teachers

Our teachers have a variety of interests, offerings, and expertise. But we all value that connection between mind, body, and spirit that is a yoga practice. 

KIA MEAUX

STUDIO OWNER & TEACHER

A student of yoga since 1989, Kia has studied with masters of the Ashtanga, Iyengar and Anusara traditions, which she incorporates into her alignment based Vinyasa Yoga practice.Her background includes traveling through Asia studying Yoga, Buddhism, Eastern Philosophy, and Vipassana Meditation. Kia has been teaching yoga for over 20 years.

​In 2002 she wrote the popular Vinyasa Yoga book, “Dynamic Yoga”, which has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide and has been translated into 7 languages. To get a copy go to amazon.com.
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She is a Yoga Alliance 500-hour E-RYT as well as a 200-hour RYT in the Anusara Tradition. Kia is a fun, compassionate, and skillful teacher, with a profound understanding of the invaluable benefits that yoga can bring to one’s life.

find kia's book here:
dynamic yoga 

     by kia meaux

A basic grounding in the principles and practice of the most intensive workout for body, mind, and spirit. Dynamic Yoga is a powerful exercise system designed to give the body the ultimate workout for increased energy, fitness, and flexibility. Boost your energy levels. Kia Meaux has devised an imaginative and invigorating program based on the sun Salutes of Ashtanga yoga. It encourages more...

Amy Hillman-Siracusa

YOGA TEACHER

Amy fell in love with yoga in 2004 while living in India studying spirituality and traditional healing. In March 2008 she completed Kaya Yoga’s first teacher training. Her teaching style is most heavily influenced by Anusara and therapeutic yoga traditions. She is a Yoga Alliance 200 hour Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (eRYT), and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She has continued to deepen her yoga practice, and build upon her skills as a teacher, by participating in workshops with John Friend, Judith Lasater, and Gary Kraftsow. Her study of yoga has been complimented by her former career as a massage therapist, and background in Ayurveda, comparative religion, and holistic health. She holds a Masters degree in holistic health education with a specialization in holistic nutrition. For more information on this, please visit ladleandlotus.com. 

Caroline billings

yoga teacher

After dancing professionally for 20 years Caroline began practicing yoga in Los Angeles with Bryan Kest. She has studied with a wide variety of teachers throughout California. For the past 6 years she has been practicing at Kaya Yoga and completed her teacher training with Kia Meaux in March of 2008. Caroline has a BFA from The Juilliard School in dance, an MPT from the University of Pacific in Stockton and is also a certified massage therapist. She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and is studying yoga therapy with Doug Keller. While still evolving, her teaching style blends her dance and physical therapy backgrounds in classes that incorporate alignment principles with a graceful flow through asanas.

Emily Bay

yoga teacher & 
​Massage therapist

Emily has a BA in Dance and Choreography from San Francisco State University and has been a student of yoga for many years in many different styles. She studied with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa at Golden Bridge in LA and is certified to teach The Khalsa Way method of Pregnancy Yoga. She completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at Kaya Yoga.
​​Emily is a mother of two girls and has been a practicing massage therapist since 2001 specializing in prenatal and post-natal massage.
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For information on massage, please visit, www.massagebythebay.com.

rebekah nagy

yoga teacher

Rebekah Nagy (E-RYT 500) is known for her detailed and unique alignment instructions, at once precise, patient, and poetic, in a flow that balances vigor with rest. She has been teaching postural yoga since 2010, and practicing since 2001. In her classes you can expect to build inner heat, meet challenges safely and playfully, and wind down sweetly. 

Rather than telling her students what they should feel, she holds a clear and supportive space that allows them to unveil their own paths to embodiment and presence.
Even in a group setting, she seeks to serve each student's individual needs. 

​Breath awareness, consistent practice, and somatic exploration can help us sense our innate biotensegrity, which is the wholeness, interrelatedness, and communicative power of all of our seeming separate parts, inseparable within our own self-arising, non-hierarchical, and auto-organizing intelligence. Through the expansion of our capacity to be present within the crucible of radical embodiment, we cull our innate ability to better recognize patterns in our bodies and lives, creating the space to choose to live in closer alignment with our deepest values. Rebekah received her 200- and 500-hour certifications in the Krishnamacharya lineage at Yoga Sutra NYC under the guidance of Guta Hedewig. Ever a student, her ongoing anatomy and kinesiology studies with Amy Matthews unite philosophy and embodiment, and include a Body-Mind Centering approach. She explores yoga philosophy, practice, and history in her writing for the Embodied Philosophy blog, and has Sanskrit and Vedic chanting hobbies. In growing season she can be found in her garden, either working hard or sitting still. 

Tim jordan

Kirtan & yoga teacher

Tim’s journey as a yoga teacher began when he was laid off from his corporate job in 2008.  Relieved to be free from the rat race, he traveled to India on a quest for something more.  He found himself in a 200 hour Sivananda Teacher Training Program that combined asana practice with other spiritual disciplines of yoga. 
Upon his return, he studied with Max Strom and Jamie Elmer to increase his understanding of anatomy and alignment. In 2009 he taught his first class of Seniors at a Community Center in Los Angeles, where he continued to teach until moving to Davis in 2015.  He loves sharing with his students his own discovery of yoga’s power to heal and transform.  Tim also leads Kirtan, a practice he picked up in India, and enjoys infusing chanting, meditation and a devotional spirit into his classes.
Media from Tim's website. For more information about Kirtan, please visit: timjordankirtan.com

Tina Perry

yoga teacher

I started practicing Yoga hoping to help my body from past injuries after years of high impact exercise.  I went for the physical benefits and was rewarded by my efforts.  Far more importantly I discovered the spirituality of yoga – the connection of body mind and spirit through the breath – to be an incredible blessing. The spiritual aspect spoke to me in a very deep way.  I now have a mindful daily ritual in addition to my asana practice.  It guides me in all aspects of my life and it brings me love and a sense of wellbeing.
In 2012 I became certified to teach Hatha Yoga after completing a comprehensive 200 hour training course at Kaya Studio.  
Upon graduation I volunteered to teach at a homeless shelter and then moved on to teaching elsewhere.  In 2014, I attended a workshop to learn Yin Yoga as well. Teaching brings me great joy and I hope to pass on my knowledge to my students as well as embracing the opportunity to learn from them.
LISA FISCHER
YOGA TEACHER
Lisa’s journey with yoga began as a teen, falling more in love with yoga as a way of life over the past 15 years.  Her practice has helped her to become more grounded and fearless both on and off the mat, inspiring her to live each day more mindfully.  Desiring more depth of understanding of yoga philosophy and history, and inspired by Kia Meaux, she has completed her 200hr teacher training in 2019.   Also, as a Life Coach, Lisa blends her nurturing and curious nature to influence the development of her classes creating creative sequencing to help students deepen their own experience.  Lisa seeks to guide people to reach their highest potential and her hope is that you step out of her classes feeling revived and inspired.

JEANNE BALDING

yoga teacher

Kaya Yoga is where I fell in back in love with yoga after years away, raising a family. Through this practice I have found more ease and strength in my body, more clarity and authenticity in my life. 
I completed Kaya Yoga’s 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2011. Since then I have taught kids, teens, adults, led workshops and the special ‘Mum & Daughter Yoga Retreat’ with my two daughters in the Wellington region of New Zealand, where my family and I lived for 5 years.  See kula-yoga.co.nz

I’ve had the opportunity to continue my training with leaders in the field including 90 hours Yin Yoga Training with Joe Barnett, 10 hour Mini Yogi Kids Training, study with Amy Ippoletti, Maty Ezraty, Noah Maze, Katie Lane and many other wise yogis. 

I love teaching yoga. It offers a form of movement and physicality that can be gentle or athletic and non-competitive. It builds strength, balance and flexibility. It teaches mindfulness in stillness (I always include some quiet meditation in class) and mindfulness in action. The yoga teachings include principles of compassion for self and others, discipline and self-study.
Teaching here is like coming home.

Grace stepanova

yoga teacher 

Grace received her YTT 200-hr. certification in 2014 from Santa Cruz Yoga. Since then she has taught in various contexts, most recently teaching weekly classes in the Capay Valley where she spent most of her time engaged in regenerative agricultural practices. Her teaching style is generally guided by the principles of Vinyasa yoga, which connects the breath and movement. She focuses on proper and safe alignment, first and foremost, in addition to creative and intuited transitions between postures. As she attempts to integrate more reverence and awe of the feminine into all facets of her life, her teaching style has undergone significant evolution to include focus on the bones and horizontal plane. Grace encourages her students to listen to and honor their individual needs in order to assist in greater body and subtle energetic awareness. She is hands-on and will often offer adjustments to further one’s connection to their body. Hopefully you like to be touched!
CHRISTINE TEBES

YOGA TEACHER

​An enthusiastic student of yoga for over 20 years, Christine has studied with a wide variety of teachers, in the upstate New York and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania areas. A Midwest native, she relocated to Northern California three and half years ago after being recruited for a position at UC Davis and falling in love with the area. Seeking a yoga community, she began practicing at Kaya Yoga Studio two years ago. She was immediately inspired by owner Kia Meaux and the passion, knowledge, humor and attention to detail that Kia and her fellow teachers bring to their teaching. Ever the student with the desire to learn and deepen her practice, Christine completed her 200 Hour Registered Teacher Training Course at Kaya Yoga Studio in 2019. The experience solidified her desire to teach and share her passion for yoga and its power to harness the mind, body and breath to enrich one’s life on a daily basis- both on and off the mat.
** In addition to the teachers listed, we may also occasionally have new teachers and substitutes in the studio. **

Please see Our Schedule for more info & possible changes. 

​Thank you!