The Shala Team
Shala Instructors
Featured
Biffy Cotter – a co-owner of Yoga Shala – teaches yoga and performs Shamanic healings and intuitive counseling. She is also the Spiritual Director for Yoga Shala.
For the over 20 years Biffy has been walking a spiritual path that has led to an Awakening. With this awakening she receives healing energy, visions, and guidance from the Great Spirit, Angels and Spirit guides.
Biffy believes we are all connected thru our hearts, and that everyone has a gift and their own path. As you open to a greater energy through your practice, you can meet with Biffy for guidance and support.
Biffy is married with 3 children and currently lives in Carmichael California.
Tyler Langdale has been teaching yoga for 12 years (ERYT 500), and is co-owner of Yoga Shala Sacramento & Arden. It was the cumulative experiences & influences of being raised in Christian Science, studying world religions, traveling to different countries, high levels of competitive athletic training & coaching, and studies in the healing arts (both intuitive & physical), that lead Tyler to the path of Yoga. With his commitment yoga, entrepreneurial spirit, and love of community (both local & international), Tyler opened Yoga Shala Sacramento and Radical Retreats in 2010. Since then Tyler has facilitated a number of yoga teacher training programs, produced yoga conferences & music festivals, and lead retreat programs in over 15 countries all over the world.
Annie is co-owner of Yoga Shala Sacramento. She has been teaching yoga, leading teacher trainings, workshops and retreats locally and internationally for the past 15 years. She holds a degree in Somatic psychology from Naropa University as well as certificates in massage therapy, crania-sacral therapy, Reiki healing, and trauma informed bodywork. Her classes and trainings are a dynamic blend of her background in yoga, psychology and bodywork. She believes wholeheartedly in the transformative power of yoga and is dedicated to walking the path and sharing it.
Monica is a Plant-Based Nutritionist, Aroma Therapist, Reiki Master, Shamanic Practitioner, EFT Practitioner and Yoga and Meditation teacher. She realizes that everyone learns and heals differently which compelled her to study many different healing modalities that are beautifully complementary to each other.
Monica is passionate about helping others to reconnect and to trust in their body's innate wisdom and to remind them that they are designed for health.
Monica has many interests and hobbies including cooking, gardening, beekeeping, knitting, reading, paddle boarding and surfing. She prioritizes being with family and friends and spending as much time as possible in nature honoring our Mother Earth and all of the beauty and abundance She provides for us.
Karen’s yoga practice began in 2010 through the invitation of a friend. Since that fateful day, she’s immersed herself in the practice and philosophy, taking her first 200-hour yoga teacher training in 2012. She continues to deepen her studentship through advanced training and teachers such as Tyler Langdale and Annie Fox Langdale, Janet Stone, and Yoga of Recovery. She shares from her lived experience, and approaches teaching as an offering of acceptance and remembrance. Karen offers classes that invite students to become present, to lay down concepts of right and wrong, and to honor themselves and their journey.
Teresa is a former Division 1 Athlete who has always moved her body as a way to release adversity throughout her life. Teresa’s personal yoga practice is very expressive and vulnerable. She encourages her students to settle in her safe space through inspirational nuggets and her vibrational energy of hands on assistance. Teresa teaches Yin Yoga where she emphasizes breathwork and stillness. Teresa also teaches Vinyasa Yoga classes where she emphasizes the body and mind connection through graceful, yet challenging moments on the mat. Teresa understands that our moments on our mat translates to how we perform off our mat in the ever evolving world. So if it's Yin or Vinyasa, she will always bring a spark of challenge to keep her students ready and strong. Teresa recently transitioned to teaching yoga full time and aspires to own a yoga studio.
Christina has been a yoga student for over 20 years. A practitioner of hatha, yin and vinyasa she deepened her love of yoga through teacher training here at Yoga Shala. She loves the community and connection that comes with teaching and is delighted to learn and grow with her students!
Lisa has been practicing yoga and been a member of the Yoga Shala community for over 10 years. In 2017, she took her first 200 hour teacher training with Tyler, Annie and Biffy through Yoga Shala. She continued to deepen her practice with additional training in Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga. Most recently, Lisa completed the 50 hour Advanced Teacher Training through Yoga Shala as well. Lisa also received her NASM certification in 2024. Lisa believes in the practice of yoga as the practice has made a tremendous impact in her life and has allowed her on a physical level to strengthen her body and on a spiritual level to keep opening her heart.
Lisa works in the education policy field during the day and speaks fluent Portuguese. She prioritizes spending time with her 2 children, family and friends. Lisa is also an aspiring flower farmer and loves spending as much time in nature as possible including walking the Camino de Santiago in 2022.
Mozhon (it's like Dijon, with a Mo at the beginning! :) has loved yoga since her first class in Davis in 2004. The teacher wasn't even warm and fuzzy, but the yoga gave her the warm and fuzzies anyway. She began teaching after indulging in the 200-hour training at Ye-Olde Yoga Shala Sacramento (known locally as Yoga Shala Sacramento) in 2023, after thinking about it for 10 years! She's grateful to be able to continue learning and teaching in the Yoga Shala community.
In her spare time, this young thang (at heart) enjoys gallivanting, traipsing, and speaking in accents. Other favorite pastimes include: cooking, baking, gardening, fermenting (stuff, not herself) outdoor sports, etc, etc, etc... She also has deep faith in love and goodness, and is blessed to generally be able to view all things positively.
Elise has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 15 years. She believes in the power of self reflection, understanding one’s own mind and the healing that can come from movement practices. Her own healing journey led her into the understanding that the body is always speaking to us and yoga helps us to discern the language and connect to it’s innate wisdom. When not teaching and practicing yoga she works as a pediatric nurse, fosters animals and tries to stay present to the beauty of every day life.
Jenny has been practicing yoga since 2010. She has completed 200-hour teacher trainings in both Raja and Vinyasa yoga in 2016 and 2018, respectively. She has also completed trainings in Yin and Trauma-Informed yoga. Her teachers are B.K. Bose, Rosalyn Lwin, and Rolf Gates. She has devoted many years to making the practice accessible to underserved communities and is passionate about sharing the practice with others. When she is not on her mat, you can find Jenny trail running in Auburn, in the gym with her personal training clients, or continuing her yoga and Buddhist studies.
Originally from Mexico City, Val began practicing Vinyasa in 2011. She found that this practice brought not only physical strength but also helped with mental clarity and emotional balance. She became more involved in the community and in 2016 took the next step towards teaching. Val believes that the world is a beautiful place where we can thrive when we approach life with an open mind and the curiosity to explore and accept all that’s new and different without losing the ability to cherish what is familiar and habitual. She is sure to meet you with a big smile.