Emily Burton, Founder/Teacher
I am an anusara-inspired yoga teacher with over 17 years experience teaching full-time. After living in Los Angeles for many years, I followed my heart and relocated to Northern California. Over the years I have had the pleasure of leading teacher trainings, teaching at festivals, facilitating retreats and workshops, and most recently adding the online platform for The Yoga Dive. But, it was always my dream to own a yoga studio-to have a physical space. With Laura Brownell’s help- we were able to open The Yoga Dive in Nevada City- and oh what an adventure it’s been!
In the last 8 years our studio has gone through a lot; new babies, the tragic and unexpected death of my husband, a relocation to Grass Valley, and then Covid. It amazes me how this little place continues to push on. My intention is always to create a community of the heart with yoga being the tool for us to access spirit and love. The life changes keep coming and the yoga keeps helping us navigate them. I hope you will roll out your mat with us and receive the blessings of this practice. You deserve it.
Laura West-Brownell, Emotional and Technical Support / Founder
I started doing yoga in 2011 after my daughter was born. I found new motherhood very overwhelming, and needed something to use to carve out a sliver of space for myself. Yoga was it. It made me feel comfortable in my body and my mind; sometimes, after a good flow, it made me feel like I could do anything. It kind of made me understand why superheroes aren't very surprised when they find they can suddenly fly. Then I met Emily, and I told her she had to be my friend. She inspired me. She made me want to open up and let people in, to go for things that were scary, to embrace what made me uncomfortable... Again, the superhero effect. That's what I want with this studio. I want to make a space where people feel inspired and encouraged to do things they don't think they can; things they didn't even know they want to do.
Mandy Lucchese, Teacher
I teach because it feels natural. Being at the front of the room is comfortable because it allows me to create. I am recognized for my love of sequencing and creativity designed within the framework of a class. There is nothing flashy, trendy, or incredibly innovative about it, except that I am constantly present with what I am teaching, constantly looking at my own practice and seeking out what is valuable and potent and offering that out. My teachings may stretch beyond traditional yoga with the influence of other forms I study which inspire me; sculpture, poetry, therapeutic body work, pilates, travel, and so much more. Regardless of what I teach, what style, level, or form, I am always trying it on, questioning, learning what is working, what is skillful, and what can be let go of. This organic approach to my teaching is accessible and welcoming.
Mandy is the founder of Kinfolk Yoga Studio in Northern California. She has taught at yoga festivals such as Wanderlust, California Spirit Festival, and Honey Root. She facilitates teacher trainings, teaches workshops and retreats. She has completed teacher trainings in Astanga, Anusara, Restorative and Therapeutics, and Tantric Hatha Yoga. She has a Master's Degree in Art and sculpts life-size figures in clay. Her life of art touches all aspects of her practice and teaching.
Lisa Deniz, Teacher
Yoga connects me to my truth. My mat is mirror of reflection that reveals today's flavor, feelings, and creative inspirations. Through the integration of breath and movement, this poetic practice deepens my connection to spirit and community, softening the chatter of the mind so I can hear the gentle winds of my spirit and authentic self. A fourth generation native of Nevada City, I've returned home, bringing my passion for Yoga and Art with me. I completed my 200 hour Teacher Empowerment Program at Spotted Dog Yoga of Folsom, a Baptiste Affiliate Studio. Come experience a grounded, full throttle, get big, and light it up empowerment practice. My classes weave intentional movement with sweat and play, supported by gentle assists, alignment focus, and self awareness. Founder of the YogArt Experience, I also provide retreat and workshop offerings that ignite the creative spirit. A guided journey that combines breath, meditation, inquiry, and yoga to unleash the power of creativity.
Erin Wen, Teacher
I have a background in classical ballet that naturally led me to yoga. I obtained my vinyasa certification in 2009 and taught for several years in New York and London. My understanding of yoga continued to deepen as I lived in India for one year and received teachings under the Himalayan Iyengar Yoga Centre and the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. I am also a certified osteopath from the UK and my classes combine both my knowledge of the human body and the yoga practice. My website is erinwen.com
Lila Jones, Teacher
Lila is a heart-led yoga teacher with over 15 years of experience guiding students through the transformative journey of yoga. With a warm and compassionate presence, she offers a safe and supportive space for students to explore asana, breath, and mindful awareness.
Lila was introduced to yoga philosophy at a young age. From the moment she began practicing, she felt a deep connection—and knew she wanted to share this gift with others.
Her classes are more than movement; they are a pathway to healing, clarity, inner and outer strength. Lila believes that yoga is not just a practice, but a life-changing tool that awakens our true self and empowers us to overcome obstacles. Encouraging students to shift from stress, disconnection to presence and wholeness.
Lila offers a well-rounded vinyasa flow, thoughtfully balanced with alignment and proper form. Her classes are both challenging and accessible, designed for any experienced level.
Cassie Brinkley, Teacher
My yoga journey began over 20 years ago and has given me more than I can ever begin to put into words. Born and raised in a super small East Coast town (we didn’t even have a stoplight!), yoga has taken me all over the world (both practicing and teaching on 5 continents)! I am so grateful and excited to have landed here in California for the last few years.
I am an alignment-based teacher, with an emphasis towards functional anatomy. This anatomical understanding allows students to connect with their own bodies and determine how their yoga practice can best support them. This sacred practice is not simply about the postures that you come into, it’s about connecting to yourself, listening to your body’s experience, focusing on your breath, and learning to control the mind.
I am an E-RYT500, RPYT, and YACEP through Yoga Alliance, with over 4,700 teaching hours. I have completed more than 2,000 yoga training hours (in several different countries), believing that the learning never stops. I have led classes, workshops, and Yoga Teacher Trainings both in the United States and abroad.
Jackie Haselbauer, Teacher
I began practicing yoga in 2011 while living in NYC and working a glamorous job, thinking I needed some physical exercise. Yoga seemed approachable. While stretching and strengthening did come from the practice, the spiritual grounding is what I needed most. I’ve been drawn to practice and study ancient and modern spiritual philosophy, meditation, sound healing and mindfulness for many years and have had the privilege to learn from a wide cast of passionate teachers.
My yoga practice ebbed and flowed over the years, after debilitating post-partum physical complications in 2021-2022 and stepping away from my former career, I returned to the mat at the Yoga Dive in Grass Valley. Again starting with the physical and expanding to the spiritual, the practice of yoga brought me back to a sense of self and my weekly practices became the thing I looked forward to most. Following the tragic death of my brother in 2023, returning to the mat once again was the first step I could take in my healing journey. Practicing this time around became a sacred time of presence, feeling and healing. My connection to my practice shifted and deepened greatly. Yoga saved me in this dark period.
When the teacher training program through the Yoga Dive became available, I was immediately called to want to participate. I listened to my heart and trained with Emily Burton and Cassie Brinkley, completing my certification in 2025. I am so grateful for this path and the opportunity to devote more of my time to teaching yoga. My goal is for students to grow to become both stronger and softer, more flexible and mobile, more connected to their bodies and breath, and to leave the practice feeling connected to their purest selves, to community and to humanity.
Steven Gracia, Teacher.
My yoga practice started in 2000 to help rehab a shoulder injury.
What gravitated me to Vinyasa is the freedom to move and connecting movement to breath.
I incorporate other styles in my teaching and encourage students to make modifications when needed.
My goal in my teaching is for students to walk away feeling better than when they arrived-physically stronger and motivated for the day and for life.
2004: I took the Bikram yoga teacher training. Which I taught full time for two years.
2006: I started teaching Vinyasa full time in south San Diego. I studied primarily under Rebecca Kovacs one of Dharma Mittra top teachers.
2006: I took the Budokon teacher training. Which is a mixture of martial arts and yoga. Great for strength training and muscle memory for self defense through repetition.
2008: I moved to Nevada City and taught at Wild Mountain Yoga 2008-2013.
2013: I took the Vira Bhava teacher training with Kelly Golden.
2013-2015: I taught at Kinfolk Yoga.
2015-2016: My parents passed from cancer and I took a break from teaching.
2016-2018: I moved to Northern California far off grid. Life above the cloud line was very healing. I found nature to be a very therapeutic and a honest teacher.
2018-2019: I moved to San Luis Obispo for love and taught at a Climbing Gym.
2019: I moved back to Nevada City for family friends and a cool community.
I’m honored to teach at the Yoga Dive. Emily has been an inspiration to shine light. Which makes me happy to contribute.
Bex Nagy, Teacher
Dance, yoga, movement, and somatic practices have shaped my life, teaching me the power of my own presence and adaptability. I began practicing yoga āsana in 2001, and have been teaching since 2010. I’m a Somatic Movement Educator and E-RYT 500+.
Over the past two decades I’ve studied Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa, Desikachar-style Viniyoga, and Body-Mind Centering®. My current teachers and mentors are Amy Matthews and Nikki Costello. Above all, what I’ve learned from these diverse approaches, is an emphasis on following present-moment-felt sensations including the breath, and supporting each student’s uniqueness. Teaching is a profound way of setting a container for others, offering expertise without determining or overriding their experiences. In this way teaching, like anything else we undertake, can be practiced in integrity as yoga.
In my classes you can expect to build inner heat, surmount challenges safely and playfully, and rest deeply. I ground suggestions of spirituality in whole-body inquiry. Practicing postures and consciously witnessing your breath are fundamental ways to notice all of your patterns in greater detail. Spiritual practice is not separate from exploring yourself through movement.
In addition to being a yoga and somatic movement teacher, I’m a Sanskrit and philosophy geek and a writer. You can find my work in Tarka, the quarterly journal of Embodied Philosophy. I cut my teeth teaching yoga in NYC for seven years before moving to Northern California in 2017. My husband and I used to live off-grid near Bridgeport in an earthen home, abiding by regenerative farming principles and raising chickens, ducks, and geese. In June of 2022 we lost everything in the Rices Fire. Now we’re enjoying being closer to civilization; we live in Nevada City and share our home with two wonderful and silly cats.