Rachel Brathen

Founder & CEO, Certified Yoga Teacher

Hi! I'm Rachel Brathen; a Swedish-native, New York Times best-selling author, non-profit founder, serial entrepreneur, and an international yoga teacher with sold out classes and festivals around the world. I'm also the founder and CEO of Yoga Girl®, and the host of two #1 podcast shows, Conversations From The Heart and Yoga Girl Daily. With over 2 million followers on [social media](https://www.instagram.com/yoga_girl/), 15 years of professional experience, and a global audience in over 170 countries, I have been featured in [Women's Health, Yoga Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Tedx Talks, and more](https://www.yogagirl.com/rachels-corner/press). After graduating from school in Stockholm, I traveled to Costa Rica where I found the joy of incorporating yoga into my everyday life. Deepening my yoga practice and beginning teaching, I moved to Central America where I spent years exploring the intricate studies of yoga and spirituality. After moving to Aruba early 2010, I began teaching yoga full time with my classes being dynamic Vinyasa Flow and focused on integrating alignment, core work, and breathing techniques with basic poses and creative sequencing. My main lesson I aim to teach though, is that asana is only a small piece of the work done in the yoga shala. I incorporate holistic therapeutic tools like sharing, active listening, and journaling, and there is a deep level of heart healing at the center of every class I teach. My classes serve the purpose of deepening a connection not only to ourselves, but with the people around us. Giving back to the community has always been at the center of all of my initiatives – with the help of awesome staff and volunteers, I run two non-profit organizations: [Sgt. Pepper’s Friends](http://www.sgtpeppersfriends.com/); an animal rescue foundation based in Aruba, and [Yoga Girl® Foundation](https://www.yogagirlfoundation.com/), an organization benefitting women and children in need. In 2017, my husband Dennis and I also opened [Island Yoga](https://islandyoga.com/) - the largest yoga studio in the Caribbean, where we've hosted yoga teacher trainings, retreats, workshops, and year-round classes. Along with these initiatives, I am the founder of one of the first online yoga platforms, the now-retired oneOeight.com, which was the most successful crowd-funded yoga project of all time. That platform has since grown and transformed into the Yoga Girl® site you're experiencing today, and is now made up of a vast [community](https://www.facebook.com/groups/yogagirlcommunity/) of dedicated practitioners from all over the world looking to cultivate balance, create space for inner healing, and to deepen their yoga practice. Now I'm back living in my home country of Sweden with my family, and when I'm not actively trying to help make a change in the world, I enjoy cooking, baking, foraging, drinking tea, communing with nature, and spending my days with my husband, Dennis, our daughter, Lea, and our three dogs Ringo, Laika, and Quila. --- __Specialties: Vinyasa Flow, Heart Healing, Meditation, Pranayama, Hatha, Gentle, Restorative, Yin, Kundalini, Prenatal__

Dennis Schoneveld

Co-Founder & Director, Certified Yoga Teacher

I was raised in Aruba, but I've traveled a ton since meeting Rachel and starting our business together. After studying business administration in school I put it to use and dabbled in surf and skate shop management, and I now keep the numbers in line at Island Yoga. I love to make coffee for the Island Yoga staff, and from time to time when I'm actually behind my desk, I watch soccer on my computer. I'm also a certified yoga teacher, talking people through poses every week (something that will resume after my paternity leave ends, in ten years or so). Creating Island Yoga, Yoga Girl, and oneOeight has been a dream of ours for many years. I love watching it come to life! If I'm not chasing Lea Luna around, I'm on my triathlon bike every chance I get.

Angela Ryden

COO, Certified Yoga Teacher

I am the company COO and the quintessential small town girl next door. In 2017, I officially joined the Yoga Girl group of companies after working as a key driver for yoga and community building in the Nordics (where I happen to meet Rachel & Dennis). I'm an American-Filipino living in Sweden (married to a Swede) and come from humble beginnings. Hard work and gratitude has served me well. For over two decades, I've held a variety of Sr. roles for mid-sized and global companies such as Microsoft Corporation and other start-ups where I learned the ropes of teamwork and adaptability; and I have been fortunate to work with brilliant people to bring forward initiatives and technology programs for brands such as KPMG, Siemens A&D and many more. However, my true calling lies in service and humanity where the real measurements are found in the heart. I wear many hats at Yoga Girl, and there is no job too big or too small. I've been teaching yoga since 2009 and I am a former yoga studio owner. Today, I oversee our global day-to-day operations while balancing motherhood to two amazing children, being a wife, and finding time to roll out my yoga mat.

Alexis Miller

Customer Service Specialist, Social Media and Content Support, Certified Yoga Teacher

Hi! I’m Alexis and I support our online community as a Customer Service Specialist, and I also help write, create and publish social media and website content! I joined the Yoga Girl team in February of 2019, and I am so grateful to be supporting a brand dedicated to all things yoga, healing, meditation, community, nourishment and growth! I am also a registered yoga teacher and surf instructor, on the side I love to teach, surf, write, read, study, meditate, practice, dance, travel, and connect with nature!

Maria Gonzalez

Senior Customer Support and Documentation Specialist

Hey, I'm Maria. I have a background in aerospace engineering and work as a documentation specialist during my free time. As a naturally curious person, I find joy in trying new experiences and exploring new places.

Courtney Betts

Podcast Project Manager, Certified Yoga Teacher

Hi! I'm Courtney and I manage everything with the Yoga Girl Podcast. In addition to my role with Yoga Girl, I also frequently support our local animal shelter, Sgt. Pepper's Friends. On the side, I teach SUP yoga and create art - you can find my work gracing the walls at Island Yoga.

Johan Ander

Creative & Multimedia Specialist

Hey I’m Johan! I have strong passion for making art - from producing films and taking stunning photos to creating that perfect web experience. I work with team Yoga Girl® to create various web and social media graphics, but I also am behind much of the video production and editing for yogagirl.com. I have an Art Degree, am tech savvy, and I'm also a music producer. I was born in Sweden and now living on the beautiful island Öland, where I enjoy nature and sunsets while SUPing with my Peruvian dogs.

Robert Ikenberg

IT Admin & Security

Hello! I'm Robert and the IT admin and the security guy. I have a strong passion for IT security and tech stuff as well as coding and building websites and e-commerce. For many years I was working for big companies and government, as well as performing IT security audits for Swedish nuclear facilities. People know me as a the friendly and helping person that like to talk and share my knowledge. Started coding programs and games as a toddler and have a very broad knowledge. Working with coding, web developments, web design, security audits, penetration testing, building apps and systems and also handling servers, network, firewalls and all the it stuff that is needed for a company to work, as well as the maintaining the website.

Kevin Persson

Full Stack Developer