Meet the instructors

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

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 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'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 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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.