Current instructors

Brigitte Morin

Co-owner. Inclusive. Authentic.

Her classes are grounded, creative, and mind-body centric.

Brigitte is a teacher through and through. Her background in human biology and passion for yoga guided her to pursue her yoga teaching certification in 2015 through YogaWorks in New York City. Since then, she has furthered her education in trauma-informed, inclusive, yin-style yoga practices. Currently Brigitte is pursuing a 300-Hr Teacher Training through Citizen Yoga in Detroit, MI. Through this program, she has spent time exploring Katonah yoga, yogic philosophy, yoga for the LGBTQIA+ and non-binary crowd, and purposeful messaging. Brigitte recently joined the Fresh Coast team in a co-ownership role and is committed to help the studio and our community thrive.

Brigitte spends her free time teaching Biology at Michigan Tech, trying new foods, traveling and bringing her fur-babies (2 dogs, 2 cats) on adventures around the Midwest.

Follow Brigitte on Instagram @b.mor.in.yoga

Danielle Foertsch Newman

Intuitive. Inquisitive. Kinesthetic.

Her classes are inclusive, curious, and relaxing.

Danielle prefers to see herself as a student first and instructor second. As a child, Danielle was inquisitive and learned best by doing. Those qualities have resurfaced in her teaching style, which encourages students to be curious and experiment with how each pose or movement feels in their own body and mind. In 2018, Danielle completed the 200-hour yoga teacher training program at Yoga North in Duluth, Minnesota focusing on Hatha and soma yoga, modifications, breath work, and relaxation. She is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT-500) having completed her 300-hr training with My Vinyasa Practice. She is also a certified Reiki practitioner, and has additional training in adaptive yoga, restorative yoga, yin yoga, Yoga Nidra, chakra reading, sound healing, shamanic journeying, and Vedic astrology. She is currently completing her Yoga Therapy training through Yoga North in Duluth, MN.

Outside of the studio, Danielle is a licensed architect and construction field representative with the State of Michigan. She enjoys hiking the ancient mountain ranges in the Western UP and agate hunting along the shores of Lake Superior where she feels fully connected to the energy and history of the area.

Follow Danielle on Instagram @snowycedar

Katy Ellenich

Playful. Unique. Strong.

Her classes are invigorating, inviting, and empowering.

Originally from the Keweenaw, Katy started doing yoga with her Mom when it was on channel 13 but found her yoga while in graduate school in West Virginia. She pursued her 200-hr RYT in 2019 at Suncrest Yoga, now Empower Yoga and Fitness, and has taught ever since. Katy loves a good vinyasa flow and to build powerful sequences accessible to any yogi.

In class, Katy strives to bring a smile to strength, a giggle in a new shape, and breath in movement so that her students leave the studio positively glowing.

Katy spends her free time out hiking or enjoying a beach with her hounds, Moose & Chella, or if the weather isn't cooperating curled up on the couch with the rest of her menagerie, 3 cats, 10/4, Princess, and Fluffernutter.

Follow Katy on Instagram: @katyellenich

Allison Mills

Collaborator. Scientific. Hopeful.

Her classes are meditative, informative, and seasonal. Allison began practicing meditation as a young child and yoga as a young teenager to help heal from dance injuries. She has taught dance for more than 15 years and is an instructor at the Superior School of Dance. In grad school, she discovered mindfulness meditation, which helped get her through three major illnesses and two surgeries. Now as a science writer, she incorporates meditation and improv into media training for researchers. She has a bachelor’s degree in geoscience from Northland College and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Montana.

Allison loves fusing dance forms, growing flowers, snowshoeing with her puppies, and snuggling her favorite goat, Beast.

Follow Allison on Instagram @47northfusion

Lena Wilson

Adventurous. Laughing. Approachable.

Her classes are balanced, relaxation-promoting, and full of discovery. Yoga initially came to Lena as an alternative treatment for scoliosis through Yoga Zone cds from my mother. Living in Holton, MI - 14 year old Lena dove into Yoga through library books, Yoga Journal, and Callanetics instead of donning a back brace for 23 hours a day and considering spine surgery. To her, yoga is a manifestation of exploring potential and consciousness; learning about oneself, and feeling what it feels like to be alive. To her, yoga is a spiritual practice that offers a disciplined container to create freedom and connection through breath, awareness, movement, and meditation. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Lena is a freelancing, polymath singer-songwriter and illustrative artist. Her ranging interests include Mythology, Psychology, Permaculture, Earth Skills, and Mathematics.

Follow all Lena’s endeavors on Instagram @lenamaude or online at www.lenamaude.com.

Familiar Faces

Beth Christopher Krause

Loving. Human. Fun.

Her classes are organic, self-aware, and adaptive. Yoga for Beth began in 2003 at a small university in Illinois. Classes were offered for free to students as a form of "stress relief". It was love at first down dog and focused breath. She was hooked and went on to teach at the Chicago Fitness Center for a short time. In 2007, she and her new husband decided to move to California. They settled in Santa Cruz and Beth's education in yoga, eastern arts and traditions, and metaphysical beliefs and systems really began. She apprenticed under yoga therapist Annica Rose and co-created the Adaptive Yoga Project for people with any physical condition that couldn't go to a "regular" yoga class. It was volunteer and prop heavy and inspired Beth to pursue her certification in yoga therapy. In 2012, she received her CYT at the Niroga Institute in Berkeley.

Beth has taught and studied a wide variety of yoga styles and has even created a few, including hula-hoop yoga, yoga for tweens and sing-a-long yoga for seniors and kids. Her classes are an eclectic blend of all the things she picked up along the way. Her favorite thing about yoga is that ANY BODY can do it. And one of the secret powers of yoga is that one will always feel better when they tune into what they need and then do that. In her opinion, all paths lead home.

She also teaches a regular class on Wednesdays at 5:30pm at the Little Gem Community Center in Lake Linden. Appropriate for anyone who can stay on their own mat and get up and down from the floor.

Beth is the Natural Food Director at Louie's Fresh Market, one of the three women creating a healthy, safe and fun community center in Lake Linden and working hard to appreciate living off-grid and rejoicing in modern conveniences like hot water on demand. She, her handsome husband KC and their wonderful 8-year old son, Bronko are usually busy caring for their 5 dogs , 3 cats, 7 chickens and whoever else shows up.

Feel free to friend Beth on Facebook or follow the Little Gem Community Center for updates and events.

Cindy Taavola

Cindy is a Yoga Alliance® Certified Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). Cindy came to yoga in 2017 looking for a way to manage her stress. After her first class she was hooked and has been building on her practice ever seen. In 2020, Cindy became a Certified Yoga Teacher. In 2022 she completed a 50-Hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Bernie Clark, and a 40-hour Yoga Nidra Teacher Training from MVP Studio of Austin, TX. Her classes are based on yoga being functional and meeting yourself where you are. You will find her classes calming for both the body and the mind.

Off the mat, Cindy is an AVP/Credit Manager for Superior National Bank and enjoys amateur photography, golf, exploring the local area, and spending time with friends and family and her Alaskan Malamute.

You can find Cindy teaching Yin Yoga classes and collaborating with others to bring forward unique workshops at Fresh Coast.

Follow Cindy on Instagram: @CindyT-Yoga

Drew Cramer

Co-owner. Grounded. Goofy.

His classes are anatomy-focused, joyful, and rejuvenating.

Drew is a lifelong learner with keen interest for the bodies we live in. He began his formal yoga practice in 2011 and earned a 200-hour yoga teaching certification from Yoga Maya Center in 2019. He trained in martial arts since 2006 and his interest in anatomy and healing kicked off when he earned his first Wilderness First Responder certification. Drew holds a Bachelor’s degree in geoscience and a Bachelor’s degree in outdoor education from Northland College and a Master’s of Science in geology from the University of Montana.

Drew loves Dungeons and Dragons and drumming. He plays outside with his dogs and wife. He installs solar panels.

Follow Drew on Instagram @fresh_coast_yoga