Martha Johnson began practicing ashtanga yoga formally four years ago, after exploring the tradition through self practice for several years. In 2006 I completed a yoga teacher training and advanced studies program with Uma Kleppinger, and in 2008 I apprenticed for six months with authorized ashtanga yoga instructor Anne Finstad. I have traveled twice to Mysore, India to study at the K.P.J. Ashtanga Yoga Institute under the direction of Sharath and Saraswathi Rangaswamy. My time there continues to nourish both my practice and teaching. Over the years, workshops with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Peter Sanson, David Garrigues, Tim Miller, John Scott, and Richard Freeman have also been sources of inspiration. To all my teachers, I extend my gratitude for their guidance.

I am continually awed by the depths of yoga and humbled by all that arises from it. In my classes I seek to create a space and time for students to cultivate the practice of tristhana, focusing with a steady gaze on the breath and on the posture.