Our Team
Julie Schnitzer
Founder
Julie has been a personal trainer and group fitness instructor since 2010. She loves working with people who are willing to get uncomfortable for the sake of stimulating their own growth and development. She believes that by moving our bodies, lifting somewhat heavy things, getting a bit out-of-breath occasionally, and pausing to notice our beautiful bodies… all contribute to the best life possible. She has found that the ‘glue’ which holds her systems together is the community; she thrives on connecting with people who have a shared mission.
Jody Emerson
Yoga Instructor
Jody Emerson began her journey of meditation over 35 years ago, well before she started practicing yoga per se. When she first started taking yoga classes in 2005 it was for physical rehabilitation; she has since come to understand that yoga is much more than just physical therapy (though it is also that.) Jody took classes from Gina Puccinelli for several years before being moved to teach. Her first training was in 2014 at Mount Madonna Institute in Watsonville, California, where she was introduced to Eight Limb Yoga; a second training (Karen Quinn's Feel Better Yoga™) was completed in 2018. Jody enjoys including the ethical and spiritual principles of yoga in her classes.
Robin Enochs
Yoga Instructor
Robin was introduced to yoga and breath work in college and has been practicing yoga since her early 20's. She came to yoga as a means of exercise; however, soon learned that there is so much more to this practice. When she moved to a suburb of Memphis, TN in 2009, she began a Yoga Teacher Training. Her intention was to deepen her practice and meet “like minded” people. She studied with the late Terry Johnson, who introduced her to studying with Greg Tebb of New York and Manju Jois, son of Sir K. Pattabhi Jois.
Robin appreciates all forms of yoga; however, her personal practice and group teachings are of the traditional yoga practice; Ashtanga
She is registered E-RYT® 200, RYT® 500 through Yoga Alliance.
Additionally, Robin is a massage therapist, certified through the state of California, in Manual Lymphatic Drainage massage. She is also trained in Ayurvedic bodywork.
Jessica McDonald
Yoga Instructor
Jessica has been practicing yoga for over 25 years. Yoga has always provided her a place to find calm with the benefit of conditioning the mind and body to be centered in order to walk with peace and strength throughout the day. She wants her students to feel the same sense of serenity and stability by guiding them through relaxation breathing techniques and beginning yoga poses. Jessica is grateful to be a part of Balance Yoga after becoming an instructor in 2019 from the Columbia Yoga Center in Maryland along with experience teaching classes full of friends, colleagues and the local community.
Katelyn Merritt
Yoga Instructor
Katelyn offers yoga classes based in the Hatha tradition that focus on alignment and breath. She is knowledgeable in providing modifications to make postures accessible and therapeutic. Katelyn creates an inviting space for you to explore the connection of movement and mindfulness to support you on your strength-building journey.
Katelyn discovered yoga in 2008. The combined effects of a healthy physical practice with positive mental benefits has made this a life-long practice for her. Katelyn is a 500-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher who has been teaching yoga wherever she has lived. Katelyn believes that yoga is a powerful practice that can enable us all to move through the world with greater ease and intention.
MaryBeth Murray
Yoga Instructor
MaryBeth began practicing Yoga in 2014 and her relationship to that practice has continued to deepen over the past 20 years. After quitting her corporate tech job in 2018, MaryBeth decided to complete her 200HR teacher training with the school of Authentic Movements led by Stevi Gongora (@casacolibri) and Erin Kelly (@erinkellyart) in 2018.
MaryBeth teaches a variety of class styles including Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative, and Kids Yoga! But regardless of the class style, MaryBeth seeks to help students connect with their bodies, their breath, and their deepest selves. When we can connect with ourselves then we are better able to connect with others and this is the heart of Yoga.
A Minnesota native, MaryBeth moved to the Monterey Peninsula in 2018. She currently lives in Carmel Valley with her husband and their baby girl, Noa.
Amber Pacheco
Fitness Instructor
Amber is a natural leader, teacher and coach. She lives by a set of values which align closely with our Balance culture, one of community, support, nurturing and limit-pushing! She is strongly committed to her own overall wellness and loves to actively learn, study, and further her development! Amber’s focus for the last decade + has been motherhood. It was there that she learned the importance of taking care of ourselves while we shape, teach, and nurture our littles. More recently, she has been teaching circuit training, strength training and bone builders classes in the small-group training environment. She absolutely loves teaching - and learning from - her students of all ages and ability levels!
Brianne Pedersen
Yoga Instructor
Brianne (Bree) has been practicing the Yoga Asanas since she was in High School. Along with studying health and nutrition throughout the years, her passion for the practice of Yoga grew as she continued her education and received her first 300 Hour certification in 2018.
Her formal studies continued shortly after the height of the pandemic by enrolling in another teacher training and graduating with a 200 hour certification in June of 2023. Her studies continue to grow as she recently received her certificate with Kidding Around Yoga, to teach our future generations this amazing practice of mindfulness, breathwork and movement, in May of 2024.
She accredits the practice of Yoga to being life-saving and healing for various adversities in human existence, and for all stages of life. Her love and appreciation for the Eight Limbs of Yoga has blossomed into her desire to learn and evolve as a lifelong student and teacher of Yoga.
Bree has experience with various styles of Yoga, including, Therapeutic Hatha, Restorative, Iyengar, Yin, Vinyasa, Kundalini, and now Yoga for our future generations. Her adult classes are a balance between a mellow Vinyasa flow and the concentrated-focused nature of a Therapeutic Hatha class. Her passion to share the profound healing and therapeutic practices of all forms of Yoga are weaved into her themes and sequences for EACH and every offering.
Dr. Christopher Powell
Yoga Instructor
Dr. Christopher Scott Powell, D.C. is a Board certified Doctor of Chiropractic. Post graduate certified advanced level Network Spinal Analysis, the yoga of Chiropractic- A holistic, innovative & gentle technique used & endorsed by Anthony Robbins, Dr. Bruce Lipton, Candace Pert, Ph.D, & University of Miami school of medicine as a transformational somatic healing modality. Kundalini Yoga Instructor & Meridian Yoga Therapy Certified. Sacred Body Language Translation: intuitive interpretation of your symptoms. Emotion Code Energy Healing Release. Gong Shaman.
Anna Stenberg
Tai Chi / Qi Gong Instructor
Anna Stenberg is a local acupuncturist and East Asian medicine practitioner. With 20 years of experience practicing, learning, and teaching medical qigong and taiji, she is excited to share her experience in these simple and powerful practices with you.
Janell Webber
Yoga Instructor
Janell, a 5th generation California native, has been practicing yoga for more than half her life. After a childhood of competitive gymnastics, finding yoga as a young adult kept her body and soul in balance. Progression in her practice led to a deeper journey into meditation and integrated healing. It wasn’t until leaving a stressful career in Southern California, that she was called to train and become a teacher of her passions. Following the ways of Iyengar yoga, her dedication deepened and soon after, was called to Big Sur to become fully immersed in nature and the healing arts. Janell enjoys travel, cooking and baking, staring into the sea, journaling, chanting and a good sewing project.
Lance Wright
Yoga Instructor
Lance began practicing yoga in his 60’s to search for the strength and flexibility that seemed to be slipping away. He studied with Karen Quinn with a focus on anatomy and gentler movement to heal, stretch, and strengthen. During his yoga journey he learned how developing a deep smooth breath, working with moderate but consistent effort, listening to your body, and modifying your practice to your particular needs and abilities can make yoga a transformative experience leading to moving with more ease and stability, and moving away from stress.