Yoga Instructors
Holiday Johnson
For 30 years, Holiday has taught yoga as a life-long process of self-discovery. Holiday's primary yoga influences include Angela Farmer, BKS Iyengar, and Thich Nhat Hanh and her teaching embraces the full range of yoga systems. She has studied and taught extensively in the United States and internationally, and is responsible for developing the first intensive teacher training class in the Portland area, setting standards here for the certification of yoga instructors. Holiday continues to offer workshops for the private and business sectors in addition to her classes and workshops.
Holiday taught yoga at Portland State University for 20 years. In 1992, she created Standing On Your Own Two Feet ™, a non-profit yoga program for teens designed to develop fitness and self-esteem. Her student-focused teaching style supports responsiveness and courage from her students. "Yoga is an opportunity for us to come together and meet the finest qualities of who we are," she says.
Holiday is a mother of three daughters and a grandmother of eight beautiful grandchildren. She is an avid gardener and hiker, spending most of her weekends nurturing her organic apple orchard in Parkdale, OR. Holiday and her husband Donald love to share delicious, healthy foods and the company of others, frequently hosting dinners for friends and family both in their Parkdale and Portland homes.
Holiday is a student of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen Buddhist monk, poet, and peace activist. For more information, visit www.holidaysyogacenter.com.
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Eugene Lewins
Eugene has been teaching yoga since 1997. He studies in the Iyengar tradition with Aadil Palkhvala, a senior teacher from India, and Julie Gudmestad, a physical therapist and author on yoga anatomy. He says, "I wanted to share authentic yoga, so it was important for me to study with someone raised in the Indian tradition. But also learning from an anatomy expert enables me to fit yoga to the Western body and lifestyle."
Eugene grew up in England and moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1990 to pursue his passion for outdoor adventures. He is a climbing instructor and leads climbing and backpacking excursions for the local Mazamas mountaineering organization. Eugene met his wife, Sarah, while climbing Mt. Hood. Their two children, Emma and Lloyd, have each climbed local peaks to qualify as Mazama mountaineers. Eugene also has a "day job" in corporate America as a project leader for financial systems. For more information, visit www.yogawitheugene.com.
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Sharon Hanson
Sharon has been a dedicated yogini since 1991 and has been teaching for 10 years. Her background includes teacher certification from the International Sivananda Yoga Vedenta Centre, and completion of teacher training with Ana Forrest of California and world-renowned teachers Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten.
Sharon designs her classes to honor each student and the group as a whole by drawing upon her experience and knowledge of yoga, which is deeply rooted in the Raja tradition—the Eightfold Path. She skillfully choreographs her classes with postures to develop core strength, flexibility, and purification for the muscles, skeleton, and visceral body. She incorporates breath work to facilitate purification and energy and also advocates focus and intention to create discipline of the mind, leading to change and empowerment.
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Glenda Culbertson
Glenda has practiced yoga for over five years, and after graduating from chiropractic college in 2006, she completed her yoga teacher training at Yoga Vidya Gurukul Yoga University in Nashik, India.
Glenda uses yoga therapy in her chiropractic practice and also teaches Hatha yoga at Western States Chiropractic College. Her classes place emphasis on pranayama, meditation, and asanas, rather than on sun salutation. Additionally, every class concludes with Yoga Nidra, guided deep meditation. Glenda's students are drawn to the healing environment, supported by the Hatha practice she teaches. She believes her students learn through her own yoga practice, and she learns through theirs. She sees her students as a great gift, and is dedicated to teaching and to empowering people to spread the gift of yoga and love in return.
Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Glenda is trilingual and can speak Portuguese and Spanish. She was previously a collegiate runner and nationally ranked triathlete, so she has a strong background in competitive training principles and injury prevention and management. She started rock climbing more than eight years ago and has a great love of the outdoors. She believes that by connecting to nature, we can find a deeper connection to ourselves and others!
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Trudy Toliver
Trudy has enjoyed a dedicated yoga practice since 1996 and has been teaching yoga since 2005. Studies in the Iyengar tradition helped her build a strong foundation in alignment and steadiness. Through more than 400 hours of study and practice with master teachers of various lineages—including Ki McGraw, Bob Smith, Holiday Johnson, Angela Farmer, Julie Gudmestad, and SarahJoy Marsh—she settled into a Classical Hatha Yoga teaching style.
Trudy provides inspiration for her yoga students by drawing from various experiences, readings, and insights. Her students enjoy asana and pranayama, with a focus on integrating yoga into one's daily life through awareness of body, presence of mind, and openness of heart.
In 2004, she became initiated in Andean mysticism with Peruvian teacher Juan Nunez del Prado. Her practice includes rituals with a quiet mind, the movement of energy, and a deep connection with Mother Nature. When not on her mat, Trudy directs an environmental non-profit group; previously she led fundraising and human resources departments in large and small organizations. She is a native Oregonian and enjoys kayaking, biking, gardening, and hiking with her partner and their dog.
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