Marla co-founded Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics as part of her commitment to make the healing benefits of yoga accessible to all.
A level 3 CIYT and certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT), she has been teaching yoga for almost 30 years and designed and assisted medical research studies through UCLA regarding yoga as a treatment for depression, anxiety and IBS. She created the first yoga therapy content to be incorporated into the curriculum of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Marla has been a writer/contributor for various international yoga magazines and newsletters. She served as President of both the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States and the regional association of Southern California/Los Angeles. She also served as a chair or member of the national program and was honored with the Iyengar Yoga Association of Southern California’s Leadership Award.
Gloria was founding President of the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States and is currently serving as the President of the Board of Directors. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Iyengar Yoga Association of California Southern Region as well as Director of IYILA. She is a level 4 CIYT and certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT). Gloria founded the Iyengar Yoga Association of Southern California’s Teaching Training program in 1992 and was co-curriculum coordinator at UC Riverside’s Iyengar Yoga program.
Naomi is a level 3 CIYT and certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) who has been studying since 1988. A graduate of both the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco’s advanced studies program and the Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics three-year training program, she has served as Secretary and Vice President of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Northern California. After working extensively with Eric Small, helping create the Yoga for MS video, co-authoring the accompanying training manual and acting as a teacher for his Yoga for MS workshops, she offered Yoga for MS workshops to both students and health care professionals. She currently co-leads a yoga therapy class in Mt. View, CA. Naomi has worked in the investment industry, holding series 7 and 63 licenses. She currently is CFO for Rob Roy Consulting, Inc. a boutique marketing advisory firm.
Michael Seibert is Founder of LA Fiduciary Partners, LLC specializing in the management of trusts, conservatorships, estates and guardianships. He has over 30 years of experience in private equity, venture capital, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions.
Soon after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age 22, Eric Small became a serious student of Iyengar Yoga, which helped him to manage the effects of his illness. He has been teaching since the 1960s and holds a Level 3 Iyengar Yoga teaching certificate. He has conducted yoga workshops and seminars for both MS and non-MS students and yoga teachers throughout the USA.
Lisa Walford has been a CIYT since 1988, holds a Level 3 certificate and is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT). She taught in the Los Angeles area for over thirty years and has presented at IAYT conferences. She co-created the teacher training program at Casey Integrated Health Institute, co-developed the Teacher Training Program for Yoga Works, and has co-authored two books: The Anti-Aging Plan and The Longevity Diet.
Arlene Zeichner is a co-founder and the director of Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics (IYT). She has practiced Iyengar Yoga since 2001. Professionally, Arlene helps organizations leverage the power of information and technology, including through digital fundraising, online learning and via social media. Her clients include public media entities such as PBS, KCET and TPT as well as nonprofits in multiple verticals including social services and health and wellness. Zeichner also supports entertainment, consumer electronics and technology companies, helping them pair media and technology to build awareness and engagement with their products. She brings her extensive technical and media expertise to IYT, and strives to promote and spread the benefits of Iyengar Yoga in low-income and other disadvantaged communities.
Carolyn Belko has offered therapeutic yoga in the Iyengar Yoga tradition for people with various ailments since the 1990s. She received her training at the Iyengar Yoga Center of Paris under the guidance of Faeq and Corine Biria and has continued the learning process at RIMYI during numerous monthly sabbaticals in India. Carolyn has conducted weekly yoga therapy classes since 2001. She offers seminars and practical workshops in yoga therapy to yoga teachers and health professionals. Carolyn mentors teachers and conducts therapeutic classes at Iyengar Yoga Source in San Diego, California.
Bobby Clennell has been teaching Iyengar Yoga for 44 years. She is a core faculty member of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York and teaches workshops throughout the United States and around the world. In 1975, Bobby made her first trip to study with B.K.S. Iyengar in Pune, India. She earned an Iyengar Yoga teaching certificate in 1977. She returned every two years (and once a year from the mid ’90s to 2020) to continue her studies. Bobby has written two books: The Woman’s Yoga Book, and Yoga for Breast Care. She is the creator of a short film, entitled Yantra, based on the movements of B. K. S. Iyengar during his own asana practice. 
Kelly Fogel’s two decades long career, which began when she worked at Madonna’s Maverick Records, has included marketing and management in the music industry and nonprofit world using a unique skill set to merge pop culture with social change initiatives. Kelly is an award-winning documentary photographer focusing on indigenous communities and wildlife conservation around the world. Kelly teaches photography and mentors students at Venice Arts and Pablove Shutterbugs. She holds a BA in Psychology from George Washington University in DC and an MFA in Writing from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Kelly has been practicing yoga since high school and has been an Iyengar Yoga student since 2012.
Susan Freudenheim served as a longtime arts editor at the Los Angeles Times, overseeing coverage in visual arts, dance, theater, classical music and architecture. She also wrote about design and arts for the LA Times and the New York Times. In 2005, she joined the staff of the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, taking on the role of Executive Editor. In 2016, Susan was named Executive Director of Jewish World Watch, a nonprofit that works to combat genocide worldwide. She is now retired and writing for multiple nonprofit and news outlets. Susan has been practicing yoga for nearly a decade, and is currently devoted to taking exclusively Iyengar Yoga classes. This has helped tremendously in her recovery from a hip replacement, as well as other more minor ailments.
Christie has studied Iyengar Yoga since 1995 and has been teaching yoga since 1997. As a full-time yoga teacher, Christie specializes in helping those with physical limitations. Her students include rock climbers, women in wheelchairs, octogenarians, teenagers, marathon runners, competitive cyclists, surfers, cancer survivors, spinal fusion patients, and trauma survivors.
Garth Mclean is a level 3 CIYT and certified Yoga therapist (C-IAYT) dedicated to making yoga available to all people. To that end, he served as the headline Iyengar Yoga teacher at the World Yoga Festival in 2019. Since 1996, Garth has successfully navigated his own course of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) under the direct personal guidance of BKS Iyengar and Geeta S. Iyengar, which has motivated him to serve others worldwide with MS, as well as those with Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions. He is the author of Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis, a Practical Guide for People with MS and Yoga Teachers (Singing Dragon, 2020).
Lori Neumann is a level 2 CIYT who began studying Iyengar Yoga in 2001 while looking for alternative solutions to address severe sciatica and lower back pain. She was guided to Elise Miller, a senior Iyengar teacher, who helped her with her scoliosis. Elise then acted as Lori’s mentor during her teacher training at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. Lori assisted Elise for three years in her back care classes; she has also studied with Lois Steinberg and helped in the senior classes in Pune, India.
Jim’s yoga journey began when he was incapacitated by a pair of frozen shoulders at the age of 59. Despite being a registered nurse and strongly adhering to a traditional medical regime, his condition did not improve. A colleague at the health department where he worked suggested yoga. For the past 16 years, Jim has engaged in a daily practice which not only healed his body but changed his life. When he retired at the age of 71, he immediately enrolled in an advanced yoga training and is now a 200-hour RYT. He has been trained to teach yoga to individuals with paralysis and found his niche as a part-time city of Las Vegas employee teaching chair yoga to senior citizens. An avid fan of Iyengar Yoga, he hopes to become a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher. Jim was named treasurer of the board of the Iyengar Yoga Association of the Southwest (IYASW) in 2023. His prior board experience includes serving as treasurer for a non-profit organization for the blind; he also acted as the executive director of another non-profit. Jim has authored numerous funded grants during his long tenure as a grant writer and he hopes to help IYASW and other yoga organizations spread the word about the benefits of yoga.
Dr. Alyson Ross received undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Vanderbilt University, where she subsequently worked as a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist. She received a PhD in Nursing from the University of Maryland. She worked at the National Institutes of Health, first as a research fellow and later as a Nurse Scientist at the NIH Clinical Center, where she was Principal Investigator for numerous studies that focused on stress and resilience in cancer caregivers. She has been a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher for over 20 years, and holds IAYT certification as a yoga therapist. Dr. Ross has researched, published, and presented widely on resilience and the importance of health-promoting behaviors. Topics include proper nutrition, physical activity, social support, and the role of yoga in stress reduction activities and the prevention of lifestyle-related conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Louise Sandhaus is a graphic designer and is faculty at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Louise received the honor of being the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) 2022 medalist. She is the founder and co-director of The People’s Graphic Design Archive, a crowd-sourced virtual archive. Louise is the author of Earthquakes, Mudslides, Fires and Riots: California and Graphic Design, 1936-1986 and co-author of A Colorful Life: Gere Kavanaugh, Designer. She is a current Letterform Archive board member, former AIGA board member, former Chair of the AIGA Design Educators Community steering committee, AIGA LA Fellow, and in 2017 received the Design Icon Award from Los Angeles Design Festival.
Chere Thomas is a Level 2 Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher who has completed over 200 hours of Iyengar Yoga therapy training. She has studied with Gloria Goldberg for many years, including acting as her assistant in weekly therapy classes.
Dr. Hermann Traitteur is a Level 3 certified Iyengar Yoga teacher with a background in medicine.
Will has held a variety of positions advocating for justice on behalf of low-income and disenfranchised communities throughout Los Angeles. Will was the Directing Attorney for the Homelessness Prevention Law Project of Public Counsel and as a faculty member at UCLA School of Law, he launched the Veterans Legal Clinic.
Lonnie Zeltzer, MD, Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA, is past-Director of the UCLA Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program and heads the pain research program. She was an invited member of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Pain Care, Research, and Education, is a co-author on the IOM report on Transforming Pain in America, prepared at the request of Congress, and a member of pain-related committees for the FDA, CDC, and NIH. She has engaged in research on Iyengar yoga and pain conditions, and has over 400 scientific publications. Her focus has been her non-profit dedicated to education, peer support, and mind-body experiences for youth in pain and for their parents: Creative Healing for Youth in Pain (