our teachers
Yoga Focus Collective teachers are long time students and teachers of Iyengar Yoga. Most of our teachers have been certified in the Iyengar method. We value our personal practice, our continuing education with Senior Iyengar teachers, and the dynamic and systematic teaching model of Iyengar Yoga. We respect our students in the learning process and provide an environment that is safe, noncompetitive and stimulating for the study and practice of yoga.
PAM LINDBERG
Pam has studied yoga since the late 1980′s and began teaching in 2005. The thing she likes best about teaching yoga is helping students increase their sense of body awareness, strength and become more flexible (in both body and mind). The added sense of peacefulness that comes with the practice of yoga is also quite satisfying. With practical tips and a sense of humor, Pam loves helping yoga students learn more about yoga and themselves. Pam is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher at Level One.
Marlene McGrath
In an effort to find some balance from her job as a hospital social worker, Marlene took her first Iyengar yoga class at the Ann Arbor Y in 1991. She then studied with Barbara Linderman who led her to Karen Ufer at Yoga Focus. Marlene completed a multi-year teaching apprenticeship with Karen. Following the birth of her first child, Marlene obtained additional training in teaching prenatal and postnatal yoga. Marlene continues to regularly study with senior instructors in the Iyengar method. Teaching at Yoga Focus since 2001, Marlene hopes to inspire her students to develop a lifelong yoga practice of their own. In 2023, Marlene purchased the yoga suites and business to continue the tradition of practice and teaching in our studio space. Our new name, Yoga Focus Collective, signifies the mission of bringing together like-minded teachers to serve our collective students and the community. Marlene continues to teach a variety of classes at Yoga Focus Collective, including Supportive, Basic, Open Level, and Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga.
Alicia Rowe
A Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, Alicia began yoga study in 1996 with Karen Ufer at Yoga Focus. Yoga soon became integral in balancing the demands of work as a performing musician. Inspired by the accessibility and depth of the Iyengar method, she has taught Iyengar Yoga since 2002 and has studied under the Iyengar family at RIMYI in Pune, India. Alicia continues her studies with senior Iyengar teachers and is grateful for the opportunity to learn from her students.
MARLY SPIESER-SCHNEIDER
Marly is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor and a movement artist (BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan). She began studying Iyengar Yoga as a youngster, thanks to her mother, with incredible teachers including Barbara Linderman and Mary Reilly. She continued to practice through high school (thanks to Laurie Blakeney’s efforts to engage high school students!) and college. Upon moving out east she leaned into the process of becoming a certified teacher under the mentorship of Rebecca Weisman and has been certified since 2016. As a forever student of Iyengar Yoga, and human physicality in general, she believes that our bodies are an entry point to recognizing the patterns and paradigms that we operate within and, subsequently, present us with opportunities to make change. She strives to work with the body in a way that recognizes it as a source of power, a teacher, a tool for growth and a place for discovery and play.
Yoga is the practice of learning to live well and this is a practice for EVERYONE. Marly’s classes offer in-depth, foundational instruction with a focus on alignment and clarity of action. Marly will tailor the class to those in attendance and variations of postures will be offered so that each individual can be appropriately challenged. You'll leave standing taller, moving with more ease and with a more nuanced awareness of your physical, mental and emotional body.
Karen Lena Ufer
Karen was lucky to find herself in Ann Arbor in 1975 and working at the Ann Arbor Y. A friend suggested yoga for back and neck injuries sustained in dance. Her first teachers - Mary Palmer, Priscilla Neel and Susie Vidrih - were first generation Iyengar teachers. In 1976, Mr. Iyengar came to Ann Arbor to teach classes. Karen took part in these classes and has continued studying with the Iyengars and their senior teachers since that time. Karen directed the yoga program for the Ann Arbor Recreation program for 8 years before opening the doors to Yoga Focus in 1993.
David Ufer
In 1974, David was involved with the Ann Arbor YMCA and recovering from a serious leg injury. Yoga was new and relatively unknown in the United States when Mr. B.K.S. Iyengar arrived to teach classes, and to give lectures and demonstrations sponsored by the Ann Arbor Y. What followed for David, were decades of practice, study, and teaching in the tradition of this remarkable teacher.
David had the privilege of directing the Ann Arbor YMCA Yoga Program for ten years and ran, with his wife, Karen Lena Ufer, the Yoga Camp Al-Gon-Quain in northern Michigan, during that same ten year span. David taught yoga for the Y, the Ann Arbor Rec & Ed Department, University of Michigan athletic teams, and multiple high school athletic teams, and he has taught all levels of classes at Yoga Focus since 1993.