Lara Estrada, Founder + Studio Owner
Lara had always been curious about Yoga and eventually took her first class as part of a meditation course during her undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley. She continued to explore vinyasa classes as a method of connecting with her body and mind for physical fitness and spiritual well-being. With previous experience in athletics and dance, Lara particularly enjoyed the lyrical nature and technical aspects of vinyasa.
Shortly after completing her 200-hour teacher training through YogaWorks in Costa Mesa, Lara spent several months doing volunteer work and backpacking abroad throughout Thailand, Laos, Australia, Japan and the Philippines. Upon returning from her travels, Lara decided to settle in Los Angeles. She started teaching yoga at studios, gyms, and with private clients.
Lara completed her 300-hour teacher training in the beautiful land of Bali through Mukti Yoga School. During this trip, she envisioned creating her own yoga studio. A couple years later, that wish came true and Yoga Bliss was born in 2015.
Lara loves teaching dynamic vinyasa classes, as well as nurturing restorative classes. She emphasizes presence, mindfulness, and connection to spirit. Lara encourages everyone to seek fulfillment and joy in their yoga practice, as well as in every aspect of their lives.
Instagram: @lara_loves + @yogajourneydeck
Website: yogajourneydeck.com
Ali Burruel, Instructor + Yoga Nidra Guide
Ali Burruel is a certified yoga instructor, yoga nidra and meditation guide, and a reiki attuned practitioner. She completed her 200-hour teacher training in 2014 and has worked in the yoga and wellness space for over ten years. Ali has continued to deepen her knowledge of yoga and healing with additional trainings, including yoga nidra guide certification in 2021.
You can find additional yoga nidra recordings on her YouTube channel. Ali is drawn to the practice of slowing down through life, making nutritious meals, exploring through travel, and enjoying all the little moments in between everything that can get busy.
Instagram: @ali.burruel
Alyssa DiZoglio, Instructor
Alyssa May DiZoglio, E-RYT-200, is a yoga and meditation instructor based in Los Angeles, California. Alyssa teaches an athletic, vinyasa-style class known for fluid transitions and dynamic sequencing, with a strong focus on alignment and modifications. Alyssa aims to help students discover not only the physical benefits of the practice through anatomically-informed alignment cues, but also the way the practice can cultivate mindfulness, empathy, and compassion. In her classes, she encourages students to pay attention to how and why they are moving through space and to take that same curiosity off of the mat and into how we engage with the world around us.
Alyssa teaches yoga and meditation in both public and private settings, leads workshops, international yoga retreats, and corporate events, and has created yoga and mindfulness programs designed for athletes ranging from professional to elementary school.
Instagram: @alyssadiz
Website: amdizoglioyoga.com
Fawntice Finesse, Sound Healer
A certified sound healer and artist, combining her love of music with complementary therapies, Fawntice plays the amazing ancient Tibetan Singing Bowls, ritual bells, flute, gongs, tuning forks, and other instruments that she has collected from all over the world. The music Fawntice creates is profoundly restful, deeply healing, and a powerful stress reliever.
Sound and music have been regarded as healing and medicinal tools across cultures and from the beginning of time, playing an important part in individual and community healing and wellbeing. Modern science has proven that the body’s nervous system responds to sound vibration to induce the relaxation response and meditative mind, reducing stress and enhancing wellbeing.
Instagram: @healwithsounds
Website: healwithsounds.com
Mericka Lehman, Instructor
As a lifelong athlete, Mericka has always been attuned to the powerful relationship between the action of the body and a person’s psychological and emotional well-being. Having experienced the holistic benefits of yoga for herself, it is Mericka's passion to help others achieve the same appreciation for the mind-body connection.
Through her teaching, she strives to help people learn how to tune into their own bodies, empowering them in their journey of self-discovery. Mericka's teaching style is rooted in alignment principles, which she tailors to fit the anatomy of each individual student.
"I am a firm believer that there are as many ways to do a yoga pose as there are bodies on this Earth. To me, yoga is much more than an asana practice. It is a life practice that can transform your body and mind, and can serve as a constant guide as you navigate through your experiences both on and off the mat."
Instagram: @yogawithmericka
Tiffany Leonardo, Instructor
Tiffany is a Yin Yoga Teacher & Sound Meditation Facilitator that’s focused on sparkling from the inside, out. Community was the catalyst to her yoga journey and is also what inspired her to teach yoga! Sound healing connected Tiffany with her soul’s calling for rest. Tiffany’s classes and sessions are immersed with the teachings of mindful living.
Tiffany believes that to blossom as a teacher, it's important to be a devoted student of life. For this reason, she has completed various training modalities in Katonah Yoga with Mary Dana Abbott, Art of Assisting from Baron Baptiste Yoga, Mark Stephens, and Anatomy & Asana immersion with Emilie Perz. Along with intensive training in Yin Yoga with Yoga Loft, Qigong with Mark Tanaka, Sound Healing with Susy Markoe Schieffelin and an apprenticeship in Acupressure and Yoga integration with Hydra Yoga.
Regardless of the environment, Tiffany’s dream life is to invite people to explore and discover their fullest selves through an intimate relationship with their mind and bodies.
Instagram: @curl.crush.yoga
Website: curlcrushyoga.com
Gaia Mariani, Instructor
Gaia was born and raised in Italy. Both her family and her years of committed gymnastic practice taught her discipline and a strong sense of being grounded. When she moved to New York first and Los Angeles after, Gaia found that the world she used to know was shaken.
Gaia stepped onto her mat to overcome the physical, emotional, and spiritual issues that developed because of stress, anxiety, and a previous toxic relationship. She was immediately hooked to yoga. She was amazed by the healing transformation that yoga had on her body, and afterwards on every part of her life.
Gaia's teaching is heart-centered, and love and compassion are the foundation of her methods. Her true purpose is to facilitate others in finding their sacred and safe space where to find balance within their mind, body, and spirit.
RYT 200-hour
RYT 300-hour with focus on Yoga Therapy
800-hour Yoga Therapist in Training
Website: namastegaia.com
Instagram: @pagaiamariani
Jennifer Winther, Instructor
Jennifer came to yoga as an adult, after years of running, cycling, a little dance, and a lot of karate. Transitioning in to motherhood while attending graduate school, yoga provided her with a peaceful getaway that was also a strong and physically challenging, fitness-oriented practice. After dabbling with prenatal, postnatal, and beginner classes for a couple of years, when a new studio opened around the corner, she found ways to get there more and more. Before long, she was practicing at home and in the studio every single day, getting stronger, more adventurous, and more grounded through daily yoga and meditation.
Jennifer’s yoga and meditation practice has seen her through graduate school, pregnancy and birth, parenting two kids, auto immune challenges, and breast cancer, and she believes strongly in the power of yoga and meditation to heal. Jennifer honors each individual’s yoga journey as their own, and hopes that sharing knowledge from her own journey as a yoga student and teacher may help fellow yogis find what works for them, no matter where they come from or where they’re headed. As much as yoga and meditation are individual practices, she believes that when practiced in community, they become even more powerful. She aims to make every student feel welcome in her classes and to inspire each person to find ways to let their practice change them from the inside out.
Jennifer’s training has included power yoga, yin and restorative yoga, meditation, yogic philosophy, and Primal Yoga ® flow, a beautiful blend of yoga and Chinese martial arts and healing.
Instagram: @jenniferwintheryoga
Website: jenniferwinther.com