Here's a bit more about us

Hannah's teaching style is creative, unexpected, strong and graceful.  She wavers from health-nut to foodie, likes a saucy music playlist, and is a general badass.  She trained with Chrissy Carter at YogaWorks in New York City.  Expect some Pilates and maybe a few handstands thrown in your Yoga practice!  Along with Kelli, Hannah leads the Downward Dog Teacher Training program.​

My philosophy: Work hard, play hard and smile while you're doing it!  I accidentally discovered yoga as a way to find my "old" body after having my third awesome but tiring baby. After much time spent stretching, sweating, and wrestling with funny Sanskrit words and physics-defying contortions, I realized that I actually loved my yoga practice in all its flawed glory. For me, Yoga is about struggling and striving, focusing and relaxing, falling and flying.  I love to bring mindful focus to every vigorous, liberating and supportive vinyasa flow I practice or teach. When I teach, I try to cultivate a safe space free from judgment but full of challenge with a dash of fun.  When I'm not practicing or teaching Yoga, I study how bacteria protect themselves from environmental stresses and I enjoy laughing with/at my 3 brilliant, goofy daughters and their out-numbered dad who never gets a word in edgewise.

I began my Yoga journey several years ago as an intermittent student and slowly deepened my practice. Once I reached the point of a serious, daily home practice I decided to pursue a 200 hour teacher training course. At the beginning of my training I had no intention of actually teaching, I just wanted to learn more about Yoga. However, during the process I discovered that my love and passion for Yoga translates well to teaching and that I have been able to inspire my students. One of the most satisfying aspects of teaching Yoga is helping those students who don’t think they have the skills or ability to achieve their goals.  

My passion for fitness expands wide fromYoga practice to marathon and triathlon events. I started teaching fitness classes close to two decades ago. Weight training, spin cycle, Pilates you name it, I love to teach it! I’ve completed dozens of running races and triathlons including Boston marathon and full Ironman distance triathlon. Being an active mom of 4, Yoga lets me unwind and reconnect with being mentally present.Born and raised in Iowa, I love being able to give back to my community through fitness.

Tina completed her 200 hour training with Downward Dog Yoga in June 2021.  With a creative flair and extreme sense of calm and patience, Tina leads the Yoga for Beginners program at Downward Dog.

Becky completed her 200 hour training at Downward Dog Yoga in June 2021.  As a busy mom and local small business owner, Becky makes Yoga a part of her daily routine to help with overall fitness, health and well being.  Becky's classes always have creative choreography and a lot of fun.

Life has a way of sending you signs. For me, it was an actual sign of a St. Bernard in a Downward Dog pose. My love for dogs and my passion for yoga had converged. That sign led me to practice Yoga at Downward Dog studio.Before that, I was on a spiritual journey. In the 1990s, I began studying and learning to recite ancient sacred texts in Sanskrit. As my practice of svadhyaya deepened, I realized the next step on my spiritual path needed to include the yoga asanas. I started practicing Gentle Yoga and then Vinyasa Flow at Downward Dog in 2019, enrolled in the Teacher Training Program in 2020, and received my 200-hour teacher certification in 2021. I’m also a graduate of Eastwind where I studied TCM and Shiatsu. I’m currently in the process of becoming a 500-hour certified yoga instructor.  I lean on my background in English literature, creative writing, music, and public radio to bring a fun and unique teaching style to my classes. Expect some twists and turns as we deepen our practice of Yoga. 

My yoga journey began in January of 2019. I signed up for a Yoga
membership at a local studio near Boise, Idaho. Since then, my daily
life has included planning around Yoga classes. One of the first items
I searched on Google before I moved to Iowa was 'Yoga studios near Iowa City', and of course, I found Downward Dog Yoga.
Before I started taking yoga classes regularly, I thought yoga was
simply about matching my body movements to other people in class, with mild regard for how my own body felt. Now, I do what feels right for me in the moment and I use props as often as possible.
In September of 2020, I began the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at
Downward Dog Yoga to become a certified yoga instructor. I wanted to
explore the spiritual side of the practice more, in order to deepen my experience with yoga, both on and off the mat.
My favorite classes to attend and to teach are vinyasa flow,
restorative, and yin classes. I find that I feel most balanced when I
incorporate different types of Yoga into my weekly practice, and I
encourage my students to find a practice that sustains them in the
same way.

Lila is a 500hr-certified yoga instructor. She got her 200hr certification from Downward Dog Yoga School in 2018 and completed another 300hr training through Aligned Yoga School with Briohny Smyth in 2020. She has been teaching yoga at Downward Dog Yoga since 2018, both in studio & online classes. She moved to Brookfield, Wisconsin in August 2021 and continues to teach online class with Downward Dog Yoga.