Bay Area Yoga Teachers
Who is “the best” Yoga Teacher in San Francisco?
Within San Francisco’s 7×7 miles, yoga instructors are pumped out by the dozens from the various teacher certifications & yoga teacher teaching programs. Therefore, it can be difficult to weed through “the bullshit” and find knowledgeable & qualified yoga instructors.
That being said; whether in the Mission, Noe Valley, Bay View, Castro, the Embarcadero or more, the San Francisco Bay Area yoga community offers a tremendous variety of Hatha Yoga styles to choose from – Vinyasa, Iyengar, Sivananda, Integral, Ashtanga, Forrest Yoga, Yin Yoga.
S.F. Bay Area’s Finest Yoga Instructors
Below is a directory of the best yoga teachers, many of whom are prominent instructors based in the San Francisco Bay Area with deep ties to the Iyengar tradition:
- Janet MacLeod: A Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT) since 1983 who began studying in London in the late 1970s. Originally from Scotland, she teaches classes and workshops locally and internationally, infusing traditional techniques with technical precision and warmth.
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Jaki Nett: A world-renowned yoga instructor, author, and educator with over four decades of experience, known for teaching a method deeply rooted in the methodical approach of Iyengar yoga.
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Tony Eason: A long-time San Francisco-based instructor and graduate of the advanced teacher training program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco, known for teaching Iyengar-based, accessible, community-oriented donation yoga classes.
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Cecily Guest: A veteran yoga and fitness professional with decades of experience teaching across major organizations like Equinox and YogaWorks. Her challenging, energetic classes focus on asana master classes and functional mobility.
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Nadine Johnson: An E-RYT500 certified instructor based in San Francisco with extensive cross-training in diverse styles like Ashtanga, Power Yoga, and Forrest Yoga, teaching to help students build life-work balance.
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Darren Main: A Northern California yoga teacher, author, and speaker who has taught mindful living for over 30 years, famously holding classes in unique spaces like San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.
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Ben Dineen: A San Francisco Bay Area teacher trained through the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco who blends his background in yoga with decades of practice and instruction in Tai Chi and Qigong.
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Kathy Alef: A seasoned Iyengar practitioner who studied directly under B.K.S. Iyengar and Geetaji. She teaches intermediate and specialized therapeutic back-care classes, while mentoring aspiring teachers.
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Betty Roi: A Paris-native Bay Area instructor whose teaching blends Iyengar precision and therapeutic prop use with heart-centered Vinyasa. She is also a recognized bilingual vocalist and practitioner of Buddhist Vipassana meditation.
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Pam Ward: A certified multi-style and Yin yoga teacher in Virginia who found healing through yoga after a back injury. She brings a background in special education and martial arts to her diverse student base, ranging from children to seniors.
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Maria Calabria: A Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor practicing since 1985 and teaching since 2000. She apprenticed with senior Bay Area teachers and studied in Pune, India, teaching heavily throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Ben Thomas is a Senior Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher with a deep, decades-long background in the practice. He began his studies in 1979 under the world-renowned yogi B.K.S. Iyengar, traveling to India on numerous occasions to learn directly from him.
- Publications: Alongside Tommijean Thomas, he co-authored the comprehensive guide Iyengar Yoga: The Integrated and Holistic Path to Health, which features extensive photographic breakdowns of postures, foundational sequences, philosophy, and anatomical principles.
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