A Note about the Pictures

If you are new to yoga, DON'T PANIC. You will not be doing the poses in these pictures! Yoga is about working at your own pace, doing what's right for your body, and playfully exploring your own edges of possibility.

I love meeting people where they are, no matter what fitness level or physical ability, and helping them experience the delight of working at their own edge.

But beware: when you align with nature, your limits keeps explanding, and you might just find yourself in one of these poses one day...

About Jessica

I am a Certified Anusara Yoga instructor, and I teach classes and privates in Los Angeles and South Pasadena.

I am also a Certified Personal Trainer, and in 2004 I completed coursework for my MS in Exercise Science, with a focus in Rehabilitation Exercise.

I am now finishing my masters thesis at Kaiser Permanente Sunset, where I designed a program combining group prenatal medical visits with yoga. I currently run the program, which is popular with medical staff and patients alike, and is now expanding to other facilities in Southern California.

I have always enjoyed creative endeavors (my cousin says growing up I always wanted to "make something"), and after graduating from Dartmouth College I worked in independent film for 10 years. As much as I enjoyed being on the set, I had chronic neck pain and found myself looking forward to the times between projects when I could get back to yoga. I fell in love with the simple art of moving with my breath, and always left the studio walking a little taller and lighter.

After years of exploring different forms of yoga, I set out to learn more about what makes yoga work so well on so many levels (and what makes it not effective when it isn't).

I studied cadavers and biomechanics in UCLA's Health Fitness Certification program, and then went on to get my masters at Cal State LA in Kinesiology, but even working in a rehab clinic, it was Anusara yoga that gave me the tools to help people find the mental, physical and heartfelt shifts away from suffering toward feeling good.

While the principles are universal and apply to everyone - young and old, tight and flexible, physical limitations or none- I find that these principles are also a guide to the highest, most individual creative expression in each practitioner, both on and off the mat. Each time we make something of ourselves by aligning with our true nature, we experience and offer out more of our unique beauty within.

For more info, please check out my prenatal website, www.prenatalkula.com, and my wellness and healing group, www.shantaya.com.

To read a Teacher Profile about Jessica in LA Yoga Magazine, click here.

Jessica has been a gift in the life my husband and myself. As my husband continues to recover from a paralyzing injury, he is challenged with balance and by limited use of his upper left side. Doing yoga seemed a ridiculous undertaking, but Jessica believed he could experience yoga, and it would be helpful. Working with her he discovered new possibilities for himself, and found capacities that he did not know he had. These discoveries translated into more confidence and balance. Her skill, insight and patience are all part of what make her so excellent, but most of all Jessica believes in yoga and she believes in those she teaches.

Jessica has given me a new relationship with yoga. I've learned how proper alignment changes everything. These principles shifted my whole perspective on yoga, mentally and physical. Jessica has a remarkable way of meeting her clients where they are and helping them grow from there. Her patience and encouragement helped me find my own way in yoga. Today I have a yoga practice that I can rely on.

In Jessica we did not find a instructor, we found a teacher.
- Claire Ricci

I take private yoga instruction from Jessica and couldn’t be happier with the experience. Not only is she knowledgeable, she's highly intuitive which makes working with her so much fun. Every lesson is different and is tailored to my needs that day.

If you have some experience with yoga, you’ll appreciate her skill and ability to adapt your practice to you; if you have no experience with yoga — search no more — she is an amazing instructor.
- Lynn S., PhD

I've taken yoga classes with Jessica for 11 months and it's been a profound honor for me. I'm the type of guy who loathes to be instructed, and yet Jessica is able to facilitate this safe, accepting, and inviting space. I describe her approach as playful, genuine, delicate, creative, fun, and awesome in every sense of the word.
- Brooks Elms, Producer, Evolution Films

I have many pains with my joints especially in my hips and knees. Jessica helped me with the best ways to accomodate my disabilities. It's amazing how I felt after each class as if I had a massage. I tend to hold my stress in my shoulders and when I was going to her class regularly for three months my shoulders did not ache once. She is an amazing instructor... you feel completely free to be yourself.
- Ramona Neal, LA Sheriff's Dept.

Thank you for being you. Your kindness and patience (plus the fact that you didn't laugh at us) made my first attempt at yoga a very pleasant experience.
- David A.

Thank you for such a great yoga experience! I think I am going to pick it up and keep doin it! This yoga is cool.
- Cydney

Thank you for the yoga that started my day on such a high note. You absolutely radiate positive things; an open heart, love and trust.
- Annie

I am taking this class for fun and to release my stress, and I find this class extremely helpful.
- Charles A.

I've taken many other yoga classes before and this is one of the best I've had!
- Danielle L.

Jessica is a high-spirited, positive person, which is a wonderful type of instructor to have for this class. She's always willing to help and readily available to all students. This is one of the best classes I've taken at this university - and it has a lot to do with the teacher.
- Rorbert S.

Thank you for a wonderful experience in yoga. I really learned a lot not only about strengthening my muscles, but also about my inner body which I now consider to be the most important.
- Laura C.