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Jivana Heyman, C-IAYT, E-RYT500, is the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings. He’s the author of the book, Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body (Shambhala Publications 2019), co-owner of the Santa Barbara Yoga Center, and an Integral Yoga Minister. He lives with his husband and two children in Santa Barbara, California.

Jivana has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. Out of this work, the Accessible Yoga organization was created to support education, training, and advocacy with the mission of shifting the public perception of yoga. In addition to offering Conferences and Trainings, Accessible Yoga offers a popular ambassador program.

Jivana coined the phrase, “Accessible Yoga,” over ten years ago, and it has now become the standard appellation for a large cross section of the immense yoga world. He brought the Accessible Yoga community together for the first time in 2015 for the Accessible Yoga Conference, which has gone on to become a focal point for this movement. There are now two Conferences and over thirty-five Accessible Yoga Trainings per year, as well as a strong underground yoga community supporting them.

Over the past 25 years, Jivana has led countless yoga teacher training programs around the world, and dedicates his time to supporting yoga teachers who are working to serve communities that are under-represented in traditional yoga spaces. For more information head to www.jivanaheyman.com

Susanna Barkataki, M.Ed. E-RYT is a teacher, coach, inclusivity promoter and yoga culture advocate. She helps yoga teachers, studios, nonprofits and businesses become leaders in equity, diversity and yogic values so they can embody thriving yoga leadership with integrity and confidence. Growing up a mixed Indian and British woman in the diaspora has led her to the healing work of honoring yoga as unity. She puts her Honors degree from UC Berkeley, Masters in Education, years of training, retreat in India and the U.S. to use as a modern day yoga diversity consultant. She is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute that has online and in person yoga and diversity trainings. She runs a Yoga Leadership and Safe Space Mastermind, that offers teaching and coaching in small groups so yoga teachers, studios, classes, and programs are well prepared to be inclusive, accessible and welcoming while honoring the roots of yoga. She's the creator of the Honor Don't Appropriate Summit and Honor Yoga's Roots Teacher Training.

Amber Karnes is the founder of Body Positive Yoga. She’s a yoga teacher trainer, ruckus maker, social justice advocate, and a lifelong student of her body. Amber trains yoga teachers and studio owners how to create accessible and equitable spaces for wellness and liberation. She also coaches with folks who want to build unshakable confidence and learn to live without shame or apology in the bodies they have today. She’s the co-creator of Yoga For All Teacher Training, an Accessible Yoga trainer, and a sought-after expert on the topics of accessibility, authentic marketing, culture-shifting, and community-building. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband Jimmy. You can find her at bodypositiveyoga.com.

Melanie “M” Camellia (they/them) is a yoga teacher and advocate, called to create profoundly accessible spaces for self-inquiry by integrating mindfulness and adaptive movement practices with the spirit of social justice. They believe that the goal of yoga, as of life, is collective liberation and in turn challenge contemporary yoga practitioners to dismantle the systems and beliefs that hold us all back. Melanie teaches group and private classes in the Washington DC Metro Area and as a Founding Instructor on the online class platform Core to Coeur. They offer regular workshops exploring queer identity, body image, and agency. Beyond their direct work with students, Melanie co-leads the Yoga & Body Image Coalition and trains teachers in accessible teaching methods for all bodies and abilities through their one-on-one teacher mentorship program and as an Accessible Yoga Trainer, and manages operations for Accessible Yoga Trainings internationally. They’ve been called a “tour-de-force of encouraging radical self-love” (DC Refined) and listed among the “top thinkers and activists in the field of body positivity” (OmStars). Melanie lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with their wife and two cats, Matcha and Chai.

Dani Anderson is the Executive Director of the Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC). Ms. Anderson has been working in the disability advocacy field for over 14 years in the state, federal, and non-profit arenas. She is focused on community education around disability pride and improving communication between individuals with and without disabilities. Dani is a Governor appointed member of the State Independent Living Council (SILC), a member of the Ventura Area Agency on Aging Advisory Committee. She was Chair of the California State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) and a member of the California Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE). Dani has a great appreciation for the Independent Living Movement for providing the opportunity for individuals with disabilities to assist their peers to be more independent through shared experience.

Sarah Elizabeth Helt is a 500+ hr RYT. She began working with Accessible Yoga directly following the first Accessible Yoga Conference in 2015. Sarah currently lives in South Pasadena, California where she teaches individualized sessions for people of all ability levels; specializing in spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and persons with neurological difficulties; she also teaches group lead classes at various locations in East LA, and is currently lead teacher at Hot 8 Yoga (Pasadena). She is deeply involved in this, and other, teacher training programs. Sarah is inspired by her past in the performing arts to help all teacher find their voice, and by her in-depth study of anatomy to make complicated subjects easier to digest. Sarah is light-hearted and compassionate teacher trainer with a fresh perspective on adaptive asana.

Amma Fandiño, RYT500, MSc, has been a devoted yogini for over 28 years and a passionate biologist for 27 years. Certified Integral Yoga and Accessible Yoga teacher. Amma’s passion is to share yoga with communities with challenges and conditions of vulnerability on a physical, mental and emotional level. Her initial teaching experience was in Santa Barbara CA under the support and mentorship of her teachers Rev. Jivana Heyman and Rev. Vidya Vonne (†) to whom she professes immense gratitude for their teachings and their example of life that inspired her on her journey as a yoga teacher. Upon the return to her home country, Colombia, Amma has been dedicated to teaching cancer patients and their caregivers. Her inspiration is to help alleviate pain and support symptom management associated with chronic and terminal diseases, accompanying patients to improve their life quality and their ability to cope with the difficult circumstances of the disease. Another facet of Amma´s vocation is teaching yoga to people with anxiety, depression, and addictions. Amma offered Yoga classes at the Santa Barbara County Jail, CA, and currently teaches in two prisons in Bogota. She dedicates her efforts to provide a space that promotes empowerment, rehabilitation, and healing of those deprived of liberty, as well as supporting their addiction recovery processes. Amma is contributing to the Accessible Yoga Program since 2015 and is a regional representative of the AY group in Spanish. As a Yoga Accessible trainer, she feels honored and fortunate to support the training of yoga teachers in the Spanish-speaking community. She lives in Colombia with her husband and two kids and loves to spend her free time in contact with nature.

Brenda Bakke, PT, M.Ed., C-IAYT, is a Physical and Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) who has successfully integrated yoga methods into her physical therapy practice since 1999. By integrating the ancient teachings of yoga with the developmental and biomechanical systems of physical therapy, Brenda creates individualized movement and mindfulness practices that are fully accessible and promote health and well-being in her students. She focuses on breath awareness to inspire a sense of calm and connection with one’s true self. Brenda has participated in advanced trainings with Sonia Sumar, founder of Yoga for the Special Child (YSC), and has completed in depth studies with Gary Kraftsow. She is an Accessible Yoga Teacher & Trainer and a contributing author of Healing Practices to Help Kids Grow Up Easier. Brenda enjoys teaching yoga and physical therapy workshops around the country and introducing yoga and mindfulness into educational and healthcare settings. Connecting with the elements of nature is vital in her life and in her sharing of yoga. Brenda lives in Seattle, Washington with husband Dennis and dog Otis, and owns Bakke Physical and Yoga Therapy Services.

Mary Gengler Fuhr, OTR/L, RYT, has been an Occupational Therapist for over 35 years and is the founder of Relaxing Resources, PLLC and Maple Valley Pediatric Therapy. She was drawn to yoga about 20 years ago as a way to heal and strengthen after several surgeries. She became interested in pursuing the practice in more depth, becoming a Registered Yoga Teacher in 2009. She now specializes in sharing yoga with people living with autism, sensory processing disorders, anxiety, and other neurodevelopmental and health issues.

Some of the highlights of Mary’s teacher trainings have included Radiant Child Yoga, Yoga Calm Intensive, Relax into Yoga for Seniors, Essential Low Back Intensive, Therapeutic Yoga with Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peel, and the Accessible Yoga Training with Jivana Heyman.

Mary enjoys a variety of outdoor movement activities including skiing, hiking, and biking. She and her husband have 2 grown sons and split their time between living in the Seattle area and Chelan, WA. Mary and Brenda Bakke, PT, have taught a variety of workshops on Yoga and Mindfulness throughout the country for parents, educators, and health care professionals for over 10 years. They are especially excited to be Accessible Yoga Ambassadors and Trainers.

Lakshmi Sutter, C-IAYT, eRYT500, Ph.D., has practiced movement for much of her life. Integral Yoga® captured her heart and mind in the 1990s, and the richness of Yoga began unfolding in her life. With a deep understanding and appreciation of Swami Satchidananda’s teachings, Lakshmi weaves the wisdom from contemporary yogins throughout her practice. She is a trainer of Integral Hatha Yoga teachers at the basic and intermediate levels and enthusiastically shares her fascination with the human body during basic anatomy workshops. Lakshmi served as the Director of the Integral Yoga Academy and the Integral Yoga Teachers Association at Satchidananda Ashram – Yogaville for five years. Her current seva is developing the Integral Yoga Therapeutic Yoga certification program. Lakshmi’s supportive instruction is suitable for a wide range of abilities, with different classes ranging from gentle and restorative to energetic and challenging.