About Us
The Story of the House began as a dream.
A repetitive dream that Jen had years ago in her small magical studio nestled in the heart of the Bainbridge Island forest. The idea was to have a bigger space that could bring lots more people in to do yoga as well as serving as a community gathering space. The kind of studio that would encourage folks to slow down after practicing yoga and maybe sit for another few moments to chat with one another before rushing off to complete the next item on their 'checklist!'
Built on the ancient principles of Sacred Geometry Architecture and informed by the extensive knowledge of a veteran yoga studio owner, Bainbridge Yoga House came to be, manifesting the same vibrant aliveness that exists here today. From the powerful and pulsating Flower of Life that greets you in the entryway, to the fibonacci spirals found in the stained glass waves, and the sizes and entryways of each room; everything is designed with love and intention using the Golden Mean proportions. These ratios were derived from nature and developed by enlightened designers and builders in all corners of the globe thousands of years ago.
We have reproduced these time honored formulas in an attempt to bring humans and nature together and create a peaceful and harmonizing effect for all to enjoy. The concept and basic principles of the House came from Jen. The design and construction were orchestrated by local builder and world traveler Darrell Cooley. It is our heartfelt wish and hope that everyone who comes to the House has as much fun experiencing this wonderful place as we did creating it!
House of belonging, participation and sharing.
House of welcome and belonging.
House of living and learning.
That was then…
Now we have shared over 18 years as a yoga community and we continue to change and grow together. We have a strong foundation of regular yoga students and we love meeting new students. People come and go but we always remain a welcoming and hospitable place for you to be and breathe. We have faith that the Yoga House will continue to hold space for all the joys and sorrows of life, personally and collectively, now and forever more. We are grateful for your presence and continued support.
We have a wonderful group of amazing teachers at BYH.
Jen Breen, Founder and Teacher
Born and raised in Seattle, I've found inspiration, solace, connectivity and aliveness in the forests, saltwater, mountains and starry skies. I am always up for a good laugh, a spontaneous drive or cafe hang out, and deep, wild conversations with curious and joyfilled people,
Yoga has enchanted me since I was a kid when my mom took me along to yoga classes at a local gym with a teacher named Hollie. It's been a beautiful almost 40-year devoted and delightful yoga ride. I love the practice, the community and the teachings. I'm grateful for the teachers and practices I've experienced along the way.
My classes are grounded, playful, dynamic and fluid. I stay current with what I teach and enjoy watching the practice unfold. I find great joy in an integrated practice. For the past decade I've been practicing and exploring Katonah Yoga and weaving the material into my classes. Cultivating a beloved community is my jam.
I opened Yoga Vida in Austin, Texas, in 1999 and then moved to Bainbridge Island in 2007 where I founded and have stewarded Bainbridge Yoga House for almost 20 years.
Amanda Horn
Yoga found me almost nine years ago, at a time when life was completely upended. Yoga offered space to move, breathe, simply be, and always feel welcome. What began as a refuge evolved into a consistent and important part of my life. Maybe that’s what continues to excite me about yoga: it never stays the same, just like us.
Right now, I’m especially drawn to yoga as a way to stay strong, mobile, curious, and connected to our bodies. I relish a practice that asks us to pay attention to how we actually feel in each moment, not how we moved ten years ago, or even last week.
I offer a warm, grounded flow with room to adapt the practice and make it your own. I weave together thoughtful sequencing and playlists that match the season. I enjoy a challenge and a good laugh, so there is absolutely no requirement to take any of it too seriously.
My rituals include yoga, strength training, being outdoors, and time with my daughter and friends. I’m increasingly curious about longevity and what keeps us engaged in the lives we want to live.
Mostly, I teach because I enjoy practicing in community—showing up, moving together, and seeing what’s present each day.
Ann Strickland
Ann Strickland is a Bainbridge Island-based psychotherapist, musician, devotional chant leader, and dedicated student of yoga and Vedic philosophy.
Across her decades of work as a music director, including her longtime creative leadership at Grace Episcopal Church, her practice rests at the gentle intersection of somatic psychology, sacred sound, community, and spiritual inquiry. Rooted in a lifelong reverence for the natural world and the warmth of deep connection, she is endlessly curious about how we can hold the complex beauty of life's changes with open-heartedness, grace, and love. Above all, she is a devoted mom, friend and Yaya.
Bronte Mayo
As an advocate of healing through movement and having a background in dance, I focus not only on the asanas themselves, but also the transitions between them while weaving pathways throughout the body. My classes are designed to feel fluid and rejuvenating, encouraging a continuous flow from head to toe. My hope, by creating natural connections between movements, is to give you the space to discover and move within your own internal rhythm. To further inspire your practice, each class is paired with a thoughtfully curated playlist that music lovers will appreciate. As we near the end of our practice, I make sure to leave space for a substantial savasana, allowing space for your mind to quiet and for you to fully absorb the effects of the practice.
Christine Chen
It is my honor to create and hold a soulful space for you to show up as your authentic self. Together, let's sing, flow, and explore the unfamiliar. Let's celebrate the commitment and sweat it takes to transform. Let's make mudras, moments, and meet ourselves/each other in ways that make your eyes sparkle, bring your heart warmth, and breathe spirit into your every day. I always try to honor the roots of yoga with language, love, and profound respect. And, having anchored my life in this practice across decades, borders, and personal evolutions, I like to keep it real. No matter the change and the challenge, these things I know to be true: The sutras are always a mic drop. The mess is where you find the magic. Joy and people come in infinite forms.
Dawn Janow
I am daily inspired by the diverse assortment of teachers, styles and students at the Bainbridge Yoga House, it is a deep well of inspiration. I see a yin practice as vital to maintaining groundedness and suppleness, and the practice of strengthening not only the body but intuition. In yin, we do less and yet somehow it is infinitely more. My teaching has gotten softer and quieter over the years, leaning more heavily into trusting and exploration. I’m interested in creating space where each person can honor and work with what their body is telling them in any given moment, whether that is in a vinyasa, yin or restorative class. But, in the end, it is all about joy – joy of movement, joy of stillness, joy of challenge, joy of curiosity, joy in the smallest of shifts – those aha moments where we feel alive or learn something new.
Jodi Brookes
There’s not much I don’t love about yoga except when a class ends. Some of my favorite things about the practice is how it teaches me to stay present, calm and steady both on and off the mat.
I teach from a place of heart, strong foundation and meeting my students where they are. Modifications are my love language and you’ll find me always playing around with props these days.
I get so much joy sharing my practice and learning from my students and other teachers inside this beautiful community at BYH. Whether it’s a strong sweaty class or a quiet,sweet flow - this practice always knows what the body needs. I can’t imagine life without yoga, especially since I still plan on being able to touch my toes at 100.
Joyce Cooley
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one sees rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~ The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Gratitude, breath, imagination, and love are essential to my yoga classes and these are some of my essential teachings.
Close your eyes and think of one or two things(or a hundred) that you are grateful for, notice how that feels in your body. For me, it is a warm expansion around my heart. There is SO much to be grateful for!
Your breath is your best friend; it's with you when you come into this world until the moment you leave. It has the ability to calm or energize. I know I'm breathing in, and I know I'm breathing out. Bringing awareness to your breath keeps you in the present moment where imagination grows and creativity blossoms.
You are never too old to use your powerful imagination. Become a hissing snake in Cobra pose, a seed in Childs pose grows into Tree pose, hug your knees into your chest and you are a little fireball shooting across the night sky that bursts into Star pose, or one of my favorites, imagine a silk scarf encircles the earth with love.
Think something kind about yourself because you are AMAZING!
Love love love yourself because when you are filled up with your own love it's easy to love love love everyone else.
Kat Sorenson
It's fascinating to observe how over time, my own practice—and the way I teach—evolves. Lately, I’ve felt drawn to slowing things down, listening more closely, and giving the body space to communicate what it truly needs. For me, yoga is less about pushing toward a particular shape and more about paying attention: What feels nourishing today? Where might I soften? Where might I challenge myself?
My classes are rooted in this sense of curiosity and connection. I believe yoga can be gentle without being passive and strong without being forceful. Through intentional movement, moments of stillness, and playful exploration, I encourage students to find a thoughtful balance between ease and effort.
Rather than asking everyone to have the same experience, I offer plenty of permission to make the practice your own. My intention is to create a welcoming space where students can approach their bodies with compassion, awareness, and trust—and where both rest and challenge have a place.
My hope is that each person leaves class feeling more grounded, balanced, and connected to themselves—simply better than when they arrived. Most of all, I want students to feel supported in their practice and genuinely excited to return to the mat.
Kelly Asadorian
Yoga is so much more than striking a perfect physical shape. Yoga is an endless landscape for self-study. It is a sacred space to peel back the layers, question our conditioned habits, and connect with our truest beliefs. In my teaching, I love to blend this deep inner work with a sense of playful curiosity and imagination. I love that there is no master level -yoga is a lifelong exploration . As a longtime practitioner I am still a student at heart, learning to embrace and celebrate a different body and a fresh perspective every single day.
Kristy Tonti
I began my spiritual journey in the Catholic church doing all the things I do today, chanting, singing, praying and meditating. As a child of the 70s, I was exposed early to eastern philosophies. My father and I read, “The Prophet” together and attended a meditation seminar. My sister became a Hari Krishna at the same time we both became vegetarians.
When my eldest daughter brought me to an Astanga studio I fell in love with the practice, the silence, the breath work, the ritual and the discipline.
A few years later, I discovered Yin Yoga with a group of Astanga friends and we began practicing together. I can appreciate now what a great balance we gave ourselves.
Though I studied yoga and Buddhism in California, on Maui and in India, I didn’t expect to become a Yoga Teacher. I trust that it was a calling despite my distaste of being the center of attention or an authority figure.
Today, I love teaching and feel awed by the privilege. I bring wisdom and a sense of humor to every class I teach; creating and holding the space for growth while inviting peace and serenity.
I honor tradition and ritual as well as play and imagination.
Misty Fasig
Yoga has been a part of my life since I was a freshman in high school. In the early days, it was a home practice of gentle yoga and noticing my breathing in movement and in stillness. As it continued to evolve through the peaks and valleys of life, it became a practice of refining asana, learning the ancient texts and philosophy, building resilience, and discovering community. I have now been teaching yoga for almost 15 years!
While my classes are varied, they share a common thread. I weave poetic language, meditative awareness, mudras, pranayama, and creative sequencing with layers of familiar asana. I teach to help students meet and explore their edges, depths, expansiveness, and center. My classes have been described as “moving through a poem”.
It is my joy and dedication to teach yoga and guide students towards a sustainable practice that helps them feel resourced, steady and connected to community. I hope that our thoughts become clearer, our hearts become kinder, our bodies become stronger and at ease, and our breathing becomes liberated.
Paul King
Yoga came late in life, just in time. That was a couple of decades ago. Yoga became my salvation For most of that time Ive been up front, teaching, using skills learned from a career as a theatrical director, guiding bodies gracefully through space, developing skillsets, working with common purpose, bringing people into community.
In the beginning my focus was on achieving progressively more difficult poses - and it was fun. Long held handstands and forward splits are impressive, but “party poses” don’t interest me very much any more. As time passes, I become more interested in helping guide people into an inner awareness of a given motion or pose. My classes are slow, deliberative, not an ordeal.
Sophie Townsend
Mary-Kate Jackson
Tammy Galbraith
