your instructors

Alison Eliason

Director of Discover Yoga. She studied with Ellen Morrell and enjoys the qualities of viniyoga tradition of hatha yoga. She became a certified yoga instructor in 2000. Alison has studied locally and abroad. In 2006, she spent time at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, India. She took a year long intensive study in 2007 with Laura Yon-Brooks at Planet Earth. And in 2008, spent time with Collette Crawford to deepen her understanding of prenatal yoga. She is working towards her 500 hour yoga training with Laura Yon-Brooks.

She currently leads classes for children and adults, one-on-one sessions, leading retreats and instructor certification trainings, teaching in the community and managing the studio. Alison incorporates yoga techniques into her daily life to help bring peace, balance and enjoyment into living

Yoga has helped her breathe easier, be aware of her body, mind and spirit, notice her fears and judgements, and based on those observations, continue in her journey to be and create peace. She invites all ages and abilities to experience the peaceful studio setting and yoga teachings at Discover Yoga

Alison offers All Levels on Mondays at 9:30AM, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00AM, and Level 1 on Wednesdays at 9:30AM. She cooridinates and instructs the Deeper Study and Apprenticeship programs. top ^

Beth Dolan

Yoga has been in Beth’s life since 2003, when she was drawn to it as a way to recover and heal from an ergonomic back injury. She completed her teacher training through the Discover Yoga Instructor Certification Program in 2008. Viniyoga and Forrest yoga are the styles that most influence Beth’s teaching. In yoga and in life, it is Beth’s continual practice to walk in awareness, observation, strength and flexibility.

In her own practice, she has found that a challenge on the mat often mirrors a challenge in life. Beth’s classes allow each student to explore this from their own unique perspective. This is particularly appropriate in Beth’s yoga for pregnancy classes. As a mother of two young children she knows the importance of awareness, observation, strength, and flexibility in motherhood and child birth. Her yoga for pregnancy classes are tailored to incorporate these elements for women during this amazing time of transition.

Beth teaches Yoga for Pregnancy on Thursdays at 7:00 PM. top ^

Kim Saganski

Completed the Intensive Yoga Studies and the Apprenticeship Programs at Discover Yoga in Redmond in 1998. She is continually exploring the practice of yoga as a student and a teacher (both locally and internationally).  She invokes a friendly and safe environment in her classes and enjoys composing new and different methods to approach the specific needs of each student and to provide appropriate challenges. 

Kim uses yoga to bring clarity and focus to the mind, energy and relaxation to the body, and a chance to connect with one’s self.  She focuses on becoming more aware of the body as well as the mind in order to reduce dis-ease caused by stress and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Kim is currently offering a Level 2 Yoga Class on Mondays at 7PM. top ^

melissa weston valentine

MPT, MPH, Certified and Registered Yoga Instructor, teaches classes and one-on-one sessions which focus on finding and maintaining balance in the spine and the breath. Melissa has been practicing various forms of yoga for approximately 20 years and has received her teacher training from the Hatha Yoga Center in Seattle in 2005. She credits yoga in her recovery from a herniated disc in her spine.

Melissa takes joy in adapting the physical practice of yoga to individual physical needs and in surprising her students with the added benefits of mental clarity and inner calm. Her classes combine techniques learned from a number of different yoga schools as well as her work for the last 13 years as a Physical Therapist.

A new mom, Melissa is currently focusing on pre- and postnatal yoga as well as one-on-one instruction for individuals who require more personalized attention due to injury, illness or physical limitations. For more information click on Discover Yoga Therapy.

Melissa teaches the Infant and Me series on Thursdays at 11:00AM, Yoga for Pregnancy on Saturdays at 10:30-12:00 Noon and Level 1 at 9:00-10:15AM.  

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Lauri Reinhart

L auri Reinhart has been practicing Yoga for five years in the Viniyoga tradition of Hatha Yoga.  Lauri completed the instructor certification program under Alison Eliason, director of Discover Yoga in December 2008. Lauri enjoys all aspects of yoga, connecting with the breath, mind, body and spirit and especially appreciates the “awareness” that yoga brings to her life both on and off the mat.

Lauri teaches an All Levels class on Tuesdays at 12:15 - 1:15PM.

Nancy Doolittle

Nancy is still discovering the benefits of yoga as they apply to yoga on the mat and off the mat.  Yoga is a lifelong process of learning that can bring energy, happiness and peacefulness to every day.  She has also dabbled in tai-chi, Dahn Yoga and Shakti Yoga and Reiki.   She feels like viniyoga is her perfect match.  She finished her teacher training in 2008 under the guidance of Alison Eliason. 

Nancy also completed a culinary program at www.threestonehearth.com in Berkeley, Ca. and is compelled by the nutritional enlightenment of the Weston A Price organization promoting the role of time-honored cooking techniques and nutrient dense foods like raw milk, bone broth and traditional high-fat foods like butter as a tonic for the stresses of modern day life.  She is a wife and mother of two amazing twenty-something girls living in Woodinville.

"What yoga teachers do and what chefs do is not so different. We take everyday actions like moving and eating, and slow you down so you can appreciate them." Achieving stillness and peace amid the distractions of life, he said, has always been the higher goal of yoga. Quote by David Romanelli

Nancy teaches Yoga for Kids. And substitutes on occasion.

Patti Chalker

Patti moved to the Eastside in the early 90’s with her family from Southern California. She graduated from USC with a degree in psychology and a minor in business. She has been a Top Producer with John L Scott for many years and bases her success on her client relationships. Patti has enjoyed doing yoga since the late 90’s and has found it extremely helpful in balancing out her busy life as a realtor and mom. Patti completed the instructor certification program at Discover Yoga in December 2008. As a certified yoga instructor, Patti enjoys all aspects of yoga including teaching teens and meditation. “The grounded, centered feeling follows me through the day and helps me to remember to breathe through life’s difficult situations”.

Patti teaches Yoga for Pregnancy on Tuesdays at 5:30 - 6:45 PM.

Sarah Kimsey

Teaching yoga in an accessible way is my mission. I have been practicing yoga for the past 10 years, however yoga took it's permanent place in my life soon after the birth of my daughter in 2007. Yoga has been a journey of self-acceptance and self-awareness for me, and it's my philosophy is that everyone can get something positive out of yoga that translates into their everyday lives. In June 2010, I completed my 200-hour RYT certificate from Discover Yoga.

Sarah teaches the Introduction to Yoga class on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM and co-teaches the Mommies on the Mat series on Sundays at 2:30 PM.

Sunita Sethi


Sunita has been in the light of yoga for the past eight years.  The practice of yoga has unfolded her true self with a finer quality towards self and others; she whole heartedly shares the elements of yoga with one and all.  She strongly believes in the ‘priceless art of breathing’ while learning asana and meditation.  She is calm and collective by nature. 

She brings her yoga knowledge from the ‘yoga institute of Mumbai’ India, from the ‘Art of living’ ashram in Bangalore, India and she is a registered yoga practitioner.  She completed her Instructor Certification at Discover Yoga in 2008. She has studied the ‘Art of Healing’ through Reiki and has acquired distance healing knowledge. She focuses on 'inner engineering' and believes in unlocking one’s own potential by integrating the study of yoga into the current lifestyle.

Sunita offers Level 1 on Mondays at 4:15PM, All Levels class on Tuesdays at 7:00 - 8:15PM, Yoga for Pregnancy on Fridays at 10:30 - 12:00 PM, and All Levels on Fridays at 12:15 - 1:15PM.

Susan Park


Yoga instructor since 2002. She leads classes and private sessions that energize, clear and focus the body, mind and breath. She practices meditation, a positive mental focus, enjoys the energy of the outdoors, and works as a real estate agent. She continues to expand her knowledge through life experience and ongoing yoga training. Her classes offer an avenue to breathe, increase energy, and refresh for teens, men and women.

Susan is currently offering a Level 1 class on Mondays at 5:30PM, an All Levels class on Wednesdays at 5:30PM, and a Meditation Series on occasion.

jane mcclenney

Jane McClenney is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, and has been teaching movement for 10 years, and includes craniosacral and gentle osteopathic techniques in her practice. Jane lives and teaches weekly Awareness Through Movement® classes in Ellensburg, WA, and maintains a private practice in both Redmond and Ellensburg. She also enjoys working with horseback riders desiring to ride with more connection with their horses, as well as the horses themselves.

Jane and Alison have been offering and co-teaching yoga and Feldenkrais workshops for children and adults for a number of years. The combination of both disciplines has proved to be fun and educational for students. For both teachers, it is a pleasure watching/assisting people to learn in an enjoyable way, learning skills to move in ways that are pleasurable and relatively pain free.

Jane offers workshops on weekends. top ^

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