Staff Bios

Shiva - Guru

Shiva's expertise and wide spread erudition in Vedic Sciences are acknowleded even in India and he is considered there as Brahma Rishi. He has been teaching and consulting tens of thousand of his disciples, students and clients since 1989 in different countries. His lectures gather hundreds of people.

Andrejs Gailis - Director of Shiva Centre (email)

Andrejs Gailis is interested in everything that is offered in Vedic culture. He has studied different branches of the Vedas with his teacher Shiva in Latvia and has traveled to India many times, meeting with different Yogis, saints, astrologers, Ayurveda practitioners, mystics etc. He has studied Jyotisha (Vedic astrology), Sankhya shastra (Vedic numerology), Ayurveda, Vaastu shastra (vedic houseplaning), Hasta-, Mukha- and Pad- samudrika shastra (palm, face and feet reading), Svara yoga (knowledge of breath), Nimitta shastra (knowlede of omens), Raja yoga, Tantra yoga, and other bodies of knowledge. He performs Vedic rituals such as Puja and Homa, and offers classes on Hatha yoga, Pranayama and Kalarippayatu. Andrejs has a degree in law, and has eight years of experience leading business in two countries for an international company.

Director of Operations & Studio Goddess (e-mail)

I had the pleasure of growing up in the stunning dessert of Southern Utah in a small town called Hurricane outside of Zion National Park. I was first introduced to yoga by my college roommate while studying Social Anthropology and Philosophy in Scotland at the University of St. Andrews. When I returned home from my studies I moved to Salt Lake City where I was introduced to Bikram yoga and took up a practice. I enjoyed the practice, but found it to lack something I couldn't quite put my finger on at the time. A short while later a friend told me about Shiva Centre, said nothing but amazing things and also recommended me for a part time job, which I gratefully accepted. This was three years ago, while I working full time as a Raw food chef for Omar at Living Cuisine and studying part time at Westminster. I immediately fell in love with the studio, the instructors and the students and slowly enjoyed the resurrection of my Yoga practice. I began managing the studio In October of 2008 and haven't looked back. In my free time I love to garden, create food, read, go for long walks and bike rides, travel, and love learning and growing with the things and people that surround me. ~Namaste

Jami Larson

Basics, Level 1, Open Level

Jami brings her experience as a certified yoga instructor (RYT) together with 1000+hours of massage and body therapies to assist others in a holistic and compassionate approach toward self awareness, stress reduction and the transformative power of asana practice, through the sacred truth all is one.  She focuses on Vinyasa as the natural rhythm of universe, while honoring each body's innate wisdom to create the desired changes in his and her own life. Jami celebrates yoga in all activities, from her on going studies in anatomy, asana, meditation, and pranayama, to her time communing with nature. OM SHANTI.

Brandi Allen

Brandi feels that her journey with yoga is continually beginning anew. It has been a joy for her to share her love of yoga with infants up to 70 year olds. She continues to study all aspects of yoga so that  she may bring to her students a sense of the freedom and peace that she finds in her own yoga practice. Brandi completed her studies in Elementary Education at the University of Utah in 1991. She teaches at a Montessori school and specializes in "Kids Yoga" at Flow. In addition to her regular teaching schedule, Brandi also has, with Jennifer Ellen, developed the Kids Yoga Teacher Training at Flow in hopes that more children will have the opportunity to develop the many life skills that yoga has to offer. Brandi spends most of her time enjoying her three beautiful children, loving husband and exploring the outdoors with them as often as possible.

Connie Clegg

Connie Clegg Day, 500 HR Registered Yoga Teacher, began her yogic journey in 2002 in Salt Lake City as a stress relief from her corporate job and active lifestyle. She fell in love as she noticed immediate benefits to the mind, body, and spirit. Upon moving to New York City in 2006 she completed 500 HR (Yoga Alliance) training with Jean Koerner and Alan Finger in the ISHTA style (Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda).

With gratitude to her teachers she now shares the abundance of yoga through teaching classes to adults, children, special needs, and at risk youth. Her classes bring attention to breath, movement, & alignment; deepening the internal journey to freedom.

Siri Om Kaur

Kundalini Yoga & Meditation

Siri Om Kaur, a.k.a. Melissa Hamilton was originally drawn to Yoga by experiencing an openness of heart. It became her desire to share the practice of Yoga with others seeking clarity, balance, focus, and healing of mind, body and spirit. Siri Om has over seven years experience teaching Hatha and Kundalini Yoga and is registered and certified through Kundalini Research International and Yoga Alliance. Siri Om continues to receive from her own teachers of the lineage of Yogi Bhajan, who transmit energy for growth and expansion with the intent of sharing this experience with others. Melissa’s classes support the creative journey of every soul by developing intuitive awareness and honoring each student’s unique strengths and challenges. In 2006, Melissa was introduced to the science of Kundalini Yoga while training for a summit climb of Mount Rainier. Positive mantra and breath fueled each step and contributed to a life transforming experience. Since then, she has been devoted to helping others find their individual flow and full potential. She challenges students to use the ancient and powerful combination of pranayam, asana, mantra, and meditation of Kundalini Yoga to walk through their own fears, release their worries and stress and come to a place of inner strength, joy and bliss!

Jessi Morton

Level 2

Coming to us from Southern Alberta, Canada, Jessi brings youth like wisdom and playfulness to her otherwise intensely powerful yoga practice. Jessi came to Utah in 1998 to study Education and Science. Besides being a teacher, she is also NASM (National Science and Sports Medicine) certified and is a member of a charitable group, Team Donate Life, who participates in national cycling and running events to bring awareness to the importance of organ donation. Jessi discovered Shiva Centre three years ago and instantly felt at home. She enrolled in YTT in March 2009 and received her RYT. Jessi spent the last 2 summers in India practicing Kalari and receiving ayurvedic treatments/massage. Her first trip to India was a pivotal point in her life. After countless hours on the beach, staring into the vastness of the ocean, she realized the power of true self and has been on a transformational journey since. Not only does Jessi understand the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspect of yoga but also has personal experience of its healing power. Her passion for life and the human body is evident so be prepared to rock, laugh, sweat, and love.

Rachel Posner

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

Rachel is a yoga instructor, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist, counselor, and wilderness guide. She has a Masters Degree in Counseling/Psychology with a concentration in body-centered modalities. For her, teaching yoga is a natural progression to her studies. She received her yoga certification in 2000 and her Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy certification in 2001. Rachel's yoga practice is informed by her deep belief that our bodies have much to teach us about how to cultivate both a rich inner and outer life. She connects deeply with vinyasa because it gives us an opportunity to practice moving with fluidity and purpose, while in alignment and deep communion with the natural world. As a teacher, her greatest joy is to support others in developing a practice that supports their lives outside of the yoga studio.

Jeff Silverstein

Ashtanga

Jeff has been a student of yoga since 1971. Growing up in Brooklyn he began his own practice after a friend gave him Baba Ram Dass's  book Be Here Now. While attending Sat Sang he was introduced to his Guru, Yogiraj Sri Swami Satchidananda. He attended many of the Guru's retreats, and classes at the studios in New York City.

He then went to Quebec and lived at the Sivanda Ashram for the summer and received a 500 hour teaching training from Swami Vishnudevanada. After Graduating High school he and his friends moved to Aspen and then to Salt Lake City. He began Practicing Astanga Yoga. He took David Swenson's Primary and Intermediate Teacher trainings and Richard Freeman’s Advanced TT. He also took Tim Miller's 1st series Teacher training.

Jeff's teaching style is to integrate philosophy with practice. He is easily approachable and has a great sense of humor. His hands on adjustments are safe and therapeutic. When He not studying or practicing yoga you could find him skiing or trail running in the Wasatch mountains.

Shad Stagl

Basics

The study, the practice, the being of yoga is the best thing that ever happened to me. I completed my teacher training through Flow and have been teaching hatha vinyasa since 2007. I believe in the healing of sound, the love of worship, the freedom of movement, the awareness of breath. Many forms of yoga interest me and influence the classes i teach; Kundalini, Ashtanga, Kalari, and Bhakti to name a few. Expect nothing, rather come as you are, at your ability. "The wise man lets go of all results, whether good or bad, and is focused on the action alone. Yoga is skill in actions." -The Bhagavad Gita as translated by Stephen Mitchell

Jade Stromberg

Basics

Jade Stromberg is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), certified in Vinyasa Yoga who has taught for the past year. She has practiced for many years and has cultivated a great passion, love and appreciation for the teachings of yoga. Jade has experienced many wonderful transformations through asana, pranayama and mediatation practice with the help of gifted teachers and hopes to pass this inspiration along to her students. Her intention for each class she teaches is to create a safe, comfortable, empowering, and beautiful experience for all involved. She welcomes all students with an open heart and open arms.

Katy Sine

Katy holds an RYT 200 hr certification as well as a degree in English Literature, attended the University of Utah, University of Cambridge, and has lived and traveled all over Italy, the UK, Costa Rica, Manhattan and Northern California. She LOVES to travel and values the education that can only be learned through the experience of living in the world, but she loves coming home! As a yoga teacher and an ever evolving student, this is exactly what she encourages in her personal practice and classes. Using the vehicle of physical movement, breath, and awareness, to quiet the thinking mind and return home to the vast expanse of the heart. She is full of love and gratitude for the practice of yoga and how incorporating it into the action of our lives raises the quality of our experiences. That's really her aim, not only in her classes but her goal in life, to share and spread love and help encourage each individual to recognize how remarkable and capable we are through our physical body, to glimpse our inner divinity and uniqueness, which she interprets as love, and consciously move from that place. So come ready to explore and experience sweet with a little heat. (OK, maybe more than a little heat...and sweet...)

Sarah

Sarah has been practicing yoga since 2003. She is dedicated to continuously refine her education. Sarah teaches Hatha inspired yoga classes in a style that is easy going and designed to encourage an environment that equally honors the traditions of yoga and the student. She originally used yoga to cross train with dance giving her extensive experience in practicing yoga as a complement to dancing. Later she practiced gentle yoga techniques to help her heal following a car accident, inspiring the curriculum of Relax and Release. She hopes that her teachings offer students a perspective of peace, joy, and grace independent of circumstance.