JAMIE SILVERSTEIN Van Auken 

Studio Founder, Senior Yoga Teacher

Jamie (Silverstein) Van Auken is the founder of The Grinning Yogi and an E-RYT 500 teacher with more than 20 years of teaching experience. A former Olympic ice dancer turned yoga teacher and marriage & family therapist, Jamie brings an embodied, relational approach to her classes—where movement, breath, and curiosity meet compassion and humor.

Jamie believes yoga is less about perfecting shapes and more about learning how to root into the body we have, with honesty, kindness, and room to feel. Her classes invite students to slow down, get curious, and find connection with themselves in a way that’s both grounding and deeply human.

When she’s not teaching, Jamie practices as a therapist at Path With Heart Therapy, offering neurodiversity-affirming, relational care. She lives in Portland with her family, a lot of feelings, and the reminder that practice—not perfection—is what transforms us.