Laura Orso-Richmond
Co-Owner | Manager | Yoga Teacher ERYT-200
Laura@ElementsHotYoga.com
My first foray into yoga was back in 2013 when I was in search of something to help me with my low back pain I had at the time. I never imagined just how much yoga would wind up changing my life! Not only did my back problems clear up, but so did a lot of other physical issues, my mind, and my heart! This practice has truly touched me to my core.
I began teaching in 2016. I had always worked customer service jobs, and making the transition to teaching yoga only seemed natural as I love to help people. I love to take and teach primarily Power Vinyasa and Yin, and greatly enjoy playing around with different sequences as well as being clear about alignment. My goal as a teacher is to inspire you to trust yourself, but also challenge yourself, have a little fun, and try something new! Challenging yet accessible is my motto.
My relationship with Elements has continued to grow over the years. Most times when I leave, I tell the studio how much I love and appreciate it, and that I will see it again soon. The past few years, that hasn’t always been a given what with Covid and the flood we experienced. I truly cherish this space, this community, and am very happy to now manage and co-own this glorious space that I love so dearly. I am so happy and excited to continue to dedicate myself to this community and continue to make it the very best it can be!
When I’m not in the studio teaching or taking a class, I love to spend time with my husband Jeff, my 40+ chickens, and my many wonderful friends. Besides yoga I also really enjoy swimming, hiking, kickboxing, travel, reading, and the occasional video game.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and I look forward to seeing you around the studio!
Kara Cook
Co-Owner | Yoga Teacher RYT-200
Kara@ElementsHotYoga.com
Having a yoga studio has been a long-standing dream of mine that has finally come to fruition. I'm grateful to get to live and work in my passion of yoga. and I believe wholeheartedly in the integrity of the Elements community. I feel blessed to have this opportunity to provide a respectful, non-judgmental space for all to access the transformational experience of hot yoga.
We have a wealth of experience and knowledge in our talented team of instructors and staff. Our goal is to grow the Element's family to reach the greater PNW with your help and input.
Extending love and kindness Until I meet you on your mat ~ Namaste
Jasmine Childs
Yoga Teacher RYT-500
I first began yoga after I graduated college and moved back to Whatcom County. I barely knew what yoga was and from the first vinyasa class I tried, I was hooked. I have been practicing yoga ever since and loved it enough to become a Certified Yoga Instructor.
When I first began yoga, I loved the way it made my body feel and the strength I gained through a dedicated practice. However, after an injury to my shoulder in 2014 and subsequent surgery, I gained a different perspective of the transformative healing power of yoga. It completely changed the way I viewed my practice and my body. Honoring your body and where you are in your yoga journey has become my mantra now. Every time I step on the mat, it’s a new experience and a chance to learn more about my body.
In my classes, I like to challenge my students to work hard and focus on breathing, but also to find gratitude and balance in their practice. Yoga is not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and accepting yourself in that moment.
Shannon Suschil
Yoga Teacher RYT-200
I fell in love with and have been consistently practicing yoga since 2012. What began as a supplementation to all the many other forms of athletics and movement practices in my life transformed into something I physically and emotionally crave and cannot imagine my life without. My yoga practice has transformed me in many powerful ways, from tuning into my physical strength, power, and grace to a deeper connection to myself and how I view the world around me.
Teaching yoga has really fueled my love of this amazing practice and the connection and sense of community built through holding space for others to move, breath and connect. I completed my 200 hour teacher training through the Power Yoga Academy in 2016. I feel honored to have and invigorated by the opportunity to witness others find their sense of inner wisdom and strength through moving, breathing and observing. I love creating strong and beautiful sequences to encourage students to really step inside their body and mind. My goal for teaching is for students to feel empowered in their physical strength as well as their vulnerability. I think yoga should be sustainable and enjoyable, where it can be profound, yet playful. Looking forward to flowing and connecting with you all. You are all what make teaching so valuable to my life. Thank you for stoking my fire.
Robyn Keller
Yoga Teacher RYT-200
I have practiced and studied various styles of yoga for 30 years. I am a certified 200 hour Vinyasa teacher and a Certified Life Coach. My holistic love of humanity, the Divine, and yoga philosophy fuels my deepest desire to serve others and I hope to live the rest of my life sharing these ancient practices. Yoga has deepened my knowledge of “self” and has taught me to live uniquely, mindfully, and joyfully in my own body. I believe everyone has unique gifts and talents, as a yoga teacher my passion is to create space for you to continue to nurture and discover yours on and off the mat!
Stephanie Bracamonte
Yoga Teacher RYT-200
My yoga journey began years ago after running a half marathon. I was introduced to Bikram yoga and immediately fell in love with yoga and began expanding my practice. I trained in Guatemala through the Yoga School Institute. I received my RYT 200 in 2014. I lived and trained on a organic yoga farm for one month. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. I completed my training in Vinyasa and Hatha. I've attended several yoga intensive in areas of HPF, sculpt, Yin, power vinyasa and fitness certificates in Hot Pilates Extreme and barefoot boot camp.
I most enjoy teaching Power and Hatha/Power. I love adding some strength training and Pilates to my Vinyasa classes. My mantra on my mat personally is if it doesn’t challenge you, it will not change you. I’m always looking for personal growth physically and mentally.
If you attend my class, I hope to offer you a mind, body and breath connection. I will challenge you to push yourself not only on the mat, but off as well. My classes are usually playful in nature. I'm inspired daily by so many yogis and thrive on learning from each of you. Come sweat with me, see you on the mat. Namaste
Francie Winkle
Yoga Teacher RYT-200
I’ve practiced yoga since 2007 and have been a certified Vinyasa instructor since 2010. I received my teacher training through Hot Yoga Inc in the South Seattle area where I am originally from. I’ve spent the last 4 years living an adventurous life on the Big Island of Hawaii teaching sunrise yoga for the University of Hilo, Hawaii. Yoga transformed and empowered my life. I love rhythm and I love to teach Vinyasa using the breath to calm and control movement. Yoga tunes us in with ourselves where we discover the power of our potential both on and off the mat.
Raina Moran
Yoga Teacher RYT-200 | CPT | LMT |
BS in Kinesiology
Yin yoga was my first love and it drew me towards attaining my 200hrs. My style of practice is informed by my background in kinesiology, massage therapy, and personal training, though I would say the biggest impact on my movement practice came from an emergency, life saving surgery in 2020. Left with deep internal scarring, the fabric of my fascia was permanently altered. Navigating through two years of chronic pain, I learned how to rebuild the relationship between my body and movement.
Investing in movement that nourishes, appropriately challenges, and sustains our daily activities is imperative for our wellbeing. The body is home to the mind for our entire stay here on Earth, and it’s the single most important relationship we have. In my classes, I offer flows that are challenging but supportive. I love teaching postures that evolve with intricacy as the flow repeats and progresses; often focusing on alignment, functionality, and artistic transitions. My hope is that you leave the mat feeling balanced, having more space within restricted fascia and renewed strength in weakened tissues.
Adrienne Beattie
Yoga Teacher RYT-200 | LMT | SMS
Hi! I’m Adrienne Renée. Originally from Seattle, I’ve been in Bellingham for the last 11 years and am proud to call this place my home. I’m passionate about the yoga and fitness community of Bellingham and am honored to be an instructor at Elements.
I received my 200-hour Hot Yoga certification in 2014 and have taken various movement trainings since then (Clubbell Vinyasa, FlowFit, and more). What I am most proud of and invested in is my work as a Structural Medicine Specialist and LMT. Out of my office in the Bellingham Towers I treat a variety of clients using myofascial manipulation and movement education to help my clients understand, feel and move their bodies more functionally and without pain.
Lastly, and certainly not least, I am a proud dog momma, so if you ever want to chat with me about your pup, I’m ALL ears.
Emily Willamson
Yoga Teacher RYT-200 | CPT |
Health and Nutrition Coach
I am a passionate RYT who holds deep gratitude for being able to complete my 200-hour certification with four master instructors in beautiful Bellingham, WA in 2020. As a lifelong student and passionate learner, I am also a martial artist, personal trainer, kickboxing instructor as well as a health and nutrition coach. Needless to say, I am a huge fan of the human body and delight in the freedom that is possible when connecting our hearts, minds and bodies together as one.
My own path to holistic health has led me to believe in the transformative power of all eight limbs of yoga as a foundation to physical health, mental and emotional nourishment and spiritual clarity on and off the mat. When not on my mat, training, diving into continuing education or teaching/coaching, I enjoy playing in nature and exploring new places with my husband and two wonderful children.
In taking an integrated and fun approach, students can look forward to making room for joy, play and curiosity throughout their practice with me. Celebrating every body’s unique needs and journey, I feel that every class and every asana is an opportunity to connect with your own internal teacher. Whether finding strength and challenge in vinyasa or exploring what stillness can gift you in yin, my offerings are designed to facilitate openness of mind and novel physical experience. Incorporating anatomical alignment options, energy body awareness and pranayama into all my teachings, I seek to empower you to listen to your own inner wisdom and find your unique path to equanimity and longevity.
Carri Uranga
Yoga Teacher ERYT-500 | Front Desk Staff
I am an ERYT-500 and have been teaching yoga and fitness full time since 2007, leading 22 retreats and trainings all over the globe.
My passion for yoga began as an outdoor enthusiast and gym rat seeking flexibility and cross training after thru-hiking the entire Appalachian Trail in 1999. During my first Ashtanga class I was fascinated that I could work hard and sweat, yet feel relaxed all at the same time.
Coming from a sports background, I appreciated the non-competitive and non-judgmental spirit in yoga.
I enjoy guiding students to a place of curiosity and investigation in their practice and empower others to cultivate inner strength and confidence to live a full life.
I credit my sustainable 25 year yoga practice with the balance of Yin, Restorative and Nidra, plus plenty of food and laughter.
I enjoy adventure travel and spent one year backpacking in Central & South America and 18 months in Europe with my husband of 25 years.
Most of all, I just like to have fun!
Graham Slater
Yoga Teacher RYT-200
Having played team sports most of my life, I never understood yoga from the outside. Upon trying it for the first time in 2018, I knew it offered something no other form of movement did, but couldn't initially identify exactly what. After practicing daily for several years, it became clear that nothing else induces the same combination of purposive mindfulness, intentional physical movement, and the healthful compounding effect of a more sustained mind-body integration.
Yoga asana activates a global state of mind for an hour or more that other forms of physical activity only capture in splintered fragments. My best teachers had a knack for facilitating a consummate flow state and imparting creative ways to actualize new bodily form and function on students. I aspire to do the same.
After teaching international relations at university, I obtained an RYT-200 from Bellingham Yoga Collective in 2021, in order to embrace the teaching process in a less theoretical and more tangible setting. I strive to create noticeably balanced total-body sequences that embrace diversity of movement and activate a meditative level of concentration, intuition, and mind-body awareness. The fundamental philosophy I bring to my classes is one of freedom, empowerment, curiosity, and exploration. Although everyone may carry their own distinct intention into the yoga community and into the studio, my primary focus is to ignite in myself and in others the processes and mechanisms that lead to a healthier and richer mind-body state. While other types of physical activity often produce a satisfying workout but leave muscles and joints tight and tense and the mind fatigued, power vinyasa yoga creates that strenuous physical challenge yet leaves the student loose and limber in body and
invigorated in mind.
Having lived in many different places, I have called Bellingham home for the past few years, including regular jaunts to the islands. When away from the studio, I enjoy outdoor adventures with my dogs and trying to teach them the practice of yoga, with mixed results.
Savanah Wainwright
Yoga Teacher RYT-200
After moving to Bellingham in 2014 I quickly found a love for hiking and yoga, which eventually led me to discover a more wellness-based relationship with exercise. I enjoyed discovering the benefits from mindful actions and have been training to better understand the mind/body connection through different disciplines ever since. I’ve received my 200 YTT Certification, my undergraduate in psychology, and am working towards a master’s in clinical mental health counseling. Afterwards, I hope to continue training in different holistic interventions and healing techniques to offer a multidisciplinary counseling practice to others. I am excited to be on this lifelong journey with yoga and counseling to help guide and assist others in an effort to spread wellness and peace.
Yoga has been at the center of my own healing journey and has brought mindfulness, compassion, and community into my life. After receiving my YTT, I realized that I wanted to embody Yoga and its principles both on and off my mat. It is now a lifestyle and a dedicated lifelong practice for me. I will forever be thankful for the mind/body tools this practice has given me and the joy it brings me to share it with others. Within my classes, I instruct with an emphasis on building strength and stability both in our minds and our bodies while creating a warm environment meant for every-body. I aim to safely guide students into shapes together, then encourage and offer special adjustments for all our special bodies. I think it’s a wonderful thing to experience this practice both individually on our mats, and collectively as a community.
Molly Reiff
Front Desk Staff
Bio Coming Soon!
Katie Reutter
Substitute Yoga Teacher RYT-500
My yoga journey began in 2013 in a hot yoga class. From here yoga changed my life. I experienced profound healing- mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. After years of practice and with a desire to share this healing with others, I followed my calling to become a teacher and completed my 500-hour certification with the Raja Yoga Academy in 2018.
My classes encourage compassion and acceptance, where we focus on creating harmony between our mind, body and breath. The yoga room is where I hold space for you to develop your own practice, whether it’s building strength and flexibility, calming the mind, moving through discomfort, or simply connecting with yourself. Also as a musician, I love to use music and movement to create a fun and uplifting experience. As long as we try the right way and never give up, we receive the healing benefits of yoga. The magic begins on our mat.
Amanda Johnson
Substitute Yoga Teacher RYT-200
Bio Coming Soon!
