Yoga One: About Us

Amy has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering its joys and benefits in 1997 while backpacking throughout Asia, Australia, and parts of Europe. She has been featured on the cover of Yoga Journal twice, as well as appearing inside for the Home Practice section. Amy trained in the disciplines of Ashtanga (Tim Miller, BNS Iyengar), Sivananda (Swami Sivanand, India), Iyengar (Roger Cole, Jo Zukovich) and Anusara (Diana Beardsley) combining elements of these styles into a dynamic flow. She and her loving husband Michael have studied Vipassana meditation and incorporate its teachings of awareness into their lives and Yoga One.

“Amy's proficiency in yoga is outstanding. Her love for her profession is transmitted through her skill in the postures and in her voice…we plan on taking her classes indefinitely. An hour with Amy is one of the best investments you can make in yourself!”
— Judy Speaks, current student, San Diego

“…I miss the abundance with which Amy teaches everything. It's as if within each posture she teaches all of yoga resides. I haven't found this kind of depth or passion yet [in other teachers] and truly wonder if I will…”
— Julianna Vermeys, former student & Educational Program Coordinator, Portland, Oregon

Michael Caldwell - Owner/Instructor

Michael has been practicing yoga and incorporating its philosophy into his life since 1997. He has studied with Swami Sivanand and Roger Cole, as well as with his wife Amy, and continues to practice a blend of Sivananda, Ashtanga and Iyengar techniques along with Vipassana medititation. Michael's kind and gentle manner is well suited to leading students of all levels. A writer, he has published numerous articles on yoga, meditation and well-being.

Arati was introduced to Hatha Yoga in NYC when her teachers Sharon Gannon and David Life opened their JIVAMUKTI Yoga Center in the late 80's. Deeply inspired by their intensity and knowledge beyond the physical aspects of yoga, she traveled for years in India studying different methods and styles of yoga and has been teaching internationally ever since. Her classes vary in pace/style and are open to all levels.

Amy began her study and practice of yoga in 1995 in a college philosophy course. She later earned her teaching certification in Integral Yoga at Swami Satchinanda's Ashram in Virginia. Her yoga classes are creative and fun so that everyone will increase strength, flexibility and happiness!

"I think what you are doing is great and helpful for young and old people. I learned that you don't have to be flexible or athletic to do yoga. All you need to be is "one." ~ Anthony Babcock, Messena Grade School.

Sherri began her study of yoga in San Diego in 1989. She is strongly influenced by the Iyengar approach to yoga due to its use of props which creates a safe, effective way for the poses to work - regardless of one's flexibility. Her classes include traditional poses along with innovative variations, and she assists each student in their understanding of how to get the most out of each posture. From Sherri's years of meditation practice, she inspires students with genuine warmth, love and acceptance, helping to set the stage for increased awareness and healing on many levels.

Laura Sparaco began practicing Hatha Yoga in 1995. In 2000, she discovered flow styles of yoga (Ashtanga and Vinyasa-Flow). Its dynamic intensity inspired her to start teaching, and she became certified through Yoga Alliance. She has had the opportunity to study with many highly regarded yoga teachers including Tim Miller, and most recently Ana Forrest. Laura’s love and passion for yoga shines through her teaching. Her presence in the classroom is energetic, yet gentle, and she encourages a safe exploration of the asanas while nurturing inner wisdom. She teaches her students to embrace the present moment allowing the essence of yoga to flow from their mats into their lives.

After seeing the subtle transformations that yoga brought into her life, Amy Jo began studying the philosophies and benefits behind the healing art. She teaches Hatha Vinyasa Flow Yoga, focusing on the connection between breath and movement while encouraging students to explore the space inside, make choices from within and move beyond the tangible into the deepest parts of their being to discover truth and unconditional love. Yoga helps to open our hearts and minds, tear down the walls we continually build, recognize our personal needs and free ourselves from fear and destructive behavioral patterns while creating strength and grace on and off the mat. She has studied with Ganga White & Tracey Rich, Ana Forrest, Seane Corn and Paul Dallaghan.

Jennifer stumbled into New York City's Om Yoga Center for the first time in 2000

seeking refuge from the chaos of the city during rush hour. Four years and many transformations later she received her teaching certification from Om's Joining Heaven and Earth Summer Intensive teacher training program. Aside from the Om Yoga style, Jennifer has also studied and practiced in the disciplines of Jivamukti (Ruth Lauer-Manenti) and Ashtanga (Tim Miller). Jennifer's vinyasa classes offer a safe, non-competitive environment for students to practice at their own pace and explore the connection between the mind, breath, body, soul and movement. She is forever grateful to past teachers for their guidance and for showing her what it means to be humble, brave, compassionate, vulnerable and strong; to current teachers for continuing to challenge her in body and mind; to future teachers for the unknown; and to her students who teach, inspire and amaze her everyday. Jennifer is also a certified Reiki Master.

In 2001, Heather starting practicing hatha yoga on the beach in San Diego. Exploring different types of yoga led her to take a Teacher Training Course from Yoga Works in 2005; she recently completed her second training at Yoga One. She traveled for most of 2006, spending nine months in India and Thailand, delving into yoga and yogic philosophy, Ayurveda, Thai massage, and Buddhist philosophy. “The original purpose of the trip was to study yoga in the ‘Motherland’,” she says, “Even though I didn’t practice as much physical yoga as I’d expected, traveling in that part of the world is a different kind of yoga – much more challenging than an asana practice!” While her classes vary in physical postures, she always keeps students challenged to their capabilities while maintaining body/mind awareness so that people leave feeling both relaxed and energized.

Exploring creative energy has been a passion of Jen’s throughout her life. Trained as a dancer of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Jen was introduced to the study of Capoiera, Pilates, and yoga. As a fitness instructor and personal trainer in San Diego, Jen has helped others not only achieve their physical goals but to unlock the abundance of strength within. When she first experienced the dynamic flow styles of yoga, Jen felt an immediate life transformation. Yoga’s emphasis on the connection to breath and a deeper understanding of self was empowering. Jen is a Yoga Alliance certified instructor who offers an electric, athletic practice balanced with an awareness of breath and the power of the spirit.

“what lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies WITHIN us” -Emerson

Paisley has been practicing yoga since 1996. She began teaching Pilates in 1997, then started teaching yoga in 2001. Originally trained in the Iyengar method, she is now devoted to Anusara yoga. Anusara’s heart-oriented philosophy coupled with its Universal Principals of Alignment™ suit Paisley’s articulate teaching style and playful, devoted nature. What is especially dear to her about yoga is that it shows each of us how to open to our own uniqueness and inner strength. This inner strength makes for happier, healthier individuals as well as a stronger community.

Kris Ward, B.A., 500 RYT, has been teaching self-empowerment through the movement arts for eleven years. She has taught a wide variety of people ranging from young children to the blind elderly, from professional dancers and athletes to sufferers of stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Yoga was (and is) her doorway and invitation into the realm of self-discovery, -awareness, and -leadership. It beckons her to be the architect of her own life; to live by choice rather than by chance, by design rather than by default. As her approach to Yoga has developed over the years, her fluid and dynamic Vinyasa classes—influenced by a lifetime of dance—have both simplified and intensified through a more no-nonsense, “less is more” philosophy. Her modern and edgy classes equip you with the tools for playing full out, living boldly and authentically, and assuming absolute personal responsibility for your life experience.

I was born with the rhythm of Middle Eastern dance and music within me. I've been dancing since I was in my mother’s womb and it continues to be a necessity in my life. In the early 70's my mother, Judith Ann Marcus, began adding Belly Dance to her array of dance knowledge. At that time she was in college as a dance major. She studied oriental dance and quickly became an accomplished dancer and still is today. My father, Hal Marcus, is an accomplished artist and Middle Eastern drummer. My parents instilled in me, and all their children, a passion for the arts. My sister, Nicole Adelaide, is choreographer and plans to obtain a degree in ethnic and classical dance and psychology. My brother, Marco, is an amazing jewelry maker and traveler. I am an artist and professional dancer. I have been dancing professionally long enough to experience its ups and down and realize it is not something I just do, it is who I am. Dance is not a hobby for me. It is me.