Meet Our Teachers
Our instructors are experienced, helpful, and motivational. Students often mention how friendly and encouraging Mission Yoga teachers are. We want to see you reach your full potential, and we love bringing our unique skills and expertise to help you exceed your expectations — and have fun.
Winner of SF Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay, SF Weekly’s Best of SF
& the SF Examiner’s Reader’s Choice
Come find out what the buzz is about!
Our Teachers
Steve23 Sanchez
Hello!
Right after my first year at Burning Man in 2001, I was invited to try my very first hot yoga class which happened to be at Mission Yoga! After their intro deal, I found a temporary home at Funky Door Yoga where I worked the front desk and fell in love with the heat and the way the yoga made me feel. I have been practicing hot yoga ever since and have been teaching since 2006.
In addition to my extensive experience teaching hot yoga, I’m also trained in other modalities including Inferno Hot Pilates and Somatic Breathwork. I am committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of my students and strive to offer classes that are fun, challenging, and uplifting.
I am the owner of New Mission Yoga, a thriving studio where I have helped countless students find physical and mental balance through the practice of yoga. With the help of my community, we have built a beautiful temple where all people can come to heal, celebrate and commune with the divine. The space continues to evolve and has exceeded my initial vision.
Aurelle Amram
Aurelle Amram first fell in love with Bikram’s hot yoga in November 2008, when she was seeking a reprieve from her first New York winter. She fell in love with the structure, focus, and intensity of the 26&2 series. She quickly became a consistent practitioner as she saw immense physical and mental health benefits beyond escaping the cold! Aurelle has been practicing the Bikram and Bishnu Ghosh lineage of yoga ever since (almost 14 years!), and was motivated to receive her Bikram Yoga teaching certification (500+ hours) in 7 years ago, in Spring 2015, so that she could deepen her knowledge of the practice and share these benefits with others.
Aurelle has also dedicated countless hours to deepening her understanding of this yoga lineage. She’s been lucky enough to learn from advanced seminars and classes with some of the Bishnu Ghosh lineages’ most pre-eminent teachers and champions, including Bikram Choudhury, Rajashree Choudhury, Emmy Cleaves, Mary Jarvis, Cynthia Wehr, Joseph Encinia, and many others. Aurelle placed 15th in the USA Yoga 2015 National competition and has placed in the top 10 and top 3 numerous times in multiple state and regional yoga championships.
Aurelle’s classes are energetic, focused, thoughtful, and fun: just the way she practices! She enjoys teaching students about small changes that can make a world of difference and seeing their progress along the way. She hopes that each time you attend her class, you learn something new and feel something different in your body.
Outside of the studio, Aurelle is Partnerships Director at the nonprofit Code for America and has a B.A., from New York University and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Alexandra Sutton
Alexandra is one of our earliest instructors in the new Mission Street space. Many of you will remember Alexandra for her radiant presence, her empowering teaching style, and her grounding leadership in both Hot Yoga and Inferno Hot Pilates.
Alexandra brings her signature warmth, precision, and strength to the room. She offers powerful, transformational fitness classes to our students.
Michael Barrios
As a holistic trainer, Michael has guided clients worldwide in achieving their goal of optimal health through movement, nutrition, stress management, and the breath for long-term lifestyle change. From working with tech executives and athletes to single moms and everyone in between, many find that after attending just one of his classes they receive clarity and inner peace. He believes the first step to healing trauma is to connect our minds back to our bodies and to allow the innate wisdom of our bodies to do the work
Sahar
I discovered Bikram yoga in 2021, and what began as a practice of discipline quickly became a practice of self-discovery. After completing my 26+2 teacher training in the Ghosh lineage, I realized that teaching isn’t just about leading a class, it’s about holding space for transformation, connection, and presence.
For me, the hot room is a mirror. Each posture is an invitation to meet yourself more fully, with strength, softness, and curiosity. My classes are grounded in alignment, breath, and focus, but also infused with a deep respect for where each student is on their journey.
This is more than exercise. It’s an ongoing conversation between body, mind, and spirit, and I’m honored to guide others through it, one breath and one posture at a time.
