Instructors
Sonya Om
Shivani Kai Aletheia Om aka Sonya Enchill, is the director and principal instructor of Dharma Yoga LA, formerly Dharma Mittra Yoga LA founded in August 2008. Ms. Enchill also serves as President of S Enchill Wellness, a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization established in 2012 to make classical yoga and other healing modalities accessible to underserved populations.
Sonya was introduced to yoga by her mother as an adolescent growing up in Los Angeles, already a gymnast and dancer. She trained as a professional dancer at the Official School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater also gaining her first yoga certification in 2003 with Bikram’s Yoga College of India. She taught Bikram Yoga in Los Angeles, New York, Bangkok and Tokyo. While teaching in Asia she became a certified Pilates mat work instructor, and studied Iyengar Yoga at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India. Upon returning to the United States in 2006, Sonya earned certification in Vinyasa Flow at YogaWorks and then rediscovered her teacher Sri Dharma Mittra. She completed the 200-hour Life of a Yogi Teacher Training (LOAYTT) with Sri Dharma Mittra in October 2007, and the 500-hour LOAYTT in March 2011. Sonya has had the honor of assisting Sri Dharma Mittra at LOAYTT in San Francisco and demonstrating for him at the renowned yoga festival Bhaktifest in Joshua Tree. She continues to evolve in a profound relationship with her guru.
Sonya Om is also a Reiki Master, trained in the Usui Tibetan lineage and deeply enjoys sharing luminous Reiki energy with the Dharma LA community. She aims to guide all students to the divine light within themselves.
Joan Sargent
Joan Sargent is a certified Dharma Yoga instructor who completed 200-hour Life of a Yogi Teacher Training in August 2008. She started practicing Yoga in the early 1990s while working a full-time job in corporate America, and it was in fact Joan who first introduced daughter Sonya Enchill as an adolescent to the practice of yoga-something that she feels has enhanced and deepened their mother-daughter relationship over the years. In sharing the joys & benefits of Dharma Yoga Joan’s special interest as a teacher is with seniors, people new to yoga and those of all ages with limited mobility who desire a more fulfilled and healthy life.
Nina Roberts
Nina Roberts is a certified Dharma Yoga Instructor who completed the 200-hour Life of a Yogi training in 2010. She completed an additional 300 hours in 2014 under the guidance of Andrei Ram. Nina is certified in Therapeutic Yoga, has completed Yoga Teacher Training with Erich Schiffman, and has specialization in Yin Yoga. She is also a Registered Nurse and former academic instructor. Nina was drawn to yoga through a yearning to deepen her relationship with God. The passing of her beloved Grandmother and the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda magnified this yearning. Through her yoga practice, Nina has learned to embrace the principles of kindness (Ahimsa) and truthfulness (Satya) as essential components in her life. Sri Dharma Mittra was the “light” that guided her to these principles and provided the wisdom to unlock their significance. As a teacher, Nina serves to guide students toward connecting with their breath and flowing through each pose with comfort and ease; her goal is for students to find their inner state of peace and contentment.
Gary Mark
Gary Mark has practiced yoga for the last three years and studied Bikram before finding Dharma Yoga Los Angeles. He has spent the last year studying intensely and teaching at Dharma Yoga LA. Gary completed his LOAY 200-Hour Teacher Training and Certification at the Dharma Yoga New York Center in June to September 2013. Gary is currently enrolled in the LOAY 500-Hour Teacher Training at the Dharma Yoga New York Center. Gary is a yogi who leans towards svadhaya- study of the Self through sacred texts, is an avid reader of spiritual books and works on balance between his home life,
working a corporate job and his devotion to the path. Gary’s classes are meditative and true to the Shiva Namaskara series set forth by Sri Dharma Mittra.
Bobby Rodriguez
Bobby has been practicing yoga for ten years in this lifetime, and he is most recently grateful for the tremendous amount of growth that he has undergone in just a few short months of practice at Dharma Yoga L.A. Bobby completed 500 hour Life of a Yogi Teacher Training with Sri Dharma Mittra in Summer 2019.
Bobby draws from several yoga modalities in the hope of sharing the tools that have helped him heal and reconnect to the Self in every one. Bobby sees the opportunity to teach and heal through movement and stillness as truly another opportunity to be a student. He looks forward to learning with you soon. Aum
Instructors from other traditions
Qi gong Instructor - Hugh Morrison
Hugh Morrison’s interest in Qi gong goes back to the 1970’s when he was first introduced at a meditation training at the Arica Institute. A few years later his formal studies began in the Tao Tan Pai System (Taoist Elixir System) at the Taoist Sanctuary in San Diego and Taoist Institute in Los Angeles and later privately with Si Hing John Davidson a Tao Tan Pai Abbot and senior teacher. Tao Tan Pai is a wholistic system of Kung Fu, meditation, Qi gong and physical and herbal medicine, which originated in China and can be traced back to the Tang dynasty. The paramount mission of Tao Tan Pai system is to uplift society with personal cultivation, spiritual practice and a life of service. He was ordained as a Taoist Priest in 1983 (Honorable Servant) and honored with a Black Sash ranking in 1987. His studies have expanded into science based Chinese medicine, which he has taught for many years. In deference to the mission of Tao Tan Pai system he teaches and works with the California Acupuncture Board to improve the health of the country by preparing acupuncturists for mainstream practice. Hugh is also a devoted husband and yogi.
