MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS

Honoring our individuality and authentic selves is a priority at River Yoga.
Learn more below about our unique instructors and their own journeys with yoga.

KELLY SILBERNAGEL

As the founder and owner of River Yoga, I opened our studio in an effort to bring community and healing to Anoka and beyond. My main focus of yoga guidance are Yin and Restorative a tools to restore strength to our central nervous systems, as well as mental and immunity health. I have seen strong results in all kinds of people — extreme athletes, pregnant, blind, young and old… all varieties of practitioners.

I obtained my RYT at Yess Yoga in Minneapolis as well as a certification with Veterans Yoga Project.

As I always say, "Can’t Wait to See You on the Mat!" Join us in movement and health-strengthening in so many ways — Yin, Vinyasa, Strengthening and Breath.

RACHEL TODD

I came to yoga for physical exercise, but have stayed for the connection and spiritual growth that it fosters. One of my favorite concepts from yoga philosophy is svadhyaya, which means self-study. I believe that the work of meeting ourselves is lifelong. This work is what brings me back to my mat time and time again and is what led me to pursue teaching. My hope is to guide you in connecting not only with your body and breath, but with your whole Self.

I completed my 200 hr teacher training from CorePower Yoga in 2017. I also work as a mental health therapist, and I love using elements of yoga in my clinical work as well as integrating some of my clinical knowledge into my yoga classes.

KAITLIN CRAVEN

As a lifelong dancer, I stumbled into yoga at a young age and left my first class (amidst high school finals and Nutcracker season... oof!) feeling like I was in a whole new body. What started as a grounding practice to balance my dance training quickly became a way of life. I earned my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2016 through The Yoga Connection while studying Dance and Communications at the University of Iowa, and I've been sharing movement ever since.

Since relocating to Minnesota in 2019, I have taught at studios throughout the Twin Cities and currently lead Saturday AM Flow and Monday Hatha at River Yoga. In my classes, you can expect a nourishing blend of vinyasa and restorative flow with a focus on feeling rather than performing. I will encourage you to move intuitively, explore your edges, and let go of what you might look like. My hope is that you leave feeling more connected to your breath, your body, and your sense of play.

ABBY HAMMES

My love affair with yoga started when I began to see it not just as an approach to physical health, but as a tool for mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. I realized that I always left a yoga class feeling stronger, lighter, more connected, more forgiving, and more capable. I strive to share that healing power with others, which is why I left my career in the legal world and became a yoga instructor!

Most of my classes have a strong connection with breath and occasionally weave somatics, mudra, mantra, and Himalayan Kundalini Kriya into a physical practice that is accessible to all. My 200 hr teaching certification was obtained at Sattva Yoga Academy in Rishikesh, India, and I am currently working toward a 500 hr certification at Yess Yoga in Minneapolis.

F537EB67-E1C0-42D2-9136-276537A7370A 2_JPG.avif

AMY BIZAL

I am a busy mom to three and a wife to one of the most supportive men I know. My life can be a little hectic sometimes, but I have found that embracing the chaos makes things go a lot smoother.

I have always had a passion for health and wellness, and practicing yoga is something that consistently brings me joy. It wasn’t until I went through this transition of motherhood where I experienced how much yoga could play a big part in a happy and healthy pregnancy and delivery. I knew I needed to pay this passion forward to help prepare women for pregnancy, birth, and recovery.

I am passionate about everything, pregnancy, parenthood, and beyond. I love teaching our youth ways to acknowledge their feelings and offering tools to help them manage them. Yoga offers me the opportunity to do all of those things.

DAWN PERRA

Dawn's practice began 20 years ago when other forms of physical activity left her feeling bored, uninspired, and sore with few positive results. Yoga quickly became a constant in her life, and she completed her first 200 hr yoga teacher certification in 2020.

Since then, Dawn has become a 500 hr registered yoga teacher with additional certifications in Reiki (Level II), mat Pilates, senior adaptive yoga, trauma-informed yoga, and meditation. She is currently pursuing an additional certification in breathwork. Her favorite classes to teach are Gentle Flow, Yin, Hatha, and meditation.

CRISTINA WILLIS

DENISE MARTINEAU

Denise is a 500 hour certified yoga teacher and completed her training at home during the Covid lockdown with allllllll that extra free time. An elementary music teacher with more than 30 years in the classroom, Denise is passionate about sharing the power of yoga to help relieve teacher burnout.

She and her husband enjoy being empty-nesters traveling abroad and to the U.S. National Parks, so Denise has mastered the art of economical packing and brings a yoga mat with her everywhere. Denise loves kayaking, knitting and crocheting, reading, writing, playing accordion and ukulele, and walking her very spoiled dogs.

It was love at first practice! I started my yoga journey with my wonderful mother-in-law in a beginner's class, and we were hooked. At the time, I was working as a teacher and stressed out of my mind. Yoga was the only thing that kept me from going into a complete breakdown. Taking a leap of faith, I left the districts and began my 500 hour yoga teacher training at Devanadi.

Since then I have done other trainings including Yoga Nidra (50 hr), Mindfulness, Thai Yoga Bodywork (300 hr), Thai on Table Certification, Cupping, Gua Sha, Herbal Compress Certification, Sound Therapy, Bodywork for Trauma (50 hr), and Ayurveda & Traditional massage (50 hr). At River Yoga, I typically teach Vinyasa and Gentle and Restorative Flows focusing on breath, body awareness and strength. I guide students by setting breath and intention; this allows the breath to move the body, instead of the body moving the breath. I hope each of my students take away the ability to build awareness and connection with themselves in order to bring out their inner healer.