all of us are lgbtq+ allies, trauma informed, and highly trained in our offerings. together, we specialize in alleviating the suffering caused by mental health issues like anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, CPTSD, SUD, body dysmorphia, personality disorders, behavioral addictions, eating disorders, and more.
Alisa
My name is Alisa (she/her) and I’m a Yoga Therapist, e-RYT500 Yoga Teacher, Somatic Healer, Trauma-Informed Educator, and Ecotherapy Facilitator based in Madison, WI. I am also an animal rescuer, foster parent, and nature enthusiast. I specialize in trauma processing and addiction (substance and behavioral), where I help folks regulate their nervous systems and establish healthy coping skills rooted in somatics and nature.
I teach at Madison’s top residential addiction treatment centers: 5 Door Recovery and Tellurian and provide complimentary yoga therapy to folks at DAIS. In 2021, I opened up a tiny studio space to help those impacted by trauma and substance abuse and in 2022 we expanded as a community into this space. If you are currently in recovery yourself (of any kind) or supporting someone dealing with trauma or addiction, please know that this studio was built on the foundation of helping you.
classes: yin, flow, community recovery
Jordann Mason
Jordann has a passion for working with people who have experienced trauma, and her first teaching experience was leading survivors of sexual and domestic violence through gentle flow classes. She also led sessions for the staff at the emergency shelter she worked at, as a way to address the vicarious trauma they had experienced. Currently, Jordann works with children and adults with disabilities, providing individual and group yoga sessions, and she hopes to continue to make yoga more available and accessible to the disability community.
She has completed Restorative Yoga Teacher Training, Chair Yoga Teacher Training, Transcending Sexual Trauma Through Yoga Training with Zabie Yamaski, and Yoga for All with Dianne Bondy. Jordann is also a Level 1 Internal Family Systems Practitioner, and she enjoys incorporating this framework into her yoga sessions.
classes: grounded yoga, sustainable strength, gentle yoga, and yin
Crystall Howe
Crystall was drawn to the practice of yoga initially after experiencing complex trauma and grief. Coupled with a background in molecular biology, she finds the intersection of modern science and the ancient tradition of yoga to be highly fertile soil for the seeds of our true selves to blossom from. She weaves yogic philosophy and techniques into all aspects of her life, and believes yoga to be a powerful method of transformation.
Her life and her yoga classes offer a beautiful balance of her creative spirit and clear intentionality. She’s warm and joyful, endlessly exploring what it means to be human. She encourages students to listen to the inherent wisdom of their own hearts and lived truths while she takes them on a journey of self-exploration. She believes that practicing yoga doesn’t always teach us to be calm, but to discover greater depths of inner harmony by staying connected to our true selves while we experience different emotional states and sensations. With a reverence for the body and soul alike, she infuses both somatic concepts and yoga philosophy lessons into her offerings.
classes: roll release stabilize, gentle yoga & sound bath
Ali Zuba
Alison (Ali) Zuba is a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) and Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT). She has been practicing, studying, and teaching yoga for 10+ years. Yoga involves working together with compassionate self-discipline, introspective self-study, and trust in the whole process. She believes that daily connection practices, on and off the mat, allow us to feel into and manage self-regulating energies.She offers the teachings of Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa, Ayurveda, and Somatics centered on whole-being well-being. Her specialty SomaYoga integrates Somatics and Yoga practices specifically for relieving pain and surpassing plateaus. Having relieved much of her own pain and discomfort through the connection practices of yoga, she wishes to share these potent techniques with all who wish to reduce their suffering. Join her classes for connection practices that seamlessly link body, breath, and mind.
Ali teaches weekly classes in Madison and surrounding areas. She is also available for private sessions. She received an advanced yoga teacher and yoga therapist certification from Yoga North International SomaYoga Institute (Molly McManus and Ann Maxwell) in Duluth, MN. She started her studies with 21st Century Yoga on the Mat (Alex Pfeiffer) in Madison. You can learn more her at www.somalivewellbeing.com.
classes: community recovery
Rosebud
David Sparer (aka Rosebud) started studying Taiji and Qigong in 1975. He has continued to practice and study with various teachers since then. He has also been a committed Buddhist practitioner since about 2003 and received Jukai in 2020. He began Taiji study with Tricia Yu, in 1975, and then studied Yang style Taiji with Master Waysun Liao, and his top students, Domingo Tiu and Rich Hanby. He has also studied Qigong with Peter Moy, a student of Mantak Chia, and learned Drawing Silk practice with a dharma heir of the Chen family, and studied for the last several years with Ken Cohen. In addition he has studied Nei Gong following teachings of Damo Mitchell, and incorporated them into his sitting practice.
classes: qigong
Nico Morgan
Hi! My name is Nico (she/her). I’m a RYT-200 yoga teacher, and I firmly believe yoga is for EVERYONE!
I am fat, neurodivergent, queer, have a couple of chronic illnesses, a couple of mental health struggles, and a big ol’ sensitive heart. All of these things influence the way I practice and teach yoga. I believe yoga is about so much more than the poses, the breathwork, and the meditations (although we will practice all those things in my classes). I believe the tools of yoga help us come into better relationship with ourselves (our bodies, our thoughts, our emotions, our habits, our beliefs, our values, etc.), so that we can come into better relationship with the world around us (moving through this world with empathy & compassion, with the aim of liberation for all).
I am very interested in yogic philosophy, anatomy, pain science, nervous system work, and myofascial release, so you can expect these things to be woven into my classes.
In my free-time, I love sewing, knitting, & baking, so class might end with fresh-baked cookies from time to time. 🙂
classes: gentle embodied yoga
