Andrea Testa is the founder of FreeSpirit Yoga. Her dream was to open a yoga space where people can learn the many benefits of yoga.  Andrea has studied and practiced Yoga since 1992 and received her teaching certification from the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara in 1998.  She began her studies with Irene Holsters of The Long Beach Yoga Centre in 1992 until 1998.  She then completed 2 modules of Iyengar training with Karin O'Bannon in 1999 and has also had the privilege to study with Steve Rogers, Shiva Rea, David Swensen and Ana Forrest.  Andrea has completed another training course this time with Erich Shiffman in 2004.  Andrea has been teaching all of this yoga information since 1998 and teaches with enthusiasm and a concern for safety and most of all, FUN.  Andrea is a registered yoga teacher (500 hr.) with the Yoga Alliance.

Laura Tree
has been a student of world religion and ritual since her late teens and has been practicing raja yoga since the 1980's. Meditation practice has given her the honor of studying and being in the presence of many great teachers and masters including Little Crow of the Native American Church for 7 years until his passing, and receiving darshan from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1995 and from Shri Swami Divananda Saraswati Maharaj in 1996. She has taught and facilitated meditation classes since 1998 and is a student of Thomas Ashley-Farrand, a western expert in Hindu and Buddhist mantra. Laura took her first yoga class in 1998 and has been a student of the yogas ever since believing that one can not be a teacher without being a student also. She is also a master/practioner of Reiki.

Lonne Dickerson
was introduced to Yoga as a receptionist at a Yoga Studio where she began her yogic path in 1998. Being a dancer since a small child and raised in a metaphysical and spiritually diverse home, Yoga was a natural evolution of Self. Lonne brings joy and grace into her classes with her fun sense of humor and soothing spirit.  Each of her classes focuses on moving witht he breath and going within, to tune into your body, mind and spirit conncections.  Lonne instructs you to listen to your body and do what feels good to you.  Her classes are fun and flowing.  Having the experience of being a mother she is our Pre-Natal Yoga Instructor, also teaching the Baby Yoga and Kids Yoga classes.  Lonne has taken Prenatal training with Rocki at Yoga Works and with Shiva Rae at Exhale.  In January of 2003 Lonne received her Yoga Teacher certification through Diane Harman of Wellness Encounters.  Lonne is certified to teach Children's Yoga through Pamela Hollander of Indigo Kids.  She has studied with the Bhrama Kumari's in Meditation and is a curent student of NamaDeva (Thomas Ashley Ferrand) in Sanskrit Mantra.  Lonne is also a Reiki Practitioner and Doula.

Peter Kornhaber
began his Yoga practice in 1977 in preparation for a foreign study experience in Pune India. While in India he practiced Raja Yoga and also studied at the Iyengar institute in Pune with BKS Iyengar. His independent project was on Yoga and Vedantic philosophy giving him a grounding in the essential philosophy behind the Yoga practice.. He returned to the US and practiced on his own and with friends for a number of years before beginning a family and stepping back from Yoga. He came back to the eternal science about 8 years ago on his own and has been practicing at FreeSpirit Yoga regularly for over 4 years. During the years away from Yoga Peter studied the Martial arts and always stayed active. He credits his return to Yoga with the end of hip, knee and wrist pain that was beginning to impede his other activities.

Cindy Anderson
has been practicing yoga since 1990 and has been teaching since 2004. The last 10 years of her practice have been spent learning different styles of hatha yoga all over Southern California with teachers from Yoga Works, Omadawn and FreeSpirit. She continues her formal teacher training with Yoga Works in September '05, building on her work in various training workshops, including several with John Childers. Her teaching style centers around vinyasa flow, using postures from the Ashtanga and Iyengar methods, combined with her knowledge of Ayurveda and meditation to enrich asana work. While encouraging students to challenge their "edge" in class, she believes that having fun, compassion and patience while on the yoga mat is how students can realize the joy, health and peaceful blessings yoga can bring our lives off the mat.

Dawn MacDonald
began practicing consistently in 2000. A gymnast as a kid, she started taking yoga as a complement to running, in order to develop strength and flexibility and prevent injuries.  Dawn earned her teaching certification from Yoga Works in Los Angeles.  She's studied a variety of styles including Ashtanga, Bikram, Power and Vinyasa flow. Dawn has an upbeat and energetic spirit, and she encourages students to gain the utmost benefit from their practice.

Erin Chappell began practicing yoga in 1999, as a supplement to her dance and aerobic regimen. Finding strength, balance and confidence through her practice, she decided to share her joy of yoga with others. Initially certified through YogaFit® in 2003, she continues to study by adding certifications to work toward becoming a registered yoga teacher (500) with the Yoga Alliance. A member of Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), Erin teaches power yoga at various health clubs and Core Yoga at FreeSpirit Yoga.

Dharma Shakti  received her teacher traiining through an intense program at the Sivananda Ashram in northern California in October 2005.  She enjoys the opportunity to bring yoga into her surrounding communities. She teaches a classic hatha yoga style, as well as blending the spice of
influential teachers that have challenged her own practice. As her path unfolds as a teacher as well as a student she is grateful to be part of the yoga community.  Dharma is also a massage therapist and has been facilitating bodywork for 5 years. She is currently a student of the California College of Ayurveda, studying the sister science of yoga, Ayurveda. Dharma hopes to one day be able to blend her knowledge of yoga and ayurveda to create a space where people can begin to understand their own bodys as well as their minds, to gain knowledge and insight of how to bring balance and harmony into all aspects of their lives.