All our teachers are extensively trained and are Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers (CIYT). Learn more about them below (listed alphabetically by last name.)
ANN-MARIE BREGE
Level 1, CIYT
Ann-Marie began her yoga studies in 1989 when she was a student in Paris. After working with refugees in Thailand and Cambodia, she began her studies of Iyengar yoga at the Silent Dance Center in 1993. Continuing her Iyengar studies in New York from 1997 through 2004, she also studied frequently in France with Faeq Biria. Ann-Marie was Iyengar Certified in 2005. She also has a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan and a post graduate degree from the Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris and is fluent in French and Italian.
LAURIE FREED
Level 2, CIYT
Laurie is a Level 2 Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher. She studied Iyengar Yoga first from 1988 - 1994. In 1994, she began studying and teaching Vinyasa and Ashthanga Yoga, obtaining certification through the Himalayan Institute. She returned to Iyengar yoga in 2003, and continues to study with local and national Senior teachers. She spent 2 months in India, and attended 5 National conventions studying with the Iyengar family. Laurie believes that Iyengar yoga is the best way to share yoga with others and to deepen her own practice.
CATHERINE HAGE
Level 1, CIYT
Catherine Hage is a dedicated practitioner of Iyengar Yoga and started her practice in San Francisco in 1993. She has been part of the IYSDC ‘ohana since 1995 and became a certified teacher in 2005. She is a licensed Clinical Social Worker offering mental health therapy and a community dharma leader in the Vipassana Buddhist tradition. As a survivor of abuse/molestation/incest, Catherine has deep and abiding gratitude for Iyengar Yoga for its consistency in facilitating emerging from passages of the dark night of the soul, to states of peace, acceptance, meaning, and joy. She shares a happy home in Hawai’i with her husband.
CHRISTINE HAVENER
Level 3, CIYT
Chris has practiced Iyengar Yoga since 1989 and has taught in Honolulu since 1996. She began her studies with Patricia Walden in Boston and continues to study regularly with Lois Steinberg. Part of Chris’ continuing education is studying with the Iyengar family and she has been returning to RIMYI in Pune, India since 2000. She is also a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). Chris manages to temper her serious devotion and dedication to the study of yoga with doses of insightful humor. Her clear, focused teaching communicates to and inspires her students to continue on the path of Yoga.
GWI-SEOK HONG
Level 3, CIYT
Gwi-Seok began her study of yoga in 1996 and began teaching in 2001. She’s been mentored by Lois Steinberg, Laurie Blakeney, and graciously taught by many other Senior Teachers. She studies regularly at RIMYI as a practice of devotion, as well as to stay current with the dynamic progression of Iyengar Yoga from the motherland. Also a writer and dancer, students have described Gwi-Seok’s teaching as rigorous, insightful, creative, and poetic. She teaches classical Iyengar Yoga as an ever-evolving personal practice for cultural transformation.
JILL JOHNSON
Jill Johnson is the Program Coordinator of our new Teen Yoga Program. Jill is a dedicated long-time student at IYSDC and is mentoring with Chris Havener to become a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher.
Jill is a Visual Arts Program Director and Teacher in the High School at Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, working with youth since 2004.
Jill developed a yoga club and summer teen yoga program at Mid-Pacific Institute in 2021. As a teacher, Jill understands the varying challenges that teens are facing now. Her program nurtures and supports a student’s well-being in this unique time of life.
Jill holds a Master of Arts of Art Education (MAAE) from the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from Miami University of Oxford, Ohio.
SANDI JORDAN
Level 3, CIYT
Sandi is a Level 3 Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher. She has taught at IYSDC since 1977. Sandi is the author of two books, Yoga with a Partner and Yoga for Pregnancy. She studied with BKS Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar 5 times in India and at 8 national conventions. Sandi is a teacher certification assessor for the National Association (IYNAUS). She enjoys introducing yoga to beginners and guiding continuing students deeper into the "hows" and "whys" of yoga. Sandi has a Masters of Education in Counseling, many years of experience as a Hawaii School Counselor, and is currently an active mediator with the Mediation Center of the Pacific.
GLENN KAWANA
Level 3, CIYT
Glenn has taught at IYSDC since 1977 and is a Level 3 Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher. He has studied directly with the Iyengar family since 1981, on numerous trips to India and during their many visits to the U.S. Glenn is a graduate of the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco, a licensed massage therapist and has a BA in the Psychology & Physiology of Exercise. He has been an Iyengar teacher certification assessor for the National Association (IYNAUS) since 2004.
“I love the perspective and resilience that yoga affords us. Through all the twists and turns of each day and decade, we find balance and a practical way to be content in each moment.”
DEB LAU
Level 1, CIYT
Deb has been studying Iyengar Yoga since 2003 and teaching since 2012. She is grateful to all of her teachers for their wisdom, guidance and generosity.
