Joanne Bazarian
As a child Joanne watched her Mother practice Yoga in the living room. She would join her mom and cobblers pose was Joanne's position of choice. Joanne walked into her first yoga class in 1997 and never looked back. Her very first class was a Bikram advanced class (whew!). She has studied Iyengar, Ashtanga and Bikram.

Joanne is co-director of Perfect Balance Yoga and her ideal is to introduce Yoga to people so they might experience the joys of what yoga can do for them.“Yoga is a wonderful and true embodiment of all that is good for you. The benefits achieved by practicing Yoga are unmatched by any other form of exercise. I love the peacefulness and mindfulness. Taking care of myself, body and spirit is very important, Yoga gives me peace, it gives me balance, and it gives me an overall feeling of goodness”.

Joanne has studied with many instructors in the Bay Area. Since returning to Fresno she studied with Nancy Wubenhorst and feels very grateful to have been instructed by the Ashtanga Yoga Master, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Diana Guzman
Originally from Cuernavaca "The City of Eternal Spring" Mexico, Diana is a business major at Fresno State. She teaches our Kids Yoga classes, and often steps in to teach both Ashtanga classes and Prenatal Yoga classes.
Diana's abundance of enthusiasm is catching and its hard for kids NOT to have fun when they are in her Kids Yoga class.

Anna Parker
Shortly after graduating from college in North Carolina , Anna joined AmeriCorps and moved to California . Soon after arriving in Fresno , she discovered yoga and immediately was hooked. At first, Anna was drawn to yoga simply because it was fun and involved being barefoot. Soon, however, her early appreciation of the practice was augmented by a profound personal experience of the health benefits of yoga.

While Anna was naturally very flexible and had always been active (swimming, running, aerobics, soccer, tennis, etc.), she came to yoga short on strength and stability and suffering from chronic back pain and hyper mobile ( too flexible ) joints. Yoga gradually enabled her to manage and then decrease the back and joint pain and to improve her overall strength and balance.

In 2005, Anna completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training program at Yoga Works in Santa Monica, and has completed a 500 hour RYT program in Spring 2007. She participates in ongoing teacher training at Yoga Works, in addition to regularly attending local classes in Fresno and Los Angeles.

Giovanni Pivirotto
Giovanni has been exploring intelligent movement through yoga, dance & sport for a lifetime. He surfed through the 1980's on big Hawaiian waves at breaks like Haleiwa & Ala Moana. Backpacking, cycling in the mountains and practicing yoga on the beach were favorite pastimes.

"Surfing, like yoga, involves meditation and inner reflection, it teaches patience and requires respect for self & others and enhances courage to face inner fears. A person gains a greater love & appreciation for the natural splendor around us that we sometimes take for granted. He studied International Latin, Salsa, Swing, Argentine Tango and Ballroom dance. He instructed dance throughout the Central Valley, also dancing in theater. He used to lift weights 5-6 days per week, Giovanni believes he is more fit now with yoga.

He has instructed over 4500 hours of yoga classes ranging from beginning through advanced. His personal yoga practice is inspired by instruction from many of Northern California's finest teachers including Shastri and PBY's own Nancy Wubenhorst. Giovanni feels honored and appreciative to have received instruction by internationally recognized Ashtanga Yoga Master, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Eric Rollins
Eric was an avid gym rat and found himself suddenly injured from his efforts. Like so many others, he ended up with a back injury. Luckily, a friend suggested yoga classes. With reluctance, he decided to try his first class in December 2000. "It was great, I had found something unique and special. My journey had just begun.

Eric began his yoga practice with two classes each week, and by the end of that year was attending five classes each week. "My back was better and my stress level was way down". He was asked to teach by the instructor, leading to teaching regularly. Eric has participated in over 500 yoga classes with a variety of teachers and styles. eric says 'The great thing about yoga is that every pose is another opportunity to increase awareness". Having taught various subjects since high school, teaching is an important part of my life. In August 2003, he earned his teacher certification at the White Lotus Foundation located in Santa Barbara. "I have come full circle from injury to student to yoga teacher". Eric instructs Iyengar based alignment classes.

Nancy Wubenhorst

Leslie Howard - Our honored frequent guest Instructor!

Leslie Howard holds a 320-hour Advanced Studies Certificate from Rodney Yee, a 300-hour teacher training certificate with Tony Briggs, and a 500 hour Yoga Alliance certification.  Leslie has been practicing for over fifteen years in New York City and the Bay Area, including twelve years of teaching, workshops, and annual yoga retreats. Previous international retreats have included Egypt, Hawaii, Mexico, and Italy. She is currently apprenticing under Manouso Manos and Ramanand Patel, both of whom hold the highest certificates given in the system of Iyengar Yoga.  Leslie also continues her studies of the Pelvic Floor with Susanne Kemmerer whenever Susanne is in the Bay Area.

Shastri - Our honored frequent guest instructor!

Anirudh Shastri is a well-known and highly respected hatha yoga teacher with an extensive background in yoga philosophy.  He has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years, bringing his deep knowledge of the physical and spiritual aspects of yogic philosophy to his many students on the peninsula and in the South bay, as well as the Central San Joaquin Valley. Shastri trained in India and studied under the guidance of Shri Vishnu Prasadji.

Reyna Shastri