Lamu Yoga Retreat Teachers
Monika Fauth is the owner of Banana House and founder of the Lamu Yoga Festival. She has been teaching yoga since 2000. Monika’s training and certification comes through the Art of Living.
Monika is an energetic, enthusiastic, radiant soul who always seeks opportunities for personal growth while bringing inspiration and joy to the people in her community.
Her current inspiration is to bridge the gap between cultures by bringing in more wisdom for women and to establish a Happiness center “Furaha, be happy & serve”.
Joanne Ball – Burgess (B.A., M.Ed) , a resident of Nairobi, Kenya & citizen of the world was born and raised in Bermuda.
Joanne’s journey towards yoga began with dance. She has formal training in West African Dance, Modern Contemporary dance, Lyrical & Ballet coupled with East African traditional dances, Hip Hop & Dancehall as well as some dabbling in Musical Theatre. Joanne believes that dance for her is a gift and that her gift of freedom through dance helps to liberate, bring healing and health to others.
Joanne completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification through Yoga Zanzibar. She is certified to teach Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga-based Flow and Yin Yoga along with Yoga Nidra. She is an intuitive healer and dream interpreter by nature.
Joanne brings a unique approach to her Vinyasa Flow practice where one is able to explore dance-integrated fluidity. This unique approach provides the space for moving meditation of exuberant joy and expression.
Better known throughout East Africa by her stage name Judge Jo‑1, she is a multitalented dancer in jazz funk, hip hop afro-fusion, dancehall and dance fitness. She is also a choreographer, singer, songwriter, author and educator. As the longest serving female judge for East Africa’s widely acclaimed dance competition show “Sakata Mashariki” on Citizen TV, Jo‑1 emerged as the unparalleled breath of fresh air the dance industry lacked thus generating her a beloved fan base.
Jo‑1 earned her Master’s in Education in 2008 where her research was based in understanding how the performing arts can enhance the learning model in school curricula. She has taught, performed, judged and choreographed dance in the USA, Israel, Cyprus, Egypt, Bermuda, Rwanda, China, Uganda & Kenya.
Salim Rollins is the Co-director of Synergy Yoga, a registered Yoga Alliance school that offers international teacher trainings, retreats and workshops in yoga, Thai massage, meditation and other healing modalities.
He has maintained a dedicated yoga practice since 2000 and studied with several master teachers throughout India and the U.S. He has curated numerous wellness festivals and retreats including Nairobeing: The Wellness Experience; the Divine Feminine, Sacred Masculine retreat series; and Yoga on Dub among others. His approach to his personal practice, and facilitation as a teacher, centers around the liberation of pain and suffering and a reconnection with the divine self.
In addition to his work within the yoga community, Salim is a Contra-Mestre of the Afro-Brazilian martial art, Capoeira Angola, an art form that he has been practicing since 1995. He is the founder of Kibera Rising – a community program that uses Capoeira Angola, breakdance, and a teen girls’ empowerment workshop to impart critical life skills and offer expanded choices to youth in Nairobi’s Kibera slum.
Capoeira philosophy has had a profound impact on Salim’s approach to facilitating wellness events including the incorporation of community circles, and an emphasis on cultivating an intuitive practice that enables students to find the source of their healing within. Most recently Salim has launched his practice as a Thai massage therapist having studied with Francisco Morales-Bermúdez. Salim deeply values his mission of sharing healing practices and curating wellness spaces with communities throughout the world.
Voted one of the top 43 naturopathic doctors worldwide, Dr. Ameet has helped thousands of people around the world heal from trauma, anxiety, depression and chronic disease by combining naturopathic & functional medicine, gestalt psychotherapy, family constellations therapy, EMDR and homeopathy. His bestselling book and free online course on drameet.com will help you heal your mind and body together with emotional release techniques and holistic medicine.
Link and Logo: www.drameet.com — Free Video Course To Heal Your Mind & Body
As a curious young yogi over 18 years ago, Nyamwathi started practicing in her apartment from a little Yoga 101 book she found at the bookstore. Over the years, she was able to explore and learn more about the yogic path through teachers & classes in the USA & West Africa.
Exploring the worlds of Vinyasa Flow, Hatha Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Ashtanga, Baptiste (Power) Yoga, Bikram (Hot) Yoga, Kundalini, Kemetic Yoga and Yin Yoga and discovering her preferences and styles. After more than a decade of studying and practicing, she followed her calling and took her practice to the next level of her journey, leaving a lucrative career as a senior creative writer and partner at Ogilvy advertising to teach yoga full time.
Nyamwathi Gichau is now an Experienced Internationally Registered Yoga Teacher (E‑RTY 200) with over 1,000 Hours teaching experience. Receiving her Hatha, Vinyasa & Yin Yoga Certification in 2016 in the Art & Science of Yoga from the Yoga Alliance Registered (RYS) Zanzi Yoga School; she teaches Intuitive Vinyasa Flow, Alignment Based Hatha, Office Yoga, Restorative & Yin Yoga classes for all levels.
She specializes in curating personalized one-on-one sessions tailored to the uniqueness of each individual and has helped her students ease chronic pain, understand their minds and honor their bodies.
She is also a certified KinAesthetic® and Reiki® Therapist with a BA in Psychology. As an advocate for self-mastery, each of her classes incorporates a holistic approach to yoga (union) using breath work (pranayama), intuition, anatomy awareness, mindfulness, energy healing, aromatherapy and meditation.
She can be found teaching her personalized sessions, themed group classes and integrated workshops at Kanga Yoga Studio, Dojo Wellness Club & Ikigai (Nairobi), Kilifi Wellness Festival (Kilifi) and at Prism Yoga Studio (Dakar, Senegal).
For more on her schedule & classes; please visit yogininyamwathi.com
Instagram & Facebook:
Marcella started practicing yoga in 1998 with her Tibetan Dzogchen Master Namkai Norbu Rimpoche in Italy. During that time, she also became a practitioner of Reiki Levels 1 and 2.
After moving to Lamu, she continued to practise yoga with the local yoga community. In 2018, Marcella graduated from the Karuna Yoga Journey 200h TT held in Lamu and YIN YOGA TT 100 hours in 2020.
Marcella’s journey continued and she developed an interest for sound as a tool for healing, she is a Gong Practitioner graduate of Torino, Italy, with Jens Zygar a Gong scientist
Using a mix of sound healing tools she developed a practice of quantum healing and sound and she is passionate about it.
Born and raised in Kenya, Kelly has made quite a name for himself as a talented, dedicated and qualified yoga teacher and once a trainer to International supermodel Naomi Campbell.
Kelly is trained and qualified as a Power vinyasa flow yoga teacher with the Africa Yoga Project and has been teaching yoga since 2013. He is also an experienced Hatha yoga and Sup Yoga(Paddle Board Yoga) teaching daily classes in Lamu. He also facilitate and organizes teacher trainings in Lamu. In his practice as a yoga teacher and organizer of monthly yoga retreats in Lamu, Kelly has been able to meet, interact and socialized with people from all walks of life. He is also the vice chairperson of Lamu Yoga Festival.
Lamu Yoga Festival Teachers
Born and raised in Kenya, Aja Krystall is a Vinyasa, Yin and Dru Yoga teacher. Aja believes that yoga and meditation are paths that can be used to positively change our very wiring and blast the heart wide open. She teaches asana, meditation and yogic philosophy to help others experience the magic that is this creation, and to find a connection with their higher selves. She is also passionate about Ayurveda, as well as healthy cooking as a form of service and connecting to Mother Earth. Aja will teach Dru Yoga at the festival
Alexandra is registered with Fitness Australia as a qualified fitness leader and Yoga Alliance International in Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow. She presents her classes internationally in Australia, Africa and Europe and is a personal yoga trainer to supermodel Naomi Campbell. Alexandra blends years of experience as a fitness instructor and yoga teacher into YogaCore™, SUP yoga and Qigong/Yogaflow (a combination of Qigong breathing and creative flow to strengthen the body and increase the immune system). All Alexandra’s classes encompass fluid asanas focused on core strength yoga combinations, guaranteed to challenge and balance mind, body and soul.
Amina Foramitti is a Health Coach, with additional coursework on hormones. Trained and certified by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN), the leading global nutrition school, empowering people to transform the world (www.integrativenutrition.com)
As a Health Coach, Amina is passionate about acting as a supportive mentor and wellness authority helping clients feel their best through food and lifestyle changes by tailoring individualized wellness programs to meet their clients’ needs.
She uses a holistic or integrative approach to both diet and lifestyle changes to improve their clients’ health. Working as a guide towards an overall healthier life, Amina considers her clients’ nutrition patterns, relationships, physical fitness, spirituality, and more.
Amina is also yoga teacher, having undergone a 2‑year teacher training that included sanskrit, meditation, ayurveda and history.
She regularly hosts workshops and wellness retreats
Amina is from Argentina, but home is now Nairobi, where she lives with her husband and 3 children.
Andrea founded AER Africa social circus in Kenya April of 2017. Since its humble beginnings, AER Africa has opened its very own Nairobi studio and continues to be the premier provider of Aerial Fitness, Aerial Yoga and Flow Art Performance offering wellness retreats, school programs, classes, workshops and entertainment across East Africa. Their DARE to AER scholarship addresses the high unemployment rate among young adults in Kenya by offering recipients free training, occupational skills, business advice and employment. Their passion is to empower the next generation of movement leaders.
Ashley Onyango has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and became a Certified Yoga Instructor with Core Power Yoga in the U.S. in 2013. She teaches an invigorating style of Power Vinyasa Yoga and has continued her yoga training in Power Yoga for Sports, providing a stronger element of alignment and yoga for injury prevention and rehabilitation in her teaching. Ashley’s classes focus on the trifecta of toning, increasing flexibility and building strength. She loves to see the change that yoga brings to her students, both physically and mentally.
ASSISTING TEACHER
Awham Mohamed Ali is a Lamu-born and raised yoga instructor who trained with the Africa Yoga Project in 2017. Before getting his 200-hour certification, he practices yoga for six years. Awham likes to combine vinyasa flow with hatha yoga, and gives community classes to Safari Doctors staff and Lamu locals exploring the practice. He is the in-house yoga instructor at Fatuma’s Tower, guest relations manager at Msafini Hotel, and member of the Lamu Tourism Association. He is grateful that yoga provides him with the opportunity to travel and explore other cultures, places and practices.
Benny has been practicing Hatha and Iyengar yoga since she was 15 years old but only discovered Yin Yoga in 2015. Since then she has never looked back and continues training in, and teaching this wonderful practice wherever and whenever she can. Having trained under the founder of Yin Yoga, Paul Grilley as well as his senior assistants, Jo Phee and Joe Barnett, her style focuses on long held poses with a functional approach, cultivating a sense of self awareness and stillness that is much needed in this day and age. (RYT 200 Yoga Alliance certified yin yoga teacher)
Bernard is an acrobat and yoga instructor, certified in Baptiste yoga and Acroyoga. He has been practicing yoga for 9 years and acroyoga for 4 years. Since taking his teachers training, Acroyoga became Bernard’s passion that changed his life. Within his classes, Bernard likes to use his acrobatic background to bring people together and helps them discover more about their bodies.
Bernard has trained as an Aerial Yoga instructor with AER Africa and graduated from “Dare to AER: Aerial and Flow Arts scholarship program”
Christel has been a Yoga teacher for the last 25 years.
In her classes she combines elements of different styles into a unique blend where movement, flowing sequences, precision work in Asanas or a sequence of Kundalini Kriyas take the focus of a class.
Born in Germany and living in Nairobi/Kenya since 1988, she is a practising Yoga teacher (Yoga Vidya, Yoga Alliance), Focus Trainer and Bio-Resonance Practitioner.
Her Focus during this festival will be Kundalini inspired Flow Classes with an emphasis on building awareness for your own life-energy and activating self-healing through movement.
Deborah is an Ayurvedic practitioner and Yoga instructor currently living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has studied and practiced Ayurveda and Yoga at the American University of Complementary Medicine in Beverly Hills, California and has achieved a certificate from the renowned international Sivananda Yoga Vendanta Forest Academy in Vrindavan, India.
After completing her studies, she started her journey teaching yoga in Europe, the United States and currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Her aim is to serve people with the ancient and traditional knowledge of yoga and Ayurveda by providing practices of discipline and awareness of the body, mind and spirit.
In 2013, she opened the very first Ayurveda and Yoga center – Tulsi, Ayurvedic Massage, Yoga and Wellness Center in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Tulsi is an oasis for regeneration and continues to offer a range of services dedicated to bringing peace and harmony to individuals of different demographics. Some of her services include; Yoga, Yoga retreats, Pilates and Ayurvedic treatments — massages, consultations and workshops.
The Center offers yoga lessons several times a week, with classifications of beginner, all-level, prenatal and kids yoga, they do this so everyone has a chance to experience the unlimited positive effects yoga can bring.
When giving an Ayurvedic massage, they use special handcrafted organic oils and herbs to aid in deep nourishment of cells, tissues and energy channels, maximizing the healing process. They believe using these Ayurvedic oils is a potent contributor in maintaining harmony and balance.
Born and raised in New York City, I have been teaching yoga since June 2012 and practicing since 1999. I truly love being on my mat and working with new students reminds me of infinite possibilities. I have completed Bikram Yoga Teacher Training and have taught in several countries. I love deepening my practice and guiding others to deepen theirs. I teach Bikram (2012), Baptiste (2016), Yin (2016), Nidra (2016) and Ashtanga-based vinyasa flow (2017). My consistent Bikram Yoga practice helped me heal my heart, mind and body. Showing up for myself on my mat regularly transformed my body and my life — I lost over 70 pounds, left financial services, and found my way to the other side of grief after a death of a loved one. As an athlete/dancer for most of my life I have found physical healing and therapy in my practice. From torn ligaments to broken toes, pre/post-surgery, and plantar fasciitis, etc. my mat is one of my self-care tools and I hope to help you find that peace and power on your mat too. Whether it is a happy day, sad day, and/or painful day if you show up on your mat you will thank yourself.
Dionne teaches at www.bikramyogaharlem.com and www.bodenyc.com. When in Kenya, she teaches for www.bikramyoganairobi.com. You can follow her journeys on social media:
Twitter: @joyousocean
Instagram: @asuoabena
Blog: www.joyousocean.com
Fred is a certified yoga instructor from Africa Yoga Project (AYP), and has joined the AYP Academy. After dancing for many years, he tried yoga and immediately fell in love. It was here that his journey of being a yoga instructor began. He completed his first 200hr Baptiste power yoga vinyasa teacher training in Nairobi and Naivasha, led by Paige Elenson, the co-founder of the Africa Yoga project, and Kristine Mooney, a Baptiste yoga senior teacher. Prior to this training, he had been partaking in various types of yoga as his practice, which allowed him to become a more powerful teacher.
He later became certified in Art of Assisting, Baptiste Art of assisting and Thai massage therapy training, a yoga teacher training catering to children with special needs, led by Sonia Sumar (known as Shiva Karmy). This yoga type is a therapeutic approach for infants and children with down syndrome and cerebral palsy. He also did Acro yoga teacher training, and later completed a human anatomy class in 2016 to better understand the human body through a yoga practice
He chose to become a yoga teacher because of his own transformation he had through the practice. His inspiration is giving back to the community the gift that was shared to him.
Heran Tadesse was adopted from Ethiopia and raised in the Netherlands.
As a university student she got introduced to yoga, 17 years ago.
‘At the first class I got introduced to Hatha Yoga, I immediately fell in love with the practice. I knew it would become a major part of my life’.
In 2014 after several months of training with her midwife, she became a pregnancy yoga teacher with her Midwife.
Since the amazing benefits of the Women’s Health Classes allowed her to be stronger and more flexible during delivery, she urgently felt the need to share the tools.
In 2018, she became a certified Kemetic yoga teacher in Egypt with the Master teacher Yirser Ra Hotep.
This deepened her practice and allowed for her classes to be more aligned with ancient African practices.
Heran has 6 years of experience teaching yoga.
She is a mother of 3 children now, and the family has been living in Ethiopia for the past 10 years.
She participated in the Lamu Yoga Festival in 2019, and in 2020 she will be teaching Kemetic Yoga
Kathy is an international yoga teacher currently based in Singapore. Although yoga and complementary health was always in her family, she only picked up yoga as a teenager during a spiritual seeking shortly after her mother passed. Through her practice, she learned to how find solace, balance and ease.
This later hugely influenced the way she connects and teaches her students. Teaching since 2013, her classes draw from many different traditions which weave into an intuitive blend of Hatha, Kundalini, Yin, restorative and massage therapy. She is also a trained sound healer and often incorporates sound therapy and mantra invocation in her classes. Through breath, philosophy and movement, she hopes to help you find what feels good and ultimately cultivate a deeper connection with yourself. Having led over 20 retreats in various locations around Asia since 2016, Kathy enjoys creating and holding space for others to further their personal development and spirituality.
When she’s not leading workshops and retreats, she runs a mentorship programme for newly trained and seasoned yoga teachers alike who are aspiring to turn their passion into a successful business. She also runs a leading community collective called Urban Yogis in Singapore. Working with a community of Teachers from all over the world, Urban Yogis offers a unique, fun and accessible way for everyone to enjoy yoga outside of the traditional studio setting.
Yoga is a daily practice of surrendering to the power of now and honoring one’s truth. My inspiration and creativity come from a life fuelled by love, honesty and courage and the journey of acceptance and trust. I believe in the value of conscious movement that cultivates strength, flexibility and awareness
My teaching style consists of fun, intuitive flowing asanas that inspire curiosity about the body and invite an internal feeling of awakening. I like to weave pranayama and yoga philosophy into the practice and I am excited when a student transcends his or her own boundaries.
My students can expect to be lead through an intelligent sequence of postures, with hands on adjustments and helpful alignment cues designed to build deeper communication between the body and mind. I am a shiatsu practitioner and reiki level II. My love for the subtle body as well as physical body can be identified in the way I teach. I support the health of the physical body, whilst producing a positive influence on ones inner landscape. In 2017 I began leading 200hr Yoga Teacher Trainings. Every cell in my body, my intuition, my heart, my gut and my soul are screaming that I have found my dharma. 2018 will see me co leading a Yoga Teacher Training at Banana House in Lamu after the Festival ends.
Leo Lourdes is the founder of Yogasphere known for yoga in rooftops, retreats and planting trees. He has been practising yoga and helping his clients transform their lives for over 18 years on Harley Street, London. He specialises in Hatha Yoga, Mind Body Yoga and Vinyasa Flow classes. As a Harley street therapist and coach, Leo creates a naturally relaxed, fun and inspiring environment in his yoga classes and retreats to explore and create awareness within the body and overcome challenges through yoga and meditation. He is also a singer-songwriter and works on a variety of music projects. Oprah Winfrey described Leo as ‘the singing yogi’. One day he was sitting on his couch listening to his client express their problems and it dawned on him that his client could benefit from yoga and not just the ‘talking cures’ of therapy and coaching. It made perfect sense to him to merge the two aspects of psychology and yoga as an absolute alignment of his purpose. Leo is particularly interested in the psycho-physical benefits of yoga. He believes that yoga practice and philosophy provides a great framework for an individual to connect and explore themselves and their world. In his view, yoga is actually a phenomenal tool to empower people in their modern lives to transcend and reach a euphoric, authentic space in themselves. He finds that flexibility is key to having a more fulfilling life and that we all should bend more, so we do not break. He lives in Primrose Hill, London
Madhvi focuses on self empowerment and how to tap the strength within. She uses aromatherapy during her practice too, and every class is different. Madhvi devises her own flow and includes Pranayama, Mudra and Bandha. She also uses various meditation/visualization techniques including Chakra cleansing to augment the flow of energy during her class.
Mareen Pasedag is a Holistic Healer and Medium. Her main tools are Quantum Healing, Spiritual Life Consulting, Massage, Nutrition and teaching Yoga, which she all combined in her concept LANI Berlin. LANI stands for Love — Accept — Nourish — Inspire. Her mission is to assist people to find acceptance and love within themselves and to learn to treat themselves the best way possible. And by doing so, inspiring others to do the same.
Her spiritual journey and search for answers really began as a child and was taken on a deeper path when she got introduced to Yoga in 2005. She practiced Hatha, Kundalini and Bikram Yoga until she moved into becoming a teacher herself in 2016. Her trainings include Sivananda Yoga, Pre & Postnatal and 5 Elements Yin & Yang Hatha Yoga.
Especially the profound movement of energy with the 5 elements Yoga won her heart. Combining the energetic aspects of working with the meridian lines known from Chinese Medicine while doing Yoga. The ability to align all elements within you by practicing Yoga is a tool she also uses on her Fasting & 5 Elements Yoga Retreats she offers twice a year in Europe. Mareen is based in Berlin and focused to work more internationally.
Instagram: lani_berlin_
Facebook: laniberlin
Web: lani-berlin.de
Sound healer, travel blogger, backpacker, child of the earth, meditator on rocks, giver of loving hugs, simple soul of love.
Narissa Allibhai is a sound healing practitioner trained in Nepal and India. She works with the Tibetan singing bowls, to cleanse and activate the chakras, send one into a deep transcendental meditation, iron out mental and emotional stresses, and loosen up body and energetic blockages.
Under her practice, “Child of the Earth,” Narissa teaches Nada yoga, Hatha yoga, Pranayama and various forms of meditation. She works with the earth energy as guide and channel for all her practices and life decisions. During her sessions, she tends to the individual needs of her students or clients, and works from a deep space of love. People describe their experience as calming, relaxing, rejuvenating, healing, transforming, transporting and transcendent.
She is digging deep into the roots of Afrikan spirituality (Kenya being the land of her birth) and Asian spirituality (India being the land of her blood).
Website: http://nomadgirltales.com/sound-healing/
FB 1: Child of the Earth — Sound Healing Ke
FB 2: Nomad Girl Tales
IG & Twitter: @nomadgirltales (Child of the Earth)
@nomadgirltales (Child of the Earth) on FB, IG, Twitter
Nitin Dawar is Art of Living’s international faculty & an eminent singer. An MBA in finance with a decade of successful corporate career with top MNCs, Nitin is now dedicated to serving the society through his motivational skills & music. He teaches Art of Living’s Happiness Program, Wellness Program, Corporate programs, Youth Leadership & Empowerment, Yoga program & more. Also a graduate in India classical music, he is a composer, writer, guitarist « a live performer with many music albums to his credit crossing millions of views online,
After attending his first Art of Living workshop , Nitin experienced a transformation within which reaffirmed his strong urge to serve the humanity. The first meeting with the founder of the Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, inspired him «: gave him a vision for his life. After completing the teacher’s training, he bid adieu to his corporate life and embarked upon a journey of self-discovery & service. In last 10 years, he has traveled extensively across the globe to conduct various programs & music concerts.
In India, Nitin is considered a youth icon for his substantial role in the historic “India Against Corruption” movement initiated by Sri Sri, Anna Hazare & other notable social activists of India in 2011. As a core member of the movement, he has written, composed & sung many patriotic & motivational songs which became the anthems across the country. He has been a guest celebrity singer in Zee TV”s popular show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”. His very popular theme songs for big social movements like “Yamuna River Cleaning” and “Clean Delhi Drive” became household names « motivated people to come on the grounds to serve enthusiastically thus proving that music can unite people for a cause.
Nitin has worked extensively in African continent in countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Malawi etc. He conducted Youth Leadership Training Program in Kibera — the biggest slum in whole Africa joined by youths from 4 different slums. He initiated “Smile Africa” — a workshop to inculcate health, wellness, yoga, meditation, breathing techniques, fitness & music into the lives of local residents of Africa. These programs have gained popularity with thousands of youth joining & getting benefits out of it. He has also taught & transformed thousands of hardcore prisoners in 4 different prisons in Africa including some remote areas.
Nitin’s vision is to spread peace, humanity & music to the whole World helping people live stress free, healthy & happy life.
Olivia works and plays as an artist, loves as a Mama, and meditates as if her hair is on fire.
She jumped into meditation for the first time at a four-day silent Vipassana retreat in the United States, 22 years ago. She instantly saw the benefits and a path that she was to follow through her life.
Her primary teacher, Rodney Smith, (who was a teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society), gave her permission in 2018 to start teaching meditation and mindfulness, including kindness, compassion and empathy. So, Olivia started the Beginner’s Mind Meditation Group in Nairobi, where she teaches and facilitates weekly Vipassana meditation (a very kind and gentle form of Vipassana meditation).
Originally from France, Oriane was introduced to Yoga in 1997 while living in Sri Lanka where she was working in the garment textile industry.
For the past 15 years + she has been dedicated to share her love for Yoga through teaching traditional styles, Pranayama and soft restorative yoga.
She is trained in the Dharma Mittra yoga tradition with the Master in NYC and will be teaching this approach of Yoga at the Festival. Rooted in Ahimsa, Dharma Yoga is a devotional practice based on the ancient teaching. Sessions will integrate breathing and meditations, offering different variations of asanas for all levels of practitioners.
dharmayogacenter.com/about/what-is-dharma-yoga/
Oriane is a certified Health and wellness coach, www.healthbyo.com. She supports her clients to help them find a balanced happy life style, acting on all aspects of their life; nutrition, relationships, carrier, spirituality. She offers 1 on 1 or group programs and workshops.
Oriane organizes Well-Being Safaris and runs Yoga Retreats around East Africa and Europe.
Certified by the yoga alliance and the Centered Yoga Institute, Oriane qualified as a Yoga Instructor in 2004. She keeps on studying Yoga asanas, philosophy and anatomy and has practiced a variety of yoga styles including Ashtanga, Flow, Vinyasa, Yin, Scaravelli, Dharma, Yoga Nidra and recovery Yoga. Oriane instructs yoga novices and advanced practitioners, and also guides through Yoga Therapy to help with a variety of mind and body related issues. Over the years she has developed a refined style and a great passion for teaching. Her approach to yoga is compassionate and rooted in the core traditions of classical yoga.
For more info on classes, venues and retreats visit;
instagram.com/orianeyogahealth
write to oriane.torode@gmail.com
Pablo Menfesawe- Imani BA (Hons), BSY, (YRT) ITEC is the founder of Afrikan Yoga, a system of integral healing with Ancient Egyptian origins known as Tama-re Smai Taui. Pablo is a certified Hatha Yoga teacher, a Holistic Health and Wellbeing Consultant and Author of Afrikan Yoga ‘A Practical Guide to Smai Posture, Breath and Meditation.’ He is also a Massage therapist, and Balanced Health practitioner trained in Kinesiology.
He is an initiate of Ipsalu Tantra Kiya Yoga founded by Bodhi Avinasha taught by Master Sunyata Saraswati from the order of Saraswati ordained by Mahavatar Babaji Nagaresh. He was initiated into a Sufi order in 1996 and The Ancient Egyptian Order in 2000. Pablo studied Isha Kriya Yoga designed by Sadhguru J.Vasudev and is initiated as a Hem Netcher ‘Servant of Spirit’ by Heri Khafra Ndongo Kemetic High Priest of the Temple of the White and Gold Lotus Shrine of Amen-Ra, based in Georgia USA.
He has attended several Vipassana retreats and trained in Meditation under the tutelage of the Venerable Bhante Buddharakkhita of Theraveda Buddhist Meditation tradition. He served as the principle Yoga teacher at the Uganda Buddhist Centre in Uganda for 2 years. He was also mentored by Dr Laila O Afrika and trained as a nature-path under his tutelage, and Dr Sekagya Yahayam of the Dr Sekagya Institution of Traditional Medicine at the Traditional Healers Forest School at Buyijja, Uganda.
Pablo spoke and provided yoga at The Global Peace Initiative of Women held at the United Nations HQ in Nairobi Kenya & Olari Nyiro/Laikipia Nature Conservancy Kenya. He is currently mentored by Swami Madhusudan Das based in London UK.
He teaches naturally and his style is user friendly. He assists practitioners in body awareness, listening to the body, and breathing into a psycho-spiritual state. Pablo concentrates on balancing emotions, detoxifying and de-stressing bodily system.
He has delivered dynamic yogic workshops and classes in the UK, France, Germany, Holland and Africa. Clients include Corporate Professionals, Personal Trainers, Athletes, Teachers, Dancers, Students, and people from all walks of life.
www.pabloimani.com
Paul teaches Dru Yoga and Dru Meditation at Watamu.
Dru is a graceful and potent form of yoga, based on soft flowing movements, directed breathing and visualization. Dru works on body, mind and spirit—improving strength and flexibility, creating core stability, removing energy blockages, building a heightened feeling of positivity, and deeply relaxing and rejuvenating your whole being.
People call Dru the ‘yoga of the heart’ — come and open your heart in a Dru Yoga session.
Shambhavo is a therapist, meditator, and teacher, based in Italy and India. He has a bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, presented with honors in Italy, from the University of Padua and Bologna.
He’s a member of the A.P.A. – American Psychology Association – the E.F.P.A. – European Federation of Psychologists – and many other psychological Associations.
His personal journey into consciousness started at a very early age. As a teenager, he experienced the momentary realization of the Self, also known in transpersonal psychology as Peak-Experience. The internal shift he went through was so deep and radical that he began, at that age, the study of meditation and philosophy.
Over the last 35 years, he has trained extensively in both psychological, spiritual methodologies and meditation. His travels took him to Central America, India, Nepal, and North America, where he worked with shamans, teachers and masters of all kinds. He has studied their unique spiritual traditions, in conjunction with, and complemented by, the most prominent figures in the field of psychotherapy and psychology.
Today his spiritual background is a wide variety of wisdom traditions and experiences and his proven therapeutic training and interests are, in-depth psychology, sexual traumas, group psychodynamic, transpersonal psychology and the healing application of meditation and meditative awareness.
Since 2008 he is one of the leaders and facilitators of the Path of Love Process, a powerful transformational journey in the field of Humanistic – Existential Psychology. He facilitates this process worldwide, offered in five different countries and in three different languages.
He is also a facilitator of deep de-conditioning work, where through the process as “Primal” and “Freedom from the Past”, he guides people to face their own shadow, false beliefs and releasing childhood traumas and negative parental conditioning.
His approach is a combination of Depth Psychology and Meditation Method, with emotional awareness and the sensitivity of the body as an important part of his work.
Rosanna strongly believes in living with a passionate heart, open mind and with an authenticity that is rooted in one’s own sense of self and in alignment with the natural cycles of life. This has impacted and cultivated her own learning, passions and dreams.
She has led a diverse and adventurous life, traveling and living all around the world, leading her to her current life in Bali. From Bahrain and Africa to Pakistan, to remote island living in Sweden, to six years sailing around the world with her young family, her life has truly encompassed all the elements!
Rosanna believes that movement is a gift and that it is fundamental in helping us access our true power from within! She believes that the body has an innate ability to heal itself and this deep rooted belief in holistic wellbeing (mind, body, soul) has shaped her entire life. This expanded and increased awareness and consciousness has helped guide her life choices and to become the person she is today.
As a homeschooling mother of two, life coach, professional triathlete (her Yang), energy healer, (Reiki and Breathwork) and shamanic free dancer, (her Yin) she aspires to embody the philosophy of Yin and Yang; to live in harmony and flow.
By creating a ‘safe space’ through ritual and ceremony, Rosanna helps to bring personal awakening and transformation. She inspires people to own their inner power by connecting with their body, mind and spirit, through their free expression of movement and the joys of conscious dancing!
Samanta has been dedicated to mind-body health for over 20 years. With a lifetime spent practicing Yoga, Jazz Technique and Bharatnatyam, she is able to combine unique perspectives about wellbeing, healing and physiology. Samanta’s work centers on Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Ayurvedic and Thai osteo bodywork and abdominal chi neitsan Therapies, Diet /Nutrition ‚Vedic Chanting dance movement therapy , Nlp , Singing bowls and sound healing . In July 2008, she partnered with Shaleen Parekh to open India’s first boutique yoga studio, Yoga Sutra. (www.yogasutra.co.in)
Samanta’s personal journey began when as a teenager, she became a performer with noted choreographer Shiamak Davar. After 15 years as a lead performer, she transitioned into practicing and teaching yoga in the year 2000. Samanta was the Wellness programme director with Swaswara – an eco holistic, yoga ayurveda retreat from Oct 2011- March 2012 where she trained yoga teachers for 6 months and helped in defining the yoga and detox programmes on offer. Over the last ten years she has explored and mastered several healing therapies for the mind and body.
Samanta blends a wealth of knowledge and experience to create a unique approach that unites awareness with movement, breath, heart, and humour. She teaches workshops and retreats around the world.
Sumali Jayasinghe is from Sri Lanka residing in Kenya. She has her own Iyengar studio in Mombasa. She has done Iyengar therapeutic TT in Daramkot, Himachal, Pre/post Natal & kids/special need kids TT in Nasik, Maharashtra and Ashtanga (level 1) TT in Mysore.
She has been actively practicing yoga for more than 8 years. She is a qualified Indian Classical Dancer (Bharata Natyam) and a Thai Government certified foot therapist.
Currently she conducts classes in her studio for more than 30 students daily (Monday to Saturday). She has done few workshops in Kenya along with International teachers. She further conducts voluntary training for special needs kids in Saplin Foundation and for one local school in Kongowea, Mombasa.
She will be conducting Iyengar therapeutic using props and it will be focused on mobility, stability, flexibility, strengthening, awareness, breath, posture alignments, deep tissue and stretching to release tension and stiffness.
Her core focus areas will be mainly on body/muscle tension release of back, neck, shoulders, digestive system and massaging/energizing body organs. She will conduct using various props and will be covering different areas of body each day.
Walter was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya along with his four siblings by a single Mum. Growing up was tough and humbling in the Nairobi slums, having one meal a day was a privilege and school was a luxury. The circumstances cultivated a lot of anger, resentment, hopelessness, judgment and self limiting beliefs.
In 2008, after post election violence in Kenya, the practice of yoga found him. The practice turned his life upside down, inside out, and challenged everything he knew about life in the most enriching way possible. His first yoga class felt as if he was returning back home. It gave him the power to take actions in his life, step outside of the confinements of his mind while creating extraordinary results for himself and his community. Each day on his mat never disappoints. It has become a place for him to practice living his life FULL ON while cultivating OUT OF THE BOX rich experiences for him and the world, BIG TIME! The results are real.
Now Walter is a world class, international recognized yoga teacher, leader and influencer. He leads transformational yoga programs and teacher trainings around the world, with the Baptiste yoga institute, YogaHeart Kenya and Africa yoga project. He travels the world either teaching or supporting yoga leaders such as Baron Baptiste and senior Baptiste power yoga teachers facilitating life changing programs. In addition, he co-owns www.yogaHeartkenya.Com studio with the most inspiring humans he knows, something he never imagined possible.
As a teacher his intention is to vulnerably, vividly and generously share the practice that gave him access to a purposeful life, strength and courage to live boldly with anyone, anywhere and anytime.
Zochi “Tegegn” Young is a Teacher, Author, Wellness Architect, and Co-Founder of Tenesu™ (a holistic wellness community project)
Zochi is a master teacher and facilitator in wellness, Taiji, and Qigong. He is an active practitioner of various healing arts, yoga, and meditation. Zochi has studied and practiced his craft for over 45 years. He has integrated his experience as a somatic teacher and wisdom teachings within his class offering. Providing students a unique experience that bridges the ancient world teaching while conforming to the needs of a contemporary society. This contemplative practice is designed to assist participants with technologies and affirmations to support the balance of life/work challenges, enhance overall health and wellbeing, and to enrich relational connections with oneself, others, and the universe.
Currently living and teaching in Ethiopia, he is an ambassador and executive board member of Pushing for Peace and Aikido East Africa/Ethiopia — both are international organizations centered on teaching the embodiment of peace and holistic wellness through meditation, movement practices and inter-generational conversations.
