Elise's yoga career began early with ballet. She has worked professionally since she was 12 years old and has trained at numerous prestigious schools such as Juilliard, The Kirov Academy, and the American Ballet Studio Company. At the age of 17, Elise was hired to teach dance to students of various ages and levels. She later continued on as an ensemble dancer with the Dance Theater of Harlem and freelanced with various companies in San Francisco.
Through her own personal injuries, Elise obtained extensive experience with recovery and physical therapy, thus leading to her career change to yoga. Her injuries help her work with students going through their own physical struggles.
Elise graduated from the Bikram Yoga College of India with Bikram and Rajashree Chaundry in 2006. She learned 84 asana with Sarah Baughn and Advanced Seminar Training with Bikram and Emmy Cleeves. She also attended Rusty Well's Vinyasa Bhakti Training in 2012 as well as 300 hours of Jivamukti Teacher Training under Sharon Gannon and David Life in 2014.
Elise has taught at various schools such as her home school Funky Door Yoga & Bikram's North Beach studio of San Francisco.
Elise also has experience in hospitality. She was a VIP host at night clubs such as Marquee in Las Vegas. She has a natural ability to lead large crowds, deal with different types of personalities from various nationalities and cultures. She is use to helping people feel comfortable in new environments.
She now enjoys introducing Hot yoga students to Jivamukti, yogalates & her Intermediate Hatha Series. Elise was also the head teacher and director of a large international meditation organization on and off for about 15 years. She teaches challenging classes with kindness, specializing in making new students feel safe as well as offering personal corrections and techniques. She is also able to give modifications to students when needed.
Throughout her life experiences she has felt a strong importance in community. She loves being in and building community.
