Westside Yoga Studio Teacher Bios

By sincere dedication to their own practices, these teachers have developed a broad range of teaching styles, and are all trained to work with the varying needs of students. At the studio you will be taking classes directed toward self-discovery, with a deeper aim of self-realization. Every member of our staff is committed to helping you find the yoga that works for you. The studio supports the pursuits of students at all levels, so whether your legs are behind your head or you haven't seen your toes in years, please come visit us soon!

Eddie Modestini

Eddie Modestini is known as a teacher's teacher. He has been practicing and teaching yoga since 1983. Initially, he was certified in Iyengar yoga, at a time when the certification was difficult and elusive. He spent many years studying with Pattabhi Jois and eventually received the blessing to teach Ashtanga yoga. He is well versed in both systems with an eye for detail that translates to a profound ability in reading students' bodies.
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Nicki Doane

Nicki Doane had a wanderlust that led her to India in 1991 to study yoga. She went to Mysore to meet Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and immediately realized she had found her teacher. Nicki started teaching in 1992. She cites Pattabhi Jois, along with Eddie Modestini, Gabriella Giubilaro, and Tim Miller among her most influential teachers. She is an authorized teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. 
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Mirka Kraftsow

Mirka Scalco Kraftsow is a health practicioner and educator. In addition to her role as Co-Director of AVI and Co-Teacher of the AVI Yoga Teacher TrainingProgram, Mirka has been a yoga teacher in the Viniyoga ™ methodology since 1981 and a Yoga Therapist since 1988. Born and raised in Italy, Mirka traveled and studied different modalities of dance, movement, psychology and meditation in India, Europe and the United States. Over the years Mirka has helped hundreds of individuals develop and maintain a personal practice and manage challenging personal and therapeutic conditions.
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John Smith

John Smith began his yoga journey over 20 years ago, and maintains the traditional method of Ashtanga Yoga. He travels frequently to Mysore, India to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy. He is one of only a handful of practitioners in the world who has been certified by Pattabhi Jois and The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore.
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Leigha Nicole

Leigha Nicole has been teaching yoga for 25 years and taught at Yoga Works in Santa Monica, California from its inception in 1987. Her extensive and thorough knowledge of anatomy stems from a bodywork practice that spans two decades. She has been traveling to Mysore, India for the past 18 years to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and was authorized to teach by him in 1996. Tim Miller is her main teacher in the West.
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Erick Thuss

Erick Thuss started practicing yoga in 1996 with Gayna Uransky in the Iyengar tradition. He went on to study Ashtanga Yoga with John Smith, and maintained a personal practice rooted in both traditions. Through the practice, Erick has witnessed the vast healing capacity of yoga, and the radical depth that yoga awakens in people. This has become the fuel for his current practice, which is growing and changing under the mentoring of Eddie Modestini, Nicki Doane, and John Smith, all of whom Erick thankfully acknowledges for the backbone of his yoga education. Read more about Erick Thuss 

 

Collin Thuss

Collin Thuss came to yoga when he was 25. He started studying Maya Yoga with Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane, and immediately refocused his life in the direction of yoga. He continues his study with them, as well as Ashtanga Yoga senior teacher John Smith. Read more about Collin Thuss

 

 

Ginny Robinson

Ginny Robinson began practicing yoga at Bikram Yoga in Atlanta, Georgia. With gratitude, Ginny has experienced the transformative effects of yoga on the body and mind. She studied Power Vinyasa Yoga under Baron Baptiste who teaches a style that is both rigorous and accessible. Through her current study of Maya Yoga under Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane, she has discovered a deeper awareness of the body and of the practice. Inspired by her teachers and peers at Westside Yoga Studio, she offers students a space to welcome love, integrity and peace into their lives.
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Lorien Ondre

Over the last 12 years Lorien has been privileged to study yoga with many amazing teachers around the world. She completed her first teacher training with Baba Hari Dass at the Mount Madonna Center in 2001, and in the last 6 years completed 1,000 hours of teacher training in levels 1-5 Maya Yoga intensives with Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane in Maui. She draws inspiration from time spent studying Ashtanga yoga with Sri K Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India, and currently continues to study with senior Iyengar teachers Patricia Walden and Manouso Manos.
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