Meet Martha Staff, who recently moved to Ashland from Honolulu, Hawaii. Martha is excited to begin teaching at The Dome, for Rogue Valley Yoga.

Martha has practiced Iyengar and related styles of yoga for 40+ years. She studied with various teachers at the Iyengar Yoga Silent Dance Center (IYSDC) over 4 decades. In 2010 she received the 88 hour Iyengar Preparatory Teacher Training Certificate from Glenn Kawana and Sandi Jordan. Since then, she substituted for several of the IYSDC regular teachers for a decade, until the covid epidemic closed all fitness facilities.

Over the years, the IYSDC brought in many well senior Iyengar teachers, as well as BKS Iyengar himself. These yoga gurus provided Martha with the amazing and joyous opportunity to broaden and deepen her yoga horizens.

She decided to become a fully certified yoga teacher and enrolled in a Yoga Alliance 200 hour Teacher Training with Nicki Doane and Eddie Modestini in Huelo, Maui, which she completed in November 2012.

In 2016-17, Martha completed 300 additional teacher training hours with Nicki and Eddie, and now has 500 RYT Yoga Alliance certification. (Nicki was a protégé of Patabi Jois, and also studied with the Iyengars. Eddie was one of the earliest Iyengar certified teachers, receiving his credentials directly from BKS Iyengar. Today, both are considered “teachers teachers” and continue their vibrant yoga educational activities on Maui and elsewhere. Martha has continued her study with both of them inperson when she can, and on Zoom classes.)

Martha started and equipped an Iyengar-style yoga studio on the grounds of her church in Honolulu, in 2012, and continuously operated the Yoga by the Sea program until October 2022, when she sadly closed it in order to prepare to move to Ashland. Here, in addition to asana classes, she regularly taught a Restorative yoga class, and Pranayama. She also taught yoga at the Oahu Club in Hawaii Kai from 2017-2020.

Martha is a retired University of Hawaii faculty member, (International Student Services), which was her day-job for more than 30 years. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, travel, swimming, hanging out with her cats, listening to and making music, hosting and eating with her friends, and being a grandmother to 7 energetic children.