Santa Cruz Yoga is a yoga studio on the Westside of Santa Cruz, at 402 Ingalls Street #11.
We teach vinyasa at every level, gentle yoga, yin and restorative, and a donation based morning self practice three days a week. Beginners are welcome in any class marked all levels, gentle or level 1/2. In the evenings the studio hosts sound baths, breathwork and dance.
New to the studio? Your first month is 8 classes for $59.
upcoming Events
SAMIRA Sound Ceremony $35 Presale | $45 Door | Every Second Thursday
A live sound bath on the second Thursday of every month, 8:00 to 9:45 pm. You rest on a mat while musicians play didgeridoo, drums, bowls, gongs and voice. Everyone is welcome, whether or not you’ve been to a sound bath before. More about sound baths
1st & 3rd Thursdays
Every Month 7:45-9:45PM
A high-energy dance night set to bass-driven music. There are no steps to learn; you move however feels right. Tickets are sold through Submerge.
Meet our Teachers
Michelle Naklowycz
Friday 12:00 - 1:15 PM; Sunday 11:00 - 12:30 PM
ALL LEVELS Vinyasa Flow
Michelle has over a decade of experience teaching vinyasa flow infused with yin, meditation, pranayama, a bit of humor, and A LOT of gratitude.
Her classes offer freedom of exploration balanced with strong alignment, functional movement, attention to breath, and connection of body and mind.
Michelle draws her knowledge and inspiration from studying yogic texts, over 500 hours of training with a variety of teachers, as well as moments in daily life that serve as reminders to slow down and be present.
Marcia Charland
Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:45 PM
GENTLE YOGA
Yoga has enhanced my well-being over many years as a student. As a teacher, I am delighted and inspired to share the benefits of yoga with everybody!
In Gentle Yoga, I offer you options, modifications, and ways to breathe that allow the postures to have beneficial effects.
After studying Yoga with numerous teachers, I completed both my 200-Hour and +300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification with Mark Stephens and continue to study with him.
It is deeply meaningful to me when students say, “That was just what I needed".” Discover for yourself ways Yoga will enhance your aliveness and awareness. Come practice Gentle Yoga with me every Tuesday and Thursday. Open to All Levels.
Corinne Leblanc
Tuesday & Thursday 12 - 1:15 PM
Wednesday 9:15 - 10:30 AM; Saturday 12 - 1:30 PM
ALL LEVELS VINYASA FLOW
Corinne is a yoga teacher and student, a mother, a musician, a surfer, and a lover of life. She has studied extensively with Mark Stephens
and Janet Stone and has been greatly influenced by the work of Sally Kempton, Hareesh Wallis, and Jack Kornfield, among others, in the non-dual tantric lineages. She sees yoga as a journey to come home to our still point, that loving space within us where we can meet ourselves outside of
labels, limited beliefs, or inherited patterns, as a practice to remind ourselves that we are whole as we are. She takes us on that journey by bringing loving attention to our body, mind, heart, and
breath in meditation, movement, chanting, and breathwork.
Laura Capogeannis
Monday 12:00 -1:15 PM All Levels Vinyasa
I have been a student of yoga for over half my life, and the practice continues to humble and transform me every day. Yoga has become more than a form of exercise —it is a sacred path of self-exploration, healing, and growth. It keeps me curious, inspires me to seek, and gently guides me inward, reminding me again and again of the power within.
Through yoga, I’ve found healing for my body, peace for my soul, and a connection to spirit. It continues to shape the way I move through the world and helps me meet life with more presence and compassion.
As a teacher, I am honored to hold space for others to explore whatever yoga means for them—whether it’s physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. Maybe for you, it’s something entirely unique! I believe each person’s journey is sacred, and I’m here to support and guide others with sincerity, care, and a deep respect for this beautiful practice
Steve Clark
Sunday 9:15 - 10:30 AM Yoga Basics
My yoga journey began when I was 55 and seeking a way out of a mid-life downward spiral. Through ‘fortuitous happenstance’ (divine inspiration?), I realized that yoga might help with my troubles. I started regular practice in the spring of 2011 and have never thought seriously of quitting since. These days, and for the past few years (despite the pandemic lockdown), my practice has focused on the Mysore-style ashtanga vinyasa patterns of postures and flow, along with more typical Western-style, teacher-led vinyasa.
Over the years, I learned that if you practice yoga long enough and show some ability to “make the shapes”, eventually you are asked, cajoled, pushed to take the teacher training and share what you’ve learned (…and it’s so much more than shapes!). And so it happened to me. Full disclosure: I’m a pretty freshly minted yoga teacher, so my classes/practices will be mostly focused on more basic postures, and shorter, simpler flows.
Danielle Barr
Wednesday 5:30 -7 PM STRONG FLOW
"Pushpa" Danielle Barr - Embodying the ancient wisdom of yoga and meditation, Danielle is a seasoned teacher (500 E-RYT, RPYT) and practitioner, blending her profound dedication to breath and presence with playful spontaneity. Beyond the mat, she is an accredited Montessori educator, a devoted mother, a life enthusiast who embraces the healing power of food, and an herbalist deeply attuned to nature’s rhythms. Her passions extend to singing and the realms of music and sound, tea, and family.
Danielle's classes cultivate a sanctuary-inspiring breath as a guide to connecting with something deeper than our current drama loops while challenging each practitioner to slow down into presence. She offers moments to bring voices together in song or chant in most classes. Students always walk away feeling lighter, stronger, restored and in a state of deep focus. Danielle also leads transformative workshops, retreats, kirtans, and women's circles. These gatherings are designed to awaken us to our soul's purpose and remember our hearts longing to stay curious about what gifts we can share with the world and embrace a life marked by gratitude and presence.
Denise Lapides
Wednesday 7:15 - 8:30 PM Yin &Restorative
E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist, IAYT, and Board Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner. Denise's classes are focused on wisdom based alignments oriented to enhance the flow of Prana. Whether it is a slow flowing vinyasa, Yin and restorative or functional therapeutics, her teachings are founded in the Krishnamacharya lineage, that the yoga must be fit to the individual. An abundance of compassionate cues, keen observations from over 25 years on the mat, humor and vibrant encouragement make each class a unique and uplifting experience. Within you is that Divine Light that desires to be fully shining. Rooted in compassion and heartfelt understanding, Denise Divine knows these practices give us a way, a place and a means to uncover that inner light, that inner balance to live fully and wholly, in exactly the way we are meant to live. The key is accepting us as we are, beginning where we are and seeing the Light in all.
Libby McMullen
Monday & Wednesday 3:30 - 4:45 PM
All Levels Vinyasa
After 30 years in public service, Libby found yoga while looking for a new way to stay active. Her first class was a game changer — it helped to calm her mind, nourish her spirit and reconnect with her true self. In 2020, yoga became her safe space, especially during the chaos of the pandemic and CZU lightening fire. It gave her strength, clarity and a new sense of balance in her life.
To mix things up, Libby also practices boxing for a high-energy cardio workout. Boxing activates her fight-or-flight nervous system, while yoga helps her relax and reset with breath. Both keep her focused, energized and grounded.
She guides her classes through a series of postures that help build strength as well as flexibility but also foster a deep connection to oneself. Libby emphasizes the importance of listening to one’s body and honoring its limits that day. She encourages the use of props and modifications if needed for proper alignment, injuries, etc. Libby creates a warm, welcoming space where you can slow down, breathe deeply and find your own inner calm and strength.
Chelsea Biklen
Thursday 9:15 - 10:30 AM
hatha Yoga
Chelsea experiences Yoga as a doorway to presence and Self-realization through embodiment, and in her classes, she aims to share this experience with her students. Initially trained in an Elemental Flow Vinyasa practice, her style has slowed over time. After falling in love with Classical Hatha through a lineage of Ramana Maharshi, Chelsea now teaches variations of Vinyasa, Yin/Restorative, and Hatha Flow. Chelsea's classes are meditation in motion, allowing time for stillness and contemplation between movements. In addition to teaching yoga, Chelsea is a Reiki and massage practitioner, Dancing Freedom Facilitator, and Ecstatic Dance DJ and will sometimes integrate elements of these into her classes. Each of Chelsea’s classes is a ceremony; come as you are.
Marissa Victoria
Monday 9:15 - 10:30 AM Level 1/2 Vinyasa
Monday 5:30 - 7 PM Level 2/3 Vinyasa
Wednesday 12:00 -1:15 PM
Personal and spiritual growth kept Marissa practicing yoga and meditation daily while increased physical health, strength, and a deeper relationship with life became the outcome. Marissa chose to step onto her mat, dedicated to her purpose of teaching, with a passion for sharing and spreading such a potent way of life. She weaves yogic philosophy, pranayama, meditation, biomechanics, and alignment into her classes. Her classes are dynamic and fun, challenging yet accessible and invigorating. Expect to enrich your mind, nourish your body, ease your nerves, and drop into the heart. Classes are often curated with sound, aromatherapy, and an occasional live musical offering from one of the several instruments Marissa plays. She has led international and local yoga retreats, teaches at yoga & art festivals, and hosts various workshops in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz, CA.
Marissa holds her 200- and 300-hour (IP) yoga certifications alongside her completion of the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) personal training certification and is completing her B.S. in Kinesiology. Just some of the many teachers who have inspired her include Ana Forrest, Shiva Rae, Giselle Mari, David Swenson, Ty Landrum, Kino MacGregor, Tias Little, and Katie Silcox.
Shannon Arrechea
Tuesday & Friday
9:15 - 10:30 AM
ALL LEVELS VINYASA
Mark Stephens
Saturday 10:00 - 11:30 AM
All Levels Vinyasa
Santa Cruz native Mark Stephens firmly believes in yoga's transformative power. With over 30 years of experience practicing and teaching yoga, Mark is known as "the teacher's teacher" and received Yoga Journal’s First Annual Karma Yoga Award in 2000 for his Yoga Inside Foundation initiative. Mark's extensive background in various yoga styles, including Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Vinyasa Flow, tantra, and yoga therapy, enables him to offer a holistic and individualized approach to yoga. Mark is deeply passionate about teaching and his daily personal practice, which enriches his practical guidance for his students. You can find out more about Mark at markstephensyoga.com.
Lily Dwyer Begg
Sunday 4:30 - 6:00 PM
All Levels Vinyasa
Lily Dwyer Begg has practiced for over two decades and taught yoga full time since 2006. A former professional modern dancer, she teaches vinyasa, prenatal, postnatal, yoga for scoliosis, and Somatic Practice. She has taught yoga for international yoga studios from Germany to Japan; shared practice with YogaWorks in their studios, PYTT teacher trainings, and with their online platform for students all around the world; shared yoga for athletes with the Golden State Warriors NBA basketball team an an NCAA diving team at UC Berkeley; and worked therapeutically with private clients across the globe.
Lily runs a global online practice group with potent weekly livestream classes, works with private clients in person and online, and shares international retreats for deep yoga immersion and profound inner reset.
Class with Lily drops you into a creative and flowing vinyasa sequence grounded by precise anatomical cues. The emphasis on breath guided movement allows you to turn inward, deepen your awareness of embodied physical sensations, and find a meditative state of awareness that transforms your perception of what is possible. Lily’s teaching motto, "feel don't force" inspires a quality of playful presence, curiosity, non-dogmatic thinking, and compassion that is at the heart of mindfully navigating the technical and athletic approach to asana practice she shares.
Lily is profoundly grateful for the yoga tradition and for all her teachers, past and present, who inspire her life’s path both on and off the mat.
Michelle Martone
Saturdays 4:00 - 5:15 PM
Restorative Yoga
Michelle believes strongly in the power of Yoga to strengthen the health of our body, improve our mindset, and enhance our entire way of being and relating in this world. I have been studying and practicing Yoga since 1999, received a Doctorate in Pharmacology in 2009, completed my first Yoga Teacher Training in 2012, and have been teaching ever since. In addition to daily study, I travel to India to sit with my teachers, study meditation and Yogic and Vedic texts, and honor this sacred tradition. The philosophy and teachings from these texts are woven into my classes, along with pranayama, meditation, and mantra. Based in the Bay Area, I offer classes, workshops, and international retreats.
Health is a state of equilibrium and harmony in the mind and body and is attainable for all. With a little bit of consistent, dedicated effort, the teachings of Yoga give us a path towards maintaining the best health possible as we age, understanding ourselves deeply through inquiry and reflection, and encouragement to live our highest potential. It is with great sincerity and humility that I offer Yoga classes. It is a very sacred and special thing to sit together in community at the feet of this great tradition of Yoga.
Shannon Cummings
Sundays 6:30 - 7:45PM
Candlelight Yin
Shannon began her yoga practice with Jeff Tiebout at the Blue Ridge School of Massage and Yoga in Blacksburg, Virginia in 2006. She then studied under Manju Jois at the Chicago Yoga Institute for some years, and then with Aharona Shackman of Santa Cruz for a decade. She teaches The Rocket System as taught to her by Marie-Belle Perez-Rivera, Old-School Ashtanga as taught to her by Manju and Aha and Yin as taught to her by Paul Grilley. Yoga teaches her persistence, patience and empathy. Teaching it compounds these lessons. She teaches to practice, and practices to teach.
MichaelDavid Creamer
Every third Tuesday
7:30 - 10:00 PM
Contact Improvisation Dance
Madison Wallner
Saturday 8:30 - 9:45 AM
All Levels Vinyasa
Madio joins us as a graduate student at UCSC. Originally from Lake Tahoe, Madio came to yoga as a collegiate athlete--seeing yoga as a way to challenge the body and to stay fit. After completing her 200 YTT at Maui Yoga Shala in 2022, Madio dove deep into yogic philosophy and asana technique.
Today Madio's classes balance strength and core heating movement with yogic teachings and interesting asanas. Madio champions accessibility whether it be language accessibility, with Spanish offerings, physical accessibility, involving levels and adjustments, or socioeconomic accessibility offering information about studio deals.
Madio strives to create class communities where people from all backgrounds can enjoy the experience of breathing and moving together.
Amanda Harper
Amanda finds yoga to be an invaluable part of her routine. It helps her maintain her center, ground herself emotionally as a mother, and complement the other physical activities she enjoys, such as swimming, bike riding, and surfing, her greatest passion.
Her personal practice and curiosity have allowed her to explore a number of yoga lineages. She enjoys the anatomical accuracy of Iyengar Yoga, the energizing qualities of Ashtanga, the healing nature of Restorative, Therapeutic, and Yin, and the beauty and grace of Vinyasa yoga practice.
Amanda feels that the role of a yoga teacher is to provide expert guidance to a practitioner, helping them to fully utilize whatever unique tools and qualities they possess to develop their practice to suit their needs.
As a teacher, she aims to cultivate a nonjudgmental, safe environment, promote a student's mental and physical well-being, reduce suffering, and share the love and benefits of her yoga practice with her students. Her goal is to be a compassionate, patient, enthusiastic, approachable, articulate teacher with a deep knowledge of human anatomy and the philosophy of yoga.