Meet the team
Anna Heinauer
Yoga • Mama • Business woman
Anna has been teaching for over 10 years. For her, the studio is a place to reset, to be okay with discomfort, and to truly be present. In her classes, you can expect to focus on breathwork and the mind-body connection, as well as building intuition through the rhythm of vinyasa. Anna loves to move, get upside down, and explore the abilities of the body. After completing her yoga teacher training through CorePower Yoga in Boulder, Colorado in 2013, Anna spent five years teaching advanced yoga classes in Washington D.C. before returning west to Colorado in 2019. Prior to moving to Buena Vista, she taught power vinyasa classes in Denver. Anna is also a certified integrative nutrition health coach and co-owns The Lettucehead Food Company with her husband.
Blakely Dent
Barre • Dog Mom • Van Life
Blakely is originally from San Antonio, TX, but fell in love with this area after spending a few years traveling in her van. She has taught barre classes on and off for about four years and loves helping people push through the struggle to achieve their best workout. When she’s not teaching, Blakeley can usually be found outdoors with her goofy dog, Smith. Her favorite color is pink, she never turns down an impromptu dance party, and she enjoys a great book on the beach. She is excited to meet you!
Chandler Wygant
Yoga • Mama • Explorer
Chandler is a 250-hour registered yoga instructor with a passion for helping students find their strength and feel empowered. She has found yoga to be transformative, both physically and mentally, and hopes to pass this along to her students. When she's not practicing yoga, she loves to mountain bike, paddle the river, cook and hang with her family and friends. She moved to BV in 2010 and is completely addicted to this amazing little community that we get to share.
Heidi Schoedel
Yoga • Bilingual • Traveler
Heidi fell in love with yoga and the amazing community it creates in 2012 and completed her first 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Thailand in the spring of 2013. Teaching yoga ever since, mostly in Colorado and Mexico, Heidi completed a 500-hour teacher training in 2017 in Mexico and also got certified in Laughter Yoga along her journey. (It's like Laughter Therapy, haha!) Heidi strives to offer classes that are approachable and enjoyable for all levels of practitioners, offering many options during the class so that each student can choose what movements feel right for them.
Jennah Jones
Pilates • BV Native • Mountain Biker
Jennah is a buena vista native, Physical therapist and certified Pilates instructor. She completed her Stott rehab Pilates training at Pacifica Northwest Pilates in Portland, OR, and has been teaching since 2015. She is passionate about helping clients feel joy in movement and empowered in their workouts. Jennah is a mom of two little boys and loves spending time outdoors with her family and racing her mountain bike.
Julia Scherting
Yoga • Mental Health Advocate • Dog mom
Julia recently moved from Washington State and is thrilled to join the Studio on Railroad community as a new resident of Buena Vista. Bringing her expertise as a licensed mental health counselor into her role as a yoga instructor, Julia creates a supportive environment that blends mental wellness with physical practice. Practicing yoga for many years and teaching since 2017, she will be leading Vinyasa classes Studio on Railroad. When she’s not in the studio, she enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, rafting, and exploring nature with her dog and partner. See you in class!
Katy Wieczorek
Pilates • Mama • Gardener
Katy fell in love with Pilates in 2010 while searching for ways to strengthen her body, as well as find more of a connection to self. She graduated from the Advanced Teacher Training Program (950 hours) from The Pilates Center of Boulder In December of 2022. She is passionate about teaching every body, in every stage of health and life, the benefits that can be gained from practicing this wonderful method. She truly believes that Pilates is an amazing way to connect your mind, body, and spirit, that will bring strength and health into all aspects of your life. In her spare time she loves exploring outdoors with her husband and two sons, running rivers, camping, skiing and gardening.
Laura Patterson
Barre • River lover • Girl mom
Laura, a certified Barre instructor with over six years of teaching experience, trained in Portland in 2016 and taught at a studio in Denver until 2020, when she and her family moved to Buena Vista, CO. When she's not working at the Badfish Surf Shop, you can find her outdoors with her family, surfing at the river, mountain biking, and snowboarding. She loves small town mountain life and keeps coming back to barre as the best way to strengthen her mind and body to keep getting after all the mountain sports she loves.
Sara Sumerlin
Yoga • Mountain lover • Athlete
A Colorado native, a lover of mountains, BV provides Sara, her partner, and their two dogs endless adventures, backpacking, mountain biking, trail running, skiing, breathing in the fresh air, and cooking. Sara holds a 200 hour yoga instructor certification. Yoga has been the master mix of strength, focus, and mindfulness since 2009 for her. As an athlete, she has learned the balance of strength, endurance, and mobility along with mental stillness. Anyone can do yoga! Her mission is to create and share space for laughter and connection within our BV community.
Sarah Conrad
Yoga • Boy mom • Outdoor junkie
Sarah began her yoga journey over 25 years ago, receiving her 200-hour certification in Sivananda Yoga in 2011. Enjoying barre as a strengthening tool as well, she was certified in 2015. Sarah has also been a licensed and practicing massage therapist and body worker since 2005. When not delving into all things about health for longevity, she enjoys her loving and energetic family. Being a Mom is her best (and hardest!) adventure yet. Camping, rafting, hiking, mountains, ocean, snuggling dogs and humans, yoga and meditation are her happy places.
Val Smith
Yoga • Mama • Hiker
Valerie comes to the Studio on Railroad with over 11 years of yoga instruction in a variety of locations. Valerie is a 200hr Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance since 2011 and a previous yoga studio owner for two years. Since then she has studied and trained with her favorite Master Yoga teachers focusing on alignment and inversions. Val offers a playful yoga flow class that will guide you to move with your breath, focus on alignment and challenge you to try new things. She is passionate about teaching the breakdown of poses to help you feel more successful in your yoga practice. She hopes every person leaves her classes feeling great about themselves and excited to continue with yoga, whether they are just beginning or have been practicing for years. When she isn’t teaching yoga, you can find Valerie hiking with her dog Balto, spending time with her two children and hustling at her other jobs in town.
