Mike Phillips - Studio Owner & Instructor

Mike’s yoga journey started in 2009. His professional career brought him in contact with the owner of Inner Fire Yoga Studio. He found out very quickly just how powerful a regular yoga practice could be. Yoga allowed him to focus on managing stress and weight loss in addition to helping heal injuries from other athletic activities.  In 2013 a new job opportunity moved Mike to Sauk Prairie. Missing the power of a regular practice, Mike and Lori kept their eyes open for the right space to open Prairie Fire Yoga. He became a 200 HR. certified yoga instructor in 2015 through Inner Fire Yoga. Mike’s classes focus on breath (pranayama), strength, and focus. He is very excited and passionate about bringing Prairie Fire Yoga to this community.

Lori Anderson - Studio Manager & Instructor

Alyssa Ploessel

Alyssa Ploessl is a 200 hour Yoga Alliance Certified teacher, trained in the Vinyasa style, which involves linking breath with movement. She first discovered yoga at the age of 16, and received her teaching certification from Dragonfly in the spring of 2015. Alyssa loves the smell of old books, the texture of the earth, the sound of laughter, and the feeling of being fully alive! Her mindfully crafted yoga sequences, as well as her use of aromatherapy in classes, will leave you feeling balanced and serene. Yoga gave Alyssa the insight to find her true self, and helped her learn to live life with passion and zeal! She hopes to inspire others and to bring more positivity to the world through this wonderful practice.

Brian Perry

Brian came to practice yoga, after having a second ACL surgery, on a recommendation from a friend. He needed to regain his strength and balance, and figured….why not?!? Through the past 7 years, yoga has remained a constant presence in his life. He completed his training with Scott Anderson in the Alignment Yoga Program at Mound Street Yoga Center in Madison, Wisconsin. He is foremost and always a student of yoga and secondly, an instructor. He continues his yoga education through studies in the ancient yoga texts, participating in trainings, workshops, and a daily personal practice. His style envelopes the dynamic flowing movement of vinyasa yoga, while incorporating a more detailed approach to alignment (often through the use of props) and exploration through modified postures. He offers an opportunity to connect to yourself and to the universe, to feel alive, to simply breathe and to truly inhabit your body.

Carla Peterson

When PFY opened its doors in 2015, Carla found a new way of movement that enhanced her life. At that point, she had recently moved out of the gymnastics realm, having coached or taught since she was a teen. The ability to use her sense of body awareness was just what she was looking for. After practicing yoga for a couple years she completed her 200 hour training through ‘Breathe for Change’. This non-profit group seeks to train teachers and school personnel to bring yoga and wellness to our schools. This works well with Carla’s professional goals as an elementary principal. Carla lives out in the Sauk Prairie countryside with her husband Fred and two children Andrew and Julia. Besides yoga, she loves spending time gardening, reading, and playing games with family.

Cassie Everhart

Cassie completed her 200 hour teacher training in the winter of 2016. She had only been practicing for 3 years. She fell in love with yoga instantly. She felt like she could be herself in her body and love who she was at that moment without any judgement or expectations. From that point on, yoga has been a big part of her life and it will continue to be as long as it can! Her teaching style is to make you feel powerful and strong no matter how much yoga experience you have. She is a big believer in yoga is for every "body" and she wants to help people discover that for themselves. Some yogis think that they are not flexible, strong or Zen enough to perform yoga, when really there is a place for everyone!

Jamie Gibbs

Jamie was born and raised in Prairie du Sac, WI. Her interest in fitness began 9 years ago when she was looking to make some lifestyle changes and find balance. She soon fell in love with all types of fitness, pushing her limits, meditation, and self-growth. That led her to become a Certified Personal Trainer in addition to teaching self-love and empowerment classes in the community.  With her passion for health on all levels this has helped Jamie find “wholeness” within herself and she is now devoted to helping others achieve the same. When Jamie is not in class or with a client you will likely find her volunteering for something self-empowerment related or at one of her children’s sporting events. Jamie still resides locally, with her husband, Paul, their 6 children Blake, Ethan, Ashlyn, Cade, Wyatt, and Aidan. Not to forget the guy who holds a big piece of her heart, Gibbson, their family dog.

Jenna Fuchs

Jenna is passionate about fitness and wants to help others develop a positive relationship with health and fitness. Being a 3-sport athlete all through high school made incorporating fitness into her daily routine natural and she hopes to assist others in creating this type of relationship with fitness. She has been attending yoga classes for a few years now, but did not seriously make it part of her workout regimen until she moved to Prairie du Sac and joined Prairie Fire Yoga. She fell in love with the variety of classes and the different challenges the instructors provided. If Jenna isn't on her mat she is probably outside running or doing circuit intervals on the track, field, or anywhere else she can. She is a certified Zumba and Strong by Zumba instructor and recently earned her certification as a Certified Mental Performance Coach. Jenna works at a treatment facility for middle-school kids in Madison and also works with teams, coaches, athletes, performers, and exercisers of all kinds to improve their mental game through mental skills training, leadership development, and team building skills through her consulting company The Mental Clutch.

Jodi Ziegler

Jodi’s first yoga class was right here at PFY. That first class was challenging, and she thought ‘I will never do that again!’. Yet, within a few days she returned for a second class, and soon was practicing yoga on a regular basis. After 7 years of a steady yoga practice, she completed her 200 hour Teacher Training in February 2023. Her teaching style can best be described as ‘mindful but fun’. Jodi believes yoga is for everyone, and structures her class to suit all levels, offering options to take it up or down a notch. She likes to allow the time for her class to settle into poses, feeling each pose before moving on. When not practicing yoga, Jodi can be found attending yoga classes with her significant other, Mike, or biking with friends. As a cyclist, yoga has benefited her greatly – increased her endurance, recovery, and tolerance to those humid Wisconsin
summers.

Judy Kraemer

Judy’s first yoga class was a 90 minute Bikram Hot Yoga class in November of 2011, and she just fell in love. Although Judy had been active through running and various sports for many years, Yoga is where she found her true passion. Her love of yoga grew so much that she finished her 200 hour yoga teaching certificate in the of Spring 2017, and began teaching immediately. Judy says, "Yoga is as much mental as it is physical. It has taught me to let go of things that don't matter and forgive. Through being a teacher and student, I've learned so much about the connection of breath and letting go the things that don’t serve us. Prairie Fire Yoga has become my second home. I have met new friends and reconnected with old ones. Practicing yoga continues to challenge me every day, and I love that. Yoga is a great stress reliever from being a Nurse, but when I'm not taking or teaching yoga classes or working I can be found spending time with my boyfriend Alex and my dog Marshall. We love going on the WI River soaking up some sun, down-hill skiing and traveling the Caribbean. My newest adventure is paddle boarding. My family is very important to me and I love spending time with them. I have 16 nieces and nephews and 6 great nieces and nephews. Looking forward to meeting more new friends and sharing the beautiful space Prairie Fire Yoga has created for us!"

Marielle School

Marielle is originally from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She came to the USA in 2000 to study and teach A Course in Miracles. This path dedicated her to her mission to bridge the physical body with the spiritual experience to heal mental, emotional and physical imbalances. Her classes are accessible to all bodies and offer a step by step approach to strengthen and release tissue, muscles and organs. And to re-discover healthy alignment and movement patterns. She feels privileged to have taught a wide variety of Yoga students in the last 13 years. In the early 90’s she had the unique opportunity to travel back and forth to India to study with Indian Masters and it set off her life long passion for her spiritual journey. During the last ten years she deepened her practice by adding Alignment Yoga, Thai Yoga and Cranio Sacral Therapy to her tool-set. Marielle adores nature. Of the mat you will find her climbing the Baraboo bluffs with her dog, Jake, peddling the Wisconsin river or camping out with her daughter in one of the State Parks.

Michael Ward

Michael has been a student of yoga for over 30 years.  In 1988, he completed teacher training at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Nassau, Bahamas in a program integrating the spiritual and physical aspects of yoga. In 2002, he began a regular and ongoing practice of the original “hot” yoga series of Bikram Choudary, a style emphasizing a challenging physical discipline.  In 2015, he completed 200 hours of hot yoga and power flow training with Inner Fire Yoga in Madison.  Michael has also been learning the somewhat revolutionary Sri Daiva alignment system of Desi Springer. Elements of all three of these traditions are blended in his teaching. Michael is also a physician in Rehabilitation Medicine and an Associate Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

Pam MacLoed

Pam became hooked on Yoga in 2003 after she took her first class. She continued to practice and take classes until the time was finally right to dive deeper into Yoga through teacher training. Her hope is to inspire her students as her teachers have inspired and encouraged her. Pam’s classes are a slower-paced flow with time to focus on alignment and attention to breath in the pose. A time for self- reflection. She hopes her students leave the class calm and restored. Pam completed her 200-hour teacher certification in 2017 and has continued training with Alex Pfeiffer and 21st Century Yoga on the Mat, through The Studio in Madison.

Peg Trehey

In 2005, yoga was recommended to Peg by her doctor as part of my recovery from a long illness.  It didn’t take long before she began to notice the many benefits yoga has to offer. Peg found yoga empowering and transformative. She says, “it gave me more inner and outer strength enabling me to find a greater sense of balance, calmness and acceptance in my daily life. Yoga became an increasingly important part of my quest for a healthy and positive lifestyle and I developed a passion to teach, guide and help others. I decided to become an instructor and obtained a certification in 2013 from Inner Fire Yoga in Madison.” During her classes, Peg strives to create a nurturing and positive environment for yogis to explore and connect with their mind, body and spirit.  She believes yoga can be transformative for everyone. Previously, Peg was an elementary education teacher for 17 years in Arizona and her native Wisconsin. She currently lives in Middleton with her husband Mike, and their yellow lab, Rocky. They have three grown children: Megan, Matt and Molly.  Along with yoga, Peg enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, biking, swimming, baking and reading.

Tami Hans

Tami is a Nationally Registered Yoga Alliance Instructor with e-RYT200 and
CEP credentials. She did a 30 day immersive training at Sivananda International Yoga Center after spending 18 years in a corporate job. Her specialties are yin yoga, gentle yoga and 2 hour relaxation workshops. Teaching is her absolute passion. “I believe that Yoga is for everyone, at any age, experience and fitness level. Every time we come to our mats we give ourselves an opportunity to pause and simply be. Yoga gives us permission to shift from outside world to our inner world and discover where we might be holding tension and stress. Breathing techniques, movements and stretches release this “stuck energy” that can build over time. Our yoga practice releases these “road blocks” and by the end of class we feel better.

Tammy Fitzpatrick

Tammy found her love for yoga and heated fitness classes by mistake – she thought hot yoga was a crazy bucket list activity but once it was tried, there was no looking back. Over the years, she’s experienced different styles, techniques, and instructors to solidify that heat, movement, and the clarity of the studio is truly a part of her lifestyle. With several knee surgeries in her past, she’s found that the ability to maintain healthy joints and muscles while increasing balance and strength have allowed her to find the perfect fit in staying active! Tammy couldn't be happier to be able to balance a career, three young children (Blake, Nora, & Collyns), as well as a rewarding mental and physical passion. She and her family reside a few miles outside of Sauk City.

Tess Carr

Tess began teaching fitness classes over 30 years ago and finally fell in love with yoga 18 years ago, when she was pregnant with her first child. Once beginning to take yoga classes, she was delighted to first feel her baby kicking (perhaps in protest!) while she was in bridge pose. She earned her 200 hour teacher certification with Yogafit, an organization that emphasizes safety and inclusivity for all. In addition to sharing the joy of muscular movement and relaxation, Tess’s teaching focuses on the philosophy of yoga as an overall instrument of well-being in our busy lives. Her classes may incorporate nature imagery, poetry, and quotes from scholars ranging from leading yoga and mindfulness researchers to Patanjali’s yoga sutras. She knows personally that, for example, as babies become teenagers and their protests become less cute, yoga that can extend beyond the mat to help us peacefully navigate our everyday life is transformative. Accordingly, she strives to offer classes that remind us how to touch into our deep fundamental nature of peace, love, and connection.