OUR TEACHER FAMILY

Because every instructor began as a student and firmly holds true to "always a student first" philosophy and approach, we each understand the courage and vulnerability it takes to begin by stepping out of your comfort zone into the unknown. It has been our experience that the magic happens here!

Be it a private session, an elevated group class experience, or in our 200 HR yoga teacher trainings, our instructors are passionately dedicated and committed to your whole well being. You will encounter their depth of knowledge, experience, inspiration and support from your arrival, to departure, and beyond.

AMIE DIGENNARO

E-RYT 500, YACEP

Amie has been teaching classes at Pure Yoga for over 12 years & additionally is a trainer for Pure Yoga’s RYT-200 hour training program.
Amie approaches each of her classes with a foundational intention; to create space. It is within this space that we open ourselves to challenges, ease, growth, healing and perspective.

Amie loves to welcome both the newest and well seasoned yogis to practice together, in shared energy and inspiration.

Amie’s personal practice began with Bikram yoga and she completed her 200 hour certification in 2010. It was during this training that Amie practiced and connected to many different modalities of yoga and her teaching style reflects an appreciation of that variety.

In addition to teaching in the studio setting, Amie loves teaching SUP Yoga on The Columbia River. During the school year, Amie enjoys guiding elementary students through Imagination Yoga adventures.

Amie’s trainings/certifications include Hot Yoga, Power Yoga, Yoga Calm, Imagination Yoga, Yoga Nidra, and SUP Yoga.

CRYSTAL HAGGARD

200 HR CERTIFIED

Crystal’s Yoga Journey started in 2013 in Washington D.C. when her first Yoga class changed her life. Ever since her first class, Crystal has been a dedicated practitioner. Yoga set Crystal on her true path.

After 12 years of living in the Washington D.C. area, Crystal moved to The Dalles, OR. After moving to The Dalles, Crystal immediately started attending classes at Pure Yoga where she learned of an opening in an upcoming teacher training. Crystal completed her training in July of 2020.

An elementary school teacher by day, Crystal hopes to share the benefits of Yoga with her elementary school students and community.

Favorite quote: “Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It’s not ‘I love you’ for this or that reason, not ‘I love you if you love me.’ It’s love for no reason, love without an object."

-Ram Dass

SAMANTHA WHITLEY

OWNER, 500 HR RYT

Sam has been practicing yoga on the mat near and far since 2001. In 2015, an Ashtanga class got her attention which ultimately led Sam to complete her 200 and 500 hours of teacher training in Ashtanga vinyasa and the 8 limbs of yoga.

You will likely find Sam next to you taking a yoga class or find her working as a legal assistant in town. Sam is also trained and certified in Satyananda Yoga Nidra, YogaWorks signature vinyasa, Core Power Yoga's Yoga Sculpt and restorative yoga.

“I am forever grateful for all of my teachers. It is my true desire to return what I learn to others as best as I can.”

Favorite quote: “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” –Rumi.

Sam is certified through the American Heart Association for AED, First Aid and CPR.

LESLIE NELSON

200 HR RYT

Leslie first experienced yoga as a college student after a gymnastics injury that reduced her mobility. Along with the healing of yoga, she was drawn to the physical fitness and mental focus that came from a regular practice. Leslie discovered B.K.S Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, the “bible of modern yoga” and practiced on her own or with friends for many years when no other option was available; attending classes that were offered when/where she found them. Fast forward to discovering Pure Yoga in The Dalles, where she found her yoga home. As she approached retirement, Leslie was inspired to become a certified instructor to share the energy, focus and healing that can be realized from a regular practice of yoga. In 2017, she completed her 200-hour certification from the Purna Yoga College, including training in alignment-based Asana and Pranayama, Heartfull TM Meditation, as well as nutrition and yogic philosophy, adapted for the modern lifestyle.

Leslie’s classes are accessible to all levels of experience and fitness, with an emphasis on the proper foundation and safe alignment for the asanas. Leslie loves any activity that takes her out in nature, including (but not limited to) hiking, bird watching, golfing, and puttering in the garden.

Favorite quote is a Zen observation: It is the silence between the notes that makes the music, it is the space between the bars that cages the tiger.

Leslie is certified through the American Heart Association for AED, First Aid and CPR.

DOTTIE LAYER

200 HR RYT

Improving together in confidence, balance, and inspiration is what Dottie believes Yoga provides. Her goals are sharing her joy of yoga and learning with her students. Yoga has given her the tools to become the best she can be. Let Dottie offer an oasis, free of the loop we all play in our minds. Her approach is compassionate and encouraging, with humor through the balance of asanas and meditation.

Mildly persistent back pain revealed scoliosis. One year after joining PureYoga, a repeat x-ray revealed “status quo, the only reason you are as flexible as you are, is because of your yoga,” the doctor advised with a smile. Dottie’s mission is to share yoga for body, soul and spirit, as a pathway to gain strength, flexibility and stamina on and off your mat.

A 2019 graduate of 200HR WIN Yoga Teacher Training at PureYoga, Dottie has been learning at the PureYoga Studio since 2015. A native of Philadelphia, Dottie and husband Bob moved to The Dalles in 2009 to help friends at The Lyle Hotel who left the business in 2012. By then the couple had bought a house and felt rooted here. Dottie is an avid knitter and reader. Bob and Dottie love to hike the easier trails of the Columbia Gorge Scenic area.

Dottie is certified through the American Heart Association for AED, First Aid and CPR.

SHANNON RED CLOUD

FOUNDER, E-RYT 500, YACEP

During Shannon's third Bikram yoga class her undeniable calling to become a yoga instructor began. Today her passion driven dream has beautifully turned into her profession and reality.

Through nothing short of a miracle Shannon opened Pure Yoga The Dalles in 2008, the community's first and only all yoga studio and hot studio in the Gorge. Since 2004 Shannon has been blessed to participate and certify in 16 diverse yoga teacher trainings. This has afforded her the opportunity to share yoga with a variety of populations throughout the community including youth and adults in custody, in corporate settings, a non-profit kids yoga program Shannon co-founded in local schools and in assisted living centers.

The combination of faith, breath and movement continues to reveal to Shannon that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! A student first, she values the importance of ever evolving knowledge and information, relishing in the opportunity to share it with you through a private session, classes, retreats or Pure Yoga 200 HR yoga teacher trainings.

Shannon's certifications include: Bikram Yoga + recertification, Vinyasa Yoga, Imagination Yoga 1 & 2, & Teacher Curriculum, Chair Yoga, Sculpt Yoga, Yahweh Yoga, Buti Yoga 1 & 2, SUP Yoga, Trauma Informed Brain Sensitive Yoga, Yoga & Social Justice, Acro Yoga Family, Yin Yoga.

In her free time Shannon enjoys spending time with her husband and their two sons, running, cycling, and salsa dancing!

Shannon is certified through the American Heart Association for AED, First Aid and CPR.

ADDIE GOSSON

200 HR RYT

Addie was first introduced to yoga in 2007 through a group of friends who practiced flow arts in her hometown Louisville, Kentucky. Throughout the years of exploring different fitness programs, yoga has always kept her attention. She mustered up the courage to step out of her comfortable home practice in 2021 and joined Pure Yoga Studio in The Dalles, Oregon. In October 2021 she received her 200 HR Vinyasa Training through the Pure Yoga Teacher Training Program.

Yoga has transformative healing powers that have helped change her own life through central nervous system regulation and body awareness. Being truly present in the moment with the focus on breath, posture, and stillness has helped her heal and she wants nothing more than to share this healing with others.

You can find Addie at her favorite Ashtanga class weekly. She enjoys spending time hiking, gardening, paddleboarding/kayaking or just hanging out on the river with her husband and two pit bulls.