Sedona Hot Yoga

Nicole has served her community through yoga teaching for over 22 years. Her teaching has been guided through studying with advanced and senior level teachers from all over the world. She considers herself a yogi, Ayurvedic inspired chef, and outdoors enthusiast. It was early in her life when I started dealing with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that results in hair loss. The initial way she learned to feel confident in my body was through the physical movement of running. It let her be outside, moving through nature, and connected to her body and breath at the same time. 

She started running longer distances and began training for marathons. As a devoted runner, she decided to try yoga out as a way to supplement her marathon training. Almost immediately, she recognized that the time spent on the mat and with others in the yoga community were invaluable aspects of her life and committed to a daily practice. Her yoga practice began in Santa Barbara, California in 1999 and has taken her all over the world for continued studies. Nicole is so grateful to all the teachers that have guided her on the path to healing body, mind, and spirit. 

Nicole uses yoga (physical postures, breathing practices, and meditation), as a tool to help students find their own personal way to heal and find strength in their unique bodies. Her overall intention for each yoga class is to create an environment where one is able to discover something new about themselves through physical movement, connection to their breath, and accessible meditation practices. 

Sumit Banerjee is one of the main reasons Sedona Hot Yoga exists.  Jennifer Richards, Sedona Hot Yoga's founder took her first yoga class with Sumit.  After practicing the Sumits flow for about a year in Scottsdale, Jennifer was required to move back to Sedona for her real estate career.  Sumit's flow had such a profould inpact on her health and life which began to fade when Jennifer was no longer able to regularly practice.  Her spine had degenerated to the point that the doctors were calling for strict bed rest and immediate surgery.  But in Jennifer's soul, she knew if she could get back to regularly practicing Sumit's flow she could heal her spine.... and this is how Sedona Hot Yoga was born.

Sumit's yoga class is based on his own years of experience practicing and teaching various yoga styles including Bikram and Vinyasa. His sequence and style of teaching reinforces his primary objectives as a teacher: helping others to realize the powerful wellness benefits of yoga including a stronger, toned and more flexible body and an improved state of mind encouraging relaxation, self-acceptance and awareness.

Sumit understands the healing aspect of heat. “It’s simple”, he says, “In a yoga class, you practice poses that require stretching and compression of the joints, muscles, ligaments and other supporting structures of the body. Your body naturally protects itself from physical exertion by generating heat from the inside muscles outwards. We start with the heat up front…providing that extra protection from the very first poses. Another added benefit is that your body burns fat more effectively. It’s not uncommon for our students practicing regularly to lose inches of shape in a relatively short time”.

Sumit encourages all students – newcomers and experienced students alike – to begin and maintain a consistent practice regardless of the style preferred. “You’ll benefit from class by your effort regardless of how far or deep you get. As long as you are feeling it and you are breathing calmly, you’re practicing correctly”. 

Yoga has been a life- long journey for me. I was first introduced to yoga in 1967 while living in Laguna Beach, CA. After reading Autobiography of a Yogi, I was inspired to practice yoga and meditation. The asanas provided Moksha (liberation) of the mind, compassion to the soul and health for the body. I have over a thousand hours of teaching experience. I received my certification to teach Yin Yoga in 2014 with Bernie Clark, world renown educator/author. Rached Malouff, my teacher in Hatha Yoga refined my teaching skills. His legacy lives in the heart of all his students. I was also fortunate enough to take Ashtanga Yoga classes with Tim Miller, a master teacher, who was true inspiration! Additionally, I am guided by the teaching’s of BKS Iyengar which are my absolute favorite. I continue to study the Iyengar method of yoga, I feel that I will be a  student for life!

Dawn Walter is a writer turned yoga teacher, inspired by her yoga teachers in the New York Metropolitan area, where she is originally from.  Now thriving in Arizona, Dawn, as a 9/11 survivor who witnessed the attacks from the ground below the World Trade Center towers, was inspired to study Trauma Conscious Yoga in order to help those suffering from PTSD or trauma related issues. Dawn went on to study with yoga and breath work practitioners at Sedona Hot Yoga, as well as completing numerous online classes and certifications in Trauma Conscious Yoga, meditation, breath work, and Yin yoga.

Dawn graduated from 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training early in 2020. She also completed 100 additional hours of Yoga Teacher Training at Sedona Hot Yoga, as well as completing full Trauma Conscious Yoga certification in 2021. Dawn also is an accomplished Mala designer, customizing mala prayer bead creations upon request.  Committed to serving others, Dawn’s goal is to teach yoga, journaling, meditation, and breath work, all with inspiring music, quotes, humor, and compassion.

Kristen‘s passion for yoga began after her first yoga class. What sparked her curiosity was how deep in the practice she could go. Often reflecting that it is just a practice, Kristen feels that no matter how often she attends class or teaches class or studies yoga, there is no end to the depth of practice. Kristen has always known the power of the mind. Yoga really helped her to incorporate the mind, breath and body connection. After suffering a horrible skydiving accident, shattering her pelvis and breaking her back, yoga became the only thing that kept her pain free. Moving her body with conscience breath paired with positive thinking healed her. Kristen likes to offer a very strong flow, holding poses for a long period of time. Moving the body with the breath with a focused intention throughout class. 

Konner has been practicing yoga and Pilates for over 10 years and has been teaching for the last 5. Through practice and teaching she has found continuous improvement through body control, balance, muscle strength and meditation. Though trained in classical Pilates, Konner incorporates innovative and contemporary methods into her teaching style that integrate movement modalities and keep classes fun and challenging. The element of mind-body-spirit connection as well as breathing techniques have found their way into all aspects of her life. As a singer she has found conscious and mindful breathing so beneficial to performance. The physical and meditative practice has enriched her life in so many ways and she loves to share her passion through teaching. She believes that movement truly is medicine. Relocating from Vancouver, Canada to Sedona this past September, Konner has not only been enthralled by Sedona’s natural beauty and energy but also blessed by the wonderful community and individuals that she has met here so far.

The physical benefits were lifesaving as well. Having suffered from back issues all through her 20's, Linda was amazed to find that once she started stretching her body on a regular basis her back issues disappeared.

2011 Linda graduated from a 200 hour Yoga Alliance accredited teacher training through the Teton Yoga Shala in Jackson Wyoming. In 2012 Linda completed a kids yoga teacher training through Rainbow Kids Yoga.
Yoga has changed Linda’s life in every aspect and has brought her more into the realm of LOVE. Her passion is to share that love and her journey with her students because the more we open up to one another the more we open up to connection.