Meet Our Dedicated Teachers
Our Team is Knowledgeable and Committed
Our instructors are committed to living out the 8-limbed yogic path, both in our personal lives as well as in the time that we spend with you on the mat! We believe that yoga is so much more than “just asana”, and we commit that as you trust us with your practice, we will help you discover so much more than just the physical benefits of yoga. Read about our amazing instructors and their unique backgrounds below.
Kelli SAMMIS
Owner and founder of The Bridge Yoga
I hold an E-RYT-500 with Yoga Alliance, a Doctorate in Education from The University of Louisiana at Monroe, and a Masters of Wisdom & Meditation Certification from Davidji, and an Ayurvedic Health Certification from The Chopra Center. I retired after 29 years in public education & over the last several years, have had the incredible opportunity to merge my educator & yogi paths together. I believe that social-emotional health & intelligence are the greatest things that a person can have in their toolbox & my life’s work is to provide pathways for both children & adults to develop those tools.
I have been a practicing yogi since high school, but only in the last few years have I truly begun to understand what it means to take my practice “off my mat & into my world”, especially through living out the Yamas & Niyamas (the moral precepts that are part of the yoga path).
My goal in opening The Bridge Yoga is to provide a place where ANYone in our community can find a place where they BELONG. My mission is to help others see that yoga & the tools it provides are truly for ALL people, so I am committed to providing a studio space that is financially, geographically, & culturally accessible to everyone. The Bridge Yoga is an INCLUSIVE environment where EVERYONE is welcomed.
CARLA BAZEMORE
Multiple Styles
I have an E-RYT 500 with Yoga Alliance & an 800hr certification on the Philosophy, Theory and Practices of Yoga by the Traditional Yoga Studies created by Georg Feuerstein.
I have been practicing since 1989 & started to teach yoga in 1998. From 2001-2011 I owned a yoga studio in Houston, TX called Yoga Lotus, and I am the co-author of The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching a Yoga Class.
Teaching yoga & other mind-body activities is my life’s passion. Yoga has especially helped me grow stronger & more flexible physically, emotionally, & spiritually. I enjoy the practices so much that I want to share, inspire, & motivate others to become healthier and happier using the tools yoga has to offer. carlabazemore@gmail.com
GINA CANTU
Yin, Restorative, Nidra
I have a 200 RYT with Yoga Alliance and graduated from my YTT in 2019.
I started practicing yoga over 9 years ago and initially wanted to deepen my practice through a yoga teacher training, I quickly discovered that I loved sharing my knowledge and the power of yoga with others. Teaching yoga has had a profound impact in my personal life. Yoking my mind and body has been a transformational journey–mentally, spiritually and physically.
Connecting with my students and cultivating deep relationships is where I’m the happiest! I also love facilitating guided meditations and know the positive impact meditation has on my daily routine.
gina011876@yahoo.com
do things that make your soul smile.
sidney Coker
Vinyasa, Kids’ Yoga
I am a certified 200-hr RYT with Yoga Alliance and have been practicing yoga for 6 years! Yoga has been a tool for me in my early adulthood to manage my mental and physical health. I noticed my body tightening up a year after high school, so I took a yoga class. I left that first-class feeling detoxified of built-up stress and tension. I have returned to the practice of yoga time and time again over the years and feel so grateful for all the practice has done for me.
As a yoga teacher, I hope to cultivate a space that is inclusive of ALL people and meets their needs. sidney.coker@gmail.com
Marnie krajicek
Prenatal, Baby & Me
Like a tree, you have to find your roots and then you can learn to bend when the wind begins to blow.
Jaiden johnson
Foundational Flow
I obtained my 200-hr RYT certification in December 2022 after graduating from YTT at The Bridge where my yoga journey first began in 2021.
I took my first yoga class searching for the ideal intersection of mental, physical, and spiritual wellness, not realizing then just how much I’d fall in love with the asana practice and this community. On the 1-year anniversary of my first yoga class here at The Bridge, I began my Yoga Teacher Training. Throughout the course of my training and with the support of my amazing Bridge mentors, my appreciation and desire for wanting to share my practice with others grew.
I am passionate about ensuring everyone who enters the studio feels welcome. Yoga is for EVERY BODY. I share this passion by providing a focus of inclusiveness and accessibility for all levels and all bodies. My favorite styles of asana to practice and teach are Hatha and Vinyasa.
LINDSEY KILLINGSWORTH
Vin Yin
I was certified through Breathe for Change in 2022. I took my first restorative yoga class in 2018, and less than 12 hours later, my first vinyasa class – I was hooked! My favorite types of yoga to practice are vinyasa, yin, and hot. I am an active person and love how yoga complements my other fitness activities. I decided to pursue my yoga teacher certification to not only deepen my own practice, but I saw the overwhelming need for improved wellness for both adults and students at my school. As a physical education teacher with Bryan ISD, my goal is to empower and encourage kids to develop a passion for wellness for a lifetime. I am excited to continue to bring tools from yoga to not only my colleagues and students, but also to the B/CS community at The Bridge. Off the mat I love reading, watching baseball, traveling, and gardening!
Ashley Konderla
Yoga Nidra, Vinyasa
I became a yoga instructor in August 2021. I believe yoga has the potential to give people the tools to transform their lives. I started a consistent practice of yoga a few years ago to stay active and gain headspace after a series of traumatic life events. When I was 19, I was in a car crash that fractured my left hip, my two bottom vertebrae, broke my collar bone, and collapsed my lungs. I used yoga as a tool to heal myself physically and mentally. I became a yoga teacher after questioning what I wanted to do with my life. On the list of career choices that were fulfilling to my heart, creatively engaging, and beneficial to humanity was written “yoga instructor”.
The practice of yoga has gifted me with the tools to gain more mobility in my hips, flexibility in my spine, a deeper awareness of my breath, and a stronger connection to my inner peace. As a yoga instructor, I encourage others to look beyond what we may consider certain in our lives, and trust in the infinite possibilities of our own potential.
Karen Yates
Hatha, Gentle, Yoga 101
Karen uses safe alignment techniques and tools to help her students of all fitness levels and ages to enjoy balanced, functional and vibrant lives. She particulately focuses on using active stretch techniques supplemented by specialized fitness skill training to allow practitioners of all ages improve in their activities.
Karen has taught classes and trained one-on-one for over 20 years at premier clubs, professional fitness environments, and research universities.
Shari heftel
Tai Chi, Sound Healing
Jay waltoN
Yoga for Dudes
Jay Walton has been on the path of yoga for more than 25 years, and teaching for more than 20. He is a RYT-500 that has trained with the following schools: Anusara Yoga in Austin, Pralaya Yoga in Houson, and the Kripalu Yoga Center in Lenox, MA. Jay has extensively trained in Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy, and is on track to obtain his 800-hour Yoga Therapy certification with Kripalu in Spring 2024 to be a certified Yoga Therapy Teacher.
Jay’s yoga teaching philiosophy takes inspiration from Ayurveda (the indigenous health system of the Indian subcontinent) and Yoga Therapy (which emphasizes individual student goals). The most common translation of ayurveda is “science of life” but Jay prefers “knowledge for longevity” – longevity does not mean simply living longer, but maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit indefinitely.
Cathy Martinez
Sunrise Yoga
My name is Cathy Martinez. I love cooking, spending time with my fur babies and Yoga! I have a 200 hour Yoga instructor certification. Before that, I was self taught for many years. I had never been to a real yoga studio until I met The Bridge. I enrolled into a Yoga teacher training in 2022, and dove deep into what Yoga really is, and who I am. After practicing at the Bridge for over a year, I see the importance of learning with a instructor, and being part of a Yoga community.
The Bhagavad Gita was introduced to me during my training, and it has helped me tremendously. After reading it I realize Yoga is not just performed, it is lived every single day. I love teaching Yoga tools to my classes that they can take off their mat, and into their daily lives. My favorite classes to take are Ashtanga and Yoga Nidra. I currently teach Sunrise on Fridays. See you there!
Yoga is the dance of every soul with the music of every breath that creates inner serenity & harmony.