About Sandee Simon- Lawless (she/Ella)

Sandee firmly believes it is never too late to begin a yoga practice. Though she stepped onto the mat at different points throughout her life, it wasn’t until her mid-40s — during a time of deep emotional, spiritual, and physical pain — that the practice truly resonated. Through movement and breath, she began to heal. Alongside physical recovery came unexpected gifts: love, resilience, patience, and self-acceptance. She discovered she was not a victim — she was a survivor. That realization lit the path toward liberation not only for herself, but for the collective.

Sandee is the founder and Executive Director of Burning Spirits Yoga, a traditional Ashtanga yoga school originally rooted in Portland, Oregon and now based in San Francisco. She also founded Yoga Punx PDX, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to breaking down barriers to yoga accessibility, and is the creator of the Heart of Vinyasa Teacher Training program and the Burning Spirits Yoga Ashtanga Primary Series Apprenticeship.

In addition to her role as a teacher, Sandee is a healer, medicine woman and Curandera, a name lovingly given by her community. She draws on energy work, ancestral guidance and indigenous practices of her lineage, yoga, and plant medicine to support others on their path to self-healing — guiding each person back to their true nature.

Sandee’s teaching is shaped by many teachers, and mentors — to whom she offers deep gratitude. Her Ashtanga lineage is rooted in her longtime apprenticeship with David Garrigues, assisting him in international workshops and during multiple seasons at the Ashtanga Yoga School in Kovalam, India. She has also studied with Tim Miller, Saraswati Jois, Shashikala Govinda, Dianne Bondy, Khristine Jones, Rusty Wells. She is on a Nusta Paqo path with Inca Medicine School with her teachers Alejandro Apaza and the Apaza family, for which she bows humbly in deep gratitude for their guidance and teachings. And finally, this would not be possible without the support of her life partner, Ami Lawless.

Sandee holds an MBA in Healthcare Management, a BA in Gerontology, and is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator. She is an E-RYT 500, YACEP, and has completed over 100 hours of Advanced Bhakti Flow. Her Ashtanga training includes Primary Series Teacher Trainings with both David Garrigues and Tim Miller.

You can follow Sandee’s personal journey and her healing work through [Lawless Botánica], where she shares offerings rooted in energy, earth, and ancestral medicine.