her life-long love of fly-fishing, Katie relocated to Idaho and has been here for three years now. Teton Valley is now her home, and she feels dedicated to improving the quality of life and mental health of the wonderful people in the community that she loves.
Katie works as a pediatric Occupational Therapist for Saint John’s Medical Center, as well as seeing home health patients. She also works as a pediatric Occupational Therapist here in the Teton School District. She has found that in her practice, she often uses yoga and mindfulness techniques to teach children how to self-regulate in order to more successfully engage in their environments and their lives. Katie has seen children of all abilities and backgrounds benefit from yoga and mindfulness practices. She is excited to offer a playful Kid’s Yoga Class in order to share the benefits of yoga and mindfulness practices with more children in our community.
Carolyn caputo, Integrative Energy Intuitive, Emotional Mastery Coach & Reiki Master. guided meditation.
After working as a professional Art Director in New York & New Jersey for major corporations Carolyn quit her job and moved to this valley almost 19 years ago in search for a deeper connection with self & mother nature. She’s now an adventure junkie and considers herself a bit of a renegade woo woo chick with an analytical mind.
Her specialty – Moving people out of stagnation, anxiety or feeling unfulfilled into a more inspired and fearless life by showing you how to utilize the power of your mind /body connection so you can tap into your intuition, heal your body both physically and emotionally and live a life you’re psyched to wake up for. Within her practice, she makes sure you are armed with practical guidance infused with cosmic wisdom.
She’s been Professionally studying different modalities of Energy Medicine & Holistic Health for over a decade but as been an emotional intuitive for as long as she can remember. Carolyn is an Integrative Energy Intuitive, Emotional Mastery Coach & Motivational Speaker. She’s had the pleasure of working with women on six of the seven continents and is pumped to be at Hummingbird Yoga teaching mindfulness, breath work & meditation.
Taryn Weil (Holistic Life Coach, Workshops, and Co-Host for Full Moon Circles)
Taryn has been dedicated to holistic health, personal development, and women’s empowerment for over a decade. After serving as a health educator with the Peace Corps in 2008 in Morocco, she moved to the beach where she discovered the powerful therapeutic benefits of nature. There, she was inspired to pursue a career in health care that would allow her to incorporate the natural environment. In 2017, she graduated with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy and went on to complete an Outdoor Educator Course with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Following the course, she rented a car to explore Yellowstone and stumbled upon Teton Valley, where she found a job and a place to live in less than 48 hours (ask her about how she manifested that!)
She completed her 200 hr yoga teacher training in August of 2018 with Selena Garefino Yoga. Her yoga training is primarily in alignment based Vinyasa and Hatha yoga. Currently, she co-facilitates the new and full moon circles on a monthly basis at Hummingbird yoga.
In addition to working part-time with children at a pediatric occupational therapy clinic here in Teton Valley, she is the founder of True Nature Occupational Therapy LLC, where she provides holistic life coaching services to help women return to their true nature and manifest the life of their dreams. She is especially passionate about manifesting, vision boards, and radical self-love. Keep your eye out for a body positive yoga offering this spring!
Emily Bedell (Hot Yoga, Restorative, Flow, Beginner)
Emily began her personal yoga practice 16 years ago as a competitive dancer in high school. She was immediately drawn to the exploration of physical movement. She found yoga to be just like dancing. In 2007, Emily moved to Jackson to teach at a special needs school where she met her husband, Nick. In 2014, they married in front of Mormon Row in Grand Teton Park. They decided to call the Tetons their home and moved to Victor. Shortly after moving, she found her dream job as a kindergarten teacher. Emily’s yoga practice deepened throughout the years, as did her desire to learn more. She studied at the Teton Yoga Shala in Wilson, and received her 200 hour certificate in Ashtanga. She enjoys sharing yoga and since has started a free yoga program for teachers in the school district. Being a kindergarten teacher and having studied yoga for more than a decade led her to begin her children’s yoga certification in the spring of 2017. Emily teaches family yoga and children’s yoga, ages crawling – teens, as well as adults. Her children’s yoga program includes the fundamentals of yoga (breath, poses, meditation, and relaxation) with original music and games that are developmentally appropriate. On her down time, Emily likes to practice yoga, ski, cross-country ski, mountain bike, paddle board, and read. Come enjoy a class each with with the beauty, and energy that Emily has to offer.