Jamie Nakama

Jamie is living a multifaceted, passionate life!  She is a Youth Program Manager at a non-profit in Northern California dedicated to environmental education and community conservation; she also teaches cultural and biological anthropology at a community college part-time. Jamie holds a bachelor's degree in life sciences, visual arts, and dance and a master's degree in ecological anthropology. She is also a passionate yoga instructor and professional dancer, performing and collaborating with artists in California and Hawaii. Originally from the island of Oahu, Jamie performed with a number of local dance companies including IONA Contemporary Dance Theater, Samadhi Hawai‘i, Wai Company, and Tau Dance Theater. Trained in a variety of dance forms including, modern/contemporary, Afro-Brazilian, aerial dance, hula, and contact improvisation, she is currently performing site-specific dances with Lizz Roman and Dancers and CALI & CO in San Francisco. Jamie has been training capoeira (Brazilian martial arts/dance) since 2002 with Mestre Kinha from Rio de Janeiro, Capoeira Besouro Hawai‘i, and has been teaching capoeira for kids and adults for over 13 years. 

As a professional dancer, yoga and meditation have been part of Jamie's personal wellness routine for over 20 years. She is passionate about teaching yoga to people of all ages, backgrounds, and levels. Jamie completed a 200-hour teacher training in Hatha Yoga and Dynamic Vinyasa Yoga in Kathmandu, Nepal, with World Yoga Alliance. She has additional teacher training in Bikyasa style hot yoga, and yoga anatomy, and is currently studying trauma-informed yoga. She teaches at "Some Like It Hot Yoga Studio and Boutique" in Novato, California.  During the pandemic, she has been teaching online yoga classes for all levels 6 days a week.

Jamie’s yoga classes are inspired and informed by her experiential knowledge and understanding of the human body through her 20 years of dance training and personal yoga practice, along with her diverse academic background in the life sciences and human biological evolution. Her yoga classes focus on merging breath with movement through an understanding of proper alignment to help students find the balance between stability and mobility (strength and length) in the body, all of which are key to longevity. A strong emphasis is on the transitions - the ability to move through poses with intention and grace.  She inspires students to cultivate patience, self-awareness, and gratitude – essential qualities to be taken off the mat and applied to everyday life.