2026 Montana YogaFest Teachers
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Alyssa Davis
Choteau, MT
Alyssa has been practicing and instructing yoga now for over 20 years in her adopted home of Montana. With over 700 hours of training completed, she has crafted her individual training style to focus on strength, mobility, flexibility and an overarching focus on movement. For Alyssa, yoga has always been an enhancement for her love of skiing, running and hiking. Alyssa's classes have always focused on being fun yet challenging while being accessible to everyone.
Class: Summer Solstice Celebration
Robyn Lund
Helena, MT
Robyn Lund, 500 E-RYT, came to yoga in college as a way to manage anxiety and stress. Having practiced for 15 years, she undertook her first Yoga Teacher Training in 2012, becoming Montana’s only Certified Curvy Yoga Teacher. Robyn has continued to study with Anna Guest-Jelly, founder of Curvy Yoga, Jivana Heyman of the Accessible Yoga Foundation, and Rachael Getecha of the Trauma Center for Trauma Sensitive Yoga, amongst others.
In 2013, Robyn opened the Gentle Healing Center in Helena, where she, along with several other teachers, lead weekly classes. In 2019, she founded the Montana Yoga Movement, a 501(c)3, aimed at bringing yoga to at-risk populations such as women’s shelters, in-patient addiction centers, homeless shelters, and more. In 2022, she developed the Ahimsa Yoga Training, a Yoga Alliance accredited 200 hour program, which she leads annually.
Robyn focuses on bringing yoga to your body, the one you have right now. Using props, specialized sequencing, and techniques to make classes accessible and enjoyable for everyone, no matter size, shape, ability to background.
Class: Somatic Yoga
Cici Smith
Whitefish, MT
Cici has been teaching and sharing different modalities of yoga for almost a decade. As an athlete from an early age and a coach in her late teens / early twenties, becoming a yoga teacher just seemed to be the natural next step. She completed her first yoga teacher training (vinyasa) in her mid twenties and hasn’t stopped since, keeping the goal and mindset to always be a student - always be learning. Cici also has certifications in Thai Yoga Massage, Yin Yoga, Mobility, and Rocket Yoga.
Cici’s teaching style defies a single label. Instead, she draws from her extensive training to create fluid, intentional practices centered around the specific needs of her students. Her work focuses on balance, mobility, and recovery. Cici’s classes are more than sequences—they are spaces for students to explore, grow, and find their way “home” within themselves.
Class: Flow with Cici
Class: Thai Massage
Erin O'Brien
Livingston, MT
For the past 30 years, Erin has worked in elite fitness clubs in New York City, Los Angeles, as well as Minnesota. In 2013, Erin opened Bring It! Studios and CrossFit Chanhassen and was Owner/Program director for the next 8 years, where she ran the Peak 10 Program.
Erin came to yoga after searching for a way to heal her
exhausted body. She received her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training from Jason Crandel, and is certified through AFFA and ACE (Group Exercise and Pre/Postnatal), and The Fitness Institute of Training (Personal Trainer) as well as carrying multiple
certifications in Pilates, Barre, Kettlebell, Post Rehab, and Flexibility Training.
Class: Yogi Strong
Class: Yoga Fusion
Christiane Rudmann
Helena, MT
Chris came to yoga in her 20s. It was an evening Hatha Yoga class taking place in an old Bavarian building where the rooms had high ceilings, and it was quiet and peaceful. Chris has since returned to yoga every time when her mind and body longed for peace and quiet. Chris found her way back to yoga and became a regular at Gentle Healing in 2020 . Yoga allowed Chris to reconnect to her mind, body, and spirit, and recreate a sense of wellbeing that seemed lost.
Having been an advocate for people with disabilities, Chris was intrigued by Robyn Lund’s Ahimsa Yoga Teacher Training with a focus on accessibility. Chris participated in the first round of Gentle Healing’s YTT and finished her 200-hour YTT in March 2023. She’s been teaching regular classes at the Gentle Healing Studio, always with a focus on helping her students find slowness, presence, and reconnect to their breath.
Class: Slow and Mindful
Nadine Corda
Great Falls, MT
Nadine has been teaching yoga for 8 years, and is an
Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 hour level of teacher training with 2,300+ hours of
teaching experience. Growing up as a short and curvy ballet dancer Nadine spent her youth, and well into
adulthood, fighting her own body, and wishing it were different. She was initially drawn to yoga by the
poses, and she approached her practice very much like the way she used to force her body into ballet
poses. This started to change as yoga began to work its magic on her, and she eventually learned to
collaborate with her body rather than fight against it. Collaboration led to unconditional self love, and self
respect. Nadine endeavors to pass these lessons on by teaching poses according to anatomical truths,
giving students space for self-inquiry, and sharing how simple things done well can have a huge impact
toward self regulation. She also enjoys weaving yoga philosophy into her classes. Students often say that
her classes unfold like the telling of a story. Nadine is the creator of Your Yoga: Seven steps through the chakra
system to develop a home yoga practice, a program she offers in group settings, and also in private instruction.
Nadine lives in Great Falls, MT with her incredibly talented and musical husband, Joel Corda. Their son
recently flew the nest, but thankfully, lives nearby. Nadine is usually found tending to her flower and herb
garden, cooking wholesome meals, practicing yoga, teaching yoga classes at the Peak Health and Wellness
Center, and coaching private yoga clients.
Class: Reach For the Sky
Class: Have a Cow Over Back Bends
Danae Robinett
San Francisco, CA
Danae Robinett is a yoga teacher, retreat leader, and care-giver based in San Francisco. Practicing yoga since 1999, she’s been teaching for 20 years. Her classes are warm, welcoming and precise.
Class: Shake your Asana
Lou Bleck
Sheridan, MT
Lou received her first yoga instruction in the heartland of India from Yogi Vishvketu-ji and has been guiding ever since. Always being spiritual and an outcast of traditional western society, Lou combines traditional eastern modalities into our modern culture to help create wellness on all the layers of the body. She lives in southwestern Montana and travels extensively throughout the United States teaching at massage schools, conferences and festivals. Lou leads an online kundalini yoga teacher training immersion each spring and uses astrology tied into her offerings. She is beginning to transition her focus towards a more virtual client experience through coaching individuals into their own sovereignty, empowerment, and deep inner/spiritual healing through the Inner Alignment Soul Retrieval system for healing childhood trauma.
Class: Shamanic Journey
Class: Kundalini Tantra
Deb Halliday
Helena, MT
Deb Halliday is a yogini, mama, artist and musician in Helena. She is trained in the
Tantric tradition of the divine feminine, and delights in introducing the Goddesses of Yoga to
practitioners as a way to connect into the creative, loving Universal flow. Deb is a 300-hour
certified Prana Vinyasa® + Soulful Wellness teacher with the Samudra School of Yoga and is a
certified Energy Medicine Yoga® practitioner. Through her yoga, Deb invites us to explore the
sacred tremor of spanda, and our energetic body in motion. Deb teaches at Gentle Healing
Yoga. Check out her project, Juicy Purusha, at www.juicypurusha.com.
Class: The Energy to Heal
Workshop: Let That Sh*t Go
Stephanie Naftal
Red Lodge, MT
Stephanie is an abdominal therapy and energetic/spiritual healing practitioner, herbalist, teacher, and potion maker; she is the owner of Bitterroot Botanicals and Hawthorn Holistic Health, both businesses rooted in physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Her journey as an herbalist began in the early 1990's as she was beginning a career in biology and eventually led to obtaining her certification to practice massage therapy in 2004, which led to her journeying multiple times to Belize beginning in 2018 to learn abdominal massage and spiritual healing techniques. Weaved into all of that she also offers medicinal plant and plant wisdom classes as well as health and wellness classes focusing mostly on digestive and women's health. All of her practices are deeply grounded in the wisdom and beauty of the Earth with the goal of always celebrating abundance, health, family, and friends.
Workshop: Belly Massage
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Carolyn Simonton
Helena, MT
I'm Carolyn, and I believe movement is medicine. There is power and magic in gathering together, feeling the energy, and moving our bodies. Being on my mat, is my safe place, and my way back to the best parts of me. I'd love to make magic together!
Class: Buti
Jennifer McIntee
Polson, MT
Jennifer McIntee is the owner and lead teacher at Beyond Bending Yoga & Retreats with in-person classes at the home studio in northwest Montana’s Mission Valley, as well as online classes through a full online studio, and retreat experiences in various locations (frequently in Western North Carolina). She is certified through Yoga Alliance as eRYT500 hour (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher), and Y-ACEP (Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider). She also has a Masters degree in Physical Education with over 20 years of experience teaching yoga.
Class: Bolster Your Practice
Class: Yoga at The Wall
Nicole Grant
Seattle, WA
Nicole brings over three decades of dedicated yoga practice and instructional experience to her unique style of teaching rooted in the Chakra Model of Subtle Energy. Nicole’s approach explores the art of wise sequencing of postures using the three pillars of prāṇāyāma (breath), antara drishti (inner focus), and āsana (physical seat or pose) to support energetic integration of body, emotion, mind, intellect, and spirit. Nicole trusts that awakening the presence of mind inside the body supports experiences and conversations that allow each one of us to feel seen, heard, and valued, and to rediscover balance, healing, and peace from within. She is the author of Yogini’s Dilemma: To Be or Not To Be a Yoga Teacher (Morgan James Publishing, July 2020).
Nicole is a certified trauma-focused yoga therapy (C-IAYT), experienced registered yoga teacher (E-RYT 500) and registered yoga school (The Mandala Project RYS 500), offering deepest gratitude to her incredible teachers, female pioneer in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, Nancy Gilgoff (1948–2024) and Zoe Stewart in the tradition of BKS Iyengar. Nicole also holds certifications as a Reiki Master in the Usui tradition, Journey Dance® Facilitator and Trauma-Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate. You can find Nicole on The Mandala Project YouTube channel and vicariously living life in Choteau, MT.
Class: Mantra and Mudras
Workshop: Yin Yoga with EFT
Avery Seefeldt
Hot Spring, MT
Avery was first introduced to yoga as a child and the spark of intrigue never faded. Through the formative years of young adulthood she studied yoga in many capacities including college yoga coursework, working YTT’s and retreats, and endeavouring to complete her teacher training abroad.
Upon returning home, she quickly recognized the need for a dedicated space in her local community of Hot Springs, MT for people to step away from the stressors of today’s modern world and cultivate deeper connection. With a manner of curiosity and a lifetime learner’s mindset, Avery opened her own studio in the heart of town which has become a cornerstone for wellness in the area.
Being one of the only local yoga teachers, Avery has learned the importance of truly meeting people where they are on the mat. She teaches a variety of class styles to serve the diverse needs of her community, which has been exceptionally well received. The most popular classes have been Stretch & Unwind, an in-between vinyasa and yin class, and Kids Yoga & Play which is Avery’s personal favorite, given her background in childcare and current work as the owner of Montana Nannies, a childcare agency.
Class: Stretch and Unwind
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Monique Stark
Liberty Lake, WA
Monique is a 500-hour certified yoga instructor who believes yoga is a powerful tool for both personal growth and connection. Through her own practice, she has found strength and joy in movement, peace in stillness, and grounding through breath—experiences that shape the way she teaches and leads others. With a background in dance and gymnastics, Monique offers classes that are strong, intentional, and accessible. Her teaching goes beyond the physical postures, creating space for students to slow down, reconnect, and find balance in the midst of full, fast-paced lives. As a leader and mother of two, she deeply understands the importance of carving out time to reset and refill your cup. Community is at the heart of Monique’s work. She feels incredibly grateful to share the practice of yoga and to create welcoming spaces where people feel supported, empowered, and at home in their bodies.
Class: Take Flight: A Power Flow for Crow & Beyond
Tara Bresnick
Savannah, GA
Tara spent years building a fast-paced career, achieving milestones and recognition, but often felt exhausted, overwhelmed, and disconnected from herself. Yoga changed her life, offering a space to breathe, move, and reconnect with her heart. She feels deeply honored to share the practice and offer that same gift to her students.
A bhakti yogi at heart, Tara hopes to create spaces where students can follow their own hearts, explore movement joyfully, and connect with themselves in meaningful ways. Through Pause. Practice. Peace., her virtual studio and community, she offers mindful yoga, meditation, and workshops. Through Soar Bungee Fitness, she guides students in innovative movement experiences including bungee fitness, aerial yoga, and indoor cycling.
Tara teaches a wide variety of classes including Hot Hatha, Restorative, Yin, Meditation, Bodyweight Strength, Chair Yoga, Senior Yoga, Aqua Yoga, Yoga for Injuries, Indoor Cycling, Aerial Yoga, and Bungee Fitness. She is a Yoga Alliance E-500 RYT, dedicated to guiding students of all levels and abilities to find balance, strength, and connection through both movement and stillness.
Class: Summer Solstice Chakra Cleanse
Workshop: Meditation and Breathwork
Samantha Fisher
Cardwell, MT
I started my yoga journey in 2019 and found my true calling for yoga at the Front Range Yoga Festival. I signed up for my 200 YTT the next week and have had a beautiful journey since! I am grateful to continue my yoga journey at the MontanaYoga Festival! I have been practicing sound healing since 2022. I also practice meditation, reiki, and shamanic healing.
When I’m not on my mat, I like to backpack into Montana’s mountains and lakes, Harley ride with my family, read, spend time with my dog, & kayak. Spending time in nature with those I love is the ultimate!
Class: Sound Bath Journey
Nadia Barzinpour
Bozeman, MT
Nadia adores teaching yoga and is passionate about the practice's power to awaken deep awareness within the body and mind. She likes to bring her students into a playful, curious connection with themselves. Her classes are strong, slower, slinky, breath-based, mantra, & philosophy infused. With an emphasis on presence and embodiment, her intention is for the class to awaken insight, strength, and compassion on and off the mat.
Class: Mantra in Motion
Class: Reiki, Pranayama, and Presence