The Presenters
YOGA THERAPY TRACK (YT)
The Research Revolution: Reclaiming Data and Evidence-Based Practice for the Black Yoga Professional
This workshop is designed to transform research literacy from a dry, academic subject into a tool for social justice and community empowerment. For Black yoga teachers and therapists, being research-literate means having the power to protect their communities from one-size-fits-all medical models that often exclude them.
Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, PhD, MSPH, RYT-250, is the Dean W. Colvard Distinguished Professor at UNC Charlotte. Her research concentrates on physical activity, nutrition, and yoga programs aimed at reducing health disparities, especially in cardiovascular risk among Black women. She also teaches community yoga classes.
Charlene Marie Muhammad, a traditional healing practitioner who blends herbal medicine, nutrition, and yoga to promote optimal health. As a licensed dietitian and certified yoga therapist, she also works as a doula and early childhood educator. Additionally, she serves as the Secretary of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance Board.
Jennifer B. Webb, PhD, RYT-200, C-PYT, is a clinical health psychologist and Associate Professor at UNC Charlotte. She directs the WE ARE MIND-BODY KYND Lab, advancing weight-neutral, evidence-based mind-body approaches to support self-regulation, body image, and well-being across diverse populations and life stages.
Reclaiming Brain Health through Science, Culture, and Community
This workshop empowers yoga professionals to become community health stewards through a Brain Longevity® lens. Learn how brain health is a whole-person, multi-generational practice that begins at home and extends into the broader community.
Marilyn Peppers-Citizen, PhD, E-RYT500, C-IAYT, is a yoga therapist, health coach, and assistant professor at Notre Dame of Maryland University. A Brain Longevity® specialist, she focuses on aging well and has served veterans and caregivers. She is a retired Air Force Colonel with a PhD in public policy.
Cathy Watkins, EdD, is a yoga instructor, retired educator, and Scholarship Ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation. A Brain Longevity Specialist, she holds RYT 500 and RCYT certifications and focuses on adaptive yoga, mindful resilience, and compassion fatigue.
Aromatherapy as Ritual: Reclaiming Sensory Healing Practices in Yoga Spaces
Explore aromatherapy as a therapeutic and cultural practice rooted in ancient traditions, including early African and Egyptian use. This interactive workshop examines its modern application in yoga spaces and invites participants to reclaim scent as a respectful, ritual-based practice honoring both plants and people.
Sherry Steine, RYT 500, YACEP, is a certified aromatherapist and educator specializing in yoga therapeutics, Ayurvedic, and trauma-informed aromatherapy. She integrates scent with yin and restorative yoga, breathwork, and meditation to support nervous system regulation and emotional well-being.
Marilyn Peppers-Citizen, PhD, NBC-HWC, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is a yoga therapist, aromatherapist, and educator. She specializes in therapeutic aromatic approaches to support holistic well-being, with a focus on sensory healing environments and advancing aromatherapy research and practice.
Understanding Stroke Recovery: Movement Therapies for Healing
Explore how yoga supports stroke recovery through movement, body awareness, and intuitive healing. Led by stroke survivors and teachers, this session offers practical tools for sustained healing, caregiver support, and self-advocacy, leaving you with a personalized framework to continue recovery beyond traditional rehab.
Kimberly Campbell is a stroke survivor, Pilates and yoga teacher, and movement educator with over 20 years of experience. Drawing from physical therapy, Ayurveda, and leadership in emergency response, she develops personalized practices for healing and empowerment. She is the creator of Healin’ Touch™ and co-creator of the HEAL™ framework.
Reginald Hubbard’s work focuses on community building, supporting activists to find better balance, and guiding the wellness community toward active citizenship. Grounded in yoga and mindfulness, he is a lifelong learner committed to truth, wisdom, peacebuilding, and promoting well-being and justice for everyone.
BUSINESS OF YOGA TRACK (BOY)
The Modern Yoga Entrepreneur: Build Revenue, Leverage Community, and Thrive Through Change
With 40 years of combined experience, Pamela and Ava provide practical strategies for developing sustainable yoga and yoga therapy businesses. Learn to evaluate your business, spot growth opportunities, refine pricing strategies, and embrace collaborative methods to strengthen your foundation, adapt to change, and grow confidently.
Ava Taylor is the Chief Catalyst of YAMA Talent and the Impact Marketing Manager at Kripalu. As a strategist for wellness entrepreneurs, she has supported over 1,000 brands. She is a Yoga Alliance CEU provider, a faculty member, and the author of Your Yoga Business, with features in The New York Times.
Pamela Stokes Eggleston, MBA, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the founder of Yoga2Sleep and the director of the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy. She specializes in sleep, trauma, and holistic wellness, combining yoga therapy and CBT-I to help diverse communities, including veterans and caregivers.
Your Yoga, Clearly: Branding, Messaging, and Websites for Teachers
This interactive workshop helps yoga teachers clarify their message, audience, and offerings. Learn a practical framework to align branding, visuals, and online presence, and create a clear website outline. Gain tools to reduce overwhelm, strengthen connections, and market your work sustainably through partnerships, referrals, and digital platforms.
Sydnea Lewis, RYT 500, is a brand and web strategist, yoga teacher, and professor at Howard University. She is the founder of Creative Obsessions and Busyness and Burnout. Sydnea helps yoga teachers and creatives develop clear, sustainable brands and websites by combining design, business strategy, and mindfulness.
Grants, Contracts, and Donations: Successfully Securing Resources for Your Yoga Programs.
An interactive workshop that offers practical strategies for securing funding for yoga programs through a seva-centered approach. Learn to identify opportunities, build partnerships, and develop strong proposals, while exploring sustainable business practices with an expert who has secured over $125 million in grant funding.
Kimberly Richardson, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is a yoga therapist and founder of Yes, You Yoga and Wellness. She creates inclusive spaces, contributes to research, and serves diverse populations through UAB’s Arts in Medicine program. A lululemon ambassador, she received IAYT’s 2024 John Kepner Seva Award.
DHARMA/MEDITATION TRACK (DM)
Mind Protection with Mantra & Mudra
Explore mantra and mudra as practices to calm the mind and guard the heart. Through sound, hand gestures, and Sanskrit teachings, this session features guided practice, discussion, and group chant to enhance focus, relax the nervous system, and bolster your energetic field.
Kiesha Battles, E-RYT 500, RPYT, CPC, Reiki Master, is the owner of I Am Yoga CLT, a teacher trainer, and a studio manager. A founding BYTA member, she creates inclusive, intergenerational spaces through SAFE Yoga and co-directs the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color, honoring a legacy of community care.
Where You From?
This workshop is a kriya yoga experience that combines storytelling, breathwork, and mindfulness to explore self-discovery, joy, and ancestral roots. Through rhythm and reflection, participants learn to regulate their nervous system, move past suffering, and develop balance, calmness, and a deeper connection to themselves, their culture, and their community.
Tamara Cress (Tam JoyRising) is a dharma teacher and trauma-informed yoga and meditation instructor. Drawing on experience as a life coach and speech-language therapist, she brings mindfulness to community spaces and teacher trainings, integrating creativity and storytelling. She has been featured in Yoga Journal and teaches at Kripalu
Divinely Connected and Empowered: How Your Practice Changes the World
Denise A. Alston, PhD, RYT-500, YACEP, has been teaching yoga since 2003. Grounded in the Sri Vidya tradition and trained at Kripalu, she conducts classes, trainings, and philosophy-rich courses across the country, helping practitioners deepen their personal practice.
Sound as Spiritual Practice
The exploration of sound as a spiritual practice rooted in Kemetic and Indic traditions. Using voice, body, and sacred instruments, this workshop invites deep listening and vibrational awareness to access healing, expand consciousness, and connect beyond words into the space between sound and silence.
Reginald Hubbard, ERYT 500, YACEP, is the founder/Chief Serving Officer of Active Peace LLC. Reggie Hubbard’s work centers on community building, supporting activists with greater balance, and guiding the wellness community toward engaged citizenship. Rooted in yoga and mindfulness, he is a lifelong student devoted to truth, wisdom, peacebuilding, and advancing well-being and justice for all.
EMBODIMENT/TEACHING METHODOLOGY TRACK (ETM)
Yoga in the Village: Teaching Beyond the Studio
This interactive workshop equips yoga teachers to offer inclusive, culturally rooted practices in community settings. Learn partnership strategies, accessible techniques, and ways to create welcoming spaces. Includes a brief practice and practical tools to share yoga with authenticity, respect, and relevance across diverse communities.
Nazaahah Ama Amin, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT, is a yoga therapist and educator with 15+ years of community-based practice. Founder of Ama Wellness and co-founder of Bmore Empowered, she teaches at Morgan State and is a two-time IAYT Seva Award recipient supporting Black girls in Baltimore.
Intro to Teaching Trauma Sensitive Yoga
This interactive workshop introduces trauma-sensitive yoga teaching with practical tools and cultural awareness. Explore trauma, self-regulation, and the shift to invitational language. Learn to create safer, empowering spaces while enhancing cueing, presence, and mindfulness-based approaches for inclusive, community-centered teaching.
Asia Vianna M. Leak, E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP, LCPC, is the Chief Visionary Yogi of Love Yoga Studio and the Director of its Yoga School. She develops teacher trainings and leads retreats, preparing teachers to create inclusive, heart-centered spaces rooted in yoga philosophy and consistent practice.
Return to Wholeness: Healing the Parts of Ourselves We’ve Had to Hide.
Courtney Brame is a yoga teacher and yoga therapist in training who uses the eight limbs of yoga to support healing and reduce stigma. As the founder of the Something Positive for compassionate connections.
CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES
Sunrise Yoga for the Happy Heart
Sunrise Yoga for the Happy Heart begins the day with a joyful, all-levels yoga flow linking breath and movement. Through playful sequences, dance, balancing poses, breathwork, and meditation, participants explore ease, self-expression, and mindful movement while building from foundational postures to personal comfort and relaxation.
Marcia Faye McGee is a Kripalu-trained yoga teacher dedicated to serving diverse communities through youth, mindfulness, and community-based programs. She teaches in foster care and juvenile justice settings, leads Storytime Yoga at the Flint Public Library, and is a recipient of the 2025–2026 Kripalu Diversity Service Practicum grant.
Yoga for Grief
Yoga for Grief is a gentle, heart-centered practice that uses movement, breath, sound, journaling, and meditation to support healing through loss and life transitions. Participants are guided to create space for grief, reconnect with love, and cultivate ease, resilience, and emotional balance within a supportive community environment.
Robin Blackwell, RYT-500, is a yoga teacher, sound practitioner, and mindfulness coach based in Charlotte, NC. A Y12SR Peer Specialist and certified Laughing and Grief Yoga instructor, she creates joyful, community-centered spaces and integrates yoga on and off the mat as a corporate professional.
You Don’t Have to Touch the Floor: Teaching Hanumanasana with Technical Mastery for Maximum Inclusion
This practice reimagines Hanumanasana as an accessible, intelligently sequenced practice for all bodies. Explore alignment, stability, props, and preparatory postures while drawing inspiration from Hanuman’s story. Teachers will gain practical tools to confidently guide students toward their own expression of the pose.
Julie Holley has guided seekers toward wholeness through soma, soul, and skill since 2003. A Howard University graduate, E-RYT 500, Certified Trainer, Nutrition Coach, Cancer Exercise Specialist, and Energy Healer, she is also the author of Breath by Breath: A Journey of Yoga & Loss. Her classes are known for education, integrity, and laughter. Find her at JulieSHolly.com.