About Our Teacher Training Program Instructors
The Yoga Connection is a nonprofit yoga organization under the direction of Priscilla Potter, that has been teaching yoga, meditation, Kriya Yoga and Hatha Yoga Teachers Training for over 20 years. Our instructors are knowledgeable, dedicated individuals who bring to this course a wealth of insight, compassion, and experience in the classroom, as well as their own personal practice. They demonstrate through their teaching and their presence how yoga can affect your life and the lives of those you teach.
300 Hour Advanced Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Primary Instructors
Priscilla Potter, Swami Mahatarananda, E-RYT 500
Yoga Connection Director
Priscilla has been training yoga teachers for over 20 years. She is the founder and director of the Yoga Connection, a nonprofit service organization dedicated to service through yoga. Her inspirational and intuitive teaching style is supported by 30 years of training and over 25 years of teaching. She is a professional astrologer, meditation instructor and a lifetime student and teacher of Kriya Yoga.
"Priscilla wears the mantle of her Kriya Yoga lineage with dignity and grace. She walks her talk...for over thirty years she has served, cared for and inspired her students, family and friends" - Lilias Folan, yoga teacher and author.
"Priscilla wears the mantle of her Kriya Yoga lineage with dignity and grace. She walks her talk...for over thirty years she has served, cared for and inspired her students, family and friends" - Lilias Folan, yoga teacher and author.
Sue Ferguson, E-RYT 500, PYT, RN
Sue began teaching yoga to preschoolers as a warm-up for creative movement. She has been teaching and practicing yoga since 1987. Priscilla Potter was her first formal teacher and mentor. She completed the 200 hour Yoga Connection teacher training in 1994 and is now one of the teachers for the 200 & 500 hour programs. She has also been influenced by Gary Phelan, Lilias Folan, Christina Davis and Joseph & Lilian LePage. Sue's style of teaching is eclectic and draws from many sources, primarily Kriya Yoga & Kripalu Yoga.
She is a registered nurse and balances teaching basic safe alignment with allowing students to experience the flow of energy. Sue teaches in order to share with her students the experience of yoga as a journey of self-discovery. Sue is also a Yoga Therapist and Director of La Mariposa Therapeutic Yoga, LLC.
"I teach here because the Yoga Connection philosophy creates room for individuality, inner exploration and growth and has allowed me to experiment with who I am as a student, a teacher, a woman and a spiritual being."
She is a registered nurse and balances teaching basic safe alignment with allowing students to experience the flow of energy. Sue teaches in order to share with her students the experience of yoga as a journey of self-discovery. Sue is also a Yoga Therapist and Director of La Mariposa Therapeutic Yoga, LLC.
"I teach here because the Yoga Connection philosophy creates room for individuality, inner exploration and growth and has allowed me to experiment with who I am as a student, a teacher, a woman and a spiritual being."
Becky Thomas, E-RYT 500
Becky started practicing yoga in 1992. She completed her 200 hour level teacher training at the Yoga Connection in 2002. In 2005, Becky completed her training at the 500 hour level with the International Yoga College. Becky is registered with the Yoga Alliance at the E-RYT 500hour level and is a member of the Arizona Yoga Association. Becky teaches classic Hatha yoga with emphasis on the breath. Her area of special interest is Ayurveda, the traditional healing system of India. She has studied yoga in India at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram and continues to study at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque.
The beauty of yoga is that it is adaptable, modifiable and individual. Yoga should not be one size fits all! Through Becky’s teachings, she will help you listen to your body and your breath, which will enable you to actually be your own "best" teacher. Becky invites you to join her on the journey of yoga. Yoga is the path to finding balance in your life. Remember...the journey is just as important as the destination! Visit her website getn2yoga.com
The beauty of yoga is that it is adaptable, modifiable and individual. Yoga should not be one size fits all! Through Becky’s teachings, she will help you listen to your body and your breath, which will enable you to actually be your own "best" teacher. Becky invites you to join her on the journey of yoga. Yoga is the path to finding balance in your life. Remember...the journey is just as important as the destination! Visit her website getn2yoga.com
Anthony Tribe, PhD., RYT 200
Anthony lives in Tucson, and has been practicing and teaching yoga since the 1970s. He has a doctorate in Indian religious and philosophical traditions from Oxford University, and taught for seven years at the University of Montana where he was a professor of Asian Studies. Anthony was a faculty member of the Providence Institute, Tucson, where he combined his academic and Yoga backgrounds to teach Sanskrit, Yoga Philosophy and the Bhagavad Gita in their Yoga Teacher Training program. At present he teaches yoga and Sanskrit, leads workshops on the Yoga Sutras, and works as an independent scholar.
300 Hour Advanced Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Adjunct Staff & Assistants
Ashley Leal, E-RYT 200
Ashley began practicing yoga in 1997. She completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at the Yoga Connection in 2004 and has been teaching yoga ever since. She was an AFAA certified personal trainer for five years. In addition to Yoga, she also teaches the Pilates Method, which she learned in a 450-hour mentorship program through BodyQuest Pilates. Most recently, Ashley attended a 30-hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training program with Joe Barnett and Michelle Marks. Ashley has nearly nine years of teaching mindful movement, strengthening and flexibility from a wide variety of methodologies and brings this vast experience into her teaching. She is also an experienced astrologer and meditation teacher. She was initiated into the Kriya lineage by her Guru, Sri Goswami Kriyananda, in 2009.
Ashley has been involved in the managing aspect of the Yoga Connection's Studio and Bookstore since 2004. She is currently our HTTI Coordinator and contributes her business and managerial skills in a variety of projects. She is a Core Group Leader and Adjunct Faculty for the Yoga Connection's 200-hour and 500-hour teacher trainings and has been since 2008.
Ashley has been involved in the managing aspect of the Yoga Connection's Studio and Bookstore since 2004. She is currently our HTTI Coordinator and contributes her business and managerial skills in a variety of projects. She is a Core Group Leader and Adjunct Faculty for the Yoga Connection's 200-hour and 500-hour teacher trainings and has been since 2008.
Jim Norris
Jim began practicing yoga at 8 years of age, practicing in his living room with Richard Hittleman on TV, and has had a consistent practice for the past 12 years. He has been teaching yoga for 10 years and considers his primary teachers, and inspirations upon the yogic path, to be Priscilla Potter, Goswami Kriyananda, Swami Satchidananda and B.K.S. Iyengar.
Jim describes his approach to yoga as organic and eclectic characterized by slow but deep movement, lots of breathing; keeping present in mind and body. His teaching style is meditative. His personal yoga practice includes mantra and sound. Jim teaches yoga in order to give back the teaching he has received and says the response from his students helps him continue learning. Jim has been teaching at the Yoga Connection about 10 years, considering it to be his “yoga home” and his sangha.
Jim describes his approach to yoga as organic and eclectic characterized by slow but deep movement, lots of breathing; keeping present in mind and body. His teaching style is meditative. His personal yoga practice includes mantra and sound. Jim teaches yoga in order to give back the teaching he has received and says the response from his students helps him continue learning. Jim has been teaching at the Yoga Connection about 10 years, considering it to be his “yoga home” and his sangha.
