Friday, June 20, 2014

Meet Your Mentors: Jeni Oh, E-RYT

With our 300hr YogaWorks Professional Program right around the corner, we want to take the time to introduce you to our mentors. To learn more about our program please visit our website. The training begins in September and is a life changing experience.The next early bird deadline to save on tuition is on August 1st and our next info session is July 27th at 1pm.

Mom of two kids under two and busy helping students get into amazing colleges across the US, I have always been an educator since childhood even when I used to play make believe school with my siblings. So, naturally I found passion in teaching others to teach one of my favorite things in the world: YOGA. 

For me yoga has always provided great physical challenges because I was constantly honing my postures and alignment and pushing boundaries in terms of what I thought physically possible. I found that my journey kept going and gained much more mental and emotional confidence in the process. My classes and teaching style always push people to explore their "edge" but always in a fun, never-too-serious way. I specialize in anatomy/alignment, arm balances, and flight (inversions). I'm also highly in tune with the subtleties in energy and body awareness, so if you're super interested in learning every minute and laughing in the process, I'm happy to be your mentor. 


Jeni Oh teaches at Prana throughout the week. Her schedule is:


Tuesdays 10am-11:15am Vinyasa

Wednesdays 8:30am-9:45am Vinyasa
Fridays 12pm-1:15pm Vinyasa
Sundays 8am-9:30am Vinyasa (rotating with Jeanne)

Please stop by any of her classes as our guest to get to know this fantastic teacher and ask her any questions you may have.



Thursday, June 12, 2014

Meet Your Mentors: Stacy McCarthy, E-RYT

With our 300hr YogaWorks Professional Program right around the corner, we want to take the time to introduce you to our mentors. To learn more about our program please visit our website. The training begins in September and is a life changing experience.The first early bird deadline to save on tuition is on June 15th and our next info session is July 27th at 1pm.

Finding and choosing a coach or mentor is an important mission and decision, and I have no doubt you have had several over the course of your life. It is critical to me that I live up to the standards and your expectations. We will be committing a great deal of time and attention together. As your mentor, I will take a very focused interest in YOU.

The process for me begins with a clear-sighted view of what your life’s goals are, both for your career and your personal life.

If you’re just starting out as a yoga teacher in the area, I want to share my network, connections and community with you to help you start teaching. If you’re just starting a relationship, marriage or family, and you’re facing the lifestyle adjustments that these transitions require, I am someone who is reaching the other end of this very exciting, but demanding, process. As your mentor I want to share my experience to serve as a model for reaching your most significant goals in the most important areas of your life.

Selecting a mentor is not just a matter of finding someone you like or feel comfortable identifying with. A mentor should have a genuine history of success. I’m continually amazed by the number of people who look to only superficially successful people as role models for achievement. Many times new teachers can make conspicuous mistakes of judgment in this area. I’ve seen far too many popular yoga teachers, no longer teaching. I don’t bring this up to disparage anyone’s teaching or business expertise, but simply to point out the need for great care in selecting a mentor whose success will stand the test of time.

Having been in the Health & Wellness industry since 1984, I have been the COO of a successful chain of Southern California health clubs, built what was called by Club Business Industry, “The Nations Best Group Fitness & Yoga Program”, hired & trained hundreds of yoga teachers and have maintained a full time, successful Yoga Enterprise since 1999. I am also a green juice and live foods advocate and am an investor and advisory board member of  Live Beaming, . Personally, I just celebrated 23 years of marriage, have two kids – Kylie a junior on a full ride soccer scholarship and National Champion at UCLA and Tommy a Junior basketball stand out in High School.

In my spare time, I enjoy our animals, traveling the world, and giving back to organizations I admire.
I hope your decision to mentor with me is based on my ability to achieve goals similar to your own, and have overcome some of the same obstacles you’re facing. Ideally, I hope I represent both what you want to become in a particular area of life and what you want to do. I hope I have arrived at or been to places similar to where you want to go.

I hope that by being your mentor today it will be a reflection of seeing what you intend to be. One of the most interesting aspects of selecting a mentor is the fact that one can rarely separate people’s tangible achievements from the qualities of their character. More than their bank accounts or the numbers in their classes, role models prove by the conduct of their lives that they’re worth emulating.
—Stacy McCarthy



Stacy McCarthy teaches up in North County. Her current schedule is as follows:

Bay Club Carmel Valley
12000 Carmel Country Rd, San Diego, CA 92130

Monday and Wednesday
9-10:15am Vinyasa

1st, 3rd, 5th Sunday
11:15 - 12:45pm Ashtanga 

Miracosta College Cardiff Campus
3333 Manchester Ave, Cardiff, CA 92007

Thurs
9:30 -10:45am Int/Adv Vinyasa

M, T, W, Th

11-1:15pm yoga workshop (lecture & lab)

A Few comments From Past Apprentice:
“I had the distinct privilege of being taught by the best, Stacy McCarthy. Stacy was my teacher in my Yogaworks Teacher Training. In addition, she mentored me for nine months in her Yoga School of Business program. Stacy is the essence of integrity and a gift. Thanks to her, I have created my own successful career in Yoga, Nutrition & Health”. Tammy Moretti, Find Your Sweet Spot

“Stacy McCarthy is a true visionary leader in the community who inspires students, teachers and friends through mind, body and spirit. She empowers everyone she meets to live the life of his or her dreams. She truly embodies the spirit of yoga and is an incredible role model for anyone with a passion for health and fitness.

When I made the decision to start my own yoga business, one of the first choices I made was to hire Stacy as my mentor. When I began her training program Believe in She was just an idea. Over the course of her nine month Coaching it grew into a movement.
I truly believe that the impact of her coaching, support and experience played a huge role in Believe in She growing from an idea into a company that Red Tricycle named as the Best Mom Run Business in San Diego”. Jamie Dicken


“One of the unique advantages of mentoring with Stacy is I’ve been able to travel with her on several occasions and assist her in her workshops and conferences which enabled me to broaden my yoga experience to OUTSIDE the studio and private homes and into the world of fitness, business conferences held at hotels/resorts, Lululemon settings, outdoor charity events, etc. All of these events have helped me to make yoga more accessible to all walks of life and got me questioning myself more as to how I could bring yoga to any setting”


“Assisting Stacy’s classes has helped me to hone my assisting skills to those I might have been less comfortable assisting prior to the training (eg. the elderly and overly tight). Stacy provides tips in adjustments and modifications involving anatomy and kinesiology during classes that I’ve learned to pick up for beginning practitioners. I am better able to assess the problem and work with the different ranges of motion across ages.”

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Meet Your Mentors: Shauna MacKay E-RYT



Shauna MacKay will be a mentor in our upcoming 300hr Professional Teacher Training Program. This program begins in September and our first information session is on Sunday June 1st from 1-2pm at Prana Yoga Center.

I began my yoga journey 14 years ago in an Ashtanga class, in Del Mar. It was intense and I loved it! For the first time in years, I felt freedom from my over-trained athletic body and my overused philosophical mind. 

The practice became my medicine. My postures were never “pretty” but over time my breath deepened and my heart softened. I loved yoga, yet never imagined I would ever become a yoga teacher! I simply felt I wasn’t good enough. 

My mom started practicing yoga at age 78. She experienced the heart of yoga and reminded me that yoga was a transformative practice, regardless of age, fitness level, or years of dedication. 

A couple of years later when my mom was dying of cancer, I had a vision of someone guiding her through a gentle in-bed yoga practice. Within weeks of her passing, I registered for the 6-month YogaWorks Teacher Training program. 

Less than 2 years later, I found myself at the bedside of a brave and beautiful, stage IV breast cancer patient, guiding her into a place of stillness and peace. It was a moment that I will never forget.

With a degree in Physical Education and several years working as a fitness trainer, I take an anatomical and structural approach to breaking down the practice, to make it accessible to various levels and limitations. I adore teaching seniors and working with students who have cancer and other illnesses. My Hatha class is not a gentle class rather a thoughtful, kosha-inspired vigorous event. 

When not teaching yoga, I love to pile onto the sofa with Henry and Millie, my rescue kitties, and my husband Ron to watch competitive cooking shows.  

Mentoring a yoga teacher on their journey is a privilege that I take very seriously. There is no greater relationship than one whose intention is to inspire the best in each other. 


Shauna teaches regularly at Prana Yoga Center  Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30am, Saturdays at 10:15am and Mondays at 10am. You may find our more information about Shauna on her website. 






Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Meet Shawnee Thornton Hardy: Asanas for Autism & Special Needs



Shawnee is a graduate of the 300hr Professional YogaWorks Program at Prana (class of 2012), and author or ASANAS FOR AUTISM & SPECIAL NEEDS

I received my 500-RYT through YogaWorks at Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla, under the guidance and mentorship of the wonderful Rachel Krentzman. I remember presenting my final presentation at Prana for my 500 yoga certification with the dream of bringing the benefits of yoga to children with special needs.  That was only the beginning of the manifestation of my dreams. 

Through my training and studies in yoga therapy and my experience with children with special needs I decided to infuse my two passions and teach YOGA to children with special needs.   

Since then I have worked privately with children with special needs, taught small groups, and workshops on yoga therapy and yoga for children with special needs at a major conference. 

I’m excited that this year my book ASANAS FOR AUTISM AND SPECIAL NEEDS will be published, coming out in December 2014 in the UK and other countries, and January 2015 in the US and Canada. I’m currently working on a yoga curriculum for parents, educators, yoga teachers and other professionals in the field of education to use as tools to support the unique learning styles of children with special needs.

My expertise has been in developing positive behavior programming for children with special needs so they learn to express their feelings and emotions more effectively, learn how to interact appropriately with others and be an active part of school, home and the community.  

I am also a registered yoga therapist through the IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) and have received certification in the application of  Purna Yoga therapeutics for digestive disorders, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, asthma, bronchitis and diabetes from Master Teacher Aadil Palkhivala. I work with private clients and small groups to support individuals in healing from injuries, working through anxiety and depression and increasing their overall health and well-being.    I have worked with children with special needs for 15 years.  I also have a masters in Special Education and have worked ​with a variety of disabilities including Autism, ADD/ADHD, ED (emotionally disturbed), Fragile X, Down syndrome, Prader willi and many other children with language processing deficits, sensory challenges and behavioral challenges.

Shawnee has been published on MindBodyGreen, Rebelle Society and Elephant Journal. Read more about her work on:

Asanas for Autism & Special Needs

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Home Care Assistance and Prana Yoga Center present Senior Yoga



Join Shauna Mackay every Thursday for FREE Senior Yoga at Home Care Assistance. These classes are designed to keep the students mobile, focusing on gentle movements that are safe and relaxing. We use props such as chairs, blankets, blocks and straps and practice to serve the entire body and the mind.

The location is 7521 Fay Avenue in La Jolla, CA. Class is one hour long from 10:30am-11:30am.

Trained in the alignment-based YogaWorks style of teaching (RYT-500), Shauna MacKay is also a Yoga Therapist and has completed advanced studies in Yoga for Cancer, Restorative Yoga, Meditation, Yoga for the Back and the Great Yoga Wall®.

Her most influential teachers are Judith Lasater, Nischala Joy Devi, and Brian Dorfman.

Shauna loves working individually with those facing a cancer diagnosis, chronic illnesses and the physical changes of middle age and beyond. Her yoga system is designed to ease symptoms and support individuals in living a more present and peaceful life.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Teacher Spotlight ~ Hari Das Kaur



I am a 3rd level practitioner and teacher of Sat Nam Rasayan, and a member of a very small group of global healers who are certified by Guru Dev Singh (The only living master of Sat Nam Rasayan).  I am a certified Kundalini Yoga and meditation instructor trained by Yogi Bhajan, and he is known as the master of Kundalini Yoga. I have now been practicing and teaching Kundalini Yoga and meditation for over 30 years.   

I was born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands, studied in Europe, and was trained, and practiced surgical nursing until 12 years ago. I love people and have always loved being of service.  My spiritual name Hari Das was given to me by Yogi Bhajan and it means "The Servant of God."   

When I  met Yogi Bhajan for the first time in Los Angleles in the the late 70's, I knew that he was to be  my teacher.  He told me to "study Kundalini yoga so that I would not suffer in my life."   That was a very good reason for me to make it a part of my life and study from him.  I was trained directly by Yogi Bhajan and he told me to teach Kundalini Yoga and Sat Nam Rasayan, and go out and heal as many people as I could in my lifetime.

Kundalini Yoga has given me the tools to keep me happy and healthy and stay positive....no matter what life brings.  It has given me the courage to keep up when things seem darkest and really appreciate life as such a precious gift. I feel that sharing the technology of Kundalini Yoga and Sat Nam Rasayan gives people the tools to deal with the challenges of life, and maintain their happiness.  Our birthright is to be happy.

I was blessed with three children, a daughter Andrea (Hari Dharshan), a son John who is the manager at our local El Pescador restaurant  (Sat Bachan Singh), and my youngest son William (Hari Jiwan Singh) who is a downtown lawyer.  I have two wonderful grandchildren;  Elizabeth, and Nolan (John's), and 3 great cats (Franky, Baby and Manny).

I love my life, I love my work, and I love the people in my life that make my days so rich and absolutely worthwhile.

With love, and very warm regards ~

Hari Das  (Mimi Trotter)


Hari Das at Prana
Sat Nam Rasayan Workshop, "The Healing Art of The Yogis" 
Every 4th Wednesday of every month  
Next Session: March 26, 7:15pm-9pm

Kundalini Yoga Classes
Tues and Thurs 12pm-1pm
Saturday 7am-8am 


The Self-Sensory System and the
Transition of the Piscean Age to the Aquarian Age
April 13th from 2-4pm

Friday, January 31, 2014

Winter Green Smoothie Recipe

By: Amy Jo Hearron

I have a wild, evolving love affair with words. The inventive way they arrange themselves in sentences has the ability to completely shift my perspective and open my eyes to things not yet seen before their humble display. Now I will share with you a few quotes that touch upon 2013's lessons before leaving you to enjoy the detoxifying green thing I am now calling my Winter Green Smoothie.

"If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." -Buddha
"The greatest act of courage is to be and own all that you are. Without apology. Without excuses and without any masks to cover the truth of who you truly are." -Debbie Ford
"There are better things ahead than anything we leave behind." -C.S. Lewis
"We attain freedom as we let go of whatever does not reflect our magnificence." -Alan Cohen
"Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth." -Rumi



Winter Green Smoothie
(Serves 2)
3 cups chopped kale leaves
2 pears, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
2 inch piece of fresh ginger root
2 tbs. raw coconut oil
2 tbs. raw hemp seed
1 cup water
1-2 cups of ice
1. Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender. Drink up!


Amy Jo works as a natural nutrition and allergy friendly private chef and holistic consultant. She is also available for cooking classes and demonstrations, as well as yoga retreats and workshops. For bookings and other inquiries, please contact Amy Jo at followyourownway@yahoo.com