Our Instructors
Rachel James - Owner
Rachel’s journey into yoga began in the summer of 2006, when she walked into her first hot yoga class and never looked back. A lifelong athlete, she was immediately drawn to the intensity, discipline, and transformation the practice offered. Within six months of consistently practicing just one to two classes a week, she lost 25 pounds and found herself in the best shape of her life—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
With a strong passion for health and wellness—not only for herself, but for others—Rachel saw a need for more hot yoga offerings in the Seattle area, particularly in the north end. Armed with a business degree from Washington State University and a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit passed down through her family, she took a leap of faith. In April 2008, she opened Hot Yoga of Mill Creek, combining her love of movement with her desire to serve and uplift her community. She considers it one of God’s greatest gifts to be able to help people feel stronger, healthier, and more grounded.
In addition to being a studio owner and teacher, Rachel cherishes her role as a mother. After years of waiting and uncertainty, her dream of becoming a mom came true—and now life is even more beautiful with her two daughters by her side.
Rachel teaches from a place of authenticity, resilience, and gratitude. Whether you’re just starting your yoga journey or deepening your practice, her classes are designed to challenge, support, and inspire.
Kristen Morton - Manager I Director Hatha Teacher Training
Along with teaching at the studio since 2013, Kristen is our studio manager, and director of our 60 Hour Hatha Teacher Training. She received her RYT® 500 through Hot Yoga of Mill Creek.
Having been involved in gymnastics and dance in her youth, she felt an immediate draw to the mind body connection. Her practice became a near-daily part of her life, as it allowed her to feel deeply connected to and trusting of her body during hard times. After a couple years of a committed practice and seeing how it transformed her life, she became a certified instructor to share the gifts of yoga with others.
You can expect to be challenged (with postures such as inversions and arm balances), but Kristen’s kind and gentle manner is well suited in leading students of all levels and encourages her students to prioritize paying attention to how they are feeling, physically and mentally, in the moment, and adjusting the practice to meet them where they are and the importance of honoring their boundaries each and every day.
Stacy Seresun - Director of 200 Hour Teacher Training
Stacy is a light hearted human that passionately believes in the benefits of yoga and wants to share it. She enjoys eating chocolate, watching Harry Potter movies and roller coaster Youtube videos.
Yoga has helped her overcome many obstacles in her life. She suffered a car accident 20 years ago and needed an exercise that would heal and not harm her body further which led her to Yoga, which has been an integral part of her life. She spent many years practicing at home but yoga became life changing for her when she took her first studio class. Feeling the energy and connection flowing in one place first hand is where she truly understood and felt the mind-body connection. From this experience and continued practice she was inspired to become a yoga instructor. She is currently the director of the 200 hour Teacher Training. She received her RYT® 500, RYT® 200 and Pretzel kids certification through Hot Yoga of Mill Creek.
She has 20 years of experience with a corporate high stress job which she left after having her 3rd child. She is also a homeschooling champion to her kids. Through her experiences, challenges and blessings of raising a neurodiverse child on the spectrum she has learned to lead with empathy and meet people where they are.
She loves to develop creative flows that will help deepen your practice. She enjoys sprinkling in her witty humor that allows you to laugh at yourself and have fun. She wants her yoga classes to help you find your inner peace, power and strength in a welcoming safe environment providing inspiration for self growth. Remember, it’s yoga practice not yoga perfect.
Lindsay Custer
Lindsay was drawn to the physicality of yoga when she took her first hatha class over thirty years ago. A former gymnast, she found yoga to be a natural fit. Since then, her practice has evolved and been shaped by pivotal life experiences, deepening her appreciation for the mental and spiritual benefits of yoga.
After being treated for cancer in 2017, Lindsay found her physical capabilities significantly limited, and her once active lifestyle came to a screeching halt, leading to anxiety and depression. She turned to yin yoga; the only physical practice accessible to her at the time. Its emphasis on breath work, meditation, and gentle, but deep movements helped her to slowly heal.
Lindsay's lifelong passion for social justice work has also shaped her yoga practice. She is involved with Yoga Behind Bars and believes in the power of yoga to help heal trauma as well as to promote peace, community, and social justice. Lindsay loves the outdoors and is an avid hiker, snowshoer, and sailor. You will frequently find her mini–Australian Shepherd by her side. She has been an educator for over thirty years and has a deep passion for learning and development. The limitless opportunity to grow, practice, and evolve is one of her favorite things about yoga!
Megan Disney
In 2010, I was invited to take a yoga class at Hot Yoga of Mill Creek by my friend Kristin, when I was at my peak of my fitness journey. I thought it would be another fun way to exercise. However, over the last year it’s become so much more. In September 2018, I went through my 200 hour teacher training at HYMC and it really opened my eyes to how much more yoga is than just poses. It’s a way of accepting me for me, accepting my body in whatever shape it is and appreciating what it does for me, challenging myself physically and mentally to go deeper into a pose/situation or just holding it there longer, breathing through intense situations, and for real- just very basic stretching my body in ways that feel good. Teaching at HYMC, where I was first introduced to yoga is pretty awesome. The students here are amazing, so supportive of me as I support them, guiding them through class. I started with Hatha and love it, but now I also love Yin and Power. It is so gratifying taking my students through flows that I came up with (or hijacked from Pinterest and made my own) and seeing their alignment and improvements and just the peace on their faces. I can’t even think of the right word besides joy. And as a mom of three, the stresses that come with that, the benefits of my own yoga practice are beyond counting.
Jason Southwick
Jason’s interest in yoga meditation and philosophy reach back to high school when he first read the Bhagavad Gita. He travelled to India in 1997 and has since been back
many times to visit family, explore ancient marvels and meditate.
Jason first joined a lunchtime yoga class offered at work and instantly enjoyed the balancing and rejuvenating effects of the practice. He has enjoyed a regular meditation practice at home since college and found the yoga asana practice to be
an excellent way to enjoy meditation even more by providing the strength and ease to be in stillness.
Jason’s daughter Shivani is a yoga instructor who completed her RYT ® 200 and 300 hour teacher training at Hot Yoga of Mill Creek. Shivani encouraged and supported
him in his interest to learn more about yoga and take the plunge into teacher training. Jason completed his RYT ® 200 through Hot Yoga of Mill Creek in 2023.
Josie Cox
Josie first started her yoga journey at Hot Yoga of Mill Creek and instantly fell in love. After a few years of practicing, she attended the 200-hour yoga teacher training here at HYMC! Shortly after she moved to Oahu with her husband. There, she taught yoga in a studio and on Waikiki beach! Josie was so happy for that experience but very grateful to be back home and at my home studio! If she is not in the studio, you can probably find her hiking on a sunny day or thrifting on a rainy one!
Yoga for her is a never-ending learning experience. Josie likes to challenge herself and her students to push themselves to try new things and have fun on the mat!
Stefanie Carr
Stefanie started practicing yoga in early 2000’s when a friend invited her along to a Bikram class. She soon realized how Bikram yoga could compliment her long-distance running, as she was marathon training and had a goal of one day qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Through this training period, Stefanie found that yoga provided the balance and the euphoria that running gave her. Yoga has helped her through her injuries, mental instabilities, and times of not being able to run by providing a space to basically ‘sweat it all out and leave it all behind’. She became centered, calm, disciplined, mentally and physically strong. Stefanie’s goal is to incorporate her skill of motivation to inspire others through teaching yoga and be inspired by her students. She wants to create a caring, compassionate, and connected space in her yoga classes. In 2016, Stefanie became a certified running coach through RRCA and a certified instructor for Yoga for Athletes through Jas Yoga, and ran her Boston Marathon. In 2017, she became a certified yoga instructor for Traditional Hot Yoga in Mexico. And in 2019 became certified in Yin Yoga. When Stefanie is not running or yoga-ing, you can find her traveling, camping, skiing, cycling, baking, wine-tasting, puzzling, and enjoying time with her husband, 2 daughters, and great friends.
Jasmine Brown
Born and raised in Washington, Jasmine has always felt most at home in nature—whether walking through mossy forests, hiking mountain trails, or simply sitting in stillness near water. She first discovered yoga in high school, drawn to its calming effects and sense of grounding. In college, she found the courage to step into her first hot yoga class. It was intense and intimidating, but something clicked. That experience marked the beginning of a deeper relationship with yoga—one that would grow far beyond the physical.
As a political science graduate from the University of Washington, Jasmine has long been interested in how people heal, grow, and create change—both individually and collectively. When she read the Bhagava Gita, the philosophical depth of yoga resonated deeply, sparking a curiosity that eventually led her to complete her 200-hour teacher training In Ashtanga, Hatha-Vinyasa in Ubud, Bali in 2024. There, surrounded by jungle and community, her understanding of yoga expanded into something more holistic: a lifelong path of self-inquiry, compassion, and connection.
She loves all styles of yoga—from the structure of Ashtanga, to the intensity of Power, to the stillness of Yin—and believes each offer something valuable. She’s excited to share these practices in a way that supports connection, growth, and a sense of belonging within the community.