Guest Presenters
Eternity Road features Ajaya Davidson on keyboard and mrdangam, Upendra Wrinkle on flute and other bay area musicians. Ajaya has studied Indian percussion and all forms of piano music throughout his life. His Kirtan compositions are rooted in deep Bhakti and the experience of Shiva awareness. He has played kirtan in ashrams and yoga studios in the Bay Area. He also plays with Astrud and the Cosmic Caravan.
Ananda Rasa (the bliss of Divine rapture, the nectar of bliss) Kirtan is led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist David Estes who is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. David grew up in India, has studied music since childhood and spent several years completely immersed in the practices of kirtan, swadhyaya chanting and meditation as a resident in daily ashram life. Ananda Rasa Kirtan is rooted in traditional Sanskrit chants sung to original melody compositions in light classical Indian ragas. Additional musical influences include Qawwali and reggae. The power, energy and vibration of the kirtan is experienced through chanting in call and response with the audience.
Dr. Andrea Deerheart is the passionate founder of the HeartWay, a non-profit foundation dedicated to Embracing life and Honoring Death. Using wisdom gathered from decades of guiding the living and dying; physically, emotionally, and spiritually, Deerheart has provided care and healing on the journey conscious living and dying for more than 20 years. With a doctorate in Depth Psychology, her primary work focuses on issues relating to aging, cultural mythology , death and dying, as well as grief and loss. Deerheart is also a RYT 500 yoga teacher and a certified classical Yoga Nidra Instructor. She is also the author / narrator of the recording, Yoga Nidra: Graceful Transitions.
Our working group name is Anhad Naad (Unstruck Sound)
Core members of this group are:
Divya Vyas – classically trained Indian singer with love for sufi music. member of Five Elements poetry music group.
Ashutosh Vyas – poetry reading, sanskrit recitation, translation of sufi poetry, member of Five Elements poetry music group, organizer of Kaavya Connection World Poetry.
Ryan Melnick- Soundcloud id Rtistr. digital and natural drums. DJ and electronic music.
Nicholas Soter – Guitarist member of Astrud Castillo’s Cosmic Caravan
Jun Ishimuro -flute and keyboard, student of Hindustani classical music, member of Astrud and Cosmic Caravan, music production under the name QB-MODA-JAZZ
Antonio Sausys, MA, IGT, CMT, RYT is a somatic psychotherapist and yoga instructor specializing in one-on-one yoga therapy for people with chronic and acute medical conditions as well as emotional imbalance.
He studied with Yoga masters and teachers such as Indra Devi, Swami Shankaradevananda and Larry Payne and has continued his professional development with training in Integrative Grief Therapy with Lyn Prashant, Foot Reflexology, Swedish Therapeutic Massage and Reiki.
Antonio’s work has been or is presented periodically at U.C. Berkeley, California Institute of Integral Studies, Kripalu, is a member of the World Yoga Council, the International Association of Yoga Therapists, a TV Host for YogiViews and the founder and Executive Director of ‘Yoga for Health’ the International Yoga Therapy Conference. He is the author of ‘Yoga for Grief Relief: Simple Practices for Transforming Your Grieving Mind and Body’ (New Harbinger).
Arturo Peal, Founder of Body Studies, has spent over 20 years inspiring and educating yoga teachers, body workers, and movement specialists across the globe through his classes in Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Therapeutic Touch. With a unique gift for translating complex scientific concepts into tangible, applicable teachings for his students, he raises awareness of how their own bodies work. His trainings have been held at world-class training centers including Integral Yoga Institute (NYC & SF), Savina Atai Yoga (Slovenia), Yogaville (Virginia), White Lotus Foundation (CA), and Rainbow Kids Yoga (worldwide).
Aryahi is a Usui / Karuna-Holy Fire II reiki master certified under the International Center for Reiki Training, with training in Japanese, Tibetan and the new “Holy Fire” reiki. She has also studied various forms of meditation, aromatherapy, and sound healing, and has completed the 200-hour yoga teacher training at Integral Yoga Institute. She is a member of Susila Budhi Dharma (Subud) and part of the Subud International Health Association (SIHA) network. In addition to reiki, her healing practice integrates intuitive energy movement and clearing, intuitive visualization methods, chakra balancing, and sound healing. She has extensive experience working with clients with issues of stress and trauma, including immigrants and survivors of domestic abuse and political violence. Aryahi was born in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii before attending college and graduate school in California and New York. Prior to becoming a reiki master she worked in the United States, Africa, Asia, Latin America and Brazil as a human rights lawyer and a photographer; she speaks fluent English, Spanish and Japanese, and conversational Portuguese and French.
Swami Asokananda, E-RYT 500, a monk since 1973, is one of Integral Yoga’s foremost teachers—known for his warmth, intelligence, and good humor. His teaching comes out of his own practice and experience, having absorbed the wisdom of his Guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda.
While he enjoys sharing the practical wisdom of yogic philosophy (especially the great Indian scripture, the Bhagavad Gita), he also loves his practice of Hatha Yoga. He is one of Yogaville’s primary instructors for intermediate and advanced Hatha Yoga teacher trainings.
He presently serves as president at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City. Before this position, he served as the President of Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville and Integral Yoga International.Integral Yoga Institute.
Astrud has been teaching yoga since 2001 and sharing Kirtan internationally for the last 10 years.
She trained in NYC at Laughing Lotus, currently known as Body and soul Yoga collective and is a senior teacher and teacher trainer. She has studied the basics of yoga therapeutics and Vedic chanting with T.K.V. Desikachar in India. Her teaching has been inspired by her mentor and friend Mark Whitwell over the last 20 years. Astrud’s classes are warm, welcoming and all inclusive.
Her love and relationship to Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, is always illuminated in her teaching. There is always chanting in Astrud’s classes, awareness around the breath and mindful movement.
Astrud leads annual pilgrimages to India, teaches Bhakti yoga with teachers in training and currently lives at the IYI in SF.
Her slow flow class weaves together poses in a creative and mindful way using the breath as the bridge to deepen and explore the balance between effort and surrender and focus the mind.
Astrud Castillo is inspired by the practice of Nada Yoga, the deep inner listening and exploration of the unstruck sound. From this exploration, the inner and outer vibration and expression of Kirtan arises. Astrud brings with her a host of talented musicians from the Bay Area with whom she is honored to play. The band is a caravan of Bhakti Yogis who love to sing in the key of “We”. They create a safe and playful space in which hearts can begin to unfold like the lotus emerging from the mud. Kirtan is a way to express gratitude and joy, pain and sorrow and celebrate the gods and goddesses in all their forms. It is through the devotional practice of call and response, and repeating their names, that our hearts awaken and our barriers dissolve. Through this, kirtan enables us to experience wholeness and union, Yoga.
Ausra Duverge, C-IAYT, RYT-500, is an Ayurvedic Health Counselor and Certified Yoga Therapist. She uses Yoga techniques and practices: movement, breathing, relaxation, meditation, yoga philosophy, and Ayurvedic nutrition and lifestyle recommendations to help safely manage existing health conditions, restore balance and vitality, and to prevent disease.
Ausra offers yoga classes for the aging population, and workplace stress management. She works with clients one-on-one, virtually and in-person, with a variety of health conditions: Musculo-skeletal issues, spinal misalignment, anxiety and depression, menopause.
Baxter Bell, MD, C-IAYT, eRYT500 and co-founder of Yoga for Healthy Aging blog, specializes in yoga for healthy aging, therapeutic uses of yoga, and is co-author of the book Yoga for Healthy Aging with Nina Zolotow. To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Shambhala, or Indie Bound, or other online sellers. Follow Baxter Bell, MD on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. For upcoming workshops and retreats see Baxter’s Workshops and for info on Baxter see baxterbell.com.
Fascinated by the mystery of life and beckoned towards her depths since childhood, Carly spent her formative years looking for spiritual sovereignty. The discovery of eastern wisdom traditions was one of deep and abiding recognition and the embodied practices of yoga and meditation have been her daily refuge ever since. Her studies of spiritual psychology, reverence for poetry, dedication to self-inquiry, and the reciprocity and respect she feels for the natural world have also left deep impressions and informed her practice. Her teachings constellate around the central task of supporting others to wholly inhabit their lives: to embrace the full spectrum of their humanity and skillfully greet the paradox of life.
Since taking part in her first meditation training in 2002, she has continued to sit on regular retreats in both the Theravadin and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and to study closely with her primary teacher, Sarah Powers. In addition to completing an 18-month Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, she graduated from a two-year intensive training with the Insight Yoga Institute in California and since 2013 has been training with the International Institute of Medical Qi Qong.
Nourished by the consistent teachings of her mentors and rooted in the solid ground of her eighteen-year personal practice, she has guided thousands of students through foundational practices and focused trainings over the past fifteen years, including Moksha Yoga’s advanced teacher training in Nosara, Costa Rica.
An endorsed Insight Yoga Teacher and mentor, Carly has also trained in psychology and community counselling and has a private energy medicine practice. She offers pre-registered classes, workshops, retreats, and teacher trainings locally and abroad, and advises and support individuals around the world as they grow in their practice and their teaching.
Carly was the Yin and mindfulness teacher to the Canadian National Women’s 7s Rugby Team, winners of the Bronze Medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil. She lives on a farm near Victoria, BC on Southern Vancouver Island and is honored to live and work on the traditional territories of the Lkwungen (Esquimalt and Songhees) and W̱SÁNEĆ (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) peoples. She extends immeasurable gratitude to her principal teachers, Sarah Powers and Jennifer Welwood.
Cheri Clampett, CYT, ERYT-500, is a certified yoga therapist with over 20 years of teaching experience. She is the founder and director of the Therapeutic Yoga Training Program. She has also co-led the Integrative Yoga Therapy Teacher Training and has presented Therapeutic Yoga at the White Lotus Foundation Teacher Training, Beth Israel Medical Center, and the Rusk Institute at NYU Medical Center.
Cheri currently teaches yoga at the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara, where she founded the yoga program for cancer patients in 1999. She also teaches monthly workshops at the Santa Barbara Yoga Center, and brings Therapeutic Yoga to the Santa Barbara Healing Sanctuary. Cheri focuses on the healing aspects of yoga: freeing the body, breath, and flow of energy through practicing with awareness, compassion, and love.
Cheri is the co-author of the Therapeutic Yoga Kit, published in January 2009 by Inner Traditions, and available on Amazon and at your local bookseller.
The essence of Chinnamasta is her heart-felt and loving presence attained during many years of deep study and practice with gifted Master Teachers in Europe, India and the U.S. While sitting next to these teachers, she received abundant blessings that led to the healing of her Self, blessings she now shares with others. Chinnamasta’s true gift is that she has the capacity to assess the root cause of a disease due to physical, emotional, mental or karmic imbalances and understand how these lead to health issues and deep suffering. With a loving and understanding attitude she helps students become proactive on their spiritual healing path, which leads to a deeply rooted connection to the Yoni Mudra (the Inner Source), resulting in long-term restored vitality and well being.
Swami Chidananda is a monastic and a longtime disciple of Sri Swami Satchidananda and has managed the finances for Integral Yoga’s ashrams, institutes, and teaching centers for decades. He teaches Hatha Yoga and leads study groups on Yoga and Buddhist teachings and philosophy. Swami Chidananda also conducts spiritual pilgrimages to India and Nepal.
Claudia Bartsch, E-500CYT, C-IAYT, has been teaching yoga for 17 years. With over 1,500 hours of training she offers an in-depth understanding of yogic practices and techniques and how to apply them for healing, integration and transformation. In 2011 she bridged her interest in Western psychology and the yogic path and became a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. Additionally, Claudia is a certified Stress Management Educator and a trained Shiatsu Practitioner.
In her work she offers a unique blend of the various branches of yoga, hands-on body and energy work empowering her clients to move towards greater resilience, well-being and health.
Please visit her website for more information: http://claudiabartsch.com
Dawn Summers has been teaching yoga since 1985 and is a certified Yoga Therapist in the Viniyoga tradition. She has also trained yoga teachers and yoga therapists.
Dawn has considerable experience working therapeutically with individual students to develop an appropriate yoga practice. She also has trained yoga and aerobics instructors, and is most grateful to her teachers – Swami Satchidananda (1985 IYI certification) and Swami Asokananda (Advanced IYI Certification); Gary Kraftsow (certified 1992, 2000), T.K.V. Desikachar (1994, Chennai India). She has assisted with training yoga teachers at Yogaville and was Teacher Training Coordinator for American Viniyoga Institute (AVI). She has also been a Senior Faculty training yoga therapists with AVI. She teaches in San Francisco and Pacifica.
Dayalan David Clark, HHP, CMT, though originally from Kansas, is a long-time Californian, having resided in San Diego for 22 years before relocating to San Francisco in January 2012. David is a certified Yoga Instructor of “Deep Yoga”, a hatha-style yoga featuring asana, pranayama & meditation. He studied under Bhava Ram and Laura Plumb at DYSHA, The Deep Yoga School of Healing Arts in San Diego. David is also a certified Integral Yoga Instructor, having completed the Basic TT, Meditation TT and Therapeutic Yoga TT. He currently teaches Mixed-level hatha yoga at the Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco where he is a resident, and also serves as Head of Reception. “Dayalan” means compassion, and was received through IYISF in 2013.
David attended IPSB, The International Professional School of Bodywork in San Diego, attaining the HHP, Holistic Health Practitioner certification, with a specialization in Traditional Thai Massage. He is also a CMT, CA certified Massage Therapist. His business, 4d Bliss, is located in the beautiful Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, and offers a focus of Traditional Thai Massage, Deep Tissue & Swedish Massage, as well as Yoga Therapy. David offers yoga, meditation and traditional thai massage in retreat settings at different locales throughout California.
www.4dbliss.com
Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. For over 35 years, Dr. Ornish has directed clinical research demonstrating, for the first time, that comprehensive lifestyle changes may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease, without drugs or surgery. Recently, Medicare agreed to provide coverage for this program, the first time that Medicare has covered a program of comprehensive lifestyle changes. He directed the first randomized controlled trial demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes may stop or reverse the progression of early-stage prostate cancer. His current research showed that comprehensive lifestyle changes affect gene expression, “turning on” disease-preventing genes and “turning off” genes that promote cancer and heart disease, as well as increasing telomerase, an enzyme that lengthens telomeres, the ends of our chromosomes which control aging (in collaboration with Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2009).
He is the author of six books, all national bestsellers, including: Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease; Eat More, Weigh Less; Love & Survival; and his most recent book, The Spectrum.
Diana Meltsner, E-RYT 500, YACEP, C-IAYT, YACEP, has been teaching Yoga since 2001. Her focus is on healing aspects of Yoga ranging from stress reduction to injury recovery as well as personal and spiritual awakening. She is a certified Yoga Therapist and offers individual therapeutic sessions as well as group sessions. She offers classes and health education workshops for Kaiser Permanente. Diana is a lead trainer for 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings and a Meditation Teacher Training at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco, where she serves on the Board of Directors and also provides continuing education.
Diana has recently started writing poetry and a personal blog focused on meditation and understanding of the mind. www.dianameltsner.com
Swami Divyananda is one of Integral Yoga’s senior monastics and foremost teachers. Over the years she served as director at the Integral Yoga Institutes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Coimbatore, India and as the Ashram Manager in Yogaville. Presently she teaches and conducts trainings in the US and around the world, and leads an annual tour to the sacred temples and ashrams of India.
David Newman’s greatest gift is his willingness to listen to his inner voice and open his heart to be of service to others. David guides and inspires fellow travelers on their paths, through his uplifting music and the valuable insights that he shares through his writings and teachings.
David’s life took a dramatic change in direction when after graduating law school in 1992, he decided to open a yoga center in his hometown of Philadelphia. The center, Yoga on Main, was one of the first of its kind, and created a new awareness of Yoga in his community. Shortly thereafter, David, a lifelong musician, discovered an ancient form of healing chant music known as Kirtan and began to apply his musical gifts to this powerful practice and to share it with others.
As a result of his immersion into Kirtan coupled with his long history as a songwriter, David began a new journey and in early 2003, recorded his first album entitled Soul Freedom Two years later, a second CD followed. The album, Lotus Feet, received critical acclaim and was featured on NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’. David’s music spread rapidly within the worldwide conscious community and caught the attention of yoga enthusiast Terry McBride, who also happened to be the founder of Nettwerk Records, Canada’s largest record label and home to such artists as Sarah Mclachlan, Barenaked Ladies and Passenger. David signed with Nettwerk in 2008. Since then David has gone on to release numerous recordings and has toured throughout the world. David, acknowledged for bridging the gap between contemporary western music and meditative mantras, has been an integral part of the spiritual or yogic music movement and is a frequent headliner in many yoga and music festivals and conferences that take place around the globe.
In addition to his heart opening music, David has touched and inspired others through his teachings on loving unconditionally, both as a way of life and as a means toward spiritual awakening. David shared his own personal story of awakening in his best-selling book, The Timebound Traveler, released in 2014.
David has also devoted himself to charitable, and humanitarian causes. He launched The Stay Strong Project in 2011 in which he released two singles and videos featuring luminaries from the yoga and music community in partnership with Global Green USA. The proceeds of the releases have gone to support such environmental causes as the Gulf oil spill cleanup of 2010, and the building of green schools. David also released Song for Nepal in May 2015 to support the Seva Foundation’s Nepal Earthquake relief and rehabilitation fund.
David’s strongest desire is to bring joy to others through his music, teachings and personal connections. He continues to express his passion and inspiration in creative and groundbreaking ways, and sees his life’s work simply as ‘spreading the love.’
David records and often travels with his wife Mira, a celebrated devotional singer, and percussionist. David and Mira live with their darling daughter, Tulsi, just outside of Philadelphia.
Gary Kissiah was introduced to Eastern philosophy in college when he discovered the writings of Alan Watts which led to Zen. He found yoga in 2000 and has been studying and practicing yoga since that time. Gary has a Certificate of Yoga Philosophy from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He has studied yoga at Esalen Institute, Big Sur California; Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, India; and Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville, Virginia. He has led spiritual trips to Nepal, India and Tibet.Gary is the author of “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali-Illuminated” which uses images to illuminate the inner meaning of the Yoga Sutras.
Gary is also a lawyer and teaches workshops on yoga philosophy, ethics and law for teacher training programs. Gary has been a frequent speaker for Yoga Alliance and has been on the Board of Directors of the Integral Yoga Institute-San Francisco.
Swami Jyotirmayananda was initiated into the Holy Order of Paramahamsa Sannyasa by His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda in 1986 at Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville. She has served at the Ashram since then in various capacities:
- Designed and installed displays in the Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS) All Faith’s Hall, LOTUS Display Hall, Guru Bhavan and Sivananda Hall Saints and Sages Gallery
- Served as Ashram Residential Services Vice President for 5 years
- Served as Satsangs and Special Events Coordinator for a total of 18 years
- Currently serves as LOTUS Center for World Faiths (LCWF) Coordinator and is a member of the Interfaith Cooperation Circle in Charlottesville, VA
- is commencing to serve as Vice President for the Office of Spiritual Development at the Ashram.
Before coming to Yogaville, Swami Jyotirmayananda spent 10 years in the pre-school and after school care fields, where she began her children’s book Sparkling Together: Starbright and His Earthling Friends published in 2004 under the name of Jyoti Ma.
Swami Karunananda has had over 40 years experience teaching all aspects of Yoga. Today, she specializes in programs that focus on the science of meditation, the philosophy of Yoga, yogic breathing techniques for better health and healing, personal transformation, and attuning to Divine guidance. In 1989 she developed a Raja Yoga Teacher Training program and in 1991, a Meditation Teacher Training program and has since conducted many courses training students to skillfully impart these teachings.
Kelly Devi Swails, (RPYT, CCCE, CLC) is an Integral Yoga teacher with certifications in general hatha, prenatal, postnatal, yoga for labor & delivery and restorative yoga. She is also a doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and mom of three. Kelly has worked with pregnant women and couples for the past decade, and has mentored and trained new prenatal yoga teachers for the past five years. It is Kelly’s strong passion to help women connect with the sacredness of pregnancy and labor by developing trust in the body’s ability to give birth.
Durga Leela, Founder of Yoga for Recovery, B.A., C.A.S., holds the RYT-500 qualification, having completed both the Sivananda Yoga teacher training course and an advanced Yoga training. She is also extensively trained in meditation and Vedanta. Durga is a clinical Ayurvedic and Pancha Karma specialist, trained in both the United States and India, and has served as the director of the Ayurveda programs at the Yoga Farm, in California, since 2003. She is a professional member of and speaker for the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) and International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and a member of Yoga Alliance. She provides trainees with a wealth of Ayurvedic knowledge to help heal and balance those with autism.
Eric Gustafson, RYT-500. More than 20 years ago I embarked on a yoga journey. Little did I realize that it would lead to a foundation from which my life thrives and serves. After 500 hours of certified trainings and a solid practice to draw from. I look forward to share the teachings and any personal experience that serves to inspire and inform. And a bit of silliness is never far behind.
Dr. Eric Ruben has been teaching Reiki and helping people live in their bodies with more ease and awareness since 1994. He is a senior instructor at the San Francisco School of Massage and is also a graduate of the CPMC’s Integrated Bodyworks Program as well as Life Chiropractic College West. In addition to maintaining a diverse chiropractic and bodywork practice in San Francisco, Eric has years of healing experience working in hospitals and clinical settings. He has a special passion for serving families and the pediatric population.
Erin Lila Singh, E-RYT, received her beginning and intermediate teacher certification through Integral Yoga, her children’s certification through Karma Kids Yoga, and completed training for teaching at-risk teens through the Lineage Project in New York. She has taught yoga to inner-city teenagers through Integral’s Yoga at School program in New York for the past six years, and has worked with hundreds of youth in schools, yoga studios, and incarceration facilities. Erin recently moved to San Francisco to launch Integral’s Yoga at School program in the Bay Area, and is excited to build a community of teachers interested in bringing yoga to youth.
Hamsa Spagnola, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, T.R.M., is Integral Yoga certified and has been teaching various styles of Yoga for more than 35 years with compassion and an open heart. She pioneered, created, and developed the Adaptive Yoga Teacher Training certification program and the Adaptive Yoga Teachers Manual for the Integral Yoga Institute. She teaches for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in New York and in New Jersey. Hamsa also teaches stress management and meditation classes and offers Reiki classes and private Reiki sessions throughout New York and New Jersey. She is a traditional Reiki master and an Interfaith Minister of Spiritual Healing. Hamsa is an active member of IYTA, Yoga Alliance, and IAYT.
Haris Lender, E-RYT 500, RCYT, RPYT, is a YACEP, Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. She is a certified Integral Yoga Teacher and is trained and certified in Prenatal, Raja, Children, and Stress Management Yoga. Haris has been teaching and developing unique methods and forms of teaching children’s Yoga since 2000. She founded Kidding Around Yoga in 2009. Furthermore, Haris ran Camp Yogaville, a children’s summer yoga camp for 11 years; there, her first licensee, Cassie Dixon, served under her as assistant director. Recently, Kidding Around Yoga has expanded to include it’s own children’s sleepover yoga camp: Camp Kidding Around Yoga.
KAY specializes in 3-day trainings for almost anyone who works with or has children. What sets KAY apart from similar companies is our unique approach to teaching children’s yoga and a series of original music written and performed by Haris. Our incredible graduates are integrated into the tight knit KAY family through an invitation only teacher’s forum and receive access to our singular KAY music and stories. Nothing gives us more joy than to watch our trainees sharing the gift of yoga with their kids.
Heather teaches yoga and leads ceremony to empower people in embodying their most authentic selves. Her teaching is grounded in her training and studies integrating Yin and Yang (active Hatha) styles of yoga, hands-on healing modalities, mindfulness practices and indigenous ceremony ways. Heather’s life-long athletic experience, deep connection with the elements of nature, and exploration of indigenous culture and ceremony ways greatly influence her work. Since 1979, she has been an avid an skilled surfer, competing as one of the top 15 women on the Professional World Tour in 1988-89. In 1988, she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Her studies culminated in a focus on the impact of land development and the California Environmental Quality Act and related legislation on Chumash sacred sites and cultural heritage.
Heather, an E-RYT500 registered instructor with Yoga Alliance, has been teaching yoga full time since 1998. She has maintained a consistent and evolving personal practice since 1996. She has trained extensively, studying with a variety of teachers including Erich Schiffmann, Lisa Walford, Ana Forrest and Sarah Powers. From 1998-2004, Heather completed a personal teaching apprenticeship with Ana Forrest and trained teachers as a faculty member in the Forrest Yoga teacher training courses. Since 2004, Heather has expanded the focus of her practice and training to include Yin Yoga and meditation practices. Heather is also a ceremonial leader. For over 12 years, she has safely and compassionately guided sweat lodge ceremonies, vision fasts and healing ceremonies. She continues to teach ongoing classes, workshops, retreats and yoga teacher trainings in the Santa Barbara, CA area and across the country.
Integrating these deeply transformational traditions, Heather’s programs offer an opportunity for healing the injuries, stresses, trauma and the underlying conditioning that blocks our potential and limits our lives. Her classes are known for weaving challenging physical intensity with self-awareness. She skillfully guides people of all ages and levels with her practical, focused, and sensitive individualized instruction. Heather’s vision is for each of us to create a healthy home for our spirit; to walk our life’s path with strength, openness and grace.
Ian Waisler delights in sharing the purifying practices of Hatha Yoga: chanting, moving, breathing, and relaxing. We emerge more comfortable in our skin. His training in Integral Yoga has been steady since 2001. His aim is on you feeling open and bright all day, then sleeping well all night.
Jackie Barshak, CYT500, has been practicing yoga and meditation since 1972. She is trained in Yoga for Healing, Raja Yoga, Yoga for Teens, Ayurvedic Yoga and Therapeutic. She is a member of Keneset HaLev (community of the heart), a community that lifts spirituality in Jewish practice.
Jai Uttal, sacred music composer, recording artist, instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist, combines music and inspiration from India with his background in western folk, jazz, and popular traditions, creating a stimulating and exotic multi-cultural fusion that is truly world spirit music. Having traveled extensively in India, where he met many beautiful saints and singers, Bhakti yoga became his personal path. Jai has been leading kirtans around the world for more than 30 years, creating a safe environment for people to open their hearts and voices. His sixth CD, “Mondo Rama”, was nominated for a Grammy award. He recently released a CD of Reggae influenced Kirtan entitled “Queen Of Hearts” and a collection of Kirtans for kids entitled “Kirtan Kids”.
Jaymie Meyer, C-IAYT, NBC-HWC, ACC
Jaymie is the founder of Resilience for Life®. Over the past 19 years, she’s educated thousands of people in stress reduction and resilience. A National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Jaymie is a licensed HeartMath provider with certifications in Ayurveda, and yoga therapy (C-IAYT). A veteran yoga therapist and educator, Jaymie most frequently serves those in mid-life who have any combination of concerns including stress, anxiety, back pain, poor sleep, balance issues, heart disease, insomnia, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and chronic pain. In addition to teaching the Therapeutic Class on Wednesdays, Jaymie serves as a Yoga for Arthritis mentor. As a Health and Wellness coach, she works online with clients, focusing on stress reduction, weight control and optimal sleep. www.resilienceforlife.com
Jill Satterfield is an international mindfulness and meditation teacher, wellness program director, speaker and coach. Jill’s integration of embodied mindfulness include skills from somatic yoga therapy and contemplative psychology. She has been in the field of integrative healthcare for over 35 years. This dedication to health and wellness was born from having lived through (and thrived from) multiple surgeries and years of chronic pain. Jill’s direct and hard won experiences have come from knowing illness and pain, sitting over 150 silent meditation retreats and having worked on the front lin`1es of at risk and in need communities for decades. She was named “one of the 4 leading yoga and Buddhist teachers in the country” by Shambhala Sun Magazine.Jill is also the founder of the School for Compassionate Action: Applied Embodied Mindfulness for Communities in Need. SCA trains therapists, healthcare providers and caregivers to integrate mindfulness as it applies to illness and chronic pain, trauma and addictions as well how to embody resilience, emotional intelligence and self care for the caregiver and client.
Jill is a founding faculty member of Spirit Rock’s Mindful Yoga Teacher Training and teaches there regularly. She is visiting faculty for UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center’s advanced applied mindfulness trainings. She was the first to bring mindful movement to a silent retreat at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society over 25 years ago. She has been featured in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, More, Tricycle amongst others.
Jivana Heyman Founder and Director of Accessible Yoga
Jivana is the founder of Accessible Yoga, co-owner of the Santa Barbara Yoga Center and an Integral Yoga Minister. With over twenty years of training and teaching in a traditional yoga lineage, Jivana has specialized in teaching the subtle practices of yoga: pranayama, meditation, as well as sharing yoga philosophy. His passion is making Yoga accessible to everyone. Accessible Yoga has grown into an international advocacy and education organization, and now offers two Conferences per year, trainings around the world, an ambassador program and online Network. Jivana has taught wth the Dean Ornish Heart Disease Reversal Program through UCSF, California Pacific Medical Center’s Institute of Health and Healing, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He has led over 40 Yoga teacher training programs over the past 16 years, and created the Accessible Yoga Training program in 2007. On December 3rd, 2015, Jivana taught Accessible Yoga at the United Nations in Geneva for their International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Jivana’s strengths are sharing esoteric and complex teaching in a readily accessible way, and applying the ancient teachings of Yoga to our day-to-day lives.
For more information please visit www.accessibleyoga.org
Kalyani Carlee Cohen Barr first found herself at the Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) in 2001 and began teaching Hatha Yoga, Pranayama and meditation in 2005 after receiving her certification with Swami Ramananda at IYI Bacalar, Mexico. The name Kalyani is a spiritual name given to Carlee by Swami Ramananda which signifies a state of auspiciousness, recognizing blessings, and bliss.
Kalyani has attended numerous workshops and trainings over the years, including Pranayama, meditation, Mantra, Mudras, Dharma, nutrition, Yoga Therapy for Cancer and Chronic Illness (YCAT), Yoga for the Special Child (IYINY), and Anusara Yoga. She is now certified in Raja Yoga (IYISF), weaving the yoga sutras into her teachings. Kalyani has led classes and small group sessions for musicians of all ages at Interplay Jazz Camp in Vermont, has co-lead a retreat in Northern India, has led “Yoga Day” classes for 150 students, and has appeared on Canadian public television. She co-founded Simply Yoga in South Florida.
“Yoga has many facets that contribute to a peaceful, happy, healthy life. Yoga has transformed my life on many levels, and my favorite thing is sharing this gift with others.” Join Kalyani to find your breath and balance, and enjoy the benefits of increased energy, health, and overall well-being.
Kamala Itzel Hayward was a lawyer for over a decade before becoming a Yoga teacher and Yoga therapist specializing in trauma, addiction, and wellness. She is passionate about bringing Yoga and other healing modalities to adults facing chronic stress caused by living under oppression, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ableism, and more.
She is founder of the Integral Yoga Institute’s Scholarship-Based Yoga Teacher Training for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. For the last 12 years, she has been sharing Yoga with individuals facing housing insecurity and related challenges, including systemic barriers; structural oppression; social dislocation; physical, emotional, and mental health challenges; substance abuse; and addiction. She sits on the Advisory Board for the Trauma Prevention and Recovery Certificate Program at the City College of San Francisco.
Kelsey Maeve, CYT 500, TCTSY-F, has been teaching yoga since 2009 and has over 1,000 hours of training in yoga and healing arts. She holds an advanced certification in Trauma Sensitive Yoga through the Trauma Center in Brookline Mass and is currently the only certified TCTSY practitioner in California. Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is an empirically validated, adjunctive clinical treatment for complex or treatment resistant PTSD. Developed at the Trauma Center, it has foundations in hatha yoga, neuroscience, trauma theory and attachment theory.
Kristie Dahlia Home, E-RYT 500, is devoted to the arts of wellbeing and healing. With 20 years experience teaching, her work weaves yoga, Thai massage, Reiki, Intuitive Healing, and Chi Nei Tsang. Kristie has served as a Yoga Therapist at UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, where her work included both public classes and medical research. She has taught Reiki for CPMC’s Institute for Health and Healing and Thai massage at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Her students say that they appreciate her warmth, precision, contagious love of life, and keen attention to the unique needs of each individual. More at athayoga.com
Lalita Dagny Vigander, E-RYT 500, LMT, RCYT, has been practicing Integral Yoga since 1998, and became an Integral Yoga instructor in 2005. Lalita is now certified in Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Hatha Yoga, as well as in Stress Management, Raja Yoga, Meditation, Restorative Yoga, Yoga of Recovery, Children’s Yoga, and Yoga for People with Cancer.
Lalita is one of Yogaville’s teacher trainers for the Basic and Intermediate levels, including Anatomy and Physiology. Lalita teaches children, adults, and senior classes along with Meditation and Stress Management classes. She has been invited to lecture at cancer retreats, to a community college and at UT’s Administrators retreats and women’s conferences. Lalita is a Reiki Master and licensed massage therapist specializing in Deep Tissue Massage and CranioSacral.
Lauren Walker is the creator of Energy Medicine Yoga and the author of two books about EMYoga, most recently, The Energy Medicine Yoga Prescription (Sounds True, 2017). She has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1997. She splits her time between New England and Montana. Lauren was recently named one of the top 100 most influential yoga teachers in the United States. Lauren is a wandering spirit, and has lived and worked all over the world. She continues to travel and teach in the U.S., Canada and abroad. For more on Lauren and Energy Medicine Yoga, please visit EMYoga.net.
Lauren is a wandering spirit and has lived and worked all over the world. She continues to travel and teach workshops and classes in the US, Canada and abroad. She is also a composer, hockey player, and an avid skier. lkwalker.com
Lekshmi learned music from Guru Smt. Mahalakshmi Ramachandran and Guru Smt. Geeta Kalyanaraman, from the Tanjore Kalyanaraman lineage in Vadodara, Gujarat. Her singing style constantly evolves and she doesn’t follow one school of training in particular. She believes in using the best variations and ideas in a raga that can make a rendition not just technically brilliant but also engaging and soulful. Her music and style define her personality and devotion to the art form. She was awarded the First prize for Carnatic Classical Vocal Music at the National Youth Festival, organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in Jamshedpur in the year 2004. She was the youngest musician in the lot to receive this prestigious award.
As a yoga practitioner and teacher, I specialize in the use of yoga for many issues but specifically for pelvic floor problems. After suffering from hypertonic pelvic syndrome, I found relief from my symptoms by a careful application of Iyengar style/influenced yoga and breath work and since then I have continued to refine and develop the application of yoga for the pelvic floor for myself and others. To this end, for the past twelve years, I have taught women of all ages to practice yoga to alleviate pelvic floor conditions, including urinary incontinence and pelvic pain, through a combination of small group teaching, public workshops, and national conferences. I call my approach Pelvic Floor YogaTM
A few times a year I teach a twenty hour teacher training for therapeutic application of yoga and pranayama to help alleviate symptoms for pelvic floor issues. There is an optional certification process available after the training. I am currently the director of the Piedmont Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training program. My courses are approved as continuing education with Yoga Alliance and the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. I am a certified Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Letícia Padmasri is an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, a certified Advanced Integral Yoga® Hatha teacher, and a certified Raja Yoga teacher. She holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science, a master’s degree in education, and has dedicated many years towards the study of exercise physiology. She combines her love for the sciences of Yoga and Ayurveda with her interest in the body’s structure and function, helping students of all levels adapt their practices to achieve optimal health and total well-being. In addition to being one of Yogaville’s primary teacher trainers, she also offers workshops and seminars in the US and Brazil.
See more at www.padmasri.yoga
Lila Crutchfield, RN, NP, RYT, was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her BA from Stanford University in 1975 and her BS in Nursing from the University of California in San Francisco in 1981. She went on to obtain a degree as a nurse practitioner, specializing in women’s health, and has worked in this field for 13 years.
Crutchfield has been practicing yoga for over 25 years and was trained as a yoga instructor in 1987 through the Integral Yoga Institute. She subsequently became involved with the implementation of their teacher-training program and has functioned as primary instructor for the program. Currently she designs and teaches the anatomy and physiology curriculum. Three years ago, she began working at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute as the director of stress management and nurse case manager, combining her lifelong passion for the synthesis of allopathic and complementary approaches to healing.
Reverend Manjula Spears, E- RYT 500 has been a trainer for Integral Yoga’s Intermediate and Advanced teacher training programs for many years. In addition to certifications in all levels of Hatha Yoga, pranayama, and meditation she has a deep interest and extensive training in Yoga therapeutics. Rev. Manjula is a long-time student of Ayurveda. She studies and teaches sound as healing. She is an accomplished instructor in the field of Yoga therapy and is the principle teacher of the Therapeutic Yoga program at Athens Regional Medical Center specializing in restoration of functional mobility, reduction of musculoskeletal pain and joint health.
Marcia Bhavani Miller, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, has been teaching yoga for over 40 years and has taught all levels and types of students from new beginners to yoga teachers and everyone in between. In 2001 Marcia was one of the founders/owners of Yoga on High. She is one of a few Master Teacher Trainers for the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT) Trainings and in charge of Reiki training for UZIT. She is on a community advisory board for the Center for Integrative Health and Wellness at the Ohio State University and offers UZIT modalities in Wexner Medical Center at the Ohio State University.
Along with her business partner she also co-directs the 200- and the 300-hour Teacher Training Program. She designed and taught the yoga protocols for two large Ohio State University research projects, one researching the effect of yoga on the immune system and the other on the benefits of yoga for women recovering from breast cancer.
Marcia is also a Reiki Master Teacher and teaches Reiki around the country as well as at Yoga on High. She uses reiki extensively in her classes and with private clients. She is also passionate about Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and is bringing NVC to the yoga community and yoga to the NVC community. In 2008 Marcia took the lead in founding the Yoga on High Foundation, a fund at the Columbus Foundation as a way to serve all populations of people in her community including low income kids, homeless veterans and populations traumatized by sexual violence.
Marcia recently had the privilege and joy to teach UZIT to hospice workers in S. Africa and continues to offer skill building in self-care to people in hard jobs who want to continue their lives of service. Her yoga training has been continuous as she has broadened her knowledge in areas of asana and meditation, anatomy and physiology, yoga for traumatized populations and therapeutic yoga.
Dr. Marc Halpern is the founder and President of the California College of Ayurveda. An internationally respected expert in the field of Ayurveda, Dr. Halpern received the award for best Ayurveda Physician from the Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Ramdas. He is the co-founder of the National Ayurveda Medical Association and the California Association of Ayurveda Medicine.
Marc Morozumi, E-RYT 500, CMT, Lead Yoga Teacher Trainer with Integral Yoga Institute, began practicing Ashtanga yoga in 2001 while a full-time modern dancer with Joe Goode Performance Group in SF, CA. Due to injury, Mukunda retired from his 12 year dance career in 2004 and entered the events industry from 2004-2016. A 2-month personal trip to India in 2007 paved the way for landing in Yogaville in 2009 for his first teacher training with Swami Divyananda and staff. One month after returning from graduation, Mukunda began teaching a Saturday morning class at the SF IYI which he maintained for over 10 years. Mukunda has co-led Integral Yoga retreats since 2011 and has staffed or co-led Basic Teacher Trainings since 2013. He has opened and managed small group yoga studios in SF since 2017 and in early 2020, he opened and then reformed a yoga center post COVID-19: Mukunda Yoga – Activation and Well-being Center in SOMA, SF, CA. To learn more, visit yogamukunda.com.
Margabandhu Martarano, E-RYT 500, has served as director of the New Jersey Integral Yoga® Institute for 50 years. Margabandhu is a senior certified Integral Yoga instructor, proficient in all aspects of Yoga. He has a B.A. in education, is a master herbalist, and is certified in therapeutic acupressure massage and reflexology. Margabandhu is also the director of the Well Being Center in Verona, NJ, a holistic center specializing in all aspects of health and healing. He is the co-creator of the Yoga for Autism teacher training.
Maria Alfaro, E-RYT, TRE® Trainer was born and raised in Rome, Italy and she lives in Santa Cruz. She has 26 years of Yoga experience and she teaches Neurogenic Yoga workshops and trainings worldwide. She is also a Trauma Releasing Exercises® (TRE) trainer. She has been teaching the tremoring response since 2004. For more information: www.NeurogenicYoga.com and www.TREcalifornia.com
Mazin Jamal is an activist, artist, and coach supporting the success and integrity of social movement and business leaders. He supports individuals and teams to live according to their values while balancing the many responsibilities of work and life.
Mazin’s work ranges from the indigenous-led environmental movements of Borneo, to Diversity and Inclusion in the Heart of Silicon Valley Largest Companies.
Mazin has 9 years of experience as an activist focused on bringing end Police Brutality and Mass Incarceration, as well issues such as Healing Toxic Masculinity and Ending Genocide in his Parent’s Homeland, Sudan.
Mazin’s approach to activism centers on raising consciousness and increasing the capacity of leaders and teams to engage in a way that is true to them and their personal standards of Integrity. His work calls forth the creativity, compassion and fierce love of justice that lies in the human heart, and encourages grounded, strategic and authentic action that holds a holistic perspective on social change. holisticunderground.org | mazinjamal.com
Meenakshi Angel Honig is dedicated to peace & loving-kindness. She has studied with the world renowned, highly revered & deeply loved Yoga Master, Sri Swami Satchidananda, from the age of 16. Meenakshi Angel is an internationally acclaimed Yoga Instructor, Teacher Trainer, Stress Management & Wellness Consultant, Speaker, and Author. She has taught at Universities, Hospitals, Medical Centers, Corporations, Government Agencies, Resorts, Yoga Retreats, etc. for over 40 years. Meenakshi Angel served as the premier Mind-Body- Spirit Yoga Instructor & Stress Management Consultant at the Grand Wailea Resort on Maui for 17 years. She is the co-founder of Wellbeing International, a non-profit organization dedicated to individual & global wellbeing. Meenakshi Angel is a licensed Minister in the state of Hawaii. She is a highly respected leader in the Lovingkindness Plant based Diet & Lifestyle Movement. Meenakshi Angel has appeared on several television & radio shows. She was featured in her “Yoga Feels Good” television show, which was aired for several years & has uplifted countless Souls with the Glorious Science of Yoga. She has produced 5 DVDs, 2 CDs and is the author of 8 pocket size books. Her work is endorsed by several of America’s best selling authors including, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. John Gray, Dr. Will Tuttle, Alan Cohen, Marci Schimoff & Swami Satchidananda. Meenakshi Angel is passionate about combining her love for dance & yoga into an evolving art of “Flying Yoga.” Five of her ‘Peaces’ can be viewed on YouTube. She is currently working on her new book, which is a comprehensive volume & is soon to be released! Meenakshi Angel currently teaches on Maui, as well as on her national & international teaching tours.
Mia Velez, E-RYT 500, entered Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) in 2016 through the kitchen as a volunteer cook at their silent retreats, teacher trainings, and weekly community lunches. In 2018, she was certified as an Integral Yoga teacher to learn more about the IYI approach and be part of the lineage. Mia is a disciple of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lineage and is highly influenced by her martial arts training. After completing her first 200-hour teacher training in 2008, she saw undeniable parallels in Yoga and Kung Fu. She started teaching Kung Fu in 2014, incorporating Yoga insight and principles in her classes. Her goal in teaching is to facilitate a safer space for self-inquiry that hopefully leads to liberation. She shares her joy and knowledge of yoga as a co-trainer for the Basic Teacher Trainings at IYI, including the BIPOC Yoga Teacher Training; she teaches the healing properties of yoga to incarcerated men and provides stress management techniques to new parents. Yoga and Kung Fu are integrated into her daily life as a mother, a preschool teacher, and an advocate for gender, race and class equality through multiple non-profit groups.
Michael Lerner is president and co-founder of Commonweal in Bolinas, California. He co-founded Commonweal in 1976. His projects include the Commonweal Cancer Help Program, Healing Circles, Cancer Choices, The New School at Commonweal and Omega. A Harvard graduate, he received a PhD and taught at Yale in the early 1970s before moving to Bolinas, California in 1976. He received a MacArthur fellowship for contributions to public health in 1984. He has been engaged with Integral Yoga since 1982.
Mirabai Warkulwiz planted her yoga and meditation roots in San Francisco at the Sivananda Center in 1998. Amazed at her healing of a back injury and many other positive life changes, she became yoga certified through 200-hour teacher training programs both at the Integral Yoga Institute in 2004, and at the Greenpath Ashtanga Studio in 2005. In July 2008 she completed another 170 hour Intermediate Teacher Training program in Asana and Pranayama through the Integral Yoga Institute in Virginia. She is attuned to Reiki Level 1, studies Aryuveda, is a dancer, and enjoys being in communion with nature. She invites all of her yoga students to transcend physical, emotional, and mental blocks to experience more spaciousness, comfort, happiness, clarity, and inner peace. As a Kirtan musician (Mirabai and Friends Kirtan Band) Mirabai leads Kirtan around the Bay Area, and enjoys implementing chanting, sound, and music into class.
Mirabai Andrea Warkulwiz leads Kirtan, or call and response, singing and meditation with live instrumentation including harmonium, guitar, didgeridoo, flute, tamboura, and more! So often, our minds are filled with daily problems and concerns, and it is difficult to remember our life’s higher purpose. Participation in Kirtan devotional music provides a way to rise above the pettiness of everyday life. Kirtan, a form of Bhakti Yoga, is the ancient practice of singing the names of the divine, a gift from the ancient teachers of India. No music experience is necessary. Children are welcome.
Michael Mitra Lerner is the president and co-founder of Commonweal, a health,
environmental and educational center in Bolinas, California. He is also
president-emeritus and co-founder of Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, D.C. Smith Center also uses Integral Yoga as a basis for its Cancer Help Program and other yoga classes. A former faculty member at Yale University, Michael received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship for contributions to public health in 1983. He is also co-founder of Health Care Without Harm, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and The New School at Commonweal. www.commonweal.org
Mitra Somerville has a passion for self-discovery. This interest has led him to study and practice Eastern and Western psychology, meditation, hatha yoga and personal development. He has been sharing these teachings and practices in Australia and the U.S.A for over 30 years. Australian born, Mitra currently resides in Oahu, Hawaii with his wife Sakina, and 2 dogs, Drey and Jade.Mitra is the author of Treasure Within You. He shows a deep understanding of the human condition. His clear narrative is supported with everyday life examples. The book includes practices and exercises that turn a mental understanding into a beneficial experience. Continued use of the exercises leads to improvement in every area of your life including health, career, relationships, material well-being and connection to your inner peace and happiness. Treasure Within You helps you to thrive. He has created a CD that has 28 guided meditations and exercises. These guided audios will greatly assist you to learn the exercises and experience the benefits. Mitra is a Life Skills to Thrive Coach and enjoys assisting people improve their lives and help them achieve their goals and dreams.
Mitra has trained with Integral Yoga (founded by Sri Swami Satchidananda) and teaches Hatha Yoga, Meditation and Yoga Psychology. He has completed 4 of the Avatar courses (Avatar was created by Harry Palmer) and trained in Cutting the Ties that Bind (Phyllis Krystal).
www.mitrasomerville.com
Come feel the joy, sing the Names, and dance with us! “Mukti” is the acclaimed kirtan ensemble fronted by vocalist Prajna Vieira, guitarist Donald Fontowitz and tabla player Ramana Erickson. Their spicy blend of tabla rhythms, Indian slide guitar, harmonium, and vocals create a rich foundation for both traditional Indian and modern original kirtans.
Prajna Vieira – lead vocals, harmonium
Donald Fontowitz – Indian Slide Guitars
Ramana Erickson – tablas Greg Barnett – bass
Lisa Chorny, Julie Simonsen, Samantha Vieira – response vocals
Swami Murugananda has known Sri Gurudev since 1966. He has served in all of the ashrams in California and Connecticut as well as most of the IYI’s in California and NYC serving in various capacities as teacher and gardener, bookstore manager and herbalist.
At Yogaville he created the SASTRI project (Satchidananda Automated Satsang Text Retrieval & Indexing). This is the master archive database containing all the transcripts of Sri Gurudev’s satsangs and talks covering over 36 years. There is also a CD of selected satsangs from that collection, as well as the Commemorative slide show on CD with over 250 slides from Sri Gurudev’s life and service.
Murugananda also created and maintains our Yogaville Library of over 25,000 books, tapes, CDs etc. in some 30 languages in a wide range of subject matter.
He is currently compiling a book of stories by Sri Gurudev’s disciples about their experiences with Sri Gurudev and what Gurudev taught them through those experiences.
In his spare time he also writes and performs standup.
Nalanie Chellaram, C-IAYT, BSYth, has been surrounded by spirituality for her whole life. She was raised by Hindu parents, educated at a Catholic school and studied philosophy in college. Nalanie began practicing the teaching of her Guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda in 1986 and continued to study the science of Yoga. She has been accredited by the Council of Teachers of the Satchidananda Ashram in Virginia, USA to teach Asanas, Pranayama and Meditation. She is also an accredited Teacher Trainer for Integral Yoga and a therapist under the British School of Yoga. She is the Chairwoman of the Integral Yoga Center in Gibraltar where she runs regular weekly satsangs, teacher training and counseling sessions. This Center is a registered Charity serving the community. Nalanie, who now lives in Spain, frequently lectures on the Science of Yoga, in Portugal, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA and the Far East. She is the first of a new generation of spiritual teachers. Her particular upbringing and education has given her a special insight into both Hinduism and Christianity, inspired by her Beloved Guru.
Nischala Joy Devi is a masterful teacher and healer. For many years she has been highly respected as an international advocate for her innovative way of expressing Yoga and its subtle uses for spiritual growth and complete healing.
Her dynamic delivery and deep inner conviction empower each individual, allowing the teachings to expand beyond boundaries and limitations of any one tradition enabling her to touch people’s hearts.
She was graced to spend over 25 years as a monastic disciple with the world renowned Yogiraj Sri Swami Satchidanandaji, receiving his direct guidance and teachings. She also was blessed with teachings from great Yoga masters in US, India and worldwide.
Originally trained in Western medicine, she began to blend western medicine with Yoga, offered her expertise in developing the yoga portion of The Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease, and co-founded the award-winning Commonweal Cancer Help Program. Her book “The Healing Path of Yoga,” and her Abundant WellBeing Audio Series expresses these teachings.
With her knowledge of yoga and her experience in assisting those with life-threatening diseases (particularly people with heart disease and cancer), she created Yoga of the Heart®, a training and certification program for Yoga teachers and health professionals designed to adapt Yoga practices to the special needs of that population.
She is now dedicated to bringing the Feminine back into spirituality and the scriptures, in her book, The Secret Power of Yoga, a woman’s guide to the heart and spirit of the Yoga Sutras and Secret Power of Yoga Audio book Nautilus Book Silver Award Winner 2009!
Nitika Achalam, e-RYT 500 earned her first 200hr certification through Yogaville in 2000, is a graduate of the Living Yoga Training Program. She’s certified to teach yoga for arthritis and chronic pain, therapeutic yoga, trauma informed yoga, and much more.
Nitika currently serves as the Executive Director of Project Yoga Richmond, a nonprofit organization working to provide affordable and accessible yoga and mindfulness classes in and around Richmond, VA. In this role, Nitika forges partnerships throughout the community to bring yoga to those who may not otherwise have access. She studied anthropology, specifically focusing on how ancient cultures and societies used plant medicine and ancestral remedies to prevent and treat disease. She founded True Grit Wellness in 2014 as a means of employing her 2+ decades of experience as a clinical herbalist and to advocate for holistic wellness. Find out more at www.truegritwellness.com.
Nubia Teixeira, a Brazilian born yogini, has been devoting herself to teaching Yoga, in its many different aspects, for the past 26 years. Perceiving Yoga as a healing art, her refinement and connection to this ancient practice is reflected in her unique teaching styleRabbi Pamela Frydman is an author, educator and mystic. She is a leader in the Jewish Renewal Movement and was the first woman to serve as President of OHALAH, the international association of Jewish Renewal rabbis and cantors. She is a teacher in Sufi Ruhaniat International and she is the author of Calling on God, Sacred Jewish Teachings for Seekers of All Faiths available on Amazon.
Paula Mazzoni fell in love with the art of yoga 17 years ago when she moved to the United States from Argentina. Since then, she devoted her life to practicing yoga by becoming a 200-hour Yoga Teacher, Sports Yoga Instructor, and a Certified Kids Yoga teacher with Kidding Around Yoga.
Paula dedicates her practice to teaching yoga to children at after-school programs, summer camps, and in family yoga classes. In her teachings, she blends the values of traditional yoga with games, activities, music, dancing and lots of fun. She provides children with skills that help them relax, increase focus and connect with their emotions. Paula also offers workshops for educators on how to bring yoga, breathing, mindfulness and relaxation to kids. She believes that as educators, we have a responsibility to share wellness with the younger generation. “We may intellectually understand the benefits of yoga, positive thinking and relaxation to our well-being, but in order for it to have a positive impact in our lives, we must practice it. It has to be part of our daily routine,” Paula says. Paula resides in Sacramento with her family. She has a teenage son who enjoys yoga and playing sports.
My name is Pearl Bindu Bauer and I’ve been practicing yoga for over 15 years, teaching for 7. The literal meaning of yoga is “union” and what I love about yoga is how it helps me find alignment in my body/mind/spirit and physical/emotional connections. While meditating helps me stay calm, the asana practice on the mat helps me come into my body – so the balance between the two is key for my daily practice. In my Hatha 2 classes, I often incorporate an intentional practice – for example, I do a series on the Yamas and a series on the Niyamas so we meditate on principles of yoga while practicing mantras and asanas on the mat. I am also trained in yoga therapy which finds ways of how the practice of yoga can help with the understanding of common illnesses and conditions so people who are undergoing physical and emotional trauma can live a more easeful existence. While stretching and strengthening the physical body are a big part of the yoga practice, we also focus on deep relaxation, breath work and meditation as practices that are equally important to our well being.
Phoebe Diftler is a Thai Massage Therapy practitioner and teacher who brings together her varied backgrounds in Thai Yoga Therapy, Yoga, Design and Intuitive Healing. She began studying modern dance at the age of four and Yoga in college, finding Yoga to be the path to bring her further inside the energetic workings of her own body. Phoebe found Yoga and Thai Yoga Therapy to be a way to help others facilitate their own healing process. She credits her past career as a magazine designer and her study at Parson’s School of Design with opening her ability to access creativity. As the facilitator of the Thai Yoga Therapy Training at The White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, Phoebe focuses on how to best inspire each individual student while respecting their own learning process. She values the opportunity to pass on these ancient teachings and her enthusiasm is contagious.
Phoebe teaches Yoga in Los Angeles and maintains a private Thai Yoga Therapy practice in Pacific Palisades. She as been featured on CNN’s “Weekend House Call”.
Prajna took her first yoga class in 1970 in southern California. Later that year she came through the doors of the Berkeley IYI, and since that time she has loved Integral Yoga.
Over the years she has maintained an active involvement in movement, healing, and meditation. She has practiced yoga, tai chi, and various dance forms; co-authored two best selling books on Holistic Health; lived and danced flamenco in southern Spain; and since 2000, has taught Rosen Movement. In 2010, she completed her IYI Teacher Training at Yogaville, and began teaching yoga. She brings to her teaching four decades of meditation practice, the last twenty eight in the Buddhist tradition.
Attuning to the wisdom of the body/mind and opening to the present are the foundations of both Prajna’s teaching and personal practice.
Cooked for many years in retreats centers, cafes and restaurants.
Prajna Vieira – lead vocals, harmonium
Donald Fontowitz – Indian Slide Guitars
Ramana Erickson – tablas Greg Barnett – bass
Lisa Chorny, Julie Simonsen, Samantha Vieira – response vocals
Come feel the joy, sing the Names, and dance with us!
“Mukti” is the acclaimed kirtan ensemble fronted by vocalist Prajna Vieira, guitarist Donald Fontowitz and tabla player Ramana Erickson. Their spicy blend of tabla rhythms, Indian slide guitar, harmonium, and vocals create a rich foundation for both traditional Indian and modern original kirtans.
Swami Priyaananda is a senior disciple of Swami Satchidananda with thirty years of experience in the practice of Integral Yoga. She served in the Integral Yoga Health Services division and the Distribution Department at Satchidananda Ashram in Connecticut, as well as Executive Secretary and Coordinator of the Living Yoga Training program at the Ashram in Virginia. Currently, she is Vice President of Office of Spiritual Development and Manager of Satchidananda Archives.
Rachel is an IAYT Certified Yoga Therapist, Educator and Doctor of Psychology. Specializing in trauma work and embodied practices for nervous system integration, Rachel helps clients increase their capacity for joy and love in life through somatic movement, breath work, sound healing, self-reflection, and cultivating healthy life choices. Rachel brings years of mental health experience working with at-risk and underserved populations, integrating Eastern and Western practices to help clients move past symptom relief into true healing. She has brought holistic yoga programs and professional trainings on yoga for mental health into community mental health centers, hospitals and schools. Rachel’s aim is to guide individuals into states of peace and trust in their life’s story through the mind and body, create community, and bring the teachings and practices of yoga into various settings around the world. Rachel’s classes meet each student where they are at while still challenging them to reach new heights of self-realization, acceptance, and strength and flexibility, both on and off of the mat. She will push you to challenge yourself while also guiding you to listen to your body and intuition, teaching from a place of authenticity, passion and playfulness.
To learn more about Rachel and her work at
Ragani (Carol Whitney) has been leading fire ceremony with Kirtan satsang at Yoga Society weekly and playing harmonium at other venues since 2012. Kankana Banerjee and Gina Sala are her vocal teachers. She met Andrii at YSSF Kirtan and he plays Mridangam and flute with her. Eugene, the most recent member, plays guitar.
Ramakrishna Sackett began his study of Yoga and Eastern Religious traditions in 1967, and in 1970 joined the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco as a founding member of the ashram at 770 Dolores St (which now celebrates 50 years of continuous service in SF). As an Integral Yoga Teacher and Community Service Director of the IYI through the early 70’s, he taught extensively, in the SF Bay Area, serving students at the IYI, in high schools, colleges, half-way houses, detention centers, Integral Yoga Retreats, on wilderness outings and a television program.
In 1972 he was a founding member of the first Integral Yoga country ashram, Yogaville West in northern California, serving as Head of Maintenance and teaching on IY Retreats until moving in 1975 with his wife Radha, to join the community of Yogaville East in Pomfret Center, Connecticut. A carpenter by trade, Ramakrishna was a key member of the maintenance and construction staff at the Ashram, and when the property in Virginia was found in 1979, he and his young family were selected to pioneer the founding of the SAYVA in rural Buckingham.
He served on the Volunteer Fire Department of Buckingham, as an EMT with the Buckingham Rescue Squad and was a leader in founding the Volunteer Fire Department of Yogaville.
He has had a role in constructing most of the major buildings at Yogaville including Ananda Kutir, Sivananda Hall, Lotus, Chidambaram, Vivekananda Vihar, Guru Bhavan and the Monastery, several private residences in the area and numerous projects in Central Virginia. His four children were born and raised in Yogaville with Jyoti #2, the first child born at SAYVA.
With his late wife, Rev Vidya Vonne, he shared a deep love of the Integral Yoga path and the community in which it grows, showing how spirituality and Yoga enter all aspects of Life. He continues in that spirit to teach and to build, to parent, dance, write poetry, climb mountains, invent new things, and to share the wisdom teachings of Swami Satchidananda and Master Sivananda….and be grateful every day.
Rashmi Dianne Galliano-Grigsby, C-IAYT, e-RYT 500, is a lead Yoga teacher-trainer at Integral Yoga Institute in NY. Introduced to Yoga through a video tape by Raquel Welch (1985), and since has been steadfast in both her Yoga practice and Yoga career, dedicating herself to the art and science of Yoga.
Committed to her career, she devoted 2-years (2017- 2019) commuting from her NY Lower East Side home to Maryland University of Integrative Health in Laurel, Maryland to earn a Master of Science Degree in Yoga Therapy. She is now a Certified Yoga Therapist upping-the- anti to her already credentialed E-RYT 500. Formerly a co-owner of a nightclub, Luna Lounge in NYC, she received her 200-hour yoga certification (2005) the morning of her final day in business.
In 2015 Dianne was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. That is where she gathered agency through her studies, her inspirations, and, of course, the teachings of Yoga that emboldened her to find and define the importance of Yoga and why Yoga supports resiliency. Cultivating values of adaptability, empathy, and a non-judgmental attitude towards herself has given her the skill in fostering health and wellness for individuals that guides them toward improved biopsychosocial wellbeing and eudaimonia.
Rich Panico is an artist, yogi and physician known for his humor and clarity in teaching. He has practiced meditation and yoga since 1970 and began teaching mindfulness woven into pottery making classes in the late 70’s.
Rich has taught mindfulness formally in medical, academic and art related settings for over 20 years. He was a pioneer in the use of mindfulness-based treatment in the adaptation to and treatment of chronic disease. Mindfulness occupied a central therapeutic role in his professional offering as a physician.
Richard C. Miller, PhD is a clinical psychologist, author, researcher, yogic scholar and spiritual teacher. He was first introduced to the teachings of yoga and yoga nidra in 1970, through classes at the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute. Since then he’s devoted his life and work to integrating the wisdom teachings of Yoga, Tantra, Advaita, Taoism, Buddhism, and modern Western psychology. Richard’s the founding president of the Integrative Restoration Institute, co-founder of the International Association of Yoga Therapy and founding editor of the professional Journal of IAYT. He was a founding member and past president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology, and serves as a senior advisor to the Baumann Foundation for the study of Awareness and its impact on well-being..
Author of Yoga Nidra: A Meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing, Richard serves as a research consultant studying the Integrative Restoration (iRest protocol he’s developed that’s a modern adaptation of the ancient, non duel meditation practice of Yoga Nidra) researching its efficacy on health, healing and well-being with diverse populations including active-duty soldiers, veterans, college students, children, seniors, the homeless, the incarcerated, and people experiencing issues such as sleep disorders, PTSD, chemical dependency, chronic pain, and related disorders.. He’s currently writing a book entitled, The iRest Program for Healing PTSD (New Harbinger, Fall 2014). Richard lectures and teaches internationally, leading iRest trainings and meditation retreats on enlightened living in daily life. Please visit www.iRest.us.
Rishi Schweig first met Sri Swami Satchidananda in 1970. Sri Swami Satchidananda’s thought, action and presence has been a guiding principal in Rishi’s life ever since then. Rishi says, “It is in serving that we learn to live, it is in giving that we receive the greatest gift. Let us sit together and talk about Yoga. As we discard illusions of who we are, we become a fuller version of our true selves. A small step furthers.”
Rev. Sadasiva Kurt Schroeder, E-RYT500, got involved in Yoga in the mid-1990’s and began his training at the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute. He has led beginning and intermediate level teacher trainings, both in San Francisco and Yogaville. Sadasiva completed his Master of Divinity studies at the Naropa Institute.
He was ordained as an Integral Yoga minister in the Fall of 2021, shortly after completing a program in professional chaplaincy residency and a fellowship in palliative care. He now lives in Boulder, CO, where he works as a chaplain.
SAEEDA HAFIZ is a yoga teacher, author, and wellness expert with certifications from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, the Natural Gourmet Institute. She is also a graduate of Temple University. As a holistic health educator with the San Francisco Unified School District, she focuses on sharing her knowledge of physical and mental wellness with diverse groups. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
She has appeared on various podcasts, radio, and television programs and has been featured in several national and regional publications. Her public speaking engagements have educated the public in yoga, holistic nutrition, and healthy living from coast to coast. saeedahafiz.com
Sandra Susheela Gilbert, BA, E-RYT500, C-IAYT is the new director of YCat: Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness. She has spent the last thirteen years as Senior Faculty of YCat and facilitating YCat programs alongside her mentor, colleague, friend and YCat creator, the late, Jnani Chapman.
Sandra is a highly recognized Integral Yoga teacher holding advanced training certificates in Stress Management, Integrative and Mind/body therapies and Patient Navigation. Sandra was a Yoga teacher, stress management educator and group support facilitator for Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC and taught the YCat curriculum for the Mount Sinai Breast Health Resource Center and in the NYC Ruttenberg Oncology infusion center. Sandra has taught Yoga at retreats and trainings for the Omega Institute, for the Center for Mind Body Medicine and for Chai Lifeline. In addition, she was one of the first trained Urban Zen integrative therapists in practice in NYC for their 2008 initiative and research. Sandra currently teaches in Yoga research at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, TN. Her work at Vanderbilt is with breast cancer and head and neck cancer participants in various research studies. She is also mentoring YCat teachers. Sandra is appreciated for her patience, presence and dedication to the whole person who is going through the experience of cancer and cancer treatment. She says “Wherever you are, Yoga is there for you.”
Sarani Beth Fedman is a yoga teacher and yoga therapist who has studied, practiced and taught Integral Yoga for over 25 years. She has been involved in social equity work through her association with Accessible Yoga, political work, and as an early childhood teacher in both private and public schools where she worked with children and families with disabilities and diverse backgrounds. Finding peace and connection through spiritual practices as we work towards justice and equity is her vision to relieve the suffering in this world.
Satya Greenstone has been a student of Sri Swami Satchidananda since 1971. She has shared the teachings of Integral Yoga in many diverse settings with students of all ages and backgrounds and combines a natural, practical, down to earth approach to yoga with a gentle humor. Since 1999, she has been a primary teacher for the 200-hour and the Intermediate Yoga Teacher Training Programs. While serving as Teacher Training Coordinator, she helped to develop and teach the first Gentle Yoga Teacher Training Program. She has also developed and teaches Training Programs in Restorative Yoga, Adaptive Yoga and Yoga and Meditation for Children. In 2005, she received certification in Therapeutic Yoga and is currently certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
Always thankful to her Guru Swami Satchidananda, Satya believes that he has created the perfect environment in which to practice yoga and experience the Peace of one’s true nature. It is that personal recognition of one’s true Self that she tries to facilitate in every program and every teacher training.
In 1996 the Satya and her husband moved to South India to live in the homeland of Swami Satchidananda and to direct the Integral Yoga Institute of Coimbatore. While serving in India, Satya taught yoga on a daily basis in a wide variety of schools to students in grades K-12. One of the schools was Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an international Ghandian Educational organization based on the teachings of Mahatma Ghandi.
Upon returning to Yogaville, USA, Satya became the primary teacher for the Basic Yoga Teacher Training Program. While serving as Teacher Training Coordinator, she developed the teacher training program Teaching Yoga and Meditation to Children which she and her husband have taught in USA and Europe. She is a registered children’s yoga teacher (RCYT) with Yoga Alliance.
Seth Powell is a longtime practitioner of yoga and a scholar of Sanskrit, yoga, and Indian religion, and is the founder of Yogic Studies. He is currently a PhD Candidate in South Asian Religions at Harvard University, where he is writing his dissertation on the history, theory, and practice of medieval and early modern yoga traditions. Seth also holds degrees in the study of religion from the University of Washington (MA) and Humboldt State University (BA). He has trained in Sanskrit with some of the world’s leading experts in the West, as well as with traditional pandits in India. Seth has taught and lectured for numerous university courses on the religions and literature of India, Hinduism, Buddhism, and yoga traditions, and presents his research regularly at international conferences.
As a scholar-practitioner, Seth is gifted in his ability to present the ancient teachings of yoga and the Sanskrit language clearly in an accessible, light-hearted, and inspiring manner—while maintaining a rigor and sensitivity to traditional Indian knowledge systems. Seth conducts workshops and lectures regularly on the history and philosophy of yoga at studios, teacher trainings, and universities around the country. You can find him online at www.yogicstudies.com.
Heather Sevika Ford, C-IAYT, MFA Design. Introduced to classic Hatha Yoga as a teenager, I have continued to practice throughout my adult life. In 2008, on a path to deepening my own practice, I became a certified Yoga teacher. After many years of teaching and training I participated in the International Association of Yoga Therapist’s grand-parenting program and in 2017 became a certified Yoga Therapist.
My classical training and accessible approach helps me guide individuals towards experiencing the essence of Yoga; a contemplative, mindful practice intended to remove obstacles and restore peace. Collaboratively, I support my clients towards optimal health and wellness through mindful movement, restorative postures, subtle practices such as Yoga Nidra, Pranayama and meditation, as well as Reiki, sound bath and aromatherapy. I offer sequences that can be practiced on a mat, with a wall , in a chair or a bed depending on what is right for you. The practices are intended to strengthen the body, increase flexibility, optimize the immune system and soothe the nervous system.
My training and experience enables me to work safely and mindfully with a wide range of clients towards optimal health and wellness. I have worked with various populations with a variety of conditions. Currently, I teach one-on-one Yoga Therapy as well as classes and workshops for IYISF, Stanford University and Alta Mira Recovery Center. You can learn more at sevikayoga.com
Sharada Thompson, Ph.D., began her practice of Integral Yoga at the New York IYI in the late 1960’s. She lived and taught Yoga there and lived at both of the original Yogavilles. During this time she also studied massage at the Swedish Institute and graduated from their second ever program. She served as a massage therapist to Swami Satchidananda and practiced bodywork professionally for many years.
In the early 1970’s she studied Tibetan Buddhist psychology and philosophy through the Naropa Institute and trained as a meditation teacher at The Dharmadhatu in Berkeley. Later, she would work as a meditation teacher at Bay Area retreats given by Pema Chodren.
In the 1980’s she earned a Masters degree in Clinical Child and Educational Psychology and in the ’90’s a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She completed her psychoanalytic training through Free Association, an organization modeled on the work of the Scottish Psychoanalyst R.D. Laing, MD. who was known for combining psychoanalysis with Classical philosophy and phenomenology, as well as Buddhism. He was also an early adopter of the use of psychedelics as a path of spiritual growth.
Sharada has maintained a private practice in psychotherapy in the Bay Area since the ’80’s where she specializes in working with adults and couples. Much of her clinical work is devoted to her lifelong interest in the integration of psychological and spiritual states.
Sherry Gayatri Van Dyke discovered yoga as a teenager, when her Mom bought Swami Satchidananda’s classic Hatha yoga book. Years later as an adult, she moved to Satchidananda Ashram where she served for seven years as head of the photo department, as a pujari at the Chidambaram Shrine in Yogaville, and as a Kirtan leader at Satsang. She continues her yogic journey on the west coast as an Integral Yoga seminarian, with the goal of one day becoming an Integral Yoga Minister. Gayatri’s greatest joy is in the Bhakti practices of puja and kirtan, and in teaching raja yoga and meditation to children.
Sivakami Sonia Sumar is internationally known for her pioneering work using yoga therapy with children. Her innovative techniques and methods have been improving the lives of children with special needs for over 40 years. She owned and directed yoga centers in Brazil and Chicago, where she has achieved remarkable results working with children and adults. She currently travels extensively, conducting workshops and professional training programs to yoga teachers and other professionals throughout the world. She is author of the book Yoga for the Special Child® which has been published in several languages. www.specialyoga.com
Skhawat Ali Khan, (born 1950), son of Indian-Pakistani vocalist Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and nephew of Nazkat Ali Khan is a classical singer of Sham Chaurasia gharana tradition founded in 16th century as well as a performer of North Indian and Pakistani classical music and related folk music. He began singing and playing at age seven and has performed around the world.
Swami Sivasankariananda is director of the San Francisco Sivananda
Yoga Vedanta Center, located in the Sunset. She has been teaching for the organization for 20 years. In addition to asana and pranayama, she teaches Meditation, Positive Thinking, Yantra Painting and Chanting.
She is particularly fond of the Bhakti Yoga practices. She took sannyas early 2017.
Stephen McFarland, CNHP, RYT-500 at Integral Yoga for over 10 years. He grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania with his 9 siblings. Stephen lived in New York City for many years and did his initial Yoga Training at IYI NY. Since moving to San Francisco in 2012 he has worked as an actor, theater administrator, floral designer and yoga instructor. He often staffs the Basic Yoga Teacher Training at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco leading the anatomy and physiology portion of the training, mentors trainees, and leads a variety of Yoga workshops. He has taught at Integral Yoga in NYC and SF, Planet Granite, the JCC, Zomoti Yoga, Fitness SF and The Mindful Body. He continues to pursue his paths in theater, natural healing and teaching yoga. He teaches with an emphasis on alignment and a focus on both flexibility and stabilizing the body to achieve a sense of ease and balance.
Slava Kolpakov, LMT is a writer, marathon runner, Thai massage master, and a yoga philosophy teacher in the Vedanta tradition of Swami Satchidananda.
Slava has been a yoga teacher since 2002, completing several Integral Yoga certifications, and the 750-hour Structural Yoga Therapy training in 2005.
He started teaching Hatha Yoga at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City in 2002, under the guidance of the late Yoga Master Swami Satchidananda.
Since then, Slava has taught yoga, the Yoga Sutras, and Vedanta philosophy at multiple Yoga Teacher Trainings in Boston, MA, and San Diego, CA.
In 2017, he wrote a book of inspiring stories and practical applications of Yogic principles: Threads of Light (available on Amazon).
In addition to teaching yoga, Slava has been a Thai Massage therapist since 2004, and has taught Thai Massage since 2009. He had owned two sports
massage centers in Boston for 11 years, trained and certified thousands of massage therapists around the country in the art of Thai massage, and has worked with
many professional and recreational athletes to treat and prevent athletic injuries. Slava’s book “Thai Massage with Neuromuscular Techniques” was published in May 2022. More information about Slava’s work and training courses can be found at SuryaThaiMassageTraining.com.
Snehan Born, E-RYT 500, has over four decades of experience with yoga. He resides at the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco, where he teaches yoga classes and is a lead teacher trainer. Snehan is certified in all levels of Integral Yoga Hatha and has received additional certifications in Pranayama, Meditation, Raja Yoga and Stress Management from Integral Yoga. Chanting mantras and playing the harmonium are part of his regular practice and classes.
Snehan has lived and traveled extensively within India and practiced with many teachers there. He has taught yoga all over the US as well as in India, Nepal, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan and Europe.
Soleil Hepner, PRYT, C-IAYT, worked in the fast-paced world of High-Tech for 20 years. Being one of the few women in management brought high stress manifesting in chronic back pain, depression and a bout with cancer. Burned-out, Soleil left High-Tech for High-Touch in 2001 finding life-changing results for herself and her clients using the Phoenix Rising Method of BodyMind Yoga Therapy. Soleil has been training therapists since 2005, currently teaches and is Program Director for all three Levels of the IAYT Accredited Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Training Program and Co-Developer of the Bring the Body to Therapy workshops. Soleil has a private practice in San Diego where she specializes in Recovery, Trauma, and Pain. www.SoleilHepner.com
Dr. Steffany Moonaz received her 200-hour yoga teacher training at Yogaville® in 2003, followed by a 500-hr program in yoga therapy at Yama studios in Baltimore, MD. Through her research, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Arthritis Foundation, she worked to develop and evaluate a yoga program specifically for the arthritis population. Dr. Moonaz now serves as the Associate Academic Director of Integrative Health Sciences and as faculty in the Yoga Therapy program at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She also serves as a consultant on yoga research for underserved populations and mentors several emerging researchers. As an athlete and dancer, she has always wanted to bring the gift of joyful movement to persons with chronic pain.
Stephanie Lopez’s teachings are informed by her longtime immersion in the non-dual teachings of Yoga as well as her integration of the wisdom traditions of both Eastern spirituality and Western Psychology. Stephanie’s compassionate presence, depth of knowledge, and ease of being creates a welcoming space for insightful learning. Stephanie is a Licensed Independent Social Worker, Gestalt Therapist, iRest ® Senior Trainer, Retreat Leader and Supervisor, as well as a Certified iRest Teacher and yoga teacher. She also serves as the Director of Operations for the Integrative Restoration Institute. She shares her insights in workshops, retreats, and trainings internationally.
Swami Vidyananda began practicing Yoga in 1969 and has been teaching Integral Yoga® and training Yoga teachers since 1973. She became a swami (monastic) in 1983. She has taught and trained Yoga and meditation teachers throughout the US and Canada, as well as Australia, Europe, and India.
She presently lives at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, VA, where she teaches all branches of Integral Yoga, including Hatha, Raja, and Jnana Yoga, meditation, and yogic lifestyle. She continues to travel widely, training Yoga teachers and offering workshops on meditation, stress management, Yoga and the emotions, and mid-life meaning.
Before becoming a Yoga teacher, Vidyananda worked as a broadcast news producer and reporter. Since 1983, she has produced and edited dozens of Yoga videos and audio recordings for Integral Yoga including the best-selling Yoga with a Master with Swami Satchidananda. Vidyananda herself is featured in audios and videos, including Yoga for Stress Management, Hatha Yoga for the Emotions, and Deep Relaxation and Guided Imagery for Healing.
Over the years, Vidyananda has taught Yoga for many different populations, from college students to corporate managers, and children with Down syndrome. She has taught Yoga in therapeutic programs such as the Smith Center Cancer Retreats and Yoga for persons with eating disorders. She co-developed the Integral Yoga Stress Management Teacher Training. She trained as a hospital chaplain and is a certified Yoga Therapist. Vidyananda founded the Integral Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA), and currently serves as chairperson for the Integral Yoga Teacher’s Council.
Swami Vidyananda served as director of the Montreal Integral Yoga Institute. For many years she traveled with Sri Swami Satchidananda, serving as his French translator. She taught and translated at the European Yoga Union Conference in Zinal, Switzerland, for ten years.
Vidyananda’s wisdom and heartfelt enthusiasm have made her one of Integral Yoga’s most widely traveled teachers. She has a practical approach to Yoga and spirituality, making it real for everyday life.
See more at swamividyananda.com
Swami Vimalananda Ma, RYT500, is an Integral Yoga sannyasi – monk. She has been involved with Integral Yoga since 1971 and Director of the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute from 1992-2011. She specializes in teaching yoga philosophy and spiritual counseling.
Even though Swami Yatidharmananda was born into a very spiritual family and having taken mantra initiation from Gurudev Swami Chidanandaji, Guru of the family, he admits to being “the spoilt kid of a businessman and magician father”. His constant questions and not finding logical answers to them led him to become a non- believer at one point of his life. Things went wrong for him when his father left everything and became a Monk. He dedicated himself to the service of his Guru and was very blessed to be with him 24 x7 for many years. He had the rare opportunity to observe one of the greatest saints and his humility, sadhana and surrender. This had a great impact on him.
In the year 2000 he received Sannyasa Diksha from his Guru. In 2003 he was given the task of upgrading the ashram in the digital domain by his Guru. Swamiji went on to designing many books and also the website for the ashram. He established the Audio Visual Studio and Library and restored rare films of Swami Sivananda. In July 2012 he set out on his own he founded Swami Chidananda Sevashram, a Socio-Spiritual Organisation dedicated to the life and teachings of Gurudev Swami Chidanandaji. It is a monastery for the modern world where people of all ages and backgrounds can live on the principles and practices of Ayurveda for the body, Yoga for the mind and Vedanta for the soul. In 2015 Swami Yatidharmananda got an opportunity to participate and speak at the Parliament of World Religions at Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. From April 2016 to September 2016 he also undertook a tour of USA and Europe to commemorate the 100th Birth Centenary of Gurudev Swami Chidanandaji where he shared the teachings from the life of his Guru as a tribute. In this trip he participated in the 2nd International Day of Yoga at the UN headquarters, New York.
Swami Yatidharmananda conducts workshops on Relaxation and Meditation, Sings Kirtans and loves to share his life transformative time with Gurudev Swami Chidananda.
Many people know Wah! through her music. Her music is used worldwide for yoga, meditation and relaxation. She was featured on iTunes in 2011 with a compilation titled ”Greatest Yoga Music Ever.” In 2012 she started performing her multi-media relaxation event (“Healing Concert”) at planetariums, theatres, expos, conferences and universities throughout the country, including UC Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Loyola Marymount University, and NJ State Museum in Trenton. Ladies Home Journal says she has a “natural gift of music to help people with healing.” www.wahmusic.com
As a teacher, trainer, and facilitator Whitney’s work with individuals and organizations is based on an integrated model to help implement health related change, growth, and advancement in mental, physical and spiritual capacities. Her approach of working with the mind is firmly rooted in Gestalt methodology, positive psychology, contemplative neuroscience, and the science of self compassion. She has coached members of the US Army in combat-readiness (mindfulness) to directly address issues of change fatigue and resiliency during deployment and currently serves as a Coach Training Assistant and Mentor in Duke University’s Integrative Health Coach Training program. She is a frequent lecturer and seminar presenter on topics including resiliency, mindful communication, & leading for optimism and innovation for clients including BlueCrossBlueShield and Kenan-Flagler Business School.
As a yoga teacher, continuing education provider and trainer (including as co-director and faculty of the Balance Through Movement Lead With Compassion yoga teacher training hosted by The University of North Carolina’s Program on Integrative Medicine) her work with the body is trauma-informed, non-dogmatic and supports students to become their own self-care expert through the cultivation of a sustainable yoga practice.
Whitney is a Master of Divinity candidate at Naropa University where she focuses on providing guidance and support for spiritually diverse populations though research backed compassionate care practices.
whitneywilkerson.com
Vaidya Sheena Sooraj is an experienced Ayurvedic practitioner from Kerala, India. Coming from a family with a strong Ayurvedic background, she developed her passion for Ayurveda at a young age, as her grandfather was a well-known Ayurvedic physician and astrologer. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Ayurvedic Medical Science from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. After practicing in India for 14 years, she relocated to America. Vaidya Sheena is currently working at Kerala Ayurveda Academy and wellness center, Milpitas as a core faculty as well as practitioner and a visiting faculty at The Arogya Center, New Mexico. She has successfully managed a wide range of diseases. She is an active advocate of Ayurveda and is an experienced public speaker.She is a panel presenter for the last three years at NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association, USA) and conducts many webinars on Ayurveda.
David Vijay Hassin was the Founding Director of the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco and the first Yogaville West community. He was one of a core group of students of Sri Swami Satchidananda when Sri Gurudev came to New York City and established the first Integral Yoga Institute. He is the author of Modern Yoga Handbook. Vijay is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private psychotherapy practice. He has been including Western and Eastern philosophies in psychotherapy practice for decades. Vijay maintains contact with his gurubais and continues to actively work for the continued promotion and dissemination of Sri Gurudev’s teachings.
Brother Vishwam Heckert is the founder of Flowing with Life (UK) and a Heart Of Living Yoga Teacher, Teacher Trainer & Heart Minister. Originally from Iowa, Vishwam attended Grinnell College before moving to Edinbugh, Scotland where he wrote his PhD on the connections between social movements, anarchist ideas and loving relationships. He is overjoyed to be part of the Spiritual Action Initiative, bringing together his passion for equality and freedom with his dedication to peace, gentleness and the transformative power of love.
Vishwam is also a storyteller, essayist and poet who runs online heart meditation and writing courses. He lives in Shetland, Scotland with his partner Paul. Together, they enjoy watching the dance of the wild seas and growing herbs and vegetables at home.