Create Space to Pause

Emily is the owner and founder of Talo Yoga, a space she created in 2024 after looking for a more personal, community-centered space to practice yoga in Silicon Valley. Her journey with yoga began while competing as a Division 1 Track & Field sprinter, a time when she was constantly pushing her limits—physically and mentally. Yoga became her sanctuary, a way to connect with herself, find balance, and move through life with greater presence.

Inspired to share this practice, Emily earned her RYT 200 in 2016 and has since taught at studios, gyms, living rooms, and international retreats. Called to deepen her understanding of yoga’s origins, she completed her RYT 500 in 2022 through an immersive hatha yoga & meditation training in Bali. Her teaching style blends the fluidity of vinyasa with the depth of traditional hatha yoga, honoring both modern movement and the ancient nature of the practice.

Emily also became a mother to her daughter, Arden, in 2024—a transformation that reshaped her priorities and gave her the clarity and courage to leave a corporate career and turn her longtime side hustle into her full-time purpose. Today she wears three hats: studio owner, teacher, and mom. Emily is especially passionate about supporting other new mothers by creating spaces for connection, movement, and self-care.

Her vision for Talo is to be a foundation—where students of all stages in life feel welcomed, seen, and strengthened. Whether you're stepping onto the mat for the first time or returning after a season of change, she hopes each class leaves you feeling more grounded, more capable, and more yourself.

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Carrie is a Yoga Alliance 200hr RYT in Chopra Signature Yoga, specializing in Hatha vinyasa yoga rooted in the ancient Vedic tradition. She integrates breathwork, mantra, mudras, classical postures, and meditation into her classes, creating a holistic experience for her students. With over 30 years of practice, she initially trained in form-focused Hatha and Iyengar Yoga at the Center for Yoga Los Angeles before expanding into Kundalini at Golden Bridge in Hollywood. In addition to yoga, Carrie is a certified instructor of The Bar Method, leading barre, strength, cardio, and flow classes in the San Mateo and Palo Alto studios. Her certification with Deepak Chopra and Sarah Finger deepened her expertise in Ayurveda, anatomy, and sound healing, all of which she incorporates into her teaching. Committed to continuous learning, Carrie recently earned a Sound Bath certification with Guy Douglas and Simona Asinovski and is currently mentoring with Katonah teacher Kyle Miller.

Carissa started taking yoga classes during her freshman year of college and immediately fell in love with not only the physical aspect, but the mental side of yoga as well. Yoga has been an important and consistent part of her life ever since. She received her 200-hour yoga teacher training at Kootenay Yoga School on Isla Mujeres in Mexico in 2022. 

Erika Hoopes specializes in yoga, Pilates, and mindfulness meditation instruction, offering personalized sessions to enhance clients' physical, mental, and emotional well-being. She emphasizes the profound impact of movement and breath on one's overall state, guiding individuals to practice in ways that support their unique bodies and minds. Erika's expertise encompasses areas such as pre and postnatal care, scoliosis, injury recovery, postural analysis, and mobility. She is proficient in various yoga styles, including hatha, vinyasa, yin, restorative, and yoga nidra, and integrates mindfulness techniques like MBSR and trauma-informed practices into her teachings. Through her comprehensive approach, Erika aims to help clients feel confident, free, and at ease within their bodies, fostering a deeper mind-body connection.

Catherine Lucky is an artist, yoga and barre instructor, and Yoga Nidra guide. With over 700 hours of training, she shares the joy of movement and meditation through classes that are uplifting, calming, and inviting.

With ten years of teaching experience, Catherine has led a wide range of classes, workshops, and offerings for students of all levels. She designs experiences that blend mindful movement, breath awareness, engaged alignment, and a deep sense of aliveness. Catherine’s classes offer space for students to turn inward, embrace wholeness, and honor their own vibrant spirit.

Devi is a dancer, yoga teacher, and movement guide with a background in theatre. She infuses her classes with a sense of play and a notoriously silly sense of humor. Devi has completed over 700 hours of yoga teacher training and prioritizes integrity of alignment, integration of breath, + expression of soul in the experiences she leads. Devi empowers her community to release the idea of "getting it right" in order to unapologetically move their bodies and embrace their unique expression. Aside from all that, she is passionate about guacamole, beat drops, yerba mate, + cuddling her pit mix, koga.

Krassi started practicing yoga as a child in her native Bulgaria. After relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1996, she rediscovered yoga and became an avid student. In 2001, after completing her BBA degree from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, she took a year-long trip to India and Thailand, where she earned her yoga teacher-training certification from the Vivekanada Prashanti Kutiram Yoga Institute in Bangalore, India. Since 2002, Krassi has taught Vinyasa yoga to adults and children across the Bay Area and at international retreats. In addition to yoga, Krassi is a transformational coach and holds a certificate in Lifestyle and Wellness Coaching from Harvard Medical School and is a graduate of the Institute of Coaching Mastery Certification Program. She is a counseling practitioner in the Hakomi method, which combines mindfulness and non-violence principles from Eastern philosophy with Western psychology. Krassi has facilitated Mindful Moms groups at Stanford University and PAMF through Mind Body Moms, a California-based organization that provides support to mothers of children of all ages.

Sanne Mahieu has been deeply immersed in the practice of yoga for over a decade. Her teaching journey began in The Netherlands, where she completed a three-year Yoga Teacher in Training program. She later expanded her expertise with the LYT Yoga method, a practice developed by a physical therapist, which deepened her understanding of anatomy and helped her grow as a teacher.

With a passion for empowering her students, Sanne focuses on functional movement, striking the perfect balance between stability and mobility. Her classes are designed to help students feel strong, resilient, and ready to take on whatever life throws their way!

Kate is a Yoga Alliance RYT 500 who teaches in thoughtfully designed series so yogis can build skills week by week. She discovered yoga while recovering from chronic back pain and now blends evidence-informed alignment, breathwork, and approachable philosophy to help students move with confidence. Trained initially by Jennifer Prugh and Noell Clark, Kate continues advanced study with teachers such as Sarah Powers, Briohny Smyth, Leslie Howard, and Anne Finstad. Her classes are clear, progressive, and welcoming.

Outside the studio, Kate is a data scientist and actuary, which shows up in precise cueing, purposeful sequencing, and measurable progress across each series.

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Savannah started practicing yoga consistently when she was in the depths of graduate school and needed a break from constant studying. She found something that not only improved her physical and mental well-being, but also a strong and welcoming community. She is now a 500-hour certified yoga teacher (RYT 500), with training in Vinyasa, Yin, Prenatal yoga, meditation, and breathwork. She loves teaching yoga and helping create community with others of all levels of experience, from novice to practicing for decades. Her classes incorporate dynamic, energizing sequences and also allow for individual creativity and space to play. She likes to remind her students that yoga does not have to be so serious and sometimes you can laugh at yourself when you lose your balance. In addition to her yoga teaching, she is also a full-time medical student at Stanford and a part-time nerd who plays Dungeons and Dragons with her friends

Hana fell in love with yoga as a teen in search of meaning, connection and an antidote to anxiety. She graduated from her first yoga teacher training program during high school in 2008 and has been teaching in studios, homes, schools, and mental health settings ever since.

Her teaching is rooted in 20 years of practice and advanced studies in hatha and vinyasa yoga, ayurveda, breathwork, reiki energy healing, meditation, life coaching, occupational therapy, polyvagal theory, teen wellness, pre and postnatal care, sensory processing science, and trauma-informed somatic healing.

She considers herself a life-long student of yoga, of nature and the seasons, of the body, and the nervous system. When she is not teaching you can find her playing at the park or doing art projects with her husband and 2 young daughters.

As a yogi, healer and visual artist,  Katie has dedicated much of  her life exploring the interplay of the body, mind, imagination and spirit.  Katie first discovered yoga in 2001, coming to it from the perspective of an athlete at that time, and immediately became hooked and fascinated with the positive mental and physical effects that came from this dynamic breath and movement practice.  Since then, she has immersed herself in the study and practice of various styles of yoga, sound and energy work, and taught in diverse settings from large group studio classes, to corporate sessions, retreats, as well as one on one private sessions. Her experience as a yoga teacher ranges from the practices of Hatha Vinyasa, Yin Yoga, Pre and Postnatal Yoga, and Fertility Yoga to Kundalini Yoga and meditation, which has been her main personal practice for the past 24 yrs.

As a trained sound healer Katie loves to share the restorative power of healing sounds through soundbaths, as well as in conjunction with her yogic offerings.

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Originally from Italy, Heloise discovered yoga while living abroad as a student, where the mat became her essential tool for managing stress and anxiety. This early experience ignited a lifelong passion for using movement as a sanctuary for grounding and resilience.

In 2020, Heloise earned her 200-hour certification from Live in Discovery in Los Angeles. While she initially set out to deepen her own personal practice, the experience revealed a new calling: a love for teaching and a desire to be of service to others. Drawing on her career in fast-paced corporate tech and her journey as a mom, she understands firsthand the necessity of mindfulness in high-pressure, stressful environments. 

At Talo Yoga, Heloise leads intentional, breath-centered flows designed to help students reconnect with themselves. Her goal is to bridge the gap between a busy life and inner stillness. Expect a dynamic, mindful practice that releases physical tension and builds strength, leaving you refreshed and ready for whatever comes next.

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Nicole is a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 with training in restorative, prenatal and postnatal yoga.

Her relationship with movement began early through childhood gymnastics and later circus training, where she was drawn to strength, discipline, and the beauty of precise, complex shapes. For years, movement was about refinement and mastery.

Everything shifted during her yoga teacher training. What began as a physical practice opened into something far more profound. The shapes became secondary. Turning toward breath and awareness, she discovered a depth within herself that felt more expansive than anything she could achieve outwardly. Yoga became less about performance and more about presence.

That evolution shapes the way Nicole teaches today. She guides slow flow, restorative, and pre/postnatal classes with the same intention - to create space for awareness, steady strength, and a deeper relationship with breath. Whether building strength through deliberate movement or settling into stillness, she invites students to inhabit the experience rather than chase the form.Her classes offer a grounded, steady practice where students can feel at home in their own skin

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When Alina first approached yoga it was with a sense of skepticism, but when she finally tried it, the experience spoke to her in a way that words never could. Over time, she began to notice how the calm she cultivated on the mat started to ripple into every area of her life. What initially felt like a passing or transitional emotion slowly grew into an essential part of who she is.

This journey also continues to remind Alina to keep her heart and mind open, trusting that life itself is an ongoing process of growth and discovery.

She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training in Maui, an experience she considers one of the best decisions she has ever made. Surrounded by nature and guided by teachers from different lineages, the training felt both diverse and deeply well-rounded. With a background in music, Alina brings a unique element into her classes by incorporating vocal sound baths. She sees her voice as her superpower—not simply in the sense of singing, but in her ability to create a safe, welcoming space where everyone can show up as they truly are. In her classes, students are invited to be human at their core: with emotional palettes as wide as the sky, with imperfections that can sometimes feel vulnerable or messy, with energy that shifts like the wind, and with souls that long for purpose and connection.

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With 16 years in clinical nursing, Shannon pivoted her focus to holistic wellness in 2024, earning 500+ hours of yoga teacher training across California and India. Certified in Reiki and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Yoga, she blends anatomical knowledge and polyvagal theory with a deep reverence for nature. Shannon incorporates herbalism and the practice of forest bathing into her own path, believing that true healing happens when we slow down and return to our roots. Her classes offer a sanctuary to release modern tension and rediscover balance within the mind, body, and spirit.

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