OUR teachers

co-founder

C-IAYT, E-RYT® 500, YACEP®

Cathy first took an interest in yoga in the 1980’s while watching Lilias Folan’s yoga program on PBS.  Her curiosity grew as she learned more about yoga and meditation through reading and home practice.  In the 1990’s, Cathy studied several Hatha yoga traditions including Ashtanga, Kundalini and Anusara Yoga.  She began teacher trainings in 2003 and has been fortunate to study and train with many teachers across the country.

More recently, Cathy has completed a 1000-hour IAYT Accredited Yoga Therapy Certification Program through Functional Synergy, Inc.  She works with students in both group and private sessions to help them reduce pain, manage stress, and find ease in their mind and body.  

Cathy is known for her steady, warm & easeful presence that creates a relaxing and centering atmosphere in her classes.  She strives to offer these gifted teachings from her heart and is eternally grateful for all her inspiring teachers and students.

co-founder

E-RYT® 500, YACEP®

Amy Jo has been exploring yoga and meditation since 1998, and teaching since 2003.  Shortly after moving to Seattle in 1999, she decided to check out the yoga studio just down the block from her apartment. There she discovered a vibrant, diverse, welcoming community at Seattle Yoga Arts, and a grounded teacher & mentor in Denise Benitez. In 2004, Amy made the leap to teaching yoga full-time. Over the years, she has been fortunate to study and train extensively with many teachers all over the country, and she is grateful for the wisdom and inspiration they have shared. 

In April 2016, Amy Jo completed an additional RYT-500 certification in Mindful Yoga & Meditation, an integration of the practices of yoga asana, mindfulness, and meditation, with her teachers Anne Cushman, Janice Gates, and Jill Satterfield.

Amy believes that a mindful yoga & meditation practice is an opportunity to cultivate a kind and compassionate presence and to wake up to more moments of our lives, both on & off the mat.  Teaching with warmth, enthusiasm, and humor, she strives to create a community atmosphere in her classes, where students feel both supported and playfully challenged.  As a teacher, she aims to help students learn how to tap into their own capacity for curiosity, caring awareness, ease, and joy.

RYT® 200

Jennifer has always been interested in dance and other forms of movement, and yoga originally appealed to her as a dancer. She started practicing yoga seriously over fifteen years ago while in graduate school. After having two children, she realized that she needed yoga more than ever to keep her physically fit, mentally grounded and emotionally calm.

Jennifer has studied with a variety of teachers with different styles and philosophies. In 2009 she completed her teacher training in Anusara with Vishali Varga. She went on to study yoga therapeutics with both Vishali Varga and Todd Norian, movement options with Cecily Milne, and pain science with Kathryn Bruni-Young.

Her relationship with her practice changed after being diagnosed with an eating disorder in her mid-40s. During her recovery, yoga helped her reconnect with her body, to be kind to herself, and to relearn how to trust her own internal cues. Now more than ever, she looks at yoga as a process rather than a destination, and she continues to explore her practice both on and off the mat. Her current passions include incorporating strength work into her yoga practice, exploring different types of movement and various ways of being in poses, and enjoying both stillness and silence.

Jennifer's enthusiasm for yoga shines through in her classes. She’s thrilled to be a part of the Bodhi Tree family. She passionately believes in the resilience of the human body, and she loves sharing her practice with students of all ages, sizes, and abilities. Her favorite part of teaching online is seeing her students incorporating their yoga practice into their own lives and spaces—and seeing their pets join them on the mat.

In addition to yoga, Jennifer is a science fiction and fantasy writer, and her yoga practice helps unkink her after hours spent at the computer. She loves cooking and baking, reading anything she can get her hands on, and growing both flowers and vegetables in her backyard garden. She also occasionally practices yoga with her children, who love to fall down during tree pose, and with her Siamese cat, who just loves getting in the way.