Meet the instructors

Katherine (Kat) Palms

Studio Director & Instructor

“The goal is simple: feel confident in your body.”

As Studio Director, Kat leads with a calm, intentional approach to movement. Her classes are designed to help you build resilience, awareness, and self-trust — without force or overwhelm.

Amy Hubbell

Yoga Instructor

“Community is part of the practice.”

Amy's classes reflect the rhythm of the peninsula — grounded, consistent, and quietly strong. Expect clear guidance and space to settle into your practice.

Caitlin Watkins

Ballet · Reiki Master Teacher · Owner of The Healing Hut

“Move your energy, find your joy.”

With a wealth of experience and expertise in ballet, Reiki, and a variety of other modalities, Caitlin teaches dynamic and exciting classes to help you find genuine joy in your body.

Cathy Fitzgerald

Yoga Instructor

“Movement should bring you joy.”

Cathy believes yoga can be both meaningful and fun. Drawing on years of teaching movement to children, teens, and adults, she creates classes that are welcoming, approachable, and filled with curiosity. Her goal is to help students build strength, balance, and awareness while reconnecting with the simple joy of moving their bodies.

Christen Landry

E-RYT 200 & 500

“Come as you are and find your flow.”

Christen's teaching blends smooth, fluid movement with a focus on stable, grounded transitions. Whether you're just starting or are looking to deepen your practice, she provides clear guidance and modifications so you can safely challenge yourself at a pace that feels right for you.

Hanna Lose-Frahn

Qigong Instructor · Perfectly Made — Regenerative Health Coaching

“Slow changes more than you think.”

Hanna leads weekly qigong, guiding breath-led, rhythmic movement that supports balance, focus, and nervous system regulation. Her approach is calm, intentional, and deeply grounding.

Jan Van Elslander

Yoga Instructor · RYT 200 · Co-owner, In Harmony Yoga, Milford MI

“Yoga trains the mind as much as the body.”

Jan teaches yoga as both a physical practice and a mental one. Her classes blend strength and steadiness with attention and breath, creating space to feel clearer when you leave than when you arrived.

Jessica Shelton

Yoga & Pilates Instructor

“Strength starts with control.”

Jessica teaches mat and reformer pilates with a focus on alignment, precision, and steady progress. Her classes are structured, supportive, and designed to build lasting strength.

Julie Schwalm

500 RYT · Thai Yoga Practitioner · Sole Proprietor, Thai Yoga Bodywork

“If students can recognize just one thing about themselves or their body, it can have a lasting impact.”

Julie has been a Thai Yoga Practitioner and Massage Therapist since 2003, with a deep understanding of the body's structure and energetic systems. She earned her 200 RYT in 2010 from Sandra Carden at Union Yoga in Lake Leelanau and her 500 RYT in 2016. Julie is the sole proprietor of Thai Yoga Bodywork and a co-founder of Yoga on the Beach, a donation-based program serving Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties.

Kerry Satterwhite

ERYT 500 Yoga Teacher

“Yoga is a work-in not a workout. The answers come from within.”

Kerry believes the yoga practice is a springboard for engaging in life fully at any age. With an upbeat and thoughtful approach, she encourages her students to dig deep and cultivate physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being on and off the mat.

Dr. Lisa Fernandez

Doctor of Physical Therapy · Certified Pilates Instructor

“I love helping people build strength, confidence, and body awareness through movement.”

Originally from Michigan, Lisa spent the past two decades building a concierge physical therapy and Pilates practice in South Florida before recently returning home to Northern Michigan with her family. She joined the River Studio team in summer 2026 to teach Reformer Pilates and share her passion for healthy, sustainable movement.

Naomi Cole

Sound Journey Practitioner

Sandra Carden

E-RYT 500 · Certified Yoga Therapist

“Know thyself. Live within the true expression of your ever-changing I AM.”

Sandra first became interested in yoga at age 10, when shoulderstand pose helped ease her anxiety before bedtime. Across nearly six decades of practice and teaching she has studied under master teachers in the Iyengar, Ashtanga, Kripalu, Kundalini, Svaroopa, and Viniyoga lineages, and read yoga philosophy with Georg Feuerstein and Ram Dass. Her classes are rooted in classic alignment and breath — uniting body, mind, and spirit — and her own practice has evolved over the years from vigorous vinyasa toward the breath-led, connective-tissue work of yin.

Shelley Smith

Ashtanga · Yin · Yoga Instructor

“The practice changes as you do.”

With experience in Ashtanga, Yin, and Yoga Nidra, Shelley guides practices that build focus and resilience while making room for recovery. Her teaching reflects both structure and softness.