Melissa Heart has been teaching Ananda Yoga since 2012 as a certified Ananda Yoga instructor. She’s been with Ananda Portland since 2007 and has served in many capacities at the Temple. Currently she manages the Ananda Temple and coordinates for the Education for Life Outreach Program.
Teaching yoga has always been a joy and it has transformed my life. It has always given me more energy and a calm acceptance of what is in front of me. I love that everyone can do yoga! -Melissa
Wendy Chapler has been practicing yoga since the early 70’s. Upon retirement she took Ananda Yoga Teacher Training through the Ananda Bay Area School of Yoga and Meditation in Palo Alto, CA in June 2018. She started a “community”, donation based, yoga class at Scotts Valley Ananda to make yoga accessible to all. Unfortunately, Covid closed down the Ananda Scotts Valley Temple so she is happy to return to teaching as a member of the Ananda Portland Temple. Her teaching has been described as kind and authentic. I find Ananda Yoga, with it’s affirmations and emphasis on moving energy throughout the body and going within, the truest yoga I’ve practiced. It’s not about how we look, but how we feel. This is joyful, gentle yoga.
– Wendy
Pooja Copley grew up in India, practicing yoga from childhood, guided by her grandfather. Later, she studied physics and management in her under graduate and graduate classes in India. She earned her AYTT (Ananda Yoga Teacher Training) certification in 2012 while in Portland, and taught weekly yoga classes for a few years. She is also very interested in Bhagavad Gita, and presented these timeless teaching in monthly retreats from 2014 to 2018. She has worked in corporates in India and the United States for 29 years, and has realized that neither career not formal studies can bring the joy our heart is longing for. So, she is looking to become a simple humble devotee, practicing yoga with meditation every day and sharing it with others to reduce stress and pain in our lives.
