Meet the Teachers: 300-Hr Yoga Teacher Training 2023

In our 300-Hour Teacher Training, you’ll learn from experienced instructors with a variety of backgrounds and passions.

Meet our 2023 teachers and learn more about their interests, credentials, and what to expect!

300-Hr YTT starts August, 2023!

Learn more and join our free info session >>

Niki Saccareccia

Lead teacher, Niki Saccareccia, specializes in integral anatomy and a holistic yoga approach. 

She is an E-RYT 500 yoga educator and teacher trainer, international retreat leader, author, and wellness consultant in private practice. In class you’ll notice that she is a poet at heart, seamlessly weaving imagery, knowledge, and instruction in an elegant and easy-to-follow way.

Courtney Sauls

Lead teacher, Courtney, will help bring out your best Self. Her classes are infused with themes of yoga philosophy and social justice. 

Courtney has been teaching yoga since 2011 and completed her 500-hour teacher training in 2013 with a focus on philosophy and energetics.

Brianna Welke Turpin

Co-leading our SUBTLE BODY module, Brianna will help you emBODY energetics and yoga philosophy. 

Having recently completed her 500-hour teacher training with Laughing Lotus (where she met fellow trainer Felipe Gonzalez), Bri combines dynamic anatomical alignment with mindful mantra, spiritual awareness, and energetic function. She assists students through challenging, fun, interesting yoga classes with the belief that yoga is a unique experience for everyone!

Felipe Gonzalez

Co-leading our SUBTLE BODY module, Felipe will guide your soul to sing and move. 

He is a 500-hour ERYT and Katonah Yoga teacher. He studied Bhakti (the yoga of devotion) at Laughing Lotus where he met fellow trainer Brianna! Using the techniques of mythology, mantra, yogic philosophy, asana, and Katonah Yoga® theory, he guides practitioners through an experience of breath, vibration, movement, and reflection. Drawn to the disciplines of Vinyasa, Bhakti Yoga, and Katonah Yoga® theory, he devotes his practice and teaching with an artist’s soul and a healer’s heart.

Nish Selvalingham

Nish grew up learning yoga philosophy and will be leading sessions that cover yogic texts, philosophy, Sanskrit, and Ayurveda. 

He studied Philosophy at UCLA, coached college debate at UCLA, and developed a love for teaching. His calling is to share the philosophical traditions that were handed to him by his teachers because he believes with all his heart that for the practice of yoga to blossom into the fruits of Liberation and Joy, there must be a strong grounding in the philosophical frameworks out of which those practices emerged. Follow him at @nishthef1sh!

Samantha Akers 

Leading many weekends throughout the 300-hour, Sam's sessions will not only leave you wanting to be a better teacher, but a better person. 

She found yoga and massage when she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia in 1998. Her practice began with Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra and brought her such incredible healing that she knew it had to be shared. 

Her approach combines Hatha & Iyengar yoga techniques & therapeutic applications with Restorative, Engaged Yin, and Meditation practices, for a balanced and well-rounded experience. She is currently studying mindfulness and its effectiveness in working deeply with psychological attachment patterns. Sam is also a Certified Mindfulness Teacher through the Mindfulness Training Institute, Berkeley CA.