In the sacred space of Saint Mark’s Cathedral, this spiritual practice is designed to improve health, release tension, and deepen spirituality. It is a gentle, restorative, and contemplative practice, and the instructors guide the group in ways that welcome newcomer and experienced practitioners alike. Pay what you can.
Mats are available to borrow (first come, first served).
PLEASE NOTE: The doors into the cathedral are opened at 6 p.m. and then locked at 6:30 p.m.
- On the third Monday of each month the class ends with an extended savasana with Sound Bath, 7:30–7:45 p.m. As the doors are locked at 6:30, it is no longer possible to attend the sound bath without attending the class. Participants are encouraged to stay for the entire experience if possible.
- On the fourth Monday of each month, class is followed by social time with tea and chat.
About the Cathedral Yoga Ministry
The Cathedral Yoga ministry was launched in the fall of 2013, offering a one-hour practice in the sacred space of the cathedral nave each Sunday evening. Over the course of the next 6 years the ministry created a devoted community. For some, it was yoga that brought them through the doors of Saint Mark's for the first time. It is spiritual practice, but its spirituality emerges through an intense, focused bodily awareness. The classes are gentle, restorative, and contemplative. Participants are asked to pay what they are able.
In March of 2020 the offering was suspended, and it remained dormant for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021. After attempts to offer Cathedral Yoga virtually, the ministry began again as a weekly in-person offering on July 26, 2021, on a new day and time: Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
When the founding instructor of the yoga ministry, Wendy Townsend, was asked, "If someone was on the fence about attending Cathedral Yoga for the first time, what would you say to them?" She replied
Individuals have told me over the years how much they enjoy yoga in the cathedral nave. No other yoga setting can compete!
The idea of attending a yoga class can be intimidating to someone who has never done it before, but it's worth the adventure. Cathedral Yoga is always taught in a way that will be rewarding for people of all levels, including absolute beginners. Some have found that practicing in the huge space of the cathedral nave actually makes them less self-conscious than they feel in the smaller space of a typical yoga studio!
Sound Bath/Aural Meditation
On the third Monday of each month, Sound Healing will accompany the entire class length and conclude with a 15 minute Sound Bath Savasana. Read more about the instructor, Andrea Lolbe Suzuki, and her practice below.
Organ Meditation (suspended)
After two years of monthly offerings, John Stuntebeck and the Cathedral Yoga Committee have suspended the first-Monday Organ Meditation indefinitely. Similar offerings may be planned as one-off events in the future.
ANDREW RAGAN
I help people connect to themselves through movement, breath, and co-regulation. I combine strength training, yoga, breathwork, and Trauma Release Exercise® to help people connect to self and integrate nervous system dysregulation (a result of trauma). Learn more at soulcenteredstrength.com
ANNE-PHYFE PALMER
Anne-Phyfe was introduced to yoga in 1994 at Physical Culture, a 90s Seattle movement institution, where she was also an instructor. Her first yoga teacher was Kathleen Hunt, and the yoga was intensely physical, spiritual, and mind-blowing. She was hooked. In 1996, Anne-Phyfe founded 8 Limbs Yoga Centers to provide an inclusive and welcoming home for yoga practitioners in Seattle.
Three decades of study and teaching have taught her that the most important thing is presence. The many different paths of yoga and self-reflection all lead us to the wisdom of our true self. When we can show up with curiosity and loving kindness, a deep and abiding presence emerges. This is a gift to ourselves, and to the people around us.
Anne-Phyfe’s classes will always offer options for different bodies and energy/proficiency levels, and aim to be trauma-informed. She currently teaches at 8 Limbs and Ritual House.
MARISSA GRASMICK (on leave)
Marissa found yoga while she was getting her Master’s in Buddhist Psychology at Naropa University in 2012. She has been a committed student for the last decade. She teaches yoga and breathwork publicly in the Seattle area at Commune Yoga and various studios, as well as works in private practice as a somatic therapist.
Her classes balance the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of practice. She teaches yoga with the intention of revealing our capacity for awakened awareness. She invites students to notice inner sensation and practice being compassionate and curious with what’s happening inside of themselves. She offers trauma-informed classes with thoughtful and creative movement to help inspire growth, play and possibility. She appreciates spending a little extra time in each pose to help students slow down and notice their experience. Students report feeling centered, reflective, and invigorated after her classes. She loves when students approach her after class to share their experience and say hello!
Outside of yoga she values time to play, be in the forest or ocean, create, learn, move, and spend quality time with loved ones. If you’d like to learn more about her, you can visit her website at www.marissaconnect.com.
TAMI HAFZALLA
Tami has been a Yoga teacher for 24 years, She is adept in holding grounding, compassionate space. She is committed to cultivating a practice that is warm and welcoming for students to move through a personal process, finding union of body, mind and heart. All are guided to access profound levels of insight and freedom, reconnecting to inherent wisdom, to heal and dissolve barriers that separate us from ourselves and each other. Ultimately, her intention is to share techniques to align with radiance from the inside out; connection to self, connection to others beyond name and form, connection to spirit, universal consciousness and love.
She has studied extensively with master teachers in India, Australia, Europe and the U.S. She draws most from her classical training in Ashtanga, Iyengar, Viniyoga and Ayurveda. Her classes are artfully sequenced, strength building and meditative. She has taught retreats worldwide and as the co founder & co directer of Synergy Yoga School, has led teacher trainings in India and Seattle. As an Ayurvedic practitioner, she infuses classes with ancient wisdom for contemporary living. She offers intuitive and simultaneously, skillful hands on adjustments grounded in her training as a licensed massage therapist. Her greatest teacher is her beloved son Indi Kainoa. From him she has known the greatest love, patience and joy. What a blessing to be on this unending journey of renewal & transformation. Learn more at bhakti-flow.com
CASEY SCHWANTES
After a lifetime in competitive sports, yoga was the first time that Casey felt like she could use her body athletically without the pressure of doing it right or winning the game. Like being a kid again. She took her first yoga class her freshman year of college during the volleyball off-season. Taking the pressure off of performance motivated Casey to continue practicing yoga throughout her young adult years.
In 2009, after 8 years of being a student, Casey decided to take a 200-hour vinyasa yoga training which changed the trajectory of her life. By 2011 she was a full time yoga teacher. For the past 15 years Casey has been a fixture in the Seattle yoga community, practicing and teaching at a majority of spaces yoga has been offered and managing a few studios as well.
Casey has completed a Yin training, a second 200-hour training and a 300-hour training and is E-RYT 500. Her passion is vinyasa with a focus on mobility and creativity. She is the Studio Director of Protea Yoga in Downtown Seattle. Learn more about Casey at Protea Yoga's website.
GRETA HILL
Greta’s classes are devoted to helping students cultivate joy, find deep purpose, and connect to the Sacred. Her teaching is a heart centered, empowering fusion of form and flow, and each class text you on a journey that weaves together creative movement with bio-mechanics, mantra and mudra, breathwork, and yogic wisdom for modern life. Learn more at gretahill.com
ANNABELL DUMEZ–MATHESON
Annabell DuMez-Matheson believes life is a journey and we are all on our own paths, however when our paths intersect, we can find hope and healing. Yoga has become something on her path that has brought deep connection and strength within herself and to the community around her. Moments we can pause, consider, see, and celebrate the NOW can be beautiful. She believes yoga helps us daily both on and off the mat to discover that gift. It would be a pleasure for her to journey with you on your path and practice of yoga regardless of your background or experience. 500 ERYT. Trauma informed, body positive, accessibly minded. All bodies are welcome.
JEFF JACKSON
Jeff Jackson will be teaching Cathedral Yoga in place of Marissa for a few months, while Marissa is on maternity leave.
Jeff offers a grounded, approachable style that encourages strength, introspection, and growth. His classes blend dynamic movement, intentional breathwork, and practical philosophy, creating space for students to challenge themselves while honoring their limits. With a deep appreciation for life’s transitions, both on and off the mat. Jeff fosters an environment where students can build resilience, connection, and inner awareness. Whether leading an energizing flow or a more intentional, slower practice, he provides tools to support both physical strength and mindful presence. This free class is open to all, welcoming practitioners of every experience level.
ANDREA LOLBE SUZUKI Sound Bath Artist
During a time of transition in life, Andrea dived into her own healing learning from alternative practitioners ranging from hands- on to energetic therapists, yoga, guided meditation, sound healing and others. Her training includes Yin Yoga Sound Bath Immersion with Leah Adams and Michael Liau. This Yin Yoga and Sound Bath Immersion offered a blend of Yin Yoga classes, sound immersions, lectures, and hands-on exploration. The learnings included the foundations of Yin Yoga, elements of a supportive embodied sound experience, mindfulness and the more subtle aspects of a yoga practice.
Andrea invites you to slow down and tend to your nervous system with a sound bath. This is a beautiful and deeply relaxing practice, where participants experience the physical vibrations of sound to help you connect more deeply into your own body. These waves are produced by various sources, including metal and crystal singing bowls, chimes, and other instruments.