MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS

Honoring our individuality and authentic selves is a priority at River Yoga...
read below to learn more about our very unique instructors and their journey with yoga practice.

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 is Yin and Restorative as a tool 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 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 200hr 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.

SASHA ANDREYEVSKIY

I was born in Russia, and migrated to USA in 2000. Though I was pretty sporty, Yoga was never something I even remotely considered looking into. For the most of my adult life, I was what you would call a not-a-yoga material kinda guy. Chubby, not flexible, somewhat muscular and with a ton of old injuries from previous sports, which even further limited my compatibility with yoga… or that was what I thought until one of the days I worked up the courage to give yoga a try. And as it happens in most of the cool stories, it was love at first … bend. Because of my work, my back was constantly in pain, knees and hips started to let me know that at the rate I was going... construction was deterirating me. My first week of yoga started to change my physical and mental health so much, that I decided to dive in right away and signed up for teachers training! So I am now a Yoga Alliance certified teacher of Hatha Yoga. I hope that you would follow my journey and maybe your life will change as much as mine have, after yoga became part of my everyday life. Stay tuned!

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 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 in somatics, mudra, mantra, and Himalayan Kundalini kriya into a physical practice that is accessible to all.
My 200hr teaching certification was obtained at Sattva Yoga Academy in Rishikesh, India; and currently working toward a 500hr certification at Yess Yoga in Minneapolis.

PAIGE PICKARD

Paige is a passionate Holistic Wellness Practitioner and has shared her offerings for over 4 years. After she personally discovered the power that self awareness and healing practices had in her own life, she then felt guided to share these gifts and assist others on their life journey towards healing. She helps others heal through mindful practices such as yoga, reiki energy healing, reiki certification classes, intuitive card reading, wellness workshops and therapeutic massage.

My passion lies in helping you discover who you are as a whole being, starting with exactly where you are today and working towards becoming the best version of yourself.

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AMY BIZAL

I am a busy mom to 3 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've 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, that I knew I needed to pay this passion forward to help prepare women for pregnancy, birth, and recovery.

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

I am a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and am a Green Lotus certified kid yoga instructor.

DAWN PERRA

Dawn’s yoga 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 in 2020 she completed her first 200hr yoga teacher certification. Since then Dawn has become a 500 hour registered yoga teacher with additional certifications in Reki (level II), mat Pilates, senior adaptive yoga, Trauma informed Yoga, and meditation. She is currently pursuing an additional certification in breath work. Her favorite classes to teach are Gentle, Yin and Hatha yoga, as well as meditation.

DENISE MARTINEAU

Denise is a 500-hour CYT, and completed her yoga training at home during Covid lockdown with allll that free time. An elementary music teacher with more than thirty years in the classroom, Denise is passionate about sharing the power of yoga to help relieve teacher burnout. She’s mastered the art of economical packing and brings a yoga mat with her as she and her husband enjoy being empty-nesters, traveling abroad and to the U.S. National Parks. Denise loves kayaking, knitting and crocheting, reading, writing, playing accordion and ukulele, and walking her very spoiled dogs.